wont to have more respect than so If His Majestie did say it there is Truth in the speech The error is yours only by mistaking what is meant by Loosing the Holy Ghost For a Particular Church may be said to loose the Holy Ghost two wayes or in two Degrees 1. The one when it looses such speciall assistance of that Blessed Spirit as preserves it from all dangerous Errors and sinnes and the temporall punishment which is due unto them And in this sense the Greeke Church did perhaps loose the Holy Ghost for they erred against Him they sinned against God And for this or other sinnes they were delivered into another Babylonish Captivity under the Turke in which they yet are and from which God in his mercy deliver them But this is rather to be called an Error circa Spiritum Sanctum about the Doctrine concerning the Holy Ghost then an error against the Holy Ghost 2. The other is when it looses not only this assistance but all assistance ad hoc to this that they may remaine any longer a true Church and so Corinth and Ephesus and divers other Churches have lost the Holy Ghost But in this sense the whole Greeke Church lost not the Holy Ghost For they continue a true Church in the maine substance to and at this day though erroneous in this Poynt which you mention and perhaps in some other too F. The Ladies friend not knowing what to answer called in the Bishop who sitting downe first excused himselfe as one unprovided and not much studied in Controversies and desiring that in Case he should faile yet the Protestant Cause might not be thought ill of B. This is most true For I did indeed excuse § 6 my selfe and I had great reason so to doe And my Reason being grounded upon Modestie for the most part there I leave it Yet this it may be fit others should know that I had no information where the other Conferences brake off no instruction at all what should be the ground of this third Conference nor the full time of foure and twenty hourâ—…s to bethinke my selfe And this I take upon my Credit is most true whereas you make the sifting of these and the like Questions to the very Branne your daily work and came throughly furnished to the businesse and might so leade on the Controversie to what your selfe pleased and I was to follow as I could * De util Credendi c. 2. S. Augustine said once Scio me invalidum esse I know I am weake and yet he made good his Cause And so perhaps may I against you And in that I prefer'd the Cause before my particular credit that which I did was with modesty and according to Reason For there is no Reason the waight of this whole Cause should rest upon any one particular man And great Reason that the personall Defects of any man should presse himselfe but not the Cause Neither did I enter upon this Service out of any forwardnesse of my owne but commanded to it by Supreame Authority F. It having an hundred better Schollers to maintaine it than he To which I said there were a thousand better Schollers than I to maintaine the Catholike Cause B. In this I had never so poore a Conceit of the Protestants Cause as to thinke that they had § 7 but an hundred better than my selfe to maintaine it That which hath an hundred may have as many more as it pleases God to give and more than you And I shall ever bee glad that the Church of England which at this time if my memory reflect not amisse I named may have farre more able Defendants than my selfe I shall never envie them but rejoyce for Her And I make no Question but that if I had named a thousand you would have multiplied yours into ten Thousand for the Catholike Cause as you call it And this Confidence of yours hath ever beene fuller of noyse than Proofe But you proceed F. Then the Question about the Greeke Church being proposed I said as before That it had erred B. Then I thinke the Question about the § 8 Greeke Church was proposed But after you had with confidence enough not spared to say That what I would not acknowledge in this Cause you would wring and extort from me then indeed you said as before that it had erred And this no man denied But every Errour denies not Christ the Foundation or makes Christ denie it or thrust it from the Foundation F. The Bishop said That the Errour was not in Point Fundamentall B. I was not so peremptory My speech § 9 was That diverse Learned men and some of your owne were of opinion That as the Greeks expressed themselves it was a Question not simply Fundamentall I know and acknowledge that Errour of denying the Procession of the Holy Ghost from the Sonne to be a grievous errour in Divinity And sure it would have grated the Foundation if they had so denied the Procession of the Holy Ghost from the Sonne as that they had made an inequality betweene the Persons But since their forme of speech is a Non ex Filio sed Spiritum Filii esse diâ—…imus Damascon L. 1. Fid. Orth. c. 11. Et Patris per filium Ibid. That the Holy Ghost proceeds from the Father by the Sonne and is the Spirit of the Sonne without making any difference in the Consubstantiality of the Persons I dare not denie them to bee a true Church for this though I confesse them an Erroneous Church in this Particular Now that diverse learned men were of Opinion That à Filio per Filium in the sense of the Greeke Church was but a Question in modo loquendi in manner of b Pluralitas in Uoce salvat â unitate in re non repugnat uniâ—…ati Fidei Durand Lib. 3. d. 25. q. 2. speech and therefore not Fundamentall is evident c Magist. 1. Sent. d. 11. D. Sane sciendum est quòd licet in praesenti Articulo a nobis Graeci verbo discordent tamen sensu non differunt c. Bandinus L. 1. de Trin. d. 11 Bonavent in 1 Sent. d. 11. A. 1. q. 1. §. 12. Licet Graecis infensissimus quùm dixit Graeces objicere curiâ—…sitatem Romanis addendo I ilioque Quia sine hujus Articuli professione salus er at non Respondet negando salutem esse sed dicit tantùm opportunam fuisse Determinationem propter periculum Et postea §. 15. Sunt qui volunt sustinere opinionem Graecorum Latinorum distinguendo duplicem modum Procedendi Sed fortè si duo sapientes unus Graecus alter Latinus uterque verus amator Veritatis non propriae dictionis c. de hac visa contrarietate disquirerent pateret utique tandem ipsâ—…m Contrarietatem non esse veraciter realem sicut est Vocalis Scotus in 1. Sent. d. 11. q. 1. Antiquorum Graecorum à Latinis diserepantia in voce potiùs est modo
explicandi Emanationem Sp. S. quà m in ipsá re c. Iodocus Clictoveus in Damase L 1. Fid Orth. c. 11. Et quidam ex Graecis concedunt quòd sit á Filio vel ab eo prostuat Thom. p. 1. q. 36. A. 2. C. Et Thomas ipse dicit Sp. S. procedere mediatè à Filio ib. A. 3. ad 1. salâ—…em ratione Personarum Spirantium Respondeo cum Bessarione Gennadio Damascenum non negâsse Sp. S. procedere ex Filio quod ad rem attinet quùm dixerit Spiritum esse Imaginem Filii per Filium sed existimásse tutiùs dici per Filium quà m ex Filio quantum ad modum loquendi c. Bellarm. L. 2. de Christo c. 27. §. Respondeo igitur Et Tollet in S. Iohn 15. Ar. 25. Lutheran Resp. ad Resp. 2. Ieremiae Patriarchae The Master and his Schollers agree upon it The Greeks saith he confesse the Holy Ghost to bee the Spirit of the Son with the Apostle Galath 4. and the Spirit of truth S. Iohn 16. And since Non est aliud it is not another thing to say The Holy Ghost is the Spirit of the Father and the Sonne then that He is or proceeds from the Father and the Sonne in this They seeme to agree with us in candem Fidei sententiam upon the same Sentence of Faith though they differ in words Now in this cause where the words differ but the Sentence of Faith is the same d Eadem penitùs Sententia ubi suprà Clictov penitùs eadem even altogether the same Can the Point be fundamentall You may make them no Church as e Bellarm. 