it if he were caught or else béene enforced to abiure and so goeth it with such at this day and so is it lyke to continue so long as your Antechristian mother shal be able to doo any thing The thousandes which that mother of your hath in this tyme of the last thousand yéeres murdered in Italie in Bohemie in Germany in Portinggale in Spaine in England in Scotland and in the late massacre in Fraunce doo all with one voice crie vnder our Alter Christ saying How long Lord thou that art holy and true doost thou not iudge and reuenge our bloode vpon them that that dwell on the earth Apoc 6. Apocal. 6. If you had not altogether lost your inwarde sight you might sée that the crie of these holy Martyrs is hearkened vnto for sixe of the seauen Angelles to whom were giuen seauen Vialles sull of the wrath of God haue already powred out theyr Vialles at the commaundement of God and the seuenth is ready to power out his Viall and shall shortly power it out into the ayre And then shal that great voice procéede out from the temple of Heauen euen from the throne saying Factum est It is finished Apoc 16. Apoc 16 This voyce shal be terrible to your Popish Catholique mother and to all you her children But most comfortable to the true Catholique Church of Christ our mother and to all vs her children I say therefore vnto you as Christ Iesus sayd to the Angell of the Church of Laodicea Apoc 3. annoynt thine eyes with eye salue that thou maiest sée c. Apoc 3 Thus I hope I haue made it plaine enough to as many as will sée that the Church whereof all right Protestantes are members hath brought foorth all those thousandes of Martirs that you speake of when you say that not one of them was of our congregation fayth or beléefe whiles they liued in this transitorie estate And that she hath brought foorth and nourished vp thousands moe in the tyme of thesâ— latter 1000. yéeres which your mother the Popish Catholique Church hath murdered and made Martirs Wherefore submit your selfe now and recant although you would not before The eight Offer Offerer Eight Wheras the Apostle S. Paule testifieth that Christ gaue vnto his church some Apostles some Prophets some Euangelists some Pastors and Doctors ad consummationem sanctorum in opus ministerij and so to continue to the edifiing of the bodie the Catholique Church vntill his comming againe Now if the Protestants shal be able to prooue by ecclesiastical histories of all ages the continuance vse of the sayd functions and degrees in theyr congregations and that by some orderly succession and plaine account made from Christ his tyme hetherto they haue neuer lacked the sayd appointed officers or that any other Church of Christ hath had at all times and the continuance of the same I shall then recant and relent and not before Crowley Ephe 4 It is a strang matter to sée how impudently this Offerer dare set downe the wordes of the Apostle Paule in the 4. Chapter of his Epistle to the Eph. as testifying that for an in fallible trueth which is as false as God himselfe is true That is that our Sauiour Christ hath appointed that hys Church shall haue Apostles Prophets Euangelists Pastors and Doctors continually tyll his comming againe and that in a continuall and orderly succession Amongest the learned interpreters there is not one that hath noted anie such meaning in those wordes of the Apostle It is verie true that our Sauiour Christ made choyse of such men as he had made méete to be his messengers and sent them foorth first into those Citties that belonged to the Kingdome of Israel and after his resurrection he sent them into al the world commaunding them to teach all nations Baptising the beléeuers in the name of the father of the sonne and of the holie Ghost And by the ministerie of those and a fewe others whome he dyd afterward stirre vp and ioyne in commission with those hée planted hys Church in all quarters of the world Those were the Apostles of whome Saint Paule wrote to the Ephesian 4. saying Hée gaue some Apostles These contynued in executing theyr offyce fathfully and painefullie tyll they had runne out the rase of theyr naturall lyfe Which course God dyd not suffer to bée ended béefore the sounde of them had béene hearde all the world ouer as appeareth by the wordes of Saynt Paule Rom 10 Rom 10 When these had executed theyr office and were taken out of this lyfe it was not néedefull that other should bée sent from God to doo that worke which these men had alreadie finished and so it was altogeather vnnecessarie that there should bée an orderly succession of Apostles in the Church But when God shall sée cause hee may at hys pleasure stirre vp and sende foorth such messengers as hée shall make