in prefat li. de psichopamichia Calu. īstrust or cōtr libert ca. 11. et 22. Articles of the familie of loue prīted Lōdon an 1579. he himselfe by his owne wordes in the places cited seemeth to haue embraced it to no other end Caluin likewise insinuateth that this opinion pleased diuers good men of his sect vpon the same motiue And hence proceed both the Libertines who as Caluin reporteth deny altogether the immortallity of the soule deride the hope of resurrection also the Familists who make the soules of al mortal those of their owne sect only exempted But what difference is there betweene Luthers opinion and that of the Libertines certainlie very litle and in this matter I wil admit Caluin for a judge Caluin in Psichopamichia pa. 536. who discourseth thus They who confesse the soule doth liue and together bereaue it of al sense doe truly faine a soule which hath nothing of a soule or pul the soule it selfe from it selfe seing that the nature of it without which it can by no meanes haue being is to moue to feele to be quicke and to vnderstand and as Tertullian saith the life or soule of the soule is sense hitherto Caluin who trulie saith that Luthers sleeping of the soule doth impugne and ouerthrowe the very nature of the soule But let vs moreouer behold Luthers owne words in which be may he thought in plaine tearms to denie the immortallity of the soule Luth. tom 2. operā impres Wittenbergae an 1546. in assert art 27. I permit neuertheles saith he that the Pope make articles of his faith and to those that are his faithful such as are bread and wine to be transubstantiated in the sacrament the essence of God neither to beget nor to be begotten the soule to be a substantial forme of the bodie of man himselfe to be the Emperour of the world and the king of heauen and an earthlie God the soule to be immortal and al those infinite monsters contained in the Romane dunghil of decrees that like as his faith is such his gospel be and such his faithful thus Luther And these vvordes I haue translated vvord for vvord as they are found in his booke here cited in the margent and although none of his scholers in their publike writings that I haue seene absolutelie and plainelie make the soule of man mortal yet that this doctrine is thought true by diuers of their company it is auouched by Brentius who himselfe being a famous Lutheran of this point writeth thus Brentius ad c. 10. Lucae Although there be no publike profession among vs that the soule doth die together with the bodie and that there is no resurrection of the dead yet that most impure and most vaine life which the greatest part of men doth lead plainly sheweth that they doe not thinke there is any life after this such wordes also are let fal by some aswel by those that are drunck among their pots as by those that are sober in familiar conferences thus Brentius Hither also tendeth the doctrine of Illiricus and his followers commonlie called Substantialistes or Flaccians concerning original sinne For they affirme this sinne to be the very substance of man and say that the said substance and soule of man by the fal of Adam was transformed changed and corrupted This diuers sentences gathered out of the workes of the same Illiricus by Conradus Schlusselburge himselfe a Lutheran manifestlie declare of which some are as followeth * Conradus Schussels in catalago haereticorum lib 2. pa. 207. ex lib. Illirici de occas vitand errorem c. The Diuel transformed mentem et rationem the mind or soule and the reason into another forme The Diuel turned vp-side downe the very essential forme it selfe of the soule tooke away the first essential forme most good and put another in place of it most bad Death by sinne changed the substance of man man lost his essential forme c. These and other such like assertions I say tend to the ouerthrow of our beliefe concerning the immortallity of the soule because if these be true it must needes followe that the soule of man is corruptible and consequently of it selfe mortal Beza epist 5. pag. 55. Hence Beza against this Protestant writeth thus That Ismael Illiricus hath published a booke of original sinne a booke not only foolish and ridiculous but also execrable to wit which manifestly laieth the foundation of the doctrine of the mortallity of the soule For if the essence of the soule can be corrupted as is auouched by Illiricus truly it may die and perish and who can indure this assertion thus Beza Nowe if that be true which M. Field auerreth shal be justified against the proudest Papist of vs al that none of the differences betweene Melancton and Illiricus except about certaine ceremonies were real if Beza doth not wrong Illiricus we may also censure Melancton to be guilty of the same crime But I think M. Field wil hardly be so good as his word And like as this hidden and secret denial of the immortallity of the soule is plainly by him confessed to raigne in their sinagogues so a man out of their principles proceedings and behauiour may likewise gather the same secret denial of the being of God and of his diuine prouidence of which before But what say these sectaries touching heauen hel Luther verily writeth thus Luther ad ca. 9. Ionae What hel is before the last day of judgment I doe not yet certainly know for I esteeme it as nothing or false that there is a certaine place in which the soules of the damned nowe are as the painters expresse and those which serue their bellie preach The deuils are not in hel Againe Idem ad cap. 25. Genes The Papists say the first place of hel is that of the damned which is a punishment of euerlasting fire but whether the soules of the wicked are punished presently after death I cannot affirme It appeareth that they sleepe and rest but I affirme nothing He addeth in another place that the hel in which the rich mans soule was buried Luke 16. was nothing els Idem in serm in Euangel de Diuite et Lazaro but a remorse of the conscience it selfe which remorse wanteth faith and the word of God in which conscience the soule is kept buried and shut vp vntil the last day after which man both in body and soule shal be cast head-long downe into the places of hel In like sort he auerreth the bosome of Abraham or heauen before the day of judgment to be nothing else but the word of God in which saith he the faithful rest sleep are kept vntil that time Caluin expounding the word Topheth which is read in the thirtith chapter of Isaias Caluin in Isa 30. vers 33. hath this discourse By Topheth without doubt be vnderstandeth hel not that we ought to dreame of any place in which the
them and to receaue it priuately when they were disposed as Tertullian saith he and others doe report He addeth The manner was to send it by the Deacons to them that by sickenesse or other necessary impediment were forced to be absent and to strangers Yea for this purpose they did in such places where they communicated not euery day reserue some part of the sanctified elements to be sent to the sicke and such as were in danger of death g Pag. 150. He denieth that Caluin doth not any where say that the elements consecrated and reserued for a time in reference to an ensuing receauing of them are not the body of Christ. This he plainely admitteth as also that the Christians of the primatiue Church thought the sanctified elements to be Christs body as long as they might serue for the comfortable instruction of the faithful pertaking in them Finally he telleth vs Booke 4. cha 31. pag. 266. that bread being appointed to be the matter of the Sacrament of the body of Christ and water of Baptisme the Christians in auncient time held that bread which had beene offered and presented at the Lordes table out of which saith he a part was consecrated for the vse of the Sacrament more holy then other bread Hitherto Field Al which his assertions may vvel be vrged in proofe of the real presence of Christes body and bloud in the Sacrament But vvhereas he seeketh to drawe Caluin to his opinion he laboureth in vaine Caluin Institut booke 4. ch 17. §. 