written also nowe wee can not take the Apostles wordes as vttered of all because much scripture is now wanting as he doth imagine Should these be your plaine arguments if you could obteine disputation Should this be the shorter waye I know not your name but know I pray you and teach your fellowes to knowe that the scripture hath bene in all ages sufficient for the time wherein it was written of all that which hath by seuerall encreases bene written nothing was at any time superfluous and whatsoeuer hath bene written and not come to our handes nothing for all that is now missing that is necessary vnto saluation He that hath not giuen vs the bookes of Nathan Gad Achia the Shilonite and Iehdo if they wrote any other then partes of the two bookes of Samuel after his death of the first booke of the Kings also he that hath not giuen vs the rest of Salomons Prouerbes to passe by your ouersight concerning the epistle to the Laodiceans already noted therefore gaue them not because he knewe them not necessarie or expedient for the posteritie Iohn proueth this in the conclusion of his Gospell and Christ teacheth that they which had Moses and the Prophets euen then had sufficient without miracles and traditions And you haue no sound opinion of the wisdome and mercie of God if you thinke his maiestie to leaue any age since he chose a peculiar people voide of scripture profitable and sufficient to the saluation of his Church Thus the reader may see that I neither wrest the former place agaynst my selfe neither can you doe it that would so faine In the fifth article the Iesuites are reported to say The want of holy scriptures must be supplied by peecing it out by traditions For the report of this doctrine the Censurer bestoweth more of his vndeserued tauntes If the Censure of Colen hath no such wordes Gotuisus failed in citing their booke but failed not in charging them with their owne doctrine which all Iesuites and Papistes so vpholde as Peters chaire both to mainteine their false doctrines and to vnderset their Antichristiā tyraunie But although you would for the time dissemble the matter traditiōs are not of so smal force as to peece out the want of scripture For except the Presidēt of y e Trent council haue a forge to coyne lies traditions are a liuing Gospel and hee vttereth it as a question that can not be denied This is most true saith Hosius that if traditions be reiected the very Gospell also seemeth to be reiected for what els are traditions then a certaine liuing Gospell In deede traditions make a quicke court at the Vaticane Thus by your doctors opinion it is most true y ◠traditions are made not a supplie to any wants in y ◠Gospel but an other liuing Gospel after a sort to giue life to that which in y ◠true Gospell seemeth to be dead And may not a man w tout a lie call this doctrine vlasphemous My vttering of y e Cōmandemēt in the singular number is without additiō or alteration of sense For Moses in the same Chapter speaking of the same lawe and to the same men doth change the plurall number into the singular The selfe same Lawe also is recited in the singular number in the twelfth chapter of Deuteronomie by Salomon in the thirtieth chapter of his Prouerbes and euermore that which is said to al is also said to euery one and truly taken as vttered to euery one Surely I cannot guesse what you unagined at this change of the Lawgiuers wordes without change of the sense being done by the example of the same Lawgiuer in another place and without any breach of his Lawe and wherupon your vttermost malice could inferre none absurditie in sense none iniurie to the scripture nor aduantage to my cause but a stinging guesse insinuating some cause mouing mee to this change which whether you cōcealed as forbearing me or ashamed on your own behalfe to bewraye the indifferent reader iudgeth Againe what made you adde so haynous a slaunder as if all thinges were lawfull for me and to charge me as blaming the Apostles and Euangelistes for adding the Gospel Take heede you allowe not your selfe such scope in these suggestions manifestly agaynst the trueth and your owne conscience for you knowe what that sentence implieth Blessed is he that condemneth not himselfe in that thing which hee alloweth The Lorde that addeth grace to grace and light to light he also hath added to the lawe the fulnesse and satisfaction thereof in Christ Iesus which is published in his most holy and most perfect Gospell To expounde Moses wordes forbidding to adde or take away from the Lawe as spoken of the things he deliuered by word of mouth and not of the lawe written 〈◊〉 is a doubtfull speaking and may beare a harder conclusion then I will charge you with His cōmandement respected the law eyther pronounced or written by him 〈◊〉 afterwarde to bee preached and written by the holy Prophets and Apostles in the spirite of God I dare appeale to your conscience though it be deliuered from your pen you do not thinke in your heart that I woulde haue no scriptures beleeued besides that which Moses set downe Wherfore your proofe needed not in this matter To conclude it is a great iniquirie to adde traditions or your unwritten ve 〈…〉 to the written worde of God whereunto no man may adde because nothing is wanting from which no man can take because nothing is superfluous but to him that addeth shal the curses written in the booke be added