any such thing be as Bellarmine grants and saith posse dubitari et periculosissimum esse definire or else expresly he sayes that except Hell and Heauen he knoweth no third place 5. Last of all themselues say Masse for children dying soone after baptisme who haue not committed any actuall sinne and to whom the whole punishment of originall is remitted and so consequently can not be in Purgatory AN ANNEXE TO this Treatise of Purgatorie concerning the Distinction of Sinne into Mortall and Veniall which is the maine Pillar of this Pyrotechnie and being pulled downe makes the whole Fabricke to fall IF we consider aright what Sinne is of its own nature as Saint Iohn describes it to wit that all sinne whatsoeuer is a transgression of the Law or if we consider what is the proper wages of sinne of whatsoeuer sort it bee as Saint Paul cleares it to wit death or if we consider what is onely able to expiate and doth purge vs from all sinne name it as they will to wit Christs blood and death onely Then surely any such distinction of sinne into Mortall and Veniall by nature will quite evanish and sinne of it owne nature will bee acknowledged to bee mortall solely and to say Peccatum and yet Veniale simply and not Mortale properly will be 〈◊〉 to bee vertuall contradiction and we know that there is no composition of meerely opposites nor construction of mutuall destructiues Yea out of their owne mouth to condemne them how is sinne vniuerâ—ally distinguished by themselues into Veniall and Mortall if the Veniall bee not sinne and that properly and if it bee sinne or 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 then of necessitie it must bee as is said 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 as saith Saint Iohn and the wages thereof as the Lawe threatneth is Gods curse or as Saint Paul pronounceth doome is death So that euery sinne is as a Viper and there is no Viper if wee respect the meere nature of the best of them but shee killeth whom shee biteth yet if one shall light on the hand of Paul shee is shaken off into the fire without any harming but not the lesse is shee to bee feared and accounted deadly of her owne nature although the Apostle be safe Wherefore the distinction of sinne into â—ortall and Veniall ariseth 〈…〉 sed personis From whence it followes That all sinnes are damnable in all men but not to all men all deserving but not all receiuing damnation for to the reprobate no sinne is finally veniall and to the elect no sinne is finally mortall Notwithstanding that there is one sinne which is simply and vniuersally mortall because it is not only punishable but euer punished with eternall death and is that sinne against the Holy Ghost but is no wayes incident to the elect Therefore I call sinne mortall two wayes First by explication and generally and to say a mortall sinne is to shew the nature of all sinne Secondly by way of distinction and specially and so to say a mortall sinne is to designe that sinne against the Holy Ghost in particular and which sinne Impenitencie doth follow necessitate ineuitabili as an inseparable consequent where in all other sinnes it is rather contingent for as no sinne can bee forgiuen without repentance so this sinne excludes possibilitie of repentance and therefore is irremissible and is called Mortall in an eminent degree and neuer becomes veniall not because God in his absolute power cannot forgiue it but because in his iust will hee hath decreed neuer to forgiue it the partie so sinning being euer obdured by his owne vniust action and Gods iust desertion And this is that which is spoken Mathew 12.31 and which Christs beloued Disciple vnderstands saying There is a sinne to death and a sinne not vnto death distinguishing so not betweene some sinnes mortall in nature and some sinnes veniall by nature But betweene one sinne simply mortall in nature and in necessary effect vnto all and all other sinnes simply mortall in nature also but not in necessary effect vnto all and therefore possibly and by repentance veniall through grace vnto the elect Whereas the same sinnes are iustly through want of repentance retained and be comes finally mortall to the obdured reprobate Neither is it to any purpose which Bellarmine alledgeth out of Iames 1.15 that because concupiscence brings foorth sinne and sinne consummate brings foorth death therefore that concupiscence it selfe should not bring foorth death or be a mortall sinne but veniall Where in the contrary it is rather to bee reasoned that Concupiscence being the euill Tree budding or poysoned Spring flowing it is the cause of all that which proceeds therefrom to wit both sinne consummate and death inflicted as from the seed both stalke and each eare comes And in the very regenerate where no consent is thereto as it is called sinne properly and a rebellion against the Law of God Rom. 7.20 23. so the fruit and merit thereof is affirmed to be death vers 24 and Rom. 8.2 and consequently it is of nature mortall Neither is it forbidden in the Law with that restriction of giuing consent thereto but simply it is said Thou shalt not couet and therefore to lust or couet although it proceed no further as Christ himselfe expounds that Precept is a breach of the Lawe and consequently merits death and the curse Neither may we according to Bellarmines