marke of the beast deliuered by Antichrist For y t was not the way to make a friend of vnrighteous Mammon but so to forsake y e blessings of this life that thereby he forsooke also y e blessings of the life to come except the serpent obteine mercie cast his skin Neuerthelesse this vngodly losse is alledged as a great gaine to his euill cause 2 The second third article are one in effect for the secōd in substāce doth only out of order make mentiō of the place where he is to exercise his charge before the charge be expressed To folow him his order in this article he mentioneth his returne into England as for great good but passeth by his departure thence with silence as carying a plaine note of much euil He taketh his voyage from Prage to Rome and thence into England being commanded by a warrant from heauen and an oracle of Christ Great wordes emporting a great ambassage But least any should take it that hee receiued his warrant in a dreame or hearde a voyce in deede out of heauen he expoundeth him self yet with wordes doubtfull as oracles among the Gentiles were wont to speake For whether hee vnderstande the generall Prouost of the Iesuites onely or whether hee vnderstande the Pope him selfe it is somewhat doubtfull If he meant not the generall Prouost of the Iesuites which I rather thinke then hee auoyded the name of Pope as iustly odious euery where for his abominable superstitions pride and tyrannie ouer mens liues and consciences but in England most of all for that he hath againe and againe throwen out his thunderbolts of curse both against the Prince and agaynst the people Wherin by the way let vs looke to the effect of those curses Did not y e Lord turne them into blessings Did it not appeare euen to the Papists howe vnderserued the curses were and howe litle the blasphemously supposed omnipotencie of the Pope can doe Was not Salomons Prouerbe iustified in those Bulles As a byrde wandreth and a swallowe flyeth away so doeth a curse that is vnderserued But to returne to y e doubtful speach whether he meant the Pope or the Iesuites master what blasphemie is it to attribute y e authoritie of a warrant from heauen and the voyce of Christ to a man whose breath is in his nostrelles and whose sinnes reach vp to heauen calling for vengeance Doe we now perswade and preach men or rather as the Apostle saith Ought not euen the Apostles themselues to preach Christ Iesus y e Lorde and them selues seruantes Saint Paul woulde not preach otherwise then the Gospel no not at the voyce of an Angell from heauen and these come to preach Antichristianitie at the voyce of the man of sinne Therefore how are all men especially they whom the Lorde hath exalted to his place of iustice howe are they to take diligent heede of these men and of the matter they bring much more dangerous thē the former buls If the Popes worde be to them a warrant from heauen and an oracle of Christ then at his word they must inuade kingdomes throwe downe estates change gouernementes roote out the Gospell and plant ignorance with all other their beggerly and wicked superstitions that accōpanie the Popish doctrine It foloweth that the Pope is alwayes resiant at Rome but y e Iesuite must remember that hee may remooue his chaire to Sibyllas denne or any other place by the doctrine of the Iesuites As for his readie mynde to haue gone ioyously into anie the power of God 8 That the righteous mā liueth by saith he hath it not in Christ but by his owne workes Cens Col. 118. A contrary place in Paul Rom. 11. 6. If righteousnesse bee of workes it is no more grace 9 Men doe surely hope that euerlasting life shalbe giuen them but they do not beleeue it now hope often faileth otherwise it were no hope Cens Col. 108. A contrary place Heb. 6. 19. Hope is y e sure anchor of y e soule Rō 5. 5. Hope maketh not ashamed 10 The Scripture in deede neuer teacheth the inuocation of Saints yet we must beleeue receiue hold it Fol. 230. Contrary to this is the place Esai 63. 16. Thou art our Father and Abraham knewe vs not and Israel was ignorant of vs. 11 Christ neuer said to the lay men Do this in the remēbrance of mee Fol. 302. S. Paul doth plainely confute this 1. Cor. 11. 12 Traditiōs are of equal authoritie with the worde of God we must beleeue them thogh they be manifestly against the scripture Fo. 230. Cōtrary to this saith Christ In vaine do mē worship me teaching doctrines that are but the traditions of men Mat. 15. 9. 13 We must worship the image of Christ with like honour that wee doe the holy bookes of the Gospel Fol. 66. Against this saith S. Paul 2. Cor. 6. 