am left and they seek my life to take it away I suppose a clearer evidence of the latencie and obscuritie of the church cannot be brought Yet our Rhemists and Romanists seek to avoyd it by laying the whole blame upon the ten tribes of Israel and clearing Judah But it is too manifest by the reformation of Ezekiah 2 King 18. 4. and Josiah 2. King 22. 23. and the judgement of God upon Manasses 2 King 24. 3. that Judah was partaker with Israel and therefore both are alike charged by the spirit of God 2 King 17. 13. Yet the Lord testified against Israel and against Iudah by all the prophets and by all the seers saying turn you from your evill ways and keep my commandements and my statutes v. 14. notwithstanding they would not hear nor obey but hardned their necks like to the necks of their fathers v. 16. they made molten images and worshiped all the host of heaven and served Baal v. 19. also Iudah kept not the commandements of the Lord their God but walked in the staâ—…es of Israel which they made therefore the Lord cast away all the seed of Israel and afflicted them and delivered them into the hands of spoylers and carried them into the land Ashur where according to the prophesie of Hosea c. 3. 4. the children of Israel abode many days without a king and without a prince and without a sacrifice and without an image without an Ephod and without a Teraphim A sad text to comment upon no king no priest no scepter no censer no throne of David no chayr of Moses no court no temple Where was now the glorious hierarchie our adversaries dream of where was the reverend assembly of prelates the numerous congregations of people the solemn feasts the stately processions the rich furniture and pompous ceremonies and glittering shews which make the lustre of such a church as they would have Where was now the citie set upon a hill that cannot be hid the tabernacle piched in the sun At this time and afterwards in the days of Jeremie and Ezekiel and likewise after the death of our Saviour during first the ten persecutions of the church by the heathen emperours and in the middle by the Arrian and last of all by antichristian princes and states the true church was more like to the moon than the sun which is ofttimes in the wane sometimes in a partiall and sometimes also in a totall eclipse and true beleevers are compared to the sands which are by the sea shore and appear innumerable in calm and fair weather but in trouble som times as it were in a rough sea tribulationum tentationum fluctibus operiuntur atque turbantur not a sand is to be seen Such times have been and we are to expect no better in the lees of time and latter days For then many false prophets shall arise and deceive many Mat. 24. 11. and because iniquitie shall abound the love of many shall wax cold there shall be a falling away or a generall apostasie from the christian faith and the man of sin shall be revealed the son of perdition and the tail of the dragon shall draw the third part of the stars of heaven and cast them to the earth and the divell shall rage the more by how much his time is shorter and the dragon shall give power unto the beast and he shall make war with the saints and overcome them and all that dwell upon the earth shall worship him whose names are not written in the book of life When iniquitie getteth the upper hand and antichrist shall be in his highest elevation shall the son of man then find faith upon the earth that is as the Romish commentators themselvs expound the word any publike outward profession of faith any beauty of holinesse or appearance of a christian church S. Augustine resolveth negatively by the sun moon and stars the church in regard of her clearest lights and eminent professors is understood when the sun shall be darkned and the moon shall not give her light and the stars shall fall from heaven the church shall not appear wicked men persecuting her above measure Against which times the Lord arm and prepare his dearest servants that love the truth in sincerity Aldersgate London from prison in Peter-house August the first 1644. Thine in the Lord Iesus D. F. AN ANSWER TO A POPISH CHALLENGE Touching the antiquity and visibility of the true church and other questions depending thereon PARAGRAPH I. Concerning the name catholike CHALLENGE We catholikes say c. Answer IF I mistake not in my guesse you seem to be some mendicant fryer and according to that profession you begin with begging for in the very first words you beg the main point in question to wit that you are catholikes saying We catholikes prove your selvs to be so and then speak so win the name and bear it mean while say not we catholikes but we papists or if you have a months mind to the name catholike qualifie it and allay it with your distinctive term Roman and speak as your fellowes do we of the * catholike Roman church that is we of the universall particular church for if catholike be universall surely roman is particular Or rather say not we catholikes say but we say that we are catholikes for this hath been the say of all hereticks and schismaticks The Arrians saith Salvianus and all other mis-beleevers are hereticks in our account but not in their own nay they so farre over wâ—â—n themselvs catholikes that they stick not to defâ—… us who are truly catholikes with the title and brand of hereticks As Sâ—… Magus stiled himself the great power of God and Iezabel called her selfe a prophetesse and Nestorius a notorious heretick covered himself with a vail of an orthodox professour and the Turks though it appear out of all stories