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
Take ye Eate ye bynde them What moued you here to cite your Clement Ambrose Cyprian with others I knowe not except it were some meriment to ioyne with your similitude of singing for in good earnest you minde not by those places without matter in them to proue that the wordes of Christ Doe this in remembrance of me were onely saide to the Ministers touching Consecration and not to the people also for their participation In the twelfth Article the Iesuites are reported to say Traditions are of equall authoritie with the worde of God wee must beleeue them though they bee manifestly against the Scripture Here the reporte and the texte vouched to disproue their doctrine are both censured The first for adding we must beleeue them though they be manifestly against the Scripture for reporting the rest so generally and confusedly Touching y â— latter point if my report of your doctrine be in these wordes Traditions are of equall authoritie with the worde of God meaning it of some only for who would thinke it of all you hauing so many and so feeble why doe you charge mee as generally and confusedly saying al traditions are equal with y â— scriptures Was it I pray you to deserue your owne note of a sounde lye for a parting blowe which false mis 〈…〉 you haue doubled to make it the sounder For aunswere to the former poyut I doe not onely auow that I haue faythfully reported my authors wordes which is alwayes my iust defence against your vniust flaunder laying them vpon me but I say further that their practise compared with their wordes will â—ustifie the report as truely layde downe against them For proofe whereof not to goe further the Censurer rehearseth amongest these traditions which the Popish Church charge our faith withall the number of the bookes of Scripture the Lent fast Of al other traditions these two are taken out to stande for their owne credit and for the credit of the rest let vs therefore see what treasons there are against God in these your traditions First the Apocrypha bookes are not in the auncient Canon or language of Canaan the fathers haue disauowed them they are euidently repugnant to the doctrine of the holy scriptures and dis 〈…〉 eeing among them selues Yet your Trent conspirarie doeth adde them to the number of the Canonical bookes and bolde all men accursed that holde them not for canonicall scriptures Therefore this your tradition is manifestly against the word of God Further also what is more manifest against the woorde of God then the doctrine of deuils The Lent fast as you commaunde to keepe it for conscience sake forbidding meates created of God to bee taken with thankesgiuing is plainly called a doctrine of deuils Furthermore your opinion is playnely deliuered to be with this distinction Ecclesiasticall traditions are of no greater authoritie then the writings and other decrees of the Church and Apostles traditions are of no lesse authoritie then if they had bene written by them or then are the other thinges which they wrote This is confusedly taught and needeth yet more plainenesse for not all orders deliuered by the Apostles are to bee kept perpetually and vnchangeably of like authoritie with the doctrine of the Gospell which they preached The Apostolique doctrine is perpetuall subiect to no varietie of persons of times or places but some traditioÌ„s that is some orders are altered as that in the acts where they commaunde to absteine from strangled and from blood for it appeareth that the Apostles commanded not this for a perpetuall order alwayes inuiolably to be obserued but onely for a time to auoids offences which cause ceasing the order or tradition was no longer in force Againe some orders might be set downe by them for comlinesse which yet were not to be beleeued as necessary partes of saluation nor yet to remayne for euer in that forme or kynde and therefore can not be matched with the Apostolique doctrine of fayth which is euer al one and which whosoeuer beleeueth not cannot bee saued Nowe touching your pretensed Apostolicall traditions I vtterly denie that there are any such beside those which are euidently shewed or by iust consequence fitly gathered out of the written worde For what so euer is necessary to saluation is in this sort to be proued by the holy Scriptures Therefore your Censureshippe dyd well to adde If they be certaynly descended from Christ and his Apostles But how can this I pray you be certaynely knowen but by the holy writings can any other custome or testimonie assure your consciences what came vndoubtedly from Christ or what from his Apostles Is there any one of your traditions that you can vouch to descend from so sufficient authors otherwise then by report of insufficient witnesses What is it then for you to boast of inuincible arguments to proue diuers doctrines not written but left by woorde of mouth onely whereas you bryng nothing but counterfeyt Couneils erring Fathers fabulous stories and Apocrypha scriptures This is right the bragging Apostle and a shewe of the vaine chalenger Yf a man coulde be feared with the guilte of your armour or with your plume of feathers you woulde bee a worthie champion wounding more with a vayne feare then with the force of your shrinking arme In this encounter of al your profes you haue sorted out two the first is out of that excellent chapter to the Thessalonians conteining a