4. de Notis Eccl. cap. 8. §. Quod autem apud Graecos Bellarmine doth and so deny them salvation which cannot be had out of the true Church but I for my part dare not so do And Rome in this Particular should be more moderate if it be but because this Article Filióque was added to the Creed by her selfe And 't is hard to adde and Anathematize too It ought to be no easie thing to condemne a man of Heresie in foundation of faith much lesse a Church least of all so ample and large a Churchas the Greeke especially so as to make them no Church Heaven Gates were not so easily shut against multitudes when S. Peter wore the Keyes at his owne girdle And it is good counsell which a Lib. 3. cont Hares fol. 93. A. 〈◊〉 vidcant ht qui famile de haerest pronumiant quaÌ„ facile etiam ipsi errent Et intelligant non esse tam leviter de Haeresi censenduÌ„ c. In verbo Beatitudo Alphonsus à castro one of your owne gives Let them consider that pronounce easily of Heresie how easie it is for themselves to erre Or if you will pronounce consider what it is that separates from the Church simply and not in part only I must needs professe that I wish heartily as well as b Iunius Animad in Bellar. cont 2. L. 3. c. 23. others that those distressed men whose Crosse is heavie already had beene more plainly and moderately dealt withall though they thinke a diverse thing from us then they have beene by the Church of Rome But hereupon you say you were forc'd F. Whereupon I was forced to repeate what I had formerly brought against D. White concerning Points Fundamentall B. Hereupon it is true that you read a large § 10 Discourse out of a Booke printed which you said was yours The Particulars all of them at the least I do not now remember nor did I then approve But if they be such as were formerly brought against Doctor White they are by him formerly answered The first thing you did was the * P. First righting the Sentence of S. Austine Ferendus est Disputator errans c. Here A. C. p. 44. tells us very learnedly that my corrupt Copy hath righting instead of reading the Sentence of S. Austine Whereas I here use the word righting not as it is opposed to reading as any man may discerne A. C. palpably mistakes but for doing right to S. Austine And if I had meant it for writing I should not have spelled it so righting of S. Augustine which Sentence I doe not at all remember was so much as named in the Conference much lesse was it stood upon and then righted by you Another place of S. Augustine indeed was which you omit But it comes after about Tradition to which I remit it But now you tell us of a great Proofe made out of this †By which is proved That all poynts Defined by the Church are Fundamentall Place For these words of yours containe two Propositions One That all Poynts defined by the Church are Fundamentall The other That this is proved out of this Place of S. Augustine 1. For the first That all Poynts defined by the Church are fundamentall It was not the least meanes by which Rome grew to her Greatnesse to blast every Opposer she had with the name of Hereticke or Schismaticke for this served to shrivel the credit of the Persons And the Persons once brought into contempt and ignominie all the good they desired in the Church fell to dust for want of creditable Persons to backe and support it To make this Proceeding good in these later yeares this Course it seemes was taken The Schoole that must maintaine and so they doe That all Points Defined by the Church are thereby a Your owne word Fundamentall b Inconcussâ fide ab omnibus Thom. 2. 2ae q. 1. Art 10. C. necessary to be believed c Sco us 1. Sent. d. 11. q. 1. of the substance of the Faith and that though it be determined quite d Ecclesiae Voces etiam extra Scripturam Stap. Relect. Con. 4. q. 1. Ar. 3. Quae maturo judicio definivit c. Solidum est etiamsi nullo Scripturarum aut evidenti aut probabili testimonio confirmaretur bid Extra Scripturam And then e Et penes Cercopes Victoria sit Greg. Naz. de Differen vitae Cercopes 1. Astutos veteratoriae improbitat is Episcopos qui artibus suis ac dolis omnia Concilia perturbabant Schol. ib. leave the wise and active Heads to take order that there be strength enough ready to determine what is fittest for them But since these men distinguish not nor you betweene the Church in generall and a Generall Councell which is but her Representation for Determinations of the Faith though I be very slow in sifting or opposing what is concluded by Lawfull Generall and consenting Authority though I give as much as can justly be given to the Definitions of Councels truly Generall nay suppose I should grant which I doe not That Generall Councells cannot erre yet this cannot downe with me That all Poynts even so defined are Fundamentall For Deductions are not prime and native Principles nor are Superstructures Foundations That which is a
hope this is no part of your meaning Yet I doubt this b Qui conantur sidem destruere sub specie Questionis difficilis aut fortè indissolubilis c. Orig. Q. 35. in S. Matth. Question How doe you know Scripture to be Scripture hath done more harme than you will be ever able to helpe by Tradition But I must follow that way which you draw me And because it is so much insisted upon by you and is in it self a c To know that Scriptures are Divine and infallible in every part is a Foundation so necessary as if it bee doubtfully question'd all the Faith built upon Scripture fals to the ground A. C. p. 47. Necesse est nôsse extare Libros aliquos vere Divinos Bellarm. L. 4. de verb. Dei non scripto c. 4. §. Quarto necesse Et etiam libros qui sunt in manibus esse illos Ibid. §. Sexto oportet matter of such Consequence I will sift it a little farther Many men labouring to settle this great Principle in Divinity have used diverse meanes to prove it All have not gone the same way nor all the right way You cannot be right that resolve Faith of the Scriptures being the Word of God into onely Tradition For onely and no other proofe are equall To prove the Scripture therefore so called by way of Excellence to be the Word of God there are severall Offers at diverse proofes For first some flie to the Testimony and witnesse of the Church and 1. her Tradition which constantly believes and unanimously delivers it Secondly some to the Light 2. and the Testimony which the Scripture gives to it selfe with other internall proofes which are observed in it and to be found in no other Writing whatsoever Thirdly some to the Testimony of the Holy 3. Ghost which cleares up the light that is in Scripture and seales this Faith to the soules of men that it is Gods Word Fourthly all that have not imbrutished 4. themselves and sunke below their species and order of Nature give even Naturall Reason leave to come in and make some proofe and give some approbation upon the weighing and the consideration of other Arguments And this must be admitted if it be but for Pagans and Infidels who either consider not or value not any one of the other three yet must some way or other bee converted or left without excuse Rom. 1. and that is Rom. 1. 20. done by this very evidence 1. For the first The Tradition of the Church which is your way That taken and considered alone it is so farre from being the onely that it cannot be a sufficient Proofe to believe by Divine Faith that Scripture is the Word of God For that which is a full and sufficient proofe is able of it selfe to settle the soule of man concerning it Now the Tradition of the Church is not able to doe this For it may bee further asked why wee should believe the Churches Tradition And if it be answered we may believe Because the Church is infallibly governed by the Holy Ghost it may yet be demanded of you How that may appeare And if this be demanded either you must say you have it by speciall Revelation which is the private Spirit you object to other men or else you must attempt to prove it by Scripture a Esse aliquas veras Traditiones demonstratur ex Scripturis Bellar L. 4 de verbo Dei non Scripto c. 5. and A. C p. 50. proves Tradition out of 2 Thes. 2. as all of you doe And that very offer to prove it out of Scripture is a sufficient acknowledgement that the Scripture is a higher Proofe then the Churches Tradition w ch in your own Grounds is or may be Questionable till you come thither Besides this is an Inviolable ground of Reason * Arist. 