that they came from Hagar the bond-â—oâ—â—n and are truly Hagarâ—ns yet give themselves the names of 〈◊〉 so you papists generally though you are a medley or cento of many hereticks both ancient and latter yet you voyce your selvs catholikes and your own testimony is the best if not the onely plea you have to that title For if any other whom you hove not taught to speak give you that title it is out os ignorance or in derision as the Athenians made a decree to deine Alexander quia Alexander vult esse deus sit Deus because Alexander will be a god let him be a god The term catholike cannot be taken but in one of these two senses either properly for universall and so it is opposed to particular or improperly for orthodoxall and so it is opposed to hereticall or schismaticall When this epithere is applyed to the church it is taken in the first sense {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} supple {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} but when it is applyed to faith it is for the
lay-pâ—pes yours are clergie enthusiasts The propagation of the christian faith to al ages even to the end of the world we believe by the ministery of the word established by our Lord and Saviour when he ascended far above all heavens that he might fill all things and he gave some apostles and some prophets and some evangelists and sâ—â—e pastours and teachers for the perfecting of the saints for the work of the ministery for the edifying of the body of Christ till 〈◊〉 all comâ— in the unitie of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God 〈◊〉 a perfect man unto the measure of the stature of the fulnesse of Christ We acknowledge also that these ministers S. Paul speaketh of and distinguisheth by the titles of evangelists doctors and pastours c. ought to be lawfully ordained and be visible and known to those who belong to the true church though not always to their blood-thirstie enemies When our blessed Lord and Saviour fled into AEgypt and the woman into the wildernesse and the primitive saints wandered in deserts and in mountaines and in dens and caves of the earth when S. Hilarie complains against many in his time who were carried away with the splendour and outward pomp of the Arrian clergie possessing the greatest cities and towns you do ill saith he to be in love with wals hils and woods and deserts and gulfs are safer for me for in these the prophets either drowned or remaining alive prophesied by the spirit of God In such perilous times as these the visible pastours you speak of kept out of the eye of the world and the walk of their enemies and were not so known as you would seem to imply yet did they preach the gospel in despight of antichristian opposits bending all their forces and banding against them and there were added to the church daily such as should be saved PARAG. V. Concerning the perpetuity of the true church and her immunitie from all fundamentall ' errours in poynts necessarie to salvation CHALENGE Whence we say it followeth that not for six hundred years only as many protestants grant there was a true church free from spot of errour but likewise in all ages following there ever waâ— and must be such a church in the union whereof all might be saved Answer That from the creation of the first Adam and his consort till the comming of the second Adam to judgement there hath been and shall continue a true church in the world to which all that belong to Christs kingdom may and ought to repair for the means of salvation we doubt not And of this church we believe that though it consist of men subject to error as well in doctrin as in practise yet that it is so preserved by the spirit of truth promised by Christ from all fundamentall errours in points necessarie to salvation that neither the militant and visible church universally nor any true member thereof finally shall ever be stained with any spot of such errour But errours of lesse dangerous consequence which may be called pulvisculi navuli or aspergines spots indeed but not stains the visible church upon earth hath seldom or never been free from For to let passe the first six hundred years because on both sides we rather appeal to them than any way appeach them Beda who flourished in the year 730. bemoans the state of the church saying every man seeth with wet eys how the state of the church daily grows worse and worse and well might he complain in such sort for Genebrard a popish chronicler confesseth that in succeeding times from Iohn the eighth till Leo the ninth all that sate in the apostolike chair fell away from the vertue of their auncestours deserved rather to be termed apotacticall and apostaticall than apostolicall And after the thousand year when satan was let loose even till the happie reformation of the church by Martin Luther let us heat what the witnesses of the truth in their severall ages have deposed touching the church failings especially in the western parts In the year 1050. Benno writeth that the popes chair was fearfully cut into more parts and that prodigie boded that those popes who were to sit in it should miserably rend the church of Christ In the year 1078. Lambertus Geasonburgensis writeth that tares ran over the whole field of Christ and that the whole body of Christs flock pined away in a consumption In the year 1160. Otho Frisingensis observeth that Rome grew in wealth and power but decayed in truth and justice In the year 1200. Ioachimus a religious Abbat discourseth how far the religion practised in his time differed from the form and manner of the primitive