his maiestie may easely discerne if it may please him to heare our reasons or but only to looke vpon this litle Apologie And surely Sir we assure ourselues that you will alwayes continue to be a mean to his Maiestie euery day better than other for the maintenance and quyetnes of vs and our Religion because you were brought vp in it in your young time and haue made a good profession of it Besides this the famous examples of your noble ancestors which haue been euer renowmed for their godlynes doe direct you to the following of their footesteps For the Histories doe auow vnto vs that your Ancestors of the renowmed house of Burbon for I will not speake of those of late time whose remembrance being yet fresh in mens mindes and will continue honorable for euer among them that come after vs haue alwayes been had in honor for their great zeale towards the Christian Religiō and for their feruent loue to the mayntenance of the crown of Fraunce of the quyetnes of their countrey which are two principall points wherein godlynes shineth forth For first of all the great and dangerous voyages which your Ancestors haue made with men of warre into the East countreys and into Affrike against the Turkes Sarasyns for the great desire they had to aduance the Christian Religion as the two voyages of king Lewis the saint The two voyages of Lewes Duke of Burbon and the voyages of many other princes of their race doe yeald sufficient record of their Religious and godly disposition And although that in those dayes by reason of the great ignorance of languages and of good learning and consequently of the pure doctrine Religion was not so well vnderstoode nor so purely taught as it is nowadayes through the grace of god yet it is not to be douted but that if they had had a purer and cleerer vnderstanding therof they would haue been so much the more earnest and zealous in it And as touching loue and dutifulnes towards their countrey which is the second poynt wherin godlynes consisteth your sayd aūcestors haue geuen so good tryall therof by their contynuall imploying of themselues valyantly in the defence and inlarging of the Crown of Fraunce aswell against forrain enemies as against the disturbers of the publick peace that the house of Burbone hath alwayes iustly had this honorable reporte to haue been alwayes a florishing branch of the bloud Royall and a sure piller of the liberty and safety of the Realme As for example Iaques of Burbon Earl of March and Cōstable of Fraunce gaue good proofe of his loue towards the welfare of his countrey and towards the Crown of Fraunce in hazarding himselfe in many battailes against the English men then almost inuincible enemies of this Realme specially at the battel of Poytiers in the time of king Iohn and also in doing his indeuour with great good will to conclude the peace at Britany and to driue the Companions and Outlawes out of Fraūce which tooke their pleasure in spoyling the coūtrey and in maintayning of trouble in the Realme Also Lewis of Burbon the first Earl of Vādome for that Earldome fell vnto him by his mother made warre against the Englishmen in the time of king Charles the sixt not only in Fraunce but also euen in England and he was a curteous Prince and very profitable to his Countrey aswell in matters of war as of peace His sonne named Lewis also being then Lord great master of Fraunce was in many battailes where he fought valiantly specially at the battaile of Agincourt notwithstanding that he was taken prisoner by the Englishmen with many other great Princes and Lords of Fraunce Likewise he was one of those that toke most paines to make the peace at Arras in the time of king Charles the seuenth for the suppressing of the Ciuil wars which had indured so long time welnere to the vtter destruction of the Realme Iohn of Burbon Earle of Vandome and sonne of the sayd Lewis was also a virtuous Prince and a valyant warryor and aduentured himselfe in many a battaile specially at the siege of Fronsack in the Marches of Burdeloys where he was made knight for his valiant desertes and he was one of the Princes which tooke part with Lewis the Dolphin and with the Dukes of Burbon and Alaunson in setting themselues against the wicked and tirannicall dealings of certayne timeseruers and flatterers of king Charles the seuenth Fraunces of Burbon his sonne a good and stout prince went in the viage to Naples with king Charles the eighth and behaued himselfe nobly in matters both of peace and warre to the honor and profite of the Crowne of Fraunce and of his whole country But I should not soone make an end if I minded to recken vp all the excellent princes of your maiesties most renowmed house of Burbon and much les should I do it