15. What agreement is there betweene the Church of God and Idoles These and many other blasphemies doe the Iesuites maintaine There is not a spider nor a spiders web in any corner of the Popes brest but these Doctors will hold it no lesse holy then that which commeth out of Christes brest But doe not euen the Papists that know these things easely see how the Iesuites in these doctrines bewray the spirit of Antichrist that went out into all the world to deceiue and destroy Surely none can see except the holye Ghost open their heart none can depart out of Sodom except the Lorde doe drawe them Although I haue bene long in this matter yet for a further discouery and for plaine warrant that the sect of Iesuites is most wretched at the ende of my answere I haue added a trāslation of a booke wherein y e sect is notably discouered by a testimonie out of their own heart Nowe to returne to Campions wordes He hath bene a Iesuite these viii yeeres A long time to see so many enormities in al y e space not to returne from them to the Go-spel with a short pardon which cannot be rooted out but by much preaching Their confutation of errors is in deede a confutation of the trueth and a confirmation of lies as appeareth nowe more then the lyght of the Sunne at noone For as the Apostle speaketh of them They shall preuayle no longer their madnesse is made euident to all men as the inchantment of Iannes and Iambres As these withstoode Moses so the Iesuites resist Iesus Christ the lyght of the Gospel men full of ambition in their corrupt mindes and enemies to the Crosse of Christ That he thinketh his poore countreymen abused with proude ignorance I maruell what hee meaneth to blame ignorance in any For we that professe the Gospell lament and crye out against ignorance our aduersaries they alwayes haue made much of it as the mother of deuotion yea euen the most famous order of the Franciscan Fryers that extol Francis
he keepeth his person secret that he may vnderhand safely sowe matter of heresie sedition but by letters he maketh his purpose knowen with cunning speaches Why he keepeth himselfe secret so long as he may one reason is to auoide that hee would seeme to make none accompt of namely a iust punishment of his contempts against y e law Another reason is as I sayd to make way for the Pope priuately because he dareth not effect his message opēly That he deliuereth his minde in writing not as a priuate letter in one copie but as a publique matter in many copies all abroade it is to entertaine sliding mindes with vaine hope to cast some disgrace vpon the causes of religion all by a promise of that which all the Iesuites in the worlde can not performe though this Chāpion alone doth vndertake it Such vndertakers are like ynough to ouertake some simple ones not yet cleansed from the dregges of Properie otherwise it will be hard to preuayle with men of vnderstanding who euer suspect them of bankrupting that aske so much credit of their owne word w tout any sureties Thus it appeareth that this Iesuites promises crauing credite to be beleeued in so great things is but to withdrawe many of her Maiesties subiectes from the loue of the Gospel whereby they are taught to their owne saluation and consequently from regard of them selues from obedience to her Maiesties most noble and godly proceedings Yet as if he did not minde this matter he doth insinuate his own danger for weldoing as if it were like that notwithstanding his close dealing as much to keepe himselfe as he may this busie world might finde him out sooner or later and interrupt a busie felow this watchful world would finde him out for all his watchfulnes But I would this suspicious worlde would more suspect them that come to vs in sheeps clothing being inwardly rauening wolues It is to small purpose that he layeth downe the confession of the matter without presentment of the man For if the mā were founde there is matter ynough against him without his confession Yet he would be accounted a good dealer and to saue his examiners from some labour when he shall haply be founde and brought to examination Neuerthelesse if in these letters al be not plainely confessed that may iustly be implyed then he hath not eased his examiners from the practise of their wit in finding out more daungerous practises concealed then are those which are here expressed to cloke the rest It followeth to speake of his articles layd downe directly truly resolutely to opē his purpose 1 In the first hee confesseth his calling That albeit vnworthy hee is a priest of the Romish church which he doth falsly honour with the name of the Catholique Church Such as y e Church is such is his priesthood also the Church Antichristian the priests thereof ministers of Antichrist taking vpon them against the manifest worde of God to offer vp a sacrifice for the quicke dead An intolerable blasphemie against the all sufficient sacrifice of the Lord Iesus offring him selfe once for all for euer But to iudge an euill seruant by his owne mouth hee that is vnworthy of so foule a priesthood what shal he be worthy of Not by the great mercie but by the iust iudgement of God worthy of that that is worse worthy of a place among the newe and detestable Iesuites In this place because these scorpiōs y e Iesuites are vnknowē amōg vs in England I haue occasiō to speake of thē y t y e godly may take heed of their leauen that their louers may iustly be ashamed of such loue The Iesuites are a kinde of Regulars professing obediēce to y e Pope their General at whose sēding they must forsooth of free cost preach wheresoeuer they be sent They had an obscure cōceptiō about fiue forty yeres past not long after y e restoring of the Gospel one Layolas a Spaniard being the father of thē But they had not their ful creation cōmission till within these thirtie yeres by Pope Paulus quartus Before that time al Friers professed the rule of some one Frier as the Frāciscans the rule of Francis the