39. for Caluin expresly condemneth this reseruation as vnprofitable and although he confesse that they that so doe haue the example of the old Church yet he affirmeth that in so great a matter and in which we erre not without great danger nothing is safer then to followe the truth it selfe which he imagineth to be opposite to this obseruation It is also euident that vvith Bucer Melancthon and almost al other sectaries See him ibid. pag. 37. he holdeth the Eucharist to be no permanent thing but to be the Sacrament then only when it is receaued More I could say of the auncient doctrine and practise of the Church confirming our exposition of the aforesaid wordes of holy Scripture but here occurreth a certaine opinion of some which I thinke not amisse to confute and my confutation of the same wil be something long vvherefore I vvil breake off my former discourse and forthwith enter vpon it Some Sacramentarie followers of the newe religion imagine and thinke that Caluin and his disciples deny not the real presence of Christes body and bloud in the sacrament and therefore they approch vnto the Caluinian communion with great reuerence deeming themselues truly and reallie to receiue in it the said body and bloud of our Lord where-vpon they inferre that their beliefe touching this point is as conformable to the letter of holy Scripture as ours But alas simple soules they are much deceiued as euen Caluin himselfe and their learned masters confesse For although these Doctors in some places of their vvorkes seeme to acknowledge some such matter yet in others they flatly denie it and in plaine tearmes declare their meaning in those other places first mentioned to be otherwise them their wordes doe sound I grant their magnificent tearmes may easily seduce a silly soule and I my selfe knowe some good creatures deceiued but whoseuer doth reade their masters bookes may easily discouer their falsehood let vs first behold howe they plainely seeme to auouch the real presence Caluin Institut booke 4. ch 17. §. 10. Caluin writeth thus Our soules are so fed with the flesh and bloud of Christ as bread and wine doe maintaine and sustaine the bodily life And doe not bread and vvine maintaine and sustaine the bodily life by true and real eating them But he goeth on For otherwise the proportional relation of the signe should not agree vnlesse our soules did finde their foode in Christ which cannot be done vnlesse Christ doe truly growe into one with vs and refresh vs with the eating of his flesh and drinking of his bloud And soone after Vnlesse a man wil cal God a deceiuer he can neuer be so bold as to say that he setteth before vs an empty signe §. 11. Againe I say that in the mistery of the supper by the signes of bread and wine Christ is truly deliuered to vs yea and his body bloud in which he hath fulfilled al obedience for purchasing of righteousnesse vnto vs. §. 32. Moreouer Christ pronounceth that his flesh is the meate of my soule and his bloud the drinke with such foode I offer my soule to him to be fed In his holy supper he commaundeth me vnder the signes of bread and wine to take eate and drinke his body and bloud I nothing doubt but he doth truly deliuer them Caluin in 1. Cor. 11. v. 24. See him also de coena Domini and I doe truly receiue them Finally I conclude and grant saith he that the body of Christ is giuen vs in the supper really as they commonly speake that is to say truly to the end it may be wholesome foode for our soules I speake after the common fashion but I meane that our soules are fed with the substance of Christes body to the intent we may be made one with him these and other such like sentences euery foote occurre in Caluin Caluin lib. de coena Domini edit an 1540. Gallice an 1545. Latine See him also in his Institutions chap. 14. and chap. 17. §. 5.6 Hence he also by name reprehendeth the doctrine of Zwinglius touching this sacrament who affirmed a Zwinglius tom 2. epist ad quandam Germaniae ciuitatem fol. 296. the supper to be nothing else but a solemne signe or token of charity and friendship a signe of spiritual thinges but it selfe in no wise spiritual neither working any spiritual thing in vs. He likewise auoucheth as I haue before noted that the truth of this misterie seemeth incredible that it is wrote by the secret power of the spirit that it is incomprehensible by our minde and aboue nature that many miracles are contained in it c. which his assertions seeme to argue some great matter Lastly he telleth vs that b Caluin Instit booke 4. c. 40. not vnworthily they are guilty of the body and bloud of the Lord who come to this sacrament vnworthily which they doe with vngodlines ful of sacriledge so fouly defile Therefore saith he by this vnworthy eating they take to themselues damnation The booke of cōmon praier in the cōmunion in the exhortations The like hath the English booke of common prayer yea much more as euery man may see and others are of the same judgement And who can denie but this is a manifest token that they acknowledge the real presence For what indignity can be offered to Christ or damnation taken by eating a peece of bakers bread only
in rememberance of Christes passion The French Sacramentaries in their confession followe Caluin for there we reade among other thinges Confess Gallica art 37. Se it in Harmony of Confess sect 14. pag. 426. that the body and bloud of Iesus Christ are no lesse truly the meate and drinke of the soule in the supper then bread and wine are the meate of the body that this mistery is aboue nature c. And these their assertions in very deed haue caused some * CoÌ„fess Eccl. in ditione Comitum Mansfeldiae c. anno 1559. fol. 21. Lutherans to make a difference betweene the old Sacramentaries that is as they tearme them the Carolostadians the Zwinglians and the Anabaptists who say they alwaies taught the Sacrament of the Altar to be nothing else but an external signe without the body bloud of Christ and that it serued only for a token to distinguish Christians from Pagans and the newe commonly called Caluinists Nowe if vnto these discourses of Caluin and his followers vve joine that proposition by them so often repeated and with such vehemency defended that Christes humane nature is only in heauen Caluin in 1. Cor. cap. 11. vers 24. Item in his Instit chap. 17. §. 24. c. and alwaies as farre distant from the Eucharist as the highest heauen and earth are a sunder What a Paradoxe or rather a contradiction in external shewe of wordes shal we here finde I neede not recite their sentences because they are found almost in euery place vvhere any one of them treateth of this matter and no Caluinist wil denie this to be a part of his beliefe But doe these thinges accord togither Howe doth Christ truly growe vnto vs and refresh vs with the eating of his body and drinking of his bloud his said body and bloud being in a place so farre distant from vs howe is he truly deliuered vnto vs yea and his body and bloud in the supper seing that he doth approch no nearer vnto vs then the highest heauen is vnto earth howe doth he truly deliuer and we truly receaue vnder the signes of bread and wine his body and bloud and howe is his body really and truly giuen vs how are our soules finally fedde with the substance of Christes body if his said body be only in the heauens and our soules no nearer vnto him then is the earth Are not these thinges according to the proper signification of the vvordes opposite and contrary Verily if corporal sustainance came no nearer to the bodies of these sectaries then the body and bloud of Christ doth according to their owne doctrine to their soules they vvould soone perish vvith hunger But is not Caluin although he make a shewe neuer so glorious in vvordes of the true and real presence of Christ in the Eucharist yet inwardly in very deede a Zwinglian and Carolostadian in beliefe It cannot be gainesaid And to declare this first thus he writeth I plainely confesse Caluin Institut booke 4. chap. 17. §. 