if I ment to take vpon me to rehearse their heroycall deedes and vertues which would require many great volumes But I thinke it inough for me to haue named some few of them that might serue for examples to princes and to all other men to speed themselues valiantly in the defence and mayntaynance of the peace of their countrye Which examples wil in my opinion be the better liked of your maiesty because they come not onely of your owne house which hath alwayes been most fruitfull in noble and vertuous princes but also of the Linial discēt of your progenytors For the late king of Nauare your father was the sonne of Charles of Burbon the first duke of Vandome who was sonne of the foresayd Fraunces Earle of Vandome who was sonne to the forenamed Iohn who was sonne to the foresayd Lewis Lord great master of Fraunce who was the sonne of the other Lewis the first Earle of Vandome who was the son of Iohn Earle of March who was the sonne of Iaques Earle of March and constable of Fraunce who was the sonne of Lewis first duke of Burbon surnamed the great duke who was the sonne of Robert of Fraunce Earle of Cleremount and Beawuoysin who was the Sonne of good king Lewis the saynt And so your Maiestie is the eleuenth in order descending in the right line from S. Lewis your great Ancestor whose vertues I hope that God will make to grow more and more in your Royall person making you to be a follower of his steps in that he was a good defender of the Christian Religion a louer of vpright iustice a natiue example of good manners a seuere correcter of partiall corrupt Iudges an vntreatable punisher of blasphemers Atheistes and vsurers and a zealous furtherer of all good reformation But now to come back agayn to my matter I hope that such of the Romain Religion as shall reade this my wryting shall haue no cause to finde fault with me or to say that I deale to roughly with them For hauing once simply and without any bitternesse set down my
them euidently that it is not so when we come to the scanning of euery poynt particularly that is in question And for proofe and demonstration of our sayinges we will take for our grounde three Maximes or generall rules which are very certayne and true whereby euery man shall easely be able to iudge whether the same religion is to be reckned wicked new and hereticall or no. The three Maximes are these The first is that that doctrine of Religion whereby God is most honored is the best The second is that that Doctrine which is best builded vpon the worde of God is the moste auncient and true The third is that the Romish Catholickes cannot well accuse that doctrine of heresie which is approued by their own Canones Which three rules or maximes be so cleere euident of them selues that in mine opinion the day or the Sun is not clearer For seeing that Religiō is no other thing than the duty which we owe vnto god It doth folow that that doctrine which teacheth vs to yeld vnto him all dutye and honour and to rob him of no part thereof is a good and true doctrine and that there can be no better Likewise it is certayn that the doctrine which is builded vpon the only word of God ought not to be called new but that we may rather say that it is as olde as the world it selfe In so much that they which doe call it new may not nor cannot so call it in respect of it selfe but onely in respect of their own ignorance for to the ignorāt euery thing that they vnderstand not is new Neither is it to be douted but that it is most true because that God who is the author therof is the truth it selfe and the fountayn of light and wisdome In like maner I thinke that al mē will easily graunt that euen the earnestest Catholickes of Rome can not dispence so much with them selues as to accuse that Religiō of heresie which is approued by their own Canones because the Canones be authorysed by the Popes themselues For the decrees of Gracian from whence I intend to draw the most partes of the Canōs which shal be alleaged were ratifyed authorised by Pope Euginie the third who commaunded that they should be red in the Vniuersytyes and vsed in iudgemēt as they haue bene euer since So that to reiect and condemn the Canons were as much in effect as to deny the Pope and all the Romane Religion But full well I know that hereafter when I shall alleadge the Canons those passionate Catholickes will rise vp and say that there be other canons contrary to these and truly I will not deny but that the bookes of the Canon law are ful of cōtraryeties Yet dare I boldly say and assuredly auow that those Canons which I will alleadge in this booke are of the best and most auncient of al the Canon law which haue proceeded from the best springs fountaynes and from such authors as