world carried away with the sway of time fell from the soundnesse of the faith onely Athanasius excepted and some few confessors that sub Athanasii nomine exâ—…labant as Hierome noteth writing against the Luciferians Ingemuit totus orbis miratus est se factum esse Arrianum The world powred foorth sighes maruailing how it was become an Arrian At that time it was when Hilarius writing against Auxentius Bishop of Millaine complained that the Arrian faction had confounded all and therefore admonished all men to take heede how they suffered themselues to be led with outward appearances Malè vos parietum amor cepit malè ecclesiam Dei in tectis aedificiisque veneramini malè sub his pacis nomen ingeritis anne ambiguâ—…m est inijs Antichristum esse sessurum montes mihi syluae lacus carceres voragines sunt tutiores in his enim Prophetae manentes aut demersi prophet abant It is not well saith he that you are in loue with walls that you esteeme the Church in respect of houses and buildings and in and vnder those shewes and outward appearances pretend and vrge the name of peace Is there any doubt of Antichristes sitting in these places The Mountaines the Woods the Lakes the prisons the deepe pittes and deuouring gulfes seeme to me more safe For in these the Prophets either remaining abiding making them their dwelling places or as it were drowned and ouerwhelmed in them prophesied in old time And to this purpose it is that Augustine writeth most aptly distinguishing betweene the starres of heauen and the sands of the sea according to the number whereof God promised Abraham that his seed should be Ecclesia aliquandò obscuratur tanquam obnubilatur multitudine scandalorum sed etiam tunc insuis firmissimis eminet qui sunt quasi stellae coeli in semine Abrahae at multitudo illa carnalium infirmorum fidelium quae quasi arena maris est aliquandò tranquillitate temporis libera quieta apparet aliquandò autem tribulationum tentationum fluctibus operitur atque turbatur The Church of God saith he sometimes is obscured darkened and as it were ouer-shadowed with the multitude of offences and scandals that are found in it yet euen then doth it appeare and shew it self in those worthies of most strong and constant resolution which are as the starres of heauen among those of Abrahams seede and posterity but for the multitude of weake and carnall Christians which is like to the sand on the sea shore in peaceable times they are free and quiet but in dangerous times troubled couered and hidden with the waters and raging waues of tribulation and temptation This and no other thing our Divines meant that affirmed the Church to bee sometimes invisible and therefore it is most true that Bellarmine noteth that many of his companions haue taken much needlesse paine in proouing against vs the perpetuity of the Church which as he confesseth none of vs euer denied but it is as true that he also laboureth in vaine in proouing that there is and alwayes hath beene a visible Church and that not consisting of some few scattered Christians without order of Ministery or vse of Sacraments for all this we doe most willingly yeeld vnto howsoeuer perhaps some few haue been of opinion that though all others failing from the Faith the trueth of GOD should remaine onely in some few of the Laitie yet the promise of Christ concerning the perpetuitie of his Church might still be verified This question was disputed by Occham and Cameracensis long before our times who knoweth not that Cardinall Turrecremata and other great Divines haue beene of opinion that during the time that Christ was touching his body in the graue all the Apostles being fallen from the Faith the same continued in the blessed Virgin alone but these disputes wee leaue to them that are delighted in them resting in the assured and vndoubted perswasion of the truth of these things which wee haue deliuered touching the visibility and invisibility of the Church by which it may easily appeare in what sense the Church may be said to be sometimes invisible and how the same Church is at the same time both visible and invisible in diuers respects CHAP. 11. Of the divers titles of the Church and how they are verified of it HAuing thus declared the diuerse considerations of the Church of God and the different conditions of them that are of it for our better directions left we mistake and misapply those things that are spoken of it we must further obserue that the names and titles giuen vnto it are of two sorts for there are some that are verified of it in respect of the whole considered generally and as it comrehendeth all those that concurre in the same intire profession of heauenly verities and outward meanes of saluation though they be of very divers different and contrary condition so it is named a great house wherein there are vessels of honour and dishonour in which there are that walke according to the rule of Christianity and worthy of God and others that walke inordinately It is named a field in which is wheate mingled with tares It is a floore in which there is wheate and chaffe It is a company of Virgins attending the comming of the bridegrome whereof some are wise hauing oyle in their lampes others foolish hauing none It is a net cast into the sea that gathereth into it good fishes and bad Other names and titles there are which are not verified of the Church considered generally in all her parts but onely in respect of some parts and those the best and principall so it is named the spouse of Christ and the wife of the Lambe a royall Priesthood an holy nation and a peculiar people the Loue of Christ all faire vndefiled and without spot the onely Doâ—… an orchard inclosed a Well sealed vp a fountaine of liuing water a Paradise with all precious delectable and desireable fruit and that nothing may be added to the honour of it It is the mysticall body of Christ which he doth animate formalize and quicken with his owne spirit of this body the wicked are not members though they bee members of the body of the Church generally considered It is therefore 〈◊〉 vaine dispute betweene them that say they are members of the mysticall body of Christ though not liuing members and them that say they are parts but not members For they are neither parts nor members of the mysticall body of Christ though they be both in respect of the body of the Church considered generally And it is false that Bellarmine affirmeth that we require inward qualities to make a man to be of the Church thereby making it vnknowen who are that Church to whose authoritie and direction the Lord commandeth vs to submit our selues For we doe not
Schismatikes are they that breake the vnitie of the Church and refuse to submit themselues and yeeld obedience to their lawfull Pastours and guides though they retaine an entire profession of the trueth of God as did the Luciferians some others in the beginning of their Schisme though for the most part the better to justifie their Schismaticall departure from the rest of Gods people Schismatikes doe fall into some errour in matters of faith This is the first sort of them that depart and goe out from the Church of God and company of his people whose departure yet is not such but that notwithstanding their Schisme they are and remaine parts of the Church of God For whereas in the Church of God is found an entire profession of the sauing trueth of God order of holy Ministery Sacraments by vertue thereof administred and a blessed vnitie and fellowship of the people of God knit together in the bond of peace vnder the commaund of lawfull Pastours and guides set over them to direct them in the wayes of eternall happinesse Schismatikes notwithstanding their separation remaine still conioyned with the rest of Gods people in respect of the profession of the whole sauing trueth of God all outward actes of Religion and Diuine worship power of order and holy Sacraments which they by vertue thereof administer and so still are and remaine parts of the Church of God but as their communion and coniunction with the rest of Gods people is in some things onely and not absolutely in all wherein they haue and ought to haue fellowship so are they not fully and absolutely of the Church nor of that more speciall number of them that communicate intirely and absolutely in all things necessary in which sense they are rightly denied to be of the Church which I take to be their meaning that say they are not of the Church CHAP. 14. Of the second sort of them that voluntarily goe out from the people of God HEretikes are they that obstinately persist in error contrary to the Churches faith so that these doe not onely forsake the fellowship but the faith also and therefore of these there may be more question whether notwithstanding their hereticall division they still continue in any sort parts of the Church of God But this doubt in my opinion is easily resolued For in respect of the profession of sundry diuine verities which still they retaine in common with right beleeuers in respect of the power of order and degree of ministery which receiuing in the Church they carry out with them and sacraments which by vertue thereof they doe administer they still pertain to the Church But for that they hold not an entire full professiō of all such sauing trueths as to know and beleeue is necessary vnto saluation for that their Pastours and Priests though they haue power of order yet haue no power of jurisdiction neither can performe any acte thereof for that they retaine not the vnity of the spirit in the bond of peace they are rightly denied to be of the Church not for that they are not in any sort of it but for that they are not fully and absolutely of it nor of that more speciall number of them which communicate in all things wherein Christians should This more speciall number of right beleeuing Christians is for distinction sake rightly named the Catholike Church because it consisteth of them only that without addition diminution alteration or innouation in matter of doctrine hold the common faith once deliuered to the Saints and without all particular or priuate diuision or faction retaine the vnitie of the spirit in the bond of peace To this purpose is it that Saint Augustine against the Donatists who therefore denied the baptisme of Heretikes to be true Baptisme and did vrge the necessity of rebaptizing them that were baptized by them for that they are out of the Church doth shew that all wicked ones feined Christians and false hearted hypocrites are secluded from the Church of God considered in her best and principall parts and in the highest degree of vnitie with Christ her mysticall head aswell as ◅retikes and Schismatikes As therefore all they that outwardly professe the trueth and hold the faith of Christ without schisme or heresie are of the Church and are within as the Scripture speaketh yet are not all ofthat more speciall number of them that are intrinsecus in occulto intus but in more generall sort So likewise Heretikes and Schismatikes though they be not of that speciall number of them that in vnity hold the entire profession of diuine trueth are of the Church generally considered and of the number of them that professe the trueth of God reuealed in Christ. And this surely Augustine most clearely deliuereth For when the Donatists did obiect that Heresie is an harlot and that if the baptisme of Heretikes bee good sonnes are borne to God of heresie and so of an harlot than which what can be more absurde impious his answere was that the conuenticles of Heretikes doe beare children vnto God not in that they are diuided but in that they still remaine conjoyned with the true and Catholike Church not in that they are Heretikes but in that they professe and practise that which Christians should and doe professe and practise It is not therefore to be so scornefully rejected by Bellarmine Stapleton and others of that faction that we affirme that both Heretikes and Schismatikes are in some sort though not fully perfectly and with hope of saluation of the Church seeing Augustine in the iust and honourable defence of the Churches cause against Heretikes did long since affirme the same not doubting to say that Heretikes remaine in such sort conioyned to the Church notwithstanding their Heresie that the true Church in the midst ofthem and in their assemblies by Baptisme ministred by them doth beare and bring forth children vnto God The not conceiuing whereof gaue occasion to Cyprian and the African Bishops of errour and afterwards to the Donatists of their heresie touching the rebaptization of them that were baptized by Heretikes For seeing there is but ◅e Lord one faith one Baptisme seeing God gaue the power of the keyes and the dispensation of his word and sacraments onely to his Church if Heretikes bee not of the Church they doe not baptise This their allegation they amplified and enlarged from the nature and condition of heresie and Heretickes and the high pretious and diuine qualitie force and working of the sacraments thereby endeauouring to shew that so excellent meanes pledges and assurances of our saluation cannot be giuen by the hands of men so farre estranged from God There is say they one faith one hope one Baptisme not among heretikes where there is no hope and a false faith where all things are done in lying false and deceiueable maner where he adiureth Sathan that is the vassall of Sathan and possessed of the diuell
Hee proposeth the sacramentall demaunds and wordes of holy stipulation whose mouth wordes send forth a canker He giueth the faith that is himselfe an infidell Hee giueth remission of sinnes that is himselfe most wicked and sinfull Antichrist baptizeth in the name of Christ he blesseth that is himselfe accursed of God hee promiseth life that is himselfe dead he giueth peace that is himselfe an enimy to peace he calleth on the name of God that is a blasphemer of God he administreth and executeth the holy office of Priesthood that is profane he prepareth furnisheth and attendeth the Altar of God that is a sacrilegious person All which objections howsoeuer carrying a faire shew at the first sight and view yet are most easily answered if wee consider that heretikes notwithstanding their heresies doe in some sort still pertaine to the Church and so consequently haue that degree order office ministerie and calling which is holy by vertue whereof they doe administer the holy Sacraments euen as in the true and Catholique Church many wicked ones are found that are no lesse the vassals of Sathan and possessed of the diuell dead in sinne accursed of God profane sacrilegious and enemies of peace than heretikes and â—…hismatikes who yet for that they haue that order office and degree of ministerie which is holy doe no lesse nor with lesse effect administer the holy Sacraments than they that are the samplers of all sanctitie pietie and vertue Whereupon the schoolemen rightly note that there are foure sorts of Ministers to wit good secretly bad openly and apparantly wicked but not put from their office and place nor cast out of the Church and lastly such as are depriued of their office and dignitie and remoued from the happie fellowship of right beleeuers The first administer the Sacraments with benefite profit and good to themselues others The second with benefit to others but not to theÌ„selues The third with hurt to themselues and scandall to others but yet to the euelasting good of them that receiue them if the fault be not in themselues The fourth administer those Sacraments that are holy in their owne nature the meanes pledges assurances of saluation but without any benefit to theÌ„selues or others because they are in diuision and schisme Whereas nothing though neuer so good excellent is aualeable to their good that are out of the vnitie the people of God should haue among themselues If I giue my body to be burned and haue not charitie it profiteth me nothing saith the Apostle CHAP. 15. Of them whom the Church casteth out by excommunication HItherto we haue treated of such as being once of the Church of themselues goe out from the companie of right beleeuers by schisme or heresie Now it remaineth to speake of them whom the Church casteth out by excommunication Excommunication is that sentence of the Church whereby shee ejecteth and casteth out wicked sinners out of her communion Which communion what it is and wherein it consisteth that we may the better vnderstand wee must obserue that communion is sometimes taken for hauing the same things in common and sometimes for mutuall doing and receiuing good to and from each other In the former sense the communion of the Church is of two sorts outward and inward The outward consisteth in those things which all they that are of the Church haue in common as the profession of the trueth reuealed in Christ and the Character of Baptisme which as a note distinctiue separateth Christians from Infidels and vnbeleeuers The inward consisteth in those things which only the best parts of the Church haue in common as faith hope loue and the like The Communion of the Church in the later sense consisteth in a mutuall and enterchangeable course of action whereby the parts thereof doe and receiue good to and from one another one supplying the want and defect of another This is of two sorts Publike and private The publike consisteth first in the prayers which the Church powreth foorth for euerie the least and most contemptible member thereof thereby obtayning of God the giuing supply and continuance of all necessary good ioyned with a most happie protection keeping them from falling into those evils they are subiect vnto Secondly in the dispensation of Sacraments by the hands of her Ministers Private in mutuall conuersation of one man with another Excommunication doth not depriue the Excommunicate of the former kinde of communion For euerie sentence of excommunication is either iust or vniust If it be vniust they may still retaine all those things which the best parts of the Church haue inward or outward as sometimes it falleth out through the prevailing of factious seditious and turbulent men that the best men are vniustly and vndeseruedly cast out of the true Church as Austine noteth who though they neuer be permitted to returne againe and reenter yet if they continue without gathering any conuenticles or broaching of heresies and still loue professe and seeke to promote what in them lyeth the trueth of God which is holden and professed in the Church of God from the assemblies whereof they are vniustly excluded and banished who dare denie them to be of the Church And therefore Bellarmine himselfe though he make shew as if he meant to proue that excommunicate persons are not of the Church as he endeuoureth to doe that Heretikes and Schismatikes are not yet hee altereth the matter cleane and saith only they are not in the Church corpore externâ communicatione as if hee would only proue that they are excluded from the meetings and assemblies of the Church and conuersing with the people of God There is therefore no doubt but that they are of the Church and that if they patiently endure these indignities iniuries and wrongs they shall be highly rewarded of Almighty GOD but saith Bellarmine they are not of the Church corporally and in outward Communion then which what could be more friuolously spoken For who maketh any doubt but that they are thrust out of the assemblies so that they may not be bodily present when the people of God doe meete together to performe the acts of diuine worship but that therefore they are not properly of the visible Church who that advisedly considereth what he saith would ever say Seeing they haue still the communion which onely is essentiall and maketh a man to be of the Church in that they haue all those things both inward outward which the best among them that remaine not eiected haue as faith hope loue and profession of the whole truth of God the character of baptisme obedient and humble submission to their lawfull superiors which things and no other are required to make a man to be of the Church For the performance of holy duties is an action of them that are already of the Church and doth not make a man to be of the Church Yea the performance of these duties is a thing of that
which the Romanists now teach nor power of nature to doe the workes of the Lawe according to the substance of the things commanded though not according to the intention of the Law-giuer to loue God aboue all and to do actions morally good or not sinfull without concurrence of speciall grace nor election and reprobation depending on the foresight of some thing in vs positiue or priuatiue nor merit of congruence and condignity nor workes of supererogation nor counsels of perfection as they now teach nor iustification by perfection of inherent qualities nor vncertainty of grace nor seaven Sacraments properly so named nor locall presence nor Transubstantiation nor orall manducation of the body of Christ nor reall sacrificing of it for the quick the dead nor remission of sinnes after this life nor tormenting of the soules of men dying in the state of saluation in a part of hell hundred of yeares by divels in corporall fire out of which prayer should deliver them nor that the Saints heare our prayers know or are acquainted with our particular wants nor the grosse Idolatry in those times committed and intollerable abuses found in the number fashion and worship of their images nor their absolution as now they define it nor treasure of the Church growing out of the superfluitie of Saints merits not rewardable in themselues to be disposed by the Pope for supplie of other mens wants to release them out of Purgatorie by way of indulgence nor the infallibility of the Popes iudgment and plenitude of his power such and so great that he may depose Princes and dispose of their crownes and dignities and that whatsoeuer he doth he may not be brought into order or deposed by authority of the whole Christian world in a generall Councell These are the errours which wee condemne and our adversaries maintaine and defend these wee are well assured were not the doctrines of that Church wherein our Fathers liued and dyed though wee do not deny but they were taught by some in that Church All these we offer to proue to be errour in matter of our Christian faith and that seeing wee could no longer haue peace with our adversaries but by approuing these impieties wee had iust cause to divide our selues from them or to speake more properly to suffer our selues to be accursed anathematized and rejected by them rather than to subscribe to so many errours and heresies contrary to the Christian and Catholike verity CHAP. 8. Of the true Church which and where it was before Luthers time THus then it appeareth which wee thinke to haue beene the true Church of God before Luther or others of that sort were heard of in the world namely that wherein all our Fathers liued and died wherein none of the errours reproued by Luther ever found generall vniforme and full approbation in which all the abuses remoued by him were long before by all good men complained off and a reformation desired And therefore though wee accknowledge Wickliffe Husse Hierome of Prague and the like who with great magnanimity opposed them selues against the Tyranny of the See of Rome and the impiety of those who withheld the trueth of God in vnrighteousnesse who being named Christians serued Antichrist as Bernard complained of some in his time to haue beene the worthy servants of God and holy martyrs and confessours suffering in the cause of Christ against Antichrist yet doe wee not thinke that the Church of God was found onely in them or that there was no other appearance of succession of Church and ministerie as Stapleton and other of that faction falsely impute vnto vs. For wee most firmely beleeue all the Churches in the world wherein our Fathers liued and died to haue beene the true Churches of God in which vndoubtedly salvation was to be found and that they which taught embraced and beleeued those damnable errors which the Romanists now defend against vs were a faction only in the Churches as were they that denied the resurrection vrged circumcision and despised the Apostles of Christ in the Churches of Corinth and Galatia If any of our men deny these Churches to haue beene the true Churches of of God their meaning is limitted in respect of the prevailing faction that was in the Church and including them and all the wicked impieties by any of them defended in which sense their negatiue is to bee vnderstood For howsoever the Church which is not to be charged with the errours and faults of all that in the midst of her did amisse held a sauing profession of the trueth of God yet there were many and they carrying the greatest shew of the Church that erred damnably and held not a sauing profession of diuine trueth wherevpon Gerson sayth that before the councell of Constance the false opinions touching the power of the Pope did fret like a Canker preuailed so far that he would hardly haue escaped the note of heresie that had said but halfe so much as was defined in the Councell of Constance by the vniuersall consent of the whole Christian world Gregorius Ariminensis sheweth that touching the power of nature to doe things morrally good and to fulfill the law without concurrence of speciall grace touching the workes of infidels predestination reprobation and punishments of originall sinne the heresies of Pelagius were taught in the Church and that not by a few or contemptible men but so manie and of soe great place that he almost feared to follow the doctrine of the Fathers and oppose himselfe against them therein The same doth Gerson report concerning sundry lewd assertions preiudiciall to the states of Kings and Princes which the Councell of Constance could not bee induced to condemne by reason of a mighty faction that preuailed in it though many great ones much urged it and though they made no stay to condemne the positions of Wicklife and Hus seeming to derogate from the state of the Clergie though many of them might carry a good and Catholike sense if they might haue found a fauourable construction Whereupon he breaketh into a bitter complaint of the partialities and vnequall courses holden in the Church and protesteth that he hath no hope of a reformation by a councell things standing as they then did The like complaint did Contarenus make in our time that if any man did debase the nature of man deiect the pride of sinnefull flesh magnifie the riches of the grace of God and vrge the necessity of it hee was iudged a Lutheran and pronounced an Hereticke though they that gloried in the name of Catholikes were themselues Pelagian heretickes if not worse then Pelagians Alas saith Occam the time is come the blessed Apostle Saint Paule 2. Timoth. 4 prophecied of When men will not suffer wholesome doctrine but hauing their eares itching after their owne lustes get them a heape of Teachers turning their eares from the trueth and being giuen vnto fables This Prophecie is altogether fullfilled in our
incest of Lot therefore hee is like the Manichees that thought the old Testament was from an euill beginning Surely there is neither good beginning nor ending to be found in the writings of this slaunderous Iesuite CHAP. 28 Of the heresies of the Donatists THe next heresie imputed vnto vs is that of the Donatists who denied those societies of Christians to be the Churches of God wherein wicked men are tolerated and the rules of discipline are not obserued and thought that the Church whose communion we must hold doth consist onely of the good and elect people of God Touching the first part of this imputation wee disclaime it as most vniust iniurious For as I haue shewed in the first part wee confesse that wicked and godles men are oftentimes tolerated in the true Church of God either through the negligence of the guides thereof or vpon due consideration of the scandals and euils that would follow if they should bee eiected and cast out by reason of their greatnesse power or number Touching the second part in what sense onely the good and elect people of God are of the Church and how and in what degree hypocrites wicked men and reprobates while they hould the profession of the trueth may be said to be of the Church I haue likewise cleared in the first part But sayth Bellarmine the Donatists thought the Church to bee only in Africa the Protestants think it to be onely in the Northerne parts of the world and therefore they are not farre from Donatisme Surely as farre as hee is from any honest and sincere meaning For none of the Protestants haue any such conceit as to thinke the Church of God so straightned as that it should be no where found but in the Northerne parts of the world where themselues do liue But the Romanists may muchmore iustly be charged with Donatisme who denie all the societies of Christians in the world wherein the Popes feete are not kissed and his words holden for infallible Oracles to pertaine to the true Church of God who acknowledge no true Churches of Christ but their owne conuenticles soe casting into hell all the Christians of Aethiopia Syria Armenia Graecia and Russia for that they stand diuided from the communion of the Church of Rome Which vnchristian censure wee are farre from thinking that all those societies of Christians notwithstanding their manifold defects and imperfections bee and continue parts and limmes of the true and Catholike Church of God Lastly he sayth the Donatists committed many outrages against true Catholike Bishops spoyled the Churches of God prophaned the holy things they found in them But what can hee conclude from hence against vs With which of these impieties can he charge vs Our blood hath bin spilt by them like water in the streets our bodies tormented and consumed with fire and sword and all this by the procurement of the Antichristian Bishops sworne enemies of Christ and vassals of Antichrist Yet haue wee hurt none of them but in patience possessed our soules knowing that our judgement is with God and that when he maketh inquirie for blood hee will finde out all their barbarous actes of cruelty which they haue done against vs. Wee haue prophaned nothing that is holy wee haue remooued and abolished nothing but the monuments of grosse idolatry and therefore we are not to be compared to the Donatists If in any place in popular tumults or confusions of warre whereof euer the Romanists haue beene the causes there haue beene any thing done in furie that was not fit we cannot excuse it nor could not remedie it CHAP. 29. Of the heresies of Arrius and Aērius THe tenth imputation is of Arrianisme which heresie wee accurse to the pit of hell with all the vile calumniations of damned slaunderers that charge vs with it Neither did euer any of our men incline vnto it or giue any occasion of so execrable an heresie Touching traditions which Bella◅mine sayth the Arrians did refuse they were not blamed for denying vnwritten verities For I hope the Romanists will not disaduantage the Catholike cause so much as to confesse that the Godhead of Christ which was the thing the Arrians denyed cannot be proued by Scripture that the Fathers were forced to flie to vnwritten traditions for proofe of it But they were blamed for that when the thing had proofe enough by Scripture they refused the word Consubstantiall most happily deuised to expresse the trueth against the turnings and sleights of hereticks onely because they found it not in Scripture as if no wordes nor formes of speach might be allowed but those only that are there expressely found The eleuenth is the heresie of Aērius Aērius condemned the custome of the Church in naming the dead at the Altar and offering the sacrifice of the Eucharist that is of thanksgiuing for them He disliked set fasts and would not admit any difference betweene a Bishop and a Presbyter For this his rash and inconsiderate boldnesse and presumption in condemning the vniuersall Church of Christ he was iustly condemned For the practise of the Church at that time was not euill in any of these things neither doe we concurre with Aerius in the reprehension of that Primitiue and auncient Church For howsoeuer we dislike the Popish maner of praying for the dead which is to deliuer them out of their fained Purgatory yet doe we not reprehend the Primitiue Church nor the Pastors and guides of it for naming them in their publike prayers thereby to nourish their hope of the resurrection and to expresse their longing desires of the consummation of their owne their happinesse that are gone before them in the faith of Christ. If any of the Fathers did doubtfully extend the prayers then vsed further than they were originally or generally intended or meant it was not to be imputed to the whole Church Of our allowance of set fastes I haue spoken before and of the difference betweene a Bishop and a Presbyter I shall haue a fit occasion to speake in examining the note of succession and the exceptions of the Romanists against vs touching the same If it be sayd that sundry of our Diuines seeme to acquite Aerius in these poynts they are to bee conceived as vnderstanding his reprehension to haue touched the errors and superstitions which even then perhaps began in some places and among some men to grow into practises doctrines of the Church which were not euill nor erroneous For otherwise his reprehension if it be vnderstood to extend to the generall practise and judgement of the Church is not nor may not be justified CHAP. 30. Of the heresies of Iovinian THe twelfth heresie imputed to vs is the heresie of Iovinian concerning whom we must obserue that Augustine ascribeth vnto him two opinions which Hierome mentioneth not who yet was not likely to spare him if he might truely haue beene charged with them The first that Mary ceased to be a virgine when
that vpon his bare word wee should beleeue so shamelesse a lye For Augustine which was before this Persian in his booke De moribus Ecclesiae libro primo capite tricesimo quarto hath the same heresie as it pleaseth these heretikes to call it Nolite inquit consectari turbas imperitorum qui in ipsà verâ religione superstitiosi sunt Novi multos esse sepulchrorum picturarum adoratores quos mores Ecclesia condemnat quotidiè corrigere studet And Gregory after the time of this supposed Persian doth condemne the adoration of Images And the Councell of Frankford likewise after his time as appeareth by Hincmarus and others Besides if Nicephorus follow the judgement of the Fathers of the second Nicene Councell hee meaneth nothing else by that adoration of Images which hee approoueth but the embracing kissing and reverent vsing of them like to the honour wee doe the Bookes of holy Scripture not that Religious worshippe which consisteth in spirit and trueth which the Papists yeelde to their Idoles And so there is as great difference of judgement betweene him and Bellarmine as betweene him and vs. That which Bellarmine addeth against Caluine and others touching the time that Images were first brought into the Church if this place did require the examination of it wee should finde him as notable a trifler therein as in all the rest CHAP. 37 Of the errour of the Lampetians touching vowes THe errour of the Lampetians was as Alphonsus à Castro supposeth that it is not lawfull for men to vowe and by vowing to lay a necessity vpon themselues of doing those things which freely and without any such tye might much better bee performed If they disliked simply all vowing wee doe not approue their opinion as may appeare by that which Kemnisius Zanchius and others haue written to this purpose and therefore wee are vniustly said to fauour their errour That which Bellarmine addeth for the strengthening of this his vniust imputation is a meere calumniation For Luther doth not say that a man should vow to do a thing as long as hee shall bee pleased and then to be free againe when hee shall dislike that which before hee resolued on but that all vowes should be made with limitation to bee so farre performed as humane frailty will permitte that it is better after a vow made to breake it to discend to the doing of that which is lawfull good though not carrying so great show of perfection as that which by vowe was promised than under the pretence of keeping it to liue in all dissolute wickednesse as the manner of the Popish votaries is whereupon the Fathers are cleare that marriage after a vow made of single life is lawfull and that it is better to marry than continuing single to liue lewdly and wantonly CHAP. 38. Of the heresie of certaine touching the verity of the body and blood of Christ communicated to vs in the Sacrament THe last heresie might well haue beene omitted For those heretikes condemned by Theodoret Ignatius and others denied the verity of Christs humane nature and thereupon condemned the Sacrament of his body and blood So that it was not the impugning of Popish Transubstantiation as Bellarmine idlely fancieth that was reprooued in them but the denying of the trueth of that body and blood which all true Christians doe know to bee mystically communicated to them in the Sacrament to their vnspeakeable comfort How then can we be charged with the heresie of these men seeing wee neither deny the verity of Christs humane nature nor make the Sacrament to be a naked figure or similitude only but acknowledge that it consisteth of two things the one earthly and the other heauenly and that the body of Christ is truely present in the Sacrament and communicated to vs though neither Capernaitically to be torne with the teeth nor popishly to bee swallowed and carried downe into the stomacke and belly Thus then wee see how fondly this Cardinall heretike hath indeuoured to prooue vs heretikes and to hold the old condemned heresies of those cursed Arch-heretikes whose frensies wee condemne much more than he and his fellowes doe So that he is so farre from demonstrating either our consent with condemned heretikes that were of old or their consent with the auncient Fathers and consequently the antiquity of their profession that contrarily all that are not blinded with partiality may easily see that the whole course of Popish doctrine is nothing but a confused mixture of errours and all that they write against vs nothing but meere calumniation slander CHAP. 39. Of Succession and the exceptions of the aduersaries against vs in respect of the supposed want of it THus then hauing taken a view of whatsoeuer they can or do alleage for proofe of the antiquity of their doctrine which is the first note of the Church assigned by them let vs come vnto the second which is Succession and see if they haue any better successe in it than in the former In what sense Succession may bee granted to bee a note of the true Church I haue shewed already let vs therefore see how and what our aduersaries conclude from thence against vs or for themselues By this note say they it is easie to prooue that the reformed Churches are not the true Churches of God Ecclesia non est quae non habet sacerdotem saith Hierome against the Luciferians It can be no Church that hath no Ministery And Cyprian to the same purpose pronounceth that the Church is nothing els but Plebs episcopo adunata Thus therefore from these authorities they reason Where there is no ministery there is no Church But amongst the Protestants there is no Ministerie therefore no Church The Minor proposition or assumption of this argument wee deny which they endeuour to prooue in this sorte There is no lawfull calling to the worke of the Ministery amongst the Protestants therefore no Ministery The defects they suppose to bee in the calling of our Bishops and Ministers are two fold first for that they that ordained them in the beginning of this alteration of things in the state of the Church had no power so to doe Secondly for that no man may be ordained but into a voide place either wherein there neuer was any Pastour or Bishop before as in Churches in their first foundation or wherein there hauing beene their place is now voide by the death depriuation or voluntary relinquishment of them that possest it before that so they who are newly elected and ordained may succeede into the void roomes of such as went before them and not intrude vpon their charge wherevnto they are still iustly intituled Our Bishops and Pastours were ordayned and placed in the beginning of the reformation of religion where there were Bishops already in actuall possession These being the defects which they suppose to be in the calling of our Bishops Ministers let