prophecie and reuelation of Antichrist For an answere to which place it is first to be vnderstoode that the worde Tradition in the Apostles speach commeth as it doth in Latin of a verbe to deliuer so that whatsoeuer y â— Apostle deliuered to the Churches those were the traditions hee lefte with them Therefore I denie that Paule doth in any place by tradition signifie any vnwritten veritie but that as in other places he vnderstandeth the doctrine of the Gospel which in the sundrye partes thereof he deliuered This appeareth apparauntly by the place so cited for your purpose without regarde of any more then the worde Tradition For in the verses nexte before the Apostle maketh mention of the Thessalonians faith to the trueth saying God hath called you thereunto by our Gospell to obteyne the glory of our Lorde Iesus Christ and therupon inferreth this conclusion now therefore brethren stand fast holde the tradition which you haue learned eyther by worde or by our epistle Whereby it plainly appeareth that the traditions or thinges deliuered by him partly by word and partly by writing were the diuers partes of the Gospell which hee had taught them Wherefore the written woorde affordeth you no proofe for vnwritten verities The seconde is of doctrines which you say wee holde not by record of writing but by word of mouth from Christ and his Apostles as for example baptisme of infants celebratioÌ„ of Sunday y â— number of y â— bookes of scripture the fast of
of Colen I graunt do say in the place which Kemnitius citeth that the holy Scripture is as a nose of waxe The worde as may indifferently bee put in or left out and the sense all one as shall be proued Buclet vs leaue the wordes and followe the matter Seeing it is now cleere that the Iâ—suites say the Scriptures are as a nose of waxe what shall we say Is this the Censurâ—es Censure or the Iesuices doctrine'â— may the worde of God may the word of power the vnchangeable word of God may it I say be compared to pliant changeable melting waxe Is it in the worde so to receiue diuers contrary fenses as the waxe receiueth in trueth and not by misconstering or mistaking of the eyes contrary formes or printes from contrary seales shall Iesuites mainteine this directly or indirectly in a kingdome where the Gospel is preached I appeale herein to the conscience of all that loue the trueth though a naughtie Iesuite for flatterie of the Pope or other Heretike to deceyue people may wrest and peruert the scripture yet Saint Peter teacheth it shall be to his owne destruction and the Scripture notwithstanding shall remaine perfect and vndefiled For the worde doeth not worke it selfe â—asely to receiue and holde euery forme as waxe dâ—â—th but the trueth of the whole Scripture mainteineth the trueth of euery branch it taketâ— away thâ—â—â—ampe anâ— râ—sisteth the print of any fâ—rged 〈…〉 ent interpretation Euery sentence in the word of God is as the arme of a mightie Oke that cannot be broken off but if you bowe it by force the bowing will appeare and the more you force it to come about to your â—ent the inightier it is to recouer itselfe and returne aganie to his owne course and grouth and that with â—â—rill to him that offered such violence I coulde not passe from this place easely because this blasphemous doctrine doeth in the Church of Rome I meaâ—e the Popish Church for 〈…〉 wise I doubt not but God hath his Church in Rome as he had in Englande when all Englande seemed to bee Rome because I say this intollerable abasing and abusing the power and all sufficiencie of the holy Scripture doeth in the Popish Church mainteyne the myâ—â—erie of vngodlynesse it stoppeth vp the fountaine of liuing waters and prepareth â—isternes and diâ—ches in place thereof it chaungeth the milke and water of life mentioned in Esay into the cuppe of fornications described in the Reuelation finally the traditions of man must ouerrule the trueth of God But let vs see what followeth The Censurer graunteth mee and I graunt him agayne that the wordes are spoken in a similitude and I alleadged them in no other sense yet hee woulde inforce it vpon me and vpon his reader to beleeue that I shoulde absurdely make the Iesuites say the Scripture is a nose of waxe without regard of seÌ„blance But he cannot so much as make my wordes a nose of waxe to receiue this his counterfeited stampe false interpretation And for his obiectioÌ„ it is waste saying Although Christ be likened to a Serpent yet he is no Serpent and to a â—â—uetous man yet he is none For who doeth at all affirme that which hee doeth conâ—uâ—e so carefully And touching the first obiection which is like the seconde where is it sayde that Christ is lyke a Serpent True it is the lifting vp of the brasen Serpent in the wildernesse is compared to the lifting vp of the sonne of man which will not warrant the woordes of your Censure It is moreouer one thing to â—oÌ„pare that speciall sacrament and signe of the brasen Serpent to Christ and to compare Christ to a serpent generally Thus you haue picked out an example that in shewe seemeâ—h to make for you but is 〈◊〉 deede against you as I may also say of y â— second touching y t coueâ—ous man But howe many exaÌ„pâ—â—s are against you in this matter Christ is likened to a vine and we may say Christ is a vine he is likened to a shepeheard he is a shepheard God is likened to a consuming fier and â—herâ—upon it is written God is a consuming 