1. Post. c. 2. T. 16. Per Pacium Quocirca si 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 propter prima scimus credimus illa quoque scimus credimus 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 magis quia per illa scimus credimus etiam posteriora That the Principles of any Conclusion must be of more credite then the conclusion it self Therefore if the Articles of Faith The Trinity the Resurrection and the rest be the Conclusions and the Principles by which they are prooved be only Ecclesiasticall Tradition it must needs follow That the Tradition of the Church is more infallible then the Articles of the Faith if the Faith which we have of the Articles should be finally Resolved into the Veracity of the Churches Testimony But this †Eorum errorem dissimulare non possum qui asserunt fidern Nostram cò tanquà m in ultimam credendi causam reducendam esse Vt Credamus Ecclesiam esse Veracem c. M. Canus L. 2. de Locis c. 8. §. Cui tertium your Learned and wary men deny And therefore I hope your selfe dare not affirme Againe if the Voyce of the Church saying the Bookes of Scripture commonly received are the Word of God be the formall Object of Faith upon which alone absolutely I may resolve my selfe then every man not only may but ought to resolve his Faith into the Voyce or Tradition of the Church for every man is bound to rest upon the proper and formall Object of the Faith But nothing can bee more evident then this That a man ought not to resolve his Faith of this Principle into the sole Testimony of the Church Therefore neither is that Testimony or Tradition alone the formall Object of Faith * Uox Ecclesiae non est formale Obiectum Fidei Stapl. Relect. Cont 4. q. 3. A. 2. Licet in Articulo Fidei Credo Ecclesiam fortè contineatur hoc totum Credo ea quae docet Ecclesia tamen non intelligitur necessariò quod Credo docenti Ecclesiae tanquam Testi insallibili ibid. Vbi etiam rejicit Opinionem Durandi Gabr. Et Waldens L. 2 Doctr. Fidei Art 2. c. 21. Num. 4. Testimonium Ecclesiae Catholicae est Objectum Fidei Christianae Legislatio Scripturae Canonica subjicitur tamen ipsi sicut Testis Iudici Testimonium Veritati c. Canus Loc. Lib. 2. cap. 8. Nec si Ecclesia aditum nobis prabet ad hujusmodi Libros Sacros cognoscendos protinus ibi acquiescendum est sed ultrà â—…portet progredi Solidà Dei veritate niti c. The Learned of your owne part grant this †Although in that Article of the Creed I believe the Catholike Church peradventure all this be contained I believe those things which the Church teacheth yet this is not necessarily understood That I believe the Church teaching as an Infallible Witnesse And if they did not confesse this it were no hard thing to prove But here 's the cunning of this Devise All the Authority's of Fathers Councels nay of Scripture too b Omnis ergo Ecclesiastica Authoritas cùm sit ad
Tradition may be knowne to be such by the light which it hath in it selfe which is an excellent Proposition to make sport withall were this an Argument to be handled merrily 3. For the third Opinion and way of proving either some thinke that there is no sufficient warrant for this unlesse they fetch it from the Testimony of the Holy Ghost and so looke in vaine after speciall Revelations and make themselves by this very Conceit obnoxious and easie to be led by all the whisperings of a seducing private spirit or els you would faine have them think so For your side both upon this and other Occasions do often challenge That we resolve all our Faith into the Dictates of a * A Iesuite under the name of T S. set out a Booke An. 1630. which he called The Triall of the Protestant private Spirit private Spirit from which we shall ever prove our selves as free if not freer than you To the Question in hand then Suppose it agreed upon that there must be a d Ut Testimonia Scripturae certam inaubitatam fidem praestent necessarium videtur ostendere quod ipsae Divinae Scripturae sint Dei Spiritu inspiratae Orig. 4. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Divine Faith cui subesse non potest falsum under which can rest no possible errour That the Bookes of Scripture are the written Word of God If they which goe to the testimony of the Holy Ghost for proofe of this doe meane by Faith Objectum Fidei the Object of Faith that is to bee believed then no question they are out of the ordinary way For God never sent us by any word or warrant of his to looke for any such speciall and private Testimony to prove which that Booke is that we must believe But if by Faith they meane the Habit or Act of Divine infused Faith by which vertue they doe believe the Credible Object and thing to bee believed then their speech is true and confessed by all Divines of all sorts For Faith is the gift * 1. Cor. 12. 3. 4. Datur nobu a Deo c. S. Aug. in Psal. 87. of God of God alone and an infused †Quia homo assentiendo eis quae sunt fidâ—…i clevatur supra Naturam suam oportel quòd hoc inâ—…t ei ex supernaturali pâ—…incipio intâ—…riùs movente quod est Dens Tho. 2 2 ae q. 6. A. 1. c. And your owne Divines agree in this That Fides acquisita is not sufficient for any Article but there must be Fides infusa before there can be Divine Certainty Fides acquisita innititur conjecturis humanis Ad quem modum Saraceni suis Praeceptoribus Iudaei suis Rabinis Gentâ—…s suis Philosophs omnes suis Maj ribus inharent non sic Christians sed per interius lumen infusum à Spiritu Sancto quo firmissimè certissimè moventur ad credenâ—…m c. Canus L. 2. Locor c. 8. §. I am si hac Habit in respect whereof the Soule is meerely recipient And therefore the sole Infuser the Holy Ghost must not beâ—… excluded from that worke which none can doe but Hee For the Holy Ghost as * Symb. Nicen. The Holy Ghost spake by the Prophets c. Et 1. S. Pet. 2. 21. Quis modus est quo doces animas ea quae futura sunt Docuistâ—… enim Prophetas tuos S. Aug. L. 11. Confess c. 19. Hee first dictated the Scripture to the Apostles b Nec enim Ecclesiae Testimonium aut Judicium praedicamus Dei Spiritum vel ab Ecclâ—…sia doceâ—…te vol à nobis audientibus excludimus sed utrobique disertè includimus c. Stapl. trip contr Whitak c. 3. So did he not leave the Church in generall nor the true members of it in particular without Grace to believe what himself had revealed and made Credible So that Faith as it is taken for the vertue of Faith whether it be of this or any other Article c Fides quae caepit ab Ecclesia Testimonio quatenus proponit inducit ad Fidem deâ—…nit in Deo intùs revelante intùs docente quod forts Ecclesia pradicavit Stapl. Relect. Cont. 4. q. 3. a. 2. When grave and learned men doe sometimes hold that of this Principle there is no proofe but by the Testimony of the Spirit c. I thinke it is not their meaning to exclude all outward Proofes c but rather this That all other meanes are uneffectuall of themselves to worke Faith without the speciall Grace of God Hook c. Lib. 3. §. 