for euer In the sixth place the Iesuites wordes are thus reported The holy Scripture is a nose of waxe At the true report of this blasphemous doctrine you fall into a storme perswading that I haue therein sinned agaynst God and abused the Iesuices with other most bitter woordes as if I tooke the way to ouermatch both learning and trueth But howe wrongfully all these woordes are cast out against me your owne wordes beare witnesse for presently after the sentence of condemnation you repeale it and acquite me of the fault graunting that as a nose of waxe may bee formed what way and to what forme one list so naughtie men may wrest the Scriptures Notwithstanding because you presse the wordes against me let them be examined First to proue that the Iesuites haue them more plainely then you will acknowledge I appeale from your Censure to Andradius playne confession Hee as you knowe defended the Iesuites in these poyntes agaynst Kemnitius which you defende against mee and hath lent you no small furniture for this seruice This Andradius as hauing more learning and in his kinde more true dealing then you in handling this article doth not at all cry out as you doe but acknowledgeth and defendeth the matter without such needelesse scoffes And for the words he confesseth saying The fathers
you in this kingdome and in our neighbour kingdomes may behold it with vexatiō of spirit Therefore notwithstanding your bragges before you come to the triall and that you tell vs misusing the place in the forehead of your booke of the fier in the moūtame yet we feare no more to encountre with you then they that see their enemies without armoure or ouerthrowne before they come to giue them the charge Lastly you like not my opinion that only the Scriptures should bee admitted for iudges in disputation But the opinion is good and the practise needefull seeing the holy scripture is the onely touchstone to make triall and the onely iudge to giue sentence in all questions apperteyning to the doctrine of fayth and saluation Howe reuerently I thinke of the chiefe councils of the fathers and doctors and what profit I acknowledge to come by their great labour it was declared in my answere But you euermore omit that which maketh not for your purpose where in you take an euil but yet a readie waye to condemne a good cause Notwithstanding to determine controuersies in iudgement of religion I admit them no seate but refuse them al not onely with one breath but with this one short sentence The rule is not ouerruled You shoulde haue proued that the doctours and councils haue not places contrary one to another and sometimes contrary to themselues If you had cleered them of this warre among themselues you had made them somewhat fitter to make peace amongst vs. In affirming that I say some of the fathers are condemned of forgerie you doe manifestly peruert my playne wordes for I spake of the places and you drawe it to the persons It is one thing to say some places in Austen are forged and an other to say Austen him selfe is forged Now that places in Austen are forged and namely many of his short sermans to the brethren in the wildernes it appeareth by the iudgement of Erasinus and by the notes of bastardie set downe in your owne editions Cyprians places are also acknowledged by your selues especially that notorious booke of the reuelation of Iohn Baptistes head where Cyprian maketh mention of king Pipin that liued fiue hundred yeeres after that Cyprian was dead But I neede not to alleadge any more you wil not deny but there are many Now there followeth a comparison that you ground your beliefe onely vpon the word of God and make it the onely obiect of fayth more thē we do Your reports here and in the ninth place confirmed 〈◊〉 an othe can haue no credit against your knowen doctrine and dealinges to the contrary For doe you not in this verie question pleade the authoritie of men as the warrant whereby we receyue the Scriptures Doe you not denie that wee are saued by faith onely Howe then doe you buylde your beleefe onely vpon the word of God or make that the onely obiect of faith more then we doe In the wordes following you keepe on your course prouing that which is graunted and affirming that which shoulde bee proued I dyd graunt that Councils Fathers and stories yeeld profitable helpes to shewe the estate of the Church from time to time and also for the better vnderstanding of the worde of God yet this is that which you make y ◠questiō as denyed by me and to be proued by you After this strange order of disputation you myght as fitly in forme and more truely in matter proue your doctrine blasphemous and your practises full of rebellion If you woulde proue this it were a true proposition but no confutation of that I say affirming the same So in prouing that doctors bring great helpes to learning you proue a trueth but not in any ouerthrowe of my answere For I haue acknowledged as much The questiō in deede is whether Councils and Fathers be iudges to giue sentence in controuersies and rules to ouer rule interpretations to the proofe whereof you shoulde haue tyed your selfe but without any further proofe you affirme it as a cleare matter and altogether out of dout Is this that disputation which you so boast of to proue that is graunted and to leaue that without proofe which is in question I shall not escape the note of audacitie