to permit leaue free the vse of the cup to the lay people being moved so to doe by Charles the Archduke his sonne the Duke of Bavaria his son in law and the due consideration of the necessity of his subiects There are extant certaine articles concerning reformation of manners Church discipline proposed in the councell of Trent by the embassadours of Charles the ninth the French King amongst which the 18 article is that the auncient decree of Leo and Gelasius touching the communion vnder both kindes might be reviued brought to be in vse againe But when the French perceiued that there were scarce any footesteps of the libertie of auncient councells to be discerned in the councell of Trent that all things were swayed and disposed by the absolute commaund of Pius the fourth then Pope the embassadours were commaunded to make a protestation in the name of the King their master the words of which protestation are these Wee refuse to bee subject to the commaund disposition of Pius the fourth Wee reiect wee refuse contemne all the judgments censures decrees of the same Pius And although most holy Fathers your religion life and learning was ever and euer shall bee of great esteeme with vs yet seeing indeed you doe nothing but all things are done at Rome rather then at Trent and the things that are here published are rather the deerees of Pius the fourth then of the councell of Trent wee denounce protest here before you all that whatsoeuer things are decreed published in this assembly by the meere will pleasure of Pius neither the most Christian King will euer approue nor the French Church euer acknowledge to be the decrees of a generall councell Besides this the King our master commaundeth all his Arch-Bishops Bishops and Abbots to leaue this assembly and presently to depart hence then to returne againe when there shall be hope of better more orderly proceedings Wherefore from this point of Romish Religion touching the communion in one kinde which findeth no helpe in the publique liturgie vsed in the dayes of our Fathers by which it is evident that the people were wont to cōmunicate in both kindes when that forme of divine seruice was first composed nor no liking or approbation of the best and worthiest guides of Gods Church then liuing let vs come to the next which is the propitiatory sacrifice for the quicke and the dead This indeede is a grand point of Romish Religion and if M Brerelie can prooue that it is contained in the publique Liturgie that was vsed in the Church at and immediatly before Luthers appearing and consequently that all that vsed that Liturgie had such an opinion of a sacrifice hee hath said much to proue that the Church vnder the Papacie was no Protestant Church but this neither hee nor all the most learned Papists in the world will euer be able to proue First therefore I will make it appeare that the Canon of the Masse importeth no such sacrifice And secondly I will shew at large that neither before nor after Luthers appearing the Church beleeued or knew any such new reall sacrificing of Christ as is now imagined Touching the canon of the Masse it is true that therein there is often mention of sacrifice and oblation but Luther professeth that the words may be vnderstood in such a sense as is not to be disliked and hee saith hee could so expound it and that somewhere hee hath so expounded it but seeing it is obseure and may beare diuers senses and a better and more cleare forme of divine celebration may be brought in he will not honour it so much as to giue it that sense which it may well carry and in which the first composers of it and others after did vse it but that wherein they of Rome will now needes haue it to be vnderstood That the forme of words vsed in the canon are obscure in sundry parts of it and hard to bee vnderstood euen by the learned Cassander confesseth and therefore thinketh it fit it were explained illustrated by some briefe scholies put in the margent or inserted into the text by way of parenthesis The obscuritie that is in it groweth as he rightly obserueth partly out of the disuse discontinuing of certaine old obseruations to which the words of the canon composed long since haue a reference and partly from the vsing of the word sacrifice in diuers and different senses though all connexed the sudden passing from the vsing of it in one sense to the vsing of it in another It is not vnknowne to them that are learned that in the Primitiue Church the people were wont to offer bread wine and that out of that which they offered a part was consecrated to become vnto them the Sacrament of the Lords body bloud other parts converted to other good holy vses Respectiuely to this ancient custome are those prayers conceiued that are named secretae the first part of the canon wherein wee desire that God will accept those gifts presents offerings and sacrifices which we bring vnto him and that hee will make them to become vnto vs the body bloud of his Son Christ which onely are that sacrifice that procureth the remission of our sins and our reconciliation and acceptation with God So that to take away this obscurity that the words may haue a true sense the ancient custome must bee brought backe againe or at least it must be conceiued that the elements of bread wine that are set vpon the mysticall table are to be consecrated are brought thither and offered in the name of the people and that as being their presents they are symboles of that inward sacrifice whereby they dedicate and giue themselues and all that they haue vnto God Touching the second cause of the obscurity of the wordes of the Canon which is the vsing of the word sacrifice and ◅ffering in so manifold and different senses and the sudden passing from the one of them to the other wee must obserue that by the name of sacrifice gift or present first the oblation of the people is meant that consisteth in bread and wine brought and set vpon the Lords table In which againe 2 things are to be considered the outward action and that which is signified thereby to wit the peoples dedicating of themselues and all that they haue to God by faith and deuotion offering to him the sacrifice of praise In this sense is the word sacrifice vsed in the former part of the canon as I haue already shewed In respect of this is that prayer powred out to God that he will be mindfull of his seruants that doe offer vnto him this sacrifice of praise that is these outward things in acknowledgement that all is of him that they had perished if he had not sent his sonne to redeeme them that vnlesse they eate the flesh and drink the blood
appearing that now it is as M Brerely would haue vs to beleeue Wherefore to conclude this point it appeareth by that which hath beene said that neither the canon of the Masse rightly vnderstood includeth in it any such points of Romish Religion as some imagine but in sundry yea in all the capitall differences betweene vs and them of the Romane faction witnesseth for vs and against them that the Prelates and guides of the Church formerly made no such construction of it as now is made That it may haue a good sense our men confesse I could saith Luther make such a construction of the canon of the Masse as might stand with the rule of faith and I haue somwhere so done but seeing it is obscure and the rule of the Lawyers is that hee that will speake obscurely shall haue his words construed against him and not for him I will not saith hee take so much paines as to seeke out and declare the best meaning that may be conceiued of it but a better forme being found out will leaue this and embrace that That it is obscure I shewed out of Cassander and that if it be to be retained it must haue some scholies or explications either added in the margent or inserted into the text that it may be vnderstood and rightly vsed which thing if it be done it will seeme a new one and if it haue such explications as hee would haue it will differ little or nothing from our liturgie There is extant a ceraine forme of reformation exhibited by Charles the fift to the ecclesiasticall states of the Empire and accepted and receiued by them wherein they professe that the canon of the masse which the Church of God hath vsed and retained soe many ages containeth nothing in it that is not consonant to the courses of antiquity so that it is not to be cōdemned or changed by any priuate authority so insinuating that by publike it may but touching the other parts of the masse though for the most part they bee nothing but praises of God prayers of the Church and holy lessons and readings and so farre forth not to be despised yet if there be any new collects sequences or prefaces either vnlearned or depending vpon Apocryphall histories or not soe fitting to the sacrifice of the masse which later ages haue brought in they prescribe that they be remoued and that things may bee brought backe to their auncient purity Besides this wee haue extant certaine articles concerning the reformation of the Church proposed by the embassadors of Ferdinand the Emperour in the councell of Trent amongst which these are found That the breuiaries and missalls should bee purged that all those things which are not taken out of diuine scripture should be remoued that the prolixity of Psalmes and prayers should be contracted good choise beeing made that a new agend or forme of diuine seruice should bee composed and that then all that would not vse it should bee seuerely punished So that M Brerelies maine objection which he thought vnanswerable falleth to the ground For the Canon of the Masse rightly vnderstood is found to containe nothing in it contrary to the rule of faith the profession of the protestant Churches the abuses of priuate Masses halfe cōmunions are found to haue bin beside against the words meaning of them that composed the canon and not without the dislike of many good men before and since Luthers time and the construction that they now make of the word sacrifice so often vsed in it appeareth to be a meere perverting of the meaning of the Canon to a sinister sense neuer intended by the authors of it nor euer allowed by the best men in the Church This Canon notwithstanding is found to haue some passages that in the judgement of men right learned can not well haue any true meaning vnlesse the old custome of offering bread and wine on the Lords Table out of which the Sacrament may be consecrated be restored so that those parts that custome being discontinued may well be omitted Some other parts are obscure need explicatiō which being added ot inserted it will differ litle or nothing from those formes of consecratiō of those holy mysteries that now are in use in the reformed Churches of England some other places therfore brought in because in later ages many things were added to the canon anciently in vse which the best grauest in the Church thought fit to be taken away a new forme of diuine seruice to be composed So that the Church that formerly was hauing no different judgment touching matters dogmaticall no liking of those abuses in practise which som had brought in wishing things to be brought to such a course as Protestants now haue brought them it may well be said to haue bin a Protestant Church in such sort as I haue formerly shewed Only two things may be objected against that which hath been said the one touching prayer for the dead the other touching the commemoration of the Saints prayer that God through their intercession for their merite will giue vnto vs such things as we desire both which seeme to make much against the Religion of Protestants to be points of Romane Religion contained in the very canon of the Masse which the Church vsed in the dayes of our Fathers so that that Church wherein they liued and died could bee no Protestant Church But the answer hereunto is easie For touching the first of these two which is prayer for the dead it is well knowne that Protestants doe not simply condemne all prayer in this kinde For they pray for the resurrection publique acquitall in the day of judgment the perfect consummation blisse of them that rest in the Lord and the perfecting of whatsoeuer is yet wanting vnto them The Apologie of the confession of Augusta saith expressely in the name of all those worthy Princes People States that subscribed the Augustane confession that they do not condemne nor forbid prayer for the dead And Chemnicius saith it is a bestiall apathie for men not to be affected with the death of their friends presently so soone as euer they are gone to put all remembrance of them out of their mindes and not to wish good vnto them nor to pray that it may be well with them which desires and prayers yet must be moderated according to the word of God That it is lawfull to pray for the acquitall publick remission of sins in the day of judgement and the performing perfecting of whatsoeuer is yet behind there is no question that I know made by any and I am well assured that in so doing we exceeding christianly expresse our loue towards the departed and giue testimony of our perswasion that the soules of them that die doe liue and that their bodies also shall bee raysed vp at the last day which thing as Cassander saith truely all the
saith Cassander 3 sorts of traditions for some concerne the doctrine of faith others rites and ceremonies and a third sort things done They that concerne rites and ceremonies are variable according to the different circumstances of times they that are historicall are for the most part vncertaine and are not necessarie to saluation they that are dogmaticall are certaine and perpetuall but by dogmaticall traditions wee vnderstand not any diuine verity not written or any point of doctrine not contained in the Scripture but such points of doctrine as though they are not found in precise termes in holy scripture yet are deduced from the same rightly vnderstood and interpreted as the Apostles did vnderstand and expound them to their hearers and they to such as came after them So that this tradition is nothing else but the explication and interpretation of the Scripture and therefore it may be sayd not vnfitly Scripturam esse implicatam quandam obsignatam traditionem traditionem vero esse Scripturam explicatam resignatam that the Scripture is a kind of tradition inuolued and sealed vp and that tradition is Scripture vnfolded explained and opened This is that which Vincentius Lyrinensis long since deliuered to wit that the Scripture is sufficient and containeth all things necessary to be known of a Christian man for the attaining of saluation but that for the auoiding of the manifold turnings of heretickes peruerting the same to their owne perdition wee must carefully looke to the tradition of the Church deliuering vnto vs the true sense and meaning of it By this which hath beene sayd it appeareth that the Church wherein our Fathers liued and died was in this poynt touching the sufficiencie of the Scripture an orthodoxe and true Protestant Church as it was in the former touching the canon of the Scripture CHAP. 3. Of the originall text of Scripture of the certainety and trueth of the originalls and of the authoritie of the vulgar translation I haue discoursed at large in my fourth booke and the 27. 28. chapters of the same and made it appeare that the principall and best learned divines at since Luthers time taught no otherwise touching these poynts then wee now doe so that I need not insist vpon the proofe hereof CHAP. 4. Of the translating of the Scripture into vulgar languages and of the necessity of hauing the publique liturgie and prayers of the Church in a tongue vnderstood TOuching the translating of the Scriptures it is evident that both aunciently and of late time they haue beene translated into the severall languages of almost all the countries and kingdomes of the whole world where euer Christianity prevailed There is extant a translation of the old new testament in the Armenian tongue which the Armenians now vse put forth as they suppose by Chrysostome of this George the patriarch of Alexandria maketh mention in the life of Chrysostome reporting that when by the Emperours decree hee was sent in banishment into Armenia and stayed at Cucusum hee brought the inhabitants of that region to the faith of Christ and caused the Psalmes of David together with the holy gospells and other histories of the old Testament to bee translated into the Armenian tongue that so the people of that countrey might the sooner and more easily attaine the knowledge of holy Scripture And Theodoret testifieth that the holy Scriptures were translated into the Armenian tongue before his time though hee name not the authour The Slavonians affirme that they haue the Scriptures in their vulgar tongue turned by Saint Hierome and Hierome himselfe in his epistle to Sophronius seemeth to some learned men to intimate so much But yet there is another translation also of the Scriptures into the Slavonian tongue later then that of Hieromes as Scaliger hath obserued written in the Servian character vsed in Rascia Bosina Bulgaria Moldavia Russia Moscovia and other nations of the Slavonian language that celebrate their liturgies after the Greeke ceremonie of which later Methodius the companion of Cyrill is reported to haue beene the authour The former imputed to Hierome is written in the Dalmatian character and is vsed amongst the Liburnians and Dalmatians Istrians Moravians Silesians Bohemians Polonians c. Vulphilas the Goth of whom Socrates maketh mention in his ecclesiasticall historie who liued in the yeare 370 first found out the Gothicke alphabet and first of all deliuered to the Gothes all the diuine Scriptures translated by him out of Greeke into the Gothicke tongue and catholiquely expounded them striving much against the Arrians yet in the end as Theodoret reporteth he declined to the part of Valens the Arrian Emperour moued so to doe by the threates and promises of Eudoxus the Arrian Neither were the Scriptures translated onely into these languages but into the languages of many other nations as Chrysostome and Hierome affirme and in particular into the Aegyptian Persian Indian Scythian and Sarmatian tongues and into the languages of all other nations that receiued the Christian faith as Theodoret telleth vs. As likewise in the times following we read of the like translations of the Scripture into sundry languages of such Nations as were afterwards converted to the Faith or whose languages after altered So Iohn Archbishop of Sivill about the yeare 717 translated it into the Arabique which then was the vulgar speech of that part of Spaine And Beda about the same time some part of it into the Saxon or English Methodius about the yeare 860 into the Slavonique Iacobus de Voragine Archbishop of Genua about the yeare 1290 translated the whole diuine Scripture into the Italian tongue and so did Bruciolus in our age About 200 yeares since the whole Bible was translated into French in the time of Charles the 5th and as the Rhemists tell vs in their preface before the New Testament by them translated into English since Luthers time diuerse learned Catholiques haue published the Bible in the seuerall Languages of almost all the principall provinces of the Latine Church so that the Papists themselues doe not simply condemne the translating of the Scripture into the vulgar tongues But there are some amongst them as Stapleton telleth vs who out of zeale rather then knowledge doe thinke the Lay people should bee wholly restrained from reading the Scriptures in vulgar tongues others more moderate and discreete then these as they would bee thought are of opinion that all are not to bee restrained nor all permitted to reade them but some certaine onely And therefore the Rhemists tell vs that order was taken by the Deputies of the Councell of Trent in this behalfe and confirmed by supreame authority that the holy Scriptures though truely and Catholiquely translated into vulgar tongues yet may not be indifferently readde of all men nor of any other then such as haue expresse licence thereunto by their lawfull ordinaries with good
not of sense and that they are subiect to no dolour or greife inward or outward this he saith is the opinion of Thomas Aquinas and some other Schoolemen The third opinion is that they are in a sorte subiect to the punishment of sense that is to greife and dolour which floweth out of the consideration of their great and inestimable losse of eternall happines but because they cannot haue remorse not hauing lost that eternall good by their owne negligence and contempt therefore they are not subiectto that dolour that is properly named the worme that neuer dieth whereof wee reade in the ninth of Marke Their worme dieth not and their fire neuer goeth out There is a fourth opinion which is that of Augustine who sayth Wee must firmely beleeue and no way doubt that not onely men that haue had the vse of reason but infants also dying in the state of originall sinne shall bee punished with the punishment of eternall fire because though they had no sinne of their owne proper action yet they haue drawne to themselues the condemnation of originall sinne by their carnall conception To this opinion Gregorius Ariminensis inclined fearing exceedingly to depart from the doctrine of the Fathers and yet dareth not resolue any thing seeing the moderne doctours went another way And to the same opinion Driedo inclineth likewise Thus then wee see that Pelagianisme was taught in the midst of the Church wherein our Fathers liued and that not by a few but many For was not this the doctrine of many in the Church that there are foure mansions in the other world of men sequestred from God and excluded out of his presence The first ofthem that sustaine the punishment as well of sensible smart as of losse and that for euer which is the condition of them that are condemned to the lowest hell The second of those that are subiect to both these punishments not eternally but for a time onely as are they that are in purgatory The third of them that were subiect onely to the punishment of losse and that but for a time named by them Limbus patrum The fourth of such as are subiect onely to the punishment of losse but yet eternally and this named by them Limbus puerorum nay were there not that placed these in an earthly paradise and was not this Pelagianisme Surely August telleth vs that the Pelagians excluded such as were not made pertakers of Gods grace out of the kingdome of heaven and from the life of God which is the vision of God and yet supposed that they should be for euer in a kind of naturall felicity so that they imagined a third state and place betweene the kingdome of heauen and hell where they are that endure not onely the punishment of losse but of sensible smart also where they are whose worme neuer dieth and whose fire neuer goeth out and this is the opinion of Papists against which Saint Austine mightily opposeth himselfe The vnregenerate is excluded out of the kingdome of heauen where Christ remaineth that is the fountaine of the liuing Giue mee besides this another place where there may bee a perpetuall rest of life the first place the faith of Catholiques by diuine authoritie beleeueth to bee the kingdome of heauen the second Hell where euery apostata and such as are aliens from the faith of Christ shall suffer everlasting punishment but that there is any third place we are altogether ignorant neither shall wee finde in the holy Scripture that there is any such place There is the right hand of him that sitteth to iudge and the left the kingdome and hell life and death the righteous and the wicked On the right hand of the Iudge are the iust and the workers of iniquity on the left There is life to the ioy of glory and death to weeping and gnashing of teeth The just are in the Kingdome of the Father with Christ the vnrighteous in eternall fire prepared for the divell and his Angels By which words of Augustine it is euident that there is no such place to bee admitted as the Papistes imagine their Limbus puerorum to bee neither did the Church wherein our Fathers liued and died beleeue any such thing though many embraced this fancie And therefore Gregorius Ariminensis hauing proued out of Augustine and Gregory that infants that die in the state of originall sinne not remitted shall not onely suffer the punishment of losse but of sense also concludeth in this sort Because I haue not seene this question expressely determined either way by the Church and it seemeth to me a thing to be trembled at to deny the authorities of the Saints and on the contrary side it is not safe to goe against the common opinion and the consent of our great Masters therefore without peremptorie pronouncing for the one side or the other I leaue it free to the Reader to judge of this difference as it seemeth good vnto him CHAP. 8. Of the remission of originall sinne and of concupiscence remaining in the regenerate IN the remission of all sinne there are two things implyed the taking away of the staine or sinfulnesse and the remouing of the punishment that for such sinfulnesse justice would bring vpon the sinner In actuall sinne there are three things considerable First an act or omission of act Secondly an habituall aversion from God and conversion to the creature remaining after the act is past till we repent of such act or omission of act and this is the staine of sinne remaining denominating the doers sinners and making them worthie of punishment And thirdly a designing to punishment after the act is past In remission therefore of actuall sinne there must bee first a ceasing from the act or omission secondly a turning to God and from the creature and thirdly for Christs sake who suffered what we deserued a taking away of the punishment that sin past made vs subject to In originall sinne there are onely two things considerable the staine or sinfulnesse and the designing of them that haue it to punishment The staine of originall sinne consisteth of two parts the one privatiue which is the want of those divine graces that should cause the knowledge loue and feare of God the other positiue and that is an habituall inclination to loue our selues more then God and inordinately to desire whatsoeuer may be pleasing to vs though forbidden and disliked by God and is named concupiscence This sin first defileth the nature and then the person in that it so misinclineth nature as that it hath the person at commaund to be swayed whether it will The remission of this sinne implieth a donation of those graces that maycause the knowledge loue and feare of God a turning of vs from the loue of our selues to the loue of God and forChrists sake a remouing of the punishment we were justly subiect to in that we had such want and inordinate inclination The donation of grace maketh
erre yet haue men other meanes to finde out the truth as namely the Scriptures and resolutions of former times which whosoeuer findeth is bound to beleeue though the rest of the Church not finding them may in the mercies of God be saued That which is alleaged out of the Fathers is to no purpose for they speake of the Church as it comprehendeth the faithfull that are and haue been which we confesse cannot erre in matters of faith CHAP. 5. Of the promises made vnto the Church how it is secured from errour and of the different degrees of the obedience we owe vnto it THe right vnderstanding of the promisses made and due consideration of the parties to whom they are made will leade vs to the right vnderstanding of the Churches infallibility and assurance of truth For seeing though they be made to all the faithfull generally and to the particular Churches as well as to the whole yet they are vnderstood to bee performed proportionably according to the measure and degree of each part but to the whole Church wholly and entirely the Church being particular not onely in respect of place but also of time the whole is not necessary to be performed to the Church of one time vnlesse wee speake of the Primitiue wherein the whole was originally but to the Church that comprehendeth the whole number of beleeuers that are and haue beene in which sense that promise is to bee vnderstood that the spirit shall leade the Church into all trueth Hither wee may refer those different degrees of obedience which wee must yeeld to them that commaund and teach vs in the Church of God excellently described and set downe by Waldensis We must sayth he reuerence and respect the authority of all Catholike Doctours whose doctrine and writings the Church alloweth wee must more regard the authority of Catholicke Bishops more then these the authority of the Apostolicke Churches amongst them more specially the Church of Rome of a generall Councell more thē all these yet we must not listen so to the determinations of these nor so certainly assent vnto thē as to the things cōtained in the Scripture or beleeued by the whole vniuersall Church that hath bin euer since the Apostles time but as to the instructiōs of our Elders fatherly admonitiōs We must sayth he obey without scrupulous questioning with all modesty of minde and reuerence of body with all good allowance acceptation and repose in the words of them that teach us vnlesse they teach us any thing which the authority of the higher and superiour controlleth yet so as then the humble and obedient children of the Church must not insolently insult vpon them from whom they are forced to dissent but must dissent with a reuerent childe-like and respectfull shamefastnesse Thus hee prooueth out of Augustine Tom 7. lib. 2. De baptismo contra Donatistas Who knoweth not sayth S. Augustine that the sacred and Canonicall Scriptures of the old and new Testaments are contained within their set certaine boundes and that they are so in such sort set in a higher degree of authority then any of the writings of the succeding Bishops that of them we may not doubt nor make any question whether it be true or right that is there contained but the writings of the Bishops of the Church which either haue beene published since the perfecting of the Canon of Scripture or which shall be hereafter may be censured and reproued by the wiser judgment of any that are skilfull in the same things whereof they write or by the grauer authority of other Bishops and the wisdome of them that are learned themselues and able to teach others and by the determinations of Councels if happily they haue gone aside from the truth And the Councels themselues which are holden in seuerall Countries and Prouinces must giue place to the authority of generall councels gathered assembled out of the whole Christian World of plenary Councels oftentimes the former are to be corrected by the later when by experience more perfect knowledge of things that which was shut is opened and that knowne which was hidden before Euery of these must be content to yeeld one to another without the puffe of sacrilegious pride without swelling arrogancie without euious contending with all holy humility with all Catholike peaceable disposition and Christian charity Thus then we thinke that particular men and Churches may erre damnably because notwithstanding others may worship God aright but that the whole Church at one time cannot so erre for that then the Church should cease vtterly for a time and so not be Catholicke being not at all times and Christ should somtimes be without a Church yet that errours not preiudicing the saluation of them that erre may be found in the Church that is at one time in the world we make no doubt only the whole symbolicall and catholike Church which is and was beeing wholly free from errour Thus touching the possession of the rich treasures of heauenly truth I haue sufficiently cleared our iudgment which is the same that all wise and learned men haue euer beene of to wit that the Church which comprehendeth the whole number of belieuers that are and haue beene since Christ appeared in the flesh so including the Apostles can neither erre in nor be ignorant of any thing that was to be reuealed by Christ the eternall Word and Angell of the great Couenant of God Secondly that the Church that comprehendeth all the faithfull that are and haue beene since the Apostles may be ignorant of some things which in processe of time shall be known but cannot erre in any thing Thirdly that all the Pastours of this Church cannot erre Fourthly that all the Pastors that haue committed the treasure of their wisdome learning to writing cannot erre in any thing wherein they consent in their writings because it is not possible that they should all haue writen of any thing but such as touch the very life of the Christian faith generally receiued in all their times Fiftly that it is not possible that all that doe speake of a thing consenting together should erre if it be a matter of substance and if in euery age some haue written of it though many that haue written be silent and say nothing of it Sixtly that the most famous renowned in all ages consenting in any thing that toucheth the substance of the Christian faith no man dissenting from them without note of nouelty singularity may not without intolerable rashnesse be charged with errour Seuenthly that though the writings of the auncient may be much corrupted so that the cōsent of antiquity cānot alwaies be easily known yet there will be euer some meanes to find it out to discry the errours and frauds of the corruptors so I vnderstād that of Vincentius Lirinensis that the iudgmēt of antiquity is to be sought out at the very first rising of heresies not
that are already wise and exercised in things that are diuine and therfore they must begin with authority Hugo de Sancto Victore maketh three sorts of beleeuers for there are sayth he qui solâ pietate credere eligunt qui vtrùm credendum sit vel non credendum ratione non comprehendunt alii ratione approbant quod fide credunt alii puritate cordis mundâ conscientiâ interius iam gustare incipiunt quod fide crediderunt The first are moued to beleeue out of piety finding the Maiesty of God to present it selfe vnto them in the word of truth and happy communion of the people professing the same challenging their attention and readinesse to bee taught by him In the second the light of diuine reason causeth approbation of that they belieue In the third sort the purity of diuine vnderstanding apprehendeth most certainely the things belieued and causeth a foretasting of those things that hereafter more fully shall be enjoied They that are thus established in the faith do now already begin to foretast that which they long in heaueÌ„ distinctly to know and enjoy and begin already to haue God present with them by force of diuine contemplation so that if all the world should be turned into miracles they could not remoue them from the certainety of their perswasion Hence it is that Pycus sayth in his Conclusions that as faith which is but a bare credulity is in degree of perfection lesse then Science soe true faith is greater and more certaine then any science gotten by demonstration Thus then we may easily discerue what is the formall reason of our faith or inducing vs to beleeue In things that are therefore belieued because knowne as in the principles conclusions of naturall knowledge the euidence of things appearing to vs is the formall reason of our beleefe and perswasion In things first belieued and afterwards known the euidence of the things appearing vnto vs being inlightned by the light of grace In things only belieued and not knowne the authority of God himselfe whom wee do most certainly discerne to speake in the worde of Faith which is preached vnto vs. Si puros oculos integros sensus illuc afferamus sayth Caluin statim occurret Dei majestas quae subactâ reclamandi audaciâ nos sibi parere cogat If we bring pure eyes and perfect senses the Majesty of God presently presenteth it selfe vnto us in the diuine Scripture and beating down al thoughts of contradicting or doubting of things so heauenly forceth vs to obey For Non dubium vim numinis illic vigere spirare sentimus quâ ad parendum scientes quidem ac volentes viuidiùs tamen efficaciùs quà m pro humana aut voluntate aut scientia trahimur ac accendimur We find a greater light of vnderstanding shining vnto vs in this doctrine of faith then is found within the compasse of nature a satisfaction touching many things in which humane reason could not satisfie vs in a joy exultation of the heart such and so great as groweth not out of nature This maketh vs assure our selues the doctrine which thus affecteth vs is reuealed from God that they are the only people of God and haue the meanes of happinesse where this treasure of heauenly wisdome is found that those bookes are the richest jewell that the world possesseth and ought to be the Canon of our faith which this people deliuereth unto vs as receiued from them to whom these things were first of all made knowne and reuealed So then that God speaketh in the Scripture and is the Author of it we know more certainely than any thing that is knowne by naturall light of reason and thereupon wee beleeue all things therein contained though many of them are such as can neuer be knowne of vs as those that are historicall and other such as are not knowne at first though after we haue belieued we begin to vnderstand and know them Herevnto agree the best learned and most deuout and religious amongst the Schoole-men For the greater part of them were giuen to curious disputes but voyd of all deuotion as Gerson complaineth Alexander of Hales sayth there is a certainty of speculation and a certainetie of experience a certainty in respect of the vnderstanding and a certainetie in respect of the affection a certainty in respect of the spirituall man and a certainety in respect of the naturall man and pronounceth that the things apprehended by vs in diuine knowledge are more certainely discerned by such as are spirituall in the certainty of experience in the certainety which is in respect of affection and by way of spirituall taste and feeling than anie thing is discerned in the light of naturall vnderstanding Quà m dulcia faucibus meis eloquia tua sayth the Prophet Dauid How sweete are thy wordes O Lord vnto my mouth They are sweeter than the hony and the hony combe And again I haue knowne long since that thou hast established them for euer Thus then it is true that the authority of Gods Church prepareth vs vnto the faith and serueth as an introduction to bring vs to the discerning and perfect apprehension of diuine things but is not the ground of our faith and reason of beleeuing And that doubtlesse is the meaning of those wordes of Augustine that hee would not beleeue the Gospell if the authority of the Church did not moue him thereunto CHAP. 9. Of the meaning of those wordes of Augustine that he would not beleeue thâ—… Gospell if the authority of the Church did not moue him THe Diuines giue two explications of these wordes of Augustine For Occam and some others say the Church whereof hee speaketh is not the multitude of beleeuers that now are in the World but the whole number of them that are and haue beene since Christ appeared in the flesh so including the Apostles in which sense they confesse the Church comprehending in it the Apostles and writers of the whole Scripture of the new Testament is of greater authority then the bookes of the Gospell written by them and deliuered to posterities Others taking the name of the Church to signifie onely the beleeuers that now presently are in the world say the meaning of Augustine is that he had neuer beleeued the Gospell if the authoritie of the Church had not beene an introduction vnto him Not that his faith rested vpon it as a finall stay but that it caused him so farre to respect the word of the Gospell to listen vnto it and with a kinde of acquisite and humane faith to beleeue it that hee was thereby fitted to a better illumination by force whereof hee might more certainely know and beleeue it to be of God To which purpose Waldensis out of Thomas Aquinas obserueth that as the Samaritans beleeued that Christ was the promised Sauiour vpon the report of the woman that talked with him made vnto them but afterwardes hauing
