in their own Tongue to have it in Latin they stoutly resisted him So that the Pope that he might keep up his usurped Authority was forced to pretend that he gave them leave to have it in their own Language But amongst all his Instances the Cardinal had least reason to have mention'd the Conversion of the Indians and Jews For as for the Indians the unheard-of Cruelties which even the Popish Historians relate to have been used towards them and their gross Ignorance after their Conversion are a sufficient Evidence how little they were beholden for it to the Doctrine which was taught them One would wonder how it were possible for Mankind to be guilty of such inhuman Barbarities as Bartolomaeus Casas who was a Bishop and lived in India relates the Spaniards to have committed In abhorrence whereof Acosta has a Discourse on purpose to shew the Unreasonableness of making War against the Barbarians L. 2. c. 2 c. De Ind. salut procur upon the account of Religion He afterwards discourses of the Capacity of the Indians asserting that they ought to have better Instructors sent them That those which they then had had been of such little use to them that after the space of forty Years there were scarce any found amongst so great a number of Converts who understood two Articles of the Creed L. 4. c. 3. p. 358. or had any apprehension what Christ Eternal Life or the Eucharist meant But this concerning the Conversion of the Indians has already been mentioned in Note the fourth As for the manner of converting the Jews I shall only make mention of one Instance which happened in the time of Heraclius the Emperour who writ to Dagobert the King of France that he would command all the Jews in his Dominions to turn Christians Aimoin iv 22. and either to banish or slay those who would not who accordingly did so banishing as many as would not be baptized Since Erasmus who knew these matters well enough has so freely declared that altho their Conversion be a thing much to be wished for yet that such Courses were taken by some to effect it that of a wicked Jew Erasm Annoâ— in Mat. 23. it often happened there was made a Christian much more wicked than he was before his Conversion Having thus shewn the weakness of the Cardinal's Arguments all that I shall add upon this Subject shall be only this That the mean Account some of our new Converts have given of Themselves and the Motives of their Change looks not very favourable upon this Ninth Note and makes it suspicious that the Efficacy of Doctrine was not the only thing that did the work But that on the other hand since the chiefest Patrons of the Romish Cause do at this time endeavour to disguise their Religion with so much Artifice and to represent it as like ours as they can they do really think their Doctrine by its own Worth and Excellency then most likely to prevail when it is made appear to be most akin to that of the Reformed Churches THE END ERRATA PAge 212. line 26. read sets it in Page 223. line 22. r. the Church LONDON Printed by J. D. for Richard Chiswel at the Rose and Crown in St. Paul's Church-Yard 1687. The Tenth Note of the CHURCH EXAMINED VIZ HOLINESS of LIFE Decima Nota est Sanctitas Vitae Auctorum sive primorum Patrum nostrae Religionis Bellarm. L. iv c. 13. de Notis Ecclesiae IMPRIMATUR June 22. 1687. Jo. Battely IN this Argument it may suffice if it be shown I. What the Notion of Holiness is II. That Holiness is not properly a Note of the true Church III. That if it were a Note of the true Church yet it would not so belong to the Roman as to distinguish it from all other Churches and to appear upon it as the Infallible Character of the only Fold of Christ I. For Holiness it is of two kinds Holiness of Calling and Dedication of Mind and Manners By Holiness of Calling and Dedication I mean the Separation of Persons from the unbelieving and wicked World and the incorporating of them by Baptism into the Spiritual Society of the Christian Church And by such means the dedicating of them to the Service of Christ according to the tenour of the Evangelical Covenant In this Sense St. Paul told the Members of the Church of Corinth (a) 1 Cor. 6.11 that they were wash'd and sanctify'd or by their Christian Calling or Dedication made Sacred and Holy. By Holiness of Mind and Manners to which Bellarmin here gives the Name of Probity a Vertue commended by him but coldly obey'd I understand the habitual private and publick Practice of Christian Religion as it proceeds from the true Principle of it the Love of God as it is measur'd by the True Rule of it Right Reason in Conjunction with the Revealed Will of God And as it is directed to its proper Ends the Glory of God and the Good of all reasonable Creatures For this kind of Holiness St. Paul (b) 1 Thess 5.23 makes pious Application to God in behalf of the Thessalonians saying The very God of Peace sanctify you wholly and I pray God your whole Spirit and Soul and Body be preserved blameless to the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ Now II. Neither of these kinds of Holiness can be properly called a Note of the true Church For the first Kind It is confess'd that the Christian Church is Holy and it was called Holy in the Creed before the Epithet of Catholick was inserted into that Sum of Faith (c) S. Cypr. Epist 70. p. 190. cum dicimus h. e. Baptizandis credis in vitam aeternam remissionem Peccatorum per Sanctan Ecclesiam And the Supream Pastor of the Church lov'd it in such extraordinary manner that (d) Ephes 5.25 26 27. He gave himself for it that he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of Water by the Word by Baptism and Assent to the Doctrine and Conditions of the Gospel That he might present it to himself a glorious Church not having spot or wrinckle or any such thing any thing which may seem uncomely to Christ to whom she as Supream Head is united That it should be Holy and without blemish This Holiness of Dedication is elegantly set forth after the manner of the Oriental Poesy in the Book of the Canticles in which is represented the Spiritual Marriage of Christ and his chaste and unblemish'd Church Though some Romanists have wrested these and other places which speak of her Dove-like and undefiled Nature and apply them to that which they please to call the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin (e) V. Coron preuves par l' Escriture du contenu en la foy Catholique p. 1. So ready are they who upbraid the Reformed with Interpreting Scripture out of their own Heads to do the same thing themselves and with a much greater mixture of