32 that I refuse that mixture of the flesh of Christ with our soule or the powring out of it or the transposing of it from one place to an other such as they teach because it sufficeth vs that Christ doth out of the substance of his flesh breath life into our soules yea doth powre into vs his owne life although the very flesh of Christ doth not enter into vs. And in an other place euen nowe alleaged he addeth Caluin in 1. Cor. cap. 11. vers 24. that it is al one to say that our soules are fedde with the substance of Christes body to the intent we may be made one with him and to auerre that a certaine quickning vertue is powred on vs out of the flesh of Christ by the holy Ghost although the flesh be farre distant from vs. Thus Caluin beginneth more plainely to open his minde but by adding an other falshood for vvhat Philosopher or Diuine euer affirmed the body and substance to be one vvith a vertue proceeding from the same as he here auoucheth He goeth on and saith that we receiue him though so farre distant from vs as heauen is for that he causeth from heauen to descend on vs presently and truly the vertue of his flesh Loe Christian reader nowe thou receiuest no longer truly and really the body and bloud of Christ but the vertue of his flesh And let vs heare him declare this by an example or similitude In an other place he discourseth after this manner Caluin Institut booke 4. cha 17. §. 12. For if we behold the sunne shining forth with his heames vpon the earth after a certaine manner to cast forth his substance vnto it to ingender nourish and quicken the fruits thereof why should the extending beames of the spirit of Christ be inferiour to conuey the communion of his flesh and bloud vnto vs Thus he Out of â—â—ch his vvordes if his similitude hold it is euident that Christinâ—â—e Eucharist doth no otherwise coÌ„municate vnto vs his body and bloud then the sunne shining doth coÌ„municate his substance to the earth Wherefore like as no mâ—n can say that the sunne doth truly and really communicate his substance to the earth for this is most false and therefore Caluin saith it is done after a certaine manner so Christ doth not truly and really communicate himselfe vnto vs according to this Doctors opinion as before he auouched but after a certaine manner And how is this He had declared before where he vseth these vvordes We confesse there is no other eating but of faith Ibid. §. 5. as there can no other be imagined The flesh of Christ is eaten by belieuing because by faith he is made ours And this is that which our English Protestants haue decreed in their articles of religion Articles of religion agreed vpon in the coÌ„uocation of 1562. art 28. in which they define that the body of Christ is giuen taken and eaten in the supper only after an heauenly and spiritual manner and the meane say they whereby the body of Christ is eaten in the supper is faith Hence the same Caluin and his a Beza in Math. ca. 26. vers 26. Caluin Instit booke 4. chap. 17. §. 31. disciples affirme that the right way to finde Christ and receiue him in the supper is that our mindes stay not on earth but mount aloft into the celestial glory where Christ dwelleth there to imbrace him and so they vvil haue vs to enjoy his presence as wel as if he descended vnto vs. The like hath Andrewe Willet an English Caluinist vvriter vvho telleth vs b Willet in his Synopsis controuers 13. part 1. quest 1. §. That Christ p. 516. Caluin Instit booke 4. chap. 14. §. 14. that Christ is verily exhibited vnto vs in the Sacrament that the substance of Christs flesh is exhibited vnto vs c. Not that Christ descendeth from heauen to vs but we ascend saith he by faith in spirit
to him And seing that this feeding vpon Christ by faith may be performed at other times as wel as when their supper is receiued hence they further auouch that Christ himselfe as wel at other times as then may be receiued but principally they say vve receiue him by reading the vvord of God or hearing it preached He is deceiued saith Caluin that thinketh there is any more giuen to him by the Sacraments then that which being offered by the word of God he receiueth by faith c Ibid. §. 17. in Ioan. 6. vers 54. Againe Let this remaine certaine that there is no other office of the Sacraments then of the word of God which is to offer and set forth Christ vnto vs and in him the treasures of heauenly grace Moreouer expounding those wordes of Christ d Idem in 1. Cor. 11. v. 24. Doe this in remembrance of me thus he argueth Therefore the supper is a token or memorial appointed to helpe our infirmity for if otherwise we were mindful of Christes death this helpe were superfluous And this is common to the Sacraments for they are helpes of our infirmity Thus Caluin Beza in epist Theolog. 65. pag. 285. And this was decreed in a Synode held by the Caluinists at Rochel in vvhich we finde that albeit the supper be particularly appointed for our mystical and spiritual communication of Christ yet that Christ is receiued as fully with al his gifts also in a simple or only word or sermon But this is most earnestly defended by Peter Martir likewise a Caluinist vvho among other his discourses hath these sentences We attribute no more to the wordes of God then to the Sacraments nor no more to these then to them a Martir in de fens Euchar. cont Gardin part 2. regula 5. pag. 618. I adde withal that touching the deliuery and obtaining of Christes body and bloud if yee respect the thing and substance it selfe we haue it no more by Sacraments then by wordes b Ibid part 3. pag. 651. see also before p. 644. 547. The body of Christ is receiued as wel in hearing faithfully the word of God as it is in the Sacraments c Ibid. p. 683 I denie not but this is our doctrine that the body of Christ is receiued no lesse in wordes then in the Sacraments or Symbols For this receiuing is wrought by faith and to faith we are stirred vp by wordes as wel as by the Sacraments d Only an empty signe c. possible And I feare not to affirme that we come to the receiuing of Christes body much more by wordes then by Sacraments For Sacraments haue al their force from the wordes Hitherto Martir e Caluin Instit booke 4. c. 14. §. 20. 23. Caluin Beza and Martir in 1. Cor. 10. v. 1.2 Hence they make no difference in honour grace vertue and efficacy betweene the Sacraments of the old lawe and those of the newe f Caluin Instit booke 4. c. 14. § 23. Beza in actis colloq Monpelg p. 77. Sadeel in tract demāducut Sacram p. 191. Nay they adde that the Fathers of the old were as much pertakers of the body and bloud of Christ as Christians are in the newe And to proue this g Caluin Institut booke 4. c. 14. §. 23. Caluin corrupteth S. Paules vvordes 1. Cor. 10. vers 3. by affirming the Apostle to say that the Fathers of the old lawe did eate the same spiritual meate which we eate vvhereas the Apostle maketh no comparison betweene Christians and Iewes but only telleth vs that the Iewes among themselues both good and badde just and vnjust did eate the same spiritual meate Neither ought it seeme strange to any one of our English nation that this doctrine is taught by the Caluinists for we want not some euen in our Protestants Church of England that seeke to vphold it And among other h Willet in his Synopsis controuers 11. p. 463. see also Iewel in his reply against Harding art 5. pag. 323. Andrew Willet before cited in expresse wordes auoucheth and concludeth that looke howe the word of God worketh being preached so doe the Sacraments Their doctrine therefore is that Christ may as truly and really be receiued by hearing of a sermon as he is in their supper And of al this I may first inferre that if they say true vve may as truely and really receiue Christ in our chambers reading the Scriptures and by feeding on him by faith or by eating a peece of bakers bread and drinking a cup of wine or by taking any other such corporal foode in remembrance that he died for vs on the Crosse as we can doe in their Churches by taking the like bread and vvine of the Minister I further inferre that the opinion of Carolostadius Zwinglius and Caluin in verie deede equally exclude Christ from being really present in the Eucharist and therefore the bread and vvine vvhich they receiue according to al their judgements is nothing better then a peece of bakers bread or a bottle of wine bought in a tauerne The reason is euident because Christ himselfe according to his humane nature is as far distant from the bread and wine as heauen is from earth although Caluin acknoweledg a certaine vnion betweene vs and Christ by faith yet this is a thing altogether extrinsecal to the bread and wine for this faith is in the soule not in the bread and vvine neither doth it vnite the body and bloud of Christ to the bread and vvine but as they say to the soule And this vnion in like sort is not real but imaginary for the body bloud of Christ are as farre distant from our faith vvhich is an inward act of our soule and produceth of it selfe no outward effect as they are from the bread and wine And this is true euen according to the doctrine of Caluin and his disciples vvhatsoeuer they seeme in vvordes to say to the contrary But to make the proofe of it more strong let vs confirme it by the testimony of Beza Beza Epist Theolog. 