Pelagian businesse of the possibilitie of keeping the Law which S. Hierome long since told them was but to speak of a power which was never brought to effect For it is affirmed by the Fathers and too much experience confirmeth it that how possible soever the keeping of the Law is yet no man ever brought this possibility to an actuall keeping of the Law To what end then doth hee talk of this possibility which gives such small encouragement by being ineffectuall that his owne words may neer bee retorted against him For what encouragement doe Romists give to the keeping of the Commandements when they speake of such a possibility of keeping them by which no man yet did ever keepe them So that a man may thus only encourage himselfe by this possibility that except he do that by it which never man did before him hee shall never keepe the Commandements by it Besides S. Paul saith That the flesh so lusteth against the spirit that Christians cannot do what they would which is as much as if he had said They cannot be perfect if they would for even Paul saith of himself That the good which he would do he had not power to effect neither had he yet attained a full resurrection from the dead and yet no doubt he improved the power which he had beyond any Romist For hee saith he did reach forth a terme of straining and mighty indeavour yea hee did presse towards the marke yet notwithstanding all this he confesseth that hee had not attained he was not already perfect And now let Romists encourage their disciples by proposing a perfection of righteousnesse to which S. Paul attained not And the question lies not in this what the grace of God can do but what man can do having grace only in measure and withall a great measure and remainder of concupiscence and law of the members For though the foot of grace would go upright yet the other foot of corruption addeth a lamenesse and so the best Christian like Iacob goes halting Neither therefore is it a just reason for a son that goes halting yet with halting is able to perform some messages of his father not to performe what hee may being commanded by his father yea he may be hereby encouraged to indeavour the more to do his fathers commands because he hath a father that knowes his infirmity and his striving against it and the more he strives the more hee will reward him A learner that cannot write so well as his coppy yet is to bee encouraged to write so well and so like it as he can And surely if it were otherwise the Cavaliers reason might discourage most Schollers from the study of Philosophy because they cannot bee so good Philosophers as Aristotle And it might have discouraged the Cavalier from writing Controversies because there was no possibility for him to do it so well as Bellarmine But to give this point a more serious conclusion This state of imperfection wherein with the new man begotten by grace there is left a remnant of the old man begotten by nature doth not lessen the power of Gods grace but sets forth the wisdome of Gods dispensation God whose Spirit bloweth where and how hee listeth for many wise ends and especially for his owne glory dispenseth his grace in this manner and measure and mixture For first the corruption remaining with grace doth humble man before God and cause him to have a low conceipt of himselfe and an high estimation of Gods grace of which hee hath continuall need the sufficiency whereof alone can forgive his falls and raise him from falling and enable him to stand and walke in the pathes of holinesse in such a manner as the same grace will accept Secondly This life being appointed to the Church militant for a warfare and the warfare for a way to the Crowne this contrariety of the flesh to the spirit is not the least part of this warre and to those that fight the good fight of faith it serves for a way of advancement to the Crowne For the more combates of the flesh the more conquests of the spirit and so the greater enjoyings of the celestiall Crowne And thirdly God is mightily glorified who by a little grace even a graine of mustard-seed opposed by a strong concupiscence and that backed by a world of tentations and by those Tempters which are Principalities and Powers though through many foyles faintings and failings the little graine becomes a tree the smoking flaxe becomes a fire and judgement is brought to victory Though wee lose in some single combats yet wee are gainers in the whole warre and wee become more then Conquerours through him that loveth us And indeed this growing nature of the seed of grace and especially the victorious successe which Gods grace giveth to it is a most strong encouragement to good works even such as all objected imperfection of righteousnesse can never overthrow for though it bee so little either at first in the beginning of it or perchance after in some spirituall desertions for there are ebbs and flouds of grace yet wee are mightily encouraged to good workes because that seed is not onely a remaining but a growing seed the house of Saul growes weaker and the house of David stronger wee come still neerer to perfection though wee doe not fully attaine it wee grow from babes to young men from young men to that measure of stature which is appointed to us in Christ Jesus Lastly our state of imperfection doth serve for an incentive to spur up our desires towards the state of perfection For when wee draw up hardly and painfully towards Gods holy mountaine with a weight of flesh pressing downe and a body of sinne cleaving fast wee pant towards heaven and send up grones of the Spirit which speake in their language when shall wee come and appeare before God Wee desire to bee delivered from the body of sinne unto the glorious liberty of the sonnes of God our soules being wearied and parched and dryed up with the flames and vexations of tentations and sinnes thirst for the living God and desire to satisfie their thirst in the River of pleasures which floweth from his presence whose streames are perfect holinesse and perfect happinesse SECT III. That the doctrine of denying free will doth not abridge the doing of good and justice of punishment for evill doing THere is yet one question more which must have an answer rather for some weakenesse which it may meet then for any strength which is in it When they profess that men have not so much as free will to doe any good work at all when they are first moved and assisted to it by the good grace of God with what sense can they encourage men to do any thing which is good or with what justice can they punish them for omitting the same The Cavalier is deceived himselfe as it seems and goes about to deliver