8. though it receive a kinde of preparation or Occasion of Beginning from the Testimony of the Church as it proposeth and induceth to the Faith yet it ends in God revealing within and teaching within that which the Church preached without For till the Spirit of God move the Heart of man he cannot believe be the Object never so Credible The speech is true then but quite d De habitu Fidei quoad fieri ejus generationem quùm à Deo immediatè solo Dono gratuito infusus est Nihil ad Quastionem nisi quoad hoc quod per Scriptura inspectionem c. Henr. à Gand. Sam. a. 10. q. 1. lit D. out of the State of this Question which inquires onely after a sufficient meanes to make this Object Credible and fit to be believed against all impeachment of folly and temerity in Beliefe whether men do actually believe it or not For which no man may expect inward private Revelation without the externall means of the Church unlesse perhaps the e Stapl. Relect. Cont. 4. Q. 3. A. 2. Doth not onely affirme it but proves it too à paritate rationis in case of necessity where there is no Contempt of the externall meanes case of Neceâ—…ity be excepted when a man lives in such a time place as excludes him from all ordinary means in which I dare not offer to shut up God from the foules of men nor to tie him to those ordinary waies and means to which yet in great wisdome and providence He hath tied and bound all mankind Private Revelation then hath nothing ordinarily to doe to make the Object Credible in this That Scripture is the Word of God or in any other Article For the Question is of such outward and evident meanes as other men may take notice of as well as our selves By which if there arise any Doubting or Infirmity in the Faith others may strengthen us or we affoord meanes to support them Whereas the a Quid cum singulis agitur Deus scit qui agit ipsi cum quibus agitur sciunt Quid autem agatur cum genere Humano per Historiam commendari volâ—…it per Prophetiam S. Aug. de vera Relig. c. 25. Testimony of the Spirit and all private Revelation is within nor felt nor seen of any but him that hath it So that hence can be drawn no proofe to
more wee finde that the thing it selfe doth answer our received opinion concerning it so that the former inducement prevailing somewhat with us before doth now much more prevaile when the very thing hath ministred farther Reason Here then againe in his Iudgement Tradition is the first Inducement but the farther Reason and Ground is the Scripture And Resolution of Faith ever settles upon the Farthest Reason it can not upon the First Inducement So that the State of this Question is firme and yet plaine enough to him that will not shut his eyes Now here after a long silence A. C. thrusts himselfe in againe and tels me That if I would A. C. p. 52. consider the Tradition of the Church not onely as it is the Tradition of a Company of Fallible men in which sense the Authority of it as himselfe confesses is but Humane and Fallible c. But as the Tradition of a Company of men assisted by Christ and his Holy Spirit in that sense I might easily finde it more then an Introduction indeed as much as would amount to an Infallible Motive Well I have considered The Tradition of the present Church both these wayes And I finde that A. C. confesses That in the first sense the Tradition of the Church is meere humane Authority and no more And therefore in this sense it may serve for an Introduction to this Beliefe but no more And in the second sense as it is not the Tradition of a Company of men onely but of men assisted by Christ and His Spirit In this second sense I cannot finde that the Tradition of the present Church is of Divine and Infallible Authority till A. C. can prove That this Company of men the Romane Prelates and their Clergie he meanes are so fully so cleerely so permanently assisted by Christ and his Spirit as may reach to Infallibility much lesse to a Divine Infallibility in this or any other Principle which they teach For every Assistance of Christ and the Blessed Spirit is not enough to make the Authority of any Company of men Divine and infallible but such and so great an Assistance onely as is purposely given to that effect Such an Assistance the Prophets under the Old Testament and the Apostles under the New had but neither the High-Priest with his Clergie in the Old nor any Company of Prelates or Priests in the New since the Apostles ever had it And therefore though at the entreaty of A. C. I have considered this very A. C. p. 52. well yet I cannot no not in this Assisted sense thinke the Tradition of the present Church Divine and Infallible or such Company of men to be worthy of Divine and infallible Credit and sufficient to breed in us Divine and Infallible Faith Which I am sorrie A. C. should affirme so boldly as he doth What A. C. p. 52. That Company of men the Romane Bishop and his Clergie of Divine and Infallible Credit and sufficient to breed in us Divine and Infallible Faith Good God! Whither will these men goe Surely they are wise in their generation but that makes them never a whit the more the Children of light a S. Luke 16. 8. S. Luke 16. And could they put this home upon the world as they are gone farre in it what might they not effect How might they and would they then Lord it over the Faith of Christendome contrary to b 1. S. Pet. 5. 3. S. Peter's Rule whose Successours certainly in this they are not But I pray if this Company of men be infallibly assisted whence is it that this very Company have erred so dangerously as they have not only in some other things but even in this Particular by equaling the Tradition of the present Church to the written Word of God Which is a Doctrine unknowne to the a S. Basil goes as farre for Traditions as any For he sayes Parem vim habent ad pictatem L. de Sp. Sanct. c. 27. But first he speaks of Apostolicall Tradition not of the Tradition of the Present Church Secondly the Learned take exceptions to this Booke of S. Basil as corrupted BP Andr. Opusc. cont Peron p. 9. Thirdly S. Basil himself Ser. de Fide professes that he uses somtimes Agrapha sed ca solùm quae non sunt aliona à piâ secundum Scripturam sententiâ So he makes the Scripture their Touch-stone or tryall And therefore must of Necessity make Scripture superior in as much as that which is able to try another is of greater force and superiour Dignity in that use then the thing tried by it And Stapleton himselfe confesses Traditionem recentiorem posteriorem sicut particularem nullo modo cum Scripturâ vel cum Traditionibus priùs à se explicatis comparandam esse Stapleton Relect. Controv. 5. q. 5. A. 2. Primitive Church and which frets upon the very Foundation it selfe by justling with it So belike he that hath but halfe an indifferent eye may see this Assisted Company have erred and yet we must wink in obedience and think them Infallible But. A. C. would have me consider againe That A. C. p 52. it is as easie to take the Tradition of the present Church in the two fore-named senses as the present Scriptures printed and approved by men of this Age. For in the first sense The very Scriptures saith he considered as printed and approved by men of this Age can be no more then of Humane Credit But in the second sense as printed and approved by men assisted by God's Spirit for true Copies of that which was first written then we may give Infallible Credit to them Well I have considered this too And I can take the Printing and Approving the Copies of Holy-Writ in these two senses And I can and do make a difference betweene Copies printed and approved by meere morall men and men assisted by Gods Spirit And yet for the Printing onely a skilfull and an able morall man may doe better service to the Church then an illiterate man though assisted in other things by God's Spirit But when I have considered all this what then The Scripture being put in writing is a thing visibly existent and if any errour be in the Print 't is easily corrigible by b Ut §. 18. Nu. 4. Eâ—… S. Aug. L. 32. cont Faustum 〈◊〉 1â—… former Copies Tradition is not so easily observed nor so safely kept And howsoever to come home to that which A. C. inferres upon it namely That the A. C. p. 53. Tradition of the present Church may be accepted in these two senses And if this be all that he will inferre for his penne here is troubled and forsakes him whether by any checke of Conscience or no I know not I will and you see have granted it already without more adoe with this Caution That every Company of men assisted by Gods Spirit are not assisted to this height to be Infallible by Divine Authority For all this