1. pag. 7. Caluins schollar and of some Lutherans Bezaes vvordes are these I say they are very impudent slaunderers that imagine that there was euer any contrariety betweene those most excellent men Zwinglius OEcolampadius and Caluin in their doctrine concerning the Sacrament Thus Beza Among the Lutherans Westphalus a principal Doctor of their company vvriteth thus Caluin vseth such art in handling this matter Westphal in Apologia de coena contra Caluin p. 71. he leaueth his reader so doubtful and vncertaine what to judge of him he shadoweth his speach with such colours that sometimes he yeeldeth a confession of faith like to our Lutheran Churches he seemeth to reject the doctrine of Zwinglius and to beleeue that the very body and bloud of Christ is truly present and giuen in the supper with the bread and wine But hauing conferred many of Caluins sentences
my soule in hel Act. 2. v. 27. Psal 15 10. and auoucheth this to be the true translation of those wordes especially in this sentence in which they can beare no other sense seing that the soule of Christ was not detained in his graue The Sectary contrariwise affirmeth the vvordes cited not to be truely translated but wil haue the true translation of them to be Bible 1589. 1592. 1600. Thou wilt not leaue my soule in graue And howe shal this controuersie be decided The Catholike for his opinion and to proue that Christ truely descended into hel alleageth al the grounds of Catholike faith aboue set downe But what can his aduersary bring forth in defence of his doctrine Perhaps he wil runne to conference of other places of Scripture but what if those other places admit also diuers translations as wel as this and therefore he giue one sense of the said places and the Catholike another To what other judge wil the Sectary appeale verily to no other but to himselfe and his owne priuate judgement This is the ordinary course of proceeding of our aduersaries with vs and al others that doe impugne them And doe they in this case remit the controuersie to holy Scripture doe not the Catholikes aswel as they admit of the text cited both as it is found in the Hebrewe in the 15. psalme and also as it is in the Greeke in the second Chapter of the Acts of the Apostles this cannot be denied The difference then betweene vs them is concerning the translation of the last word which the Catholike affirmeth to signifie hel the Protestant graue And what moueth the Sectary to admit one translation rather then another Certainely his owne priuate opinion which he hath framed to himselfe contrary to al antiquity against Christs descent into hel August epist 99. Surely S. Augustine auoucheth that No man but an Infidel wil deny him to haue beene in that place and with him the rest of the Fathers consent SECTION THE THIRD Concerning the newe exposition of those wordes This is my body in particular BVT if it vvere not for being ouer-long in these discourses I could exemplifie in particular concerning sundry newe expositions of holy Scripture inuented by our aduersaries and shew to euery mans eye the inuentors of the same vvho framed them out of their owne braines One example I vvil bring among the rest vvhich shal be concerning those wordes of our Sauiour Math. 26 26 This is my body For vvho inuented in these our daies the first Sacramentary exposition of the said vvordes verily Carolostadius as al the vvriters of his daies beare vvitnesse And vvhat was he He was Archdeacon of Wittenberge Melanct. Sleidan others but as Melancthon himselfe a Sectary reporteth * Melanct. in epist ad Fredericū Myconiū praefat veterum senten de coena Domini a rude sauadge man without wit without learning vvithout common sense in whom neuer appeared any token or signe of the spirit of God But howe expounded he the said sentence Certainely not of the Sacrament which Christ deliuered to his Apostles but of the visible person of Christ sitting at the table as if Christ had said Eate and drinke for I am he that must suffer on the Crosse for your redemption so that he changed the sense of the word This into the word Here. Let vs farther demand what moued him to inuent this heresie and false interpretation Melancton aboue cited reporteth that it vvas only the hatred vvhich he had conceaued against Luther vvho rebuked and reproued him for breaking downe of Images in the Churches of the said City without his warrant and approbation The second principal Sacramentary vvas Zwinglius Zwingl l. de vera falsa relig vvho first affirmed the body of Christ to be present in the Eucharist but together with bread and wine and consequently denied only transubstantiation afterwardes he denied the real presence altogether and turned the word is into the vvordes doth signifie and made the sense to be This doth signifie my body The third was * Oecolāp in li. de genuina expos horum verborum Oecolampadius vvho altered the sense of the word body and would haue it signifie a figure of the body and therefore the sense of those wordes according to his judgement is This is a figure of my body The fourth was Caluin a Caluin l. 4. Instit c. 17. §. 10. 11. 24. 32. Idem lib. de coena Domini who although he confesse that Christ is really only in heauen yet he vvil haue vs truly to receiue him on earth in the Eucharist vvherefore he reprehendeth both Luther and Zwinglius and vvil haue the sense of the said wordes to be This bread is a figure of my body but a figure giuing my body it selfe so he in effect Howe this is brought to passe he confesseth himselfe ignorant But vvhat saith Luther their first parent to these his children he damneth them to the pit of hel and b Luth. thes 24 cont Louaniēs Itē in parua cōfes de coena Domini telleth vs that they treade vnder foote and ouerthrowe al. He addeth further c To. 7. in defensor verb◠coenae c. fol. 387. that the text can admit but one direct and true sense How then are the said wordes to be vnderstood in his iudgement Thus he vvriteth in an epistle to certaine of his followers concerning the interpretation of them Luther the Preacher and Euangelist of Wittenberge to the Christians of Strasburge Luther to 7. Wittenberg fol. 502. Thus much I neither can or wil deny that if Carolostadius or any other man fiue yeares since could haue perswaded me that in the Sacrament was nothing else but bread and wine be truly had bound me vnto him and I would haue accepted that as a very great benefit For in examining and debating that matter I tooke maruailous paines and strained euery veine of my body and soule to haue ridde and dispatched my selfe thereof because I sawe fulwel that thereby I might haue done notable harme and damage to the Papacy But I see my selfe taken fast and that there is no waies to escape For the text of the Gospel is so cleare and forcible which cannot easily be shaken much lesse ouerthrowen by wordes and glosses deuised by giddy braines Hitherto Luther both declaring the true cause which moued him to set a foote his newe Gospel to wit the hatred of the See of Rome and also the force of Scriptures for the real presence What then beleeued he touching this point First Luther lib. de captiuit Babilon cap. de Eucharist although he affirmed it to be no article of faith whither bread remained or no in the Eucharist togither with the body of Christ yet he esteemed the affirmatiue part most probable * Idē in serm de Sacra coenae Domini Et in li. quod verba Christi HOC EST CORPVS MEVM