and that with a vehemencie for hee injoynes them not barely to follow but as it were to persecute even with a swift and eager prosecution to run after the things of peace yea he adjures the Philippians by all consolation in Christ and by the fellowship of the Spirit and by the bowels of mercy that they be of one accord Finally the Sonne of God our Saviour of whom Melchisedech was a type is the King of peace as well as the King of righteousnesse and his subjects who will partake of his righteousnesse must also partake of his peace Christ hath made peace betweene God and us even peace between heaven and earth not that men being at peace above with God should have discord below among themselves but the peace which is begun in heaven must come downe and dwell among his members on earth wee must be one as he and his Father are one the peace which wee receive from God by Christ wee must impart each to other yea it must rule in our hearts being called to it in one body Accordingly as wee expect peace from God through Christ so let us heare and obey Christ commanding peace amongst our selves Have peace one with another and then let us not doubt but if the Peace of God bee among us the God of peace is also with us Deus semper in pace est Where spirituall and true peace is there ever God is SECT III. That this love and peace are catholick and universall extended to all the members of Christ and that our Church by professing this Catholick love declares her selfe to be a truly Catholick Church THe two excellent and powerfull Graces Love and Peace may not be bounded by us but by God himselfe the Author and Commander of it Him must we follow in the inlarging or straitning of it and not goe from his leading to the right hand or to the left where God commands love and peace we may not forbid them neither whom God by sanctifying hath made fit for our peace must wee accompt common or uncleane and fit for separation Now the extent and bound which God appoints for our love and peace is no lesse then all the Saints even the whole body of Christ the bond of peace is not one jot shorter then the unitie of the spirit If then God have not disdained to bestow on any man his sanctifying Spirit let not man scorne on such a one to bestow his love and peace for hee that denyeth his love and peace to that man in whom is the Spirit hee denyeth his love and peace to the spirit which is in that man Therefore if God have gone before with his saving grace and sanctifying spirit let us not doubt to follow God with our love and peace Now we know that God according to his promise to Abraham hath an holy seed out of all Nations which is the catholick and universall Church if then the Church bee catholick and universall let our love and peace bee also catholick and universall And to this end our affections must be enlarged and made capable of the whole world For hee that will love a catholick Church with a catholick love must not have a narrow love contracted and confined to the measure of one City Kingdome or Nation but extended and enlarged to the measure of all Cities Kingdomes and Nations even of the whole world If that which is to bee loved bee universall the affection which loveth must not be partiall For if the love be but to a part when it should bee to the whole this is not that catholick love which belongs to the Catholick Church and whatsoever title such men may take to themselves they are not true but counterfeit Catholicks for they have not that catholick spirit of love which is in the true catholick Church and by which the catholick Church doth love it selfe with a catholick love But such men by likelihood have a private spirit by which they love a private part and faction and are short of that universall spirit which loveth the universall Church with an universall love for there is a private spirit of love aswell as of faith and it is that kind of spirit which Saint Iames mentioneth a spirit that lusteth after envie after sects and divisions But let us never rest untill wee get that catholick spirit by which we may embrace the catholick Church with a catholick love and then we may bee assured we are not titular but true and reall Catholicks Hereby wee know that wee are of the truth saith Saint Iohn and wee shall assure our hearts before God And wee know that we have passed from death to life because we love the brethren even the brethren without exception and reservation and hee that dwelleth in this generall and unreserved love God who is love dwelleth in him and he in God And we know that we dwell in him and hee in us because he hath given us his spirit even the spirit of this catholick and universall love Let no man therefore say of another He is of such a Nation with which my Nation is at enmity or of such a Church which professeth some differences with the Church in which I live and therefore I will by no meanes have love and peace with him but remember that in every Nation hee that feareth God and worketh righteousnesse is accepted of God and therefore