méete to doo hys message And such hée hath styrred vp sence the tyme of those fyrst Apostles and such hee dooth and wyll styr vp send foorth at his â—leasure and such may bée called Apostles of Christ béecause they be styrred vp by hys spirit and are sent of hym But this can not bée called a continuall and orderly succession Such Apostles our Church did not lacke in the time of the first 600 yéeres next after the ascention of our Sauiour Christ as by your owne histories it dooth most plainely appeare And euer since you fell from vs we haue had and haue styll as many as our good God knoweth to be needeful for vs as by the regesters kept in your consistories may bée séene for therein are written the horrible sentenses of excommunication that you haue pronounced against them because they would not worship the image of the Beaste nor take hys marcke in theyr handes nor forehead Our Sauiour Christ gaue vnto our Church Prophets also such as he made able to foretell of thinges to come as Agabus Ac. 11. Acts 11. the daughters of Phillip the Euangelist Act. 21 Act 21. S. Paule himselfe Act 20 1. Timoth 4 2 3. Act 20. 1. Timot. 4. 2 Timo 3. And Iohn that wrote the Reuelations with many moe Yea when hys pleasure is he can and dooth foreshewe vnto men things to come by the ministerie of such as it pleaseth him to foreshewe those thinges vnto Yea and he hath alwayes furnyshed and dooth styll furnish our Church with such Prophets as S Paule writeth of 1. Cor. 14. to whom hee giueth the gifte of interpretation so that they are able to make plaine the darke speaches that are some times vsed by the Prophets that speak of things to come 1 Cor 14 Of these Prophets our Church had many in the time of the first sixe hundreth yéeres that were next after the ascention of our Sauiour but not so many as since the time of your Apostacie which was in the dayes of Bonifacius the
gospell and haue imbraced and professed and doo still professe most vnpure Popish religion The booke was first written by the aboue named Iohn de Albine as it may be thought either in the Latine or in the French tonge Wherefore I meane not to bestow any time in the answering of it supposing that either Beza or some other French Protestant hath already dealt therein sufficiently But because the offers séeme to be made by some English man and haue not as I thinke béene aunswered by any man I haue thought good to supply the place of that learned Protestant that the Popish Catholique ment to make the offers vnto And that the Offerer if hee be yet liuing or any fréende of his if he be departed this lyfe may not haue any cause to mislike with my dealing herein I minde to setfoorth to the view of the Reader all the words of the Offerer euen as I finde them and as I haue them to shew in his printed Coppie which I haue and doo mind to kéepe in a readinesse to shewe not abiding or dimnishing altering or changing one sentence worde sillable letter or title The Offerer beginneth thus The Offerer First seeing it cannot bee denied that our sauiour Christ before his departure and ascension did commit the charge and gouernment of his Church the testimony of his worde the truth of his gospell the ministration of his Sacraments to his Apostles and Disciples and that not only for them selues but to their successors Bishops and Priests and to none other saying only to them Euntes docete omnes gentes Math. 28. Marc. 16. Goe yee and teach all people and nations of the world baptizing them in the name of the father and of the sonne and of the holy ghoste teaching them to obserue and keepe all things which I haue commaunded you Further the Apostle Saint Paule being at Miletum in executing of his charge gouernment gaue this admonition to the Bishops and Priestes there assembled before him saying Attēdite vobis et vniuer so gregi Act. 20. Take heed vnto your selues and vnto the whole flocke of Christ in the which the holy ghost hath ordayned you Bishops Regere ecclesiam Dei To gouerne the Church of God And in the thirteenth Chapter of his Epistle to the Hebrews hee dooth commaunded all other sortes of men without exception of Emperours Kings Queenes and Princes to obay their Bishops and priestes saying Heb. 13. Obedite praepositis vestris subiacete eis ipsi enim peruigilant quasi rationem pro animabus vestris reddituri Obey your Prelates and doo what they appoint you for they doo watch as men that shall render accomptes for your soules Seeing that by the testimonies before alleadged it can not bee denyed but that the charge and gouernment of Chryst his Church the preaching of his doctrine the admninistration of his Sacramentes was by him committed to his Apostles and Dysciples and to