were most principall in skill and holynes as may easely bee iudged by those that will compare them with their bookes Hauing thus set downe these three Maximes the truth whereof is easelie to be perceaued by euery man of common capacitie yea euen of the grossest sort I am now to apply them orderlye to euery particular poynt And first of all we will treate of Prayer ⧠OF PRAYER The second Chapter THe doctrine of the professors of the Gospell touching prayer is verye playne Their opinion is in effect that we ought to offer our prayers vnto God our maker who is able inough to geue vs whatsoeuer we aske gratious in harckening gentlye to our requestes Who also hath manifested his great goodnes in giuing his euerlasting Sonne to the end that by him our manhoode might haue accesse to his Godhead And therefore they say that in praying to God our creator wee muste alwayes vse the credite and intercession of his Sonne our mediator who may boldly goe to the Father because he is God as he is in the selfsame Godhead and being and disdayneth not also to apply himselfe to men and to be an intercessor for them because he is man as they be Nether is this manner of praying vnto God altogether disalowed of the Romain Catholicks but they wil needes adde thereunto that we must haue also other Mediators and Intercessors to God the Father and to Iesus Christ himself That is to wit the hesaints and the shesaintes which are many in number in their times haue done many a faire miracle For say they if a man would be a suiter to a king in any cause or to his eldest sonne he would not at the first dash preace to their presence but goe to some of their seruants or Lordes of their court And so it seemeth a thing very reasonable and meete that when a man is minded to pray to god for any thing he go first to some of the Celestial court to purchase acces to god to Iesus Christ his Sonne by their meanes and that to doe otherwise were a kinde of dispising of the saints who haue the charge from God to pray continually for the Millitante Church and euery particular person of the same Truely it is not to be denied but that these reasons haue some colour and shew of truth if we shall iudge of God as of man. But hereunto the Protestants reply that we may not iudge of God as of a king or as of another mortall mā for there is great difference God is altogether good and inclyned to doe good But men be they kinges or other are naturally euill and disposed to doe euill both against God their neighbors God vnderstandeth our Prayers assoone as they be conceiued in our harts and before our mouthes doe vtter them But to cause a king to vnderstande our suites we must put them in wryting or tell them by word of mouth and therfore we haue neede of Aduocates to lay forth our cases of Maisters of requestes to preferre our petitions to the Prince or to his councell and of the fauor of great Lordes and councellours to get vs audience and dispatch All which thinges haue no place with god So that to compare the maner of praying vnto God with the preferring of suits vnto Princes is a token that we slenderly consider the greatnes of god And here wee haue to note a proper saying of S. Ambrose which he vttereth in these expresse wordes Those which in steede of resorting vnto God repayre vnto creatures are wont to colour their contempt of God with this miserable excuse That by the menes of those to whō they haue recourse they may attayne to the presence of God as men attayne to the presence of a king by meanes of his officers But I pray you is there any man so mad or so careles of his owne life that he dareth yeald the honor to any of the kings seruantes or officers which belongeth
any thing that we doe here vpon earth but by messēgers And who so should say that this doctrine is hereticall must say also that the Canones and Popes be heretickes which as I take it the Romish Catholickes will be loth to confes This Canon is also confirmed by the holy scripture which beareth witnesse to vs that there is none but god onely that knoweth the secrets of mens hartes and so consequently that it is he onely that can vnderstand our prayers which come rather from the hart than from the mouth The protestantes say furthermore that there are so greate numbers of Sayntes regestred in the Letany of whose Canonysing men doe doubte for as sayth a good auncient Doctor the bodies of diuers are honoured on earth whose soules are buried in hel that in reason we ought to refuse the number of intercessors and contente our selues only with Iesus christ which is the true and pure doctrine that we ought to hold and the Catholicks cānot iustly accuse it of herisy according to our third maxime And hereupon I adde this more that as