doe thou enquire whether this spirit of feare and holinesse be in him which those that have are accepted of God if he be accepted of God take heed hee be not rejected of thee It were a madnesse in thee for Gods sake to hate one whom God loves and for Christs sake to hate a member of Christ. Indeed if he be of a Church infected with errors thou must be wary of him that hee infect thee not with those errors but bee also wary of not hating the spirit of Christ in a member of Christ It is an Apostolicall and so an undenyable Inference If yee have put on the New-man in which is neither Greeke nor Jew Circumcision nor Uncircumcision Barbarian Scythian bond nor free but Christ is all in all Put on therefore there is a binding force in this therefore as the elect of God holy and beloved bowels of mercy kindnesse c. And above all these things put on charity which is the bond of perfectnesse and let the peace of God rule in your hearts to which ye are called in one body Let us then have love and peace with a beleeving Muscovite Grecian AEthiopian Indian if hee be of that one body wherein Christ is all in all and by the unity whereof we are called to love and peace yea from this universall peace and love may not bee excluded any remnant according to the election of grace pertaining to the body of Christ though sojourning in the tents and territories of Rome we may not
having that saving faith the Romists shew want of charity in damning those who are saved Hee was againe out of the way in bringing his owne Romists into schisme and damnation by dividing them from Protestants which have that one saving faith And now he goes further out of the way in removing the reasons that may make for unity though by unity with Protestants Romists may avoid uncharitablenesse schisme and damnation so it seemes hee is so earnest for division and dis-union that to attaine it he will hazzard both charity and salvation to his owne fellow Romists as a high price and farre above the value of that which hee would purchase though it were the richest jewell in the world Yet on hee goes upon this adventure And whereas differences amongst Romists are brought forth to make Romists more equall to differences among Protestants or to some differences betweene Protestants and Romists and likewise to make Romists thinke there may be a spirituall unity notwithstanding some differences because notwithstanding their owne differences they affirme there is an unity among themselves this the Author thinkes too peaceable and therefore strives to take it out of the way Toward this he is willing to deny that there are such differences amongst Romists and he strives to shew that they agree even in those things wherein they differ But differ they doe and strong evidences wee have for it which may hereafter be produced Neither indeede their Poeticall Heade of unity the Pope nor any one man on earth can make the whole Church to bee inwardly of one minde and soule but onely that Lord and maker of Spirits by his owne Spirit his true and onely Vicar For that one Spirit enlightning and guiding the spirits of men with one faith of one word delivered by the ministery directed and enabled by the same one spirit can onely make a true reall internall and spirituall unity And accordingly S. Paul leading us to the unity of faith thus rightly ordereth his words toward unity One Spirit one Lord one Faith And thus hee goes on and sheweth how this one spirit of one Lord which inwardly workes this unity of faith in the Lords body outwardly also concurres to the working of it by the gifts given to the ministery For this working without in the ministery and inabling them to teach one and the same doctrine of saving faith and inwardly working in the hearts and soules of Christs members these members are brought into the unity of faith and so into one body of Christ and as in this body of Christ there are different members of different measures and capacities by the different gifts of the spirit so these different capacities doe not reach or containe one measure of divine truth Christ the Foundation and Head is made knowne to all his members for by this knowledge they become his members and so have they all unity in so much divine truth as knits them to Christ But by reason of their different measures some attaining such holy truths of which others are short there must needs bee a difference in the apprehension of those truths to which some attaine and others doe not come yet in all is a settled desire and purpose to beleeve the whole truth revealed by God if it be also revealed to them that it is the truth of God And so whatsoever force was in the Champions speech That true spirituall faith beleeveth the whole Body of divine doctrine makes not against us but for us and much more for us then for them For we upon the right motive which is God speaking in his word doe beleeve plainly whatsoever we conceive and what we doe not conceive wee beleeve in purpose and intention And thus have wee perfect unity while in the fundamentalls we have an actuall unity of faith and in the lesser points an unity of purpose and will But in this true and kindly unity one Spirit not one Pope doth cause inwardly one faith And againe that one spirit giving gifts to men not to one man outwardly bringeth to the inward unity of faith And indeede that none but the spirit the true vicar of Christ can make this solid spirituall and internall unity it appeares by the confession of the very Romish craft which hath coyned the Pope to be the head of unity For that they might make and prove him to be such they have put him into the place of the holy Ghost and made him the Vicar of Christ accordingly they say that the holy Ghost speaks by him and so the speech of the holy Ghost being infallible verity is a right ground of unity A foule errour and