so great that the Prophet Dauid in the Psalmes Psa 146. vers 4. doth attribute it vnto God to number the multitude of the starres and I doubt not but euery man in a cleare night beholding the heauens and remembring what hath already beene said wil crie out with the same Prophet Ps 18. v. 1 and say The heauens shewe forth the glory of God and the firmament declareth the workes of his handes Let vs descend something lower and come to the foure elements the fire the ayre the water and the earth and first admire their wonderful constitution For they are so tempered and placed in such order that although they be indued with contrary qualities and there be continual combates betweene them yet the one neuer altogither ouercommeth or ouerthroweth the other yea euery one of them although it hath one quality contrary to that which is next vnto it yet it agreeth with it in the other two altogither opposite in qualities are not joyned togither For example the fire is hotte and drie the ayre next vnto it is hotte and moist the water next vnto the ayre is moist cold and the earth next vnto the water cold and drie Besides this that element which is most actiue hath least force to resist the action of others contrariwise that which hath most force to resist is least actiue as is apparant in the fire and the earth I adde moreouer that al these elements haue a natural inclination to their proper places For the earth coueteth to be vnder the water the water to be aboue the earth and vnder the ayre the ayre to be aboue the water and vnder the fire the fire aboue all the rest And to this scituation if they be displaced they moue with greatspeede and violence as we see by daylie experience This notwithstanding to the end that food place of aboade increase growing and dwelling may be giuen to other creatures the water is seperated from some part of the earth and certaine boundes are appointed vnto it which it cannot passe The ayre serueth man and beast for breath the lower region of it by the reflexion of the beames of the Sunne is preserued from that cold constitution which it would otherwise haue by reason of the water and earth adjoyning and so made a fit habitation for them to liue in as also fit for the growing of plants hearbes trees and such like senselesse creatures The midle region by vapors drawne vp from the earth and water is made colder and in it the said vapors through the coldnesse of the place are resolued into raine and showe by which the earth is most artificially moistened and made fruitful The windes which be drie exhalations tosse the cloudes from place to place that al partes of the earth may receiue this benefit they serue also for passing from nation to nation on the sea they purge the ayre c. Concerning the sea we may wel admire the vastenesse and motion thereof the certaine limites within which it is restrained the infinite number togither with the huge and strange formes of fishes and their wonderful increase The riuers are as it were the veines of the earth for like as in our bodies by the veines bloud and moisture is conueyed to euery part so is the earth moistened by the riuers springes The earth it selfe is deuided into hils dales and plaine ground that it may bring forth diuersity of fruite for man and al sortes of cattel and yeeld them fit places of aboade according to their natures In it are diuers pretious stones and sundry sortes of mettals which serue for the vse of man It is adorned with variety of flowres trees fruits and hearbes farre surpassing al humaine arte and inuention which it continually nourisheth and receiuing seede from such ornaments like vnto a fertil mother it daylie bringeth forth with great increase newe fruite and yeeldeth both man and beast at al times sufficient foode it is also apt for their pleasure and recreation Here I could make a long discourse of the bodies nature of bruite beastes and fishes but I should be ouerlonge and therefore at this present it shal be sufficient to wish euery man to consider First that al sortes of such liuing creatures finde sufficient foode agreable to their diuers natures then that euery one of them hath fit members and conuenient meanes to come by their said foode Thirdly that al naturally knowe their enemies and haue conuenient meanes to auoide them Fourthly if they be sicke by the instinct of nature they knowe their phisicke Fiftly the same nature giueth them knowledge howe to feede and bring vp their yonge ones which especially is perceiued in birdes who at the fittest season and in the fittest places breede and most artificially make their nests I adde further that they haue al sufficient vestures to couer their nakednesse and to defend themselues from the extremity of cold Finally the bodies of al such creatures are most aptly formed according to their natures as of fishes to swimme of foules to flie c. But what shal we say of man for whome al these thinges were created and who is the King and most principal of al these inferior creatures Surely he yeeldeth vs diuers points most worthy of consideration And first let vs note that although our soule be a simple and spiritual substance yet it hath three powers most noble and excellent which by Philosophers are called the soules vegetatiue sensitiue and reasonable to the first it appertaineth to nourish our bodies and to make them growe to conuenient stature and greatnesse The second by the vse of our fiue senses maketh vs vnderstand and feele thinges corporal and particuler By the third we vnderstand thinges spiritual and vniuersal The first is common also to trees and hearbes the second to brute beastes by the third we are like vnto Angels I wil not stand to discourse of our fiue senses our imagination vnderstanding memory and wil because these thinges be something difficult and require longe treatises Concerning the body of man consider first howe strangely it is formed in the mothers wombe in which vnto euery member is giuen his due proportion Consider also that in it there are aboue three hundred bones litle and great which are so artificially and firmely joyned togither and with such admirable proportion that no artificer in the world is able to make the like Neither are the sinewes and veines by which the joyntes are joyned and nourishment is conueied to al parts of the body and the equal correspondence of the partes of one side of the body to the partes of the other side togither with the aptnesse of euery member to his place and to the end for which it was ordained lesse admirable Howe wonderful strange is the composition of euery particuler member as of the head eies handes feete c. Verily an exact description of euery such part would make this section bigger then the whole
may be taken from miracles For why should God either foretel such thinges or worke such extraordinary effects if he had no care of worldly creatures Finally al nations be they neuer so barbarous haue euer acknowledged the prouidence of God which is a manifest proofe that the acknowledging of this proceedeth from the instinct of nature it selfe Eccles 5. vers 5. Wherefore I conclude with this sentence of the wiseman Doe not giue thy mouth that thou make thy flesh to sinne That is to say Be not thou blasphemous in thy wordes against the prouidence of almighty God to the end that thou maiest sinne more freely and say not before an Angel who is the minister and executor of Gods prouidence there is no prouidence least that God perhaps being angry against thy speaches ouerthrowe al the workes of thy handes Hitherto Salomon in the booke of Ecclesiastes And this shal suffice for the proofe of the first ground of true religion to wit that there is a God and that this God by his diuine prouidence gouerneth the world out of which ariseth the first band that man hath to serue obey feare loue and praise God aboue al thinges For reason requireth that we yeeld him these duties who is the chiefest good thing and the fountaine of al goodnesse who is the Lord maker and gouernor both of vs and al other creatures Chapter 2. Of the second ground of our religion to wit that the soule of man is immortal and that it shal either be rewarded euerlastingly in heauen or punished euerlastingly in hel THE immortality of the soule of man which I assigned for the second general ground of religion may briefly be proued by these forcible reasons First thus I argue A thing spiritual and independent of al corporal substance which hath no original cause of decay in it selfe cannot be corrupted or destroied by any corporal agent or any intrinsecal quality contained in it selfe But the soule of man is spiritual and independent of al corporal substance and hath no original cause of