praedicare quae saluti animarum cōuenire videantur non pauca praedicant quae ad perennem animarum perniciem ducūt Whiles that the Romish priests endeuor as much as they may to preache many thinges which seeme to agree to the saluation of soules then teach they not few things which tende to the perpetuall destructiō therof The first point of their deuilish doctrine in seducing the blinde and ignorant people is this To tell vs that we leaue this article of our Creede vnbeleeued Credo sanctam Catholicam Ecclesiam I beleeue in the holy Catholike Church if we acknowledge not the Romane church to be the holy catholique Church As though that were true In the iudgemēt of all the learned and godly the Catholique Church is dispersed ouer the face of the earth not tied or vnited to any proper place as Rome or person as the Pope The Councill of Nice in tyme past committed the charge of the Catholique Church to three principall Patriarkes Rome Alexandria and Antioch which afterwards came to Constantinople Nilius in his booke de primatu Romani Pontificis of the supremacie of the Bishop of Rome sayth Quandoquidem quaedā prouinciae spectant ad ecclesiam Romanam aliquae ad Episcopum Alexandriae aliquae ad Episcopum Constantinapolaeos iam non magis subditae sunt Romano Episcopo quam Romanus Episcopus subditus sit illis Primacie by lymitatiō Forasmuch as certayne countries are limited to the church of Rome certeine to the Bishop of Alexandria and certeine to the Bishop of Constantinople they are now no more vnder him then he vnder them I gather by this Councill of Nice which all Papists of Rome do allowe that the Church of Rome was not onely accompted Catholique but also the Church of Alexandria was taken to be Catholique in like maner the Church of Antioch I am certeine you wil not deny the Bishop of Rome euer heretofore to haue bene as yet to be Pope therefore I inferre the Bishop of Alexandria and the Bishoppe of Antioch to be Popes Christes Vicars and so consequently to be three Popes and three Christes Vicars Haue you taught our English men so that there be three Popes three Catholique churches and are you put in prison therefore No no I know it is otherwise I take you to be hirelings Pope Gregory the xiii Greg. 13. of that name or rather by his right name Hugo Bon compaignion Hugh goodfellowe hath brybed you with his money that you should preach him to be Pope alone and none other Is this pretie stuffe vt amor nummi esset casus multorum that the loue of money should be the fall of many I will speake a litle more touching your Catholique church Athanasius saith Roma est metropolis Romanae ditio nis Rome is the mother church not of the whole worlde but of the prouince of Rome I wil not speake of Englād Ireland Scotland Frāce Dēmarke Polonia Suetia Bohoemia of Germanie Heluetia Prussia Russia Lituania Pomerania Austria Rhetia Vallis Tellina c. where the Gospel florisheth But is your church the mother church and hath your Pope gouernmēt and iurisdiction ouer the churches in Asia and Affricke It is well knowen that there is Christianitie in Asia Affricke Armenia Aethiopia Cyprus Constantinople and other places where the Pope dareth not once peepe for all his pontificalitie at Rome And in respect of all Christian assemblies faithfull members wheresoeuer the church is called Catholique that is meant vniuersall So that your church and all churches are to bee tried and knowen not by your erring councils canons constitutions decrees and glosses but by the word of God which is the touchstone of trueth Ireneus saith Lib. 3. cap. 11. Columna firmamentum ecclesiae est Euangelium spiritus vitae The pillar and buttresse of the church is the Gospell and spirit of life August de vnitate Eccle lib. 3. cap. 3. Augustine vnto the Donatistes saith Sunt certe libri dominici quorum authoritati vtrique consentimus vtrique credimus vtrique seruimus ibi quaeramus ecclesiā ibi discutiamus causam nostram There are verely bookes of our Lorde vnto the authoritie whereof eche part agreeth eche part beleeueth and eche part regardeth Church to be sought in the scripture there let vs seeke for the church and thereby let vs examine and trie our matters This I thought good to note here least that any of this faithfull congregation should at any time be caried away with the bare name of your catholique churche Nowe moreouer you seeke to proue your church by antiquitie multitude succession of person or place none otherwise then false coyners who will not haue their money knowē by the finenesse of golde or by the touchstone but by the waight by the sounde by the coyne and by the colour which they may easely counterfeite Therefore they alledge antiquitie vnto vs following that which was spoken vnto Iob by one of his friendes Iob. cap. 8.8 Consule quaeso priscam aetatem et compara te ad peruestigationem maiorum