all Byshoppes and Priestes as Successours of them to plante Chrystian fayth and Religion in his Catholique Church vniuersally throughout all Nations Coastes and Quarters of the world Seeing this is by the playnnesse of the sayd testimonies of such an vndoubted truth that it cannot bee denyed now let the learned protestant affirming princes to bee the supreme heades of the Church eyther shew by some such other like playne testymonies of the Scriptures that our Sauiour Chryst did commit the chyefe charge and supreme gouernement of his Church to Emperours Kings Queenes and Princes to plant Christian fayth and Religion in the same or that any one of Chryst his Apostles or Disciples did conuert any people Lande or Countrey from their Idolatrie and Ethnike kinde of liuing to Christian faith and Religion by preaching the doctrine of the Protestants as of onely faith to iustifie the contempt of good workes and that they be all vncleane in sight of GOD the deniall of free will of the real presence of Christes body in the holy Eucharist of the Sacrifice of the most blessed Masse the abolishing Christ his Sacramentes and of all grace and goodnesse by them conferred vnto vs then I shall yeelde and recant and not before Thus farre the first part of the Offer Crowley This Offerer hath deuided this offer of his into 22. parts adding to the last part six certaine and assured signes and tokens of false Prophets Heretickes Schismatickes This diuision I meane to follow in mine answer To this first part therfore I say thus maister Offerer I cōfesse that our Sauiour Christ dyd as you haue sayd committe the charge and gouernement of his Church the testimonye of his worde the trueth of his Gospell and the ministration of his Sacramentes to his Apostles and Scholers and to theyr successors But not to such successours onely as you do name that is to Bishops and Préestes onely and to none other For S. Paule in the 12. Chapter of his first Epistle to the Corinthians and in the 4. to the Ephesians writing of the same matter sayth thus Et ipse dedit quosdam quidem Apostolos Eph 4. quosdam autem Prophetas alios vero Euangelistas alios autem Pastores Doctores And he hath giuen some Apostles or Messengers and some Prophettes and other some Euangelistes and some others Pastors and teachers And againe in the 12. of the first to the Corinthians hee writeth thus 1 Cor 12. Et quosdam posuit Deus in Ecclesia primum Apostolos secundo Prophetas tertio Doctores deinde virtutes exinde gratias curationum opitulationes gubernationes genera linguarum God hath place in his Church certaine degrees of men first Apostles secondly Prophets thirdly teachers then powers after that giftes of healings helpes gouernements kindes of tongues Least you should quarell about the translating of S. Paules wordes out of the Gréeke I haue set them downe as I finde them in that translation that your Tridentine councell hath allowed of But I pray you good M. Offerer what meant S. Paule that in the rehearsall of those sundry degrées of men that God hath placed in his Church he would make no mentiion at al of your Bishops and Préestes to whom onely as to the onely successours of his Apostles and Disciples Christ spake if you haue written truely when he sayd thus Math. 28 Euntes docete omnes gentes Goe ye and teach all nations of the worlde c. Without all doubt S. Paule dyd know and so doo wée that God dyd neuer place in his Church or appoint to succéede his Apostles and Disciples any such Bishops and Préestes as you meane of That is Lording and loitring Bishops exercising dominion ouer the peoples that are alotted vnto them and sawsie sacrificing Préests which presume to occupie the place of Christ himselfe and to execute his office in offering sacrifice for the sinnes of the people S. Peter disaloweth the one 1. Pet. 5. and S. Paule the other Hebr. 10. Hebr 1◠1 Peter ◠Yea if our
euen so did they 1. Ti. 2 1. Timot. 2. we beléeue that Christ Iesus hath taken vpon him selfe all our infirmities that the correction that was due to our sins is fallen vpon him and that by those wounds that he suffered we are made whole and so did they Es 53. Esay 53. We beléeue that Christ Iesus is that Lambe of God that hath taken awâ—y the sins of the world and so did they Ioh. 1. 