decay in it selfe Therefore it cannot be corrupted or destroied by any corporal agent or any intrinsecal quality conteined in it selfe The truth of the first proposition appeareth by this that al corruption must of necessity proceede either of some intrinsecal or extrinsecal cause And that a thing spiritual and in his being independent of al corporal substance especially of that which by the Philosophers is called materia prima which is the fountaine and cause of corruption in the foure elements and al other thinges of them compounded and hauing in it selfe no intrinsecal quality that can bring it to destruction cannot possibly perish through any intrinsecal cause it is most manifest And what extrinsecal cause can destroy a thing spiritual besides the omnipotent power of God The second likewise may easily be proued For first besides that the nature of the soule it selfe hath no contrary oppugning it it is euident that the principal powers of the same I meane the vnderstanding wil and memory depend not in their operations of any certaine corporal organ or part of the body as our corporal senses doe of which it followeth that they may be seperated from the said body retaine notwithstanding after such seperation their operations and consequently that they be spiritual which prerogatiue if it be granted to the powers of the soule it cannot be denied to the soule it selfe Moreouer although the vnderstanding in diuers first operations craueth aide of the senses and the sensual imagination yet it is manifest that his principal operations are independent of them For the vnderstanding discourseth of it selfe reflecteth vpon his owne operations and knoweth it selfe to knowe apprehendeth thinges vniuersal inferreth one thing of an other by thinges sensible and corporal it cometh to the knowledge of thinges spiritual yea of God himselfe contemplateth vertue and judgeth that for the loue of it corporal miseries are patiently to be suffered correcteth the errors of the senses knoweth vice c. Al which operations are spiritual independent of the body and aboue the object of our corporal senses And seing that the soule hath such operations it necessarily requireth a manner of being answerable vnto them that it may not only remaine perfect and incorruptible after the corruption of the body and the seperation of it selfe from the same but also then exercise such operations The soule likewise coueteth eternity loueth vertue and hateth vice and is adorned with freewil which be manifest proofes of a spiritual and immortal substance Further God hath ordained euery creature to some end Neither is any one to be tearmed perfectlie happy and contented vntil it attaine to the said end and in it as fully satiated resteth And seing that the end and perfect felicity of man cannot be obtained in this life For no worldlie thing which man in this life can comprehend or possesse is able to satisfie his vnderstanding and wil wherefore seing also that euery thing is so created that at some time or other it may enjoy his end and felicity the final and chiefest happinesse of man must needes consist in some thing which he may attaine vnto after his death and in the world to come and consequently his soule is immortal Some Epicure perhaps wil contend that the final end and supreame happinesse of man doth consist in the enjoying of worldly pleasures but this cannot be both because these neuer satiate man For the soule is neuer fully contented with the worldly pleasures with which she is delighted yea not seldome in a smal time loatheth that which before she most desired and also because if this were true and the soule were mortal we must needes condemne God of injustice who not seldome suffereth the wicked to liue in such pleasures and bereaueth the just of the same and moreouer suffereth them to fal into a thousand miseries and calamities which he could not in justice doe if the true felicity of man did consist in the enjoying of worldlie pleasures The same may be confirmed by the consent of most of the auncient Philosophers and generally of al nations which doth manifestly declare that natural reason it selfe is sufficient to perswade any man this truth I adde further that if any credit be to be giuen to holie Scriptures or authentical histories diuers soules of men dead haue appeared vnto men liuing Finally this appertained to the manifestation both of the omnipotencie of the power of God and also to the beauty of the world and variety of creatures that like as God created some creatures altogither spiritual as are the Angels and others altogither corporal as are al earthly creatures besides man so he should create one creature partlie spiritual and partlie corporal in which degree we place only man And hence it proceedeth that in the booke of Genesis in the history of the creation of the world we read that al other liuing corporal creatures being produced and framed of corporal substance
matters vve take away al order in the Church and open the gappe to al Heretikes Some say that euerie man by conference of one place of Scripture vvith another See part 2. cap. 5. sect 4. may attaine to the knowledge of the true sense I replie that euery mans discourse in such pointes may be false and erroneous And it is wel knowne that diuers of our aduersaries haue conferred the same places and haue gathered out of them different senses vvhich cannot al be true Yea the same man not seldome at distinst times out of the same places conferred inferreth distinct conclusions and altereth his beliefe touching some article or other vvhich is a manifest proofe that this conference is no infallible rule I adde also that experience teacheth vs that such a conference sometimes encreaseth the difficulty See part 2. cap. 1. sect 4. maketh some shewe of contradiction which before appeared not as I wil declare hereafter Others say that by praier euery man may obtaine of God the direction of the holy Ghost for the finding out of the true sense But where hath God promised this Moreouer our praier is of no force except we pray as we ought And what is more vncertaine then this How then can we certainly knowe when God inspireth vs and much lesse how can we possibly assure others that we haue such a diuine inspiration Further diuers haue vsed likewise this meane and yet haue falne into errour yea after their praiers they haue had different inspirations and one hath affirmed himselfe to haue beene inspired by God thus and another thus c. Finally al Heretikes may challenge to themselues these shiftes for the proofe of their owne priuate and false expositions wherefore we must needes finde out some other rule more certaine SECTION THE FOVRTH That the letter of holy Scripture falsly interpreted is not the word of God THIRDLY I am to proue that a false or wrong exposition erroneously gathered out of the letter of holy Scripture or made vpon the same is not the word of God but the word of man yea sometimes the word of the deuil and consequently that the said letter of Scripture so vnderstood is subject to the same censure This is apparant because the Scripture is the true word of God in that sense only which was intended at the penning of it by the holy Ghost For example like as no Catholike Christian wil deny but those wordes of Christ Ioh. 14. verse 28. The father is greater then I if we vnderstand them in this sense that God the father is greater then Christ according to his humanity containe the true word of God so euery Catholike Christian if they be vnderstood as Arius expounded them that Christ according to his diuinity is inferior to his father wil affirme them to be the word of the deuil Hence proceed diuers notable sentences of the auncient Fathers Tertul. de praescript ca. 17. see him also cap. 9. Hillar li. 2. de Triuitat ad Constantium Ambros lib. 2. ad Gratianū cap. 1. Vincē Lirin li. aduers propha haeres nouitates cap. 37. Math. 4. verse 6 Hieron in dial cōtra Lucifer See Math 10. Luke 10. Hieron in cap. 1. ad Galat. among the rest Tertullian telleth vs that the sense of holy Scripture adultered doth impugne the truth at much as the stile corrupted S. Hillarie affirmeth that heresie ariseth of the vnderstanding not of the Scripture that the fault is in the sense not in the word that there is not one of