seven Sacraments truly and properly so and whosoever saith there are more or fewer instituted by Christ is accursed Trid. Sess 7. Can. 1. Transubstantiation 13. Bread and Wine after Consecration are turn'd into the Substance of Christ's Body and Blood without changing the Species Conc. Trid. Communion in one kind 14. The People are forbidden to receive the Sacrament in both kinds Trid. Sess 21. c. 1. Solitary Masses 15. Solitary Masses wherein the Priest communicates alone are approved and commended and whosoever saith they are unlawful and to be abrogated is accursed Trid. Sess 22. Can. 8. Auricular Confession 16. Without particular Confession of Sins to a Priest is neither Forgiveness nor Salvation to be obtained Trid. Sess 14. c. 5. Can. 6 7. Extreme Vnction 17. Extreme Unction is a Sacrament and to be administred when Persons are in imminent danger and last of all to be applied Trid. Sess 14. c. 13. Priest's Marriage 18. Those that are in Orders may not Marry and those that are married may not be admitted to Orders Conc. Later 1. Can. 21. Later 2. Can. 6. What the Church of Rome hath held 1. Before the time of the Nicene Council little regard was had to the Church of Rome So Pope Pius 2. Epist p. 802. and the Church of Rome call'd others Apostolical and Sister-Churches 2. For one Bishop to set himself over the rest and to have all the rest in Subjection to him is the Pride Lucifer and the fore-running of Antichrist Pope Gregor 1. Epist 36. 3. St. Jerom who was a Member of the Latin Church saith That tho Tobias Judith and Maccabees c. were read yet they were not received as Canonical Scriptures Prolog Proverb And Pope Gregory 1. quoting the Maccabees excuses himself for producing a Testimony out of a Book not Canonical We do not amiss c. Moral in Job l. 19. c. 13. 4. Gregory 1. saith All things which edifie and instruct are contained in the Scriptures and that from thence the Teachers may presently teach whatsoever is needful In Ezek. Hom. l. 1. c. 8. de Cur. Past l. 2. c. 11. 5. Pope Gregory the 9th An. 1227. declared the not knowing the Scriptures by the Testimony of Truth it self is the occasion of Errours and therefore it 's expedient for all Men to read or hear them Epist ad Germ. Archiep Constant apud M. Paris Hen. 3. 6. Gregory 1. saith that the best of Men will find no Merit in their best Actions And that if he should attain to the highest Vertue he should obtain eternal Life not by Merits but by Pardon Moral l. 9. c. 11. And elsewhere he saith I pray to be saved not trusting to my Merits but presuming to obtain that by thy Mercy alone which I hope not for by my Merit in 1 Psal poenit 7. Fisher Bp of Rochester in Hen. 8th's time saith the use of Indulgences seems to be late in the Church and upon the recital of this Testimony Polydore Virgil adds which being things of so great moment you might expect them more certainly from the Mouth of God De Invent. l. 8. c. 1. Cardinal Cajetan saith there is no Authority of Scripture or ancient Fathers Greek or Latin that brings them to our Knowledg Opusc 15. c. 1. 8. Bp. Fisher saith There is none or very rare mention of Purgatory in the ancient Fathers Roff. contr Luther Art. 18. And Pope Gregory 1. saith that at the time of Death either the good or evil Spirit seizeth upon the Soul and keeps it for ever with it without any change Moral in Job l. 8. c. 8. Vid. Vindication of the Answer to some late Papers pag. 76. 9. Bellarmine acknowledges that long after the Apostles both in the Eastern and Western Churches the People were wont to answer in Divine Offices De Verb. l. 2. cap. 16. § sed neque Vid. Discourse concerning Celebration of Divine Service in an unknown Tongue p. 46 47 48. 10. Irenaeus Bp of Lyons saith Throughout the whole World the Church doth nothing by Invocations of Angels but directeth her Prayers to God which hath made all and calls upon the Name of our Lord Jesus Christ And it seems not to have been an Article of Faith in the times of Lombard and Scotus as it is now the one of which saith It 's not incredible the Saints do hear what we say And the latter It 's probable God doth reveal our Prayers Lomb. Sent. lib. 4. Dist 45. Scot. in 4 Dist Q. 45. 11. Pope Gregory I after he hath allowed Images in Temples for information of the Ignorant doth professedly forbid the worship of them Lib. 7. Epist 109. ad Serenum Registr Epist l. 9. Ep. 9. c. 12. Cassander a Member of the Church of Rome saith we shall not likely find any before Pet. Lombard who lived about 1130 that did define the number of the Sacraments Art. 13. § de num Sacr. And particularly Alex. Hales the famous Schoolman saith that Confirmation was ordained to be a Sacrament by the Meldensian Council Par. 4. Q. 9. M. 1. 13. Pope Gelasius saith That in the Sacrament the Substance or Nature of Bread ceaseth not or perisheth not Gelas cont Eutych Gregory I. saith That our Bodies as well as our Souls are nourished by the Eucharist Sacram. 16. Kal. Mar. in 6. Psal poenit 14. Pope Gelasius declares Either let them receive the whole Sacrament or let them be driven from the whole for the dividing of one and the same Sacrament cannot be done without great Sacriledg De Consecr Dist 2. Comperimus And Pope Gregory I. affirms it to be the constant practice for the People to receive in both kinds Sacram. in Quadrag Tr. 3. Vid. Vindication of the Answer to some Papers p. 75. 15. Anacletus Bishop of Rome did decree That all present should communicate or else should be turn'd out of the Church for so the Apostles did order and the Holy Church or Rome observeth Par. 3. Dist 1. Episcop 2. peracta Gregory I. forbids the Priest to celebrate the Eucharist alone Greg. lib. Capital cap. 7. apud Cassand Liturg. c. 33. 16. This was neither in the Time of Pope Gelasius or Pope Gregory I. Vid. Vindication of the Answer p. 73. 17. In Gregory the First 's time it was used in order to Recovery and the Eucharist was to be given after it Sacram. p. 253. Vid. Vindicat. of the Answ p. 77. 18. To marry was a priviledg belonging to the Clergy as well as others So Cassander Consult Art. 23. Polyd. Virg. Invent. l. 5. c. 4. By this Parallel thus far drawn betwixt the Ancient and Present Doctrine of the Church of Rome we may be able to judg of the Immutability and Duration of the Church which can no more be consistent with it than one part of a Contradiction can be reconciled to another or than Infallibility can be consistent with the having actually err'd To find fallible Churches mistaken and at some times to vary