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 against your example Christ is likened to the brasen serpenâ— and we may say he is that brasent serpent lifted vp from the earth at his passion to drawe all to him selfe But that you may not haue hâ—te the vaâ—â—age of tâ—e letters nowe I haue giuen you your libertie to say what you can I wil not yeeld that the word as is left out in the Câ—len Censure For Payua as loth as you to grant y â— trueth doeth yet at last report the wordes altogether as I doâ— adding the like out of Pighius your doctors wordâ—s are when the fathers of Colen considered that there were many places in the holy Scriptures whose true sense doth not easely appâ—are but that euery man may at his pleasure drawe them into varâ—able diuâ—â—s senses in a most apt similitude they called it a nose of wax And Pighius The leadeÌ„ rule of the Lesbian building By these two places Payuas Andradius hath brought you into some worthy suspition of charging me for my autor without cause in â—ther places as well as in this But now wherin haue I abused the Iesuites learned or vnlearâ—ed What haue I here sayde that one of your doctors doeth not â—â—owe what haue I done to ouermatch a trueth in defending the vnchangeable trueth of the scriptures against your doctrine teaching that hereâ—iques may command and 〈◊〉 the word of truth as wax is commanded and framed to what forme they list Nowâ— commeth somewhat to make sport if the granitie of the matter did not require feare and reuerence The Censurer supposeth me to haue had but one Bible that of the old translation onely which hath The Lawe of the Lorde is immaculata vndefiled or as hee translateth vnspotted voide of filth and dishouestie Whereupon the matter is debated at large what y t latine worde immaculata doth signifie beyonde sea where the Censurer woulde dissemblingly seeme tâ— be and what it should signifie here in England A solemne preparation to make shew of a â—â—â—torie which the Censurer will haue ouer his owne imagination I shal be conuinced for false translation of that I translated not and for ill handling that I touched not I may as well be censured for the translation of Staphylus or Lindanâ—â—launders as for the translation of the word immaculata The original hath the Lawe of the Lord is perfect and the best translations haue so translated it Your olde translation doth gâ— alone the Lxx. followe the rest Wherefore this place out of Dauid doth shewe that the scripture is perfect and mainteineth her perfection against all corruptions as a right line sheweth it self and bewrayeth that which is crooked Thus you see I translate not your olde translation in this place with fraude or without â—â—aude Somewhat you
the â—â—uching of the places for â—ontrarie dâ—â—trine is â—ensured for vnlearned huddling vp and confounding hope and faith as one thing which note of the Censure I may truely say came from no deepe knowledge A litle iudgement might haue serued your Censureship to discerne that the two places were not alledged to proue or disproue any thing of faith the ful certeinâ—ie wherof is proued against you by the certeinâ—iâ— of hope but to ouerthrowe that which the Iesuites say in the latter parte of the sentence against which these places serue plainely and expressely For what may more cleareâ—y proue against the Iesuites doctrine that hope neuer faileth then the Apostles wordes calling 〈◊〉 The ancre of the soule Where by he nâ—â—eth our fâ—eedoâ—e from danger in all stormes of â—entations â—idding out the time of this life wi 〈…〉 any 〈◊〉 oâ— feare and without any 〈…〉 touching 〈◊〉 〈…〉 heauen To shewe the force of this assurance the Apostle vseth very significatiue words calling it a sure and stable ancre and yet to make it so full that no feare or doubt may remayne he addeth that it entreth into the inwarde of the Vaile whereunto Christ is entred meaning thereby the heauens Which importeth as much as if hee shoulde say we that haue cast this Ancre aboue in heauen are so much more safe then they whose Ancre is cast downe into the Sea as the holde wee haue taken in heauen by the Ancre of hope is surer Yea the very Rockes shal sooner faile theÌ„ our hold settling vpon the strength truth of gods promise which are al Yea AmeÌ„ in Christ Iesus This our shoote Ancre of hope hath taken holde of the mercy seate of God and of the throne of grace which except some storme be able to remoue wee are in most ioyfull and stedfast safetie The like is promised by y e other place out of y e fifth to the Romanes for if hope maketh not ashamed and shame commeth when a man faileth of that be hoped for then hope can not faile The Apostle maketh this more strong by that which foiloweth as a reason The loue of God is abouÌ„danly shead out into our hearts by the holy Ghost which is giueÌ„ vnto vs. By which reason it appeareth except the holy Ghost hath giuen vs a wrong testimonie of the loue of God the hope which we haue conceiued thereby cannot deceiue vs. Thus you see these places so truely and fitly alledged that al your falsely named learning will not be able truely to answere the allegation of them which notwithstanding it pleaseth you to call vnlearned But let vs see what you call learning forsooth the doctrine of Iesuites touching the doubtfulnes and feare which is in hope that is true learned and cleare This is as the prophet complaineth to call good badde and sweete sower