If vpon your Censures false report I shal be thought to denie that which I doe most manifestly anouch But this note of audacious bouldnes cleaueth to you who blush not to say that the authoritie of Scriptures dependeth vpon the testimonie and allowance of men and that otherwise we know not which is the word of God and which not As many as hold this opinion had neuer their eares bored nor their heartes opened by the Spirite of GOD to heare and see more then the bare letter they neuer felt the lyfe and spirite thereof which is the holy spirite of God not onely bearing witnesse with our spirite that we are the sounes of God but also that the holy scriptures are the worde of God and his power to saluation that they are also the rule which should rule all and not be ouerruled of any Neither haue those disciples of the word humbled them selues at the footestoole of the Lorde to behold his absolute perfection in all his wayes especially in the full reuelation of his will to the sonnes of men by his holy scriptures neither haue they considered y ◠vanitie of vanities y ◠infinite hardnesse of heart and corruption of iudgement which is in all flesh This humilitie would confirme them in the faith of that saying no man knoweth the things of God but the spirit of God This Spirit leadeth vs into all trueth to knowe it and to proue it and to be comforted thereby not in the iudgemēt or after the sense of man but according to the worke of God opening our hearts and sanctifiyng our vnderstanding so that the worke and iudgement is of the spirite according to the woorde of God Herein also standeth an answere to your seconde assertion that by the fathers wee knowe which is the right meaning of the word of God for as the authoritie of the worde is confirmed by the spirit so are the interpretations thereof also As man is not the author so he is not the interpreter of the worde of God otherwise then by the autoritie of the worde it selfe This saint Peter proueth making it a reason why no Scripture is of a priuate interpretation because it came not from man but the holy men of God spake as they were moued and caried with the holy Ghost so that the holy Ghost doeth deliuer and warrant and interprete vnto vs the holy woord of God expounding scripture by scriptures and not leauing this high office to men otherwise then to ministers conteyning themselues within the faithfull seruice of their charge in their written and authenticall commission And you dare not say who dare say much y ◠an interpretation is true because an ancient father hath it
Censurer hath brought his cole to set his markes vpon my translation which is neuer thelesse so faithfull that no one of y â— fiue words by him so marked as wickedly added can wel be wanting without some iniury to the text or to the propertie of our language in expressing the same In translating the propertie of euery tongue is to be obserued for as tongues differ in language so they differ in their peculiar forme order of words That which may be well vnderstoode in one tongue must needes be supplied in an other And to translate word for worde is to haue the wordes English or Frenche when yet the phrase shall remaine Greeke or Hebrewe and be as litle vnderstoode Yet this is that obscure and fruitelesse translation which the Censurer exacteth at my hand But let vs see how iustly All scripture is not so plaine as All y â— scripture and the Censurer afteÌ„ saith the scripture The verbe is must be supplied whether you regard the English tongue or Lâ—gicke for the copulatiue coniunction following in y â— Greeke doth make the whole proposition compound and not simple Otherwise what sense or sentence were it to say all scripture giuen by inspiration of God profitable to teach c. The addition of this verbe was so necessarie that the vulgar translation addeth it in the seconde place but by no better reason then why it should be added in both The first and was childishly and vnlearnedly noted as superfluous being expressed in the Greeke text and corruptly left out by the olde translation which deceiued you The wordes and throughly were added the one to ioyne the sentence and the other to expresse the force of the compound word which Paule vseth signifying throughly or perfectly perfect In this signification is the compound vseâ— in many other places also Thus you see I misuse not the Scriptures in this place for my translation is sufficiently approoued and some faultes be wraied in the old translation and ignorance in your Censure Neuerthelesse I must remember you that it was your ouersight to leaue out y â— note of a third and which might aswell haue bene set vpon your score with the rest and raised the number vp to site Also you that so exact a strayght translation of worde for word why did you not Censure me for adding v. wordes at one clap in this sentence to expresse one Greeke worde Paul hath 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 which is word for worde Godinspired I haue to expresse it vsed v. wordes giuen by inspiration of God But your Censurers eye may without blame passe ouer the sight of such small matters I craue pardon of my Reader that I haue bene drawen on into so trifeling poyntes But he hath beene exercised in sifting and shifting to finde somwhat y â— may serue his turne and yet greatly misseth of his purpose if he were so searched perhaps hee