next to the Bishop of Rome because that was New Rome †〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Concil Constantinop Can. 3. so that it was the Imperial City of Rome which gave the Honour of being the first Bishop in the Church and not a Divine Institution or a Succession from St. Peter and when Constantinople by the Emperor's removing thither became the next great City the Bishop partook of the Honour of the City And in the Fourth General Council at Calcedon had for that Reason equal Priviledges conferred upon him with the Bishop of Old Rome ‖ 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Concil Calced Can. 28. as the Fathers expresly declare To which I shall add the famous Case of Appeals which was challenged about the Year 418 by Pope Zosimus over the African Church not by Divine Right but by a pretended Ecclesiastical Canon which was found afterwards to be forged and the Power of the Church of Rome to receive Appeals or to judg the Causes of other Churches was fully disowned and disclaimed * Concil Carthag 6. And this with the Exemption of the Churches of Milan Ravenna and Aquileia from the Jurisdiction of the Church of Rome tho they were so near Neighbours to it even in Italy it self is enough to give full Satisfaction to any reasonable Man what a different Opinion the Primitive Church had of the Church of Rome from what it now has of it self concerning an Universal Supremacy and of its being the Mother and Mistress of all Churches The next most peculiar Doctrine of Popery is Transubsiantiation which as it was formerly owned by Valentia (a) De Transub l. 2. c. 7. and Cusanus (b) Exercit. l. 6. Ser. 40. and a great many of the School-men Scotus Durandus and others (c) Vid. Pref. ad Johan Major not to have been the Doctrine of the Primitive Church so it has been lately proved at large by one of their own Communion (d) A Treatise written by an Author of the Church of Rome touching Transubstantiation tho if for that reason it may be thrown out from being an Article of Faith by the Members of the Roman Church they will leave but very few proper to themselves according to the Principle of that Gentleman to wit the making not the present but the Primitive Church a Rule of their Faith which if they will universally follow it will lead them quite out of the Roman Church as well as out of that single Error of it we have such excellent Treatises of late * See Discourse of Transubstantiation Transubstantiation no Doctrine of the Primitive Fathers The Doctrine of the Trinity and Transubstantiation compared 1. par about this which prove it beyond all Exception and beyond all Answer to be no Doctrine of the Primitive Church that I shall add nothing about it but only these two Observations First That it appears not by any Liturgy or Eucharistick Form that was ever used by the Church no not by the Roman Canon it self which is much ancienter than this Doctrine and therefore not so conformed to it That the Church ever used any Prayer to this purpose at the Eucharist that the Substance of the Sacramental Elements should be changed or done away and the Flesh and Blood of Christ substituted instead of them under the Species or Accidents but only that they might be made the Body and Blood of Christ by the Spirits coming down upon them so that it was only a Spiritual and Sacramental not a Substantial Change of them that was ever prayed for or ever believed for if the Church had always had this Faith it would surely have sometimes prayed in it Secondly I observe that in those Times when this Doctrine came first into the Church which was a little before Berengarius it was so new and raw that it was not fully digested nor perfectly understood even by those who then held it as appears by that blundering Recantation which was drawn up for him after the Examination of no less than three Popes and five Synods wherein he is made to say That after Consecration the true Body and Blood of Christ is not only Sacramentally but sensibly and truly handled and broke by the Hands of the Priests and ground by the Teeth of the Faithful †Post Consecrationem verum Corpus Sanguinem Christi sensualitèr non solùm Sacramento sed veritate manibus Sacerdotum tractari frangi fidelium dentibus atteri Grat. de Consec dist 2. cap. This sensible and true handling and breaking and grinding Christ's Body is so strange and dreadful a thing that the Glossator observes this upon it That unless you do understand these Word of Berengarius in a sound sense * Nisi sanè intelligas verba Berengarii in majorem incidas haeresin quam ipse babuit Glos Ib. that is contrary to what the Words signify and mean you will fall into a greater Heresy than that of Berengarius himself by which it appears that this Monster of Transubstantiation as a great Man ‖ Perrone See the excellent Preface to a Discourse on the Holy Eucharist in two great points of their own afterwards calls it was so unformed and mishapen a thing at that time that it was a sign it was then but new come into the World and had need of being farther licked into a better shape If Transubstantiation were then but new those other Doctrines which have issued from it and are its proper Production could not be old such as Adoration of the Sacrament Communion in one kind Solitary Masses and the Proper and Propitiatory Sacrifice of the Mass And therefore I shall not say any thing of them since their Date will be owned to be as late as that of Transubstantiation and tho they may not follow from it yet they cannot be maintained or believed without it so that what has been said against the one takes away the very Foundation of the other As to the Number of the Sacraments tho the Council of Trent has declared this to be exactly Seven and made it an Article of Faith to believe so yet no Man sure will have the confidence to say That this Number was determined by the Primitive Church when they can bring no Author who makes any mention of such a Number till 1100 Years after Christ and Bellarmin thinks it unreasonable we should require them to shew this either in the Scriptures or the Fathers †Non debere adversarios petere ut ostendamus in Scripturis au◠Patribus nomen Septenacii numeri Sacramentorum Bellar. de effect Sacram. l. 2. c. 24. tho if it be an Article of Faith which must be believed upon pain of Damnation there ought to be something to shew for it one would think out of one of them Was the Necessity of Auricular Confession a Doctrine of the Primitive Church when in the time of Peter Lombard he tells us * In his enim etiam docti