church and how the church now growing old like Solomon fell into idolatriâ— In the year 1290. Robert Gallus had a vision wherein he saw a pope saying masse with a lean meagre and dry head like as if it had been made of wood and the spirit said unto him this signifieth the state of the Roman church In the year 1304. Ubertinus a Casali chargeth the Roman church with grosse and foul adulterie the present church is called new Babylon which is the great whore because the true worship and love of her spouse Iesus is fouly corrupted in her and the spirit of righteous men in this time is oppressed above measure and is compelled will they nill they in many things to serve the whore in her unclean acts In the year 1320. William Occham thus declaimeth against the popes tyrannie and crueltie in wasting the church of God and suppressing the truth the bishops who now seem to govern and teach the people of God that they may compasse their wicked ends persecute those that defend the truth even to death and shed innocent blood In the year 1370. S. Brigetta describeth the miserable state of the church in her days in her writings extant in Bibliotheca patrum In the year 1416. Gerson the famous chancellor of Paris ingeâ—â—ously confesseth that many corruptions and abuses were brought into the church under the colour of religion which it were far better and more pious to omit than retain In the year 1460. Platina brandeth Christs vicaâ— with crueltie against the true servants of Christ He which calleth himself Christs vicar condemneth Christs commands and burneth them that believe in his words And in the life of Bennet the eighth he breaketh out into a bitter exclamation of the guides of the people in his time O the miserable condition saith he of these blind men who because they persist in errour against their conscience cast themselvs into everlasting perdition He that is not satisfied with this taste may glut himself if 〈◊〉 please with store of such bitter fruit gathered to his hand by the author and supplementer of Catalogus testium veritatis especially in the 14 centurie and Petrus de Alliacâ— de planctu curiae Romanâ— and de
body of Christ is in very deed and sensually handled and broken in the priests hands and ground and chewed with the teeth of the faithfull as the form of subscription enjoâ—ned to Berengarius by pope Nicholas extant in the canon law implyeth others like not of this grosse manner of eatinâ— and for Nicholas his words they put a colourable glosse upon them Some hold that mice may eat the body of Christ others doubt of it and others deny it Some hold the consecration to be made by these words Hoc est corpus meum others are of another mind 11. Touching the pope Some teach that he may err as pope and in cathedra others will by no means grant that the pope sitting in his chair may be ever beside the cushion Some teach that the pope hath power to depose kings and dispose of their kingdoms others can find no ground at all in scripture or reason for this temporall power of the pope 12. Touching coâ—â—celâ— Some hold that the councell is above the pope others that the pope is above the generall councell and both sides bring into the field pares aquilas pila minantia pilis pope against pope and councell against councell nay councell and pope against councell and pope and here you are at your wits end These and such like controversies nay speculations of far lesse moment are matters of faith when we differ from you or among our selvs about them Forsooth your determination maketh matter of faith be the question never so flight or curious your suspence makes it a neutrall point be the matter never so expedient for resolution Nor in points resolved by the church can the generall submission of the popes subjects be accounted union when as it is constrained by the strong hand of authority suppressing all contradiction rather than proceeding from any voluntary and free consent of judgements as appeareth by your clipping the tongues of Stella Ferus anâ— very many other of your own authors when they speak any thing of your errours or corruptions PAR. XI That the notes above-named are not found in the Roman church CHALLENGE All which going together and being onely found in her and not in another church do evidently prove that she alone is truly Apostolicall and consequently out of her there neither is nor can be salvation Answer When Phasis in Martial being but a peasant put himself into a rich sute of apparell and having the garb of a gentleman thrust himself amongst the gentlemen into the theater and there fell a commending the new edict of the Emperour touching the placing of all sorts of citizens according to their ranks saying tandem commodius licet sedere nunc est reddita dignitas equestris c Now we may sit without trouble now the gentry have recovered their right Before he had ended his speech in comes Lectius the Emperours officer to execute the edict and by vertue of that edict which Phasis was so highly extolling turns him out of his seat as not due to him by any title or colour save of his purple coat Istas purpureas arrogaâ—tes Jussit surgere Lectius laâ—ernas Whether Phasis his case and yours are not alike let those judge who dare look upon truth without such false spectacles as you pâ—… upon the noses of those whom you nuzell in superstition You set forth visibility and universality and unity and succession in golden and glorious colours as the proper marks of Christs true church by which marks and notes you are discovered to be none of the tâ—â—e church sorex suo indicio