illorum Aske for the auncient generation and prepare thy selfe to seeke for the fathers Iob. 32.7 Prouecti aetate loquentur et annosi notam facient sapientiam Dayes shall speake the multitude of yeeres shall teach wisedome To whom I could answere by Iob himself euē in the verse next following 9. vers Magistri semper sapientes non sunt neque senes omni tempore intelligunt Iudicium The masters are not alwaies wise neither do the olde men alwayes vnderstād Iudgement Profectò spiritus ille in mortali 8. vers et afflatus omni potentis efficit eos intelligentes It is the spirit of God not yeres that ought to speak in man August ad Pet. Diac. cap. 34. If antiquitie should preuaile why then I pray you is the Church compared to a litle Barke or Ship which the more she is vpon the sea the more shee leaketh vnto a house which with age decayeth falleth to ruine to a Citie and the policie of it which is corrupted from tyme to time if it be not brought backe to the first institution to a mans body whereunto yeeres do bryng all kindes of euill to be short age is euen as sickenesse it selfe to the most healthfull and temperate body in the world I say thē that antiquitie alone ought to make vs thinke that in the Church there is a great sicknes and much filthynes that euen for this cause alone without any longer confutation it is requisite to bring a broome to purge it and to call for a Physition So farre is it off that for these things a man should mainteyne your Churche to bee pure holy as you do Furthermore I demand how you wil answere vnto Saint Augustine entreating vpon the threescore and fourth Psalme who sayth That Ierusalem began by Abel and Babylon by Cain The promise was made by
Isaac and the bastardise by Ismael Who were the elders If antiquitie were a marke of the trueth how woulde you haue answered vnto the Iewes who tolde Christ that they were the children of Abraham Iohn 8.33 who was the first father of the beleeuers They had their Genealogie from the creation of the fyrst man they did alledge the couenants that were made betweene God them Notwithstanding Christe being sent vnto them according to these promises vnder the shadowe of this antiquitie they maliciously called hym the carpenters sonne a Samaritane Matth. 13.55 Iohn 8.48 Marke 1.27 one that had the deuil a preacher of Noueltie And there is great likelyhood that if some of you Papists had bene theÌ„ there seeing at that time they vsed the selfe same arguments you would haue holpen to haue crucified him Furthermore what wil you answere vnto the Greeke Churches the Armenians EthiopiaÌ„s c. founded by the Apostles and as olde as the church of Rome yea and elder too seeing that the Church of Christ as we knowe tooke her beginning from the East to the West If antiquitie be a marke of holines and puritie they are holy and pure and if they bee holy and pure then the latin Church in comparison of them is moste vnholy and impure If they bee Heretiques and impure then it followeth that antiquitie is not a marke to proue the holines or veritie of the Church Howe then shall we reiect antiquitie nay rather we imbrace it with all our hearts so that it bee agreeable to Gods worde Tertullian de Virginibus velandis saith Consuetudo initium ab aliqua ignorantia vel simplicitate sortita in vsum per successionem corroboratur ita aduersus veritatem vendicatur Sed Dominus noster Christus veritateÌ„ se non consuetudinem cognominauit Viderint ergò quibus nouum est quod sibi vetus est Haereses non tam nouitas quà m veritas reuincit QuodcuÌ„que aduersus veritatem sapit hoc erit haeresis etiam vetus coÌ„suetudo Custome either of simplicitie or of ignorance getting once an entrie is inured strengthened by succession and then is defended against the trueth But Christ our Lorde calleth himselfe trueth and not custome Ioh. 14.6 Let them take heede therefore vnto whome the thing seemeth newe that in it selfe is olde It is not so much the noueltie of the matter as the trueth that reproueth an heresy Whatsoeuer sauoreth against the trueth is an heresie be the custome thereof neuer so olde Victi ratione opponunt consuetudinem quasi consuetudo sit maior veritate Beyng ouercome with reason they defende themselues with custome as though custome were better theÌ„ the trueth We may not prescribe of custome but wee must ouercome with reasoÌ„ Custome without trueth is the mother of error Istud non est curandum quod aliquis ante nostruÌ„ tempus fecit sed id precipue nobis curae debet esse ê™ a Christo factum est Non est imitanda nobis hominum consuetudo sed dei veritas expectanda That is We must not regard that which any other hath done before vs but we must regarde that which Christ hath done which is before all For we must not followe the custome of men but the trueth of God Againe he saith De seipso ad Pompeian epist 9. Mos sine veritate est