Christ and that we might grow up into him in all things which is the Head even Christ Now here we do not only find our Saviour represented as the Head of his Church and we as the Members of his Body but that amongst the several subordinate Members of which his Body consists there is no mention of that most necessary Member of all if I may call it a Member the Vicarious Head of the Church For it is not said that he gave first Peter to be Head of his Church and then Apostles c. But he gave first some Apostles and those not as Heads of his Church neither but as principal Members of it And in the Beginning of the same Chapter where he describes the Unity of the Church he says there is one Body and one Spirit one Hope of our Calling one Lord one Faith one Baptism one God and Father of all Now I would fain know whether the Cardinal would have omitted here one visible Head of the Church in which all ought to be united And then let any Man tell me why St. Paul did He had the like occasion in another Place where having said much concerning the Unity of the Body of Christ Ye are saith he the Body of Christ and Members in particular And God hath set some in the Church first Apostles secondly Prophets 1 Cor. xii 27 28. thirdly Teachers c. Now I say if this visible Head of Unity had been elsewhere mentioned never so often he ought not to have been omitted in any of these three places much less if he were mentioned no where else But no notice being taken of this Head elsewhere nor here neither is little less than a Demonstration that that there was no such Head to be taken notice of When any one shall pretend to so high a Prerogative and vast a Dependence as this implies we may in Reason expect he should be able to produce some very good Evidence of his Right to it And therefore the meer silence of the Scripture is prejudice enough against the Pretence But the silence of the Scripture in such places as I have produced is a direct Argument against it Nay Lastly The Scripture is so far from giving the least intimation of any such Headship where the mention of it was unavoidable if it had been a Divine Constitution that it seems expresly to oppose it For St. Paul speaking against those Contentions which happened by one saying I am of Paul another I am of Apollos a third I am of Cephas he does not oppose Cephas or Peter to the rest as if it were lawful for them to say I am of Peter but not I am of Paul c. but utterly reproves all such Distinctions and requires them all to be united in Christ Is Christ divided says he Was Paul Crucified for you Or were ye Baptized in the Name of Paul Plainly shewing that to establish any mortal Man as the Center of Union in the Christian Church is in effect to divide the Authority of Christ and that if we unite our selves in such a Head we may as well be baptized in his Name and have him for our Saviour too 2. As little Foundation is there in Reason for this Headship of the Pope over the whole Body of Christ since it will necessarily require that all the Christian Churches in the World even those that are at greatest Distance from one another be reduced under his Government and depend upon his Authority the Administration of which vast Power and Trust is incompatible to any mortal Man. Being vested in a wise and good Man it could be but of little benefit to a Body so diffusive as the Catholick Church but in the Hands of a weak or vicious Person it would become the Instrument of Pride Tyranny Oppression and Divisions A small Bishoprick requires the utmost Care and Prudence to manage it aright but what Ability without a Miracle could be sufficient for a tolerable discharge of so great a Trust as the Inspection and Government of the whole Church from one end of the Earth to the other But the Temptations to abuse such Power would be infinite and the Abuses themselves intolerable and hardly capable of Redress as we see also by no small Experience For after that that Power was pretended to at Rome and submitted to by the Western Church the Scandals Miseries of this part of Christendom grew to such an Extremity that it could not be dissembled Insomuch that the Cardinals and Prelats appointed by Pope Paul the Third to advise concerning the state of the Church Consil de Emend Eccl. in Richer l. 4. assured him that she was just falling head-long into Ruine and that the chief Cause was that the Pope's Will and Pleasure had been the Rule of all his Doings And he that shall consider what a lewd and filthy place Rome it self was grown by their own confession may observe from thence how likely it is that the Government of the Catholick Church should thrive in one Man's hand after another who are too busy to attend upon the Reformation of most scandalous and crying Disorders at home 3. Neither is there any colour in Antiquity for this Headship of the Pope altho they are the Primitive Fathers upon whose Authority chiefly they would support this Usurpation The Testimonies which the Cardinal has chosen for his Purpose are so far from it that one would wonder to see so weighty a Superstructure laid upon so weak a Foundation Thus because S. Irenaeus says that every Church i.e. the Faithful who are all about must needs resort to the Roman Church because of the more Powerful Principality i.e. because the Imperial City drew the Business of the World to it self and by consequence Christians in all parts had occasion of recourse to it therefore the Bishop of that City was the Head of all Churches in the World. Because S. Cyprian call'd the Roman the Principal Church from whence the Vnity of the Priests did arise and the Matrix and Root of the Catholick Church Therefore he could mean nothing else but that Union to the Bishop of Rome is absolutely necessary to a part in Christ and his Church Whereas it is most evident that elsewhere he did freely assert the Independence of other Bishops upon that Bishop and of other Episcopal Churches upon that Church And consequently that he called it the Principal Church as being constituted in the Principal City so Rigaltius acknowledgeth and the Spring of Sacerdotal Vnity and the Root of the Catholick Church because Bishops having occasion either to come up to Rome or to send thither from all parts did by their Unity with the Church there manifestly declare their Union to one another which was a convenience accruing to that Church and to all others from the Imperial City in which it was constituted but by no means inferring that other Churches were more obliged to Union with her than she with others Again because