1. Iohn 1. We beléeue that he is that son of the blessed virgin Mary whom the Angel named before he was borne saying to Ioseph his supposed father thou shalt call his name Iesus for he shall saue his people from their sins Mat 1 Math. 1. and so did they We doo beléeue that it is he that is our high Préest that he is entred into the holiest place of the tabernacle not made with handes and hath made there a sacrifice not of straying blood as of a Calfe or of a Goate but of his own heart blood hath thereby obtained vs eternall redemption Hebr 9 Heb. 9. and euen so dyd they We doo beléeue that Christ Iesus hath by that one oblation made of him selfe once offered made perfect as many as be made holy that is all the elected people of God and that he hath thereby so satisfied to God for the sins of all such that they shall neuer be charged with their sins any more and that where there is remission of sins theris no more sacrifice to be offered for sin Heb. 10. Hebr 10. euen so did they We know and confesse that our duty is to be as careful as possibly we may to liue with our sin and that when by infirmity of our nature we do sin we haue an aduocate with God the father which is Iesus Christ the righteous and that he is the propitiation for our sins 1 Io 2 1 Iohn 2. and euen so did they To be bréefe we differ not from theÌ„ neither did they differ from vs in any one point of the substance of faith And where as the Offerer saith that those holy Martirs c. were not of our religion I am sure that we doo hold professe that religion Iacob 1. that S. Iames dooth call pure vndefiled before God the father which is to visite the fatherlesse and widdowe in their tribulation for a man to kéepe himself vnspotted of this world And I thinke that M. Offerer will not deny that the holy martirs the rest that he speketh of did hold professe the same religion And how can he then say that they were not of the Protestantes religion If the Offerer will say that those Martirs c. did obserue and kéepe the religion and did performe in déede that which they did professe so that they were in déede vnspotted of thys world which none of vs dooth then I must say that they all did say as all we doo say as the Prophet Dauid hath written Psa 143. Psa 143 Esay 64 Lord enter not into iudgement with thy seruant for no flesh is righteous in thy sight And as the Prophet Esay hath written Cha. 64. Al our righteousnesses 1 Iohn 1 are euen like vnto a filthy cloath And as the Apostle Iohn hath wrytten 1. Epist 1. If wée shall say that we haue no sinne wée shall desceiue our selfe and there is no trueth in vs. And where as the Offerer hath termed his virgins pure and innocent I thinke he wold haue sayd immaculate for that is an Epithiton méeter for a virgin then innocent is I am sure that none of them was either pure or innocent of them selfe neither did they account them selfe so to be but being washed in the fountaine of water by the worde of lyfe they were members of that glorious Church that in Christ is purged and made so cleane that in it is neyther spot nor wrincle or any such thing but in him al those Martyrs confessours virgins and we also that doo beléeue as they dyd are holy and vnblameable haue in vs no spot of sin Ep 5. Ephe 5. For Christ Iesus hath washed vs in the sope of his owne hart blood and made vs as white as the most white woole yea and as shining white as the snowe We therfore with the Martirs confessors and virgins that you speake of are the virgins that doo and for euer shall accompanie the Lambe Christ vpon the Mount Sion Apo 14. Apoc 14. As for your approouing and cannonizing of these Martirs c. Whereby you haue made them saintes after they were departed out of this lyfe it may well be compared to the building and garnishing of the Tombes of the Prophets by the Scribes and Phariseis Math 23. Math. 23. For although you pretende to haue a reuerend care for the kéeping of the worthy and valiant acts of those Martirs in remembrance yet you doo daily murder as many of that sorte of men as God wyll suffer you to haue power ouer and so you shew your selues to be the children of those bloody Tyrants that murdered those Martyrs that you speake of I thinke you can not but see now that all the thousandes of Martyrs confessors and virgins that were brought forth in the first sixe hundreth yéeres next after the ascention of our Sauiour Christ were the children of that Mother the holy Catholique Church of Christ that hath brought foorth and nourished vp vs whome you call Schismatickes and Heretickes But now I pray you good M. Offerer let mee learne of you the name of one Martir that your mother the Popish Catholique Church hath brought forth since the dayes of Boniface the thyrd which was the time wherein your Apostacie beganne I thinke you can not name me one Martyr that hath béene brought foorth by that mother of yours in all that time which is almost the space of a thousande yéeres Not one I am sure of all your Popes that haue succéeded that Bonifacius hath béene made a Martyr excepte you account for martirdome the poisoning of some of them which hath