owne rule restraine that which God hath set downe more amply And as for that out of a 1 Corinth â— where veniall sinne is desweined saith Bellarmine Ex leuitate materiae wee may iustly say it is leuis probatio and whereas through wanting more solid stuffe for proouing their distinction they haue their recourse then to stubble they may fitly bee compared to that thralled people in the Egyptian bondage who wanting long straw were forced to gather short stubble to themselues to make vp their â—aske which they could not accomplish and for building such stuffe not vpon the foundation but rather thereby euerting the foundation they may feare a fearefull and consuming fire at last But heereunto wee will onely giue them but their owne answeres and fully pay them with their owne coyne Bellarmine then testifies that because by the Builders in that place is vnderstood Doctors therefore by the worke must bee vnderstood doctrine and consequently by Hay and Stubble saith hee is vnderstood curious and vnprofitable doctrine Next he saith That by the fire that burneth this combustible and light stuffe Purgatory wherein Veniall sinnes enter cannot bee meant because it purgeth not the worke but altogether consumes the worke This likewise is but Metaphorically then so called fire but that of Purgatory is reall Et ignis Purgatoriae qui verâ—â— realis est saith Bellarmine non potest opera comburero quae sunt actiones transeuntes jam transierunt And whereas the Ancients seeme to poynt at this Distinction making
mention of Mortall sins any iudicious Reader will finde that thereby they vnderstand Peccata vastantia conscientiam or such great and grossâ— sinnes as vsually exclude penitentiall grace from the presumptuous Actour by which onely our sinnes become veniall Likewise seeing euery sinne name it as yee will if yee graunt it once to bee sinne is mediately at least committed against an infinite obiect who consequently requireth iustly an infinite punishment It followeth necessarily that the same is mortall although it were but as idle word which Bellarmine saith were a foolish thing in man to breake friendship for such light offences and can not bee vnderstood in God how it can deserue eternall punishment although in the contrary Christ hath said that euen of such account shall bee giuen at the day of Iudgement at which time onely eternall punishment shall bee inflicted and not a temporall such as they allot to veniall sinnes Wherefore it was requisite that as our Sauiour should haue our nature that in it sinne might hee punished iustly so this nature was to subsist in an infinite person that by it sinne might bee conquered fully But when 〈…〉 himselfe is to bee punished by God according to the merit of his vnpardoned offence the Lord not hauing meanes to satisfie his Iustice on an infinite person to make proportion betweene his Iustice and mans sinne some way hee chuseth an infinite time because the person punished is no wayes match with the partie offended therefore this punishment is truly called Passion but not Satisfaction whereas the infinitenesse of Christs Nature in person made his Passion to bee a sufficient Satisfaction From whence it followes that nothing can bee done by man either actiuely or passiuely in this life nor after the same that can be reputed a condigne satisfaction to God for any one sinne whatsoeuer committed by vs the guilt and whole punishment whereof is perfectly abrogated by Christ the first being imputed to him and the second inflicted vpon him that so all who are engraft in him may be freed from both the merit of his blood and fire of his spirit and not any other Purgatorie effectuating that to vs. Not that by this ouerthrow of that distinction of sinne into mortall and veniall which at last among the Papists becomes also venall that we denie an inequalitie to be in sinnes and so consequently in their due punishments For first wee hold sinnes to bee vnequall in respect of the obiect against which we sinne and so a sin against God is a greater sin then a sin against man and a sinne against the first Table is greater then a sinne against the second Table being compared in equall and paralell acts Otherwise if we compare a sinne in the least part of a Commandement in the first Table with a sinne in the greatest part of a Commandement in the Second Table the latter is more hainous then the first Likewise as a sinne against God is greater then a sinne against man for the essentiall diuersitie of the obiect so the sinne against one man may bee greater then a sinne against another for the accidentall diuersitie of the obiect as in eminencie of place against a King or propinquitie of blood bond of nature against a Parent for although all men naturally considered are alike and the same yet ciuilly and politickly they are not Secondly in respect of the matter wherein wee sinne there is an inequalitie so Murder is a greater sinne then Theft because life is more precious then goods Likewise if we compare sins in the same matter one may be greater then another according to the extent or quantitatiue measure as to kill three is a greater offence then to kill one and to steale 100. pounds is a greater theft then 10. Thirdly in respect of the manner how we offend there is an inequalitie of sinning and so a sinne of malice