Apostolicum solium annos decem menses septem tenuisset praecipiti morbo ex humanis ereptus est Raynald ad an 1352. n. 21. as their own Writers witness But Luther had eat a lusty Supper and was merry and jocular the Evening before And so had several of their Popes the next Evening before they died Pope Paul II after he had supp'd most jollily and perswaded himself that he had many Years to live the same Night died of an Apoplexy (o) Et cum annos plurimos vivere sibi persuaderet anno salutis nostrae 1471. v. Kal. Augusti hora secunda noctis cum eo die laetum consistorium habuisset jocundissime caenasset Apoplexia correptus vitam cum morte mutavit Johan Stell Anno 1464. p. 262. Pope Leo X led constantly a merry Life but his Death happen'd in the highest excess of Feasting Mirth and Jollity and so suddenly that there was not time afforded for Absolution and Extreme Unction (p) Ex hujus victoriae nuncio Leonem Pontificem ingenti diffusum gaudio referunt in qua Apoplexia correptus nullis perceptis Sacramentis aetatis anno quadragesimo sexto nondum exacto decessit inopina morte Raynald ad an 1521. n. 108. Die insequenti laetitiae pompam sua morte clausit inopina quidem adeâ— ut ne Sacramentis quidem munitus suerit N. 109. And if Luther jested the Day before he died methinks it might have passed without any severe Censure since Sir Tho. More the Pope's Martyr was so sportful upon the Scaffold and died with a Jest in his Mouth But what credit is to be given to his Enemies we may learn from those monstrous Tales they spread concerning his Death not only after but long before it Such as that horrible Miracle wrought at his Funeral for the Conviction of Hereticks which he confuted with his own Hand And it is not unpleasant to read how they contradict one another One says That he purged out his Entrails like Arius Another That his Mouth was distorted and his whole right Side turned to a duskish Colour But above all commend me to Thyraeus the Jesuit He confidently tells us That in a Town of Brabant named Cheol there were many Persons possess'd with Devils who were brought thither to be cured by the Intercessions and Prayers of the Saint of the Place That these poor Creatures were on a sudden deliver'd from these Evil Spirits and that this was the very Day that Luther died That the day after the Devils return'd again into the same Bodies and being asked whither they were gon the day before answer'd That by the Commandment of their Prince they were call'd forth to attend the Soul of their Grand Prophet and Companion Luther This Fable as ridiculous as it is malicious is quoted at large and credited by as considerable a Man as Florimond de Ramond (r) De la Naissance de l' Heresie l. 3. c. 11. p. 332. He I say that shall reflect upon these things will not be apt to believe the Reports of his Adversaries If we take the account of his Death from Sleidan we shall find it very different and such as was every way becoming a most pious and devout Christian (s) Jo. Sleid. Comment l. 17. But it will be said that he was his Friend and therefore as little to be credited as his Enemies Hear therefore what many Learned Men of the Church of Rome say who cannot be suspected of any partiality in Favour of him The Fathers in Trent saith Father Paul and the Court of Rome conceived great hope seeing that so potent an Instrument to contradict the Doctrine and Rites of the Church of Rome was dead c. and the rather because that Death was divulged throughout Italy with many prodigious and fabulous Circumstances which were ascribed to Miracle and the Vengeance of God tho there were but the usual accidents which do ordinarily happen in the Deaths of Men of sixty three Years of Age (t) Hist of the Counc of Trent l. 2. p. 149. So that in Father Paul's judgment there was nothing in his Death but what was common Yea that the very worst Circumstances were no other than such Accidents which happen also many times to VERY GOOD CHRISTIANS is acknowledged by a late Adversary (u) Spirit of Mart. Luth. p. 104. who hath written a Book on purpose to disparage him Yea that he died in great Honour as well as piously another hath informed us After Supper says Thuanus immediately before the Night in which he departed when he was ask'd Whether in the Eternal Life we shall know one ather he said that we should and confirmed it by Testimonies of Scripture As many strove who should best express their Love to him while he lived so neither by Death could they be drawn from loving him The Citizens of Mansfield contended that he ought to be buried with them because that was his Native Soil but the Authority of Frederick the Prince Elector prevail'd that he should be carried to Wittenberg and there honourably Interr'd (w) Post caenani proxime ante noctem qua decessit cum rogaretur num in illa sempiterna vita simus alter alterum agnituri ita esse aiebat Scripturae testimoniis confirmabat Ut certatim eum vivum c. Thuan. Hist l. 2. And indeed the transcendent Honour that was done to his Memory seems to be that which chiefly provoked his Enemies to set their Inventions on work to defame him The Cardinal 's next Instance of an unhappy End is Zuinglius And why is his Death reckon'd unhappy Because he was slain in a War against Catholicks (x) Zuinglius in bello contra Catholicos trucidatus est Bellarm. But is it a strange thing for a Man to be kill'd in a War Does every one that so ends his Days die miserably If so How many Millions hath the Pope brought to a miserable End in sending them to the Wars against Saracens and Hereticks O that they 'l say is a glorious Death that merits the brightest Crown in Heaven But Zuinglius was kill'd in a War against Catholicks But stay the Cardinal makes them Catholicks too soon he supposes them Catholicks before Zuinglius was kill'd whereas he was to prove them Catholicks by his being kill'd for his unhappy Death is the Note now under debate by which they were to be known to be of the true Church But that his Death could be no Argument that God disapproved the cause in which he died is evident because to the great grief of our Adversaries the Reformed Religion which they hoped would have died together with him made a greater Progress after his Death than it had done before I shall speak but a word to the two next because the Cardinal's Spite is chiefly against Calvin who brings up the rear Oecolampadius says Bellarmin in the Evening went well to Bed and in the Morning was by his Wife found dead