seene him and talked with him they professed that they beleeved not for her saying any longer for themselues had heard him speake and did know that hee was the Saviour of the world indeed So men at the first beginne to beleeue moued so to doe by the authority of the Church but rest not in it but in the infallible assurance of diuine trueth Vpon the mistaking of this saying of S. Augustine and an erroneous conceit that our faith stayeth wholly vpon the authority and testimony of the Church hath growne that opinion that the authority of the Church is greater than the authority of the Scriptures CHAP. 10. Of the Papistes preferring the Churches authority before the Scripture TOuching which odious comparison I find some shew of difference amongst the Papistes but none indeede Some affirme that the authorities of the Church and of the Scripture being in divers kindes may in diverse sorts and respects either of them be sayd to be greater then the other to wit the one in nature of an euidence the other of a Iudge and that therefore the comparing of them in authority is vnfit and superfluous Others say that the Church is greater then Scriptures The Rhemists seeme to be of the first sort seeking to conceale that which indeede they thinke because they would not incurre the dislike and ill opinion of men naturally abhorring from so odious a comparison Yet in the same place they doe make the comparison and preferre the Church before the Scriptures 1. In respect of antiquity in that it was before them 2. In excellencie of nature in that the Church is the spouse of Christ the Temple of God the proper subject of God and his graces for which the Scriptures were and not the Church for the Scriptures 3. In power of judging of doubts and controversies the Church hauing judiciall power the Scripture not being capable of it 4. In euidence the definition of the Church being more cleare and evident then those of the Scriptures Stapleton sayth the comparison may be made and the Church preferred before the Scriptures foure wayes 1. So as if the Church might define contrary to the Scriptures as shee may contrary to the writings of particular men how great soeuer In this sense they of the Church of Rome make not the comparison neither doe we charge them with any such thing though Stapleton be pleased to say so of vs. 2. So as the Church may define though not contrary to yet beside the Scripture or written Word of God This comparison is not made properly touching the preheminence of one aboue another in authority but the extent of one beyond the other as Stapleton rightly noteth In this sense the Romanists make the Church greater in authority than the Scriptures that is the extent of the Churches authority larger than of the Scriptures to bring in their traditions but this wee deny and will in due place improue their errour herein Thirdly in the obedience they both challenge of vs where they all say that we are bound with as great affection of piety to obey and submit our selues vnto the determinations of the Church as of the Scriptures both being infallible of diuine and heauenly authority against which no man may resist and that it is a matter of faith so to thinke Yea some of them as Stapleton in the same place are not ashamed to say that wee are bound with greater certaintie of faith to subscribe vnto the determinations of the Church than of the Scriptures and that it is the authority of the Church that maketh vs accept embrace and beleeue the Scriptures Fourthly in the nature of the things themselues in which respect they preferre the Church before the Scriptures as being in it selfe more excellent then the Scriptures as the subject by which the spirit worketh is more excellent then the thing hee worketh by it CHAP. 11. Of the refutation of their errour who preferre the authority of the Church before the Scripture THat wee may the better discerne what is to bee resolued touching these two latter comparisons betweene the Church and the Scriptures wee must remember that which I haue before noted touching them both For first the name of the Church sometimes comprehendeth onely the beleeuers that now presently are liuing in the world Sometimes not onely these but all them also that haue beene since the Apostles times Sometimes all that are and haue beene since Christ appeared in the flesh If the comparison bee made betweene the Church consisting onely of the faithfull that now are and the Scripture wee absolutely deny the equality of their authority and say it is impiety to thinke that both may challenge an equall degree of obedience and faith to bee yeelded to them for it cannot bee proued that the Church thus taken is free from errour nay themselues with one consent confesse that generall Councels representing this Church may erre though not in matters of substance which they purposely meete to determine yet in other passages and in the reasons and motiues leading to such determinations and consequently the whole Church may erre in the same things the one in their opinion being no more infallible than the other Yea some of them feare not to pronounce that Popes and generall Councells may erre damnably and that the Church itselfe may erre in matters not fundamentall though without pertinacy as Picus in his theoremes and Waldensis who freeth only the vniuersall Church consisting of the faithfull that are and haue beene from errour and not the present Church as I shewed before We are so farre then from preferring the Church thus taken as Stapleton in the place aboue mentioned professeth he taketh it in authority before the Scripture that we thinke it impiety to imagine it to be equall That the authority of the Church maketh vs to beleeue with an humane and acquisite faith we deny not but that it maketh vs to beleeue with a diuine faith we deny as before If the comparison be made between the Church consisting of all the faithfull that haue bin since besides the Apostles writers of the holy Scriptures though we think the Church thus taken to be free from any error yet dare we not make it equall to the Scripture For that the Scripture is infallibly true as inspired immediatly frō the spirit of truth securing the writers of it from errour The Church not in respect of the condition of the men of whom it consisteth or the manner of the guiding of the spirit each particular man being subject vnto errour but in respect of the generality and vniversality of it in euery part whereof in every time no errour could possibly be found And for that whatsoeuer is vniuersally deliuered by it is thereby prooued to be from the Apostles of whose faith wee are secure Thus then the whole Church thus taken is subiect to the Scripture in all her parts and hath her infallibility from it and therefore in her
manner of hauing the truth is inferiour vnto it neither are we bound to receiue her doctrines as the sacred Scriptures Besides though the Church taken in this sort be free from errour yet not from ignorance of many things wherein we may be instructed by the scripture So that it is possible for a man to vnderstand the naturall literall sense of some parts of Scripture and from thence some things that were not in such sort knowne and deliuered by any that went before as Andradius and Caietanus do proue at large If the comparison be made betweene the Church consisting of all the belieuers that are and haue beene since Christ appeared in the flesh so including the Apostles and their blessed assistants the Euangelists we deny not but that the Church is of greater authority antiquity and excellencie than the Scripture of the new Testament as the witnesse is better then his testimonie and the Lawgiuer greater then the Lawes made by him as Stapleton alleageth But he is to proue the present Church greater in authority than the Scripture which hee vndertaketh but performeth not His reason that the Scripture was giuen for the good of the Church and that therefore the Church is better than the Scripture proueth not the thing intended For as the people are more excellent in degree of being and nature of things than the lawes that be made for their good yet are the lawes of more authority and must ouer-rule and direct the people so though the Scriptures being but significations declarations and manifestations of diuine truth be not better in degree of things than the Church yet in power of prescribing directing and ouer-ruling our faith they are incomparably greater That which the Rhemists adde to shew the greatnesse of the Church aboue the Scripture because the Church hath judiciall power to determine doubts and controuersies whereof as they suppose the Scripture is not capable I will examine in the next part when I come to speake of the power of judging which the Church hath This errour of the Romanists imagining the authority of the Church to bee greater than the Scripture all the best learned in the Church of Rome euer resisted as Waldensis Occam Gerson and sundry others CHAP. 12. Of their errour who thinke the Church may make new articles of faith VNto this errour is joyned and out of this hath growne another not vnlike that the Church may make new articles of faith which though Stapleton and some other of our time seeme to disclaime yet do they indeede fall into it For the better vnderstanding whereof we must obserue as Occam fitly noteth that an Article of faith is sometimes strictly taken onely for one of those diuine verities which are contained in the creede of the Apostles sometimes generally for any Catholike verity This question is not meant of articles of faith in the first sense but in the second and so the meaning of the question is whether the Church that now is may by her approbation make those assertions and propositions to be Catholike verities that were not before or those hereticall that were not A Catholike vetity is a diuine truth which euery Christian is bound to beleeue The things which Christian men are bound to beleeue are of two sorts and consequently there are two sorts of Catholike verities to wit some so neerely touching the matter of eternall saluation that a man cannot be saued vnlesse hee expressely knowe and beleeue them others farther remooued which if a man beleeue implicitè and in praeparatione animi it sufficeth These must bee beleeued expressely and distinctly if their coherence with or dependance on the former do appeare vnto vs so that the manifest deduction of them from the former will make them such as must be expressely beleeued Our aduersaries confesse that the approbation and determination of the Church cannot make that a truth which was not nor that a Diuine or Catholike truth that was not so before but they thinke that the Church by her bare and sole determination may make that verity to be in such sort Catholike that euery one vnderstanding of such determination must expressely beleeue it that was not so and in such degree Catholike before But wee thinke that it is not the authority of the Church but the cleare deduction from the things which we are bound expressely to beleeue that maketh things of that sort that they must be particularly and distinctly known beleeued that were not necessarily so to bee beleeued before and therefore before and without such determination men seeing cleerely the deduction of things of this nature from the former and refusing to beleeue them are condemned of hereticall pertinacy and men not seeing that deduction after the decree of a Councell hath passed vpon them may still doubt and refuse to beleeue without hereticall pertinacy We cannot therefore condemne the Grecians as heretickes as the Romanists doe because wee cannot perswade our selues of them generally that they see that which they deny touching the proceeding of the holy Ghost deduced from the indubitate principles of our Christian faith or that they impiously neglect the search of the trueth What is it then will some men say that the decree of a Councell doth effect Surely nothing else but the rejecting of such as are otherwise minded from the societies of those men and Churches with whom the decree of the Councell doth prevaile and with all wise men the more wary and fearefull pronouncing any thing of those matters concerning which so graue authority hath passed her sentence The Papists proceed further and thinke it hereticall pertinacie to gainsay the decrees of a Councell though they finde the reasons by which they of the Councell were mooued so to thinke and determine to bee too weake and not to conclude the thing intended as in the matter of Transubstantiation they thinke it heresie to gainesay the decrees of those Councels that haue defined it and yet many of them judge all the reasons alleaged to proue it too weake to proue it In deed if it were certaine as they suppose that a generall Councell could not erre this were a sufficient deduction These things are decreede in a generall Councell Therefore ture because it is consequent that that is true which is affirmed by him that cannot erre Thus wee see what it is to bee thought touching this question whether the Church may make new Articles of faith onely one thing must be added for the further clearing hereof The Papistes thinke that the Church may adde to the Canon of the Scripture bookes not yet admitted as the bookes of Hermas the Scholler of Paul intituled Pastor and the constitutions of Clement which if it should doe we were to receiue them with no lesse respect then the Epistle of Iames and other bookes of the New Testament This we thinke to be a most grosse heresie and contrrry to their owne principles who making the number
of the Auncient euer did weighing the circumstances of places the nature and force of words in the Originall and hauing other helpes necessary Neither is this to contemne the vniforme and maine consent of the Fathers but rather more exactly to illustrate and explaine those things which they did allegorically vnderstand or not so diligently trauaile in as is fit for them that come after to doe It is not then so strange a thing to say that there are many places of Scripture the true literall and natural sense whereof we cannot finde in any of the Ancient Neither is this to charge them with error in faith seeing the sense they giue tendeth to the furtherance of the true faith and the better forming of mens manners to godlinesse Wherefore wee feare not to pronounce with Andradius that whosoeuer denyeth that the true and literall sense of sundry texts of Scripture hath beene found out in this last age wherein as Guido Fabritius rightly noteth all things seeme to bee renewed and all learning to be newly borne into the world that so Christ might bee newly fashioned in vs and wee new borne in him is most vnthankefull vnto God that hath so richly shed out his benefites vpon the children of this generation vngratefull towards those men who with so great paines so happy successe and so much benefit to Gods Church haue travailed therein Neither is Andradius only of this opinion but Iansenius Maldonatus also who both of them do in sundry places professe they rest not satisfied in any interpretation giuen by the Fathers but preferre other found out in this age For example in the explication of that place of Iohn Of his fulnesse we haue all receiued grace for grace Maldonatus refuseth all the interpretations of the Fathers and giueth this of his owne We haue receiued of Christs fulnesse most excellent gifts of grace yet no man hath receiued al but euery one is defectiue yea euery one lacketh something that another hath But he may acknowledge the goodnesse of God towards him in that hee hath some other in stead of it which the other hath not and so may rightly bee saide to haue receiued grace for grace because in stead of that grace he wanteth and another hath hee hath receiued some other which the other wanteth Many other instances might bee giuen out of Caietane Andradius Iansenius Maldonatus and other worthy Divines of the Church of Rome but this may suffice CHAP 18. Of the diuers senses of Scripture THus hauing set downe to whom the interpretation of the Scripture pertaineth it remaineth that wee speake of the rules directions and helpes that men haue to leade thē to the finding out of the right meaning of it But because some suppose the Scripture hath many vncertain senses before we enter into the discourse of the rules which must direct vs in interpreting wee must speake something of the multiplicity of senses supposed to be in the words of Scripture which may seeme to contrary all certainety of interpretation There is therefore a double sense of the sacred words and sentences of Scripture for there is a literall sense and a spirituall or mysticall sense The literall sense is either proper or natiue when the words are to be taken as originally in their proper signification they import or figuratiue when the words are translated from their naturall and proper signification to signifie something resembled by those things they do primarily import As when Christ sayth hee hath other sheepe which are not of this fould The spirituall or mysticall sense of the Scripture is when the words either properly or figuratiuely signifie somethings which are figures and significations of other things This is Threefoold Allegoricall Tropologicall Anagogicall The first is when things spoken of in the old Testament are figures of somethings in the Newe So it was literally true that Abraham had two sons the one by a bond-woman the other by a free but these two sonnes of Abraham imported some other thing in the state of the newe Testament to wit two different sorts of men And here wee may obserue the difference betweene an Allegory and a Type A Type is when some perticular person or fact in the old Testament demonstrateth and shadoweth out vnto vs some particular person or fact in the newe An allegory when something in the old Testament in a spirituall and mysticall sort shadoweth out vnto vs in a generality things in some proportion answering in the newe So Dauid ouercomming Goliah was a Type of Christ and allegorically did shadow out that victory which wee obtaine in the state of the newe Testament ouer those ghostly enemies that rise vp against vs. The Tropologicall sense of Scripture is when one thing deliuered and reported in the Scripture signifieth some other thing pertaining to the behauiour and conuersation of men as when God forbade to muzzle the mouth of the oxe that treadeth out the corne This prohibition did literally signifie that God would not haue labouring oxen restrained from feeding while they were treading out the corne But this respect which God had vnto these his creatures of inferiour cōdition did signifie that much lesse they which labour for our soules good are to be denied the things of this life Anagogicall when the things literally expressed vnto vs do signifie something in the state of heauen happinesse God sware in his wrath to the Israelites that they should not enter into his rest meaning the land of Canaan but the Apostle from thence concludeth that vnbeleeuers shall not enter into that eternall rest of the Saints in heauen because the rest of the Israelites in the land of Canaan after their manyfold dangers vexations and trauels was a figure of the eternall rest in heauen This diuision of the manifold senses of Scripture is taken out of Eucherius Hierom maketh three kinds of exposition of Scripture Historicall Tropologicall and Spirituall that which he nameth spiritual comprehendeth both those before expressed by Eucherius to wit Allegoricall Anagogicall Augustine maketh the expositiō of the Scripture to be twofold Historical Allegorical The former he maketh to be twofold to wit Analogicall Aetiologicall and the later he maketh to comprehend that which properly is called Allegoricall and the other two to wit Tropologicall and Anagogicall The reason of this diuersity of mysticall senses is because the old Testament was a figure of the new and the new of future glory This multiplicity of senses breedeth no vncertainety in the Scripture nor Aequivocation because the words of the Scripture do not doubtfully signifie so diuers and different things but the things certainly signified by the words are signes significations of diuers things All these are founded vpon one literall certain sense from which onely in matter of question and doubt an argument may be drawen The thing wherein Origen offended was not that hee found out spirituall and mysticall senses of
sixefould worke to which afterwards adding in two other pillars or columnes the fift and sixt translations before mentioned found in Hiericho and Nicopolis he named the whole Octapla an eightfould worke CHAP. 27. Of the Latine Translations and of the authority of the vulgar Latine THus hauing deliuered what translations there are and haue beene of the old testament out of Hebrewe into Greeke let vs see what translations there are and haue beene of the old and newe Testament into Latine They sayth Augustine that translated the old Testament out of Hebrewe into Greeke may easily be numbred but they that translated the old and newe Testament out of Greeke into Latine cannot be numbred Yet amongst soe many and diuerse translations it seemeth there was one more common then the rest called by Gregory the old translation and by Hierome vpon Esay the vulgar who disliketh it preferreth the translation of Symmachus and Theodotion before it in the interpretation of the place of the Prophet he there expoundeth The first that translated the old Testament out of Hebrewe into Latine was Hierome and the last till our age whereupon great exception was taken to him for it as appeareth by his seuerall Epistles wherein he excuseth and defendeth himselfe Yet notwithstanding all these dislikes and exceptions it appeareth by Gregory that a newe translation beganne to be in vse in the Church not long after Hieromes time which is thought to be that we now call the vulgar Whether this translation be Hieromes or not there is great variety of iudgment Some as Pagnine and Paule Bishop of Forosempronium deny it to be Hieromes others as Augustinus Eugubinus and Picus Mirandula affirme it to be his Other as Driedo and Sixtus Senensis thinke it to be mixed of the old and newe Bellarmine deliuereth his opinion in certaine propositions whereof the first is that we haue the Latine text of the newe Testament not of Hieromes translation but of his correction only the second that we haue the Psalmes of the old trāslatiō formerly in vse the reasō whereof is thought to be because the Church fearfull to giue any offence to the weake would not admitte any alteration in them being dayly read and sung in the assemblies of the faithfull the third that wee haue the bookes of Ecclesiasticus Wisdome and the Maccabees of the old translation the author whereof is not knowne the fourth that we haue all the rest of Hieromes translation This translation some thinke so perfect as that it is not to bee corrected according to the Originals if in any thing it dissent from them but that rather they are to be holden corrupt in all such places of difference Now because this Translation in many places and sundry things is found to dissent from the Originals therefore they inferre a great corruption of the originalls This is the erroneous conceit of Lindan Canus and others of that sort against whom in the just defence of the trueth of the originals the best learned in the Church of Rome oppose themselues as Iohn Isaacke Arrias Montanus Driedo Andradius Sixtus Senensis and many moe The chiefest argument of the adverse part is for that if this translation be not pure and faultlesse the Church had not the word of God so long as it vsed this translation onely For answere hereunto Andradius demaundeth if the Church were not as perfect and as assuredly possessed of the truth before this translation of Hierome as since if it were he demandeth if they that liued in those times did not as much admire the Translation of the Septuagint and the Latine translations out of it as they doe the vulgar Now that they did he proueth at large out of sundry of the auncient who held that the Septuagint were ledde in translating with a propheticall spirit freeing them from danger of errour so far forth that Hierome was greatly disliked for adventuring to translate after them as if he could correct any thing that they had done Yea so great opposition did he find that he was forced to giue way to the clamours and out-cryes of his adversaries to attribute much vnto them and to make shew that he would neuer haue begun this worke of a new translation if that of the Septuagint had remained been preserued in originall purity though sometimes hee feare not to pronounce that they passed by many things of purpose mistook many things of ignorance and suppressed other because they would not make knowne the dishonour of their nation to strangers Now saith Andradius I would know whether in all the places wherein the translations then in vse differed frō the originals the originals were corrupted If they were then our translation which cōmeth neerer to the originals leaueth the former translatiō sis corrupt so while these men endeavour to defend they ouerthrow the authority of the vulgar translation But some perhaps will demand whether the Church of God in those times had not the true Scriptures of God whether the Church of God at any time haue beene without an approued translation Hereunto Andradius answereth that the Church doth approue translations not pronouncing that there is nothing amisse in them or that they depart not from the true sense and right meaning of any particular place but that the Diuine Mysteries are therein truely deliuered and nothing that concerneth faith religion or good manners ignorantly or fraudulently suppressed The Councell of Trent defined that the vulgar Latine translation shall bee holden as authenticall but hee sayth Andreas Vega who was present at the Councell reported that the Fathers of the Councell meant not to determine that it is not defectiue or faulty but that it is not erroneous and faulty in such sort as that any hurtfull or pernicious opinion in matters of faith or manners may necessarily be deduced from it And that this was the meaning of the Councell he saith Andreas Vega alleadged the authority of the Cardinall of Saint Crosse afterwards Pope who deliuered so much vnto him So that the Church of God doth not receiue any translation as free from all errour and in that sense authenticall but thinketh that to bee the peculiar excellencie of the originals which are by some vnjustly disgraced and called in question as if they were so corrupted that translations should be preferred before them CHAP. 28. Of the trueth of the Hebrew text of Scripture FOr first touching the Hebrew text which some suppose hath beene corrupted by the Iewes it is not likely that of purpose they would corrupt it for then they would specially haue corrupted those places which make most clearely against them and for the Christians but those places are not corrupted as Andradius sheweth and proueth by the testimony of Iohn Isaake who was wonne to Christianity by the pregnancy of a Chapter of Esayes prophecie in Hebrew Neither is it likely dum aliis inuiderent authoritatem
merites of Christ was neuer knowne in the Primitiue Church nor any such forme of exorcising or blessing as they now vse That which the Rhemists alleadge touching the Liuer of a fish vsed by Tobie the piece of the holy earth where Christ was buried preseruing a mans chamber from the infestation of diuels and the force of holy reliques tormenting them maketh nothing to this purpose all these examples being miraculous Touching the harpe of Dauid quieting Saul there is a reason for it in Nature though the repressing of Sathans rage were miraculous That Infidels haue sometimes driuen away diuels by the signe of the Crosse it was by the speciall dispensation of Almighty God who would thereby glorifie his Sonne whose Crosse the world despised and not as if this Ceremonie had force ex opere operato to worke such effects That the name of Iesus did miraculously cast out Diuels in the Primitiue Church which is the next allegation who euer made doubt but what maketh this to the purpose That which they alledge that Saint Gregory did vsually send his benediction and remission of sins in and with such tokens as were sanctified by his blessing and touch of the Martyrs reliques as now his successours doe the like hallowed remembrances of religion is very vaine For Gregory did not send any such blessing of of his owne or remission of sinnes by force of it as nowe his successours do but onely certaine things that had pertained to Christ or his Apostles as part of the wood of the crosse of Christ or of the chaines wherewith the Apostles were bound and with them the blessing of Christ and those Apostles to such as should conforme themselues to his sufferinges or their faith That which they alledge out of the third Councell of Carthage touching the blessing of milke honey grapes and corne bewrayeth their ignorance For that Canon speaketh not of any such blessing but forbiddeth any thing besides bread and wine mingled with water for the matter of the Sacrament and grapes and corne to bee presented on the Altar The Canon of the Apostles is to the same effect forbidding any thing but newe grapes and corne in their season and oyle for the lights incense to be vsed in the time of the oblation to be presented on the Altar willing the first fruites to be carried to the Bishops house and prescribing what shall be done with such presents The sixt generall Councell finding that some did giue to the people with the Sacrament these grapes c forbad it and prescribed that being blessed they should be deliuered priuately to the Catechumens and others that they might praise God who hath giuen so good and pleasing things for the nourishment of mens bodies but speaketh nothing of blessing of them to be instruments of remission of sinnes and of the like spirituall and supernaturall effects Thus wee see our aduersaries cannot proue that the Church hath power to annexe vnto such Ceremonies and obseruations as shee deuiseth the remission of sinnes and the working of other spirituall and supernaturall effects which is the only thing questioned betweene them and vs touching the power of the Church So that all the power the Church hath more then by her authority to publish the Commaundements of Christ the sonne of God and by her censures to punish the offenders against the same is onely in prescribing things that pertaine to comelinesse and order Comelinesse requireth that not only that grauity and modesty doe appeare in the performance of the workes of Gods seruice that beseemeth actions of that nature but also that such rites and ceremonies be vsed as may cause a due respect vnto and regard of the things performed and thereby stirre men vppe to greater feruour and deuotion Caeremoniae Ceremonies are so named as Liuie thinketh from a Towne called Caere in the which the Romans did hide their sacred thinges when the Gaules inuaded Rome Other thinke Ceremonies are so named a Carendo of abstaining from certaine things as the Iewes abstained from swines slesh and sundrie other things forbidden by God as vncleane Ceremonies are outward acts of religion hauing institution either from the instinct of nature as the lifting vp of the hands and eyes to heauen the bowing of the knee the striking of the breast and such like or immediately from God as the sacraments or from the Churches prescription and either onely serue to expresse such spirituall and heauenly affections dispositions motions and desires as are or should be in men or else to signifie assure and conuey vnto them such benefits of sauing grace as God in Christ is pleased to bestowe on them To the former purpose and end the Church hath power to ordaine Ceremonies to the later God onely Order requireth that there be sette howres for prayer preaching and ministring the sacraments that there be silence and attention when the things are performed that womē be silent in the Church that all things be administred according to the rules of discipline Thus we see within what bounds the power of the Church is contained and how farre it hath authority to command and prescribe in things pertaining to the worship and seruice of God CHAP. 32. Of the nature of Lawes and how they binde Now it remaineth that wee examine how farre the band of such lawes extendeth as the Church maketh and whether they binde the conscience or onely the outward man For the clearing whereof first wee must obserue in what sense it is that lawes are sayde to binde and secondly what it is to binde the conscience Lawgiuers are sayd to binde them to whome they giue lawes when they determine and sette downe what is fitte to be done what things they are the doing whereof they approoue and the omission whereof they dislike and then signifie to them whom they command that though they haue power and liberty of choyse to doe or omitte the things prescribed yet that they will soe and in such sort limitte them in the vse of their libertie as that either they shall doe that they are commanded or be depriued of the good they desire and incurre the euils they would auoyd None can thus tye and limit men but they that haue power to depriue them of the good they desire and bring vpon them the contrary euils So that no man knowing what hee doth prescribeth or commandeth any thing vnder greater penalties then he hath power to inflict nor any thing but that whereof hee canne take notice whether it be done or not that so hee may accordingly reward or punish the doing or omission of it Hence it followeth that mortall men forget themselues and keepe not within their owne boundes when either they commaund vnder paine of eternall damnation which none but God can inflict according to that of our Sauiour Feare not them that can kill the body but feare him rather that hath power to cast both body and soule into hell fire