is greater then a sinne of infirmitie so is that of knowledge greater then that of ignorance As likewise sinnes that consist only in immanent action or thought of the minde are lesse then these that come to transient action being accomplished by the body euery further addition making the sinne more intense in degree And as sins are vnequall so are their punishments God in his distributiue iustice allotting seuerall portions of paine to the seuerall proportions of sinne The priuatiue punishment or poena damni in time degree is alike to all Depart from me c. The posiâ—iue or poeâ—a sensus is partly from an inward cause which is the gnawing worme of conscience whose life is perpetuated in death or from an outward cause which is such exquisite meanes whereby at last the whole man is afflicted decreed by God in his wisedome executed by his power to demonstrate his iustice and is ordinarily called the fire of Hell And as the outward paine of fire primarily inflicted on the body doth worke effectually to afflict the soule so doth the inward paine of the worme which is in the soule worke effectually to afflict the body that as they were brethren in euill and participated in sinne so they may bee coupled likewise and pertake in torment And as the soule hath one estate in her selfe at death independant vpon the body by her seperation from it and another in the body vpon her revniting with it at the resurrection so in the first she suffereth outward paine immediately and in the second by the body mediately In all which the punishment of all is equall in time because in respect of duration there is neither more nor lesse in that which is eternall but the punishment is vnequall in degree Gods iustice hauing a relatiue respect to mans sinne And so although we denie that any sinnes are veniall by nature yet we affirme some to be lesse then others and in a lesse measure punished and so the vniust slander of our Aduersaries affirming that we make all sinnes and consequently all punishments equall may easily hence appeare FINIS Reuel 18.13 Mant. de colam temp Aeneas Syluius ad 1. pereg Ep. 66. 2 Cor. 3. Bell. l. 1. de Purg. c. 15. Aug. li. de trin c. 3. cont Mend. c. 6. * Math. 4.9 Ephes. 6. Bell. l. 1. de Purg. c. 14. Bell. lib. 1. de Purg. c. 1. Et lib 2. c. 6.9 10. Bell. lib. 1. de Indul. c. 9. Ibidem Bell. lib. 1. de Purg. c. 12. Bell. lib 4. de Pan. c. 13. Bell. lib. 2. de Purg. c. 13. Lomb. l. 4. Sent. dist 18. Chrys. in 4. ad Rom. Hom. 8. Aug. Ser. 27. de verbis Domini Col. 1.19 Bell. lib. 1. de Indul. c. 4. 1 Tim. 2.6 Col. 1.19 Iohn 1.16 Acts 4.12 Bell lib. 4. de Poenit. c. 13. Ephes. 2.8 Bell. l. 1. de Purg. c. 12. Bell. lib. 1. de Sanct. c. 3. Philip. 1.23 2 Tim. 4.7 Bell. lib. 3. de Eccles. c. 9. Iob 7.2 Exod. 20.6 Psal. 110.4 Bell. lib. 1. de Sanct. c. 6. Bell. l. 1. de Purg. c. 5. Bell. lib. 1. de Purg. c. 14. Ibidem Bell. lib. 2. de indul cap. 7. Ibidem cap. 5. Bell. lib. 1. de Indul. c. 2. Bell. lib. 1. de Indul. c. 4. Ibidem Bell. lib. 1. de Sanct. c. 3. Ibidem Ibidem Ibidem Bellar. lib. 1. de Sanct. c. 4. Bell. ibidem Iustin. quosi 75 Bell. l 1. de Sanct. c. 5. Cyprian de exhor Mart. cap. vlt. Aug. med c. 22. et l. 20. de ciuit dei c. 15. Prosp. l. 1. de vita contemp c. 1. Ansel. in 2. ad Cor. Bell. l. 1. de Sanct. c. 6. Bell. Ibidem Bell ibidem Bell. l. 1. de Purg. c. 3. Answere 2 Tim. 3.16 c. 2.23.26.28 Iosh. 7. Bell. lib. 1. de Purg. c. 12. Bell. l. 1. de Purg. c. 3. Aug. Confess lib. 6. c. 2. contra Faust. l. 2. c. 21. 1 Sam. last 31. 2 Sam. 1.12 Bell. lib. 2. de indul cap. 13. 1 Pet. 1.7 4.12 Aug. l. 20. de Ciuit. Dei c. 25 Aug. de Ciuit. Dei l. 18. â— 35. Answere â—o Luk. 10.35 Ephes. 1.21 Marke 3.29 Luke 12.10 Answer Bell. l. 1. de purg C. 6. Answer Rom. 6.6 Answer Bell. lib. 1. de purg ca. 5. Bell. lib. 2. de Purg. c. 13. Bell. lib. 1 de purg ca. 7. Answer Bell. l. 1. de Purg. ca. 7. Bell. lib. 1. de purg ca. 8. Answer Iam. 3.6 1 Ioh. 3.14 Answere Answere Answer Bell. l. 1. de Sanct. c. 6. Isai. 45.23 Bell. l. 1. de Christ. c. 13. Reuel 20.7 Iude 1.6 Aug. Epist. 99. ad Euodium Bell. lib. 2. de Purg. c. â— Answer Deut. 29.29 Bell. lib. 2. de Purg. c. 14. Bell. lib. 1. de purg ca. 11. 2 Sam. 12. Numb 12. Hebr. 12.7 Gen. 2.17 Rom. 5.17 Rom. 6.23 Bell. lib. 2. de Indul. c. 1. Bell. lib. 2. de Indul. c. 4. Bellar. lib. 4. de poenit c. 2. Answer Heb. 3.4 2 Thes. 2.12 1 Tit. 1.15 Bell. lib. 1. de purg ca. 14. Ephes. 3.17 Rom. 10.17 Gal. 3.27 1 Cor. 10.16 Bell. l. 1. de purg c. 9. Aug. l. 21. de ciuit dei c. 27. Bell. lib. 1. de Sanct. c. 2. Lactan. l. 7. cap. 11. Cyp. l. 3. epist. 6. et l. 5. epist. 4. Bell. lib. 2. de Purg. ca. 1. et ibid. ca. 18. Aug. confess l. 9. ca. 13. Aug. l. de ciui dei cap. 16. Bell. l. 1. de purg cap. 10. Aug. lib. 21. de ciuit dei cap. 26.27 Enchirid. c. 69. Aug. c. 1. secundi Serm. de consol super mortuos et l. 5. hypognost Bell. l. 2 de purg cap. 1. 1 Iohn 3.4 Rom. 6.23 Galat. 3.10 Hebr. 9.22 1 Iohn 1.7 Galat. 3.10 Rom. 6.23 Actes 28. Hebr. 6.4 1 Iohn 5.16 Bell. lib. 1. de purg ca. 11. Math. 5. Bell. lib. 4. de Poenit. c. 13. Bell. l. 1. de purg c. 5. Bell. lib. 1. de Purg. c. 11. The inequality of sinne or degrees thereof The inequalitie of punishment or degrees thereof
