vttered many things in your leters concerning Peters chaire saying that he yet sitteth in it in his successours I truely doe acknowledge my selfe to be vnworthy not onely to be in the number of those that sit as rulers but of them that stand to bee ruled But I therefore willingly accept whatsoeuer you say because he hath spoken to me of Peters chaire that sitteth in Peters chaire and although it no way pleaseth or delighteth me to be specially honoured yet I greatly reioyced because what you attributed to me you gaue to your selues For who knoweth not that the holy Church is firmely established in the soundnesse of the Prince of the Apostles whose firmenesse his name doth shew for he is named Peter of Petra a Rocke to whom the voyce of Verity saith I will giue to thee the Keyes of the Kingdome of Heauen and thou being converted confirme thy brethren and againe Simon Ioanna Louest thou mee feede my sheepe Wherefore though there were many Apostles yet in respect of the chiefty he had the chaire of Peter chiefe of the Apostles grew to be in greater authority then the rest which is the chaire of one Apostle in three places For he exalted the See in which he was pleased to rest and to end this present life he beautified that See wherein he left the Evangelist his Disciple and he firmely established that See in which he sate seuen yeares though with purpose in the end to leaue it and to depart from it Whereas therefore there is the See of one and that but one wherein three Bishops by Gods appointment doe sit to rule whatsoeuer good I heare of you I account it mine owne and what you perswade your selues of mee thinke that you also are worthy of the same If this Epistle proue that the Pope cannot erre it proueth likewise that the Bishoppes of Alexandria and Antioche are free from errour For all these succeede that great Apostle Saint Peter to whom Christ saide To thee will I giue the Keyes of the Kingdome of Heauen and thou being turned confirme thy brethren And againe Louest thou me feede my sheepe as well as the Pope All these sit in Peters chaire Peters chaire is in Alexandria and at Antioche as well as at Rome and whatsoeuer they that are Bishops of Alexandria and Antioche attribute to the Bishop of Rome they may lawfully assume to themselues seeing they are worthy of the same as Gregory in this place telleth vs. Wherefore seeing not onely Fathers and Councels but euen Popes also in whose defence he writeth faile him the Cardinall flieth for helpe to the Priests of Aarons order and goeth about to proue that the Pope cannot erre because the high Priest had in his brest-plate Vrim and Thummim light and perfection or doctrine and trueth as hee will haue the Hebrew word translated importing as hee supposeth that he could not erre in the vnderstanding of the Law of God Whereupon as he thinketh God commaunded all those that any way doubted of the meaning of his Law to goe vp to the high Priest and to seeke to bee satisfied by him saying They shall iudge true iudgment vnto thee Lyra in his Annotations vpon this place reporteth that there was a certaine Glosse of the Hebrewes that if the High Priest should tell them that their right hand were their left or their left their right they were to hold it good and right The like opinion it seemeth the Romanists haue of the Pope But Lyra in that place condemneth the folly of those Iewes that so thought because the sentence of no man of what authoritie soeuer hee bee is to bee admitted if it containe a manifest vntruth and errour which hee saith is euident out of the very text it selfe in that it is said They shall iudge vnto thee true iudgement and thou shalt doe whatsoeuer they shall say vnto thee that are ouer the place that the Lord hath chosen and whatsoeuer they shall teach thee according to his lawes Whereby it appeareth that if they speake that which is vntrue or manifestly depart from the law they are not to be heard The Author of the ordinary Glosse agreeth with Lyra saying Note that the Lord requireth thee to doe whatsoeuer the Priests doe teach thee according to the Law because otherwise thou art not to obey them vnlesse they teach thee according to the Law Whereupon Christ saith the Scribes and Pharisees sit vpon Moses chaire who yet as the Author of the Interlineall Glosse noteth are not generally without exception to be hearkned vnto but then onely when they vtter and deliuer pertinentia ad Cathedram that is such things as beseeme him to vtter that sitteth in Moses chaire So that to conclude this point neither the Vrim and Thummim in Aarons breast-plate nor the Mandate of Almighty God to goe vp to the sonnes of Aaron to secke iudgement iustice proue that they could not erre and therefore the Pope is still in as bad case as euer he was Wherefore finding no helpe in the Tribe of Leui nor in the house of Aaron they betake themselues to experience and are in good hope to proue out of the experience of former times that the Pope cannot erre First because as they say whatsoever the Pope condemned at any time as hereticall