and tying them to the performance of certaine duties Secondly of sinnes Thirdly of punishments to be inflicted by Almighty God and Fourthly of punishments to be inflicted by men The bond of Lawes is of two sorts For there are diuine lawes and there are humane Lawes God bindeth men to the doing of what hee pleaseth and Men that are in authority either Ciuill or Ecclesiasticall to such things as they thinke fit Touching these bonds none haue power to loose but they that haue power to binde so that what God by precept bindeth vs to doe none but God can free vs from the necessity duty of doing it and what the Church or Magistrate binde vs to no inferiour power can loose vs or free vs from Loosing in this sense opposed to binding by law and precept is in two sorts By Reuocation and by Dispensation Reuocation is an absolute Abrogation of a Law in respect of all places times persons and conditions and that either by expresse and direct Repeale or by generall neglect and long continued disuse Dispensation is in respect of certaine persons times places and conditions of Men thinges so that a dispensation permitting the Law to retaine her wonted authority onely freeth some particular person or persons at some times in some places and in some condition of thinges from the necessity of doing or leauing vndone that which vnlesse it be in consideration of such particular circumstances the Law-giuer meant should be obserued but in such cases not so Heere the question is moued by occasion of that kinde of loosing which is by reuersing Lawes formerly in force whether God the giuer of the morall Law may revoke the same and dispense with men for the not doing of things there prescribed of the doing of things there forbidden The answere is that these Lawes are imposed vpon men by the very condition of their nature and creation as the very condition and nature of a man created by GOD requireth that he should honour loue feare and reuerence him that made him and therefore touching the precepts of the first Table that concerning the Sabaoth excepted it is cleare and euident that they cannot be altered nor Man by God himselfe discharged from the duty of honouring loving and fearing God so long as he hath any beeing Touching the precepts of the second Table it is resolued that GOD cannot dispense with man or giue him leaue to doe the thinges therein forbidden as to steale murther or lie For all these imply and involue in them that which is simply euill and to bee disliked but by some alteration in the doer or matter of action he may make that not to bee euill that otherwise would bee euill and consequently not forbidden as namely that to bee no theft or murther which otherwise would be as when hee commanded the Israelites to spoyle the Aegyptians they did not commit the act of robbery for robbery is the taking away of a thing from the owner against his will but these thinges which the Israelites tooke away were the Aegyptians no longer after God the supreme Lord had spoyled them of the title they had therevnto and assigned the same to the Israelites So likewise for one man to take away the life of another hauing no authority so to doe is murther and no man can be dispensed with lawfully to doe any such act but for a Magistrate to take away the life of an offender is a lawfull act and no act of murther and so if Abraham had slaine his sonne Isaac it had not beene murther being authorized so to doe by God who hath supreme authority in the world and may justly as a Iudge for sinne found in men take away the liues of whom he pleaseth and as supreme and absolute Lord bring all to nothing that for his wills sake he made of nothing though there were no sinne nor fault at all But touching Ceremoniall Iudiciall and Positiue Lawes of God concerning Sacraments and obseruations of what kinde soeuer seeing they are imposed after vpon the being of nature wee thinke that God may alter them at his pleasure so that at one time it may bee lawfull to doe that was forbidden at another The Gouernours that God hath set ouer his Church and people by commission from him may interprete what is doubtfull in these Lawes of God or in those of the other sort but yet according to the Law but they may not abrogate or dispense with any Law of God either naturall and morall or positiue established concerning the vse of Sacraments and things pertaining to Gods worship and seruice But concerning those Lawes that were made by the Apostles and Primitiue Fathers touching matters of outward obseruation the succeeding Guides of the Church may either dispense with them or reverse them vpon the due consideration of the difference of times Men and things And so wee see to whom it pertaineth to binde men with their lawes and to loose them from the bonds thereof The bond of sin which is the second kinde of those bonds I mentioned is two-fold for there is Vinculum captivitatis and Vinculum servitutis that is a man that is a sinner is so bound that hee can neither returne to doe good nor leaue off to doe euill for sinne holdeth him in a bond of captivitie that hee shall not returne to doe good and with a bond of seruitude that he shall not cease to doe euill And though God hath so ordered the nature of Man that hee who will doe euill shall thus bee entangled yet it is man that thus entangleth wrappeth and bindeth himselfe and not God But for the bond of eternall condemnation and the punishments following euill doers which is the third kinde of those bonds wherewith I shewed that men are tyed and bound it is of GOD. From these bonds of sin and punishment inflicted by GOD none but hee alone can free men by his fauour and the worke of his grace as the supreme and highest cause none but Christ by Merite Satisfaction The Ministers of the Church by the Ministery of the Word and Sacraments may convert Men to God instrumentally making them partakers of his graces bringing thē into such an estate wherein they shall be sure for Christs sake to finde mercie with GOD for the remission taking away of their sinnes They may pray for them and out of the knowledge of their estate assure them of remission But other power to vnloose and vntie these direfull horrible bonds of sinne and punishment they haue none only the punishments which they haue power to inflict they haue authoritie to diminish lessen or take away so that whom they bind with the bonds of Ecclesiasticall censures punishments those by the same authoritie they may vnloose For as the Guides of Gods Church may prescribe enjoyne and impose certaine actions of Mortification and penitentiall conversion vnto GOD so when they see cause they may release from the same as by
sunder These being the things required in a foundation simply and absolutely in respect of all times persons and things Christ onely is that foundation vpon which the spirituall building of the Church is raised because he onely is that beginning whence all spirituall good originally floweth and commeth vpon whom all the perswasion of the truth of things revealed staieth it selfe as being the Angell of the great Couenant and that eternall Word that was with God in the beginning vpon whom all our hope confidence and expectation of any good groundeth it selfe all the promises of God being in him yea and Amen And in this sense the Apostle Saint Paul saith Other Foundation canne no man lay then that which is layd which is Iesus Christ. And S. Augustine and other of the Fathers vnderstand by that rocke vpon which our Sauiour promised Peter to build his Church the rocke that Peter confessed which rocke was Christ vpon which foundation euen Peter himselfe was builded for that other Foundation can no man lay then that which is laid which is Iesus Christ. But in respect of some particular times persons and things and in some particular and speciall considerations there are other things that may rightly bee named foundations also in respect of the spirituall building of the Church So in respect of the frame fabrique of vertue and weldoing raised in this building the first vertue namely Faith vpon which all other vertues doe stay themselues and from which they take the first direction that any vertue can giue is rightly named a foundation In respect of the forme of Christian doctrine the first principles of heauenly knowledge are rightly named a foundation Not laying againe saith the Apostle the foundation of faith and of repentance from dead workes of the doctrine of Baptismes of the imposition of hands of the resurrection of the dead and ofeternall iudgement let vs be led forward vnto perfection These first principles of heauenly knowledge are named a foundation because they are the first things that are knowen before which nothing can be knowen and because vpon the knowledge of these things all other parts of heavenly knowledge doe depend In respect of the confession of the true faith concerning Christ the first cleare expresse and perfect forme of confession that euer was made concerning the same may rightly be named a foundation and in this sense Peters faith and confession is by diuerse of the Fathers named the Churches foundation But they vnderstand not by the faith and confession of Peter either the vertue and quality of faith abiding in his heart and mind or the outward act of confessing but the forme of confession made by him when he said Thou art the Christ the Sonne of the liuing God vpon which forme as being the rule of all right beleeuing the Church of God is builded In respect of the supernaturall knowledge of God in Christ the first immediate reuelation made to the Apostles from whom all other were to learne and by whose Ministerie accompanied with all things that might winne credit they were to be gained vnto God may very rightly and justly be named a foundation vpon which the faith of all after-commers is to stay it selfe and from which in all doubts they must seeke resolution And in this sort Bellarmine saith truely that the Apostles may be named Foundations of the Church according to that description in the Reuelation of Saint Iohn of the wall of the citie of God that had 12. foundation-stones vpon which it was raised and in them written the names of the Lambes twelue Apostles and that of S. Paul that wee are builded vpon the foundation of the Apostles and Prophets Christ Iesus being the Head corner-stone And this in three respects First because the Apostles were the first that founded Churches and conuerted vnbeleeuers to the faith Secondly because their doctrine which they receiued immediatly from God by most vndoubted revelation without mixture of errour or danger of being deceiued is the rule of the faith of all aftercommers and that sure immoueable and rockie foundation vpon which the perswasion of all succeeding generations and posterities may and doth most securely stay and ground it selfe Thirdly because they were Heads Guides and Pastors of the whole vniuersall Church hauing not onely supreme but prime and originall gouernment of the same out of whose most large and ample commission all Ecclesiasticall power and authoritie of after-commers was in an inferiour degree and sort to bee deriued and taken In all these respects all the Apostles were that strong rocke and those strong rockie foundation-stones on which the Church is builded though in a peculiar sense Christ alone bee the Rocke and in all these respects as S. Hierome saith Super omnes ex aequo Ecclesiae fortitudo solidatur that is the strength and firmenesse of the Church doth equally indifferently stay it selfe vpon them all and consequently no more vpon Peter then any of the rest Hitherto we finde nothing peculiar to Peter and not common to all the Apostles so that all the allegations of our Adversaries touching the feeding of the Sheep of Christ committed to Peter the power of the keyes of binding and loosing of remitting and retaining sinnes and the promise that on him as on a rockie foundation-stone elect and precious Christ would build his Church are to no purpose seeing they are forced to confesse that all these things were likewise either by direct words or by intendment bestowed on all the rest Wherefore let vs see how notwithstanding this their confession they can make good that there was a primacie of power in Peter and how they goe about to confirme the same CHAP. 23. Of the primacie of power imagined by our Adversaries to haue beene in Peter and their defence of the same FOr the avoyding of the cleare evidence of the truth of all that which hath beene said touching the equalitie of the Apostles of Christ amongst thēselues which our Adversaries cannot but see acknowledge they haue two shifts The first that the Apostles were equall towards the people but not amongst themselues The second that they were equall in the Apostolique power but that Peter had that amplitude of power which the rest had as Apostles by speciall fauour and onely in for their own persons as an ordinary Pastour and in such sort that he might leaue the same to his Successors These their silly shifts evasions we will examine that so the truth of that which hath bin said be more fully cleared that all men may see perceiue that nothing can be substātially objected against it nor no evasiō foūd to avoid it Touching the first thing that they say it is an Axiome as I thinke that may not bee doubted of that whatsoeuer things are equall in respect of a third thing are in the same sort fo farre for equall amongst themselues So
to him THAT there was no more power and authoritie in Peter then in any of the rest I hope it appeareth by that which hath beene said and therefore it remaineth that now wee examine what was the reason why so many thinges were specially spoken to him why so many wayes hee may seeme to haue beene preferred before the rest and what in trueth and in deede his preeminence and primacie was Touching the speeches of Christ for the most part specially directed to Peter it is most certaine by that which hath beene said that they did giue no singular and speciall power to Peter that was not giuen to euery of the rest And therefore the Diuines doe obserue the difference of the speeches of Christ and note that Christ sometimes directed his speech to particular men precisely in their owne persons as in the remission of sinnes healing the sicke and raising the dead sometimes in the person of all or many others as when he saith Goe and sinne no more which hee is intended to haue done so often as there is the same reason of speaking a thing to one and to others as when a man is induced to doe or not to doe a thing to beleeue or not to beleeue a thing which other in like sort are bound to doe or not to doe to beleeue or not to beleeue as well as hee So it being as necessary for one to watch as another Christ saith That I say vnto you I say vnto all Watch. And so here seeing it is confessed and proued by our Aduersaries themselues that there was nothing promised or performed to Peter that was not in like sort intended vnto and bestowed on euery of the rest it must be graunted that what he spake to him he meant to all and would haue his words so vnderstood and taken The reason why more specially notwithstanding this his generall intendment he directed his speech to Peter then to any of the rest was either because he was more auncient and more ardent in charitie then the rest thereby to signifie what manner of men they should be that should be chosen Pastours of the Church namely men of ripe age and confirmed judgement and full of charitie or lest hee might seeme to bee despised for his deniall of Christ which the Glosse seemeth to import when it saith Trinae negationi redditur trina confessio ne minus amori lingua seruiat quám timori that is Therefore he was induced by Christ thrice solemnly to protest and professe his loue vnto him as he had thrice denied him that his tongue might shew it selfe no lesse seruiceable vnto loue that rested in him then it had done vnto feare or else because he first confessed Christ to bee the Sonne of the liuing God consubstantiall with his Father because he was much conuersant with Christ and acquainted with his secrets counsels or lastly because Christ meant there should bee a certaine order amongst the guides of his Church and some to whom the rest in all places should resort in all matters of importance as to such as are more honourable then other of the same ranke degree who are first to be consulted from whom all actions must take their beginning therefore he so specially spake to Peter whom hee meant in this sort to set before the rest Thus then there is a primacie of power when one hath power to doe that act of ministerie another hath not or not without his consent and when one may by himselfe limite restraine or hinder another in the performance of the acts of ministery and such primacie wee haue shewed not to haue beene in Peter But there is another of order honour which he had whereby he had the first place the first and best employment the calling together of the rest in cases where a concurrence of many was required as for the better sorting out of the worke they had in hand the ioynt decreeing of things to be euery where alike beleeued and practised and in these assemblies thus called the sitting speaking first the moderation and direction of each mans speaking and the publishing and pronouncing of the conclusion agreed vpon if so he pleased In this sense Cyprian saith Erant vtique caeteri Apostoli quod fuit Petrus pari consortio praediti honoris potestatis fed exordium ab vnitate proficiscitur that is The other Apostles doubtlesse were that which Peter was hauing the same fellowship both of power and honour but the beginning proceedeth from vnity that the Church may be shewed to be one And in the same sense Hierome saith against Iouinian Thou wilt say the Church is founded vpon Peter it is true it is so and yet in another place the same frame of the Church is raised vpon all the Apostles and all receiue the keyes of the kingdome of heauen and the firmenesse of the Church stayeth it selfe equally vpon them all but therefore doth Christ more specially promise to build his Church vpon Peter that hee being constituted and appointed head chiefe amongst them all occasion of Schisme might bee taken away To the same purpose it is that Leo writeth to Anastasius where hee saith Inter beatissimos Apostolos in similitudine honor is fuit quaedam discretio potestatis cum omnium par esset electio vni tamen datum est vt caeteris preemineret that is Amongst the most blessed Apostles like in honour there was a certaine difference of power and when all were equally elected yet it was giuen to one to haue a preeminence amongst the rest In which saying of Leo that it bee not contrary to that of Cyprian who saith that the Apostles were companions and consorts equall both in honour power wee must not vnderstand that one Apostle had more power then another or that power another had not but that in the same power one was so before the rest that hee was the partie to whom they were to resort and without consulting whom first and before all other they might attempt nothing generally concerning the state of the whole Church by vertue of this power In which sense he saith in another place Petro praecaeteris soluendi ligandi tradita est potestas that is The power of binding and loosing was so giuen to Peter that therein hee was before the rest and againe Siquid cum eo commune caeteris Christus voluit esse principibus nunquam nisi per ipsum Petrum dedit quicquidaliis non negavit that is If Christ would haue any thing to be common to the rest of the Princes that is Apostles with Peter he neuer gaue that which he vouchsafed vnto them any otherwise then as by Peter which words must not so bee vnderstood as if Peter had first receiued the fulnesse of power and others from him for all the Apostles receiued their power and commission immediatly from Christ not from Peter as I haue largely
the particular churches or places where they were preached which were therevpon named churches of station though now in another sense they call those churches of station whither men out of devotion resorting to visite Reliques and Monuments are made partakers of ample Indulgences and pardons for dayes yeares nay hundreds and thousands of yeares In those times when the auncient Bishops of Rome were wont to goe to the churches of station because all churches had not their Quire and Ministers fit to performe the seruice of God with that solemnitie that was wished there were some specially appointed for this purpose that they might attend the Bishoppe and goe with him in the dayes of station that so nothing might be wanting to all joyfull solemnitie divine exultation Those principall titles or parish churches as now we vse to speake that enioyed the greatest liberties and priuiledges were called Cardinall Titles or churches and those Presbyters that attended the service of God in those principall or Cardinall churches were called Cardinall Presbyters and in processe of time some amongst the Deacons also Cardinall Deacons and amongst the Bishops of Italie certaine Bishops were named Cardinall Bishops Neither were these Cardinall Presbyters onely in the church of Rome but in other churches also as Duarenus sheweth whence it is that wee reade in the councell of Melden that the Bishop must canonically order the Cardinall Titles in the cities or suburbes and that wee reade in Ioannes Diaconus that Gregorie called backe the Cardinals violently ordained in the parishes abroad into their auncient title againe Onuphrius a great Antiquary giueth another reason of the name of Cardinall supposing that they were called Cardinall priests and deacons in each church which were ouer all the other priests and deacons of the same for that they were chiefe priests and deacons and of more principall esteeme then the rest But this conceipt of his Bellarmine refuteth for that there were sometimes many Cardinals in the same title as appeareth by Saint Gregorie in his Epistles So that it seemeth more probable that Cardinalls are so named from the titles and churches which are Cardinall chiefe churches enjoying greater liberties and priuiledges then others then for that they are Cardinall or chiefe amongst the Priests of those their churches and titles But whatsoeuer was the reason that they were named Cardinals which perhaps cannot now certainely bee knowen it is strange to see from how meane beginnings they haue grown so great in state dignity as therein to match equall the greatest Princes of the world That at first they were but parish priests of Rome besides that it is confessed by all it is most euident for that yet still in this their greatnesse they are stiled but Cardinall priests of such a title or parish church in Rome and that for a long time there was no more respect had to one Presbyter then another but all equally interessed in the gouernment of the church were indifferently called to the election of the Bishop and his consultations it is most cleare and euident Whereupon Cyprian writing to the cleargie of Rome writeth not to the Cardinalls onely but to all the priests and deacons of the church of Rome In the time of Gregorie the Great it may seeme that all the Presbyters were not called to the consultations of the Bishop but Cardinall Presbyters onely For onely foure and thirty were present at the Synode holden by him and mentioned in his epistles whereas no doubt in his time there were many more Presbyters of that great and large church seeing there were sixe and fortie in the dayes of Cornelius in the time of persecution when the greatest part of the citie remained yet still in infidelity and heathenish superstition But whether all the Presbyters of the church of Rome or onely some certaine were called to the consultations of the Bishop in Gregories time it is certaine that all the cleargie had interest in the choice and election of the Bishop But afterwards in processe of time the Cardinals onely had interest in the election of their Bishop they and no other were admitted to sit in councell with the Bishop all other Presbyters being excluded By which meanes the dignitie of these Cardinals was greatly encreased So that whereas before all Bishops were preferred before those Cardinals that were not Bishops and to be a Cardinall was but a step to the degree of a Bishop as Onuphrius in his booke of Cardinals sheweth and as is collected out of the first book and seuenth Chapter of the life of Gregory afterwardes this order was changed and the dignity of a Bishop was made but a step to the degree and honour of a Cardinall Neither did they onely exclude the rest of the Clergie of the Church of Rome from the election of their Bishop and from sitting in Councell with him but whereas from the yeare three hundreth to the yeare eight hundreth after Christ for the determining of all weightie matters concerning the Church the Bishoppes of Italie were convocated to Nationall Synodes as it appeareth by the Tomes of the Councels they excluded them also so that the managing of the weightie affaires of the Church was wholly referred to these Cardinals the other being no longer called according to the olde manner though yet still they take an oath yearely to visite the Apostolicall thresholds and to present themselues vnto the Romane Bishoppe their Metropolitane as they were wont to doe when being called by him to Nationall Synodes they were bound to make their repaire to Rome Of this chaunge Cardinall Cusanus speaketh shewing that in his opinion the first steppe to the due reformation of the Church were the chusing of these Cardinals out of those seuerall Churches which were heretofore interessed in the deliberations of the Romane Bishop and the making of them to be but agents and procurators for them and in their names till such time as the Bishops might be convocated againe to Nationall Synods as in former times they were wont to be From hence saith Duarenus wee may easily gather the same that the Interpreter of the decrees somewhere writeth that howsoeuer in time and by spoyling other of their right the Cardinals of the Church of Rome are growne exceeding great yet in trueth and indeed euery Bishop of what citie soeuer is of greater dignity then any Cardinall Priest or Deacon of the Romish Church which thing saith Duarenus if any man should doubt of might easily be confirmed by the authoritie of Saint Augustine in a certaine Epistle to Saint Hierome Priest of the Romane Church where hee saith expressely Quanquam secundùm vocabula quae vsus obtinuit Episcopatus sit Presbyterio maior Augustinus tamen Hieronymo minor est that is Although according to the titles which now are in vse it is a more honourable thing to be a Bishop then a Presbyter yet Augustine is lesse then Hierome His meaning is
quicquid ego de vobis boni audio mihi imputo that is Whereas there were many Apostles yet in respect of the chiefty that Peter had as being Prince of the Apostles his Sea only grew to be in chiefe authority which in three places is yet the See but of one and the same Apostle For he exalted that Sea in which he pleased to rest and end this present life Hee beautified that Sea in which he placed Marke his Scholer and he firmly and strongly setled that Sea in which hee sate seauen yeares though with purpose in the end to leaue it When as therefore there is one See of one Apostle in which by diuine authority three sit as presidents whatsoeuer good I heare of you I impute it to my selfe And againe in the same place to Eulogius hauing spoken to him of the dignitie of Peters chaire in which he sate he saith He hath spoken to me of Peters chaire who himselfe sitteth on Peters chaire This is the opinion of these Romane Bishops touching the reason of the exaltation of the Seas of Rome Alexandria and Antioche aboue other Episcopall Seas who how partially soeuer they may be thought to be affected to the chaire of Peter yet herein do they mainly crosse the conceipt of the Romanists at this day in that they teach that other Bishops succeede Peter in the chaire and that chiefty and primacy he had as well as the Bishop of Rome The dignity of these 3 Apostolicall Churches was cōfirmed in the Nicene Councell and each of them confined within the ancient bounds and limits thereof Let the ancient custome say the Nicene Fathers continue in Aegypt Lybia and Pentapolis that the Bishop of Alexandria may haue power ouer all these seeing the Bishop of Rome hath the like custome In like sort in Antioche and other prouinces let euery Church retaine and keepe her owne degree and honour Bellarmine much troubleth himselfe about this limitation and bounding of these Patriarches as preiudiciall to the illimited iurisdiction of the Romane Bishop and therefore though it be most cleare that there was a particular assignation of Churches to euery of these Patriarches yet hee seeketh to auoyd the euidence of these words For whereas Ruffinus sayth it was decreede by the Councell of Nice that the Bishop of Alexandria should haue care and charge ouer Aegypt as the Bishop of Rome hath of the Churches neere that city and Theodorus Balsamon in the explication of the Nicene canons with Nilus in his booke against the primacie interpreteth the words of the Nicene decree in this sense that the Bishoppe of Alexandria should haue the charge of Aegypt Lybia and Pentapolis and the confirming of the Metropolitanes in those parts because the Bishop of Rome who hath a care of the West confirmeth the Metropolitanes of the West hee maketh this construction of the words of the councell Let the Bishop of Alexandria haue the charge of Aegypt seeing the Bishoppe of Rome was wont to permitte him soe to haue before any Councell had decreed it And soe hee sayth Nicolas the Pope in his Epistle to Michael the Emperour vnderstandeth the words which yet is most vntrue for Nicolas sayth no such thing but onely that the Councell maketh the custome of the Romane Church the patterne for others to follow But the eight generall Councell which no doubt vnderstood the words of the Nicene Fathers farre better then Bellarmine sheweth plainely that the meaning of the Nicene Canon was that the Bishop of Alexandria should haue power ouer Aegypt and the prouinces pertaining to it to confirme the Metropolitanes in the same seeing the like custome preuaileth in the Romane Church And this Councell confirmeth the same distinction of the bounds of iurisdiction within which euery Patriarch is to containe himselfe both for old Rome and new and for the other Churches of Alexandria and Antioche The Canons of the Nicene Councell translated out of the Arabian tongue and published by Turrian Pisanus and Binnius will fully cleare this point if our Aduersaries giue any credit vnto them For in the eighth of those Canons the decree about the meaning whereof wee contend is thus set downe Constitutum est vt Episcopus Aegypti id est Patriarcha Alexandrinus praesideat habeat potestatem totius Aegypti that is It is ordained that the Bishop of Aegypt that is the Patriarch of Alexandria shall sit as President and haue power ouer all Aegypt and ouer all places Citties and Townes which are round about it because soe it is fit and because likewise the Bishop of Rome that is the Successour of Peter the Apostle hath power ouer all the Citties and places which are about Rome And in like sort let the Bishop of ANTIOCH haue power ouer that whole prouince c. But because perhaps these Canons though published by themselues as rare secrets of Antiquity lately brought to light will be of litle credit with them I will adde one reason more which to me seemeth very forcible to confirme our interpretation of the words of the Nicene Fathers There was aunciently a great contention betweene the Church of Rome and the Church of Constantinople about the Churches of Bulgaria either of these Churches making claime thereunto and seeking to bring them within the compasse of their owne Iurisdiction which contention could not haue beene if the one of these two Churches had had an illimited extent of Iurisdiction But that neither of them had any such illimited Iurisdiction it is euident in that neither Constantinople nor Rome vrge any such thing for iustification of their claime but stand vpon their conuerting of the people of Bulgaria to the Christian faith and the planting of religion amongst them Which either of these pretending rather then other sought thereby to iustifie a title of iurisdiction and authority ouer them Wherefore resoluing that we haue the true meaning of the Nicene canon let vs returne thither whence we haue a litle digressed namely to the discourse of Patriarchical Churches and Bishops set in order and honour before all other These as I haue already shewed were at first but three to which afterwards two other were added First Constantinople and afterwards Hierusalem Touching the Church and Bishop of Constantinople after that city was by Constantine made the seate of the Empire and thereby as much or more honoured then any city in the world the Bishop thereof before little esteemed grew exceeding great and in the second Councell which was the first of Constantinople was made a Patriarch in degree of honour next the Bishop of Rome and before the other two And againe in the Councell of Chalcedon confirmed in the same And though Leo resisted against this act of the Councell of Chalcedon and peremptorily protested that he would not suffer the Church of Alexandria to loose the dignity of the second See and the Church of Antioch of the third and his successours many of them persisted in the
in brotherly sort wished the Bishop of Antioch to resist heretiques and to let him vnderstand of the state of the Churches and to be a consort of the Apostolique See in this care to see that the priuiledges of the third See were not deminished by any mans ambition assuring him that whensoeuer he will do any thing for the aduancing of the dignity of the See of Antioch he also will be ready to concurre with him In all which passages betweene Leo and the Bishop of Antioch there is nothing found that hath any shew of proofe of the Popes supremacie Fourthly we say that Cyrill the Patriarch of Alexandria besought Leo to giue noe consent to the attempts of Iuuenall Bishop of Hierusalem seeking to prejudice the Church of Antioch to subject Palaestina to himselfe but that he besought Leo not to permit nor suffer Palaestina to be taken from Antioch and subjected to the Church of Hierusalem as if the whole power of permitting or hindring this thing had rested in Leo is but the false report of the Cardinall according to his wonted manner of misse-alleaging authors for the the aduantage of his cause So that the disposition of this matter rested not wholly in Leo but his concurrence with the Bishops of Antioch and Alexandria was necessary for the withstanding of the attempts of Iuuenall which his concurrence and helpe hee promised the Bishop of Antioch as we haue already heard and was euer ready to yeeld the same vnto him Fiftly we say that Leo did not command Dioscorus the Patriarch of Alexandria but whereas the manner was when the Patriarches were first elected ordained that they should mutually consent one to another and that hee who was newly ordained should send vnto the rest his Synodall letters and testimonies of his lawfull election and ordination Dioscorus being newly elected appointed Patriarch of Alexandria sendeth his Synodall letters to Leo Bishop of Rome that so he might giue his consent receiue embrace him as his fellow Patriarch Leo that these beginnings of Dioscorus might be more sure and firme nothing wanting to perfection fatherly as more ancient and brotherly as of the same ranke with him putting him in mind of some differences betweene their two Churches about the time of the ordination of Ministers and for that it seemed not likely vnto him that Marke the scholler of Peter tooke any other order in this behalfe then Peter did saith vnto him Wee will haue you to obserue that which our Fathers euer obserued making this a condition of the allowance consent he was to yeeld vnto him and vrging the practice of the Apostles sayth hee shall do well if obeying these Apostolicall institutions he shall cause that forme of ordination to be kept in the Churches ouer which God hath set him which is obserued in the Churches of the West that Ministers of the Church may be ordained onely on the Lords day on which day the creation of the world was begun in which Christ rose in which death was destroyed and life after which there is no death tooke beginning in which the Apostles receaued frō the Lord the trūpet of preaching the Gospel the ministration of the Sacrament of regeneration Sixtly we say that Leo intermedleth in the Churches of Africa and requireth some ordained contrary to the Canons to be put from their places tollerateth others and willeth the cause of Lupicinus a Bishop who had appealed vnto him to be heard there because he was Patriarch of the West and these parts of Africa were within his Patriarchship and that yet this his intermedling in so particular sort with the affaires of the Africane Churches was not very pleasing vnto those of Africa as shall appeare by that which followeth Lastly we say that the Church of Rome was the head of all Churches in the sence before expressed and had a presidence of order and honour amongst them and had in that sort as Leo truly saith more subject to it then euer were vnder the Romane Empire but vnder any absolute supreme commanding power of the Church of Rome they were not But saith Bellarmine if the former testimonies of Leo be auoided there is one more yet behind so cleare and full for the supremacie of the Pope that nothing can be sayd in answere vnto it in his Epistle to Anastasius Bishop of Thessalonica His words are these Amongst the most blessed Apostles like in honour there was a certaine difference and distinction of power and whereas they were equally chosen yet notwithstanding it was giuen to one of them to haue a preeminence amongst the rest from which forme the distinctiō and difference that is amongst Bishops hath taken beginning and by a most wise disposition it hath beene prouided that all without difference shall not challenge all vnto thēselues but that there should be in seuerall prouinces seuerall Bishops whose sentence judgment should be first and chiefe amongst the brethren and againe certaine other constituted and placed in greater cities who might take the care of more then the former by whom the care of the whole Church might flow vnto that one seate of Peter and nothing any where might dissent from the head These words truely make a goodly shew and may seeme most strongly to proue the supremacie that the Popes now challenge but in very deede they most powerfully ouerthrow it For the Bishops of Rome will neuer be perswaded in proportionable sort as is expressed in the words of Leo to challenge no more in respect of the whole Church then the Metropolitane Bishops doe in respect of their Provinces and the Patriarches in respect of their Churches of a larger extent For then they must doe nothing but accordingly as they shall bee swayed by the major part of the voyces of the Bishops of the Christian Church For the Metropolitane may doe nothing in his province nor the Patriarch in his larger extent but as they shall be directed swayed by the major part of the voices of their Bishops and yet surely the meaning of Leo was not to giue so much to the Bishop of Rome in respect of all Christian Bishops as pertaineth to the Metropolitanes and Patriarches in respect of their Bishops For the Metropolitane is to ordaine the Bishops of the Province and the Patriarch to ordaine and confirme the Metropolitanes by imposition of hands or mission of the Pall but the Pope neuer had any such power in respect of the Patriarches who were onely to send their Synodall Epistles to him testifying their faith as he likewise to them without expecting any other confirmation then that mutuall consent whereby one of them assured of the right faith and lawfull ordination of another receiued and embraced each other as fellowes and colleagues So that that care of the vniversall Church which Leo saith floweth together and commeth vp to that one chaire of Peter is to be vnderstood only in respect of things concerning the common faith