IGNIS FATVVS OR THE ELF-FIRE OF PVRGATORIE Wherein Bellarmine is confuted by Arguments both out of the Old and New Testament and by his owne Proofes out of Scriptures and Fathers Also an Annexe to this Treatise of Purgatorie concerning the distinction of Sinne in Mortall and Veniall By M. WILLIAM GVILD Minister at KING-EDVVARD LONDON Printed by AVGVSTINE MATHEVVES and are to bee sold at Britaines Burse 1625. TO THE TRVELY Noble Right Honourable and Religious IOHN Earle of Laderdail Lord Thirlestane c. one of his Maiesties most Honorable Priuie Counsell c. and to his most Religious Countesse and Ladie RIGHT HONOVRABLE THat inueterate-enâ—mie of Gods glory mans good hath neuer ceased from the beginning to intermiâ—e in the Lords field his pesâ—â—ent popple amongst the good seed setting a worke the Mysterie of iniquitie euen then when the Mysterie of mans redemption was begun to be published and by force or fraud either as a redde Dragon or as a counterfeite of the Lambe with implacable malice but limitâ—ed power hee hath euer assaulted the Church both in head and members Sometimes prouoking to sinne as Balak 〈…〉 did the people in Ahabs time as in sinnes oâ— opinion contra verum This later is of two sorts either hereticall against the 〈…〉 against the Body 〈…〉 The two preceding were old heresies who long ago hath receiued their iust condemnation the later carry the 〈…〉 of their grosse guiltinesse and clear conuiction specially such as are against the Priesthood of Christ consisting in full satisfaction until sole inter 〈…〉 sufferings with Christs all-sufficient oblation making that glorious worke to be as a Linsey-wolsey garment and man to share in the glory of that in the grace whereof he hath onely 〈◊〉 By which impious assertion and illicit coniunction Christ is degraded his blood vilified his merit maimed his crosse curtailed his death debased and his sufferings stained by those who of godlinesse haue made gaine but not made their gaine to bee godlinesse turning Gods Temple againe into a denne of theeues and therein making Merchandise not of Doues but of Soules as is fore-prophesied of them and haue raised againe the tables of Money-changers which Christ once ouerthrew As no more plainely their owne Mantuan affirmes saying Omnia venalia Romae then their owne Pope Pius confirmes saying Nil absque argentâ— Romana curia donat Nam peccatorum venia Spiritus dona venduntur And indeed though these Subterranean Vulcans and fire-worke men build vpon straw stubble and hay their light assertion without any more solid foundation then the groundlesse conceit of a brainesicke head and couetous heart can afford yet they draw in from the seduced simple most solid substance of gold siluer and large revenewes by a strange sort of Alchymie Manus porrigentes indultrices solùm manus porrigentibus adiutrices but No pennie no Pater noster being better seene as is truely said in the Golden number of actuall reset nor in the Dominicall letter of sacred and holy Writ Neither without cause does these Locusts that came from the bottomlesse pit smell of fire or is it a wonder that these that came out of the smoke of a great furnace doe yet speak to poore soules of a fiery furnace neither can any iustly admire that they torment the conscience whose power giuen them is as the power of Scorpions not to kill outright by simply damning soules for so they should get no profit nor prey but to torment them with the sure expecting of a Purgatory fire out of which there is no release but by the Suffrages and Soule masses and so like Beniamin they rauen as a Wolfe and as the name of the Prophets sonne was they become speedie robbers and swift to the prey neuer resting cruelly to sting and like Iobs miserable comforters to propine to the dying soule in the greatest agony and thirst for cooling comfort such a bitter potion as Christ got on the Crosse while the Lions teeth by some bootie be baited The zeale then which we all owe to Gods glorie and loue which we owe to our fellow members as yet perhaps vncome out of Babell hath moued me at this time to take some paines in this argument to partie the seducers and pitie the seduced and by the sword of the Spirit and Lampe of the Word to conuince the one and conduct the other into the path of truth if they may be cured Which paines â—ight Honourable with no lesse affectionate heart then an officious hand I offer to your view and dedicate to your Name beseeching God that in all honour it may flourish your soule by grace and your estate with prosperitie and that those singular gifts wherewith your God hath indued you may still receiue a happy growth for your better acquitall in that eminent station wherein his wise dispensation hath set you that his Name may bee glorified his Church comforted your Countrey benefited your posteritie blessed and your owne selfe eternally may bee saued in that great day Your Honours in all humble and heartie duetie W. GVILD To the READER COVRTEOVS READER COnsidering the grossenesse of this vnwarrantable cruell and couetous conceit of Purgatorie so that many who in other poynts rests yet in Babell yet in this confesses the vanitie of this prop of Bethauen And perceiuing notwithstanding how peremptorie the Aduersary is not onely against all opposers to this their fatning Kitchin by their thundring Sentence but also against all those who giues not full assent vnto it by their condemnatory Decree adiudging all