was euer holden to bee so by the whole Church and many heresies were neuer condemned any otherwise but by his iudgement onely Secondly because neuer any Pope was an Heretique whereas all other principall Sees and Churches haue had Bishoppes not onely erring but teaching and professing heresie The instances that Bellarmine giueth of heresies and heretiques condemned by the Pope and reiected for such by the Church onely because hee condemned them are the Pelagians Priscillianists Iouinian and Vigilantius and their heresies It is hard I see for a Blackamoore to change his skinne for a Leopard to put away his spots or for a man that hath long acquainted himselfe with false and vnfaithfull dealing to learne to deale sincerely and truely For touching the heretickes mentioned by the Cardinall all the world knoweth they were condemned in Synodes by many Bishops and not by the priuate censure of the Bishoppe of Rome alone Nay it is most certaine that others shewed more care diligence in suppressing some of these heretickes and their errours then euer the Romane Bishop did which I will make to appeare in the particulars beginning with the Pelagians Pelagius the founder of these hereticks was borne in great Britaine and becomming a Monke in the East parts of the world after hee had sparsed his errours in other places abroad returned home into his owne countrey and infected it almost wholly with his heresie Heereupon the Britaines sought helpe and direction of the French Bishoppes because learning at that time flourished more among them then it did among the Britaines who willing to reach forth their helping hands to their neighbours and brethren in this time of their
or inducement to make vs beleeue things we know not but it must be the report of such an one as we know cannot be deceiued nor will not deceiue It must therefore be evident to euery one that firmely and without doubting beleeueth things not knowne vnto him vpon the report of another that he that reporteth them vnto him neither is deceiued nor can deceiue Whence it followeth necessarily that things are as he reporteth These things presupposed I demaund of this Treatiser whether he and his consorts assent to the Articles of the Christian Faith induced so to doe by the evidence of the things in thēselues or by the report of another That they assent not vnto thē induced so to do by the evidence of the things in thēselues they all professe but by the report of another I demand therefore who that other is whether God or man if man then haue they nothing but anhumane perswasion very weakly grounded wherein they may be deceiued for euery man is a lyar If God let them tel me whether it be evident in it self that God deliuereth these things vnto thē pronounceth them to be as they beleeue or not If not but beleeued only then as before by reasō of authority that either of God or man Not of God for it is not evident in it self that God deliuereth any thing vnto thē not of men for their report is not of such credit asthat we may certainly vndoubtedly stay vpon it seeing they may be deceiued deceiue other They answere therefore that it is no way evident vnto them in it selfe that God deliuereth the things they beleeue but that they perswade themselues hee deliuered such things vpōthe report of men but such men as are infallibly led into all truth See then if they doe not runne round in a circle finding no stay They beleeue the resurrection of the dead and the like things because God revealed it they beleeue that God revealed it because it is so contained in the Scripture and the Scripture because it is the Word of God and that it is the Word of God because the Church so delivereth and the Church because it is a multitude of men infallibly led into all truth and that there is a Church infallibly led into all truth because it is so contained in Scripture and the Scripture because it is the word of God and so round without euer finding any end Out of this circle they cannot get vnles they either groūd their Faith vpon the meere report of men as men humane probabilities or confesse that it is evident vnto them in it selfe that God speaketh in the Scripture and revealeth those things which they beleeue which if they doe it must bee in respect either of the manner matter there vttered or consequent effects In respect of the manner there being a certaine diuine vertue force and majesty in the very forme of the words of him that speaketh in the Scripture in respect of the matter which being suggested and proposed to vs findeth approbation of reason inlightned by the light of grace in respect of the consequent effects in that we finde a strange and wonderful change wrought in vs assuring vs the doctrine is of God that hath such effects which is that we say which they condemne in vs. The Treatiser would make vs beleeue that there are two opinions amongst them touching this point whereof the one is as he telleth vs that wee beleeue the Church because the Scripture teacheth vs that shee is to be beleeued the Scripture because the