vetustas erroris Et dixit dominus Ego sum veritas noÌ„ loquutus est Dominus Ego sum consuetudo Custome without trueth is an old error And the Lord hath said I am the trueth and not I am custome Ignatius sayeth Ignatius ad Philadelph Canon consuetud dist 11. Quem non audire est manifesta perditio Whome not to heare is manifest perdition See then howe the most auncient sende vs alwayes to learne the trueth of him which is most ancient of all Thus much briefely touching antiquitie or custome Nowe let vs come to multitude It is sayde expressely Exod. 23.2 Exodus 23. Ne insistito vestigiis potentiorum ad mala Thou shalt not folowe a multitude to do euil Also Mat. 7. Lata est porta spatiosa via quae ducit in exitium multique sunt qui ambulaÌ„t per mediuÌ„ eius Wide is the gate and broade is the way that leadeth to destruction and many there be which go in thereat CoÌ„trariwise Luke 12. Ne time ô parue grex nam visum est patri meo dare vobis regnum Feare not my litle flocke for it is my fathers will to giue you a kingdome Moreouer wee see how that all the worlde was brought to one Noah and afterwardes came to Abraham then God chose one people of Israel the least as it is sayd of all peoples and finally of all peoples the least parte that is to wit Christendome which for this cause he calleth a litle flocke so farre forth that S. Augustine saith That the Church was sometime in one Abel in one Enoch August super Psalm 128. Wherefore multitude ought rather to be presumption then a marke of the true Church Forasmuch also as man by nature is alwayes more prone to euill then to any goodnes if multitude shoulde take place then Paynims should be happier then we be for that they surpasse in nomber For whereas there is one that beleeueth in Christ our Sauiour you haue a thousande that beleeue him not What a multitude is there of Turkes of Iewes and other infidels Also in Noah his tyme what a multitude there was that would not acknowledge God nor folow his commandements nor giue credit to Noah his preaching but with one consent conspired against him mocked him his religion Gen. chap. 6. The Samaritanes were more in noÌ„ber then they of the tribe of Iuda And in Iuda and Israel the multitude of the idolaters was the greater For the Prophet Elias made his complaint that he was left alone that all the rest had forsaken their liuing Lorde and giuen them selues to idolatrie and as you may reade in Ieremie 4. 1. King 22.6 13 24. There arose vp 400. false Prophets who swarued from Gods lawe and folowed their owne imaginations against one good Prophet Micheas And the Prophets crie Ierem. 18.18 Omnem populum seductum fuisse a regibus vsque ad Sacerdotes Prophetas That all the people were deceiued euen from the Kings to the Priestes and Prophets In the Church of Christ also nomber multitude shall haue as small roume for euen at the beginning thereof Esa 53.1 Ioh. 12.38 Rom. 10.16 it was sayde Who hath beleeued our word and to whom hath the Arme of the Lorde bene reueiled Anon after the death of our Sauiour the Scholemen hold that for one instant the church stood in the Virgin Mary alone In the time of Arrius almost the world throughout was of the Arrian heresie and fewe besides Athanasius with fiue of his company professed the true fayth Theod. lib. 2. cap. 16. Wherefore the Emperour
enim est quod vana sit huiusmodi cogitatio diabolicae deceptionis inuentum We thinke it not conuenient to paynt the images of saintes with materiall or earthly colours for it is euident that it is a vayne imagination the procurement of the deceytfulnes of the deuil To like purpose writeth Epiphanius Estote memores dilecti filii nec in ecclesias imagines inferatis neque in Sanctorū coemiteriis eas statuatis sed perpetuò circumferte Deum in cordibus vestris Quin etiam neque in domo communi tolerentur Non enim fas est Christianum per oculos suspensum teneri sed per occupationem mentis My deare childrē be ye mindful that you bring no images into the churches that you erect vp none at the burials of the Saints but euermore cary God in your heartes nay suffer no images to be Marke wel no not in your priuate houses For it is not lawfull to leade a Christian man by his eyes but rather by the studie or exercise of his minde For this cause Epiphanius sayth The superstition of images is vnfit for the church of Christ It is a worlde to see how welfauouredly and howe towardly touching religiō these men agree with the fathers of whom they vse to vaunt They bee your owne good and yet you see how they speake against your images If time should permit I were able to recite many such places out of the fathers in confutation of your worshipping such vaine images You doe not onely allowe images to be had in churches but also you cause them to be deuoutly and reuerently honoured and that with the same honour that is due to God