diminished much lesse tooke away the liberty of other inferiour Sees but that they might resist and gainesay till they were satisfied and made to see the equity of the iudgement of the first See accordingly as we finde they did in the Councell of Chalcedon reiecting him as an Heretique whom the Bishop of Rome had receiued till vpon more full particular examination they found him to be catholicke and acquited him in their owne iudgement So that here we see there is nothing to proue the Pope to bee an absolute supreme iudge of all as Bellarmine vntruly alledgeth But happily hee will say that Theodoret intreateth Renatus to perswade Leo to vse his authority and to require the Bishoppes that had proceeded against him to come to his Synode in the West seeing the See of Rome hath a direction of all Churches and that therefore hee seemeth to acknowledge an absolute supreme power in the Pope For answere herevnto we say that the circumstances of this Epistle doe clearely conuince and proue he had no such conceipt For first he speaketh not of Leo alone as if of himselfe hee could determine the matter of difference betweene him and his Aduersaries but of him and his Westerne Councell Secondly hee doth not say that he his Councell alone may determine the matter but that his See being the first See hee and his Bishops may call all other Bishops to their Councell and this is that direction or government which he saith the first See or Westerne Church hath of other Churches namely in going before them and inuiting and calling them to publique deliberations not in peremptory and absolute commanding without them and ouer them The tenth witnesse produced out of the Greeke church is Sozomene out of whom two things are alledged The first is that he saith Iulius Bishop of Rome restored Athanasius Bishop of Alexandria and Paulus Bishop of Constantinople to their churches from which they were violently and vniustly expulsed by certaine Orientall Bishops The second that he did this because the care of all pertained to him in respect of the dignity of his See How the words of Sozomene reporting that Iulius restored these Bishops to their churches are to bee vnderstood we may learne of Iulius himselfe who in his Epistle mentioned by Athanasius in his second Apologie hauing blamed the Orientall Bishoppes for proceeding in a matter of so great consequence concerning the faith and the Bishops of the principall Churches of the world without him and his Bishops and as he vnderstood very irregularly telleth them that he durst not confirme that they had done that he communicated still with Athanasius and Paulus not foreiudging any thing but desirâ—…ng them to come to a Synode where thinges might bee fully debated and determined and that though hee alone wrote for them yet he wrote in the name and with the consent of all the Bishops of the West Vpon which his letter they were so farre from restoring them to their places that they tooke it in ill part that hee did write vnto them telling him that when hee proceeded against certaine Nouatians they intermedled not and that therefore hee should not meddle with their proceedings seeing the greatnesse of citties maketh not the power of one Bishop greater then the power of another By which their peremptory reiecting of his motion it appeareth that hee neither did nor could put the expulsed Bishops into their places againe which thing Sozomene himselfe testifieth also telling vs that they could neuer recouer their places till the Emperour by his mandatory letters preuailed So that when he saith Iulius restored them his meaning is that hee restored them as much as lay in him as likewise it may be said of Cyrill and Iohn of Antioche that after many and bitter contentions they were in the end reconciled and restored each to other their Churches from which yet they were neuer driuen indeed but in the censures of the one of them passed against the other But Sozomene saith the care of all Churches pertained to the Bishop of Rome therefore he acknowledgeth that hee had an vniversalitie of power ouer all Surely this consequence will neuer be made good For the Metropolitane or he that is Bishop of the first See in each Province in respect of the dignitie of his See hath the care of the whole Province yet can he doe nothing but as hee is directed by the maior part of the Bishops So that the care of all is said to pertaine to him not because he hath power to dispose of all things by himself but because all publike proceedings concerning the whole Province must take their beginning from him nothing of that nature may be taken in hand without consulting him In like sort and in the same sense and meaning Sozomene saith that for the dignity of his See the care of all pertained to the Bishop of Rome not as if the absolute disposing of all things did rest in him but for that he as prime Bishop of the world was first to be consulted before any thing concerning the common faith and the whole state of the Christian Church were determined and for that by the assistance and concurrence of other Bishops he as first in order and honour amongst them was to beginne and set forward allthings of greatest consequence tending to the common good Three more witnesses Bellarmine hath yet behinde Acatius the Bishop of Patara and Iustinian the Emperour out of whom three things are alledged The first that the Bishop of Rome beareth about with him the care of all Churches The second that the Pope is ouer the Church of the whole world The third that the Pope is the Head of all holy Churches To the first of these allegations taken out of Acatius his Epistle to Simplicius Bishop of Rome I haue answered before as likewise in what sense the Pope may be said to be ouer the Church of the whole world to wit in respect of a primacie of order and honour but not of power in which sense also Iustinian the elder writing to Iohn the second saith his See is the Head of all Churches And thus hauing examined the testimonies of the Greeke Fathers we are now to proceed to the authorities of the Latine Church CHAP. 36. Of the pretended proofes of the Popes supremacie taken out of the writings of the Latine Fathers THe first among the Latine Fathers that Bellarmine produceth is Cyprian who of all other most clearely ouerthroweth the error of the Romanists touching the Papacie therefore is very vnadvisedly produced by them in the first place and appointed to marshall and conduct the rest of their witnesses yet let vs heare what he will say Out of Cyprian foure places are alledged The first is in his booke de vnitate Ecclesiae The second in the third Epistle of his first book written to Cornelius The third in the tenth Epistle of his second booke to the same
will in the administration of the Church being to giue an account of his actions vnto the Lord. Here wee see Cyprian speaketh in the very same sort in the case between him and Stephen as he did in the Councell of Carthage and that generally hee maketh all Bishops equall and no one subject to the judgment of another but to the judgement of God only and the company of their fellow Bishops And that he did not thinke the Bishop of Rome to haue an infallibility of judgment or a commanding authority ouer other Bishops it appeareth in that writing to Pompeius of Stephens answere to his letters and sending him a copy of the same answere he telleth him that by reading it hee may more and more note his errour in maintaining the cause of heretiques against Christians and the Church of God and feareth not to pronounce of him that he writeth many things proudly impertinently vnskilfully improuidently and contrary to himselfe and which more is contemning his prescription that heretiques should not be rebaptized but bee receiued with the imposition of hands onely hee chargeth him with hard stiffe and inflexible obstinacie Firmilianus with the Bishops of Phrygia Galatia Cilicia and other regions neere adioyning assembled in a Synode at Iconium consented with Cyprian and Firmilianus writing to him telleth him of their resolution and chargeth Stephen with folly who bragging of the place of his Bishoprique and pretending to succeed Peter on whom the Church was founded yet bringeth in many other rockes and new buildings of many Churches in that hee supposed heretiques to be truly baptized who are out of the communion of the true Church whereas the Church was specially promised to be builded on Peter to shew that it must be but one And in great dislike and reprehension of Stephen he saith he was not ashamed in fauour of heretiques to deuide the brotherhood and to call Cyprian the worthy seruant of God a false Christ a false Apostle and a deceiptfull and guilefull workeman whereas all these things might much more truly bee sayd of him and therefore guilty to himselfe Praeuenit vt alteri ea per mendacium objiceret quae ipse ex merito audire deberet that is By way of preuention hee falsely and lyingly obiected those things to another which himselfe truly and deseruedly might haue had objected to him by others Such and so great were the oppositions of Cyprian and his consorts against Stephen and his adherents in the matter of rebaptization whereupon Bellarmine saith it seemeth that Cyprian sinned mortally in that hee obeyed not the commandement of Stephen nor submitted his judgement to the judgement of his superiour That hee erred in the matter of rebaptization we willingly confesse but that he knew not the power authority and commission of the Bishoppe of Rome or that he would euer haue dissented from him or opposed himselfe against him in a question of faith if hee had thought his power to bee vniuersall and his iudgment infallible we vtterly deny For then hee should not onely haue erred in the matter of rebaptization but haue beene a damnable heretique and and haue perished euerlastingly whereas yet the Church of God hath euer reputed him a holy Bishop and a blessed Martyr Thus hauing examined the testimonies of Cyprian vsually alleaged for and against the supremacy of the Pope let vs proceed to the rest of Bellarmines witnesses The next that followeth is Optatus out of whom it is alleaged that there was one Episcopall Chaire in the whole Church appointed by Christ. But because this is the same which was formerly alleaged out of Cyprian already answered in the answers to the allegations brought out of him therefore without farther troubling of the Reader I referre him to that which went before The next vnto Optatus is Ambrose out of whom three seuerall places are produced in the first his words are these as Bellarmine citeth them Though the whole world bee Gods yet the Church onely is called his house the Gouernour whereof at this day is Damasus For answer hereunto we say that this testimony rather witnesseth their forgery then confirmeth their errour For the Commentaries attributed to Ambrose wherein these words are are not his and besides this addition the gouernour whereof at this day is Damasus may be thought to haue beene put in in fauour of their fancie touching the Papall vniversalitie of jurisdiction it is so sudden causelesse and abrupt In the second place Ambrose reporteth of Satyrus that before he would receiue the Sacrament of the Lords body he asked of the Bishop by whose hands hee was to receiue it whether he held communion with the Catholick Bishops and namely with the Romane Church To the inference of our Adversaries and the conclusion they seek to deriue draw from these words in fauour of the Papacie I haue answered elsewhere whither I referre the Reader Wherefore let vs come to the third and last place of Ambrose His words are Wee follow the type and forme of the Romane Church in all things and againe I desire to follow the Romane Church in all things Surely this place of all other most clearely confuteth the errour of the Romanists touching the infallibility of the judgement of the Roman Church and Bishop and the necessitie of absolute conformity with the same For in this place Saint Ambrose sheweth that in the Church of Millaine whereof he was Bishop the manner in his time was that the Bishop girding himselfe about with a towell in imitation of Christ did wash the feete of such as were newly baptized and after great commendation of the same custome objecting to himselfe that the Romane Church had it not first he saith that perhaps the Church of Rome omitted this washing because of the difficultie and great labour in performing it by reason of the multitude of those that were baptized Secondly whereas some said in defence and excuse of the omission of this washing in the Romane Church that it is not to be vsed as a mysticall right in the regeneration of them that are new borne in Christ but in the ciuill entertainment of strangers the offices of humilitie and ciuill courtesie being very farre different from the mysteries and sacred rights of sanctification he reproueth them for so saying and endeauoureth to shew that this kinde of washing is a sacred and mysticall right tending to the sanctification of them that are newly baptized and that out of the words of Christ to Peter Vnlesse I wash thee thou shalt haue no part in me and then addeth the wordes alleaged by Bellarmine I desire in all things to follow the Romane Church but notwithstanding we also are men and haue our sense and iudgment and therefore what we finde to be rightly obserued any where else we also rightly obserue keepe we follow the Apostle Peter wee cleaue fast vnto his devotion and hereunto what can the Church of Rome answer Whereby wee
may see with what conscience these men alleage the testimonies of the Fathers Ambrose saith Other men haue judgement to discerne what is fit to be done as well as the Romanes that if any where else they finde better obseruations then in the Church of Rome they may lawfully embrace them that S. Peter Bishop of Rome was authour of his assertion and that the Church of Rome hath nothing to answer in her own defence or whereby to justifie her omitting of this sacred washing and they produce his testimonie to proue that he thought it necessary to be like in all things to the Church of Rome Neither doth Bellarmines answer that he thought it necessary to follow the Church of Rome in all things necessary to saluation though he dissented in this observation satisfie vs seeing he thought this obseruation necessary to the perfect regeneration of the baptized consequently to saluation as appeareth in the place it selfe Wherefore when Ambrose saith of himselfe and those of Millaine that they follow in all things the type forme of the Romane Church it is not to be vnderstood without all limitatiō but that as other daughter-Churches do follow the custome of their mother-churches so the church of Millaine conformeth her selfe to the church of Rome in all things so farre forth as shee can perswade her selfe it is fitte and right so to doe otherwise out of her judgement and discretion receiuing from other churches that which they haue in better sort then shee euenas Gregorie Bishop of Rome professed that he was not ashamed to learne of those churches that were meaner then his owne From Ambrose the Cardinall passeth to Hierome out of whose writings he produceth two testimonies The first out of his Epistle to Ageruchia de Monogamiâ the other out of his Epistle to Damasus touching the vse of the word Hypostasis The first of these two testimonies might well haue beene spared For what canne any man inferre from this that Hierome saith hee did helpe Damasus in writing answeres to the Synodall consultations of the East and West was there euer any man that doubted of the consulting of the Bishop of Rome and his Bishops by the Synodes of the East and West in matters concerning the faith and state of the vniuersall Church Or may it bee concluded from hence that the Pope hath an absolute supreme power in the Church Surely I thinke not Wherefore let vs passe to the second testimonie Ego saith Hierome to Damasus nullum primum nisi Christum sequens beatitudini tuae idest Cathedrae Petri communione consocior super illampetram aedificatam Ecclesiam scio Quicunque extra hanc domum agnum commederit profanus est Si quis in arcâ Noae non fuerit peribit regnante diluuio that is I following no first and chiefe but Christ am ioyned in communion to your blessednesse that is to Peters chaire Vpon that rocke I know the Church to bee builded whosoeuer shall eate the Paschall Lambe out of this house he is a profane person If any man shall be out of Noahs arke hee shall vndoubtedly perish when the floud prevaileth and drowneth all It is true that Cyprian hath obserued in his Epistle to Stephen Bishop of Rome that therefore almighty God appointed a great number companie of Bishops ioyned together by the glew and bond of vnity that if some fall into heresie and seeke to wast the flocke of Christ the rest may gather the dispersed sheepe into the fold againe and therefore euen as if one hauen be dangerous they that saile will seeke to another more safe and if one Inne vpon the way be possessed by theeues and wicked persons wayfaring men will turne into another so in the Church when the Pastours of one part of it are infected with errour and heresie men must flie to them that are right-beleeuers in other parts This was the case of Hierome as it appeareth by this his Epistle Hee liued at the time of the writing of it in the East parts where Arrianisme had strangely and dangerously prevailed but the West churches were sound Hee was vrged to confesse and acknowledge that there are three Hypostases or subsistences in the Godhead This forme of speaking he suspected as fearing some ill meaning especially because he suspected them that tendered it to him and therefore flieth for direction to Damasus and the Westerne Bishops For it appeareth that hee sought the resolution of them all though the manner was to write onely to the chiefe amongst them Let vs heare therefore what it is that he saith and what the Iesuite inferreth from his saying He admitteth saith Bellarmine no originall teacher but Christ yet is ioyned in communion with Damasus that is with Peters chaire and professeth that vpon that rocke the Church was builded Therefore he acknowledgeth the vniuersality of Papall power and iurisdiction This argument of the Cardinall is too weake to proue the intended conclusion For though there bee no question but that in a true sense the Church may be said to haue beene builded on Peters chaire that is vpon his office and Ministery yet it will not follow that they who succeed him in that chaire haue vniversality of power and iurisdiction seeing Hierome himselfe teacheth that the Church is builded as well vpon the rest of the Apostles as vpon Peter consequently that their chaires are that rocke vpon which the Church is builded as well as Peters And yet besides all this Gregory sheweth that Peters chaire being but one is in three seuerall places and three Bishops doe sit in it For Peters chaire is at Alexandria where he taught and ruled by Marke his scholler at Antioch where he remained for a time and at Rome where in his body he yet still abideth expecting the second comming of Christ. Vpon this chaire as on a rocke the Church is builded But this chaire and throne implieth not onely the office and ministery of them who most specially succeed Peter as the Bishops of Rome Alexandria and Antioch but of such other also as in ioynt commission with them gouerne the Church Wherevpon according to the phrase of Antiquity the iudgement of the Romane See and the iudgement of the Bishop of Rome with his fellow Bishops of the West is all one But some man will say that Hierome pronounceth him to be a profane person that eateth the lambe out of this house speaking of the Church of Rome therefore hee thinketh all men and Churches bound for euer to hold communion with the Romane Church For answere to this obiection first we say it may very probably be thought that by the house he speaketh of out of which the Lambe may not be eaten he meaneth not particularly the Romane Church but the true Catholique Church of Christ which is equally builded vpon all the Apostles in respect of the same firmenesse found in them all but more specially vpon Peter as in order and honour the chiefest of them
thereby ceasing to be members of it and consequently losing all authority commaund they formerly had For the clearing of this point wee are to obserue that there are some who runne into errours so directly contrary to all Christianity the sense and judgment of all Christians that by the very proposing thereof they abandon and driue from them all such as dissent and are abandoned of all Secondly there are some that runne not into errours so directly contrary to the sense and judgement of all Christians as the former but with such fury madnes pertinacy that they vtterly reject forsake and depart from all such as doe dissent or are otherwise minded Thirdly there are some who though they be not carried with such violent fury into errour as to condemne reject and depart from all that dissent yet they runne into olde heresies formerly condemned and so by force of the former condemnation are rejected put out of the lap and bosome of the Church Fourthly there are some who fall into hereticall and dangerous errours but neither directly contrary to the common sense of all right beleeuing Christians nor formerly condemned by the consenting voice of the whole Church of God nor with such pertinacy as either to refuse to communicate with them that think otherwise or to seeke to depriue depose degrade or otherwise violently vexe and molest them that are vnder them for not consenting to them in their errour The three former sorts of men falling into errour and heresie voluntarily cut themselues off from the vnity of the Body of the Church depart from the fellowship of Gods people and ipso facto cease to bee members of the Church and lose all authority and commaund they formerly had So that they neede not the Churches censure or sentence to cast them out departing of themselues but it sufficeth that their breaches and divisions from the maine body of the Christian Church be published and made knowne that so they may be avoided So Caelestinus in his Epistle to Iohn of Antioch saith that if any one haue beene excommunicated or depriued by Nestorius or any of his adherents since the time they first began to publish their impieties he still continueth in the cōmunion of his Churches neither doth he judge him to be remoued from his place and the like hee hath in his Epistle to the Clergy of Constantinople But the fourth sort of men erring doe not cease to be members of the Church nor lose their places by so erring till both the point of doctrine wherein they are deceiued be tryed and examined and by lawfull highest authority be found faultie and their pertinacie such as rather to suffer themselues to be rejected and put from the communion of all that are otherwise minded then to alter their judgements Cyprian fell into an hereticall opinion that the Baptisme of Heretiques is voyde and that all that haue beene baptized by Heretiques are to be rebaptized Yet because this point was not examined and condemned in a generall Councell nor his pertinacie therein vpon such examination and condemnation found such as rather to suffer himselfe to bee reiected from the communion of all them that thought otherwise then to giue way and alter his iudgment hee was no hereticke neither did he lose his place of ministery in the Church of God The question therefore is whether if the Pope fell into such an errour as that of Cyprian by which he doth not actually and ipso facto divide and cut off himselfe the Church may examine it and judge him to be rejected and put from the communion if he alter not his iudgement If they say it may then hath the Church power to iudge a Pope that is not an Heretique For he is not an Hereticke till after such determination he chooseth rather to be reiected from the cōmunion of the faithfull then to alter his iudgement If it may not iudge the Pope so erring then might the Popes in former times haue taught rebaptization with Cyprian the errour of the Chiliastes with sundry of the Fathers that all right beleeuers how wickedly soeuer they liue shall in the end be saued with some of the Ancient that the just shall not see God till the resurrection and the like and yet the Church haue had noe power to force them to forsake and condemne such errours or to cease from perswading and inducing men both by doctrine example to erre in like sort And then we may runne into their errour who thinke that though the Pope be an hereticke yet hee is neither deposed ipso facto nor may be deposed but that the Church must acknowledge a deuouring wolfe making hauock of the flocke of Christ to be her Pastor which Bellarmine himselfe thinketh to be very absurd Thus then we see that all who fall into heresies do not cut off themselues from the vnity of the body of the Church nor lose the iurisdiction and authority they formerly had ipso facto as the Papists to auoid the deposing of Popes by the authority of the Church seeme to imagine but that many doe soe fall into heresies that they goe not out of themselues till they be rejected and cast out But howsoeuer our Aduersaries must not defend that Popes falling into heresies are deposed ipso facto for if they do they ouerthrow the whole building and fabricke of Popery The constant opinion of almost all later Papists is that howsoeuer the Pope may personally erre and fall into heresie or become an Hereticke yet the prouidence of God ouer him is such because he is Christs Vicar Peters Successour heire of the Apostles and head of the vniuersall Church that hee cannot define or decree any heresie or prescribe vnto all Christians to belieue amisse Which conceipt cannot stand but falleth to the ground is clearely ouerthrowne if the Pope by becōming an hereticke be deposed ipso facto For doubtlesse if the Pope becomming an hereticke ipso facto cease to bee Pope and to be soe much as a member of the Church then doth not the prayer of Christ for the not failing of Peters faith extend to him any longer neither is hee any longer any way priuiledged by vertue of his succeeding blessed Peter but that hee may runne into all extremities in most damnable sort seeke to subuert the faith to force all to belieue as he doth and define and determine that all shall professe the same doctrine of Diuels that himselfe doth seeing when God forsaketh him and putteth him out of his protection the Diuell entreth into him as he did into Iudas the traytor And how violent and strange the mouings of the euill spirit are wee are not ignorant for sometimes he casteth them that are possessed by him into the fire and sometimes into the water sometimes into one extremity and sometimes into another Wherefore either the Papists must confesse that the Pope may define for heresie then all their religion is ouerthrown
Paulus Andreas Iacobus quid aliud quà m singularum plebium sunt capita omnes tamen sub uno capite membra Ecclesiae sunt that is Peter is the first and in honour the chiefest member of the holy and vniversall Church Paul Andrew Iames what other thing are they then heads of seuerall parts of Gods people Yet so that all notwithstanding are members of the Church vnder one Head So that a Head of the Church besides Christ must not be acknowledged because no one hath an vniversall commaunding power ouer all but hee onely Yet in a certaine sense the Romane Church is named the Head of all Churches that is the first and chiefest of all Churches as the city of London may bee named the Head of all cities in this state kingdome though it hath not a commaunding authority ouer them neither is the chiefe Magistrate thereof head ouer all other Magistrates in the kingdome The authority of the Florentine Councell naming the Bishop of Rome Father and teacher of all Christians and the Councell of Lyons naming him the bridegroome of the Church is not so great that wee should neede much to insist vpon any thing that is alleadged out of them And touching the latter title wee know Saint Bernard in his Epistles wisheth the Pope not to take it on him as being proper to Christ but to thinke it honour enough to be a friend of the bridegroome And yet if we should yeelde it vnto him wee know what Gerson hath written to shew how this bridegroome may bee taken away from the Church the spouse of Christ and yet the Church remaine entire and perfect The next glorious title of the Romane Bishop is Bishop of an Apostolique See But this is common to him with many others as some of the rest also are For as not only the Romane Church but the Churches of Ephesus Antioch Hierusalem and Alexandria which the Apostles founded and in which they sate as Bishops are named Apostolicall Churches so the Bishoppes of all these are named Bishops of Apostolique Sees Neither doe men know which of the Apostolicke Churches is expressed by the name of the Apostolique See or which of the Bishops by the name of the Bishop of the Apostolique See vnlesse by some circumstance the same be specified As when Augustine said there were relations made from the Councell of Carthage and Mileuis to the Apostolique See all men vnderstood what Apostolique See he meant because it was knowne to what Apostolique Church they vsed to make such relations Neither doth the principalitie of the Apostolique chaire which Augustine affirmeth to haue euer flourished in Rome argue the supremacie of the Pope seeing the principality or chieftie of the Apostolique chaire mentioned by Saint Augustine may seeme to import the chieftie that the Apostolike chaire hath aboue those that are not Apostolique or in which blessed Peter the chiefe of the Apostles did not sit For though the chaires of the Apostles were in diverse places yet Peters chaire was esteemed the principall of all the rest which being the See and chaire of one yet was in three places and three Bishops did sit in it Namely the Bishops of Rome Alexandria and Antioche as I haue shewed before out of Gregory yet was the principalitie or chieftie of this chaire of Peter more specially in Rome then in the other places and the Bishop of Rome in order and honour the first and greatest of the three The last title brought to proue the supremacie of the Pope is that of Vniuersall Bishoâ—… which though it be not giuen to Leo Bishop of Rome by the whole Councell of Câ—…alcedon yet is it giuen to him in the Epistles of three seuerall Grecians writing to hâ—… as wee may read in the third action of that Councell and Saint Gregory saith it â—…s offered to his predecessours in that Councell and that they refused it This title â—…ill proue the supremacy of the Pope no better then the rest being common vnto oâ—…er with him and therefore no way arguing any thing peculiarly found in him alone â—…or wee shall finde that the Bishops of Constantinople are named vniuersall Bishops â—…nd Oecumenicall Patriarches as well as the Bishoppe of Rome and that not by one or two particular men but by whole Councels by Emperours and Popes and though Saint Gregorie justly disliked this name or title as profane and prejudiciall to the dignitie of all other Bishoppes and Patriarches when it importeth an vniuersalitie of jurisdiction and generall commanding authoritie ouer all yet might any one of the Patriarches be named an vniversall Bishoppe as being one of those fiue principall Bishoppes to whom all the Bishops and Metropolitanes in the world were subject CHAP. 42. Of the second supposed priuiledge of the Romane Bishops which is infallibilitie of judgment SEEING our Aduersaries cannot proue the vniversall and illimitted power and jurisdiction of their Popes but the contrary is most clearely deposed by those witnesses which they produce to speake for them affirmed by those Diuines whom they cannot but acknowledge to be Catholique and inferred out of their owne principles let vs proceed to see whether they haue any better proofes of the infallibility of their judgment which is the next supposed priuiledge of the Romane Bishops Touching this point I finde foure opinions in the Church of Rome The first is that the Pope is so led into all truth that hee cannot erre in such sort as to become an hereticke And of this opinion was Albertus Pighius The second leaueth it doubtfull whether he may be an hereticke or not but pronounceth confidently that whether hee may or not yet hee cannot define and decree any thing that is hereticall And this is the opinion of almost all Papists at this day The third that the Pope not onely as a particular Doctour but euen as Pope may bee an heretique and teach heresie if he define without a generall Councell This was the opinion of Gerson Almayne and other Parisians of Alfonsus à Castro Pope Adrian the sixth Cardinall Cameracensis Cusanus Occam Durandus the Fathers of the Councels of Constance and Basill and many moe The fourth that hee may erre and define for heresie though he be assisted with a generall Councell Of this opinion was Waldensis and sundry other as appeareth by Picus Mirandula in his Theorems So that it is not true that Bellarmine saith that all Catholiques consent that the Pope with a generall Councell cannot erre For these teach that onely the resolutions of the vniuersall Church which is the multitude of beleeuers that are and haue beene are to be receiued without any farther question or examination as vndoubtedly true These are the differences of opinions found among them that brag so much of vnity and make the ground thereof to be the submitting of their iudgments to the Pope But because in so great vncertainty and contrariety of judgments almost
haue beene followed in the suppressing of the Pelagians and therefore Austine affirmeth that there were but some few heresies of that nature that a Generall Councell of all the Bishops of the East and West was necessarily to bee called for the suppressing of them And indeede wee finde that if some fiue or sixe heresies haue beene condemned by the censure of Generall Councells an 100. haue beene suppressed and extinguished by other meanes And of those for the condemning whereof Generall Councells were holden some were not extinguished a long time after For that of the Arrians grew stronger after then euer it was before and those of Nestorius and Eutyches continued some hundreds of yeares after the ending of those Councels in which they receiued the sentence of condemnation How is it then that Isidore saith the Church before Constantines time was diuided rent into diuers Factions and Sects because there was no Generall Councell as if there were no other meanes to preserue Vnity but Generall Councels and that wheresoeuer they may be had Peace were presently established For the clearing hereof we say that such new opinions as growing vp in those times found a concurring dislike in the seuerall Churches seeking one to another were then suppressed when yet there could bee no Generall Councels as the heresies of the Marcionites Valentinians and the like But they wherein there grew difference among the chiefe Pastours and Bishoppes of the Churches could not be determined in those times as the errours of the Millenaries of those that kept Easter after the Iewish obseruation and of those that held the necessity of re-baptizing of such as were baptized by heretickes in which point many worthy pastours Bishops of the Church did erre in the first ages of the Church neither could their errour bee extinguished as Austine noteth nor the trueth so cleared as that all dissenters should incurre the note of heresie till the decree of a Councell passed about it Quaestionis huius obscuritas saith Austine Prioribus Ecclesiae temporibus ante schisma Donati magnos viros magna charitate praeditos Patres Episcopos ita inter se compulit salua pace disceptare fluctuare vt diu Conciliorum in suis quibusque regionibus diuersa statuta nutauerint donec Plenario totius orbis Concilio quod saluberrime sentiebatur etiam remotis dubitationibus formaretur that is The obscurity of this question in former ages of the Church before the schisme of Donatus did cause great men and Fathers and Bishops indued with great charity so to striue among themselues and to wauer as doubtfull vncertaine without breaking the bond of Peace that for a long time the Decrees of Councels in seuerall Regions were diuerse and different without any settled certainty till that which was most wholesomely conceiued was fully formed settled and established by a plenary Councell of the Bishops of the whole world and no place left for doubting and vncertainty any longer Thus wee see that some heresies may easily be suppressed without troubling all the Bishops of the world to meet in a Generall Councell and that some others cannot easily bee suppressed without Generall Councels as heresies may be suppressed by the mutuall concurrence of seueral churches so by the like correspondence the seuerity of discipline may be vpholdē vniformely schismes prevented When Cornelius was elected and ordained Bishop of Rome at the first because there was some oppositiō Cyprian others were feareful to write vnto him as to the Bishop of Rome but afterwardbeing fully informed touching the lawfulnesse of his electiō and ordinatiō they reiected his Competitours and communicated with him onely the like we shall find to haue bin practised generally by all Bishops carefully seeking to be certified out of other Provinces and parts of the Church by such Bishops as were knowne to be Catholikes who came lawfully into places of Ministery being so come held the vnity of Faith and Charity that so they might holde Cōmunion with them and reject those that entered otherwise Whereupon Cyprian telleth Cornelius Bishop of Rome to whō in Africa he might write as to Catholick Bishops from whō he might receiue letters as from Catholickes Notwithstanding Generall Councels are the best meanes for preseruing of vnity of doctrine seuerity of discipline preventing of schismes when they may be had though they be not absolutely necessary to the being of the Church yet are they most behoouefull for the best readiest most gracious governing of the same how-soeuer there may bee a kind of exercise of the supreme jurisdictiō that is in the Church by the concurrence of particular Synodes the correspondence of seueral Pastors vpon mutuall intelligence of the sence judgment resolutiō of euery of them yet the highest most excellent exercise of the supreme Ecclesiasticall jurisdictiō is in Generall Councels Heere the Papists are wont to argue that the Protestants hauing no Generall Councels haue not the exercise of the supreme Ecclesiasticall jurisdictiō consequently that they are not that Church out of which no saluatiō is found but this is a very silly trifling and playing with their owne shadowes neither is it any thing else buta meere abusing of themselues others thus idlely fondly to jangle For first the Protestants being but a part of the Christian Church neuer challenged to themselues the authority that belongeth to the whole as the Papists doe who excluding all the Christians of Graecia Armenia Russia Aethiopia out of the fellowship cōmunion of Saints and as much as in them lieth casting them into hell suppose a Generall meeting of those of their own factiō to bee a Generall Councell And secondly if the Protestants did think themselues to be the whole Church yet their argument were of no force seeing the whole Church may be without the benefite of Generall Councels much longer then the Protestants haue beene since the divisiō between them the Papists for the Christians of the primitiue church had no general councell for the space of 300 yeares after Christ. But to returne to the point frō which we are a little digressed occasioned so to doe by this frivolous objectiō of the Papists touching the good and profitable vse of Generall councels there is no difference between vs our Adversaries but it is agreed on both sides that though they be not absolutely necessary yet they are very behoofefull much to be desired in diverse cases neither euer was there any man of judgement that thought otherwise For that which Nazianzen hath that hee neuer saw good end of any councell is not to bee vnderstood as spoken generally and absolutely but respectiuely to the turbulent times wherein he liued and the Arrian faction so prevailed that many Synodes were holden for the ouerthrow of the Nicene faith without all respect to the good of the Church CHAP. 49. Of the persons that may