without ground of Scripture which never since the departure of Christ from earth tyed the holy Ghost to one man so that from him the whole Church should fetch Oracles and resolutions But indeed it is a high and blasphemous imposture which puts the Pope in place of the holy Ghost And when this man speakes it pronounceth of him as the people of Herod The voice of God and not of Man And how little this differs from Montanisme I wish Romists would consider who reduced the promise of sending the Comforter Christs Vicar as Tertullian cals him to be performed in Montanus And the very same place doe the Romists apply to the Pope which was applied to Montanus but yet thus it appeares That even they that erre in the application yet hold truth in the position That the holy Ghost is the true root of union though erroneously and blasphemously they put the Pope into his roome and make the voyce of the Pope to bee the voice of the holy Ghost And surely the Pope himselfe plainely shewes that hee doubts his owne spirituall power of making unity and therefore hee flyes to the grosse and materiall instruments of unity the Sword and Faggot And so calling downe fire on those that obey him not if he have any spirit it seems it is not that spirit which Christ said was the Evangelicall spirit of the Apostles but rather of him which is called the Destroyer And indeed this device of man to make unity of faith by one man called the Pope being thus thrust into the place of the Spirit of God as it proceeded from the spirit of errour so hath it made unity in errour as the last best of Popes Gregory the Great did in a manner prophecie but it never will make unity in solide and universall Faith and Truth for the beleevers in this counterfeit head of unity have both gotten from him an unity in many errors and have beene left in many great and weighty differences whereof there is little hope of resolving them into union the sight whereof turnes our eyes from this humane and fictitious Head of unitie to the true roote and meanes of unity set forth by the Apostle And because this Author strives to put away from mens eyes the differences which arise under this false Head of union let us shew him
and expressing of other Articles so it is said by the Councell of Chalcedon that the Additions in the Creeds of Constantinople concerning the holy Ghost was onely that the Essence and God-head of the holy Ghost might thereby bee more cleared and expounded And Ruffinus speakes to the like effect A second reason of this variety might be the various measure of capacities Some measures of understanding and faith are small and it is not to bee denied but that some Articles which are now necessary to be particularly knowne and beleeved were then knowne onely and beleeved in grosse without danger of salvation And that there is now no toleration of lesse degrees in this kind for weaknesse of faith or shallownesse of capacity I thinke wise men scarce dare to affirme A third reason of this variety may be the various affection and intention of the designers of these heads For one perchance would be sure not to exclude any man from salvation that hath any true though never so little interest in it by the knowledge of never so few fundamentalls and therefore this man contracteth them Another hee feares lest by the lessening of them thereby to include the salvation of some others may bee excluded from salvation by not knowing or not beleeving those points which are lessened and therefore enlargeth them Now these reasons being given to defend this Authour and his fellowes against himselfe I will adde essayes of some certainty upon this variety A first That certainly so much must bee knowne and beleeved of God in Christ Jesus as may unite us to him and so make us partakers of his death and resurrection unto remission of sinnes and regeneration And therefore ordinarily his Incarnation Death and Resurrection are certainly to be knowne and beleeved Secondly That so many Heads and Articles as conduce to this union may be called Fundamentall because they knit and unite us to Christ the foundation Accordingly more of these points being knowne to one then to another and the more points working the union in one and the fewer in the other the more may be called Fundamentall to the one and the fewer to the other so a great house built on a rocke and by more stones knit unto the rocke then a lesser may bee said to have more fundamentalls then the lesser yet both have as true an union with the rocke each as other Thirdly it is good in teaching to enlarge the points as much as may be so to give a full measure of fundamentals for the largest measure of knowledge and capacity that no measure may want his fulnesse But in censuring to damnation it is good to contract the measure as much as truth will possibly give way to charity that the least measure of saving knowledge and faith be not damned Fourthly as the Teacher should enlarge his teaching so let not the Learner voluntarily shut or contract his learning knowing nor beleeving the grounds of Christianity but goe on as farre as his measure will give him leave untill hee have found Christ Jesus dwelling in his soule by his Spirit and by that Spirit witnessing to his soule that he is a Sonne of God even an heire annexed with Christ For then and onely then shalt thou have a comfortable certainty of the sufficiency of thy fundamentalls when thou feelest thy selfe an habitation of God by the Spirit Besides if God intend to lay in thee the foundations of a palace do not thou contract them into the foundations of a cottage CHAP. XI In opposition to the Cavaliers ninth Chapter containing a vaine Challenge of Protestants for not daring to declare their Fundamentalls divided into three Sections SECT I. Wherein are confuted his Cavills against the Apostles Creed as not