For as hath in part already and shall hereafter be shewed more at large if either your cause or heart will bear a second encounter popery was not visible till many hundred years after Christ when the man of sin began to be revealed universall popery was never at unity with it self it is not at this day and for the succeeding of Roman bishops it hath been such both in regard of the violent fraudulent symoniacall and schismaticall manner thereof as also in regard of the persons succeeding in that see who have been branded with the foul marks of iâ—cest and the sin not to be named and the black and hellish marks of schism heresie atheism and necromancy that if there could be a succession in hell it could not be imagined to be worse PARAG. XII Amplitude and eminent visibilitie no mark of the true Church CHALENGE To disprove us herein we require that a protestant church with these marks may be shewed to have been always extâ—â—t Answer To disprove you herein it is not requisit that a protestant church with these marks be shewed it is sufficient to shew that these are not proper and inseparable marks of the true church To â—anverse your whole discourse we need no more than to exâ—â—â—ge and rub out the false marks you have drawn of the church which may be done with a wet finger Of your â—â—itie and succession we suppose you desire to hear no more as for eminent visibilitie and uâ—iversalitie it seemeth strange that amplitude should be the mark of Christs little flock eminent visibilitie and â—ustre the character of the woman which fled into the wildernesse and there hid her self a long time If the outward conspicuousnesse of the church may not be sometime obscured and eclipsed S. Ambrose was out who compared her in this respect to the moon You your self confesse that before the days of Constantiâ—e the church was generally eclipsed and I may as certainly add that not long after the days of Constantine during the raigâ— and fury of Arriâ—â— Emperours and bishops bearing the greatest sway and occupying the chiâ—f sents in the church she was again eclipsed or rather turned into blood and yet neither the heathen nor the Arrâ—â—â— persecution by the judgement of the best learned may be compared to that {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} that last and greatest tribulation by anti-christ at which time as those of your own side confesse the publike sacrifice shall cease And as S. Austine saith expressely â—cclesia non apparebit impiâ—s ultra modum saevientibus the church shall not appâ—â—r wicked men raging and cruelly persecuting her aboue measure You see what becomes of your note of eminent visibilitie and splendour now for amplitude and multitude of professors if it were safe following it if that were the touch-stone of truth if religion must go by voices of the many the Greek church would carry it at this day from you the Mahumetans from it and the idolatrous gentiles from all For as a learned and judicious man hath exactly calculated it the christians at this day possesse neer about a sixt part of the known inhabited world the Mahumetans a fifth part and the idolatrous gentiles two thirds or little lesse so that if we divide the known regions of the world into thirty equall parts the christians part is as five the
Mahumetans as fix and the idolatrous as nineteen O lamentable estate of the world Quis talia fâ—â—dâ— temperet a lachrymis how much larger is the heard of satan than the flock of Christ if you restrain your note of universalitie to such as professe the worship of God in Christ and thereby exclude the Payniâ—â—s and Mahumâ—tans yet so it will not stead you for it is most certain that the partie of christians which oppose the papacy is incomparably the greatest in number If to the protestants in the western church you add the eastern churches professing christian faith in a great part of Europe Asia and Africa they will bear down the scale to the ground To speak nothing of the Abâ—ssinâ—â— and AEthiopians largely dispread in the kingdoms of Prâ—ster Iohn to omit the patriarch of Muscovia the archbishops of Moldâ—via and Walachia Under the Turk there are foâ—â— pâ—triarchs at this day to wit the patriarch of Constantinople of Alâ—xâ—ndria Antiochia and Ierusalem and that these patriarchs are not like some of your bishops whom Pâ—normitan fitly calls nullatenenses appeâ—rs by the catalogue of archbishops subject to the pâ—triarch of Conâ—… sâ—t down by Curopalata which are these 1. The archbishop of Casâ—rea in Câ—ppâ—dâ—cia 2. Ephesus 3. Heracleâ— 4. Aâ—… 5. 〈◊〉 6. Sardis 7. Necomedia 8. Nicea 9. Calcedon 10. Mitylene 11. Thessalonica 12. Laodicea 13. Synadae 14. Ieonium 15. Corynth 16. Athens 17. Patrae 18. Trupezuntium 19. Larissae 20. Naupactus 21. Adrianopolis These archbishops have many bishops under them the archbishop of Ephesus 2. of Moldavia 3. of Walachia 3. of Heraclea 7. of Thessalonica 9. of Corynth 10. of Athens 11. of Larissae 13. of Muscovia 17. not to over-charge your memory with more under the patriarchs All those christians besides many more of the Greek church professing Christ differ from your Roman church in many substantiall points of faith They â—cknowledge no supremacy of the Pope have no faith in his infallibility nor trust in his pardons they disclaim merits and works of supererogation purgatory transubstantiation are no articles of their faith they allow marriage of priests they cannot away with the mutilation of the sacrament by depriving the laytie of the cup they teach the perfection and sufficiencie of the scripture