The eight was holdenat Constantinople about the difference betweene Ignatius and Photius and called by Basilius the Emperour as appeareth by the Appendix to the Acts of that councell collected out of diuerse Authors by Surius and extant in the second part of the third Tome of Councels set out by Binnius So that wee see all the Eight Generall Councels were called by the Emperours and not by the Popes which thing is so cleare and euident that our Adversaries dare not deny it but seeke to avoyde the evidence of the truth against which they dare not directly oppose themselues by all the shifts they can devise for first they say that though it be not so proper to the Pope to call Councels but that others may doe it ifhee assent vnto it or approue it yet that without his Mandate Assent or Approbation of such indiction and calling no councell is lawfull Secondly they say that the Emperours called councels by the authority of the Pope and thirdly that happily they presumed aboue that was fit forthem to doe Wherefore let vs see how they proue that they say That the right of calling Councels belongeth to the Pope and not to the Emperor and consequently that the Emperour may call none without his assent Bellarmine endeauoureth to proue in this sort They that meete in councels must bee gathered together in the name of Christ to be gathered in the name of Christ is to be gathered by him that hath authority from Christ and none hath authority from Christ to call together the Pastors of the church but the Pope onely therefore none but the Pope may call councels To this argument wee answere that indeed they must meet in the name of Christ who assemble in councels but that to meete in Christs name importeth not in the promise made by Christ a gathering together of them that meete by his authority And that the Cardinall can neuer proue that the Pope and hee onely is authorized to call together the Pastours of the churches That to bee gathered together in Christs Name importeth not to bee called together by publike authority as Bellarmine vntruely affirmeth it is evident by his owne confession in that hee acknowledgeth that the gathering together in Christs Name to which hee hath promised to joyne his owne presence may bee verified of many or few Bishops or Laymen priuate or publike persons about priuate or publike affaires whereas priuate men meeting about priuate businesses are not gathered together by any one hauing authority to commaund them but by voluntary agreement among themselues and therefore Andradius telleth vs that both by the circumstance of Christs speech and the commentaries of the holy Fathers it is euident that his wordes agree to euery meeting of such men as beeing joyned together in Faith and charity aske any thing of GOD and particularly produceth Chrysostome expounding Christs wordes as Calvine doth whom Bellarmine taxeth to wit that they are saide to bee gathered together in Christs Name whom neither respect of private gaine induceth nor the ambitious desire of honour inviteth nor the prickes ofhatred and envy incite driue forward whom the inflamed loue of peace the feruent affections of Christian charity impell and not the spirit of contention in one word they who meete to seeke out by force of diuine grace with common and heartiest longing desires sought and obtained what especially pleaseth Christ and what is true For they that come together to set forward and aduance their owne priuate designes and to serue their owne contentious dispositions and to deceiue miserable men with the glorious name of a Councell are by no meanes to be thought to come together in Christs name nor to hold Ecclesiasticall assemblies but such as are most pestilent and hurtfull of which sort they were which were holden heretofore in the time of Constantine and Constantius at Tyrus Ierusalem Antioch Sirmium and Seleucia and infinite other conuenticles of Heretiques to which that most aptly agreeth which Leo the Pope pronounceth of the second Councell of Ephesus to wit that while priuate causes were promoted and set forward vnder pretence of religion that was brought to passe by the impiety of a few that wounded the whole Church But sayth Bellarmine this note of meeting in the feare of God with desire of finding out the truth and doing good discerneth not lawfull Councels from other seeing all that meete in Councels pretend that they come together out of a desire of the common good and not for priuate respects and that therefore this is not to meete in Christs name which is strangely sayd of him as if lawfull Councels rightly proceeding in their deliberations might not bee discerned from other by any thing that other may pretend or as if this his silly argument might sway against the circūstances of Christs words and the Commentaries of the holy Fathers Wherefore passing from this first exception against his Argument wee secondly answere vnto it that Christ did not giue the power of calling Generall Councels to the Pope alone as hee alleageth and in what sort Christ committed his Church to Peter to be gouerned by him as likewise in what sence it is that Leo sayth Though there be many Pastours yet Peter ruleth them all we haue largely declared already So that from hence nothing can bee concluded to proue that Christ gaue the power and right of calling Generall Councels to the Pope alone And thirdly we say that though it be true that Christ did not leaue his Church to be gouerned by Tiberius Caesar an Infidell so continuing or to his successors like vnto him in Infidelity yet hee that promised to giue Kings to be nursing Fathers and Queenes to be nursing mothers vnto his Church left it to bee gouerned by those nursing Fathers and nursing Mothers which he meant in succeeding times to raise vp for the good comfort and peace of his faithfull people after that their faith patience and long suffering more precious then gold should bee sufficiently tryed in the fire of tribulation Wherefore let vs passe to the Cardinalls second argument which is noe better then the first For neither hath the Pope power either Ciuill or Ecclesiasticall to inforce all Bishops to bee present at such assemblies as hee shall appoint neither did the Emperours informer time want meanes to inforce all to come when they called for them And touching the present state of things wee are not so foolish as to thinke the right of calling generall Councels to rest in the Emperour hauing so little command as now hee hath but wee place it in the concurrence of Christian Princes without which no lawfull Generall Councell can euer bee had His third reason taken from the proportion of Metropolitanes and Patriarches calling Prouinciall and Patriarchicall Synodes holdeth not as I haue shewed before Neither that which seemeth of all other to bee strongest taken from the ancient
this immunity And Sixtus Senensis saith that Hierome speaketh not of that tribute which subiects pay to their Princes here in this world but of that which we all owe to CHRIST so that this is that he saith why doe not we wretched men professing our selues to be the servants of Christ yeeld vnto his Maiesty the due tribute of our seruice seeing Christ so great and excellent payde tribute for our sakes S. Austine in his first book of Questions vpon the Gospels saith that Kings sons in this world are free that therefore much more the sonnes of that Kingdome vnder which all kingdomes of the World are should bee free in each earthly Kingdome which words Thomas and Sixtus Senensis vnderstand of a freedome from the bondage of sin but Iansenius rejecteth that interpretation because Austine saith the children of Kings are free from tribute and thinketh that Austines meaning is that if God the King of Heauen Earth had many naturall sonnes as hee hath but one only begotten they should all be free in all the Kingdomes of the world and other apply these words to cleargy-men though there bee nothing in the place leading to any such interpretation But whatsoeuer we thinke of the meaning of Austine Bellarmine saith it cannot bee inferred from these his wordes that cleargy-men by Gods Law are free from the duty of paying tribute because as Chrysostome noteth Christ speaketh only of naturall children and besides prescribeth nothing but onely sheweth that vsually among men Kings sonnes are free from tribute and therefore whereas the authority of Bonifacius the Eighth who affirmeth that the goods persons of Cleargy-men are free from exactions both by the law of God and man is brought to proue the contrary Hee answereth first that haply the Pope meant not that they are absolutely freed by any speciall graunt frō God but only that there is an example of Pharaoh an Heathen Prince freeing the Priests of his Gods mentioned in Scripture which may induce Christian Kings to free the Pastours of Christs Church Secondly that it was but the priuate opinion of the Pope inclining to the iudgment of the Canonistes and that he did not define any such thing So that men may lawfully dissent from him in this point So that we see by the testimonies of Scripture and Fathers and the confession of the best learned among our aduersaries themselues that Almighty God did not by any special exemption free either the goods or persons of Cleargy-men from the command of Princes and that in the beginning they were subiect to all seruices iudgements payments burdens that any other are subiect to and required by Christ the Sonne of God and his blessed Apostles to be so But some man happily will say that though Christ did not specially free eyther the goods or persons of Cleargy-men from the subiection to Princes yet there are inducements in reason and in the very light of nature such and so great to moue Princes to set them free that they should not do well if they did not so Whereunto wee answere that there is no question to be made but that the Pastors of the Church that watch ouer the soules of men are to bee respected and tendered more then men of any other calling and so they are and euer were where any sence of religion is or was The Apostle Saint Paul testifieth of the Galathians that they receiued him as an Angell of God yea as Christ Iesus himselfe that they would haue euen plucked out their eyes to haue done him good The Emperour Constantine honoured the Christian Bishops with the name and title of Gods acknowledged himselfe subject to their iudgment though he swayed the scepter of the World and refused to see what the complaintes were that they preferred one against another or to read their bils but professed that to couer their faults he would euen cast frō him his purple Robe Whence it came that many priuiledges were anciently graunted vnto them both in respect of their persons goods For first Constantine the Great not onely gaue ample gifts to the Pastors of the Churches but exempted them also from those seruices ministeries and imployments that other men are subiect to His Epistle to Anelinus the Proconsul of Africa wherein this graunt was made to them of Affrica is found in Eusebius Neyther is it to be doubted but that he extended his fauours to the Bishops of other Churches also aswell as to them The words of the Grant are these Considering that the due obseruation of things pertaining to true religion and the worshippe of God bringeth great happinesse to the whole state of the Common-wealth and Empire of Rome For the incouragement of such as attend the holy Ministery and are named Cleargy-men my pleasure is that all such in the Church wherein Caecilianus is Bishop be at once and altogether absolutely freed and exempted from all publicke Ministeries and Seruices Neither did the Emperors only exempt them from these seruices but they freed them also frō secular iudgements vnles it were in certaine kindes of criminall causes Wherein yet a Bishop was not to be cōuēted against his wil before any secular Magistrate without the Emperors cōmand Neyther might the temporall Magistrates condemne any Cleargy-man till hee were degraded by his Bishoppe howsoeuer they might imprison and restraine such vpon complaints made And answerably hereunto the Councell of Matiscon prouideth that no Cleargy-man for any cause without the discussion of his Bishop shall bee wronged imprisoned by any Secular Magistrate that if any Iudge shal presume to doe soe to the Cleargy-men of any Bishoppe vnlesse it be in a criminall cause hee shall bee excommunicated as long as the Bishoppe shall thinke fitte This was all the immunity that Cleargy-men anciently had by any grant of Princes and as much as euer the Church desired to enjoy but that which in latter times was challenged by some and in defence of the claime whereof Thomas Becket resisted the King till his bloud was shedde was of another kinde For whereas it was not thought fitte by the King and State of the Realme at that time that Church-men found in enormous crimes by the kings Iustices should be deliuered ouer to their Bishoppes and so escape ciuill punishment but that confessing such crimes or being clearely conuinced of them before the Bishoppe the Bishoppe should in presence of the Kings Iustices degrade them and put them from all Ecclesiasticall honour and deliuer them to the Kings Court to be punished Becket was of a contrary minde and thought that such as Bishoppes degraded or putte out of their Ministery of the Church should not bee punished by the ciuill Magistrates because as hee sayd one offence was not to be punished twice The occasion of this controuersie betweene the King and the Arch-bishoppe was giuen by one Philip Brocke a Canon of Bedford Who beeing brought before
meanes before things were setled yet so soone as there was any quiet establishment of things they embraced this course of providing for Ministers by Tithes as of all other the best These Tithes before there was that perfect distinction and division of Parochiall Churches that now is they payed to the Bishop and Cleargy jointly Whereupon we shall finde that at first as all Lands so all Money Tithe First-fruits and other Contributions made to the Church were in the hands of the Bishoppe and Cleargy joyntly but of the Bishop principally as more eminent than the rest and that hee was bound to divide all into foure parts whereof one serued for his owne maintenance another for the Cleargy the third for the Reparations of the buildings and houses belonging to the Church and a fourth for the Reliefe of the Poore and the entertainement of Strangers And therefore at the first the Cleargy was maintained out of a common dividend and the portion allowed to each man was named Sportula and they that liued by these allowances Sportulantes In which sense Cyprian writing of some that he had designed to bee Presbyters hath these wordes Presbyterii honorem designâsse nos illis iam sciatis ut sportulis iisdem cum Presbyteris honorentur divisiones mensurnas aequatis quantitatibus partiantur sessuri nobiscum provectis corroboratis annis suis. But this course continued but a while for afterwardes as there was a division of Parochiall Churches with particular assignation of seuerall Presbyters to take care of them so likewise of the tithes of the increase of the lands possessiōs of such as were within those Limits the Bishop Cleargy of the city or of the chiefe church liuing in common of such landes revenewes and possessions as had beene giuen to the church and the tithes and offerings of them that receiued Sacraments and resorted ordinarily to be taught in the Cathedrall church till in the end as the Inhabitants of the country abroad so they of the Cities likewise were put to Parochiall divisions and none but the Bishop Cleargy and such as pertained to them resorted ordinarily to the Cathedrall or great Church but to other divided from it and then was there no more tithe payde to the Bishop and Cleargy of the Cathedrall or chiefe church but to the inferiour Churches onely the Bishop and his Cleargy of the Mother Church liuing of such lands as were giuen vnto them which also in processe of time they diuided So that the Bishop had his distinct possessions lands and reuenewes proper to himselfe and likewise they of the Cathedrall Church So that to conclude this matter as tithes are payable by the lawes of God men for the maintenance of Gods seruice and them that attend the same so before there was any particular diuision of Parochiall Churches and while each citty and the places adioyning made but one Church they were due and of right to be payed by men liuing within those limits to the Bishop and Cleargy joyntly who by a joynt care were to gouerne and teach the people of such places But after Parochiall Churches were deuided each man was and is to pay the tithes of the things he possesseth within each parish to that particular Presbyter that ruleth the same And therefore it is an error to thinke as some do that before the councell of Lateran men might pay their tithes to what places and persons they pleased and that by the decrees of that Councell they were first limitted to the place of their habitation For the thing that was ordered in the Councell of Lateran was not the limiting of the dutie of paying tith to one certaine and definite place as if men had bin free before to pay them to whom and where they listed but whereas men dwelling in one place and hauing lands liuings and possessions in another thought they might pay the tenth of the increase of such things as they had in other places to the Minister of the place where they dwelt and of whom they receiued the Sacraments The Councell decreed that the Tythes of such lands as men had lying elsewhere should not be payd by them in the places of their habitation but where the land lyeth and personall tythes in the place of their abode where they are partakers of the holy things of God and not elsewhere Then which nothing could be more iust and reasonable Neyther did the Councell of Lateran alone take order for this matter but the Councell of Mentz cited by Gratian prouideth likewise that if any man giue away such places as he had proprietie in or other things the tyth shall not be alienated from the Church it did formerly belong vnto But that men were alwaies bound to pay their Tythes of such things as they possesse within the place of their habitation to the Ministers of the same it may easily be proued in that very Auncient Councels do prouide that no man shall pay the tythes of such things as hee hath within the limits of any place but to that Church to which all they that inhabit there resort for Baptisme and spirituall instruction Wee decree sayth Anastasius Bishop of Rome that if any man seeke to with-hold the Oblations and Tythes which the people ought to yeeld vnto the Church or giue them away from that Church where they of the places where such Tythes arise doe vsually receiue the Sacrament of Baptisme to any other without the Bishops consent let him be accursed It hath seemed good not onely to vs but to aur Auncestors sayth Leo the Fourth that the people shall pay their Tythes where they and their children are baptized and no where else The Councell of Wormes prouideth that if any man with the Bishops consent builde a new Church within his owne land the Auncient Church shall not bee preiudiced but all accustomed Tythes shall be still paid vnto it The Councell of Ticin sayth there are certaine Lay-men who hauing Churches or Oratories within the compasse of their owne landes and possessions pay not the tithes to those Churches where they are partakers of the benefit of Baptisme Preaching Imposition of handes and other Sacraments of Christ but giue them to their owne Churches or their owne Clearkes as they list which is contrary to the Law of God and the sacred Canons And therefore the Councell of Mentz in the time of Arnulphus decreed That ◠Auncient Churches shall not be depriued of their tithes or other possessions and that the things that formerly did belong vnto them shall not be giuen to new Chappels or Oratories The first wrong that was offered vnto Churches in depriuing them of their tythes that preuailed was in fauour of Monkes who hauing their Mansion houses within the precincts of parishes and landes belonging to the same which for their prouision they held in their owne hands and vsed for their owne benefit rested not till they obtayned of the
prayers and may be releeued by them that therefore there is a third place wherein they are to be temporally afflicted For all this may be in the passage hence and entrance into the other world the prayers of the liuing accompanying them and God purging out that which is impure and remitting that which offendeth him in this middle sort of men euen in that first entrance into the state of the other world And surely Augustine himselfe in his owne prayer for Monicha his mother neuer speaketh one word of releasing her out of paine or punishment but prayeth God not to enter into iudgment with her to suffer none to diuide her from him and take her out of his protection to keepe her that neither the lyon nor dragon by force or subtilty interpose himselfe for that shee will not plead that shee hath not trespassed lest shee should be conuinced and the accuser should preuaile against her and gette her to himselfe but that her trespasses are remitted to her by Christ so shewing that hee made his prayer for her respectiuely to the state shee was in in her passage and while she stood to be judged and because this might seeme to bee already past and the things hee asked performed when he prayed hee sayth he thinketh God hath already done that he prayeth for but beseecheth him to accept his voluntary deuotions Two places there are found in Augustines workes where he seemeth peremptorily to affirme that there is a penall state and purging fire after this life the first is in his one and twentieth booke De ciuitate Dei where he sayth When the dead shall rise againe there shall some bee found to whom after they haue suffered punishments mercy shall be shewed that they be not cast into eternall fire But the words as Viues noteth vpon the same place are not found in some auncient manuscripts nor in that printed at Friburge The other place is in his second booke De Genesi against the Manichees The words are these Hee who happily shall not till his field but shall suffer it to be ouer-growne with thornes and briars hath in this life the curse of his life in all his workes and after this life hee shall haue either the fire of Purgation or eternall punishment which wordes beeing spoken of them that till not their fielde that suffer it to bee ouer-growne with thornes and bryers whose whole life is accursed in all they doe and not of such good men to whom some imperfection cleaueth are vttered according to that opinion then preuayling of deliuerance out of hell which Augustine in that place would not stand to discusse but else-where refuteth at large So that the thinges t◅ are found in Augustine clearely resolued on are onely these First that some sinnes are remitted after this life which wee graunt vnderstanding that remission to bee in the first enterance into the other world Secondly that they are onely the lesser sinnes that are thus remitted after this life and not those more grieuous wherein men dye without repentance for these exclude from the Kingdome of Heauen Thirdly that prayers do helpe men dying in those lesser sinnes Which likewise we acknowledge to be true if such prayers be conceaued and vnderstood as made respectiuely to the enterance into the other world Fourthly that there is no deliuerance of men dying in the state of mortall sinne out of hell and that noe prayers can benefit them in this behalfe In all these pointes his resolution is full and cleare but whether the paines of men damned in hell may be eased mitigated or suspended for a time by the prayers of the liuing he professeth hee will not striue so that the wrath of God be acknowledged to remaine eternally vppon them Neither is this contradictory to that which he hath else-where that the prayers of the liuing are no helpes of such as are damned but onely comforts of the liuing For hee meaneth that they are no helpes able to free and deliuer them out of that state of punishment wherein they are but whether they may some way ease them or not hee will not much contend and therefore hee sayth that whom praiers profit either they profit them for full remission as they doe men dying in the lesser sinnes or that their damnation may bee the more tolerable and easie The Papists applying these latter words of more tollerable damnation to the state of soules in their supposed Purgatory is absurd for they cānot in any proper sense be said to be dāned These things being thus distinguished wee see there is nothing found in Augustine for confirmation of the Popish error touching Purgatory that no testimonies of Augustine could seale vp M. Higgons his heart in this idle conceit of Purgatory as vntruly he sayth they did that wee no way oppose our selues against the vniuersall resolution and practice of the whole Church which to do Augustine pronounceth insolent madnesse that we no way contradict this worthy Father reporting to vs the doctrine and tradition of the Church and consequently that Higgons ridiculously and idlely asketh whether Augustine or I know better the sense and iudgment of Anti◅uity thereupon childishly making a comparison betweene him and me for I make no question but he knew the sense of Antiquity right well neither do I dissent from him in any thing that he constantly deliuereth and for the comparison confesse my selfe vnworthy to be named the same day but whereas hee saith hee found sincetity in him vnfaithfulnes in me I defie the faithles Apostata challenge him or any of the proudest of his consorts to tell me truely wherein I haue shewed the least vnfaithfulnesse It seemeth he measureth other men by himselfe and his companions but we are not like them making marchandize of the word of GOD. After these idle discourses he passeth from me to that reverend renowned and worthy Divine Doctor Humfrey in his time the light and ornament of the Vniuersitie that bred him whom such a silly novice as M. Theophilus durst not haue looked in the face while hee liued But it is easier to insult vpon a dead lyon then a liuing dog that maketh him barke against him but such was his great reading variety of learning in all kindes profound science and mature judgement as made him so highly esteemed at home and abroad by all that knew how to judge of things aright that the scornefull speeches of this Renegado concerning his Rhetoricall flourishes will neuer be able to diminish or lessen the good opinion that most deseruedly all wise and good men holde of him Yet let vs see what it is that this graue censurer reprehendeth in D. Humfrey surely hee knoweth not what himselfe D. Humfrey speaking of the ancient commemoration or commendation of the dead saith We retaine it in our Colledges which is most true but hee hath spied as he supposeth three differences for first as he saith the
be found out that all thinges might bee brought to an agreement without persisting in a peremptory proofe of the same article against them for that men disposed to resist would hardly euer bee conuinced in this point And further hee wisheth men to thinke vpon it whether as some determinations of doubtes and questions passed and agreed on in Paris are saide to binde none but those that are within the Diocesse of Paris so it may not bee said in like sort that the determinations of the Latine Church binde the Latines onely and secondly whether that which is defined and holden as an article of faith â—…ay not bee made to bee no article by bringing thinges to the same state they were in before any determination passed Which thing he exemplifieth in a Decree of Bonifacius voyded by one of his successours To what purpose Master Higgons alleadgeth the opinion of Gerson touching the not erring of Generall Councels I cannot tell for I am well assured neuer any such Councell as yet approued Purgatorie and Prayer to deliuer men out of it nor I thinke euer will But whatsoeuer we thinke of Councells there is no question to bee made but that the Church is free from damnable errour as master Higgons in the title of his chapter vndertaketh to proue But whether it be free from all ignorance and errour as he seemeth in the discourse following to inforce it is not so cleere neitheir doth that text of Saint Paul touching the House of God which is the Church of the liuing GOD the pillar and ground of trueth nor any other authority or reason brought to that purpose proue the same and particularly touching that place of Saint Paul to Timothie it is euident the Apostles wordes are to bee originally vnderstood of the Church of Ephesus and that he maketh the glorious title of pillar and ground of truth common to that particular Church with that which is vniuersall and consequently that this title proueth not euery Church or society of Christians to which it agreeth to bee free from errour vnlesse wee will priuiledge all particular Churches from danger of erring If any man doubt whether the Apostle giue the title of pillar ground of trueth to the Church of Ephesus it is easily proued by vnanswerable reasons For as Lyra writing vpon the wordes of the Apostle rightly noteth The Apostle writeth to Timothy and giueth him directions that hee may know how to behaue himselfe in the Church of God that is how to order and gouerne it Now the Church which Timothy was to order and gouerne was not the vniuersall Church but the Church of Ephesus therefore the Church wherein he was wisely to behaue himself was but a particular Church and the same Church in which the Apostle directeth him how to behaue himself he calleth the Church of the liuing God the pillar ground of trueth therefore he giueth this title to a particular Church though hee restraine it not to it as master Higgons vntruly saith I doe so that I haue not eluded the grauity of this testimony as hee is pleased vniustly to charge me but I giue the right sence of it whence it followeth that seeing particular Churches may bee said to bee pillars of trueth this title doth not proue that society of Christian men to which it agreeth to bee free from all errour From the reprehension of our opinion in that wee thinke the Church subiect to some kinde of errour hee falleth into a discourse touching the confusions of Protestants admitting innumerable sectaries into one vast and incongruous Church which hee saith is a meere Chymera thrust together and fashioned in specificall disproportions and hence he saith it is that I laying the foundation of my Babell feare not to say that the Churches of Russia Armenia Syria Aethiopia and Greece are and continue partes of the true Catholique Church For answere whereunto I say that wee doe not admitte any Sectaries into the Communion of the true Catholicke Church much lesse innumerable Sectaries for wee admitte none into the Communion of our Churches but such as receiue all the lawfull Generall Councells that euer were holden touching any question of faith the three Creedes of the Apostles of Nice and Athanasius and whatsoeuer is found to haue beene beleeued and practised by all not noted for singularity and nouelty at all times and in all places So reiecting Arrians Zuenchfeldians Anabaptistes Familistes and all other like monsters Touching the differences betweene the Churches of England Denmarke Zueden Germany France c. They are not specificall as this bad Logician fancieth but imaginary or meerely accidentall And for the Churches of Greece Russia Armenia Syria Aethiopia agreeing in all the thinges before mentioned it is most strange that this Schismaticall fugitiue should dare vtterly to reiect them from the vnity of the Catholicke Church and to cast into hell so many millions of soules of poore distressed Christians for so many hundred yeares enduring so many bitter things for Christs sake in the midst of the proudest enemies that euer the name of Christ had That all these admitte the Doctrine of faith agreed on in all the lawfull generall councels that euer were holden the three Creeds and the whole forme of Christian doctrine catholickely consented on and that they reiect and condemne all the heresies condemned by Augustine and Epiphanius it shall be proued if Higgons or any other smatterer of that side shall goe about to improue it It is true indeede that the Armenians refused to admitte the Councell of Chalcedon but it was vpon a false suggestion as I haue else-where shewed And it is most certaine that they condemne the heresie of Eutiches as likewise those other that were condemned in the Fift and Sixt councells and though the Grecians seeke to avoide the euidence of that part of Athanasius Creede touching the proceeding of the holy Ghost yet doe they not deny the Creed it selfe and my Gerson as Master Higgons is pleased to call him thinketh it were better to desist from the strict vrging of the allowance of thaâ—… determination of the Latines touching the proceeding of the holy Ghost that both the Churches might bee reduced to vnity then peremptorily to insist vpon the proofe of it seeing men disposed to resist will very hardly euer bee conuinced so that hee doth not thinke as Master Higgons doth that the not admitting of this Article as defined and determined by Athanasius casteth men into hell for then Saint Iohn Damascene should bee damned who denieth the proceeding of the holy Ghost from the Father and the Sonne after the publishing of Athanasius Creed Thus doe wee moderate our censures not daring to cast all into hell that dissent from vs in some particular points not fundamentall as the Romanists doe yet doe wee not thinke that euery one may bee saued in his owne sect and errour whatsoeuer it bee for wee exclude all such out of the communion of