béene doone by some such as themselues that haue hasted to be in theyr place And the rest of the Children of that mother haue béene whelpes of the same heare namely blood thirstie bloodhoundes and bloody Butthers Curres Yea it appeareth manifestly that the whole state of your Popish Catholique Church hath béene and still is none other thing but that which was figured by that two horned Beast that rose out of the earth of whom mencion is made in the 13. Chap of the Reuelations So that Apoc 13 this mother of yours neither hath nor dooth bring foorth Martirs but hath dooth make Martyrs whom the holy Catholique Church of Christ our mother hath and dooth daily bring foorth and nourishe vp For whosoeuer in all this time hath refused to worship the image of the Beast which is the estate of the Romish Papacie hath dyed for
strong you haue dispersed the flocke of Christ which was at the first but one societie and fellowship In not sparing nor preseruing the vnitie of that flock you haue made your selues knowen to bée the same rauening wolues that the Apostle S. Paule spake of Acts 20. Act 20. Ego scio saith S. Paule I doo knowe that after my departing from you raueninge wolues shall enter in amongest you not sparing the flocke And from amongst your selues there shall rise vp men that shall vtter frowarde speaches that they may drawe schollers after them Not from the common knowen Catholique Church of Christ therefore whereof wée Protestants are members but from the now knowen antichristian Church whereof this offerer and his fellowes are members dyd that Schisme procéede that this Offerer speaketh of For by the deceitfull false doctrine that they haue taught and by theyr bloodie tyranny they haue drawen many from the vnity in Christ which is the verity and ioyned them to the Schisme of Antichristian impietie This matter béeing made so plaine as to mee it dooth séeme to be I doo thinke that euery indifferent reader here of will in hys heart say thus to this Offerer for shame stay no longer but yéelde and recant out of hand lest the heauie wrath of God fall vpon thée for that thou hast not yéelded and recanted before The fift signe and token false Prophets Offerer Fift signe and token of false Prophets Schismatickes and heretiques is disobedience Et non obedire sed resistere eis qui praesunt in Ecclesia Dei And not to obey but resiste those which doo beare rule and gouerne in the Church of God of the which sorte of men the Apostle S. Paule giueth vs warning Quemadmodum Iamnes Mambres restiterunt Moysi ita hi resistunt veritati homines corrupti mente reprobi circa fidem 2. Timot 5. Exodus 7 Like as Iamnes and Mambres dyd resiste Moises euen so doo these resist the trueth beeing men of corrupt minde and reprobates in fayth Now when the learned Protestant shal be able to prooue that this rebellion and disobedience to all Bishops Prelattes and ecclesiasticall gouerners is to be found in the chatholick Church and not in the priuate Church and congregations of the Protestantes then I shall yeeld submit and recant and not before Crowley As obedience is more acceptable in Gods sight then sacrifice 1. Regum 15. 1 Reg. 15 euen so there can nothing displease him more then disobedience dooth But we may not hereof conclude that God is so displeased with euery disobedience as he was with Saules disobedience when he dyd contrary to that which he had commanded him to doo neither euery obedience is so acceptable to God as that obedience shoulde haue béene if Saule had doone in all pointes euen as God had commaunded to him to doo For that obedience onely is acceptable to the Lord that is doone in the Lord and for the Lords cause and obedience in dooing that which the Lord hath forbidden to be doon and in leauing that vndoone which the Lord hath commanded to be doon is not to be accounted for obedience but is in déede disobedience Let vs sée therefore what manner of disobedience it is that this offerer hath charged vs with Euen such as was in Iamnes Mambres when they did resist Moses By coniecture these two that S. Paule nameth in the third Chap. of his second Epistle to Timoth were the Sorcerers that stroue against Moses in Egipt and dyd by theyr sorcerie worke such wonders in outwarde appearaunce as Moses dyd by the mighty power of God in very déede as in the 7. Exod 7 8 and 8. Chapters of Exod it appeareth But Moses dooth not name those sorcerers neyther are they named in any History of the Scriptures wherefore it may bee thought that S. Paule had some other writings then are now extant whereby he gat the knowledge of the names of those sorcerers that dyd so withstand Moses But howe so euer Moses came by theyr names this offerer hath