such to Hells fire for euer So that Bellarmine spares not as vsurping Gods chaire determinatly to afflirme that it is such an article of faith adeo vt qui non credit Purgatorium esse ad illud nunquam sit peruenturus sed in Gehenna sempiterno incendio sit cruciandus I thought my paines should not bee bestowed nor my Penne imployed amisse if according to my penury I should contribute somewhat heerein to the Lords Treasurie that they who stand in the olde way of trueth may bee strengthened and these who are any one footstep come out of Babell may be helped forward and if it were no more but as Augustine sayes that heretikes may vnderstand that there are not onely one or two but many in the campes of orthodox Catholikes who dare with open face meet them As they then who coupled an Oxe and an Asse together against that command of God to the Iewes and sowe their field with diuers seeds or as the children of those of the Captiuitie spake partly in the Iewish Language and partly in the Language of Ammon and Ashdoa Euen so how that false Prophet who hath borrowed likewise the semblance of the Lambs hornes calling him his Vicar that vnder that he might the more craftily vent the speech of the Dragons tongue whose mouth hee is and whose priuiledge he claimes How he I say hath vnequally yoked monstrously mixed vniustly coupled
if his departure had been to enter him in so fierce a fire nor the other if his dissolution had not been straightway to ioyne him to Christ. Neither doth hee say that at the finishing of his course or ending of his fight a crowne onely is laid vp for him which should bee giuen him in that day to wit of his departure as verse 6. but likewise that in the very like manner it abode all them that loue the Lord Iesus Now to close vp our Arguments out of their owne distinction of Culpa Poena thus wee reason If Purgatory purge away ought either it purgeth the fault or the punishment But it purges not away the fault or guilt of mortall sinnes by the Papists owne confession nor the eternall punishment of them both being before remitted Neither purgeth it away the temporall punishment because out of the definition of purging which is taking away as Iohn 1.29 is euident the same is not taken away but on the contrary is inflicted non aufertur enim sed infertur Therefore of mortall sinnes it purgeth nothing and so in that respect it cannot bee called Purgatorie And as for veniall sinnes which Bellarmine saith Quoad culpam poenam intrant Purgatorium we prooue thus that it purges them not away No transient actions can enter into Purgatorie to bee burnt vp or purged away which are Bellarmines owne words saying Ignis Purgatory que verus realis est non potest opera combur â—râ— quae sunt actiones transeuntes iam transierunt But to subsume Veniall sinnes are transient actions which none can deny Therefore they enter no wise into Purgatorie to bee burnt vp or purged away and consequently seeing neither mortall nor veniall sinnes guilt nor punishment is purged away from the Soule in Purgatory there is no such thing at all Nam Purgatorium as is said est semper alicuius rei purganda Purgatorium As also that is not remitted which wholly is punished saith Bellarmine Remissio enim sonat condonationem But the Scripture and Fathers expressely teach saith hee that light or veniall sinnes are remitted after this life Therefore say wee they are not totally punished nor enter into Purgatorie quoad culpam poenam as hee said before nor are they punished at all seeing their temporall punishment is their totall punishment Arguments against Purgatory and for our Assertion out of Bellarmin and our Aduersaries themselues 1. Their Confession and arguments of their owne Doctors for vs. Bellarmine saith Fatemur Christum pro nobis pro toto mundo integre imo plenissime deo patri satisfecisse And againe Christ passions saith he omnem culpam originalem actualem lethalem venialem omnem poenam tam sempiternam quam temporariam expiare valent idque totum per se etiam si nullae admiscerentur passiones sanctorum Whence it followes 1 That the satisfaction of men for them selues are superfluous at least and that he who relyes only on Christs satisfaction relyes on that which for saluation is alwayes al-sufficient 2 That to exact that punishment of man which Christ hath already satisfied to his Fathers iustice is to make God vniust by taking two payments for one debt as also in not accepting Christ satisfaction for as much as it is worth to the Godly being of value to free them as well from Purgatory which is the lesse as from Hell which is the greater 3 To say that Christs satisfaction serues to make our satisfaction acceptable is against common sense as who would say that a cautioner had payed the debt thereby to inable the principall debtor being vnresponsall to pay it ouer againe to the Creditor and much more absurd is it to say that this second payment is a grace as after a free and full pardon of all punishment whatsoeuer it should bee a fauour done to a malefactor to bee cast so long in prison and cruelly whipped Dignitas satisfactionis saith Bellarmine mensuram accipit a dignitate persona satisfacientis quemadmodum grauitas offensionis a dignitate personae laesae Now betweene finite man who is the offendor and the infinite God who is offended there is no