containing all points Fundamentall THe title of this Chapter and the Chapter it selfe are at some discord For the title saith That the Protestants neither doe nor dare declare what are their fundamentall points of Faith and the Chapter even in the first words saith this It is usuall with many to affirme that the Apostles Creed containes all fundamentall points of Faith So it seemes that Protestants doe declare and doe not declare their fundamentall points and the Title beats them for not declaring and the Chapter beats them for declaring Thus the Protestants must bee beaten howsoever not indeed for declaring or for not declaring but because they are Protestants A right marke of faction which commonly makes an ill construction of all even of the good actions of those against whom it is factious But let us see how hee chastiseth us for our declaring These men when they are pressed grow soone ashamed of that opinion when they are told that in the Creed there is no mention made at all either of the Canon in holy Scripture or of the number or nature yea or so much as the name of Sacraments But let this Authour consider whether hee ought not to be ashamed who thus casting shame on Protestants casts it also on the Fathers For doe the Fathers in their rules of Faith make mention of the Canon of Scripture or the number or of the name of the Sacraments Let him survey them in Irenaeus Tertullian c. and hee shall see that they doe not And yet Tertullian saith of the rule of Faith Nihil ultra scire est omnia scire Againe doe you not thus cast shame on your own fellowes For do not many of your owne Doctors in their Explicites called by your selfe more fundamentall leave out the Canon of Scriptures and the number yea the nature and name of Sacraments If therefore they do say that it is a mortall sinne not to know explicitely these important points which are more fundamentall then may they bee ashamed to leave their Disciples in mortall sinne by not naming the Canon or number of the Sacraments explicitely to be beleeved And if you cleare them you shall cleare us also But withall give me leave to aske even in defence of these your fellowes Doe you thinke that no man can be saved that doth not know the number of Canonical Books if he beleeve the fundamentall points contained in those Books Or doe you thinke that one who was baptized in his infancy not knowing then the vertue and use of the Sacrament of Baptisme and dying before he come to the knowledge of the use of the Eucharist may not bee saved by beleeving in Christ and being regenerate by this faith Your owne Jesuite Becanus may stop your mouth when he saith That Faith is not so stirred up by the Sacraments that it is the effect of them and that otherwise the Sacraments would not profit children So till you answer him doe not require of us to bring in Sacraments as fundamentalls of that faith which is denied by your owne to be an effect of them But you are soone weary and I hope ashamed of this point and therefore wander to another not much more of kinne to
the point then the Chapter hath been hitherto to the Title You say there are great differences between the Protestants and you about the understanding of the Article of the descent of Christ into Hell and the other of the holy Catholick Church and the Communion of Saints c. But what doe you here talk of differences in understanding fundamentals where the present question is Whether the Protestants doe acknowledge their fundamentalls to bee contained in the Creed For if Protestants declare that their fundamentals are contained in the Creed then your Title is gone which saith That they do not nor dare not declare them And surely it will aske a greater strength and a farre bigger volume then Charity mistaken to prove that Protestants doe not rightly understand the Articles of the Creed But secondly the Authours objection is grounded not onely upon a new but upon a false supposition if his fellow Romists may bee Judges For his supposed proposition is this That all the Articles in the Creed are Fundamentall Now this is different from the first proposall of our opinion That all fundamentall Articles are in the Creed It is also denied by his owne fellowes For though all fundamentall Articles be there yet they say that some Articles that are there may not bee fundamentall or explicitely to be known upon losse of salvation as before hath been shewed out of Vasquez and Azorius Therefore to stand upon a different understanding of those Articles which are denied by your owne men to bee Explicites or doubted is besides the matter But thirdly Do we differ from you in understanding those points What is that to the point undertaken in the end of the last Chapter and promised to be shewed in this That wee differ among our selves in the number of Fundamentalls You are now gone â—â—om our ridiculousnesse by differing in the number of fundamentalls and are come to a ridiculousnesse of your owne by your differing from us in the false understanding of some Articles of the Creed which all your owne Prophets doe not account Fundamentals But you add It is to little purpose to know or confesse that the Creede containes all Fundamentals unlesse there were some certaine way to understand them right This is againe a ranging from shewing our differences among our selves or that wee have not these Fundamentals Yet I answer Wee have a certaine and the best way of understanding them right wee have a learned Ministery endued with gifts from on high which teacheth and preacheth these Fundamentals and the right meaning of them And the right meaning thus taught the Spirit in the hearers doth so discover and certifie the truth of them that the hearers see the Articles to bee Gods truth and not mans And accordingly their faith thus beleeving them resteth on God as the sole Foundation of