Church deliuereth it to vs to be the word of God And the other that by the assistance of God together with the concurrence of our naturall vnderstanding we produce an act of supernaturall Faith by which wee firmely beleeue the Articles of Christian Faith not for any humane inducements but for that they are revealed by Almighty God without seeking any further which if it be so it must be evident in it self to thē that follow this opiniō that God hath revealed deliuered the things they beleeue that by one of the 3 waies before mētioned thē they fal into our opiniō for if it be not evidēt to thē in it self that God speakes in the scriptures reveales the things they are to beleeue they must go further to be assured that he doth so speake and reueale the things that are to bee beleeued either to proofe of reason or authority For no man perswadeth himselfe of any thing but vpon some inducements Proofe of reason demonstratiue I thinke they will not seeke and probable inducements they may not rest in therefore they must proceede to some proofeby authority which can bee no other but that of the Church and then they ioyne with them that follow the other opinion and beleeue the articles of Christian faith conteyned in Scripture because God hath reuealed them and that God hath reuealed them because the Church telleth them so and the Church because the Scripture testifieth of it that it is led into all trueth which is a very grosse sophisticall circulation This the Treatiser did well perceiue and therefore to helpe the matter he distinguisheth the cause of beleeuing and the condition necessarily requisite that the cause may haue her working in shew making the Diuine Reuelation the reason or cause that we beleeue and the Churches proposing to vs the things to be beleeued a condition only and not a cause in sort as the fire alone is the cause of the burning of the wood but the putting of one of them to another is a necessary condition without which that cause can produce no such effect but this shift will not serue the turne For it is the fire onely that burneth the wood though it cannot burne vnlesse it be put vnto it so that in like sort if the comparison hold the Diuine Reuelation must of and by it selfe alone moue induce and incline vs to beleeue the things proposed by the Church as being euident vnto vs to be a Deuine Reuelation though without the Churches proposing we could take no notice of it Euen as in naturall knowledge it is the euidence of trueth appearing vnto vs originally found in the first principles and secondarily in the conclusions from thence deduced that is the sole and onely cause or reason of our assent to such principles and conclusions though without the helpe of some men of knowledge proposing them to vs and leading vs from the apprehension of one of them to another happily we should not at all attaine such knowledge But this euidence of the Diuine Reuelation in it selfe the Treatiser will not admit For it is no way euident in it selfe to him that God hath reuealed any of the things he beleeueth but the onely proofe besides humane motiues or reasons which are too weake to bee the ground of Fayth that he hath is the authority of the Church So that the Ministery of the Church is
knowledge of the tongues may be and is most necessary After all these exceptions taken against the helpes and rules proposed by me for the finding out of the true meaning of Scripture the Treatiser setteth on mee a fresh in fiercer manner then before and requireth me to bring some diuine testimony proofe or argument or some particular reason of the necessity and sufficiency of these helpes and rules Whereunto I briefly answer that if any Papist vnder Heauen can take any exception against any of these helpes and rules proposed by mee or deuise any other I will iustifie the necessity and sufficiencie of them but otherwise I thinke it altogether needlesse to proue that the Sunne shineth at noone 〈◊〉 to shew by reason or authority that spirituall things cannot bee discerned but by spirituall men The Treatiser therefore returneth and taketh new exceptions against the helpes and rules proposed by mee first affirming but most vntruely that the greater part of my brethren will not allow them and secondly labouring to improue them by reason For first that an illumination of the minde is not necessarie for the vnderstanding of the Scripture hee goeth about to shew because if such illumination bee necessarie no man can be assured of the truth of another mans interpretation seeing no man can tell whether hee haue an illumination of the vnderstanding and a minde disposed in such sort as is required or not Whereunto I answer that it is true that no man can assure himselfe that another mans interpretation is true good out of any knowledge of such personall things in the interpreter yet may hee know it to bee true out of the nature of the thing it selfe and thence inferre that either hee that so interpreteth or they from whom hee receiued such interpretation had a diuine illumination For even