equalitie of comparison or correspondence therefore neither of the finite satisfaction of the one to the infinite Iustice of the other for which cause it behooued him to bee of an infinite nature who was our Redeemer Againe Christs satisfaction is infinite saith Durand and Mairâ—â—es therefore it is altogether needlesse to ioyne to Christs satisfaction say they any satisfaction of the sufferings of men which without being so ioyned to Christs wants not their owne fruits nor are in vaine being indured heere both in respect of the sufferers their owne reformation and conformitie with Christ wrought and the confirmation of the godly and good example to others that redounds thereby If by the sufferings of the godly sinnes may be expiate saye the same men cited by Bellarmine then it would not be absurd for them to bee called Redeemers of themselues in a part But it is absurd for them to bee called redeemers of themselues because Christ is the sole and onely Redeemer of mankind of whom saith the Apostle Who is made vnto vs righteousnesse and redemption 1 Cor. 1.30 Therefore by the sufferings of the godly sinnes cannot bee expiate neither veniall nor other in regard of punishment or otherwise To this argument of their owne Doctors Bellarmine no wise answeres but blasphemously affirming That it is no absurditie to say that wee are our owne redeemers in a part seeing the Councell of Trent hath decreed no lesse Sess. 14. Cap. 8. Can. 13. 2. Scriptures adduced by Bellarmine to proue that the Saints presently inioy the vision of God making directly for vs against Purgatory Ecclus. 11.26 It is an easie thing to the Lord in the very day of death without longer delay to reward a man according to his wayes and consequently to giue glory to the godly Et illud facile est Domino non significat saith Bellarmine posset si vellet sed reddit Deus facile reddit vnicuique secundum opera sua in die obitus aloquisi posset non redderet frustra nos hoc argumento hortaretur sapiens Also he brings that saying of Paul 2 Cor. 5.1 where the Apostle saith in the very instant and present time after the laying downe of our earthly bodies in death wee haue an eternall habitation in the heauens and so the soule remaines no time without a house but as soone as it goes out of the earthly it presently enters into the heauenly and therefore Bellarmine sayes Apostoli argumentatio optima est nimirum ista Si vita haec mortalis perit habemus statim aliam longe meliorem in coelo speaking so of all the godly indifferently To the same purpose is that which he adduceth out of the 8. verse where the Apostle setteth downe that this
Goâ— and Satan whom they say torments the Soule in Purgatorie heauen and hell to be all one But the soules of the godly returne to God that gaue them and are receiued by him as Act. 7.59 Ergo they goe not to the fire of Purgatory Psal. 32.1 2. Blessed is the man whose transgression is forgiuen whose sinne is couered and to whom the Lord imputeth not iniquitie Hence we reason He whose sinne is forgiuen the same is couered saith Dauid and what is couered is not seene and what is not seene is not imputed and what is not imputed cannot by any satisfactory punishment bee punished Therefore saith Lombard as Bellarmine grants Deum tunc tegere peccata quando ad poenam non reseruat And to take away the evasion of meaning onely the eternall punishment Therefore saith Chrysostome where there is grace there is forgiuenes and where there is forgiuenes there is no punishment at all And Augustine on this Psalme saith Si texit peccata noluit aduertere si noluit aduertere noluit punire noluit ne vel agnoscere maluit ignoscere Now to subsume But so it is that the sinnes of the godly are forgiuen couered vnseene and not imputed as saith the Psalmist Ergo they are not by any satisfactorie worke or suffering punished Punishment being euer the worke of Iustice and making the partie punished wretched and pardon being euer the worke of mercy and making the partie pardoned blessed and so being incompatible Psal. 51.7 Purge mee and I shall be whiter then snow Whence we argue If to purge away sinne and to remit be all one as is euident 1 Iohn 1.19 and that none can remit sinne but God onely Mark 2.7 therefore it followeth that God onely purgeth sinne and consequently no other thing can doe so And againe If where God purgeth there remaine not the least spot but the party purged is perfectly made cleane yea whiter then the snow then veniall sinnes and temporall punishments remaine not to be purged by any other Purgatory But where God purgeth there abides not the least spot but the party purged is perfectly made cleane as saith the Psalmist as likewise Isa. 1.18 Ergo veniall sinnes and temporall punishments remaine not to be purged by any other Purgatory And for this cause saith Tertullian Exempto reatu remittitur poena Isa. 53.4 5. He hath borne our griefes the chastisment of our peace was vpon him and by his stripes we are healed Hence we reason If Christ bare our sinnes no otherwise then by bearing the punishment due for them and bare the punishment to discharge vs of the same nam si tulit abstulit then the same nor no part thereof as satisfactory to Gods iustice remaines to be borne by vs for our sinnes But Christ bare our sins but by bearing the punishment due for them and that to discharge vs of the same and therefore saith Augustine Suscipiendo poenam non culpam culpam deleuit poenam Ergo the same nor no part thereof remaines to be borne by vs as a satisfactory punishment Leuit. 