their faith and this teaching of the Catholick Church wee use commend and allow But that The single Article of the holy Catholick Church should containe the reason of all our faith fundamentally seemes to mee an high kinde of Blasphemie And this blasphemous doctrine as wee have before shewed is the very spirit of Popery or Antichrist which sets up the Pope in Gods place and makes his beleevers truely Papists or Antichristians And this great offence and mysterie of iniquitie carryeth Papists by throngs into the Land of darknesse and into this secret of theirs the soules of the saved may not enter True it is that God useth the service of the Ministers or if you will of the Church in publishing the Articles of faith but no other Foundation of supernaturall faith there is but God himselfe though speaking by man unto man the Fundamentality of our faith passeth through man that is the instrument and resteth wholly upon God But saith hee If wee understand it otherwise the Scripture it selfe speakes of particular errours which are damnable in them by whom they are imbraced and yet they are not at all against any expresse Doctrine of the Creed As namely where Saint Paul calls it a Doctrine of Divels to forbid marriage and meates c. I answer first That the Authour hereby proves that which wee deny not and disproves not that which hee saith wee affirme For the point is not Whether there bee any damnable errours besides those that are against some expresse doctrine of the Creede But Whether there bee in the Creede those fundamentall points which being truely beleeved will cause unity with Christ the Head and unity with his Body the Church Other errours against other Truths in Scripture not fundamentall wee acknowledge there are many and proceeding from the Divell the Father of Lyes and in themselves damnable to such as hold not the true Foundation Christ Jesus by beleeving Fundamentals And it is to bee feared that such are many of those true Papists whose foundation is the Pope But otherwise they may bee rather damnable in themselves then actually damning to those who by infirmities hold them and by beleeving fundamentals are in Christ Jesus to whom there is no condemnation Secondly not onely Fathers in their Rules of faith but the Romists themselves doe not place the lawfulnesse of meates and marriage among their chiefe Heads of Christianitie or Explicites and Fundamentals and therefore this Authour doth ill require of us that which hee cannot obtaine of his fellowes Wherefore let him first make this objection against them and when hee hath their Answer then let him take it for us But being unhappily as well as impertinently fallen into the mention of these damnable errours hee saw that as soone as they were brought in they looked at least asquint on the Church of Rome and claymed kindred of her And therefore hee thought that there was need of an Apologie to put off this kindred and acquaintance Which by the way is not to bee understood of the chastity and fasts of the Catholick Church as Protestants doe most perversely affirme which knowes that those things are lawfull but that yet it is most gratefull to God when his servants for his love deprive themselves of those delâ—ghts But of the Heresies of the Manichâ—es as Saint Augustine doth expressely declare who forbad both marriage and meates as being abominable and impure through the institution thereof which they said was derived from a certaine second ill conditioned god of their owne making But this nor all the water in the Sea will wash away all the kindred betweene Romists and these errours For though Saint Augustine may apply this Prophecie to the Manichees yet may hee not also apply them to the Montanists Tertullian himselfe acknowledging that they have beene taxed out of this very place And if to the Montanists why not to those Romists who with Durandus maintaine a curse and so an impurity of flesh and cleannesse of fish who also forbid marriage to Priests which this place plainly condemneth And whereas this Authour talkes of voluntary deprivation it is certaine that
of the dead bee rich there is a shorter way to free them out of Purgatory then to pray to the worlds end Besides the Treasure of the Church growing by the growth of Papall charity which delivers soules out of Purgatory it is a wonder how that Papall charity doth not inlarge it selfe and the Churches Treasure to the utmost in a whole deliverance of Soules out of Purgatory and so leave no worke for the tedious charity of praying for them to the worlds end But it seems that either there is a want of charitie in the Pope who may deliver soules and will not especially seeing for money they may bee delivered or if hee doe deliver them it is rather vanity then charity that prayeth for soules to the worlds end which before the worlds end are delivered Our Author comes next to Monasteries and religious Houses as proofes of Romish charity where hee tels us That being consecrated by the vows of Poverty Chastity and Obedience their Church with excessive charitie provides means for them that they may bee enabled to live and wholly to attend that sacred function for the assistance of mankind in the way of Spirit without scattering and dispersing their thoughts and cares upon providing for the necessaries of this life Surely if the Author can prove it to be charity which hath made this provision all the world without more proof may beleeve it to bee excessive For so excessive hath it beene in provision that it hath fret deeply into Church and Common-wealth having eaten up a great part of the maintenance of the Clergie in Appropriations and a great part of Lay possessions in Bequeathes and Donations yea this excessive charity hath provided such meanes for these thus consecrated by the vowes of poverty obedience and chastitie that the excessive