more boldly insisting again upon it he was then confuted by him openly in the Congregation exposed to publick Shame and by the Magistrate committed to Custody as a seditious Person and not long after by the Senate banished the City This publick Disgrace he would never forgive Calvin but ever after bore a mortal Hatred against him though he durst not openly proclaim it till after Calvin was remov'd into another World and out of a capacity of confuting his Calumnies This alone is enough the Romanists themselves being Judges to overthrow the Credit of this Story I might also add that Bolsec was a necessitous indigent Person and a Man of debauch'd Morals and so every way qualified for the feigning of a story which he was well assured would be amply rewarded 2. So gross are his Impostures that many Learned Papists who have made it their study to defame Calvin are asham'd to quote them Florimond de Raemond speaking of Calvin From this Head saith he as from Pandora 's Box are come forth all those Troops of Evils all those Legions of Miseries and those Torrents of Blood which have overflow'd the better part of Europe He that would know all these particulars let him read the Authors who have taken the pains to write them And then quoting Surius Bolsec and some others in the Margin he adds I have on purpose omitted many things for the fear I had that Hatred had sometimes more power over them than Truth (e) Qui en vondra scavoir toutes les particularitez lise les Auteurs qui ont pris la peine de l' Escriture I' enlaisse à dessein beaucomp de choses pour la crainte que j'ay que quelquefois la haine ait eu plus pouvoir sur eux que la verite De la Naâ—ssance de l' Heresie l. 7. c. 8. p. 879. Of those many things he omitted this foul Disease is one And Don Peter of St. Romuald a Priest and Monk As for Theodore Beza says he Jerome Bolsec and James Lingey all that they have written of Calvin is suspected of Flattery or of too great sharpness against him (f) Car pour Theodore de Beze Hierosme Bolsec Medicin de Lion Jaques Lingey Ecossois Docteur de Sorbonne tout ce qui ils en ont écrit est suspect de flaterie ou de trop grande aigreur contre luy Thres Cronolog Historiq l'an 150. 'T is no wonder he should say that Beza is suspected of Flattery but doubtless had not Bolsec's Calumnies been very broad and ill-colour'd a Monk would never have suspected them 2. The Falshood of this Tale will be farther manifest to all Men by considering what other Persons both Protestants and Papists whose Authority in this matter at least is unquestionable have written concerning Calvin's Diseases and Death 1. For Protestants I shall insist only upon Beza's History of his Life He pretending to tell us all his Diseases makes no mention of this besides that the account he gives of him some days before and at his Death is utterly inconsistent with it Bolsec says That from his Ulcers and from his whole Body issued most noisom Stinks by which he was loathsom to himself and his Family and that his Domesticks reported that for this very reason he would not be visited (g) Cum ex ulceribus totoque corpore gravissimi foetores emanarunt ob quorum graveolentiam sibi ipsi gravis quae eum circumstabat familiae erat Quam causam fuisse etiam hi ejus Domestici narrarunt quod visitari se nolletâ— Vit. Calv. c. 22. Now Beza tells us That after he had finish'd his Will viz. April 26. a Month and one Day before his Death he signified to the Syndicks and all the Senators that he had a desire to visit them once more in their Senate-House before he died and hoped to be carried thither the next Day they desired him to consult his Health and sent him word that they would come to him which accordingly they did After he had thanked them for their Favours and given them much good Advice he gave to every one of them his right Hand and dismissed them weeping April 28 at his request all the Ministers within the Jurisdiction of that City came to him to whom after he had given an Exhortation he likewise reach'd out his Right Hand to each one in particular and sent them away with heavy Hearts and wet Eyes May 19 and he died May 27 the Ministers being wont on that Day to eat together a Supper was prepar'd for them at his House and he being carried to them from his Bed into the next Room I now Brethren saith he come to take my last Farewell I shall never more sit at Table Before Supper was ended when he required to be carried back again to his Bed-Chamber he said with a Smiling Countenance This Wall between us will not hinder but tho absent in Body I shall be present in Spirit with you I need repeat no more If this already said be true what Bolsec says must be false And that this is true every one must grant considering the time when and the place where it was publish'd who grants that Beza was in his Wits For he publish'd it presently after Calvin's Death at Geneva where if but one tittle had been false every Citizen almost must have known it If the Senators had not all visited him and the Ministers all met at his House a few Days before his Death as Beza reports every one of those Senators and every one of those Ministers would have given him the Lye and proclaimed him to the World for an impudent Impostor Especially those who were Calvin's Enemies would have noised it abroad Whereas not one either great or small was found who contradicted one Word of it 2. But we need not the Testimony of Beza or any other Protestant the Papists themselves even those who have written much more than is true to defame him shall be his Compurgators For if they take no notice of this Disease who could they have found any colour for it would have made the World ring with it 't is certain they took it for a Fable Now whosoever will take the pains to peruse the Book quoted in the Margin (h) La Defense de Calvin contre l'outrage fait a sa memoire c. Par Charles Drelincourt he will find many of these collected to his Hands But because the Book is not in a Language that every one understands I shall touch upon two or three of them Florimond when he reckons up his Diseases gives not the least intimation of this (i) La Naissance de l'Heresie l. 7. c. 10. p. 888. Jaques Desmay insists vehemently on those Diseases Calvin was afflicted with toward the end of his Life as Impostumes Hemorrhoids Stone Gout in short no less than a dozen and then insults over him making them as visible Tokens of God's