Dominicans y e rule of Dominic or some one such like Patrō Afterward when euill colors bewrayed thē selues at a good light the preaching of y e Gospel brought popish orders into open iudgement then many papists were ashamed y t there was not an order after an honest name whereupō some boldly aduētured to borow y e holy name of Iesus called thēselues the societie of Iesus or Iesuites Nowe it was not so vile a thing before to name thēselues by some base beggerly frier but it was afterwarde more hautie pride whē they presumed to abuse y e name proper to Iesus at which name all the knees of all things in heauē earth must bow down thēselues This mighty glorious name these Iesuites bring in to giue credite to their weake shamefull order reckening y e Lord Iesus himself amōg Friers withal making him but a Patrone of the yongest cōpany of Friers so to stand behind Francis Dominick These new Iesuites must be called y e societie of Iesus as if they alone were in the societie of Iesus all other vtterly excluded whereas rather these Iesuites are excluded for their heresies they onely included in the felowship and body of Iesus Christ which folow his doctrine and haue y e anointing of his Spirite contenting them selues with the name of Christians made to them expresly lawfull and honorable by the word of God Wherefore these that corruptly haue called themselues Iesuites may be called Iebusites without offence to the Lord Iesus most aptly in respect of their dealings As their name so chalenged to themselues is absurd seruing them only to make a shew of holinesse and to deceiue the poore people so their practises are yet more detestable For they gather learning onely as the spider gathereth poyson that they may infect the heart stomake of their disciples And as good Physicians prepare a countrepoyson to saue life so these in a contrarie course prouide not a countre venim but venim it selfe against the wholsome meate euen against the worde of God the foode of our soules whereby they are nourished preserued into life euerlasting These Monkish Friers or Frierly Monkes O heauy iudgement of God these Iebusites I say from whose contagiō we haue bene free euer hitherto they haue lately aduētured into England as skoutes to the Irish rebels and prepare to establish againe popish superstitions But let vs yet further examine these Iesuites that plague all nations where they come as the Frogges and Caterpillers of Egypt did Our bastard Papists in Englād that are neither true to vs nor faithfull to their owne side woulde seeme ashamed of many grosse points in Poperie saying they
their Father and their order aboue the heauen of heauens they haue a rule that the vnlettered among them shoulde not care to learne letters But the Iesuites they professe and teache knowledge Let vs see what knowledge and for what cause It is the very same knowledge which y e serpent performed who promised the knowledge of euill to take away the knowledge of good who promised life and brought in death Therein also the cause appeareth for this master promiseth to roote out proude ignorance minding in deede to roote out the fyncere knowledge of the Gospell which is the power of God to saluation Here the Iesuite most wickedly calleth the knowledge of the Gospel ignorance and the stedfast confession of our faith hope that wauereth not he termeth pride But Poperie which this rooter out of the Gospell woulde plant in place thereof is in deede proude ignorance and a treading vnder foote of y e blood of Christ For it proudly refuseth to heare and reioyceth to bee without vnderstanding Therefore Poperie is that proud ignorance that must not reenter and the disease therof remaining in many is that which must be more more rooted out For though it promise all good things what one good thing can that religiō bring which ioyneth the merittes of man with the merittes of Christ which matcheth or ouermatcheth the worde of God with traditions the commandement of God with the countermaund of the Pope the Temple of God with Idoles Which doctrines and many other are the doctrines of men as contrary to y e holy worde of God as is darknes to light infidelitie to faith in Christ Iesus What I say can the Iesuites religion bring but some vnblessed blessings of a mā which draw after them the euerlasting curses of God The sunne of righteousnes that shineth into our hearts being thus taken awaye this Iesuite would bring vs to some knowledge of the woman that is arayed with purple scarlet ouerlaid w t gold precious stones and pearle Which woman is set out vnto the carnall eye sense by such allurements to recouer y e kings of y e earth her old louers that she may make thē drunken againe with her cup of fornications Therefore in the bowels of Iesus I beseech all my deare countrey men not to be deceiued by this Iesuite who bringeth into Englād a worship cleane contrary to the worship of God For Gods worship is in Spirit and trueth and poperie is in gold and siluer pearle and crucifixes and Agnus deis all for the eye and to snare the heart of a carnall man bewitching it with so great glistering of the painted harlot It is also in all kynde of musike to fyll the eare with delight and in all excellent perfumes to please the smell These and all the rest are