the protestantes doe hold opinion that we ought not to attribute the title nor the office of mediator to any other thā to Iesus christ no more ought we to do in his other titles and offices as of his priesthood his mediatorship his spirituall reigning his chiefe shepheardship For these be the titles of honor which belong vnto Iesus Christ and are not to be cōmunicated to others how great or excellēt personages so euer they be And truely herein all the world must needs cōfesse that the protestants do shew thē selues to bee best Christians in that they attribute onely to our Lord Iesus Christ the titles of honor that are his and will not communicate them to any other creators what so euer they bee for if they would dispence with their consciences in this behalfe they know right well they might soone be at a poynt with the Romishe Catholicks and shunne many miseries and persecutions which they now indure For there wanteth no more but that they would allow the Sayntes to be partners of the title of mediator the maspriestes to be parteners of the tytle of Sacrificers the doers of good workes of Supererogation to bee parteners of the title of a propitiator And the Pope himself to be partaker of the title of Spyrytuall Kinge and soueraigne Sheaheard And then by and by there would be a peace cōcluded determined and established betwixt the protestants and the romysh Cacholicks But the protestants will by no meanes nor for any cause diminish any part of the titles of honor which belong vnto the sonne of God nor attribute them to any other creatures Whereby it appeareth euidently that men do them great wrong in defaming their doctrine to the King as though his permitting of them to excercise the same were a mean to disposses him of the title of moste Chrystian king For in asmuch as the name of christian commeth of Christ out of doubt they be worthiest of that name which yeld Christ his due honor and glory ¶ Of fayth and good workes The third chapter THe doctrine of the Romishe Catholickes concerning faythe and good workes differeth greatly from that of the Protestantes For the Catholicks hold opinion that only faith without good workes doth not iustifie a man but that it is needful the faith be ayded by good works Contrarywise the Protestants hold that onely faith doth iustify a man without good workes That is to say the faith is the onelye instrumēt wherby Iesus Christ who is the true and efficient cause of our iustification applieth his righteousnes vnto vs and maketh vs to be accounted iust before God his Father through his owne merit without the helpe of our good works Neuerthelesse they confesse that good workes are acceptable vnto God but yet they affirme that good workes are not of such power as to iustify vs before the face of god or to make vs capeable either in part or in al of euerlasting life And they say also that they be not all good works which the catholicks do take for good works For as touching the firste poynte you must consider that the doctrine of the protestants doth tend to attribute the honor of our saluation all wholly vnto our Lord Iesus Christ as vnto him who is the true and onely cause thereof For although we haue neede of fayth whereby to receiue the benefit of Christ who imputeth and applieth his owne righteousnes to all such as beleue in him yet neuertheles he doth remain the onely and altogether true cause of our saluation forasmuch as it is he himselfe which doth also geue vs fayth So as he doth not onely geue vs the drinke of immortallity that is to say his owne righteousnes which he alloweth vs but also the cup to receyue it in yea and he geueth vs both of thē freely and for nothing but onely of his owne liberalitye and grace with out asking or receiuing of vs any recompence for the same And truely if we would goe about to recompence so great and excellent a benefit as is euerlasting life thorowe our good workes it were as much as if a man would purchase a great and rich inheritaunce with a smale summe of bace mony such as in reason should rather be cried downe than allowed For our good workes of themselues bee so vnpure and vnperfect mingled with Ipocrisy and other ill affections that they are not worthy to be presented before the face of God who doth not esteeme such vntoward payments in recōpence of eternall life Notwithstanding when they be done through fayth hee doth accept them in fauour and for good will to his sonne our Lord Iesus Christ vpon whose only desertes our fayth resteth because in that respect they proceeded from the good tree which is Iesus Christ who worketh all our good workes in vs. So as the workes of fayth be good and acceptable vnto god for that they proceed from Christ as from the