the two and twentith were of the opinion I speake of to whom I might haue added Irenaeus Bernard Theophylact and many more That all these should be charged with this opinion or with this folly as hee will haue it it neuer troubleth him onely he is much moued that Ambrose should be charged with any such thing It seemeth he is not of the Gregorian but of the Ambrosian Church in that hee is carelesse what becommeth of his Popes Clement and Iohn so all bee well with Ambrose Hee was tormented he saith with a necessary suspicion rather of my vnfaithfulnesse in this report then of Saint Ambrose his folly in this matter Surely if hee were as wise as hee is wilfull hee would not passe his censures as he doth for it is no such folly but that as wise a man as S. Ambrose might fall into it to thinke as so many learned worthy and renowned Diuines did and therefore Alfonsus á Castro hauing charged the Graecians and Armenians with this error saith that after these Iohn the two and twentith rose vp and embraced the same opinion and least any man might giue lesse credit to his words hee sayth hee will report the words of Pope Adrian who writeth thus Last of all it is reported of Iohn the 22 that he publikely taught declared and commanded all to hold that soules though purged from sinne haue not that stole which is the cleare vision of God face to face before the last iudgement and it is sayd that hee brought the vniuersity of Paris to that point that no man could take any degree in Diuinitie there vnlesse first he did sweare to defend this error and to adhere to it for euer thus far Pope Adrian Besides these there are other Patrons of this errour men of renowne and famous both for sanctity and science to witte the most blessed Martyr of Christ Irenaeus Theophylact Bishoppe of Bulgaria and blessed Bernard Neither should any man maruaile that soe great men fell into so pestilent an errour seeing as blessed Iames the Apostle sayth Hee that offendeth not in words is a perfit man Notwithstanding the Reader is here to be admonished that hee thinke not that this error detracteth any thing from the holynesse or learning of so great men so that it is no such imputation of folly to attribute this opinion to Ambrose as wise M Higgons maketh it for whereas at that time the Church had defined nothing touching that matter neyther had it euer bin called in question the testimonies of Scripture for that which is now defined were not soe expresse but that they might bee wrested into another sence they might teach the one or the other without note of heresie especially seeing there wanted not testimonies of Scripture that seemed in some sort to fauour them Thus farre Alfonsus a Castro But let vs see how Maister Higgons will conuince mee that I haue wronged Ambrose which in soe clamorous manner hee vndertaketh to doe Surely this is the ground of his quarrell against mee that hauing imputed this opinion to Iustine Martyr Tertullian Clemens Romanus Lactantius Victorinus and Ambrose in the margent I referre the reader to Sixtus Senensis who yet excused Ambrose from this error But the silly Nouice should know that I doe not say Sixtus Senensis attributeth that opinion to Ambrose and that I put not his name in the margent as if I grounded my imputation vppon his authority For if I would haue done soe I could haue mustered together a farre greater number then I haue done But because it had bin tedious to haue sette downe the words of all those I mention wherein they expresse their opinion in the margent I referre the reader to Sixtus Senensis who reporteth their wordes at large according to the course of times wherein they flourished that the reader within the compasse of one page may see what they say without turning ouer their large volumes and among other the wordes of Ambrose which I thinke will strongly perswade him hee was of that opinion which I impute vnto him howsoeuer Sixtus Senensis by a fauourable construction labour to excuse him Let vs see therefore if Ambrose will not witnesse for mee that I haue done him no wrong but truly reported his opinion The first thing I imputed vnto him is that hee thinketh as many other did before and after him that there is no iudgement to passe vpon men till the last day If this be not cleerely prooued out of Ambrose his owne wordes lette the Reader thinke I haue wronged him In his second booke of Caine and Abell he hath these words The Maister of a Shippe when hee hath brought his Shippe into the hauen scarce thinketh hee hath ended his labour before hee beginne to seeke the beginning of a newe the soule is loosed from the body and after the end of this life it is still holden in suspence vpon the vncertainty and doubtfulnesse of the future iudgement soe is there no end where there is thought to be an end The second thing I attribute to Ambrose is that hee thinketh the soules of men are kept in some place appointed for that purpose soe that they come not into heauen till the generall iudgment Let vs heare him speake him-selfe and then lette the Reader iudge whether hee say not all that I impute vnto him In his booke de boâ—… mortis he hath these words In the bookes of Esdras wee read that when the day of iudgement shall come the earth shall restore the bodies of the dead and the dust shall restore those reliques and remaines of the dead which rest in the graues and the secret habitations shall restore the soules which haue beene committed to them and the most High shall be revealed vpon the Seate of Iudgement From hence hee saith the Gentiles tooke those things which they admire in the bookes of Philosophers and blaming them that they mingled superfluous and vnprofitable things with those that are true as the demigration of soules into bees birds and the like fancies saith it had been sufficient for them to haue said that soules deliuered out of mortall bodies petunt Haden that is goe into an invisible place which place in Latine is called Infernus and farther addeth that the Scripture calleth these secret habitations of soules Store-houses Heere we see Ambrose saith there are certaine secret habitations of soules which though they be higher then the receptacles of dead bodies yet are rightly called 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 in Greek Infernus in Latin that these are Storehouses keeping those soules that are committed to them till the Resurrection and then restoring them If M. Higgons doe thinke that Infernus is Heauen then I haue no more to say to him otherwise I thinke the evidence of this place cannot be avoyded The third thing I impute to Ambrose is that the soules of the Iust receiue not the reward of their labours till the Generall Iudgement Touching which point
communicating with the Priest in the Sacrament into a priuate masse which indeede if wee will speake properly is no masse or that hee helde it to bee a new reall sacrificing of CHRIST as the Iesuited Papistes doe at this day A sacrifice wee confesse it to bee of praise and thankes-giuing and a commemoration of the bloudy sacrifice of CHRIST vpon the Altar of the Crosse say that therefore it may bee named a sacrifice because signes haue the names of the things whereof they are signes as also for that there is in this Sacrament an offering or presenting of CHRIST and his passion to GOD by the faith of the Church that by it wee may obtaine grace and remission of sinnes but a new reall sacrificing of CHRIST wee denye and thinke with Luther that it is a hellish abomination so to doe That Gerson thought that there is a Purgatory doth no more prejudice his being a worthy guide of Gods Church then the errour of Cyprian and other before-mentioned Touching invocation of Saints though hee did not absolutely condemne it yet hee reprehended the abuses and superstitious observations then prevailing in the worshipping of Saints very bitterly as I shewed before sought to bring men to a truer sense of piety in that point then was ordinarily found amongst men in those times The like he did for indulgences restraining them more then was pleasing to the Popes faction and for the communion vnder one kinde howsoeuer hee thought the Church might lawfully prescribe the communicating in one kinde alone which wee cannot excuse yet hee acknowledgeth that the communion in both kindes was aunciently vsed and that when it may bee had with the peace of the Church it is to bee allowed But to what purpose doth Master Higgons alledge these things shall it bee lawfull for him and his to repute Iohn Gerson a worthy and godly man notwithstanding that he held that the Pope may erre that he is subiect to Generall Councels that he medleth with things no way pertayning to him when hee taketh vpon him to dispose the Kingdomes of the world that all our inherent righteousnesse is imperfit and as the polluted ragges of a menstruous woman that all sins are by nature mortall and the like and may not wee take him to haue beene a member of the true Church a good man and one that desired the reformation of things amisse notwithstanding his errour in some things and his not discerning all that was amisse The insufficiencie of this allegation it seemeth Master Higgons himselfe perceived and therefore saith hee will come to the supreame difference to which all other points as hee conceiueth are subordinate and inferiour that is to say the soueraigne primacy of the Romane Bishop and bringeth two very effectuall testimonies as hee thinketh of Gerson to proue the Popes soueraigne primacie The First is out of his booke De auferibilitate papae his words are these The formes of ciuill government are subiect to mutability and alteration but it is otherwise in the Church for her gouerment is Monarchicall and is so appointed by the institution of our Lord if any man will violate this sacred ordinance and persist obstinately in his contempt hee is to bee iudged an Hereticke as Marsilius of Padua and some other consorting with his fancie The second is out of his tract De vnitate Graecorum where prescribing many directions for the composing of the differences betweene the Greeke and Latine Churches hee layeth it downe as a foundation that there must bee one head on earth vnto which all men must bee vnited In these sayings Master Higgons saith Gerson shewed himselfe a worthy guide of Gods Church and a singular enemy of the Protestanticall reformation which violently impugneth the supremacie of the Pope in so much that Luther affirmeth that a man cannot be saued vnlesse from his heart hee hate the Pope and Papacie These things truely carrie a very faire shew and may deceiue such as cannot or will not throughly looke into them But whosoeuer knoweth what Gersons opinion of the Pope is and what Luther hath written against the Papacie will soone perceiue there is no contradiction betweene them or at least not in any essentiall and materiall point For Gerson was of opinion that the Pope is subiect to a Generall Councell and that hee is not free from daunger of erring and this hee thought to bee a matter of faith defined in the Councell of Constance and therefore would haue detested all claimes of infallible iudgement and vncontrouleable power of Popes as much as Luther did and would haue accursed his words of blasphemie if once hee should haue heard him say as wee doe and as before the holding of the Councell of Constance he did All the world cannot iudge mee though I ouerturne the whole course of nature no man may say vnto mee why doe you so I onely haue power to make lawes and to voide them againe I haue authority to dispence with the Canons of all Councels as seemeth good vnto mee and which is more to dispose of all the kingdomes of the world the assurance of finding out the trueth and not erring is not partly in mee and partly in the Councell but wholy in mee whatsoeuer all the world shall consent on is of no force if I allow it not Hee would haue said doubtlesse as I haue done if hee had heard him thus speake that wee are not bound to take the foame of his impure mouth and froath of his words of blasphemie as infallible Oracles This is that Pope and this is that Papacie which Luther saith euery one that will be saued must hate from his heart for otherwise if hee would onely claime to bee a Bishoppe in his precinct a Metropolitane in a prouince a Patriarch of the West and of Patriarches the first and most honourable to whom the rest are to resort in cases of greatest moment as to the head and chiefe of their company to whom it specially pertaineth to haue an eye to the preseruation of the Church in the vnity of faith and religion and the actes and exercises of the same and with the assistance and concurrence of the other by all due courses to effect that which pertaineth thereunto without clayming absolute and vncontrouleable power infallibilitie of iudgement and right to dispose the Kingdomes of the world and to intermeddle in the administration of the temporalties of particular Churches and the immediate swaying of the iurisdiction thereof Luther himselfe professeth hee would neuer open his mouth against him This kind of Primacie the Grecians likewise professed they would bee content to yeeld vnto him if other differences betweene them might be composed Cassander saith Hee is perswaded there had neuer beene any controuersies about the Popes power if the Popes had not abused their authority in a Lordly and ouer-ruling manner and through couetousnesse and ambition stretched it beyond the bounds and
hellish blasphemies which we accurse to the pit of hell many things no doubt were written by Wickliff in a good godly sense which as they were wrested by his Adversaries were heretical damnable For example it is a damnable heresie to think that Kings Bishops cease to be that they were if they fall into mortal sin or that reprobats cānot be truly Kings or Bishops neither did Wickliff euer hold any such opiniō but as Iohn Hus shewed he thought that godles persons howsoeuer officio in office place they be Kings Bishops yet merito that is in merit they are neither because they are vnworthy to be either and are of such quality as that if GOD would take the forfeiture they might iustly bee depriued not of dignitie alone but of life and beeing also Now then this is the goodly Argument which Maister Higgons frameth Gerson condemned such hereticall and impious Articles as were presented to him and other assembled in the Councell of Constance as taken out of the writings of Wickliffe and disliked some other that were indeed his and might haue a good sense because they were deliuered in a dangerous forme of speech as likewise such as rather bewrayed his too passionate dislike of things amisse carrying him too farre into contrary extremities then an aduised and wise consideration of the meanes whereby they might bee amended therefore hee would neuer haue allowed that reformation of religion that now is This Argument I thinke will not holde because we also condemne many of the Articles attributed to Wickliffe noe lesse then Gerson and yet are no enimies to the Protestanticall reformation as Maister Higgons calleth it But Maister Higgons sayth I must needes be found contrary to my selfe in that I acknowledge Wickliffe Husse Hierome of Prage and the like to haue beene the worthy seruants of Christ and holy Martyrs and confessours and yet praise Gerson as a worthy guide of Gods Church and one that desired the present reformation who consented to the condemnation of Wickliffes Articles We are wont to say Distinguish times and the Scriptures will soone be accorded so let Maister Higgons distinguish aright things that differ one from another and this seeming contrariety will bee found to bee none at all For Wickliffe Husse might be worthy seruants of God in that they reproued the intollerable abuses of those times which Gerson neuer approued and yet Gerson though as zealous and religious as eyther of them might condemne as impious some positions falsely imputed to Wickliffe not knowing but that they were his and dislike other that indeede were his as not deliuered in such sort and such formes of words as was fitte or sauouring of too much passion and violence and therefore like a right wise and moderate man he interposed himselfe betweene Wickliffe and such as he was opposite to disliking the one sort as attributing too much to the Cleargy and the other as detracting too much from it Touching Iohn Husse and Hierome of Prage I could neuer yet finde in what point of faith they dissented from the Doctrine of the Church then constantly resolued on but they bitterly inueighed against the ambition pride couetousnesse and negligence of the Cleargy they vrged the necessity of oftner preaching then was vsuall in those times and desired to haue the Communion in both kindes according to the ancient custome of the Primitiue Church and could not be induced simply and absolutely to condemne the articles of Wickliffe but thought many of them might carry a good sence and that the author of them was a man that carried a good minde how-soeuer hee might faile in some things Neither was there any matter worthy of death proued against them but they were vniustly charged with things they neuer thought of so that Luther said truly that they were Murderers and seauen times Heretickes that condemned the innocent men Iohn Husse and Hierome of Prague For it is most euident to any one that will consider the acts of that Councell that things were carried in it in a most violent and tumultuous manner with clamours and out-cries against those poore men standing in their iust defence clearing them-selues from any thing their Aduersaries themselues accounted to bee hereticall And particularly concerning Hierome of Prage it appeareth the Cardinalls that were cheefe Presidents of that Councell sought all possible meanes to lette him goe free as Pilate did to acquite Christ but the crye of the multitude preuailed And therefore I thinke it will not bee easily proued by Maister Higgons that Gerson had any hand in the turbulent and furious proceeding against the persons of these men howsoeuer he might mislike some things which they were charged with So that hee is neither pronounced to be an Hereticke nor a murderer by Luther as Maister Higgons vntruly sayth hee is What manner of proceeding there was in the Councell Gerson himselfe reporteth shewing his dislike of the courses holden in it and confessing that many intollerable things were done there which neither could nor would haue beene indured if men had not beene content to endure any thing in hope of vnitie and peace after soe many calamities of the Church most pittifully torne and rent in sunder by the former Schismes There is onely one thing more remaining in this chapter that toucheth Me that is that speaking of the tyranny of the See of Rome such as withheld the truth of God in vnrighteousnesse being named Christians serued Antichrist I adde as Bernard complained of some in his time in which addition Maister Higgons chargeth Mee with fraudulency saying that I goe about to make the world beleeue that they against whome Iohn Husse Hierome of Prage and the rest opposed themselues serued Antichrist euen by the verdit of Saint Bernard himselfe If Bernard say not expresly that many euen exceeding many so that they were without number of the pretended friendes and louers of the Church of Rome and such as possessed high places of rule and gouernement in the same serued Antichrist lette him charge Mee with ill dealing at his pleasure but if hee doe let Maister Higgons know he hath wronged Mee in a very high degree Let vs heare therefore what Bernard will say Woe sayth he to this generation because of the leauen of the Pharizees which is hypocrisie if yet it may be named hypocrisie which in respect of the greatnesse of it cannot and in respect of the impudencie it is growne vnto seeketh not to be hid A filthy rotten running soare secretly passeth along thorough all parts of the body of the Church the more largely the more desperately it spreadeth it selfe and the more inwardly the more dangerously for if an open ene◅ by professed heresie opposing himselfe should rise vp hee would be cast out an◅◅iolent enemie should seeke to oppresse the Church Men would hide themselues from him but now whom should the Church cast out or from whom should she
of actions of vertue formerly done remaine still in the elect and chosen called according to purpose when they fall into grieuous sinnes tyrannizing ouer them though during the time of their being in such grieuous sins the actuall claime to the benefit of these things and the enioying of them be suspended which vpon their repentance for those particular sinnes that caused such suspension is reuiued and set afoote againe in such sort that the repentance past sufficeth for remission of former sinnes and the good actions past shall haue their rewards So that a man elect and chosen of God and called according to purpose that hath done good vertuous actions though they be deaded in him for the present by some grieuous Sinne yet still they remaine in diuine acceptation and he still retaineth the right title he had to the reward of eternall life promised to those workes of vertue done by him though he can make no actuall claime to the same while he remaineth in such an estate of sinne but after that such sinne shall cease and bee repented of hee recouereth not a nâ—…w right or title but a new claime by vertue of the old title Wherefore if it bee demaunded whether Dauid and 〈◊〉 â—…hen they fell into those grieuous sinnes of vncleanesse and abnegation of Christ continued in a state of iustification We answer that they did in respect of the remission of their sinnes and the title they goâ—… to eternall life in their first conuersion which they lost not by those their sinnes committed afterwardes For the remission of all their former sinnes whereof before they had repented remained still and Gods acceptation of them to eternall life notwithstanding these sinnes vpon the condition of leauing them together with his purpose of rewarding their well-doings but in respect of the actuall claime to eternall good things they were not as men once iustified are notwithstanding lesser sinnes wâ—…h though they cause a dislike yet neither extinguish the right nor suspend the claime to eternall life Thus hauing runne through all those passages of Master Higgons his booke that any way concerne Mee I leaue him to be-thinke himsâ—…fe whether hee had any reason to traducâ—… Mee in such sort as hee hath done and remitte the wrongs he hath done Mee without cause to the righteous iudgement of God to whom hee must stand or fall The end of the first part THE SECOND PART Concerning the Authour of the Treatise of the grounds of the Olde and Nevv Religion and such exceptions as haue beene taken by him against the former Bookes HAuing answered the frivolous objections of Master Higgons I will leaue him and passe from him to his friend and collegue the Author of the Treatise of the grounds of the Olde and New Religion who also is pleased in his idle discourses to take some exceptioÌ„s against that which I haue writteÌ„ But because hee is a very obscure Author such a one as the world taketh little notice of I will not much trouble my selfe about him nor take so much pains in discouering his weaknesse as I haue done in dismasking the new convert a man as it seemeth of more esteeme Yet that the world may see what goodly stuffe it is that these namelesse and Apocryphall Booke-makers dayly vent amongst our seduced countrymen I will briefly and cursorily take a view of all such passages ofhis Treatise as any way concerne me Amongâ—… which the first that offereth it selfe to our view is in his Preface to the Reader where hee citeth with great allowance and approbation that which I haue in my Epistle Dedicatory That all men must carefully seeke out which is the true Church that so they may embrace her communion follow her directions and rest in her judgement but presently chargeth Mee that in my fourth Booke following I bereaue her of almost all such prerogatiues as I formerly yeelded vnto her so that men may not safely follow her directions nor rest in her judgement in that I say that Generall Councels may erre in matters of greatest consequence and free the Church her selfe from errour onely in certaine principall points and Articles of Christian Religion and not generally in all This is a bad beginning being a most shamelesse vntruth For in the places cited by him I lay downe these propositions First that the Church including in it all faithfull ones since CHRIST appeared in the flesh is absolutely free from all errour and ignorance of diuine things Secondly that the Church including all those beleeuers that are hauebeene since the Apostles times is simply free from all errour though happily not from all ignorance Thirdly that the Church including onely the beleeuers liuing at one time in the world is free not onely froÌ„ error in such things as men are precisely bound expressely to know beleeue but froÌ„ pertinaciously erring in any thing that any way pertaineth to Christian faith and religion Fourthly that wee must simply and absolutely without all doubt or question follow the directions and rest in the iudgment of the Church in eyther of the two former senses Fifthly that we must listen to the determinations of the present Church as to the instructions of our Elders and fatherly admonitions and directions but not so as to the things contained in Scripture or beleeued by the whole Vniuersal Church that hath bin euer since the Apostles times Because as Waldensis noteth the Church whose faith neuer faileth is not any particular Church as that of Africa or Rome but the Vniuersall Church neyther that Vniuersall Church which may bee gathered together in a generall Councell which is found sometimes to haue erred but that which dispersed through the world from the Baptisme of Iohn continueth to our times Sixtly that in the iudgment of Waldensis the fathers successiuely are more certaine iudges in matters of faith then a generall Councell of Bishops though it be in a sort the highest Court of the Church as the Treatiser sayth All these propositions are fouÌ„d in Waldensis who wrote with good allowance of Pope Martin the Fift and the whole consistory of Cardinals so that the Treatiser cannot charge Me with any wrong offered to the Church in bereauing her of her due prerogatiues but he must condemn him also and blame the Pope and his Cardinals for commending the writings of such a man to the world as good profitable and containing nothing contrary to the Catholike verity that forgotte himselfe so farre as to bereaue the Church of almost all her prerogatiues which he cannot doe but he must condemne Vincentius Lyrinensts likewise a man beyond all exception who absolutely concurreth in iudgement with Waldensis touching these points assuring vs that the state of the present Church at sometimes may be such as that we must be forced to flye to the iudgment of Antiquity if we desire to find any certaiue direction A iudgement of right discerning sayth OckaÌ„ there is euer fouÌ„d in the Church
parts of this Church and Catholiques that thinke the Pope may iudicially erre vnlesse a generall Councell concurre with him which in their opinion is an error and neare to heresie Yea the same Bellarmine sayth that the particular Romane Church that is the cleargy and people of Rome subiect to the Pope cannot erre because though some of them may yet all cannot It is true therefore which I haue deliuered not withstanding any thinge the Treatiser can say to the contrary that the Church including all the faithfull that are and haue beene since the Apostles may be sayd to bee free from error because in respect of her totall vniuersality she is so it being impossible that any errour should bee found in all her parts at all times though in respect of her seuerall parts shee be not For sometimes and in some parts she hath erred and in this sense can no more be sayd to be free from error then a man may be sayd to bee free from sicknesse that in some parts is ill affected But as a man that hath not beene alwaies nor in all parts ill may bee said to be free from perpetuall and vniuersall sicknesse so the Church is free from perpetuall and vniuersall error This the Treatiser saith is a weake priuiledge and not answerable to the great and ample promises made by Christ whereas the Fathers knew no other whatsoeuer this good man imagineth For Vincentius Lyrinensis confesseth that error may infect some parts of the Church yea that it may sometimes infect almost the whole Church so that he freeth it only from vniuersall perpetuall error But sayth the Treatiser what are poore Christians the nearer for this priuiledge how shall such a Church be the director of their faith and how shall they know what faith was preached by the Apostles what parts taught true doctrine and when and which erred in subsequent ages Surely this question is easily answered For they may know what the Apostles taught by their writings and they may know what parts of the Church teach true doctrine by comparing the doctrine each part teacheth with the written word of God and by obseruing who they are that bring in priuate and strange opinions contrary to the resolution of the rest But if happily some new contagion endeauour to commaculate the whole Church together they must looke vp into Antiquity and if in Antiquity they finde that some followed priuate and strange opinions they must carefully obserue what all not noted for singularity or heresie in diuerse places and times constantly deliuered as vndoubtedly true and receiued from such as went before them This course Vincentius Lyrinensis prescribeth But the Treatiser disclaimeth it not liking that all should be brought to the letter of holy Scripture and the workes of Antiquity which setting aside the authority of the present Church he thinketh yeeld no certaine and diuine argument So that according to his conceipt wee must rest on the bare censure and iudgement of the Pope for he is the present Church Antiquity is to be contēued as little or nothing worth Hauing iustified the distinctiō of the diuerse cōsiderations of the Church impugned by the Treatiser that which he hath touching the two assertions annexed to it will easily bee answered For the one of them is most true his addition of not erring being taken away and the other is but his idle imagination for wee neuer deliuered any such thing §. 3. IN the third place he excepteth against Mee because I say the words of the Apostle in the Epistle to Timothy touching the house and Church of God are originally vnderstood of the Church of Ephesus wherein Paul directeth Tymothy how to demeane and behaue himselfe but because I haue cleared this exception in my answere to Higgons I will say nothing to him in this place but referre him thither §. 4. FRom the Apostle the Treatiser passeth to Saint Augustine and chargeth Me th I wrest his words when he sayth he would not beleeue the Gospell if the authority of the Church did not moue him to a sense neuer meant by him These words of S. Augustin are vsually alleadged by the Papists to proue that the authority of the Church is the ground of our faith reason of beleeuing in answere whereunto I shew that the Diuines giue two explications of them For Ockam and some other vnderstand them not of the multitude of beleeuers that now are in the world but of the whole number of them that are and haue beene since Christ appeared in the flesh so including the Apostles and in this sense they confesse that the Church because it includeth the writers of the bookes of the new Testament is of greater authority then the books themselues Other vnderstand by the name of the Church onely the multitude of beleeuers liuing in the world at one time and thinke the meaning of Augustine is that the authority of this Church was an introduction vnto him but not the ground of his faith and principall or sole reason of beleeuing The former of these explications this graue censurer pronounceth to be friuolous First because if wee may beleeue him Saint Augustine neuer vsed these words Catholique Church after this sort in that sense Secondly because he speaketh of that Church which commanded him not to beleeue Manicheus which vndoubtedly was the present Church Thirdly because as he supposeth I can alleadge no Diuine that so interpreted the words of Augustine that which I cite out of Ockam being impertinent To euery of these reasons I will briefly answere And first that Augustine doth vse the words Catholique Church in the sense specified by Me it is euident For writing against Manicheus he hath these words Palám est quantū in re dubia ad fidem certitudinem valent Catholicae Ecclesiae authoritas quae ab ipsis fundatissimis sedibus Apostolorū vsque ad hodiernū diem succedētibus sibimet Episcopis tot populorū cōsensione firmatur that is it is apparant what great force the authority of that Church hath to settle the perswasion of faith cause certainty in things doubtfull that from the most surely established seats of the Apostles by succession of Bishops euen till this present cōsent of people is most firmely setled To the second reason wee answere that the Church including the Apostles and all faithfull ones that haue beene since comprehendeth in it the present Church and so might commaund Augustine not to listen to Manicheus So that this commaunding proueth not that he speaketh precisely of the present Church To the third I say that the Treatiser is either strangely ignorant or strangely impudent when hee affirmeth that I can alledge no Diuine that vnderstandeth the words of Augustine of the Church including in it the Apostles such as liued in their times For first Durandus vnderstandeth them of the Primitiue Church including the Apostles Secondly Gerson will tell him that when
Augustine saith he would not beleeue the Gospell if the authoritie of the Church did not moue him hee vnderstandeth by the name of the Church the Primitiue congregation of those Faithful ones which saw heard Christ and were his witnesses Thirdly Driedo writeth thus when Augustine saith hee would not beleeue the Gospell if the authoritie of the Church did not moue him hee vnderstandeth that Church which hath beene euer since the beginning of the Christian Faith hauing her Bishops in orderly sort succeeding one another and growing and increasing till our times which Church truly comprehendeth in it the blessed company of the Holy Apostles who hauing seene Christ his miracles and learned from his mouth the Doctrine of Faith deliuered vnto vs the Evangelicall Scriptures And againe the same ◠Driedo saith that the authority of the Scripture is greater then the authoritie of the Church that now is in the world in it selfe considered But if wee speake of the vniversal Church including all Faithfull ones that are and haue beene the authority of the Church is in a sort greater then the Scripture and in a sort equall For explication whereof he addeth that as touching things that cannot bee seené nor knowne by vs we beleeue the sayings writings of men not as if they had in them in themselues considered a sufficient force to moue vs to beleeue but because by some reasons we are perswaded of them who deliuer such things vnto vs thinke them worthie to be beleeued So S. Augustine might rightly say hee would not beleeue the bookes of the Gospel if the authority of the Church did not moue him vnderstanding the vniuersal Church of which he speaketh against Manicheus which including the Apostles hath had in it an orderly course of succession of Bishops till our time For the faithfulnes trueth credit of this Church was more evident then the Trueth of the books of the New Testament which are therefore receiued as sacred true because written by those Apostles to whō Christ so many waies gaue testimony both by word and worke and the Scriptures are to be proued by the authority of that Church which included the Apostles but in the Church that now is or that includeth only such as are now liuing God doth not so manifest himselfe as hee formerly did so that this Church must demōstrat herself to be Orthodox by prouing her faith out of the Scripture With Driedo Ockam cōcurreth his words are these sometimes the name of the Church cōprehendeth not only the whole cōgregation of Catholiques liuing but the Faithful departed also in this sense blessed Augustine vseth the name of the Church in his book against the Manichees cited in the Decrees 2. dist c. palà m where the Catholique Church importeth the Bishops that haue succeeded one another frō the Apostles times the people subiect to thē And in the same sense Augustine vseth the name of the Church when he saith he would not beleeue the Gospell if the authoritie of the Church did not moue him for this Church comprehendeth in it the Writers of the bookes of the Gospell and all the Apostles so that from the authoritie of Augustine rightly vnderstood it cannot be inferred that the Pope the maker of the Canons is rather more to be beleeued then the Gospel yet it may be granted that wee must more rather beleeue the Church which hath beene from the times of the Prophets Apostles till now then the Gospel not for that men may any way doubt of the Gospell but because the whole is greater then the part So that the Church which is of greater authoritie then the Gospel is that whereof the Writer of the Gospel is a part Neither is it strange that the whole should bee of more authority then the parts These are the words of Ockam in the place cited by me Wherfore let the Reader judge whether that I cite out of Ockam be impertinent as the Treatiser saith or not To Durandus Gerson Driedo Ockam we may adde Waldensis who fully agrees with thē shewing at large that it pertayned to the Church onely in her first best and primitiue state age to deliuer a perfect direction touching the Canon of the Scripture so that shee hath no power or authority now to adde any more bookes to the Canon already receiued as out of her owne immediate knowledge But it sufficeth to the magnifying of her authority in her present estate that euen now no other bookes may bee receiued but such only as in her first and best estate shee proposed Farther adding that the saying of Augustine that hee would not beleeue the Gospell if the authority of the Church did not moue him is to bee vnderstood of the Church including the primitiue Fathers and Pastors the Apostles Scholers By this which hath bin sayd it is euident as I thinke that the former of those two constructions which I make of Augustines words hath bin approued by far better men then this Treatiser And that therefore he sheweth himself more bold then wise when he pronounceth it to be frivolous And surely if we consider well the discourse of S. Augustine I thinke it may be proued vnanswerably out of the circumstances of the fame that hee speaketh not precisely of the present Church For it is that authority of the catholicke church hee vrgeth that was begun by miracles nourished by hope increased by charity confirmed strengthned by long continuance And of that Church he speaketh wherin there had bin a succession of Bishops from Peter till that present time So that he must needs meane the Church including not onely such faythfull ones as were then liuing when hee wrote but all that either then were or had bin from the Apostles times Wherefore let vs passe to the other construction of Augustines words which is that the authority of the present church was the ground reason of an acquisit fayth an introduction leading him to a more sure stay but not the reason or ground of that faith whereby principally he did beleeue This constructiō the Treatiser sayth cannot stand because Aug saith if the authority he speaketh of be weakned hee will beleeue no longer Whence it seemeth to be consequent that it was the cause of all thē perswasion of fayth that he had then when he wrote not only of an acquisit fayth preparing fitting him to a stronger more excellent farther degree or kind of faith For the clearing of this poynt we must note that there are 3. sorts of such mē as beleeue for there are some that beleeue out of piety onely not discerning by reason whether the things they beleeue be to be beleeued as true or not the 2d. haue a light of diuine reason shining in them causing an approbation of that they beleeue the 3d. sort hauing a pure heart conscience begin already inwardly to taste that which hereafter