whereunto you know what belongeth For aunswere to these two places of hope the Iesuiteâ— doctrine is declared at large the effect of all standing in two pointes the first concerning faith the other of hope Of faith they teach that no man may beleeue that he in particular shalbe saued without a particular reuelatioÌ„ from God A faithlesse doctrine of faith and therefore not to bee lightly passed ouer You seeme to proue it by reasons one drawen from y t obiect of faith which is the word written or tradition whereof neither as you say doeth testifie mens saluation in particular the seconde taken from the vncertaintie of the things beleeued which as the Censurer supposeth doe depende vpon such conditions as possibly may not be perfourmed Both these great points for want of scripture he setteth foorth by examples as minding rather to perswade then to proue The first is of the answerer the seconde of the possibilitie to be damned as did fall out in Iudas and may fall out a more fearefull case then I woulde put of him had bee not put it of him selfe in the Censurer him selfe Nowe let vs consider what great learning the Iesuices haue in this their opinioÌ„ of faith as the Censureâ— doth report them To iudge that without particular reuelation by name no man can be sure of his saluation is expressely against that the woorde of God â—eacheth in this great question Therefore howe leraneâ— soeuer the Iesuites make them selues yet in deede as the Apostle speaketh of the wise Gentiles they become starke fooles not knowing true wisedome out of the worde but bastard wisedome by their foolish distinctions The Censurers worde of Tradition must bee reserued for a fitter place Touching the promise of the Gospell it is general whosoeuer beleeueth shall be saued the Censurer confesseth it This generall promise hath place and is certainely verefied in euery particular y t beleeueth Euery sensible maÌ„ without further learning may easely iudge in this doctrine whatsoeuer is true in y e general must needes be true in euery particular Nowe if it be vndoubtedly true that euery beleeuer shalbe saued it must needes bee also that Simeon and Lazarus beleeuing in Christ shalbe saued Therefore what needeth any speciall reuelation in the worde for that which is sufficiently comprehended vnder the generall what neede is there by name to saye from maÌ„ to man by name Lazarus shalbe saued Citus shalbe saued and 〈…〉 we shall be saued and so infinitely Or shall we say that God in respect of persons doth particularly assure some of their certaine saluation leauing all the rest to be tossed and caried vp and downe with feare and hope as a ship in the sea caried hither and thither with contrary winds Moreouer the very place cited by the Censurer as a particular reuelation was not particular but generall to all the disciples that beleeued by vertue of a more generall couenant made to all that beleeue whatsoeuer For to examine that place neerer all the disciples and all the Apostles had not their names written in the booke of life for Iudas was excepted And here by the waye the Censurers ouersight must bee noted that draweth the place of Luke as speciall and particular to the Apostles being spoken of the seuentie disciples He wanted special knowledge herein when hee so boldly made it an argument of the Apostles speciall reuelation Of the most certayne and sure foundations of our particular fayth and hope the Apostle writeth in the eight to the Romanes saying that nothing was able to take from him the loue which God beareth to him in Christ Iesus which hee setteth out by naming such things as are most like and mightie to strike a feare and doubt into his heart as oppression anguish persecution famine nakednesse and finally death it selfe nay he addeth agayne that neyther lyfe nor death nor Angels nor things present nor thinges to come nor height nor depth that is what so euer is in heauen aboue or in the earth beneath or in the parâ—â— vnder the earth finally that no creature is able to
but because he hath it according to a trueth and the trueth according to the word Hierome is a notable father of singular giftes but to passe ouer other places I verely thinke you woulde censure him for his interpretations vpon the eleuenth verse of the seconde chapter to the Galathians and vpon the sixt verse of the thirde chapter I write them not downe because I am desirous to couer such blemishes among other excellent gifts Whether the visible Catholike Church may erre or no which must be considered in the particular members and doctrine thereof I will for a triall admitte the example of your Church but not the presēt testimonie Their example doeth testifie y ◠Apostasie which their testimonie will not acknowledge though they should do it to iustifie the prophecies that were deliuered of it before and are nowe made so cleere as nothing may be more To your manifold examples brought to proue that heretiques cleaue to the scripture I answere first y ◠heretiques also cleaue to traditions ordinances receiued by word of mouth as appeareth by the complaint of Ireneus against them Secondly the Scripture is the worde of God in his manifest sense and construction of trueth and life and not according to the naked letter whereunto I graunt the heretiques did peeuishly sticke as you also doe where it maketh for your purpose The philosophicall proofes which some haue made asyou say for the wonderfull