efficient cause which worketh them in vs but they are full of vncleanes worthy to be reiected in respect that they proceed from vs who serue but as instruments howbeit yet vncleane instrumentes to do them And therfore are they alwayes defyled spotted in some sort for Iesus Christ who worketh them in vs doth make thē good and pleasing to God his Father but yet they doe gather somwhat of the filthy and naturall infection of vs who are the vessels wherin they be made Neuertheles God is so good and gratious that he not only admitteth them as done by Iesus Christ his sonne but also for his sake doth wipe away the spots and vncleanes which are in them and crowneth them with many blessinges as with prosperitie of children temporall wellfare help of frēds in aduersitie moderation in prosperitie discretion happy succes in affairs with many other his benefits wherin he doth more and more shew his great bounty gratious
Christ The Lambe is the passeouer The circumcision is the couenaunt The sacrifice is the clensing of the law and Christ is the church For out of question all these textes are to bee interpreted figuratiuely Thus may you see that the doctrine of the Protestauntes touching the holy sacrament of the supper is grounded vpon the pure word of God. But now as touching the canons The Catholickes thinke they make altogether for them and for the vpholding maintayning of their transubstantiatiō as in deed there be of them which do and chiefly the canon before alleadged which is an abiuratiō that pope Nicolas caused to bee made at Rome by one Beringarius a deacon of the church of S. Mawrice of Angiers by which abiuratiō they inforced this poore man of Angiers to say and protest that he renounced the doctrine that he had holden aforetime wherby he had maintained that the bread and wine of the sacramēt remained bread and wine stil after the consecration that the body and bloud of our Lord Iesus Christ could not be handled with the handes of men nor eaten with their teeth Declaring that contrariwise he there allowed the doctrine of the Romish church and of pope Nicholas that is to wit that after the cōsecration the bread and the wine doe chaunge and transubstantiate themselues into the very body and bloud of our Lord Iesus Christ and that the priest in putting the sacramēt into the mouthes of the faythfull doth sensibly handle Christes very body it selfe and that the faythfull doe crowze and crashe it betwixt their teeth But agaynst this goodly abiuration racked by pope Nicholas and a hundred and fourtene bishops out of this pore Deacon whom they helde amongest them in their clawes there are many other canōs to be opposed which are of a better stampe Thus sayth one of them which is taken out of S. Augustine wher he interpreteth these wordes of the Lord The wordes which I haue spoken vnto you are spirit life meaning of the eating of his flesh and of his bloud These words sayth he are spirit and life to those that vnderstande them spiritually But to those that vnderstand them carnally they are neither spirit nor life You shall not eate this bodye that you see neither shall you drinke the bloud which they shall shed that shall crucifye me the thing that I commend vnto you is a sacrament If you vnderstād it spiritually it will quicken you the fleshly vnderstanding thereof auayleth nothing at all Afterwards he concludeth thus The Lord shall be still aboue vntill the end of the world but yet in the meane while his truth shal remayn here amongest vs For it must needes be that the body wherein he is risen agayne is in a place certayne but his truth is spred euery where throughout the worlde And to shew that the flesh of our lord is not crushed so betwixt the teeth as Beringarius sayth in his abiuration here is an other canon taken also out of S. Augustine which sayeth thus To what purpose doost thou prepare thy teeth and thy belly beleue and thou hast eaten for to beleue in the Lord is to eat the bread and to drinke the wine who so beleueth in him eateth him And an other Canon following sayth thus That which is seene and perceiued with the eies is the bread and the cuppe but as in respect of sayth which seeketh to be taught the bread is Christs body and the cup is his bloud And because the receiuing of the sacrament is spirituall It followeth that at that supper the wicked receiue but the signes onely not the things signified whiche are the spirituall meat of Christes body and bloud And the same is auowed by an other Canon which sayth He that agreeth not with Christ eateth not his flesh nor drinketh his bloud though he receiue the sacrament to his vtter vndoing and damnation By these Canons it appeareth plainly that transubstantiation is reproued and condemned