provision hath exceedingly devoured the consecrating poverty obedience and chastity for the spirit of error works in these members of the Papacy as it doth in the Head bringing contraries out of contraries from the prosession of poverty infinite riches of chastity most foul uncleannes and of obedience high disobedience to the Lord of the Universe yea rebellion against his Deputies and annointed Ones the Kings of the earth And whereas the Champion thinks that this provision of excesse should look like the fruit of charity because it enableth Monks to live without distraction if he meane labour by distraction let him know that herein his wisdome differs much from the wisdome of the ancient Fathers S. Basil both urgeth the labour of Monkes by the example of Christ and his Apostles yea hee particularly names the Trades and Professions which hee would have them to use And Saint Hierome is very earnest in it and saith that the Egyptian Monasteries admit none without labour St. Augustine he hath a Worke of the worke of Monks and tels the meaner sort of them That by no meanes it is comely that in that course of life wherein Senators are laborious labourers should bee idle And hee confutes this idle conceit which then was on foote That Monks must bee idle because they must live like the Lillies and neither work nor spin And in poorer Houses the works of the Monks was taught and required untill late times even so late as the Abbot Tritheimius who lived about an hundred and fifty yeers past This Abbot in an Homily of the handy-labour of Monks presseth it earnestly by the blessednesse in the Psalme pronounced on them that eat the labours of their hands by the first penalty of labour laid on Adam by Saint Paul's rule That hee who would not labour should not eat yea hee cites their own Father Benedict who saith in his Rule Idlenesse is an enemy to the soule and therefore at certaine times the Monks must bee busied in the labours of their hands Hee acknowledgeth honestly that which was formerly spoken out of Saint Hierome That in the first setting up of the Monasticall estate it was a custome not to admit any Monks into that fellowship without labour And he confesseth as plainely how idlenesse came in After that the Monks began to have riches and rents the ancient simplicity decayed and pride grew so upon the growth of riches that at last Monks generally refused to labour with their hands Yet hee ceaseth not to exhort his owne Monks to that labour which was now growne so much out of use and from which as this Abbot tels us excessive provision had distracted other Monks though it be here by the Cavalier mistaken for a proofe of charity And whereas he calls it a sacred function surely idlenesse is no function yea I doubt not but I might truly say that it was never any function even when it was at best But men of divers functions met together to live as they thought so neer as they might according to the patterne of the primitive Christians And as a Citizen that lives under the rules and government of a City cannot call his citizen-ship a function no more may the Monk call his Monkery a function for living under the rules of a Monastery But as it stands at this day we have too many proofes that if it were a sacred function at the first it is generally now neither function nor sacred Erasmus in his Antidote upon that Epistle of Hierome to Rusticus formerly alledged saith Let it offend no man that in this Epistle nor in any of the former Saint Hierome commandeth none of those things which in these dayes are required of Monks Of those three vowes which they call solemne there is not one word But wee must remember that which is cleerly manifest by this mans Writings that in Hieromes time there was not that kind of Monks which we see in our age And Cassander thus agreeth with him It is manifest enough how much Monkery is now degenerated from the first originall how defiled and deformed with abuses true and solid religion being changed into an empty shew of religion and riches increasing piety hath decreased Thus wee see what is become of the sacred function and what a work of charitie it hath beene to give those riches to it which have been the means to diminish the piety of it And indeed such fearfull abominations have beene discovered in monasteries since idlenesse met in them with excessive provision that scarce any roaring Society can match this sacred function So farre is it from assisting mankinde in the way of Spirit that it hath given to mankind most loathsome and scandalous examples in the way of the flesh For how many Stories are stuffed with their adulteries murders of children unnaturall pollutions yea in our owne Chronicle the eyes of the Reader are almost defiled with the names of Monks found guilty of that sinne of fire and brimstone And indeed take a man with strength of body and by the provision of excessive charity joyned with idlenesse and fulnesse you make
him a right Citizen of Sodom And now call him a Monk if you will hee shall bee but a Monk of the Order of Sodome his function farre from sacred farre from the Spirit but even a hellish trade of fleshly abominations And so I think we have drawn up these conclusions First That it should not bee true Christian charity which by excessivenesse gives that provision which makes such a childe of hell Secondly It may bee no charity because it may bee an erroneous opinion of merit and satisfaction And it is too well knowne that the supposed expiation of crying sins hath laid the foundation of too many Monasteries Thirdly This Provision may be a fruit not of Romish Charity but of Romish Policy for Rome may cherish this provision and enriching of Monasteries that they may serve as so many Garrisons for Rome against Princes for by them they may diminish Kingdoms and as much as they take from these