carnall intisements to quenche the Spirite bewraying that Poperie worketh in vs not a feeling or iudgement of Gods seruice in Spirite but of fleshly pleasures to cary vs away to the fornications of that strumpet of all the worlde Nowe as Popery is not a worship of God in Spirit so is it not ioyned with any worship of God in trueth but in y e canons decrees of men who to rayse vp their owne kingdome goe about to throw down both the kingdome of men and which is their chiefest practise the kingdome of Iesus Christ Therefore it was too broade to charge the Gospel nowe preached as an abusing of his poore countreymen whereas he himselfe seeth wherewith they are many of them abused from Rome and by these close messengers from thence namely with most foolish and beggerly trashe as Bulles pardons holie graines copper pieces of Agnus dei with such other childish inuentions wherein if a strong spirit of error did not reigne in some I maruell that the beggerlinesse and follie of their religion is not more espied and had in a perpetuall detestation 4 The fourth article doeth shew as much trueth in his words as is in his religiō For in wordes hee doeth openly deny that which is most apparant in his doinges and most necessary for his cause He neuer had mind and was streightly forbidden by his father that sent him to deale in any respect with any matters of state c. Here he doeth earnestly affirme that which must not be beleeued here he doeth perswadingly craue that which must not at al be giuē him He would be thought no enemie of the state no dealer with the common wealth or policie rendreth a reason if you wil beleue him It apperteineth not to his vocation and from it he doeth gladly estrange and sequester his thoughtes But all these wordes are as if a man woulde manifestly wounde his neighbour to the heart and yet in the deede doing cry out saying I doe not so much as thinke him any harme For he that smiteth our religion woundeth our common wealth because our blessed estate of policie standeth in defence of religion and our most blessed religion laboureth in the mayntenance of the common wealth Religion and policie in Englande are through Gods singular blessings preserued together in life as with one spirite hee that doeth take awaye the life of the one doeth procure the death of the other Neyther can any Iesuite from Prage or Rome come ouer to confute and alter religion but hee must attempt the change of the state to the lamentable destruction of the lande Hee can not agayne bring in the Pope but he must take awaye from her royall Maiestie her iust supreme soueraintie and depriue her at one clappe of the authoritie shee hath ouer all persons and ordinances She must haue nothing to doe with the bodie or goods of the Clergie as they speake shee must seeke a reconciliation from the Popes curse her chiefe lawes must bee no lawes the present gouernement that I may not saye the present gouerner must bee changed a newe established and made subiect to the checke of the Priest of Rome Notwithstanding this man that woulde ouerthrowe all woulde make vs beleeue his purpose is to touche nothing Because he caryeth no sworde he woulde hee thought to cary no weapon But is not one trumpet worse then many swordes What manifest dissimulation is then in the champions wordes what playne contrarietie But it is no new thing for his whole pamphlet is full of such monsterous contrarietie while hee deliuereth humilitie in shewe but pryde in deede agayne while he vttereth the words of swelling pryde hauing no matter but vile and base But Antichrist and his ministers must needes learne of their father his chiefest lesson which is to lye that the saying of Christ may appeare Satan is a lyer and the father of lyes As for his reason that thinges of policie appertayne not to his vocation although it bee true in deede yet it is so sayde onely to couer his purpose which is to the contrary For appertayneth it to Saunders in Irelande by
the same oracle and doeth it not appertayne to Campion in England Surely it doeth apperteyne asmuch but the open attempt is not so safe Therefore it commeth here to bee considered that the oracle hath a double heart and a double tongue set at large to denye or breake euen an othe made to one not of his sect and euermore to say and vnsaye to promise and breake promise as may make most for his deuilish practises 5. Now foloweth y e execution of his message wherein he asketh with shewe of great humilitie the thing that bewrayeth his singular pride For he aloue professeth with a chalenge in all knowledge touching his causes to encounter with all sortes of learning and learned men and against them notwithstanding their strength and the strength of their cause to prooue the most weake and languishing title of Popish religion And before whom Not before some fewe in a corner but in the light presence of this renowmed estate so enriched with singular giftes of learning experience and iudgement namely in the presence of her honorable Counsell before the Doctours Masters and choyse men of both the Vniuersities and thirdly before the lawyers spirituall as he speaketh and temporall But let vs further examine what hee vttereth In this place the Iesuite a man professing so great knowledge knoweth not himselfe