not taken theyr names aright for both the translation that the Tridentine councell hath allowed of and the Greeke text haue Iannes and not Iamnes the Gréeke text hath Iambres and not Mambres But the matter is not great let the Offerer and his fellowes descide this matter at theyr leasure The Apostle S. Paule hauing described such men as by the Spirite of prophecie he did foresée should come in the latter dayes he sayth that they should bée such as resist the trueth euen as Iannes and Iambres did resist Moses Howe those sorcerers did withstand Moses dooth appeare in the two Chapters of Exodus that I haue noted before They dyd what they could to discredit all that was doone by Moses and to stay Pharao and the Egiptians from giuing credite to that messadge that Moses dyd from the Lord God of Israell So long as the Lord would suffer them they made shewes of as great and wonderfull workes as those were that were wrought by Moses Euen so saith S. Paule those men doo withstande the trueth béeing men corrupted in minde and lewde concerning the fayth But they shall preuaile no longer For the madnes of these men shal be made manifest to all men euen as theirs was Now let the indifferent reader iudge who they bée in these dayes that may most rightly be sayd to be lyke vnto Iannes and Iambres the Popish Catholiques or we Protestant Catholiques Wee come in the name of the Lorde God onely do labour to bring the people of God out of the Egiptian darcknes of Rome to serue God in spirite and in trueth for so God delighteth to be serued Iohn 4. Iohn 4. But the antichristian Popish Catholiques doo labour as Iannes and Iambres dyd to kéepe them in that darcknes styll and to that ende they doo what they can to cause vs to be taken for false Prophets Heretiques and Schismatickes and the Gospell of Christ which wée doo preach to be false doctrine Heresie and Schisme Yea let the indifferent reader iudge whether of both the sorts protestants or roomish catholiques may be déemed to be that men that S. Paule did Prophesie of in that third chapter of his second Epistle to Timoth. 2. Timot 3. They shal be saith S. Paule loouers of themselues couetous high minded proude blasphemers disobedient to parentes vnthankfull wicked voyde of affection truse-breakers false accusers incontynent cruell vncurteous traiterous frowarde malicious and such as doo looue pleasures more then God hauing a shewe of Godlines but denying the power thereof The Chronicles or Histories of times doo witnes that no men can bée more lyke vnto these men that saint Paule hath here described then the Popish prelates haue béene for the space of these last 1000. yéeres almost and so they doo continue stil as daily experience dooth shew Whereunto I doo refer the indifferent reader for the trial of the trueth herein Nowe therefore as
ought to bée Puritans also we must néedes like well of if they bee such as the apostle Iames discribeth Iacob 1 Iacob 1 If any man doo thinke himselfe to bée religious and yet refrayneth not his tongue but suffereth his owne hart to be disceiued this mans religion is vaine This religion is cleane and vnspotted before God and the father For a man to visite the fatherles and widowes in theyr trouble and to kéepe himselfe vnspotted of this world Such as haue a care to refraine theyr tongues frō all euill spéeches and all the partes of their bodies from euill actions And doo delite to be occupied in dooing good to all such as do stand in néede which is meant by the fatherles and widowes are the right puritans such as al christians shold endeuour to be in Christ Iesus all vnfained christians are pure being so made by the blood of Christ wherin such are washed made cleane so that in them there is neither spot nor wrinckle for Christ hath made them a glorious spouse for himself Eph 5. Ephe 5 And yet if these will speake truely they must euerie one of them say with the Apostle Paule Rom 7. There is nothing in me that is to say in my flesh vnderstanding therby his nature which is good And with th'apostle Ioh 1 Epi. 1. 