would not easely answere it Now against my translation he vseth words that should be by a new worde called raileciue speache in me saying If I had vsed such audacitie in translating Acsopes fables it woulde haue bene tollerable but in translating the Scripture it is impious Surely if the Censurer had bene well censured and exercised in translating Acsopes fables when 〈◊〉 went to the Grammer schoole hee woulde haue bene better acquainted with Greeks phrases and the translation of the new Testament But it may be he hateth the kingdome and skill of Grammarians Thus much to answere my translation which you haue so vnlearnedly marked and so vniustly coÌ„demned Now it foloweth to consider what you bring agaynst the alleadging of that place to reproue the Iesuites doctrine and your vnwritten verities Your first reason y â— this place is not full ynough to proue y â— sufficiencie of y â— Scripture for which it is alleaged standeth vpon and word in y â— text where the Apostle saith the Scripture is profitable and hath not the worde sufficient But you say these are two diuers thinges to bee sufficient for a purpose and to be profitable for it as may appeare in meate which is profitable for our lyfe yet wee cannot saye it is sufficient because it alone without naturall heate clothes and other meanes sufficeth not Whereupon you leaue the reader to conclude that this place is too slender for my purpose The force of which your reason is of the difference of these two words affirming that profitable is not so much as sufficient Whereunto I answere that as sometimes it is true which you affirme and as it appeareth in your example so of the other part it is true that many times a thing may be saide profitable for a purpose where profitable shal import sufficient and not barely profitable as for example when some reason is adioyned why it shoulde be profitable and nothing else applyed or seruing to that effect For proofe hereof when the Apostle writeth that Godlines is profitable to all things hauing the promises of this life of the life to come it can not be denyed but by profitable here he meaneth it is sufficient for all things that is for the obteyning of all good thinges which sense of this worde is prooued by that which followeth of the effect hauing the promises of both lyues For if godlinesse bryng all good things of this lyfe and of the lyfe to come it must needes folowe that the Apostle saying it is profitable to all things vnderstoode it was so fully sufficient that hee which hath it needeth not the supplie of any thing else For like reason in this place I say the Apostle speaking of the Scripture as profitable for doctrine for confutation for correction and reformation by profitable vnderstandeth sufficient If your example were of the like it woulde proue the same If as meate and drinke are profitable to nourish so they were profitable also to cloth to giue rest and to make a man perfectly healthie and strong to euery good action I woulde also conclude vpon such causes that it were both profitable and sufficient to mayntaine life But you stande in neede of an other Censurer to Censure your comparisons and examples so often brought in easily to dereyue the reader that doth not see howe vnequallie they are yoked as like thinges to make like proofe being in deede vnlike and of vnlike effectes To returne vnto the text the sufficiencie of scripture is moreouer prooued by the wordes which got before and followe Before the Apostle had sayde that all the Scripture is inspired of God whereupon he inferreth and is profitable to teach for doctrine and confutation as if he had sayde it is profitable to teache the trueth and reproue errour The strength of which reason lyeth in this that the light of knowledge which sometime was in man by his creation is damped and gone out so that nowe wee haue no meanes except God by his holy Spirite doeth inspire vs to discerne betweene trueth and vntrueth or
betweene good and euill Nowe this heaueÌ„ly knowledge which as Saint Peter sayeth was vttered by the holy men of God inspired with the holy Ghost is recorded in the bookes of holie Scripture Whereupon it foloweth that these bookes of the holy worde and no other being the authenticall words of the heauenly knowledge which God inspired the holy Prophets and Apostles withall are so sayde to be profitable to teache the trueth as it noteth this to bee proper to the holy Scripture and not to agree to any other whatsoeuer Therefore if these bee the writings which contayne the wisedome wherewith God hath inspired his holy men for such vse of the Church as is here spoken of it must needes followe the knowledge which God hath reuealed being sufficient for vs that these holy Scriptures conteining the same knowledge is lykewise sufficient Whereby it appeareth that this cause here noted to witte of inspiration from God being the proper cause of the holy Scriptures and not common to any other writings whatsoeuer doeth implie the effect also folowing in this place of teaching disprouing and making perfecte the man of God to be likewise proper vnto them and which I vndertoke to proue profitable in this place to signifie as much as sufficient To this I adde an other reason out of the wordes which followe wherein because not some things onely which may in parte make a man perfect are attributed to the scriptures and some other