he remembreth not in this article what he solemnly protested in the former For there he affirmed that he minded not that he might not in any respect deale with matters of state but now as hauing his will altered and a secrete dispensatiō against the charge of his fathers he wil discourse of religiō so far as it toucheth the cōmō wealth their nobilities But out of the abundāce of the heart doth the mouth speaketh the pen writeth It foloweth wherof he maketh most account to try the matter out with the doctors masters of ech vniuersity What he bringeth from a newe forge I may more easely gesse then determine But if it be no more then his masters of these all other vniuersities haue brought already into their bookes disputations it is nothing y t long agoe hath not bene confuted It may be not hauing better reasons he presumeth of him selfe that he hath fayrer colours then they had and a stronger spirite of illusion to deceiue and cary away y e preiudicate inconstant hearer against reason The manifolde waies he promiseth to cōuince by are profes inuincible scriptures c. If he can prooue his cause by inuincible scriptures it is sufficient there neede no further proofes But if he alledge y e scriptures for his cause as satan did as heretikes doe vsing some of the words leauing the fulnes of the sentence or peruerting y e words to another sense then the holy Ghost deliuereth then shall he preuaile as Satan did and his reward shalbe among the false prophetes As for Councils Fathers and stories they are rather witnesse one to another of some contrarietie and all witnesses of y e time howe corruptions crept into the Church then authentical iudges in causes of religion Neuerthelesse we haue if we woulde vse thē in their true allegation matter sufficient to confute y t which the Iesuite hopeth to confirme by false allegation Touching places in the fathers to the contrary some of thē are alredy condemned of bastardie being places manifestly forged other not gyltie of forgery howe great so euer the authors of thē were yet it is euident they were but men that the word of God alone hath credit of for it selfe that y e word of God alone is y e touchstone fining pot y t sheweth y e least corruption the least cōmixture of corruption much more the palpable errors of y e new Iesuites Moreouer for the latter Councils because y e Pope reigned ouer thē he being now arraigned is no lawfull witnesse in his owne case And because these Councils make warre against the authoritie of Gods word y e Spirit of y e Lordes mouth which is his word shal proceed more and more to consume them Afterwarde the Iesuite not so carefull to performe as to moue great expectation by promise draweth mē to looke for profes of his religiō where profes are no more to be founde then a sure foundatiō vpon the sande or a place of light in the kingdome of darkenes So impossible are the things that now he vndertaketh For among other proofes he vndertaketh to auow y e faith of the Catholike Church by naturall and morall reason which are two great enemies of true religion two great nourses of Atheisme and heresie The Apostle teacheth this that the naturall man can not discerne the thinges of God they seeme foolishnes to him Dauid finding the rebellion and ignorance of a naturall heart craued a cleane heart to bee created within him and a newe spirit newe not onely in affections but in vnderstanding that hee myght learne the iudgementes of God For want of this heart Salomon was a stranger from God a long time notwithstanding he had a natural and morall wisdome aboue any that euer reigned in Ierusalem Peter coulde not receiue the reuelation of fayth from flesh and blood but this Iesuite can deliuer it from thence Therefore the religion which Iesuites woulde plant againe in England is not according to y e holy Scriptures giuē by inspiration of God but according to the carnall sense of vntaught men which must haue gods to goe before them that is they must haue a religion allowing gods images worshippings in y e feeling and wisdome of a naturall man that can not looke with the eyes of fayth vp into heauen nor with spirituall iudgement into y e great mysterie of godlinesse conteined in the holy scriptures Last of all this chalenger as one brought vp in y e Innes of court at Padua in the middest of spiritual lawyers vndertaketh to iustifie his said faith by commō wisdome of law standing yet in force practised Wherein againe he promiseth to paye out that which he neuer receiued in But if he hath borowed somewhat out of the lawes to saue his credit let vs examine howe farre it may go for paiment Among other lawes he relieth most vpon the Canon lawe and some such fragments thereof as yet he thinketh to stand in some force To speake therfore of the Canon law many matters therein are so grosse that euen many Papistes which otherwise haue a harlots forehead cā not read them without blushing Neuerthelesse out of a sea of such absurdities there is a booke extant y t hath gathered many notable places to proue aboue thirtie poyntes of our religion This was the iust iudgement of God against the Popes that they setting downe wicked canons shoulde not remember to take away y e good Nowe for so much of that law as is in practise if it be not pure let