so much they adde to the Kingdome of Rome The Champion passeth on and having wrought a glittering curtaine bespangled with the seeming good works of Visiting the condemned Redeeming captives Instructing the ignorant hee spreads this curtaine before the eyes of his Readers at once to dazle them with this glorious shew and to cover from them the horrid spectacle of Romes bloudy uncharitablenesse That there are no good works in the limits of Rome I will no more say then I will say there are no knees there â—hat doe not bow to Baal And these as I said before serve well the turne of the Beast to make his hornes shew like those of the Lambe as they doe at this time serve our Author to make a shew that Rome is charitable But take out of his Inventory those works that are done for satisfaction to pay God the debt of sins and so to make them Saviours or for merit and supererogation to bring God in debt unto man I doubt not the remaining works like Gideons Army will abate from thousands to hundreds And indeed the greater multitude there is of erroneous works the more Arguments not of Romish charity but of Romish error and superstition But when among these works of Romish charity I see the Instructing of the ignorant I wonder at the Cavaliers blinde partiality that could not see this which hee brings forth as a proofe of Romish charity to bee an high proofe and accusation of Romish uncharitablenesse and this uncharitablenesse is the greater for his owne reason because soules are more precious then bodies So that the great deluge of this transcendent uncharitablenesse to soules seemes to drowne all the former wâ—rks of charity to the body And indeed what instruction can a Latin Pater noâ—ter a Latin Creed a Latin Ave Maria a Latin Masse give to an ignorant soule It hath been to mee a spectacle of compassion when beyond the Seas in some principall City I have met with a poore Popish soule that spake some of these her devotions in that which was thought to be Latin but could not bee understood to bee Latin by those who knew that language much lesse by the party that knew it not what instruction can these words give to the ignorant which the ignorant know not This is not to take away ignorance but to add new ignorance to the old And surely they need not to send men to compasse sea and land to convert Infidels abroad untill they have converted their ignorant unbeleevers at home for if they make no better Christians abroad then they leave thousands at home it is but to pollute that glorious Name wherewith wee are called and to put the name of Christians on those that know not Christ. Now that Rome is this cruell Stepmother whose children thus lye swowning dying in the streets for hunger though our eies have seen it let Romish words speak it Let us hear their great Jesuit Navarre setting forth the ignorance of the Romish Church as her shame whereas the Cavalier sets forth the Instruction of the ignorant as her glory Hee sins mortally saith he who being come to the judgement of reason neglects explicitely and particularly to know the second Person of the Trinity that is That the Sonne of God the Father was made man was born and dyed c. And he that is ignorant of other Articles of the Creed at least those which the Church doth solemnize by Festivall dayes c. Wherefore we desire all Curates Godfathers Parents Confessors especially of the common people and all Preachers of Gods Word that they will not cease to inculcate this particular and explicite faith of these Articles and of those other which are contained in the Apostles Creed which the holy Church of Rome doth use For in the whole Church of Christ there is so great negligence about these that every where you shall finde many that beleeve no more explicitely and in particular of these then an heathen Philosopher endued onely with the naturall knowledge of one true God And now if the Reader withdraw this painted and deceitfull curtaine that seemes to represent a Heaven sprinkled with the Starres of seeming good works and looke into the Hell of Romish uncharitablenesse whereof a small but true modell was represented in the former Chapter Or if he see it not there he will look into the Inquisition House and there behold it set forth to life or rather to death in severall torments I doubt not but this pleasant image will soon be frighted out of his Imagination by the terrible shape of Rome appearing all bloudy and drunken with the bloud of the saints And so the improbability of Romish uncharitablenesse to Protestants will vanish away like a fantasie and a Poeticall fable And indeed if the Pharisee notwithstanding his tyth-paying and fasting went away condemned because proudly and uncharitably hee despised and damned the Publicane though hee did neither imprison noâ— burne him how shall Rome escape this condemnation which both despiseth and damneth and imprisoneth and tortureth and burneth Protestants whom shee accounteth worse then Publicans and Heathens And thus though the Cavaliers words may bee true that At the first sight it is wholly improbable that Rome is uncharitable yet at the second sight it is more then probale because it is proved This Chapter is almost ended but before the end of it the Champion shoots an arrow like a Parthian flying even then to hurt us when hee seemes to looke from hurting us Hee would seeme to spare Protestants in not recriminating yet in naming this not recriminating hee did not spare us but indeed hee did spare himselfe most in not urging it more for wee have such proofs of Protestant charity as may shame his Recrimination For they are ready to bee brought forth against a Recriminator and may binde his Recrimination as a crown to the head of the Protestants And when a catalogue of them is brought forth wee may boldly say and that not without Recrimination to Romists that