the Heretikes that doth not lie and say that he preacheth those thinges in which he blasphemeth according to the Scriptures For hence saith he Marcellus when he readeth the word of God knoweth it not hence Photinus c. they all speake Scriptures with out sense they al pretend faith without faith for the Scriptures are not in the reading but in the vnderstanding c. These and other like discourses hath S. Hillary S. Ambrose is of the same opinion for he saith that although the text or letter haue no error yet the Arrian interpretation hath errour Vincentius Lirinensis comparing the Heretikes alleaging Scripture against Catholikes with the deuils alleaging the same to Christ discourseth after this sort And if any man aske any Heretike perswading him such thinges that is to forsake the doctrine and tradition of the Church how prouest thou how declarest thou that I ought to forsake the vniuersal and ancient faith presently he for it is written and forthwith he alleageth out of the lawe the psalmes the Apostles the Prophets a thousand testimonies a thousand examples a thousand authorities by which being interpreted after a new and naughty manner the vnhappy soule may be cast downe head-long from the Catholike tower Thus farre Vincentius Lirinensis But let vs heare the opinion of S. Hierome in this matter who aboue al the rest was conuersant in the holy Scripture these are his wordes The Scriptures consist not in the reading but in the vnderstanding otherwise if we follow the letter we also may frame vnto our selues a new opinion and affirme that they who weare shoes or haue two coates are not to be receiued into the Church He addeth in another place Marcion and Basillides and the other heretical plagues haue not the Gospel of God because they haue not the holy Ghost without which the Gospel which is taught is made humane or of men He telleth vs also that whosoeuer interpreteth the Gospel with another spirit and minde then it was written troubleth the faithful and turneth the Gospel of Christ vpside-downe that we must not thinke that the Gospel is in the wordes of the Scripture It is not saith he in the wordes but in the sense not in the superficies or out-side but in the marrow not in the leaues of the speaches or wordes but in the roote of reason Hence he concludeth with these wordes It is a very dangerous matter to speake or teach in the Church least that by peruerse interpretation the Gospel of Christ be made the Gospel of man or that which is worse the Gospel of the deuil Thus farre S. Hierome And this is that which the Apostle himselfe instructeth vs of when he affirmeth that the letter killeth but the spirit quickneth for the vertue and substance of Scriptures consisteth in their meaning and interpretation and so it is that the bare vvordes thereof are no more Scripture vvithout the spirit that is to say vvithout that sense which vvas intended by the holy Ghost when they were vvritten then the body of man is a man vvithout the soule yea if they be vvrested to a contrary or vvrong sense they kil and become poison vvhereas rightly vnderstood they containe diuine and heauenly doctrine And so this sentence of the Apostle is expounded by S. Augustine in diuers places of his vvorkes but in one place among the rest thus he discourseth a Aug. de spiritu litera c. 4. 5. li.
Apologie of three testimonies of holie scripture c. Hillar l. aduersus Constantium Verilie Parkes a Protestant writer hauing discoursed of such contention here at home affirmeth that by it setled mindes are distracted the parts of the same bodie dismembred and religion it selfe brought to be a matter of meere dispute and altercation not without feare saith he that it befal vnto vs as it did to the builders of Babel or to the bretheren of Cadmus He hath also these wordes These contentions are no smal preparatiues to Atheisme in that we may now say as Hillarie said of his time that there are so many faiths as wil◠so many doctrins as maners of men whils either we write them as we list or vnderstand them as we please in so much that many are brought euen to their wits end not knowing what to doe Amidst al which miseries and mischiefs the Papists insult triumph to se those that professe themselues brethren to be at such deadly fewd among themselues thus Parks To the same effect writeth Powel who auoucheth that through this dissention together vvith other inconueniences from it flowing by him recited Many for want of knowledg are wrapped in ignorance doe not cal vppon God but fly God Many fal into an Epicurian contempt of religion and are oppressed with dispaire And thus much of the first roote of Atheisme among our aduersaries A second reason of the multitude of atheists among them I deem to be the liberty which they giue to euery person to examine sundry of the high misteries of Christian religion by the rule measure of their owne feble vnderstāding according to their owne fancies to frame interpretations of scripture For this liberty the principal Sectaries hauing taken to themselues they haue consequētly as Tertullian long since noted in Heretiks both by example and otherwise giuen the same to euery one of their followers Tert. de praescript c. 42. Caluin lib. 4. Instit cap. 17. § 20. For example Caluin telleth the defenders of the real presence that howsoeuer they cry out that they be touched with reuerence of the wordes of Christ whereby they doe not figuratiuely vnderstand those thinges that were plainely spoken yet that this is not a pretence rightful enough why they should so refuse al the reasons which they object to the contrary And what reasons bringeth he others against it Their common arguments are that the same body cannot be at the same instant in sundry places that so great a corporal body cannot be in so smal a roome that the accidents of bread and wine cannot be without a subject that it repugneth to the nature of a body to be wholy in al and wholy in euery part of the Host But vvho seeth not that by this manner of proceeding and arguing they giue occasion to Atheists to impugne the truth of the B. Trinity the presence of God in al places the incarnation of Christ the resurrection of our bodies the immortallity of our soules and other such like articles For like as they affirme the real presence to be impossible because the same bodie cannot be at the same instant in sundry places so may an Atheist argue that it repugneth that the selfe same nature without any distinction should be in three distinct persons or that the selfe same bodies beeing once corrupted should rise againe Nay it is certaine that some of our late aduersaries haue in very deede pleaded this argument of impossibility against the B. Trinity Moreouer Theodosius Schimberg epist praefixa scriptis Ioan. Sōmeri Thedorus Dorchius li. Germanico quo defē dit dogmata Francis Dauidis like as they impugne the real presence because so great a body cannot be in so smal a place nor the accidents of bread and wine vvithout a subject nor the body of Christ wholy in the whole and wholy in euery part of the Host c. So may an Atheist dispute against the incarnation that it is repugnant that two natures should be vnited in one person because no substance can be without a proper subsistence which is euen as natural vnto it as inherence is to an accident against the presence of God in euerie place and the spiritual nature of the soule because neither God can be wholie in the whole and wholie in euerie part of the vvorld as they may falslie imagine nor the soule of man wholie in the whole and wholie in euery part of his bodie And although these arguments in verie deed ouerthrowe not the truth of these misteries and articles of our beliefe yet are they euen as hard to answere as any of those which our aduersaries bring against the real presence Wherefore like as for the aforesaid reasons they reject the one as false so doe they giue occasion to Atheists for the like reasons to reject the others And vpon this ground of measuring al thinges by their feeble vnderstanding built those sectaries in Germanie Iacobus Curio in rebus chronolog anno 1566. p. 151 impress Basil vvho as Iacobus Curio a Protestant reporteth laughed Moises to scorne for giuing Adam and his progenie an age which exceedeth the measure and vvarrantize of