and so by cosequence the locall worshipping of the body of christ in the sacrament of the bread and wine But before I passe out of this matter I will alleadge one text of S. Augustines which is so cleare and fitte to confute this transubstantiatiō as is possible For first of all that men may learne to know what manner of speaches in the scriptures are to be taken figuratiuely and what are to be taken according to the letter he setteth downe this rule which is a very notable one If there be any thing sayth he so spokē in Gods word as that it can not properly agree with the comelines of good maners nor with the trueth of fayth you must take the same to be figuratiuely spoken Afterwardes to make this rule plain by examples he sayth these very wordes If then the maner of speaking be a precept so as it forbiddeth any crime and misbehauiour or commaundeth the thing that is good and behoue full such maner of speaking is not figuratiue But if it seeme to commaund an euill fact or to forbidde the thing that is good and behouefull then is it spoken figuratiuely Vnlesse you eate the fleshe of the sonne of man sayth our Lord and drinke his bloud you shall haue no life in you By this maner of speaking he seemeth to commaunde a cruelty and an euill facte in eating of his fleshe and drinking of his bloud therefore it is a figure wherby we be commaunded to become partakers of the passion of our Lord and to imprint gentlye and profitably in our memories that his flesh was māgled and crucified for vs. The Scripture sayeth likewise If thine enemye hunger feede him if he be a thirst geue him drink no doubt but in this case he commaundeth a good deede But wheras it followeth for in so doing thou shalt heape coales of fire vpon his head forasmuch as thou mayest thinke that he commaundeth a malicious deed doubt not but that this manner of speache is figuratiue and that those wordes may be taken two manner of waies the one to do hurt the other to do good Thou oughtest therfore rather to construe them according to charitye than otherwise and by those burninge coales to vnderstand the burning sighes of repentaunce wherby the pride of the party is healed in that he repenteth himself to haue bene an enemy to such a one as releeueth his misery and necessity Also it is written who so loueth his soule shal lose it Now It is not to be thought that he forbiddeth so requisite a thing as the sauing of a mans owne soule but that this speache ought to bee taken figuratiuely He shall lose his soule that is to say he must suppresse and forsake the froward vntoward dealing wherunto his mind is now geuen by meanes wherof he is so greatly wedded to these temporall things that he hath no regard of the euerlasting things Agayn it is also written Shew mercy and receiue not the sinner The latter
god For a true virgine maye wel be misused but she cānot be made a whore because the godly virgine is the church of God and her chastity cannot be defiled by the brothelhouse For the chastity of the minde abolisheth the infamy of the place For the vnderstanding of the which Canon we must haue an eye to the time of the primitiue Church when diuers among the heathen men did put their bondslaues whether they were wiues or maydens into brothel houses and common stewes to rayse gayne of the shamefull abuse of their bodies And it fel out oftentimes that their poore slaues were Christians and yet full ill against their willes they were faine to suffer that shamefull abuse in their bodies and to become as it were open brothels and harlots to make gaine to their Masters wherof they are excused by this Canon as hauing only their bodies abused by a forcible constrainte and not their mindes by consent of their willes Now therfore it may wel be discerned by these Canones whether this doctrine of the Protestants concerning mariage ought to be reputed erroneous or not and whether it be not more agreable to Gods word and the auncient Cannons than the doctrine of the Romish Catholickes And now let vs proceed on ¶ Of princes and Magistrates The x chapter THe Protestants hold opinion that all such as dwel within the lands Dominions or Prouinces of any Prince be they naturall subiectes or free Denizens ought to yeald faithful obedience to him and also to all Magistrates vnder him without any exception of persons or of their goods And that they ought to acknowledge and to honor him as Gods Lieutenant vpon earth hauing the sword in his hand to minister iustice to al men and to be the defender and maintayner of Gods commaundements and to cause his Subiectes to obay them Also they hold opinion that all folke ought to pray to God for the preseruation and prosperitie of the Prince and of all other Magistrates And