1 Iohn 1 If we say that we haue no sin we deceiue our selues and ther is no truth in vs. Beeing baptised in Christ Iesus we haue put Christ vpō vs Christ is our garment Gala 3. Gala 3 Our care shold be to continue in that purity that we haue in Christ and to kepe the garmēt of ours vnspotted I haue thought it good to take this occasion to writ thus much in the defence of right precisenes and purenes of life because I doo sée that our subtile enimie the deuill laboureth to bring into contempt that precisenes in obseruing of Gods commaundements that al christians shold striue to attaine vnto and that purenes of life that is most séemely for al christians to walke in And he hath preuailed so much already that to great a number amongst vs doo make little or no consience at all in the transgressing of any commādement of our good God Some there be in déede that are noted by the names of Precisians Puritans which may more rightly be called péeuish ones These we Protestants doo not lyke of but would as gladly be ridde of them as you would be of vs. And the number of them is not so great as this offerer would haue it seme to be neither are they furdered and fauored of so many as hee reporteth although their number be greater then we wold wish it to be It is perceiued that they doo professe and hold the true and right religion of Christ and would gladly that it were purged of all Roomish drosse and that the pure wheat that is in Gods threshing floore were clensed from all roomish chaffe but béeing caried away with faruent zeale they runne before them that should lead them and doo hinder the cause that they would gladly furder When God wil these shal by his good meanes be brought to consider better of the matter and you roomish Catholiques shal be confounded This offerer concludeth against him selfe and his fellows for not we but they are the sectaries heretiques that by moouing flitting and passing from euill to worse are now at the laste come euen ad profundum malorum to the very bottome of euil and to a plaine open apostacy and falling away from Christ and ioyning with antichrist Yea and it appereth that you are perswaded that béeing ioyned to that antichrist of Roome as to your spirituall head you néede not to passe either for God or Deuill heauen or hell for your Pope hath absolute power both in heauen on earth and in his owne prison purgatory to Now let the offerer and his fellowes marke what I shall say For as much as the heresies of the popish Catholiques haue béene from time to time so fickle moouing their end in falling away frō Christ so horrible in the sight of God let any roomish Catholique liuing reply directly plainely with out all cauill colour or fraude of words without all vnprofitable impertinent digressions not only to this but to all the answers that I haue made to the foresayd signes tokens and demaundes and then will I for companie and good fellowship leaue the true catholique church of Christ wherin is the plaine way of saluation beaten by all our forefathers the true Catholique protestants for the space of these 5530 and odde yeres euen from the time of the first man and now wander with the romane Catholiques in their vncertaine by pathes of Popish deuises through vnknowē deserts of popish opinions through rough woods brambles briers of popish religions to séeke in the ende we can not tell what The offerers exhortation And here to conclude and for my parte to minister vnto you some occasion in the relinquishing of these priuate churches and congregations of sectaries to returne to the vnity attonement of the commō knowen catholique Church of Christ where stability and constancy of faith religion is onely to be found I shall here lay before you the worthy example of the blessed martir Sebastian by him brought of a loafe of bread to Genserichus then king of the Vandalles a furious and a barbarous nation which breaking into Affricke they found there many valiant Captaines placed by the Emperour Theodosius the second for the defence sauegard of the country amōgst the rest was this Sebastiā by dignity an earle a couragious and valiant Captaine who with the rest yeelding to the force of Genserichus was as Victor de persecutione Vandalorum writeth for his great wisedome and valiantnes not so much beloued as feared of the king Genserichus who being an Arrian intended by collour of religion to work his death For Genserichus knowing Sebastian to be a seuere perfect christian man conuented him before the Arrian Bishops vnder the pretence that Amity and freendship might be the surer and continue the longer betwixt them Genserichus mooued him to become an Arrian to professe the same fayth and religion as he and his people were of For answer thys holy martyr Sebastian requested Genserichus the king to command a fine wheaten loafe to be brought vnto him And taking it in his hand And here to omit many of his words notable sayings he requested the King Genserichus to commaund the loafe of bread to be broken in peeces to be ground brought to floure and boulted a fresh to be seasoned with water salt and baked againe if then it should in the ende prooue better bread then it was before he would not faile to accomplish the king Genserichus his wil and pleasure but if it were not possible by breaking the loafe baking it againe to better it but to make