Direction of not being tossed to and fro c. 3. Are condemned by Tertullian who bids us adhere to what is first And 4. By Vincentius Lyrinensis And 5. Have given ill Example by which the Reformers can justify themselves And lastly Have plainly condemned several Popes and the whole Lateran Council under Innocent III as not sufficiently knowing what the Church was since their Notion of it could not content those which came after them A great Injury and of dangerous Consequence Lastly Upon a Comparison of one with the other P. 432 c. and of both with the Antient Doctrine and Discipline of the Church he looks upon Bellarmin's Definition as the better of the Two because it may be so mollified by the Help of the Word Praecipuè chiefly which is in it as to admit of a tolerable Reconciliation with the Definition of the Antients which as he shews can no way agree with that of Canisius And upon the whole he concludes P. 450. That however Bellarmin's might be preferrable if either of them were necessary yet it will be hard for Catholicks to make their Complaints of Innovating which they heap upon Hereticks to appear just so long as they themselves shall retain such a Novel Definition and that if Gregory VIIths Rule were observed viz. That nothing should be drawn into Example or Authority which is contrary to the Fathers then even this his Definition tho it had been received yet ought to be rejected To this purpose that Accurate Writer as he is deservedly called by ‖ Letter to Bp. of Linc. p. 319. F. Walsh has argued to the utter confusion of the Cardinal's Argument from Union with the Pope as Head or of the Members among themselves For how can that be a Note of the True Church now which never was thought to belong to the Nature of it for 1500 Years together and which their own most Learned Lovers of Antiquity and Pious Opposers of Novelty do not think essential to it at this Day And where is the so much boasted Consent of the Members amongst themselves in all Matters of Faith I believe the holy Catholick Church is an Article of Faith. I would know of those Gentlemen who are at such perfect agreement amongst themselves what this Church is Bellarmine answers one thing Canisius another so contrary that if one speaks true the other must needs have told me that which is false And while the Definition of the former is followed by some and that of the later which is the worse is more generally received Launoy and many more of the most Learned sort stick to the Antients who are as different from both as they are from one another And yet after all we must be told that they are perfectly agreed in all matters of Faith and that this invisible unintelligible Union shews plainly that the Roman is the true Church One would hardly think that they are in earnest unless by Union they mean an equal Resolution to carry on the Dispute as long as they can contend and no longer Which kind of Union is to be met with almost every Term in Westminster-Hall where one may see two Parties prosecuting one another with all imaginable vigour who yet resolve to be quiet when the Bench has made them so Not that the Party who is cast in the Suit must needs change his Opinion of his own Cause because the last Verdict was against him but that if a new Trial will not be granted he is bound to acquiesce in the Judgment of the Court because it has a Sheriff with the Posse Comitatus to put it into Execution Thus they that make the Sentence of the Pope and they that make the Sentence of a Council the Sentence of the Church are united in a Resolution to stand to the Arbitrement of the Church there being a certain sensible Obligation upon them to profess that they will acquiesce in its Determination But in the mean time they may undoubtedly quarrel amongst themselves about Questions of such mighty Importance as that we mentioned even now and this without breach of Union amongst themselves till the Sentence of the Pope or the Sentence of a Plenary Council or the Sentence of both comes to part them Which yet will be long enough first if each side of the Question be abetted with numerous and able Parties that are at present both of 'em resolved to submit absolutely to the Church lest one of them upon an unseasonable Sentence should be provoked to change its Resolution And thus as we observed before the Question about the Immaculate Conception has been left undecided so long lest by determining that a more dangerous Question should be raised by the disobliged Party But if it should so happen that the Church cannot well avoid declaring her self in such a Case this new-fashion'd Union goes forward still tho she speaks so ambiguously that each Party fancies the Sentence to be on its own side which was done often at Trent with great Application and Art Particularly in the Decrees concerning Grace and Assurance of being Justified c. Which being finished Soto and Vega differed not only as much but something more than they did at first for now they had a new Question to debate viz. on which side the Council had decreed and so they fell to writing great Books upon it against one another But for all this they were admirably agreed because they agreed in submission to the Council I proceed to shew III. That that Vnity which is indeed a Note of the Church we have and that in a much greater degree than they Which Point will I hope yield some Discourse that will be more useful than barely to discover Mistakes and expose Sophistry For here I shall represent as well as I can the true Grounds and Notions of Church-Unity and then see who has most reason to pretend to it they or we 1. There is the Vnity of submitting to one Head our Lord Jesus Christ which is the Foundation of all other Christian Unity and therefore mentioned by St. Paul amongst the principal Reasons why the Church is one Body Eph. iv 5. One Lord. 2. There is the Vnity of professing the Common Faith that was once delivered to the Saints which is grounded upon the Authority of the Scriptures and summarily expounded in the Antient Creeds And therefore to One Lord the Apostle in the forementioned place adds one Faith. 3. There is an Unity of Sacraments in the Church One Baptism by which we are all admitted into the same state of Duties and of Priviledges undertaking the Conditions of the New Covenant and gaining a Right to the Promises thereof Thus saith St. Paul 1 Cor. xii 13. By one Spirit we are all Baptized into one Body And the like Unity is inferred from the other Sacraments 1 Cor. x. 17. We being many are one Bread and one Body for we are all partakers of that one Bread. And again