A. C. will needes give a needlesse Proofe of the Businesse Namely That there is the Promise of Christs and his Holy Spirits continuall presence and A. C. p. 53. assistance S. Luke 10. 16. Mat. 28. 19 20. Ioh 14. 16. not only to the Apostles but to their Successors also the lawfully sent Pastors and Doctors of the Church in all Ages And that this Promise is no lesse but rather more expresly to them in their Preaching by word of mouth then in writing or reading or printing or approoving of Copies of what was formerly written by the Apostles And to all this I shall briefly say That there is a Promise of Christ's and the Holy Spirits continuall presence and assistance I do likewise grant most freely that this Promise is on the part of Christ and the Holy Ghost most really and fully performed But then this Promise must not be extended further then 't was made It was made of Continuall presence and assistance That I grant And it was made to the Apostles and their Successors That I grant too But in a different Degree For it was of Continuall and Infallible Assistance to the Apostles But to their Successors of Continuall and fitting assistance but not Infallible And therefore the lawfully sent Pastors and Doctors of the Church in all Ages have had and shall have Continuall Assistance but by A. C ' s. leave not Infallible at least not Divine and Infallible either in writing reading printing or approving Copies And I believe A C is the first that durst affirme this I thought he would have kept the Popes Prerogative intire that He only might have been Infallible And not He neither but in Cathedrâ sate down and well advised And well Advised Yes that 's right * Nam multa sunt Decretales haereticae sicut dicit Ocham Et firmiter hoc Credo sed non licet dogmatizare Oppositum quoniam sunt determinatae nisi manifestè constet c. Ia. Almain in 3. Sent. D. 24 q. unica Conclus 6. Dub. 6 fine and Alphon. à Castro also both sayes and prooves Câ—…lestinum Papam errasse non ut privatam Personam sed ut Papam L. 1. advers Har. c. 4. and the Glosse Confesses Eum errare posse in C. 24. q. 1. C. A Recta ergo But he may be sate and not well Advised even in Cathedrâ And now shall we have all the Lawfully sent Pastors and Doctors of that Church in all ages Infallible too Here 's a deale of Infallibility indeed and yet error store The truth is the Iesuites have a Moneths minde to this Infallibility And though A. C. out of his bounty is content to extend it to all the lawfully sent Pastors of the Church yet to his owne Society quostionlesse he meanes it chiefly As did the Apologist to whom Casaubon replyes to Fronto Ducaeus The words of the †Nam in fide quidem Iesuitam errare non posse atque adeo esse hoc unicum 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 cateris qua solent à Poetis plurima commemorari posthà c annumerandum si nescis mi Fronto puto nescire docebo te ab Apologist a doctus hoc ipsum disertis verbis affirmante Sic ille cap. 3. Ejus exemplaris quod ad Sereniss Regem fuit missum pagina 119. Iungantur in nnum ait dies cum necte teâ—…ebrae cum luce calidum cum frigido sanitas cum morbo vita cum morte erit tum spes aliqua posse in caput Iesuitae haeresin cadere Isa. Casaubon Ep. ad Front Ducaum Lond. 1611. Apologist are Let day and night life and death be joyned together and then there will be some hope that Heresie may fall upon the person of a Iesuite Yea marry this is something indeed Now we know where Infallibility is to be found But for my present Occasion touching the Lawfully sent Pastors of the Church c. I will give no other Confutation of it then that M. Fisher and A. C. if they be two men are lawfully sent Pastors and Doctors of the Church at least I am sure they 'll assume they are and yet they are not Infallible which I thinke appeares plaine enough in some of their errors manifested by this Discourse and elsewhere Or if they do hold themselves Infallible let them speake it out as the Apologist did As for the Three Places of Scripture which A. C. cites they are of old alledged and well knowne A. C. p. 53. in this Controversie The First is in S. Luke 10. S. Luk. 10. 16. where Christ saith He that heareth you heareth me This was absolutely true in the a Per quod docet quicquid per Sanctos Apostolis dicitur acceptandum esse quia qui illos audit Christum audit c. S. Cyrillus Et Dominus dedit Apostolis suis potestatem Evangelii per quos Veritatem idest Dei Filium cognoâ—…imus c. Quibus dixit Dominus Qui ves audit c. Iraeneus praefat in L. 3. advers Haer. sine Apostles who kept themselves to that which was revealed by Christ. But it was to be but Conditionally true in their b Dicit ad Apostolos ac per hoc ad Omnes Praepositos qui Apostolis vicarià Ordinatione succedunt S. Cyprian L. 4. Epist. 9. But S. Cyprian doth not say that this speech of our Saviours was equaliter dictum alike and equally spoken and promised to the Apostles and the succeeding Bishops And I believe A. C. will not dare to say in plaine and expresse Termes That this speech He that heareth you heareth me doth as amply belong to every Romane Priest as to S. Peter and the Apostles No a great deale of Difference will become them well Successors He that heareth you heareth me That is so long and so * Bee yee followers of me even as I am of Christ. 1 Cor. 11. 1. and 1 Thes. 1. 6. farre as you c And so Vener Beda expresly both for hearing the word and for contemning it I or neither of these saith hee belong only to them which saw our Saviour in the flesh but to all hodiè quoque but with this limitation if they heare or despise Evangelii verba not the Preachers owne Beda in S. Luke 10. 15. 16. speak my words and not your own For d S. Mat. 28. 20. where the Command is for Preaching the Restraint is added Go saith Christ and teach all Nations But you may not preach all things what you please but althings which I have commanded you The Publication is yours the Doctrine is mine And where the Doctrine is not mine there your Publication is beyond or short of your Commission The Second Place is in S. Matth. 28. There Christ sayes againe e S. Mat. 28. 19. 20. I am with you alwayes unto the end of the world Yes most certaine it is present by his Spirit For else in bodily presence Hee continued not with his Apostles but during
Tho. p. 1. q. 1. A. 5. c. yet they are in themselves much more sure and infallible then they For they proceed immediately from God that Heavenly Wisdome which being the fountaine of ours must needs infinitely precede ours both in Nature and excellence He that teacheth man knowledge shall not he know †Psal. 94. 10. Our old English Translation reads it Shall not he punish That is shall not he know when and why and how to punish Psal. 94. And therefore though wee reach not the Order of their Deductions nor can in this life come to the vision of them yet wee yeeld as full and firme Assent not onely to the Articles but to all the Things rightly deduced from them as wee doe to the most evident Principles of Naturall Reason This Assent is called Faith And Faith being of things not seene Heb. 11. Heb. 11. 1. a Sâ—…t Ratio convincens propter cam 〈◊〉 alias non crediturus tollitur 〈◊〉 siâ—…i Bâ—…l 3. D. 25. q. unic sine Non est dicendus credere cujus judicium sulagitur aut cogitur c. Stapl. Tâ—…at contra Wintaker cap. 6. p. 64. would quite loose its honour nay it selfe if it met with sufficient Grounds in Naturall Reason whereon to stay it selfe For Faith is a mixed Act of the Will and the Vnderstanding and the b Vides noâ—… sit in nobis nisi volentibus Tolâ—… in S. 〈◊〉 16. Annot. 33. Et qui voluerunt â—…runt S. Aug. Serm. 60. dâ—…rb Dom. 〈◊〉 5. Fides Actus est non schus â—…ctus sed etiam Voluntatis quae qinon potest Imo magis Voluntatis quam Intelle us quatenus illa Operationis prinâ—…ium est Assensum qui pâ—…oprie Actus fiâ—…i est sola clicit Nec ab 〈◊〉 Voluntas sed à Voluntate 〈◊〉 Actu sidei determinatur Staâ—… I. Tâ—…lic cont Whitak c. 6. p. 64. Câ—…e enim est Actus Intellectus detâ—…â—…i â—…unum ex Imperio Voluntatis 〈◊〉 2. 