nature and this is the next steppe to Atheisme And because the Sacramentaries much more then the Lutherans relie vpon natural reason in matters of faith hence perhaps it proceeded that Brentius a Lutheran whom Iewel calleth a most graue and learned man foretold Iewel in the defence of the Apol. part 4. c. 19.20 § 1. Brentius in recognit c. in fide et in Bullengeri Coron de anno 1564. that it would in short time come to passe that by the Zuinglians the heresie of Nestorius would be brought againe into the Church and nothing more would remaine of the articles of our religion but Paganisme Talmudisme or Iudaisme and Mahometisme would be brought into the Church Thirdlie sinne which nowe through these sectaries licentious doctrine aboundeth among them as I wil declare in my treatise of the notes of the Church bringeth them also to Atheisme for besides that continual carnal pleasures dul and darken the vnderstanding and make it vnapt to conceaue the articles of our faith custome and delight in sinne breed also a desire of sinning without restraint or scruple of conscience vvhich desire maketh them vnwilling to think of spiritual matters and moueth them to accept of any perswasions whatsoeuer be they neuer so absurd disprouing those articles of our faith which vsuallie moue men to feare of punishment due to sinful actions In the fourth place I adde their blasphemous doctrine against God by which they make him a tirant in commanding vs to doe things which are not in our power for they a That this is their doctrine I wil proue at large in my treatise of the definition notes of the Church hold his commaundementes to be impossible and damning vs euerlastinglie for not performing that vvhich he knoweth vs not able to doe They make him
likwise as I may say a diuel in being the cause of our sinne and wickednesse of which crime Caluin is accused by diuers b Heshusius l. cui titulus est Aliquot errores Caluini Petr. Vermelius a zuinglian in lib. 2. Reg. cap. 6. Grawerus in bello Ioānis Caluini et Iesu Christi prīted an 1605. et lib. qui inscribitur Absurda absurdorum absurdissima Caluinistica absurda prīted also an 1605 Protestants of great fame And this last assertion made one apprehended at Mets in Fraunce an Atheist as c Duraeus cōtra Whitak ī confut respō ad 10. ratio pag. 432. Duraeus recordeth vvho being brought before the Magistrats and demanded how he came to be of that blaspheamous opinion answered that he learned it out of Caluins Institutions For said he reading there that God is the authour of sinne I thought it better to denie that there is a God then to acknowledge a God so vvicked thus he And in verie deed d Basil in bomil Quod deus non est auctor malorum S. Basil telleth vs that it is the same madnesse to deny God and to make him the author of sinne An other of our aduersaries named e Historia Dauidis Georgij printed at Antwerpe anno 1560. published by the Protestants of Basil Dauid George affirmed himself to be Christ and oppugned our Sauiour and his Church with this argument If the doctrine of Christ said he and his Apostles had beene true and perfect certainelie the Church by them planted could not haue perished for Iesus said that hel gates should not preuaile against it But it is manifest and knowne to al men that the Church hath perished and that Antechrist hath nowe for manie ages raigned ouer the vvhole world vvherefore the doctrine of Christ and his Apostles vvas false and imperfect This he argued against his owne brethren the newe sectaries vvho affirme that the Church of Christ was ouerthrowne And although the same assertion brought not Sebastian Castalio a man much commended by some f Humfred de rat interpret lib. 1. pag. 62. 63. Zuingerus in Theatro Gesnerus and others Protestants so farre yet euery man may see by his owne writing that it made him very doubtful wauering and perplexed in faith in so much as he plainelie professed Sebastian Castalio ī his praeface of the great lat ī Bible dedicated to K. Edward the 6. that he could not see how the oracles or prophecies of the old Testament concerning the glorie and continuance of the Church haue beene hitherto fulfilled in the newe and in verie deed it is euident that they haue not beene verified if our religion be condemned as false SECTION THE SECOND Of our aduersaries doctrine concerning the immortallity of the soule heauen and hel BVT farre greater is the number of those among the newe Sectaries who deny the soule of man to be immortal And first Luther himselfe may not only be truly accused of laying a certaine foundation or ground of this damnable error but also if we take his vvordes as they sound to be a maintainer of the same for vvhereas it is commonly held by al Christians that the soule of man is created by almighty God vvhen the body in the mothers vvombe is apt to receiue it Luther fauoureth that erronious opinion of Tertullian very much and seemeth to approue it which defendeth the soule of man to haue his being from his Parents and consequently Luther in disput Theolo habita Wittenbergae āno 1545. Thessi 31. denieth it to be created of God his words are these They saith he who deemed the soule to be extraduce that is by generation produced seeme not altogether do haue dissented from scripture yea these wil more easily defend the propagation of original sinne then they who thinke otherwise vt nihil sit quod dicitur so that it is nothing vvhich is said the intellectual soule creando infunditur in the creation of it is infused et in fundendo creatur and in the infusion of it is created who proued this or who wil proue that the like may be said of euery other soule what difficulty can hinder God from producing the intellectual soule both of nothing and also of corrupt seede thus Luther Cētur 5. c. 4. Dress de partibus humani corporis c. cap. de origine animae And in this he is followed by the Century writers who note the denial of this in S. Augustine as an errour and of the same opinion is Dresserus also But what is this but to make no difference betweene the soule of man and the soules of brute beasts doth not Luther make the generation of al these alike nay what other thing is this but according to the common receiued opinion of philosophers to make the soule mortal Surely it is vsually held in schooles that whatsoeuer is produced by natural generation is mortal and corruptible And no doubt but if the generation of man and beast be graunted to be alike occasion is offered to infer also like corruption of them both Besides this hither tendeth the opinion of Luther touching the state of soules departed during the time betweene their departure out of this vvorld and the day of judgement for what happinesse or action doth he attribute vnto them before the general doome none certainly for he auoucheth that they sleepe and howe his wordes shal declare vvhich are these To. 4. Luth. ad c. 9. Ecclesi v. 5. et 10. Luth. enar in Genes c. 25. fol. 351. et in cap. 26. fol. 392. 393. Ibid. in cap. 49. vers 22. The dead sleepe and vnderstand nothing of our affaires c. they feele nothing they lie there dead neither numbering daies or yeares but being waked they shal seeme to themselues to haue slept but for a moment Againe The sleepe of the soule in the next life is more profound or sound then in this Moreouer The Saints are in peace and rest not in the kingdome they sleepe and knowe not what is done thus Luther And for the place vvhere the soules so sleepe he seemeth to assigne the graue for he addeth in another place It is a strang thing truly that God maketh vs like vnto beasts by sleeping waking eating for the soule of man sleepeth al the senses being buried and our bedde is as it were our graue in which neuerthelesse is nothing paineful or troblesome so the place of the dead hath no torments but as it is said they rest in peace in c. 25. Gen. He addeth in the same place that the sleepe of the soule is so pleasant without passion of desire that it hopeth feareth or feeleth nothing In another place aboue cited he doubteth whether the soules of the wicked goe presently after death to hel or else sleepe hitherto are Luthers wordes And by this assertion Sleidā lib. 9. Sleidan affirmeth him cleane to haue ouerthrowne our doctrine concerning praier to Saints and Purgatorie yea Caluī