they have the scripture and the church lyturgie in their severall languages understood by their people The Muscâ—vits in the Muscâ—vitish the Arâ—bians in the Arabick the Georgians in the Iberick the Carmonians in the Carmanick the Colâ—hians Slavonians Grecians in their known Greek or other peculiar languages therefore it is not safe for you to put the truth of religion upon this poynt Were the rule of multitude of visible professors of religion certâ—in and infallible Miâ—hea were to be condemned and the 400. prophets of Ahaâ— to be justified Ieremy to be abandoned and all the prophets that were in Iuda and Ierusalem whom â—ose against him to be followed Nay Christ the truth it self to be traduced and reproved and the coâ—â—cell of the chief priests and elders held against him to be maintained and approved Had you lived in Athanasius his days we know where to have had you questionlesse not of his side who had all the world in a manner against him as the speech of the Arrian Emperouâ— to Liberius imports Whâ—â— a petty part art thou of the world Who art thou that â—etteâ—â— thy self against the world In S. Iohnâ— time the whole world was set on wickednesse and in Athanasius his time upâ—n heresie â—oâ—us mâ—â—dus saith S. Hierom gemuit se factâ—… Arrâ—anum the whole worlâ— grâ—aned because it became Arriaâ— What becomes now of your note of universaâ—itie To this poynt I earnestly desire particular satisfaction which I have not yeâ— received from any Româ—… catholike or universalist as they would be called PAR. XIII Where the true church was when the Roman fell CHALLENGE Or if they cannot do this as we well know they cannot let them labour to assign us another catholike church distinct from the Roman when she as they falsly suppose fell from her first truth Answer We cannot prove our true church by the false marks you have set down neither can you prove your false church by the true marks set down by us Eminent visibilitie illustrious ample unversalitie and anti-christian combination under one head the Pope are no marks as hath bin shewed of the true church And what then if we cannot prove our doctrin by them Then you say let them labour to assign us another catholike church distinct from the Roman when she as they falsly suppose fell from her first truth I have already shewed a church more ample than yours and not only distinct from your Roman but opposite to it as much as we in the most sundamentall poynt to wit the papacy yea so opposite that the first sunday in Lent when they solemnly curse all hereticks as Arrius Macedonius Eutyches Nestorius Apollinaris c. they pronounce in like manner an Anathema to the Pope But what an argument is this If you cannot prove your church by the fore-named false marks then assign us some other church distinct from the Roman in which these marks are conspicuous To passe by this your lame inference and make the best of such poor stuff as you bring out of your own words a man may pick out such an argument either the Roman church continued still the church or when she sell away some other church must be assigned which persevered in the truth else there should be no Church in the world If this be that you would say the answer to this your objection is very easie on our parts for we charge not the Latin church with defection from the true faith universally but the chief governoâ—rs and leaders thereof or to speak more fully that prevalent and predominant faction in the church of Rome that hath born sway for some hundreds of years which we say is plunged into many dangerous and pestilent errors and superstitions yet not into all errors at one leap but they sunk into them by degrees when then this faction in the Roman church which we call the papacy or the kingdom of anti-christ or the Mystery of iniquitie threw it self into an open gulf of error or heresie we say that that part of the Roman church and elsewhere which both secretly and openly impugned such error and heresie and in as much as in them lay stopt such corruptions at the entrance were the true church as for example when the fore-named faction by Boniface the third Phocas his means brought first into the church the Luciferian title and anti-christian power of oecumenicall or universall bishop and head of the whole church they in the Greek and Latin church which opposed it were the true church When the same faction by Irene and Pope Adrians means decreed the worshiping of images in the second councell of Nice those who made head against them and
barreth the heathen of necessary means to salvation whilst he seeketh not the true church with which to jown hands and amongst christians this invisibilitie supposed it were very hard to hold communion with her in the administration of the sacraments We then affirm and let our adversaries disprove it if they can that the Roman church hath bin always visible We affirm that the Roman church hath bin always catholike viz. universall The Romish church hath ever had a succession of true bishops and pastors derived from the Apostles still teaching the same unchanged doctrine in all substantiall poynts of faith All which going together and being onely found in her and no other church do evidently prove that she alone is truly Apostolicall and consequently out of her there neither is nor can be salvation To disprove us herin we require that a protestant church with these marks may be shewed to have bin always extant Or if they cannot do this as we well know they cannot let them labour to assign us another catholike church distinct from the Roman when