as to discourse of the nature of colours presupposeth that the man that so discourseth hath or had sight if hee speake thereof with any apprehension of that hee speaketh though a blinde man hauing heard the discourses of other may vse like wordes without all sense and apprehension of that hee speaketh So no man can interprete the Scriptures and discourse of the thinges therein contayned with sence and feeling but such a one whose minde is enlightned though prophane persons and such as bee voyde of all diuine illumination may as from others interprete the Scripture and discourse of such diuine thinges as are therein And as a man may assure himselfe that another mans discourse of colours is good out of the nature of the thing it selfe though hee know not whether hee haue or euer had such sence of seeing as is requisite in him that will speake of colours with any apprehension so a man may know that another mans interpretation is true though hee know not whether he haue such an illumination of mind as is necessary for the vnderstanding of the things contayned in the Scripture Secondly hee vndertaketh to shew that no man can eyther assure himselfe that he hath the true meaning of Scripture or conuince the gaine-sayers by following the direction of the former rules because as hee supposeth a man cannot certainely know that hee hath an illumination of minde that hee hath obserued those rules that hee is disposed as hee should bee and furnished with learning in such sort as is requisite Whereunto first I answere briefly that it is as possible for a man to know whether he haue an illumination of the mind or not as it is whether he haue the light of naturall reason Secondly that the obseruation of the rules formerly mentioned and the disposition of a mans mind resolued to embrace the trueth may as easily be knowen as any other motions purposes and resolutions Neither is it more hard for a man that is spirituall to know whether hee bee sufficiently furnished with learning requisite for the vnderstanding of the Scripture then for a naturall man to knowe whether hee haue learning enough to vnderstand Aristotle or any other prophane authour Thirdly in confutation of the former rules hee alledgeth that they may not be admitted as necessary because if they bee all such as haue no illumination of minde nor willing disposition to embrace the truth when it shal be manifested to thē must be excluded out of the number of faithfull ones Which if he thinke to be an absurdity it is no great matter what he saith but he addeth that they that are vnlearned haue not the knowledge of all those arts and sciences that are necessary for the vnderstanding of sundry parts of Scripture nor of those originall tongues wherein they were written without the knowledge whereof they cannot be vnderstood whereas yet they are to build their fayth vpon the Scripture rightly vnderstood whence it will follow that all such must be excluded out of the number of the faythfull This indeed is such a consequence as must not be admitted neither is there any such thing consequent vpon that which we say For though all men haue not that knowledge of arts sciences and tongues that is necessary for the exact vnderstanding of all parts passages of Scripture yet may they vnderstand so much of the same as is necessary to saluation without the knowledge of arts sciences the things that are so precisely necessary being deliuered in very plaine easie and familiar termes Neither is it necessary that if a man will build his faith vpon the Scripture that he must vnderstand euery part of it Onely one scruple remayneth which is that an ignorant man can haue no certaine ground of his faith if he build the same vpon the Scripture because lacking the knowledge of tongues he cannot know whether it be truely translated or not but this scruple may easily be remoued seeing an ignorant man out of the Scripture it selfe duely proposed explayned and interpreted vnto him may know it to be diuine heauenly inspired of God and consequently that in what tongue soeuer it was written it is truely translated touching the substance howsoeuer happily there may be some accidentall aberrations whereof he cannot judge After these exceptions taken against the helpes rules proposed by me as necessary for the finding out of the sence and meaning of the Scripture the Treatiser obseruing no order in his writings addresseth himselfe to proue that we haue no certaine meanes whereby to know that the Scriptures are of God or which they bee and then returneth againe to proue that we haue no certaine rule whereby to be assured we haue the sence of them But all that hee sayth to this purpose may easily bee answered For first the truth of Christian doctrine is diuinely proued vnto vs by the satisfaction wee finde in the same touching things wherein naturall reason left vs vnresolued and the effects wee finde to follow vppon the receiuing of it Secondly that Christian doctrine is reuealed it is euident because staying within the confines of the light of naturall