2. q. 4. Aâ—…c Non potest dari aliquis sidei quinunque ille sit non qui in suis Causis mediatè 〈◊〉 medâ—…e b actu Voluntatis Alm. in 3. Sâ—…t D. 24. 〈◊〉 6. Dub. 4. A 〈◊〉 Aug. sayes Fidei locum esse Cor. Tâ—… 52. in S. Ioh. Where the Heart is put to the whole soule which equally comprehends both the Will and the Vndeâ—… ing And so doth Biel also in 3. Sunt D. 25. q unic Art 1. F. Will inclines the Vnderstanding to yeeld full approbation to that whereof it sees not full proofe Not but that there is most full proofe of them but because the maine Grounds which prove them are concealed from our view and folded up in the unrevealed Counsell of God God in Christ resolving to bring mankinde to their last happinesse by Faith and not by knowledge that so the weakest among men may have their way to blessednesse open And certaine it is that many weak men believe themselves into Heaven and many over-knowing Christians loose their way thither while they will believe no more then they can clearely know In which pride and vanity of theirs they are left and have these things hid from them S. Matth. 11. S. Mat. 11. 25. Fourthly That the Credit of the Scripture the Pun. 4. Booke in which the Principles of Faith are written as of other writings also depends not upon the subservient Inducing Cause that leads us to the first knowledge of the Authour which leader here is the Church but upon the Author himself and the Opinion we have of his sufficiency which here is the Holy Spirit of God whose Pen-men the Prophets and Apostles were And therfore the Mysteries of Divinity contained in this Booke As the Incarnation of our Saviour The Resurrection of the dead and the like cannot finally bee resolved into the sole Testimony of the Church who is but a Subservient Cause to lead to the knowledge of the Authour but into the wisedome and Sufficiency of the Authour who being Omnipotent and Omniscient must needs bee Infallible Fiftly That the Assurance we have of the Pen-men of the Scriptures the Holy Prophets and Apostles Pun. 5. is as great as any can be had of any Humane Authours of like Antiquity For it is morally as evident to any Pagan that S. Matthew and S. Paul writ the Gospell and Epistles which beare their Names as that Cicero or Seneca wrote theirs But that the Apostles were divinely inspired whilst they writ them and that they are the very Word of God expressed by them this hath ever beene a matter of Faith in the Church and was so even while the Apostles themselves a The Apostles indeed they knew for they had cleare Revelation They to whom they preached might believe but they could not know without the like Revelation So S. Ioh. 19 35. He that saw knowes that he sayes true that you which saw not might believe Deus in Prophetis sic in Apostolis quos immediatè illuminabat causabat evidentiam Iaco Aimain in 3. Sent. Dis. 24. q. unic á. Conclus 6. But for the residue of men 't is no more but as Thomas hath it Oportet quod credatur Authoritati eorum quibus Revelatio facta est Tho. p. 1. q. 1. A. 8. ad 8. lived and was never a matter of Evidence and Knowledge at least as Knowledge is opposed to Faith Nor could it at any time then bee more Demonstratively prooved then now I say not scientificè not Demonstratively For were the Apostles living and should they tell us that they spake and writ the very Oracles of God yet this were but their owne Testimony of themselves and so not alone able to enforce Beliefe on others And for their Miracles though they were very Great Inducements of Beliefe yet were neither they Evident and Convincing Proofes b A on est evidens vel ista esse vera miracula vel ista fieri ad illam Veritatem comprobandam Iâ—… Almain in 3. Sent. D. 24. q. uniâ—… Concl. 6. Therefore the Miracles which Christ and his Apostles did were fully sufficient to beget Faith to assent but not Evidence to Convince alone and of themselves Both because There may bee counterfeit Miracles And because true ones are neither c Cautos nos fecit Sponsus quia Miraculis decipi non debemus S. Aug. T. 13. in S. â—…oh And he that sayes we ought not to be deceived acknowledges that we may be deceived even by Miracles And Arguments which can deceive are not sufficient to Convince Though they be sometimes too full of efficacy to pervert And so plainly Almain out of Ocham Nunquam acquiritur Evidentia per Medium quod de se generat falsum assensum sunt verum la. Alma in 3 Sent. Di. 24. q unic Conc. 6. And therfore that Learned Romane Catholik who tels us the Apostles Miracles made it evident that their doctrine was true and Divine went too farre Credible they made
It must follow That Christ should be present with all his Ministers that Preach his word to make them Insallible which daily Experience tells us is not so The third Place urged by A C is S. Luke 22. Where the Prayer of Christ S. Luke 22. 3â—… will effect no more then his Promise hath performed neither of them implying an Insallibility for or in the Church against all Errours whatsoever And this almost all his owne side confesse is spoken either of S. Peters person only or of him and his Successors * Bellar. L. 4. de Ro. Pont c 3. §. Est igitur tertia Hee understood the place of both S. Peter and his Successors or both Of the Church it is not spoken and therefore cannot prove an unerring Power in it For how can that Place prove the Church cannot Erre which speakes not at all of the Church And 't is observable too that when the Divines of Paris expounded this Place that Christ here prayed for S. Peter as he represented the VVhole Catholike Church and obtained for it that the Faith of the Catholike Church nunquam deficeret should never so erre as quite to fall away †Quae Expositio falsa est Primò quia c. Bell. ibid. §. 2. And he sayes t is false because the Parisiâ—…ns expounded it of the Church only Uolunt enim prosolâ Ecclesiae esse â—…ratum Ibid. §. 1. Bellarmine is so stiffe for the Pope that he sayes expresly This Exposition of the Parisians is false and that this Text cannot be meant of the Catholike Church Not be meant of it Then certainly it ought not to be alledged as Prooâ—…e of it as here it is by A. C. The fourth Place named by A. C. is S. Iohn 14. And the consequent Place to it A. C. p. 57 S. Ioh. 14. 16. 17. S. Iohn 10. 13. S. John 16 These Places containe an other Promise of Christ concerning the comming of the Holy Ghost Thus That the Comforter shall abide with them forever That this Comforter is the Spirit of Truth And That this Spirit of Truth will lead them into all Truth Now this Promise as it is applyed to the Church consisting of all Believers which are and have beene since Christ appeared in the Flesh including the Apostles is a Field L. 4. de Eccles. c. 2. free from all errâ—…ur and ignorance of Divine things absolute and without any Restriction For the Holy Ghost did lead them into all Truth so that no Errour was to be found in that Church But as it is appliable to the whole Church Militant in all succeeding times so the Promise was made with a Limitation b And Theodoret proceeds farther and sayes Neque divini Prophetae neque mirabiles Apostoli omnia praesciverunt Quae cunque enim expediebant ea illis significavit gratia Spiritûs Theod. in 1. Tim. 3. v. 14 15. namely that the Blessed Spirit should abide with the Church for ever and lead it into all Truth but not simply into all Curious Truth no not in or about the Faith but into all Truth necessary to Salvation And against this Truth the Whole Catholike Church cannot erre keeping her self to the Direction of the Scripture as Christ hath appointed her For in this very Place where the Promise is made That the Holy Ghost shall teach you all things 't is added that He shall bring all things to their remembrance What simply all things No But all things which Christ had told them S. Joh. 14. So there is a Limitation S. Ioh. 14. 