himselfe One of the Bishops of the council of Nice sayth Venerandas imagines recipio adoro id perpetuò docebo I receiue and worship the reuerēt images this wil I teach Another saith Sacras imagines perfectè adoro Qui verò secus confitētur eos anathematizo I do perfectly adore the holy images and I accurse all them that hold the contrary Another saith Non sunt duae adorationes sed vna ipsius imaginis primi exemplaris cuius est imago There be not two kynds of adoration but one which is as well due to the image as to the paterne of the image Saint Augustine sayth Sic omninò errare meruerunt August de consensu Euangel lib. 2. cap. 20. qui Christum Apostolos eius non in sanctis codicibus sed in pictis parietibus quaesierunt nec mirum si a pingentibus fingentes decepti sunt So were they worthy to bee deceiued that sought Christ and his Apostles not in the bookes of holy Scripture but in paynted walles Neither may one maruaile if the feyners by Paynters were deceiued In Epist Ioan Episcop Hier. The old father Epiphanius sayth It is a horrible wickednes and a sinne not to be suffered for any man to set vp any picture in the church of the christians yea though it were the picture of Christ himselfe yet you store all your Temples and eche corner of them with paynted and carued images as though without them religion were nothing worth Thus good brethrē you see both scriptures fathers against you Forsake then your worshipping of images Nowe will I speake a litle after what maner they worship images at Rome I haue seene and so haue you that on euery altar in Rome there are set vp either Idols or images In S. Peters church they haue the image of S. Peter in brasse holding out his finger to blesse them as they passe by before the which image the people fall downe and make their prayers vnto it kisse his foote and touch it with their Beades I would aske you once again why they paynt God the Father and God the holy Ghost Euen because lay men when they see God to haue a body shoulde thinke God the father God the holy Ghost to be men as we be Their priests in Italie for the most parte are altogether vnlearned I demanded of some of these Italian priestes in the Italian tongue whether God the father and God the holy Ghost had bodies They answered Yea. Wel then seeing their priests are ignorant in these thinges you may perswade your selues that the simple countreymen are likewise ignorant Father Pais reader of scholasticall diuinitie at Rome in the Romane colledge beeing demanded of Doctor Allen whether it was as lawfull to worship the thing that represented as well as the thing that was represented by the Image This graue learned Father answered it was lawfull to worship the tymber whereof the Image was made If this be not idolatrie that a mā should worship that thing which is more fit for the fire or for some other purpose then to be worshipped thē there is no idolatrie worthy to be named at al. Thus much briefly touching images God giue you a heart to conceiue the trueth You worship the pillar vpon the which the cock crew whē Peter denyed his master Christe Why do you thus What doe you make the cocke a saint The Romanes haue made them a cratch or manger representing the oxe the asse also the byrth of Christ to the which workmanshippe of man they fal down and worship Can you shewe me a reason why you shoulde kneele before these stones or why you shoulde kisse them and touch them with your beades What haue you canonized the oxe and the asse Saints doe you saye in your Letanies Sancte bos Sancte Asine orate pro nobis Saint oxe and Saint Asse pray for vs Why do ye worship the thirty pence which Iudas tooke to betray his master Christ What doe you count the thirty pence holy Reliques for that Iudas had them or for that they came from the chief priests What do you make Iudas the traytour a Saint or the chiefe priests of the Scribes and Pharises holy mē The reliques of Saints are worshipped as bones c. they fall downe likewise on their knees before them they crye vnto them they touch the boxe with their beades they see not the bones being wrapped in silke and put in a boxe or in the altar in boards or in Christal The beades touch not the bones but the outward boxe The priest may beguyle the people putting in the boxe the bones of a dead horse or the head of a foxe in stead of the Saints bones for the people seeth not what is in the boxe or wrapped in silkes Why doe the poore men for their asses bring offrings to stations as candels torches and such like And why do the poore Romanes bring their asses to Churches cause the priestes to say a fewe prayers ouer them and sprinkle holy water vpō thē Belike they thinke to get a roome or place in heauen for them s to ryde vpon Asses in heauen or else to get indulgences of the Pope for their asses In deede they are as the Prophet Dauid sayth sicut