she as they falsly suppose fell from the first truth Or at least they must shew us who were the true professors of protestancy in the immediate age before Luther began in what city town or countrey they dwelt and what writers speak of them which lived before our times If they cannot satisfie us in any of these demands in which alone we offer to joyn issue with them then do we think the day to be ours if they can name any who did both believe and professe the protestant doctrine in all points let them do it and then if we do not disprove them the day is theirs And seeing all is brought to this issue we wish your learned to encounter us in this only point and whatsoever they shall return for answer not belonging hereunto we shall account it impertinent and unworthy reply as not direct to our purpose which is to find out the true catholike and visible church Ridiculous it is to answer as some do that there were true believing protestants when Luther began but durst not for fear of fire professe their faith this wee say is to condemn them to have had no faith at all but to be a dissembling company of such as were neither hot nor cold Christ saying of such he that denyeth me before men I will deny him before my father in heaven Or if your men fly this difficulty we will joyn issue with them in the maintenance of that faith and religion into which we Englishmen were first converted by Austine a monk a man of God sent by Gregory the great bishop of Rome more then a thousand years since a faith confirmed by miracle from heaven and therefore must needs be true and never noted to differ from the common received faith of christendome in those days as appeareth by the severall epistles of the said S. Gregory to the bishops of Europe Asia and Africa with all whom he held communion of faith so as if Christ had a catholike church upon earth as needs he must S. Gregory was of it and it then being a true church we say holding still the same â—enets it must needs be so now Gods truthbeing like unto himself without change and therefore if an angell should come from heaven to teach us any other doctrine then we first received we are not to hear him the good seed being ever first sowed and the Galathians were worthily reprehended by S. Paul for not constantly retaining their first planted faith Or lastly if you desire to goe nearer to the times of the apoâ—â—les we will joyn with you to prove our faith in the days of Constantine the great who first built and opened christian churches and gave freedom for christians to come together and to know and publish to the world what was held by them which before could not so well be done by reason of the great persecutions in which the church had bin till then generally eclipsed Finis The PREFACE to the ensuing ANSWER {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} To the unknown reader BE not offended courteous reader at the epithete I give thee For I call him to witnesse whom the schools rightly term primam veritatem that I am in respect of my present condition to seek a man of quality and authoritie to whom wronged truth may fly for succour and shelter Albeit the ensignes are everie where displayed for the defence of the true protestant religion for which both sides ingage their persons and estates yet upon exact search it will be found that the flags and streamers lately in Ireland and now also in England are dyed with protestant blood And for my self in particular though in the former Halcyou days of peace I could scarce name more persons of worth and quality then patrons of my weak endeavours against the common adversarie yet now I may truly say with Gregory the divine epist. 31. {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} Notwithstanding aâ— Cynegyrus in a sea-fight against the Persians after his weapons were wrested from him caught hold on the ship with his right hand and when that was cut off with his left hand and after both with his teeth as Crassus the famous oratour when Philip the consul sorely threatned him for speaking so freely for the liberty of the senate answered like a true Roman senatour if thou wilt have me hold my peace in so good a cause thou must cut out my tongue which after thou hast pluckt out with my very breath my liberty shall resute and confound thy tyrannicall humour and proud insolence in like manner though I have lost both libras and libros all means of livelyhood and liberty too yet I will never be wanting in the defence of Gods truth against Romish Idolatry and tyrannis while I have a hand to write or a tongue to speak dum memor ipse mei dum spiritus hos regit artus Having therefore received a chalenge from a Romanist whose name I know not who defieth the host of the living God and like Paris in Homer {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} hath demanded a duell a single combat with any that dare to enter into the lâ—sts with him in the quarrell of the Romish church I could not contain my self though restrained at the present and unfurnished of my choicest weapons but accepting of the chalenge I have met with him in the field pitcht by himself I mean the controversie touching the perpetuall visibilitie of the true church and other difficult questions both historicall and theologicall depending thereon Now because our Romish adversaries conceive that they have most advantage in this dispute of all other and therefore seek to reduce all questions to it as you hear in the chalenge I hold it fit in this proamble to the ensuing encounter exactly to state it and set it upon its true