mysterie of Christes two natures and willes proue not so much for philosophie as you woulde inferre therby for without philosophie the scripture hath sufficient proofes for that necessarie doctrine as hath beene declared But by the way where is your iudgement in this assertion debate the matter with your selfe and you shall finde howe vnpossible it is for natural philosophy to determin the supernaturall misteries of the vnitie of God and man of two natures and willes in one person Iesus Christe which was a worke of God as great as the creation of the world Notwithstanding I haue acknowledged that philosophie being corrected and sanctified by the woorde may also be some helpe to heauenly wisedome but without it the woorde is sufficient to open all the counsell of God which apperteyneth vnto vs. Thus we take not away as you charge vs y ◠vse of Couneils Fathers other like helpes because of an abuse y ◠may bee but stand against them y ◠vnder some vse thereof woulde bring in and cōfirme the 〈◊〉 Therefore how doth the Censurer both accuse without conscience and giue sentence without iudgement who doth depriue you of these helpes Who doth call you to the bare letter How often am I enforced to repeate one thing to answere the same slaunder As Councils and Doctors or Philosophie may helpe wee allowe them and vse them as Iudges we admit them not and although we answere you to them when they are alleadged yet knowe that it is of that measure that is pressed downe and floweth ouer we are not bound vnto it with any condition But what reasons are these that followe in the Censure Eche man may deny the Scripture to be Scripture or wrangle at pleasure vpon the sense therefore we must admit Councils Doctors and Philosophie This argument is very vnlearned and peremptori◠against the maiestie of Gods worde A wicked man may wickedly take exceptions against it therefore it is not sufficient he◠may deny or wrangle vpon the sense therefore we must leaue the certaine touchstone of God and bee tryed by the vncertaine coniectures of men If the Iesuite had not abandoned all worldly commodities as not caring for the good blessings of God in this behalfe I might easely confute this reason by one drawne from a lesse assurance and lesse importance An enemie may deny the Censurers euidences of land or wrangle vpon the sense of the wordes therefore he must not stand vpon them but seeke other testimonies to mainteine his title But if these helpes or as you meane if the authoritie of men bee taken away it is as much as to saye controuersies in religion shall neuer be ended Wherein againe you make this weake and wicked argument if controuersies in religion be euer ended it must not be by the Scriptures only but by Councils Doctors and Philosophie This is therefore the effect of your Censure and definitiue sentence in this matter that which God cannot doe by his worde men may by their writings that which God cānot determine by his trueth men may ende and conclude by their lyes And further to examine this your bould and daungerous conclusion into what a sea doe you drowe vs calling vs to passe by the examination and iudgement of so many so large so doubtfull and so contrarie writers If the worde be darke are not the Fathers darker If the Scriptures bee doubtfull are not mens writings infinitely more doubtfull If any heretique or wicked man dare wrest the holy scriptures of God withe not much more dare to peruert to denie and to treade vnderfoote the writings of a mortall man It came from the deepest bottom of the Sea to drawe men from the certeintie safetie of Gods word to the daunger and vncerteinty of mens iudgement Concerning the heresies you mention as Trinitaries in Transiluania Anabaptistes in Poland Adamites in Germanie I pray God wheresoeuer these or any other heresies bee taught that they may be vtterly rooted out together with all other weedes that growe vp of their owne accorde wheresoeuer the Plowe is neglected For Hu 〈…〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 me for any thing I know in substance of Religion also for Caluinistes in Fraūce I answere they are no heretiques 〈…〉 rie these names but by your 〈…〉 speach that to bring the Gospell of God into cōtempt would make it to be thought the doctrine of those men whom the Lorde raysed vp as notable instruments to publish it in their time and as singular lights to chase away the mist which you had brought in in all places of your darke and sinfull kingdome How farre we differ from Lutherans in some poyntes you are not the fittest man to whome I may make complaint But howsoeuer you haue added your marke in the margent Note this yet the Scripture is no cause of this disagreement Vnder the name of Caluanistes you charge the Estate of this land with heresie for albeit we receiue not the name neither build our faith vpon the doctrine of any mā yet the Estate maynteyneth the doctrine which vnder that name you call heresie But you would onely seeme to lay that reproch vpon France In England you saye there are Puritanes the Familie of loue What an high and deepe slaunder is this to all the godly in this kingdome from the prince to the meanest person professing the religion your Catholikes excepted are all in England either to bee charged with the odious name of Puritanes or with the most execrable abominations of the Familie of loue What would not
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