done by euery one Wherevnto we answere according to their owne groundes that those partes of divine and canonicall Scripture which particularly wee haue not read or considered are onely implicitè and vertually beleeued of vs as likewise the thinges that are contayned in them neither should this seeme strange to the Romanists for they thinke it pertayneth to the faith of each Christian man to beleeue all the bookes of holy Scripture to bee vndoubtedly true and indited by the Spirit of God Yet are there many amongst them that neyther know how many nor which these bookes are but beleeue them vertually onely as it appertayneth to the fayth to beleeue that Iesus Mary Ioseph fledde into Aegypt and that Paul mediated for the reconciling of Onesimus to Philemon but it is sufficient for men that neuer read or considered these particulars to beleeue them vertually Thirdly he chargeth vs with contrariety in our sayings in that we make the Scripture to bee the ground and rule of our fayth and yet make the light of faith a meane whereby we come to the knowledge of Scripture because as hee thinketh the Scripture cannot bee a rule of our fayth vnlesse it bee certainely knowne to bee diuine before we beleeue But the good man should knowe that the Scripture may bee the rule of our fayth directing vs touching such particular things as wee are to beleeue though it be not knowne to bee diuine before we beleeue For first God giueth vs the eyes of fayth and openeth our vnderstandings that wee may see and discerne in generall heauenly trueth to bee contayned in Scripture then it becommeth a rule of direction in all particular poynts of faith Fourthly he imputeth to vs that wee relie vpon illuminations and inspirations in the things wee beleeue as if wee beleeued them without any other proofe or demonstration vpon bare imagined inspirations whereas wee beleeue nothing without such proofes and motiues as all men may take notice of and yet knowe right well that none doe make right vse thereof but such as haue their vnderstandings enlightned So that his reasoning against the certainty of this illumination is idle seeing we doe not make illumination or inspiration the ground of our perswasion touching things to be beleeved but a disposition of the mind making vs capable of the apprehension of thinges that are diuine and heauenly This illumination is in some more and in some lesse but in all the chosen seruants of God such as sufficeth for the discerning of all sauing trueth necessary to bee knowne of each man according to his estate and condition Fiftly besides idle repetition of thinges going before to which hee referreth himself and some vntruths mingled with the same First he chargeth Me that I am contrary to my selfe in deliuering the opinions of Papists The first supposed contradiction is in that I affirme that it is the ordinary opinion of Papists that the articles of faith are beleeued because God reuealeth them and yet say in another place that they make the authority of the Church the rule of our fayth and reason why we beleeue The second in that I charge the Papistes in one place that they giue authority to the Church to make new articles of faith and in another place free them from the same This latter supposed contrariety I shewed before to bee none at all but in the Treatisers imagination onely and touching the first if hee were a man of any common vnderstanding or knew what contrariety is hee vvould not charge Mee with any such thing For it is true that all Papists thinke the articles of faith are to be beleeued because reuealed but they thinke also that wee knowe not that they are reuealed but beleeue so onely and that not by reason of any diuine reuelation testimony or authority but because the Church so telleth vs and wee haue many humane inducements mouing vs so to perswade our selues So that they make the authority of the Church and humane inducements the last and finall reason of beleeuing whatsoeuer they beleeue This the Treatiser knew well enough and therefore hee requireth Mee to shew how I know that God reuealeth the things beleeued by Christians If I will not fall into the same fault for which I blame them Whereunto I answere that I know the Scriptures to bee inspired of God by the diuine force and majesty that sheweth it selfe in them in which sence I say the bookes of Scripture win credit of themselues and yeeld sufficient satisfaction to all men of their diuine truth For as the colour in each thing maketh it visible and to be seene so the diuine power vertue that sheweth it selfe in the Scripture maketh vs to beleeue that it is of God But the Treatiser will not thus leaue Mee but still goeth on adding one vniust imputation to another For whereas we say only the Scriptures are not discerned to be diuine and inspired of God vnlesse we be inlightned by grace and not that they are proued to bee diuine by the certaintie of that illumination he maketh vs whether we wil or not to proue the Scriptures by our inspirations and that we are inspired by the Scriptures whereas we proue neither the one nor the other of these things in any such sort For touching the Scripture I haue sufficiently shewed before how we know it to be diuine and for the other the Treatiser should know that we doe not proue by Scripture that we are divinely inlightned and inspired but that as naturall reason hath a direct act whereby she apprehendeth things without a reflexed act whereby taking a view of the former direct acts she findeth out her selfe so the light of Faith first discouereth Heauenly verities in the Scripture such as naturall reason could neuer find out then by reflexion findeth it selfe to be of another nature kind then that rationall vnderstanding that was before Wherefore let vs goe forward Did not mine eyes see and my hands handle the palpable absurdities of this Treatiser I would not beleeue any mans report that one so voide of all sense reason as he euery way sheweth himselfe to be should be permitted to write For whereas I bring a most cleare sentence out of Augustine to proue that howsoeuer the authoritie of the Church serue as an introduction to bring vs to the spirituall discerning of diuine things yet men rest not in it hee answereth that Augustine in the chapter cited by Me affirmeth onely that because all men are not capable at first to vnderstād the sincere wisdome truth taught in the church God hath ordained in it a motiue which may first moue them to seeke it to wit the authority of the Church which partly through miracles partly through multitudes is of force to moue which no way taketh any thing from but rather addeth strength to my proofes for if these motiues be necessary onely at the first before men bee purged made pure in
began Here first that wee be not deceiued wee must obserue that by the name of the Romane Church sometimes we vnderstand the Pope his Cleargy and other Christians of the Romane Diocesse sometimes all Churches subiect to the tyranny of the Bishop of Rome In this latter sense we speake of the Romane Church at this time will make it most cleare and evident that it is not the same now that it was when Luther began For first the Romane Church that then was was the whole number of Christians subiect to Papal tyranny whereof a great part desired nothing more then to shake off that yoake which as soone as he began to oppose himselfe they presently did accounting those that attributed that to the Pope which is now attributed vnto him to bee but flatterers but the Romane Church that now is is the multitude of such onely as thus magnifie admire and adore the plenitude of Papall power or at least are contented to bee vnder the yoake of it still Secondly the Church of Rome that then was consisted of men not hauing meanes of instruction and information like vnto those which haue beene since and therefore not erring pertiuaciously in things wherein they were deceiued But the Church that now is consisteth of such onely as pertinaciously resist against the cleare manifestation of the truth and with all fury and madnesse pursue vnto death those that defend and maintaine the same or at least of such as consent in outward communion with them that so doe So that they that liued heeretofore might in their simplicitie be saued and yet these that now are perish in their contradiction wilfull resistance against the truth Neither need this to seeme strange seeing Vincentius Lirinensis saith speaking of the errour of rebaptization that the authors devisers and beginners of it are crowned in Heauen that is Cyprian and the African Bishops of his time for that notwithanding this errour they held the vnity of the Church and condemned not but communicated with them that were otherwise minded and the followers of the same errour that is the Donatists for their schisme pertinacy were condemned into hell Thirdly the Romane Church that then was had in it all the abuses and superstitious obseruations it now hath and such as erred in all the points of doctrine wherein they of the Romane church now erre in which respect it may seeme to haue beene the same as the Author of these pretended proofes vrgeth but it had also others that disliked and desired the remouing of all those abuses superstitious obseruations which we haue remoued thought right in al those points of doctrin wherin the rest erred in which respect it was not the same but very different from that faction of Romanists that resisteth that reformation of religion which so many famous states of Christendome haue willingly embraced So that the Romane Church that then was consisted of two sorts of men of the one as true liuing members of the other as pertayning to her vnity in respect of Baptisme power of Ministery and profession of some parts of heauenly trueth though not partaking in that degree of vnity which the principall parts thereof had amongst themselues but diuided from them being a dangerous faction in the midst of her seeking her destruction which shee could neither flie from nor driue from her as Bernard somewhere speaketh Omnes amici omnes inimici omnes domestici nulli pacifici serui Christi seruiunt Antichristo All these were in some generall sort the Church in respect of Baptisme the profession of some parts of heauenly trueth and the power of ministery but principally and in speciall sort they only that beleeued rightly touching the most materiall poynts of Christian religion and wished for the reformation of superstitious abuses In respect of the former of these the Romane Church was verè Ecclesia truely a Church that is a multitude of men professing Christ and baptized but not vera Ecclesia a true Church that is a multitude of men holding a sauing profession of the truth in Christ as Mornay fitly noteth for which Stapleton vnjustly reprehendeth him but in respect of the latter it was vera Ecclesia a true Church that is a multitude of men holding a sauing profession of the trueth in Christ. The Church of the Iewes at the comming of Christ had in it the Scribes Pharisees and Saduces as well as Zachary Elizabeth Simeon and Anna in respect of the former it was verè Ecclesia but not vera Ecclesia in respect of the later it was vera Ecclesia Neither should this seeme strange to any man that the same society of Christian men should in respect of some parts whereof it consisteth bee the true Church of Christ and in respect of some other not so seeing all men confesse that the same visible church and society of Christians may bee named a garden inclosed an orchard of pome granates a well sealed vp a fountaine of liuing waters a paradise with all precious and desireable fruite a holy nation a peculiar people a roy all Priest-hood the spouse of Christ and wife of the Lambe the loue of Christ all faire vndefiled and without spot in respect of herbest and principall parts though not in respect of other The former ofthese two sorts of men that were found in the Romane Church wee name a faction First because they had no part in that degree of vnity which the best parts thereof had amongst themselues but wandred into by-paths of errour to their owne destruction and sought the ruine of that mother which by baptisme had sacramentally regenerated them to bee the sonnes of God Secondly for that they brought in new and strange errours and a new kinde of tyrannicall gouernment preiudiciall to the purity of the faith once deliuered and the ancient liberty of the people of God For hereby we are to judge who are of the faction in the Church and who not and not by multitude or paucity as some fondly imagine The disguised Arrians and others mis-led by them to the condemning of Athanasius were but a faction in the Church at that time yet were they many so that Hierome sayth the whole world was become an Arrian and they that adhered to Athanasius were few in number and contemptible in respect of the rest And all they that hold and defend errours in matters of doctrine and obseruations in matters of practise and lawes prejudiciall to the ancient liberties in the society of the Christian Church are rightly said to be a faction in the same whether they bee many or few they that retaine the fayth once deliuered are most properly the Church Lastly the errours that wee condemne were taught in the Romane Church that was when Luther began but they were not the doctrines of that Church but these errours are of the doctrines of the present Romane Church For the clearing of the former part to wit
that the errours condemned by vs were not the doctrines of that auncient Roman church wherein our Fathers liued died we must obserue that the doctrines taught in that Church were of three sorts The first such as were deliuered with so full consent of all that liued in the same that whosoeuer offered to teach otherwise was rejected as a damnable hereticke such was the doctrine of the Triuity the creation fall originall sinne incarnation of the Sonne of God the vnity of his person diuersity of the natures subsisting in the same The second such errours as were taught by many in the midst of the same Church as that the Pope cannot erre and the like The third such contrary true assertions as were by other opposed against those errours The first were absolutely the doctrines of that Church The third may bee sayd to haue beene the doctrines of the Church though al receiued them not because they were the doctrines of such as were so in the church that they were the Church according to that of Augustine Some are in such sort in the house of God that they also are the house of GOD and some are so in the house that they pertaine not to the frame and fabricke of it nor to the society and fellowship of fruitfull and peaceable righteousnesse The second kinde of doctrines were not at all the doctrines of that church because they neither were taught with full consent of all that liued in it nor by them that were so in the church and house of God that they were the church and house of God but by such as though they pertained to the church in respect of the profession of some parts of heauenly truth yet in respect of many other wherein they were departed from the same seeking to subuert the faith once deliuered were but a faction in it Hence it followeth which is the third thing I promised to shew that howsoeuer wee haue forsaken the communion of the Romane Diocesse yet wee haue not departed from the Romane Church in the later sense before expressed wherein our Fathers liued died but onely from the faction that was in it First because wee haue brought in no doctrine then generally and constantly condemned nor reiected any thing then generally and constantly consented on Secondly because wee haue done nothing in that alteration of thinges that now appeareth but remoued abuses then disliked and shaken off the yoake of tyranny which that Church in her best parts did euer desire to bee freed from howsoeuer shee had brought forth and nourished other children that conspired against her that taught otherwise then we now doe would willingly for their aduantage haue retayned many things which wee haue remoued Thus then I hope it doth appeare that howsoeuer I confesse that the Latine or West Churches oppressed with Romish tyrāny cōtinued the true Churches of God held a sauing profession of heauenly truth turned many to God and had many Saints that died in their communion euen till the time that Luther began yet I neither dissent from Luther Caluine Beza or any other Protestant of iudgement nor any way acknowledge the present Romish Church to be that true Church of God whose communion wee must embrace whose directions wee must follow and in whose judgement we must rest But will some man say is the Romane Church at this day no part of the Church of God Surely as Augustine noteth that the societies of heretickes in that they retaine the profession of many parts of heauenly truth and the ministration of the Sacrament of Baptisme are so farre forth still conjoyned with the Catholicke Church of God and the Catholick Church in and by them bringeth forth children vnto God so the present Romane church is still in some sort a part of the visible Church of God but no otherwise then other societies of heretickes are in that it retayneth the profession of some parts of heauenly trueth and ministreth the true Sacrament of Baptisme to the saluation of the soules of many thousand infants that die after they are baptized before shee haue poysoned them with her errours Thus having spoken sufficiently for the cleering of my selfe touching this point I will passe from this chapter to the next CHAP. 3. IN the third chapter he endeauoureth to shew that the Protestants doe now teach the necessity of one supreame Spirituall head and commaunder in the Church of Christ. His words are these Whereas heretofore some vnchristian Sermons and Bookes haue termed the Bishop of Rome to bee the great Antichrist wee shall now receiue a better doctrine and more religious answere That there euer was and must bee one chiefe and supreame spirituall Head and Commander of the Church of Christ on earth c. D Field citeth and approueth this as a generall and infallible rule Ecclesiae salus in summi sacerdotis dignitate pendet c. The health of the Church dependeth on the dignity of the high Priest whose eminent authority if it be denyed there will be as many schismes in the Church as there be Priests Then of necessity one chiefe supreme and high Priest must be assigned in his iudgement These are his words The place he meaneth is not page one hundred thirty eight as he quoteth it but page 80. Let the Reader how partiall soeuer peruse it and if he finde that I haue written any thing whence it may be concluded that I acknowledge there euer was and must bee one chiefe and supreme spirituall Head and Commaunder of the whole Church of Christ in earth I will fall prostrate at the Popes feete and be of the Romish religion for euer But if it appeare vnto him that the author of these pretended proofes hath cited this place to proue that which in his conscience he knew it did not let him beware of such false cozening companions My words are The vnity of each particvlar Church depends on the vnity of the Pastor who is one to whom an eminent and particular power is giuen and whom all must obey Heere is no word of one chiefe Pastor of the whole vniuersall church of Christ vpon earth but of one chiefe Pastor in each particular Church VVho would not detest the impudencie false dealing of these Romish writers But he saith I approue the saying of Hierome before mentioned therefore I must assigne one chiefe Pastour of the whole Church of Christ on earth How will he make good this consequence Doth Hierome speake in that place cited approued by mee of one supreame Pastor of the whole Church of Christ on earth Surely this Pamphletter knoweth he doth not but of the Bishop of each particular Church or Diocesse If saith Hierome thou shalt aske why he that is baptized in the church doth not receiue the Holy Ghost but by the hands of the Bishop which we say is giuen in baptisme know that this obseruation commeth from that authority that the Spirit descended vpon the
in that they offend him and this is proper to God in that he onely hath power not to punish that hath power to punish and the Ministers of the Church concurre hereunto no otherwise but onely by bringing men by force of the Word and Sacraments into such an estate wherein God finding them will not punish them The second kinde of absolution is the freeing of men from the censures of suspension excommunication penitentiall corrections and such punishments as the Church may inflict and in this kinde the Church may properly bee saide to absolue The third kinde of absolution is the comfortable assuring of men vpon the vnderstanding of their estate that they shall escape Gods fearefull punishments In these two later sorts the Ministers of the Church haue power to absolue and personall absolution in either of these senses is rightly said to be an Apostolicall and godly ordinance but it is a written ordinance and not an vnwritten tradition which is the thing that this man should proue There is another kinde of absolution imagined by the Papists which is a Sacramentall act giuing grace ex opere operato to the remission of sinnes which is not an Apostolicall ordinance but an invention of their owne whereof I haue spoken elsewhere Touching the ministration of baptisme by priuate persons in the time of necessity it is not said to bee an vnwritten tradition by the Bishoppe of Winchester and therefore it is not to this purpose no more then that Bishoppes are saide to bee Diuinae ordinationis seeing the distinct degrees of Bishops and Presbyters are proued out of the Scripture That confirmation is an Apostolicall tradition wee confesse but it is a written tradition both in respect of the first practise of it by the Apostles who laid their hands on such as were baptized by others from which authority the custome of imposing hands doth come as Hierome testifieth as also in respect of the necessity of the continuance of it in that the Apostle to the Hebrewes reckoneth the imposition of hands together with the doctrine of baptismes amongst the foundations of Christian religion We doubt not therefore but it is a fitting thing that the Bishop should confirme by imposition of hands those that are baptized by others but it is rather for the honour of Priest-hood then the necessity of any law as Hierome testifieth for that otherwise they were in a wofull case who in places farre remote die before the Bishop can come to them if none could receiue the spirit of God but by the imposition of his hands It is therefore a sacramentall complement not to be neglected but not a Sacrament But this good man will proue it to be a Sacrament First because as hee saith it is so ioyned by vs with baptisme And secondly because it hath both a visible signe and grace by the communion-booke reviued It seemeth hee was neuer any good disputer he bringeth so many weake silly arguments and yet vrgeth them as if they were vnanswerable Surely these reasons will be found too weake to proue confirmation a Sacrament if they fall into the hands of any one that will take the paines to examine them For first if hee meane that it is joyned by vs with baptisme as a Sacrament hee is greatly deceiued seeing wee joyne it only as a Sacramentall complement And secondly though it haue an outward signe and inuisible grace yet the signe is not so much a signe of that grace which the Bishop imposing hands by his prayer obtayneth for the confirmation of the parties he layeth his hands vpon as a signe of limitation or restraint specifying and setting out the partie on whom hee desireth God to powre his confirming grace and therefore it hath not the nature of a Sacrament wherein there must be a visible signe of that grace that is conferred Secondly because though the Bishop ouershadowing the party by the imposition of his hands doe in a sort expresse resemble the hand of God stretched forth for the protecting assisting and safe keeping of the party which is an inuisible grace yet it followeth not that it is a Sacrament for the fiery and clouen tongues were a visible signe of that gracious gift of the spirit which the Apostles receiued in the day of Pentecost enabling them with all fiery zeale to publish the mysteries of Gods kingdome in all the seuerall languages of the world yet were they no Sacraments as Bellarmine noteth because the grace whereof these fiery tongues were a signe was not giuen by force of this signe as a set meane appointed by almighty God So in like sort the imposition of hands is a signe of protecting assisting and safe keeping grace not giuen or obtayned by the due vse of this signe as in Sacraments but to be obtained by the prayers of the Bishop and Church of God That which he hath out of Basil is to little purpose for I hope he thinketh not the doctrine of the Trinity to be holden by bare and onely tradition without the warrant of the written word or God And if Saint Basil reckon the forme of wordes wherein we professe our faith in the blessed Trinity to bee a tradition it proueth nothing against vs seeing the thing so professed is contayned in Scripture That the ordaining of Bishops in Diocesses to rule their churches and Metropolitanes in prouinces to call and moderate Synodes was an Apostolicall tradition we make no question but we deny it to be an vnwritten tradition For whereas in the Acts Paul sendeth for the Presbyters of Ephesus to Miletum in the Reuelation it appeareth by the Epistles of the Spirit of God directed to the seauen churches of Asia that amongst many Presbyters feeding the flocke of Christ in Ephesus there was one chiefe who had a kinde of eminent power who is named the Angell of the Church and who is commended or reproued for all thinges done well or ill within the limits and bounds of the same That the Bishop of Winchester saith the Article of Christs descending into hell and the Creede wherein it is contayned is an Apostolicall tradition deliuered to the Church by the direction and agreement of the Apostles is nothing but that we all say Neither is the Popish conceit touching vnwritten Articles of religion thereby confirmed for howsoeuer the Creede of the Apostles may be said to be a tradition in respect of the orderly collection of the principall heades of Christian faith into a briefe summe and Epitome which are scattered here and there in Scripture yet no Article of this Creed is beleeued or receiued by bare and onely tradition but they are all proued out of Scripture as that worthy and learned Bishop doth most excellently confirme and proue the Article of Christs descending into hell out of the same After these particular instances this authour groweth to a generall conclusion and asketh why we may not say with the Councell of Florence cited by
one should beebefore and aboue the rest without whom the rest should do nothing and to whom some things should bee peculiarly reserued as the dedicating of Churches reconciling of penitents confirming of the baptized and the ordination of such as are to serue in the worke of the Ministerie Of which the three former were reserued to the Bishop alone Potiùs ad honorem Sacerdotii quam ad legis necessitatem that is rather to honour his priestly and Bishoply place then for that these things at all may not be done by any other And therefore wee reade that at some times and in some cases of necessitie Presbyters did reconcile penitents and by imposition of hands confirme the baptized But the ordaining of men to serue in the worke of the Ministerie is more properly reserued to them For seeing none are to be ordained at randome but to serue in some Church and none haue Churches but Bishops all other being but assistants to them in their Churches none may ordaine but they onely vnlesse it bee in cases of extreme necessitie as when all Bishops are extinguished by death or fallen into heresie obstinately refuse to ordaine men to preach the Gospell of Christ sincerely And then as the care and charge of the Church is devolued to the Presbyters remaining Catholique so likewise the ordaining of men to assist them and succeede them in the worke of the Ministery But hereof I haue spoken at large elsewhere Wherefore to conclude this point we see that the best learned amongst the Schoolemen are of opinion that Bishops are no greater then presbyters in the power of consecration or order but onely in the exercise of it and in the power of Iurisdiction with whom Stapleton seemeth to agree saying expressely that Quoad ordinem Sacerdotalem ea quae sunt ordinis that is In respect of Sacerdotall order and the things that pertaine to order they are equall and that therefore in all administration of Sacraments which depend of order they are all equall potestate though not exercitio that is in power though not in the execution of things to be done by vertue of that power whence it will follow that ordination being a kinde of Sacrament and so depending of the power of order in the judgement of our Adversaries might bee ministred by presbyters but that for the avoyding of such horrible confusions scandals and schismes as would follow vpon such promiscuous ordinations they are restrained by the decree of the Apostles and none permitted to doe any such thing except it bee in case of extreme necessitie but Bishops who haue the power of order in common together with presbyters but yet so as that they excell them in the execution of things to bee done by vertue of that power and in the power of Iurisdiction also But Bellarmine sayth the Catholique Church acknowledgeth and teacheth that the degree of Bishops is greater then that of Presbyters by Gods Law as well in the power of order as jurisdiction addeth that the Schoole-men vpon the fourth of the Sentences defend the same and Thomas in his Summe which yet elsewhere he confesseth to be vntrue This his opinion he endeauoureth to confirme because none but Bishoppes doe ordaine and if they doe their ordinations are judged voyde which they could not be by the Churches prohibition or decree of the Apostles if they were equall in the power of order to Bishops Hereunto I haue answered elsewhere shewing that ordinations at large or sine titulo and ordinations in another mans charge by bishops who by the character of their order may ordaine are likewise pronounced to be voide by the ancient canons and that therefore the prohibition of the Church and decree of the Apostles for the auoyding of confusion and schisme reseruing the honour of ordaining to Bishops onely vnlesse it were in the case of extreame necessitie might make the ordinations of all other to be void though equall with them in the power of order CHAP. 28. Of the diuision of the lesser Titles and smaller Congregations or Churches out of those Churches of so large extent founded and constituted by the Apostles HItherto wee haue seene how the Apostles diuiding the Churches in such sort that a whole citty and the places adioyning made but one Church set ouer the same one Bishop as Pastour of the place diuers Presbyters as assistants vnto him But in processe of time we shall find certaine portions of these greater flockes of Christ and Churches of God to haue beene deuided out and distinctly assigned to seuerall Presbyters that were to take the care and charge thereof yet with limitations and reseruations of sundry preeminences to the Bishop as remaining still Pastour of those smaller particular congregations though in a sort deuided and distinguished from that greater Church wherein especially hee made his abode Two words wee find in Antiquie vsed to expresse the flockes of Christ and Churches of God thus deuided for more conuenience and yet still depending on that care of one Pastour or Bishop 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 that is parish and Diocese The former contained the cittizens and all such borderers as dwelt neare and repaired to any chiefe church or citie though now we vse the word Parish to signifie another thing namely some particular smaller and lesse congregation diuided out from the Mother Church the later which is Diocese both then and now importeth the villages and Churches dispersed in diuers places vnder the regiment of one Bishop The first that began thus to deuide out smaller Churches and congregations out of those great ones first founded and to assigne Presbyters distinctly to take care of thē was Euaristus Bishop of Rome whose example others did follow in al parts of the world These parts of Gods Church thus deuided assigned to the care of seuerall Presbyters were called Tituli that is Titles because God was intituled vnto them did specially claime them as the lot of his inheritance These Titles or smaller Churches and congregations were of diuerse sorts for some were more principall wherein Baptisme might be administred and the like things performed which were thereupon named Baptismall Churches and in respect of meaner in time growing out of them and depending of them Mother Churches also Other there were not hauing so great liberties To such of these Churches as he pleased the Bishop himselfe went and preached one day in one of them and another in another carrying great cōpanies with him drawing great multitudes to him which solemne assēblies meetings were named stations from their standing at prayers vsed in those times and were like the mighty armies of God keeping their watches and standing ready to encounter their furious and dangerous enemies In this sort Gregory the Great went and preached in such Churches in Rome as he thought fit whose Homilies and Sermons then preached are yet extant with the names of
doubt not of all indifferent Readers And therefore there remaineth but onely one allegation of Bellarmine touching appeales to be examined Gregory the first saith he put Iohn the Bishop of Iustiniana the first from the communion for that he presumed to iudge the Bishop of Thebes hauing appealed to Rome The case was this The Bishop of Thebes wronged by his fellow-Bishops made his appeale to Rome Hereupon Iohn Bishop of Iustiniana the first who was the Bishop of Romes Vicegerent for certaine Prouinces neare adioyning was appointed by the Emperour to heare the cause which he did accordingly But without all indifferencie and in sort contrarie to the Canons and though vpon the discerning of his vniust and partiall proceeding an appeale were tendered to him yet gaue he sentence against the poore distressed Bishop Gregory hearing hereof putteth him from the communion for thirty dayes space inioyning him to bewaile his fault with sorrowfull repentance and teares Truely this allegation maketh a very faire shew at the first sight But if wee remember that the Bishop of Iustiniana the first and the distressed Bishop of Thebes wronged by him were within the Patriarchship of Rome as Cusanus sheweth they were you shall finde it was no more that the B of Rome did then any other Patriarch in like case might haue done within his owne precincts and limits Neither can the Cardinall euer proue that the Bishop of Rome had any such Vicegerent as the Bishop of Iustiniana the first was but onely within the compasse of his owne Patriarchship But saith hee it was a Greeke Bishop that Gregory thus proceeded against It is true it was so But what will hee inferre from thence Is it not knowne that many Greeke Bishops were subiect to the Bishop of Rome as Patriarch of the West was not the Bishoppe of Thessalonica a Greeke Bishop and yet I thinke no man doubteth but that hee was within the compasse of the Patriarchship of Rome as many other also were howsoeuer in time they fell from it adhered to the Church of Constantinople after the diuision of the Greeke and Latine Churches CHAP. 40. Of the Popes supposed exemption from all humane Iudgement as being reserued to the Iudgement of Christ onely OVR Adversaries finding their proofes of the Popes illimited power taken from such appeales as were wont in auncient times to bee made to Rome to bee too weake flie to another wherein they put more confidence which is his exemption from all humane Iudgement Christ whose Vicar he is having reserued him to his owne iudgement onely If this exemption could bee as strongly proued as it is confidently affirmed it would be an vnanswerable proofe of the thing in question But the proofe hereof will be more hard then of the principall thing in controuersie betweene vs. Touching this point I finde great contrarietie of opinions among Papists as men at their wits ends not knowing what to affirme nor what to denie For first there are some among them that thinke that the Pope though hee violate all lawes diuine and humane though hee become publickly scandalous and therein shew himselfe incorrigible yea though hee be a professed and damnable hereticke yet neither is deposed ipso facto by the sentence of the canon nor may be deposed by all the men in the world Which opinion if we admit to bee true the condition of the church the beloued spouse of Christ and mother of vs all is most woefull and miserable in that hereby shee is forced to acknowledge a denouring wolfe making hauocke of the sheepe of Christ redeemed with his precious bloud to be her Pastor and guide Secondly some are of opinion that the Pope if hee become an open and professed hereticke is deposed ipso facto by the sentence of the canon and that the church may declare that he is so deposed Thirdly there are that thinke that an hereticall Pope is not deposed ipso facto but that he may be deposed by the church Fourthly many worthy Diuines in the Romane church heretofore haue beene of opinion that the Church or generall Councell may depose the Pope not onely for heresie but also for other enormous crimes Of this opinion was Cardinall Cusanus Cardinall Cameracensis Gerson Chauncellour of Paris Almaine and all the Parisians with all the worthy Bishops Diuines in the Councels of Constance and Basill Yet the Papists at this day for the most part dislike and condemne this opinion and acknowledge no deposition of any Pope how ill soeuer vnlesse it be for heresie And Bellarmine to make all sure telleth vs farther that the church doth not by any authoritie depose an hereticall Pope but whereas he is deposed ipso facto in that hee falleth into heresie onely declareth the same and thereupon largely refuteth the opinion of Cardinall Caietane who thinketh that the Pope when he falleth into heresie is not deposed ipso facto but that deseruing to bee deposed the Church doth truely and out of her authority depose him First because as he saith if the Church or Councell may depose the Pope from his Papall dignity against his will for what cause soeuer it will follow that the Church is aboue the Pope which yet Caietane denieth For as it will follow that the Pope is aboue other Bishops and of more authority then they if he may depose them so if the councell of Bishops may depose the Pope they are greater then hee Secondly he saith to be put from the Papacie vnwillingly is a punishment so that if the Church may depose the Pope though vnwilling to leaue his place it may punish him and consequently is aboue him For hee that hath power to punish hath the place of a Superiour and Iudge Thirdly he that may restraine and limit a man in the vse and exercise of his ministerie and office is in authority aboue him therefore much more he that may put him from it By these reasons it is clearely demonstrated and proued that if the Church or generall Councell haue authority in case of heresie to depose the Pope at least in some sort it is of greater authority then the Pope And therefore to avoide this consequence as Gerson rightly noteth they that too much magnifie the greatnesse and amplitude of Papall power say that an hereticall Pope in that he is an Hereticke ceaseth to be Pope and is deposed by Almighty God So that the Church doth not by vertue of her authority and jurisdiction depose him but onely denounce and declare that he is so deposed by God to be taken for such a one by men and not to be obeyed This they endeauour to proue because all Heretickes are condemned by their owne iudgment as the Apostle saith and stay not as other euill doers till the Church cast them out but voluntarily depart of themselues from the fellowship of Gods people and cut themselues off from the vnity of the Body of the Church