1.3.4.5.6 Chap. Expiations sacrifices were ordained for all sorts of sinnes trespasses and vncleannes euen to the touching of the dead But neither was there any sacrifices or seruice appointed for any that were vncleane in Purgatory and such sacrifices also that were for sin were for the guilt thereof Neither amongst all the points and priuiledges of the high Priests office find we that hee had power by indulgence to deliuer any soule from Purgatory Ergo it followes that no such place nor punishment after this life was Ecclesiasticus 3.6 Which our aduersaries hold as Canonicall and which we only vrge to shew notwithstanding how clearely their Purgatory contradicts the same The words are The soules of the righteous are in the hands of God there shall no torment touch them and if no torment therefore not that of Purgatorie Arguments against Purgatorie and to prooue our Assertion out of the New Testament 1 Iohn 1.7 The blood of Christ purges vs from all our sinnes Whence we argue If Christs blood purgeth vs from all our sinnes and that these only are the spots which make our Soules vncleane as the Scripture shewes vs. It followes then that if Christs blood purges vs from them all that therefore no veniall sinnes nor vncleannesse whatsoeuer remaine to bee purged so that there is no other Purgatory at all Nam Purgatorium est semper alicuius rei purgandae Purgatorium To this same sense agreeth that of the Apostle Heb. 9 14. That if the blood of beasts sanctified to the purifying of the flesh much more shall the blood of Christ purge the conscience from dead workes Hebr. 1.3 When hee had by himselfe purged our sinnes hee sate downe Whence we argue If this belongs to Christs office to purge our sinnes by himselfe and that this Priestly office of Christs is incommunicable as Heb. 7.24 is euident seeing as the Apostle saith elsewhere in himselfe all fulnesse dwels and he hath trod the winepresse alone Then it followes That none other can by themselues expiate any sort of sinnes nor as Bellarmine blasphemously avowes that any can be their own redeemer in part But the first is true as is prov'd by the Apostle Therefore the second is likewise infallible To the same purpose is that notâ—ble speech of the Apostle saying He hath giuen himselfe to bee a ransome for vs and therefore not that we should bee a ransome for our selues in any degree Heb. 10.14 By one offering he hath perfected for euer them that are sanctified that is as Heb. 7.25 he hath perfectly saued them Whence we reason If Christ hath perfectly saued his Elect then he hath saued them as well from the guilt of veniall as mortall sinnes and as well from the temporall as the eternall punishment and so left no supplement to be made to his satisfaction by their suffering in Purgatory But he hath perfectly saued them as the Apostle prooues Ergo he hath left no sinne nor no punishment vntaken away and so no supplement to be made to his satisfaction by their owne sufferings in Purgatory To this same purpose is it that the Apostle saith That it pleased the Father that in him all fulnesse should dwell for reconciling all thing in heauen and earth vnto himselfe And of his fulnesse doe we all receiue saith Iohn And by him and not by our selues euen by the blood of his Crosse and not by our sufferings are all things reconciled saith the Apostle Wherefore there is no other name whereby we may be saued saith S Peter but by the Name of Iesus whether in part or whole from veniall or mortall sinnes temporall or eternall punishment For according to Bellarmines preceding rule Non nostrum est restringere quod Deus amplum esse voluit Rom. 6.23 Saluation is a free gift therefore we pay not for it neither by our selues nor
Purgatorie Act. 2.24 Whom God raised hauing loosed the dolours of Hell that is deliuered soules out of Purgatory 1. The words are the dolours of death and not of Hell by which what is meant is cleare out of Psalm 18.4.5 calling the dolours of death the snares of death and by the dolours of the graue meaning the same and by both vnderstanding so the captiuating of death and the detayning power of the Graue wherein our Sauiour by his buriall as Deaths prisoner was inclosed and both which powers by his resurrection hee overcame as by his triumph Hose 13. is euident and as Bellarmine grants Lib. 4. de Christo. cap. 8. and that with Chrysostome and Oecumenius is meant thereby either that by Christ resurrection God loosed the dolours of death that was pained in holding him so long in the graue or else that by his resurrection he destroyed death and all the stinging dolours thereof which accompanied the same And so he makes him do that by the raysing vp of his body there which by the discense of his soule he would haue him to doe here Next if by such words Purgatory were meant then it would follow that Christ should haue suffered in Purgatory seing as is euident Peter speakes of the dolours which his humane nature suffered and his diuine loosed And therefore it was himselfe that was loosed from them as Sampson from his cords at first because it was impossible that he