26. put upon the words by Christ himselfe And if the Church will not erre it must not ravell Curiously into unnecessary Truths which are out of the Promise nor follow any other Guide then the Doctrine which Christ hath left behinde him to governe it For if it will come to the End it must keepe in the Way And Christ who promised the Spirit should lead hath no where promised that it shall follow its Leader into all Truth and at least Infallibly unlesse you will Limit as before So no one of these Places can make good A. C s. Assertion That the Whole Church cannot erre Generally in any one Point of Divine Truth In Absolute Foundations c §. 21. Nu. 5. she cannot in Deductions and Superstructures she may Now to all that I have said concerning the Right which Particular Churches have to Reforme themselves when the Generall Church cannot for Impediments or will not for Negligence which I have prooved at large a § 24 N 1 2 c. A. C. p. 57. before All the Answer that A. C. gives is First Quo Judice Who shall be Iudge And that shall bee the Scripture and the * Si de modica Quaestione Disceptatio esset nonne oporteret in Antiquissimas recurrere Ecclesias in quibus Apostoli conversati sunt ab its de praesenti Quaestione sumere quod certum liquidum est Quid autem si neque Apostoli quidem Scripturas reliquissent nobis nonne oportebat Ordinem sequi Traditionis c. Irenaeus L. 8. advers Hares c. 4. Primitive Church And by the Rules of the one and to the Integrity of the other both in Faith and Manners any Particular Church may safely Reforme it selfe Secondly That no Reformation in Faith can be needfull in the Generall Church but only in Particular Churches In which Case also he saith Particular Churches may not A. C p. 58. take upon them to Judge and Condemne others of Errours in Faith Well how farre forth Reformation even of Faith may be necessary in the Generall Church I have expressed c §. 25. Nu. 4. already And for Particular Churches I do not say that they must take upon them to Iudge or Condemne others of Errour in Faith That which I say is They may Reforme themselves Now I hope to Reforme themselves and to Condemne others are two different Workes unlesse it fall out so that by Reforming themselves they do by consequence Condemne any other that is guilty in that Point in which they Reforme themselves and so farre to Iudge and Condemne others is not onely lawfull but necessary A man that lives religiously doth not by and by sit in Iudgement and Condemne with his mouth all Prophane Livers But yet while he is silent his very Life condemnes them And I hope in this Way of Judicature A. C. dares not say 't is unlawfull for a particular Church or man to Condemne another And farther whatsoever A. C. can say to the contrary there are diverse Cases where Heresies are knowne and notorious in which it will be hard to say as he doth That A. C. p. 58. one Particular Church must not Iudge or Condemne another so farre forth at least as to abhorre and protest against the Heresie of it Thirdly If one Particular Church may not Iudge or Condemne another what must then be done where Particulars need Reformation What Why
indeed can he include 〈◊〉 For he speakes of that Word of God upon 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 reâ—…cks consent But concerning Traditions they â—…ll consent not That they are a Rule of Faith Therâ—… he speakes not of them Romanists dare not deny but this Rule is â—…aine and that it is 〈◊〉 â—…ntly Knowne in 〈◊〉 â—…lest Places of 〈◊〉 â—…uch as are 〈◊〉 to Salvation none of the Ancients did ever 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 â—…here's an Infallible Rule Nor need there be such feare 〈◊〉 Private Spirit in these manifest things which beâ—… 〈◊〉 read or heard teach themselves Indeed you 〈◊〉 had need of some other Iudge and he a pâ—…opitious one to crush the Pope's more powerfull â—…rincipality out of Pasce oves feed my sheepe And yet this must be the meaning if you will have it whether Gideon's fleece bee wet or dry Iudg. 6. that is whether there be dew Iudg. 6. enough in the Text to water that sense or no. But I pray when God hath left hisâ—… Church this Infallible Rule what warrant have you to seeke another You have shewed us none yet what e're you thinke you have And I hope A. C. cannot thinke it followes that Christ our Lord hatâ—… provided no Rule to determine necessary Controversies because hee hath not provided the Rule which he would have Besides let there be such a living Iudge as A. C. would have and let the * For so he affirmes p. 58. Pope be he yet that is not sufficient against the malice of the Divell and impious men to keepe the Church at all Times from Renting even in the Doctrine of Faith or to soder the Rents which are made For Oportet esse Haereses 1. Cor. 11. Heresies there will be and Heresies properly there cannot 1. Cor. 11. 19. be but in Doctrine of the Faith And what will A. C. in this Case do Will he send Christ our Lord to provide another Rule then the Decision of the Bishop of Rome because he can neither make Unity nor Certainty of Beliefe And as 't is most apparent he cannot doe it de facto so neither hath he power from Christ over the Whole Church to doe it nay out of all doubt 't is not the least reason why de facto he hath so little successe because de Iure he hath no power given But since A. C. requires another Iudge besides the Scripture and in Cases when either the time is so difficult that a Generall Councell cannot be called or the Councell so set that they will not agree Let 's see how he proves it 'T is thus every earthly kingdome saith he when matters cannot be composed by a Parliament which cannot A. C. p. 60. be called upon all Occasions why doth he not adde here And which being called will not alwaies be of one minde as he did adde it in Case of the Councell hath besides the Law Bookes some living Magistrates and Judges and above all one visible King the Highest Iudge who hath Authority sufficient to end all Controversies and settle Unity in all Temporall Affaires And shall we thinke that Christ the wisest King hath provided in his kingdome the Church onely the Law-bookes of the Holy Scripture and no living visible Iudges and above all one Chiefe so assisted by his Spirit as may suffice to end all Controversies for Vnity and Certainty of Faith which can never be if every man may interpret Holy Scripture the Law-Bookes as he list This is a very plausible Argument with the Many But the foundation of it is but a †Qua subtilissime de hoc disputari possunt ità ut non similitudinibus quae plerunque fallunt sed rebus ipsis satisfiat c. S. Aug. L. de Quant Animae c. 32. Whereupon the Logicians tell us rightly that this is a Fallacy unlesse it be taken reduplicativè i. e. de similibus qua similia sunt And hence Arist. himself 2. Top. Loc. 32. sayes 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Rursum in Similibus si similitèr se habent Similitude and if the Similitude hold not in the maine the Argument's nothing And so I doubt it will proove here I 'le observe Particulars as they lie in order And first he will have the whole Militant Church for of that we speake a Kingdome But this is not certaine For they are no meane ones which thinke our Saviour Christ left the Church Militant in the Hands of the Apostles and their Successours in an Aristocraticall or rather a Mixt Government and that the Church is not a When Gerson writ his Tract De Auferibilitate Pape sure hee thought the Church might continue in a very gooâ—… Being without a Monarchicall Head Therefore in his Iudgement the Church is not by any Command or Institution of Christ Monarchicall Gerson par 1. pag. 154. When S. Uierom wrote thus Ubicuaque fuerit Episcopus sive Romae sive Eugubii sive Constantinopoli sive Rhegit sive Alexandriae sive Tanis ejusdem meriti cjusdem est Sacerdotii S. Hieron Epist. ad Evagrium doubtlesse he thought not of the Romane Bishops Monarcâ—…y For what Bishop is of the same Merit or of the same Degree in the Priesthood with the Pope as things are now carried at Rome Affirmamus etiam Patribus Graecis Latinis ignot as esse voces de Petro aut Papa Monarcha Monarchia Namquod in superioribus obscrvabamus reperiri obsâ—…rvabamus dictiones positas pro Episcopatu nihil hoc ad râ—…m facit 〈◊〉 Casaub. Excrcitatione 15. ad Annales Eccles. Baron §. 