we are all made to drink into one Spirit 4. There is also an Unity of Obedience to all the Institutions and Laws of Christ which is an Instance of Unity that ought by no means to be forgotten this being no less a common Duty than the Profession of the Faith the performance whereof uniteth us effectually to him as to our Head and maketh us living Members of his Body 5. There is the Unity of Christian Affection and brotherly Kindness of which our Lord spake when he said By this shall all Men know that ye are my Disciples if ye love one another Thus St. Paul 1 Cor. xii The Members should have the same care one of another c. 6. There is an Unity of Discipline and Government which is maintained chiefly by retaining for substance the same Form that was left in the Church by the Apostles by the Bishops and Pastors confederating together as much as may be for the edification of their Flocks by regarding every Regular Act of Authority in one Church as the Act of the whole and giving no occasion to breach of Christian-Communion by abusing a lawful or by claiming an undue Authority c. 7. There is likewise an Unity of Communion in the Service and Worship of God in glorifying God with one Mouth in joining in the same Religious Assemblies for Prayer and Sacraments for Acts of common Piety and Devotion according to the Rules of the Gospel I need not mention any more Instances of Christian Vnity since those that are more particular may be easily deduced from these Now to speak clearly there ought to be all these kinds and Instances of Unity in the Church but we see evidently that they are not all there I mean in every Part and Member of the Church And therefore they are not all necessary to the Being of a Church how necessary soever they may be whether to the Wellbeing of it or to the Salvation of those Persons whereof the Church consists But some of them are necessary to the Being of the Church and they are the acknowledgment of the one Lord the Profession of the one Faith and admission into the state of Christian Duties and Priviledges by one Baptism And this is all that I can find absolutely necessary to the Being of a Church inasmuch as the Apostle says That we are all baptized into one Body And therefore so far as Vnity in these things is spread and obtains in the World so far and no farther is the Body of the Church propagated because it is one by this Unity But then indeed there ought to be a farther Unity an Unity of observing all the Institutions of our Lord Jesus an Unity of Christian Charity and good Will an Unity of Government and Discipline an Unity of Communion in Religious Assemblies to which I will add also that there ought to be an Unity of Care to keep out of the Communion of Christians all dangerous Errors and unlawful Practices And when such begin to appear much more if they have taken root and are grown to a scandal to root them out again But Unity in these things does not run through the whole Church or through that Body which is one in the three former Respects and therefore it must necessarily be granted that the Church is not one Body in those later Respects tho it ought to be so But because these are proper Instances of Church-Unity tho not absolutely necessary to the Being of the Church therefore it cannot be denied that those particular Churches which keep Unity in these Respects better than others do have the Mark of Ecclesiastical Unity in a higher Degree than those others inasmuch as they have not only that Unity which is a Mark of a true Church but that also which is the Mark of a pure Church and are not only one Body in those things without which they could not be Parts of the Catholick Church but one also in those things wherein all other Parts of the Church ought to be one with them We therefore according to Truth allow the Church of Rome to be a Part of the Catholick Church because she holds that one Lord that one Faith that one Baptism which we hold without which there were no Church at all And thus far she maintains Catholick Unity But inasmuch as she hath violated the Institution of our Lord Jesus concerning the other Sacrament as in other Respects so by withholding the Cup from the People notwithstanding he said Drink ye all of this and that the Apostle said We are all made to drink into one Spirit even all that belong to the Body of Christ she has departed from Catholick Unity the Unity of Obedience Because she will not be content to be a Sister but claims to be the Mother and Mistress of all other Christian Churches and has advanced her Bishop to be Head and Monarch of the whole Church and will have Commuion with no other Christian Society but such as will be content to become her Subjects and will allow no Act of Ecclesiastical Authority to be valid but in a State of Dependence upon her she has therefore departed from the Catholick Unity of Government and Discipline Because she has brought the Sacrifice of the Mass Transubstantiation Purgatory Invocation of Saints c. into her Creed and Practices suitable to such false Doctrines into her Worship she has departed from that Purity of professing the Faith c. in which all Churches should be one And because she will have no Communion with us but upon these Terms which are impossible she has departed from the Unity of Catholick Communion Finally Because she has pursued all Christians that dare to open their Mouths against these Innovations with Anathema's c. and sacrificed the Lives of innumerable Christians to her resentments she has departed from the Unity of Catholick Charity With these things the Church of England cannot be charged nor with any such things as these not truly and justly I am sure In her Worship and Aministration of the Sacraments she transgresseth not the Institutions of the Lord in her Government she encroaches not upon the Liberty of other Churches To her Creed she hath added no Novelties To her Communion she hath annex'd no unlawful Conditions she doth not unchurch those Parts of Christendom that hold the Unity of the Faith no not that Church it self the Church of Rome which has added thereunto so many enormous Innovations She hath not embroiled the World nor wasted Countries with violence Upon such accounts as these she hath the Mark of Christian Vnity incomparably more than the other Church From such distinct notions of Vnity as I have laid down it is evident that nothing can be more idle than to seek for a Church by that Mark of Unity which the Cardinal lays down which comes to no more than this that Men be all of a mind that there be no Divisions among them c. since it is not