saith the Apostle and not others in Purgatorie should be holden by them And to vse retortion of this place against themselues if they meane Purgatory by these dolours as Bellarmine doth the same is quite vndone because Christ is said not to haue loosed any soules out of these dolours but the dolours themselues whereof it will follow either that there is no Purgatorie left at all or else such a one as is quite dolourlesse and without paine Philip 2.10 At the Name of Iesus euery knee shall bow of things in Heauen on earth and vnder the earth Which last sort seeing it is not the deuils nor the damned that giue voluntary obedience it must be the soules in Purgatory 1. Bellarmine himselfe answeres for vs and shewes that this speech borrowed from Isai. is expounded by the Apostle Rom. 10.14 of Christ comming to iudge all men before whom all the wicked sore against their wils shal compeare and yeeld subiection whereof the bowing of the knee among men is a signe Neither by bowing of the knee could be meant a voluntary subiection for this reason because then it would follow that all the wicked euen in this life gaue voluntary subiection to Christ because it is said That euery knee on earth shall bow As for 1 Pet. 3.20 Bellarmine prooues Limbus patrum thereby Therefore it cannot be adduced likewise to prooue Purgatory neither doth the word Prison in Scripture signifie but only the hell of the damned when it speaks of the imprisoning of Spirits And therefore it is the wicked and disobedient that are said to bee there and so neither the Fathers not the godly whom Christ is not said to haue deliuered the 〈◊〉 but to whom he is said to haue preached by that Spirit whereby hee was quickened which was not therefore his Soule but by his diuine Spirit in the dayes of Noah while they had time then to repent by the meanes of preaching and not after this life when there is no conuersion And for which exposition we haue not onely the clearnesse of the Text but Augustine also plainly with vs and after him Beda as 〈◊〉 grants Iohn 11.43 and Luke 8.55 The soule of Lazarus Maries brother returned and so did the soules of Iairus daughter and the widowes sonne whom Christ raised Now this was not from hell they being godly nor from heauen for so iniurie should haue been done to them Therefore saith Bellarmine Mortui quos exitarunt Christus Apostoli creduntur fuisse in Purgatorio Besides that the secret things belong onely to God and the things reuealed onely to vs there could bee no iniury heere done to the creature whose priuate good must euer giue place to the manifestation of Gods glorie whereto it was created But more peremptorily let Bellarmine in that same Chapter answere this saying Se igitur aliqui sancti redierunt ad corpus non fuerunt beati sed Deus praevidens eorum excitationem distulit eorum beatificationem interim detinuit eos in optimo aliquo loco such as is no wayes a tormenting Purgatory Yea to shew how desperate their cause is and how impudent themselues are in wresting most cleare parts of Scripture to prooue this fiery furnace of theirs Let vs see that place Ex quo saith Bellarmine insigne habetur argumentum pro Pugatorio Hebr. 10.27 For whom remaines saith the Apostle a certaine fearefull looking for of Iudgement and fiery indignation which shall deuoure the aduersaries speaking there no wayes of the godly that are friends as Bellarmine would haue it that for their sinnes after Baptisme must bee temporally punished in a purging fire but of the Lords aduersaries as the cleare Text sheweth which the fiery indignation of God shall vtterly deuoure and of the fearefull iudgement and finall damnation of those who by wilfull apostasie from the knowne truth as vers 25 26. is euident doe tread the Sonne of God vnder foot and count the blood of the Couenant an vnholy thing and doth despise the Spirit of grace which none of the godly euer either did or doth Next to such places of Scripture Bellarmine brings in examples of Scripture whereby hee intends to prooue that the guilt of sinne being remitted the temporall punishment remaines to be satisfied for and wherin because many are remisse in this life therefore a Purgatorie is appoynted hereafter The first examples are of Dauid and Miriam both pardoned and yet temporally punished but hee should prooue that these punishments were payments and satisfactions to Gods Iustice and redemptions of themselues as Bellarmine calles them where in the contrary the Scripture clearely affirmes that God by such corrections dealeth not as a Iudge with malefactors to satisfie Iustice but as a father with his sonnes to manifest his mercy doing it not for any payment to himselfe but for profit to them and not to free them from any Purgatory hereafter but to make them pertakers of his holinesse here Neither auailes it Bellarmine that the cause of Dauids correction is set downe to bee his sinne begun for wee confesse that the sinnes of the godly are the efficient causes of these corrections that God layes vpon them But all our Controuersie is of the finall cause which wee say is for example to others his children and their owne amendment that are chastised and which they say is for satisfaction to his Iustice and redemption of the sufferer himselfe The next instance that hee brings is of death which is the temporall