they beleeue that to disobay the prince is a disobaying of God who hath set him vp And that mē must obay him not only for feare but also for the duety of conscience which doth binde vs to obay God and so consequently the Prince whom God hath commaūded vs to obay But the opinion of the Romish Catholicks is that such as are of the clergie be exempted from this generall rule and that they be not the subiects of temporall Princes but of the pope And that so by consequence the prince neither may nor ought to leuy any tribute beneuolēce loane or subsedy of the Cleargie of his Countreis nor of their goods Accordingly as Pope Boniface the eight in one of his decrees expresly forbiddeth all Kings Princes Dukes Earles Barons Potentates Captaines Officers Gouerners of Cities and Castles and all other persons of what estate degree or condition so euer they be to doe the like vpon paine of present interditing and excommunication whereof none other but only the Pope himselfe can geue absolution Also they hold opinion that the Prince whom they tearme secular hath no authoritie in matters of Tenthes nor in matters of Matrimony among the lay people nor in many other such like things Thirdly they hold opinion that the Pope hath power to put down kings and Princes and to depriue them of their Realmes and Principalities as Pope Gelasius vaunteth himselfe in an epistle sent to the Emperor Anastasius wherin he alleadgeth the example of Pope Zachary who deposed king Chelderike of Fraunce from his kingdome not for any wicked doings sayth he but because he was vnfitte to be a king And did set vp king Pipin the father of Charlemaine in his place Also by reason of this great authoritie which the Popes tooke to themselues ouer kinges they be puffed vp with such pride that they compare themselues to the Sun and to Golde and kinges and Emperors to the Moon and to leade tearming themselues the masters of them as the same Pope Gelasius did write to the sayd Emperor Anastasius Euery man therefore may iudge whether doctrine is the better either that of the romish Catholicks which doth so limmit cut short the authoritie of kinges and Princes to augment the greatnes of the Popes and Prelats Or that of the Protestants which doe not challenge but disalow such limitations affirming that the Pope hath no such iurisdiction ouer the Subiects of kings and Princes And seeing that Princes be the Lieutenantes of God here on earth holding their Scepters and Crowne of him No doute but the honor which is done to them is done to God himselfe And so consequently God is better honored by the doctrine of the Protestantes than by the doctrine of the Romish Catholicks The doctrine of the Protestantes is groūded euidently vpon the word of God which commaundeth all men without exception of any person to obay the Prince vnder whose Dominion they dwell not only for feare of his sword but also for conscience sake These be the words of S. Paule who speaketh generally Let euery man be subiect to the higher powers for there is no power but of God and the authorities that be are ordayned of God and therefore we ought not to be subiect for fear of displeasure only but for conscience sake also And hereupon S. Chrisostome saith that this rule is so generall that there is neither Apostle nor Euangelist nor Bishop nor other person that is exempted from the obedience of the Prince And likewise S. Peter speaking to al Christians and to al Gods chosen flock sayth thus Submitte your selues to all ordinance of man for the loue of God whether it be to the king as to the chief or to the gouernors as to those which be sent and oppointed by the Prince to punish malefactors and to prayse the well doers And the reason why euery one ought to yeald obedience to the Prince is because the charge and estate which Princes take vpon them is of God For the Scripture doth call Princes Gods because they are the Lieuetenants of God. And therfore next after God we ought to feare and honor the Prince as sayeth S. Peter Feare God and honor the king And as Salomon doth also teach vs saying My Sonne feare the Lord and the king And it is to be noted that in these textes the king is put next after god as his Lieuetenant presenting God himselfe And we ought not onely to honor and feare the prince but also to pray to God for him and for all those which are in authoritie vnder him that their gouernment may be in peace and tranquility and that we may liue vnder their obedience in the seruing of God with all godlines and goodnes These be the very wordes of S. Paule I warne you therfore that before all other thinges you make intercessions prayers supplications and thankesgeuinge for all men and specially for kings and for al such as are