12. p. 378. §. 11 p. 360. diserte asserit probat Ecclesiae Regimen Aristocraticum fuisse Monarchicall otherwise then the Trumphant and Militant make one Body under Christ the Head And in this sense indeed and in this onely the Church is a most absolute Kingdome And the very Expressing of this sense is a full Answer to all the Places of Scripture and other Arguments brought by b Bellar. L. a. de Concil c. 16. §. 1 2 3. Bellarmine to prove that the Church is a Monarchie But the Church being as large as the world Christ thought it fitter to governe it Aristocratically by Diverse rather then by One Vice Roy. And I believe this is true For all the time of the first three hundred yeares and somewhat better it was governed Aristocratically if we will impaitially consider how the Bishops of those times carried the whole Businesse of admitting any new consecrated Bishops or others to or rejecting them from their Communion For I have carefully Examined this for the first sixe hundred yeares even to and within the time of S. Gregory the great c S. Greg. L. 9. Epist. 58. L. 12. Epist. 15. Who in the beginning of the seventh hundred yeare sent such Letters to Augustine then Archbishop of Canterburie and to d S. Greg. L. 9. Epist. 61. Quirinus and other Bishops in Ireland And I finde That the Literae Communicatoriae which certified from one Great
a â—…tsi Christus adsit in medio talium non adest tamen ad omnem effectum aut ad hunc qui est Iudicare de fide Staple Relect Controv. 6. q. 3. A. 4. Sed nec illi semper ad Deum respiciunt qui in medio eorum est Neâ—… Deus sic adest iiâ—… qui respiciunt ad Ipsum ut omnem veritatem doceat in Instanti omni tempore simul c. Iunius in Bellar. L. 2. de Concil c. 2. necessary things infallibly granted unto them as oft as they aske if they aske not as well as they ought as what they ought And yet most true it is that where more or fewer are gathered together in the Name of Christ there is he in the midst of them but to assist and to grant whatsoever he shall find fit for them not Infallibly whatsoever they shall thinke fit to aske for themselves And therefore S. Cyprian though he use this very Argument A minori ad majus from the lesse to the greater yet he presumes not to Extend it as Bellarm. doth to the obtaining of Infallibility but only useth it in the Generall way in which there neither is nor can be doubt of the truth of it Thus. b Si duo Vnanimes tantum possunt Quid si Vnanimit as apud omnes esset S. Cypr. L. 4. Epis. 4. If two that are of one minde to God-ward can doe so much what might be done if there were Vnanimity among all Christians Vndoubtedly more but not All whatsoever they should aske unlesse all other Requisites were present Thirdly in this their owne c Non ad Iâ—…fallibilem certitudinem alicujus Sententiae in quam plures in Nomine Christi consentiunt locus hic Evangelii propriè accomodari debet sed ad efficaciam consensionis plurium ad id impetrandum quod unanimiter in Christi Nomine petunt si id quidem ad eorum salutem expediat Secùs onim non modo ex illo loco probabitur c. Greg. de Valen. To. 2. in Thom. Disput. 1. Q. 1. Puncto 7. §. 45. And although Stapleton approves this Argument à Minori ad Majus vet withall he sayes Firmitas Conciliorum illis Christi verbis propriè non innititur Quia nec Christus ibi de Conciliis Episcoporum loquiâ—…ur sed de quâvis Fidelium unanimi Congregatione Nec etsi c. Staple Relâ—…ct Contr. 6. q. 3 A. 4. Great Champions disagree from Bellarmine or he from them For Gregory de Valentia and Stapleton tell us That this place doth not belong properly to prove an Infallible Certainty of any sentence in which more agree in the Name of Christ But to the efficacy of Consent for obtaining that which more shall pray for in the Name of Christ if at least that be for their soules health For els you may prove out of this Place That not only the Definition of a Generall Councell but even of a Provinciall nâ—…y of two or three Bishops gathered together is valid and that without the Popes Assent The last Place mentioned for the Infallibility of Generall Councells is that Acts 15. where the Apostles say Act. 15. 28. of themselves and the Councell held by them It seemes good to the Holy Ghost and to Vs. And They might well say it For They had Infallibly the Assistance of the Holy Ghost and they kept close to his Direction But I do not finde that any Generall Councell since though they did implore as they ought the Assistance of that Blessed Spirit did ever take upon them to say in terminis in expresse termes of their Definitions Visum est Spiritui Sancto Nobis It seemed good to the Holy Ghost and to Vs. Acknowledging even thereby as I conceive a great deale of Difference in the Certainty of those things which a Generall Councell at after Determined in the Church and those which were setled by the Apostles when They sate in Councell But though I do not finde That They used this speech punctually and in termes yet the Fathers when They met in Councell were Confident and spake it out That They had Assistance from the Holy Ghost yet so as that They neither tooke Themselves nor the Councells They sate in as Infallibly Guided by the Holy Ghost as the Apostles were And Valentia is very right a Quintum Argumentum c. Aut sunt ergo Arrogantes quod putandum non est Aut infallibilitèr definiunt Respondet Valentia concedendo neutrum To. 3. in Thom. Disp. 1. Q. 1. Puncto 7. §. 45. That though the Councell say they are gathered together in the Holy Ghost yet the Fathers are neither Arrogant in using the speech nor yet Infallible for all that And this is true whether the Pope approve or disapprove their Definitions Though Valentia will not admit that The Pope must be with him infallible what ever come of it Now though this be but an Example include no Precept yet both b Firmit as eorum nititur Exemplo primi Concilii Staple Relect Contro 6. q. 3. A. 4. ad 3. Stapleton and a Et Bellarm. dicit Locum hunc esse tertium è Propriis L. 2. de Concil c. 2. §. Tertius Locus Bellarmine make this Plaâ—…e a proper Proofe of the Infallibility of Generall Councels And b Conciliorum Decreta sunt Spiritus Sancti Oracula Stapl. ibid. Sententia Orthodoxa prima Stapleton sayes the Decrees of Councels are the very Oracles of the Holy Ghost which is little short of Blasphemy and c Si illud Concilium ex quo formam acceperunt omnia alia Concilia asserit Decreta sua esse Decreta Sp. Sancti certè idem assercre possunt caetera legitima Concilia c. Bellar. ibid. Bellarmine addes that Because all other Councels borrowed their forme from this therefore other lawfull Councels may affirme also That their Decrees are the Decrees of the Holy Ghost Little considering therewhile That it is one thing to borrow the Forme and another thing to borrow the Certainty and the Infallibility of a Councell For suppose that After-Councels did follow the Form of that first Councel exactly in all Circumstances yet I hope no advised man will say There is the like Infallibility in other Councels where no man sate that was Inspired as was in this where all that sate as Iudges were Inspired Or if any Iesuite will be so bold as to say it he had need bring very Good Proofe for it and far better then any is brought yet Now that all Councels are not so Infallible as was this of the Apostles nor the Causes handled in them as there they were is manifestby d Vide quà m prudentèr aguÌ„t non pracipitaÌ„t SententiaÌ„ sed singula expendunt In rebus â—…nim Fidei quae conscientiaÌ„ tangunt non satis est dicere Volumus Mandamus Vides igitur quomodo Conveniunt Apostoli simpliciter Conveniunt nihil nisi Deum quaerunt