thinges left to bee supplied by other meanes but all things whatsoeuer may bee needefull for vs are sayde to be perfected by the Scriptures it must needes follow that the scripture alone is sufficient For that which is profitable to al the partes which may be required to perfection cannot be but sufficieÌ„t for the perfection of the whole but that the Scripture is profitable in such maner the Apostle doth fully declare both in rehearsing all the particular partes which are necessarie and adding also after generally that the man of God may be perfect To this purpose the Apostle hath so set his wordes as hee could not more effectually by any other speach For he teacheth that it is profitable to make perfect which yet is made more full by the compound worde adioined the grace and force of which composition as was noted before is to note perfection added to perfection and to signifie throughly or perfectly perfect and that as hee addeth for all good workes This is yet made more full and more waightie by that hee speaketh not here of the coÌ„mon perfection of all men but of the perfection of the man of God that is of the Minister If the scripture conteine knowledge to make the Minister throughly perfect for euery part of his office both in doctrine soundly to teach the trueth and to confute and remoue error and in life to reforme and correct that which is amisse and to instruct in that which is righteous and holy how much more is it sufficient for the coÌ„mon knowledge of other men in whom like perfection of vnderstanding is not so much required To these two reasons because the question is of importance I will yet adde one other out of the verse next going before There the Apostle vseth an argument to perswade Timothy to abide in y â— doctrine of the holy Scriptures for proofe of which argument this seueÌ„teenth verse is immediatly adioyned His argument is takeÌ„ from the effect of these holy writings wherein Timothie had been brought vp froÌ„ a child Which effect is this that through faith in Christ Iesus they are of abilitie or of power or of sufficiencie to make him wise to saluation For the Apostle sayeth expressely that the Scriptures are able or of power or sufficiencie for all these speaches I take to bee of one signification whereunto to make him wise how farre euen to saluation that is to teache him all wisedome needeful to saluation Whereupon as I sayd the Apostle immediatly bringeth in this sentence that All the Scripture is giuen by inspiration of God and is profitable for doctrine c. Which must either be sayde to bee impertinent to the former matter of the power or sufficiencie of the Scripture to saluation which I thinke no man of any reason will affirme or els it must be confessed that the Apostle added it for greater plainnes or for an other proofe For whether of both it be brought in it is absurde to bring the lesse to set out or proue the more And seeing the Apostle had spoken in the former verse of the sufficiencie of Scripture to saye nowe it bringeth but some profite to that purpose were to saye lesse then he had said before Wherefore he saying it is profitable setteth it out as alone and sufficiently profitable being inspired of God and sanctified by his promise and ordinance to make perfect the man of God to al heauenly wisedome Finally the Apostle hauing put into Tiniothies hande al compleat necessarie and sufficient furniture speaketh neuer a whit of your churchreuealed verities but onely of the scripture inspired of God Therefore either he teacheth and concludeth insufficiently or els the Scripture is sufficiently wholly powerfully and in trueth onely profitable For your second reason I denie that the newe Testament is therefore super fluous because the olde was sufficient For this bountifull addition or accesse of scripture by the Newe Testament is not to impeach the perfection and profitable sufficiencie or sufficient profitablenes of the olde Testament seeing the Fathers were aswell faued as we are now vnder the Gospell but for a more full euident and cleare reueâ—ation of that which though to saluation it was sufficient before yet could not shewe the infinite riches of Gods goodnesse toward vs so plainely so fully as these doe Iob had sufficient in his greatest want and no superfluitie in his greatest aboundance A morning light is sufficient for a man to doe his worke by yet the brightnesse of the sunne is not therefore needelesse and superfluous for it serueth to giue a clearer a more certaine and more comfortable direction then the other For your by matter that the wordes omnis and tota differ in Greeke and Latine for proofe wherof you appeale to all Logicioners I dare warrant you they will all condemne your opinion For omnis homo signifieth euery man but omnis populus which is the Vulgar translation doth not signifie euery people neyther can you translate the woordes of Saint Luke concerning the taxing that euery earth or euery worlde should bee taxed in which places the Euangelist vseth the same worde the vse wherof in y â— greeke you did not vnderstand Therefore if you can salue this matter of manifest errour I will acknowledge my selfe to deale deceitfully as you charge me An other point followeth like the rest already answered But the Censurer thus repeateth Saint Paul must vnderstand part of the scripture and not the whole because all was not then