to forbear the reading of the Scriptures who do not understand them Secondly That they who thus read them with a pious Mind shall be graciously accepted and rewarded by God. These Inferences are not mine but both of them St. Chrysostom's It follows Since therefore the Papists in delivering the Scriptures come nearest to this method commanded by God in the Old Law prescribed and practised by Christ and his Apostles in the New c. If he mean that this was the only Method commanded by God in the Old Law and prescribed by Christ in the New I have already shew'd it to be false If he mean that this was one Method then how widely remote the Conclusion is from the Premisses will appear only by setting them together One Method commanded by God in the Old Law was that the Priests and Levites should read the Law and explain it to the People the like Method was prescribed and practised by Christ and his Apostles in the New Law Therefore the Papists in withholding the Scripture from the Common People come nearest to the Method commanded by God in the Old Law and prescribed by Christ and his Apostles in the New. Where lies the Connection And yet I confess it follows as clearly as this That the Scriptures were not in the Vulgar Tongue because St. Paul said to Timothy Thou hast learned the Holy Scriptures from a Child (a) Ledesma de Script Divinis quavis lingua non legendis c. 5. I should have thought the quite contrary had followed had I not been taught otherwise by one that follows the guidance of the Infallible Church Had the Representer spoken the whole Truth in the Premisses the Conclusion had been unavoidable for the Protestants who in delivering the Scripture to the People observe the same Method that God appointed under the Law and Christ and his Apostles under the Gospel What follows upon this Head we have had before SECT III. That which the Representer reckons as another Misconstruction Inference 3. of the Protestants is this That the Reason why the Vulgar Papists are not permitted to read the Bible is for fear lest they should discover the Errors of their Religion (g) Chap. 8. p. 53. 'T is true the Protestants assign this for one Reason but when he brings in the Protestant saying I can apprehend no other he misrepresents them because they assign others tho they take this to be the chief Now this he says is a Misconstruction that lies so open that there needs no more than a glimpse of Reason to discover it Let us therefore see whether there be so much as a glimpse in those pretended Reasons he brings to confute it which are these two 1. That tho the Vulgar and Vnlearned of the Papists have not in some Countries the Bible promiscuously allow'd amongst them yet that in those same Countries and all others there 's no College Vniversity Community or place of Learning but where the Scriptures are publickly read and expounded (h) Ibid. 2. That there can be no ground for this Pretension at least here in England where the Bible in English or the Rhemes Testament is to be found in most Catholic Families (i) P. 54. 1. That in all Popish Countries there 's no College Vniversity Community or place of Learning but where the Scripture is publickly read and expounded Now if they viz. the Protestants should consider this is it possible says the Representer for them to believe that that Restraint is upon the Vulgar for fear they should see into the Follies of their Religion It is possible and because we see a Papist can believe contrary to Sense and Reason I add that it is not only possible but there is great Reason for Protestants to believe this And that 1. Because even Papists themselves believe it So did the Bishops that met at Bononia to consult about the establishment of the Roman Church For having given it as their last and weightiest Advice to Julius III That he labour to the uttermost that as little as may be of the Gospel especially in the Vulgar Tongue be read in the Cities that were under his Dominions and that that little might suffice which is wont to be read in the Mass They add This in short is the Book which besides others hath raised those Tempests and Whirlwinds which we are almost carried away with And the truth is if any Man shall diligently consider this Book and then view in order one after another the things which are wont to be done in our Churches he will see that there is a very great difference between them and that this our Doctrine is altogether diverse from that and oft-times even contrary to it which as soon as Men understand being stirred up by some Learned Men of our Adversaries they never give over clamouring against us till they have render'd us odious to all Men k Hic ille est liber qui praeter caeteros hasce nobis tempestates ac turbines concitavit quibus prope abrepti sumus Et sane si quis illum diligenter expendar deinde quae in nostris fieri Ecclesiiis consueverunt singula ordine contemplatur videbit plurimum inter se dissidere hanc doctrinam nostram ab illa prorsus diversam esse ac saepe contrariam etiam Quod simul atque homines intelligunt à docto scilicet aliquo Adversariorum nostrorum stimulati non ante clamandi in nos finem faciunt donec re tandem pervulgata nos invisos omnibus reddiderint Consil de Rom. Eccles Stab Of the same Belief was Peter Sutor as appears by these words Since many things are deliver'd to be observed which are not expresly in the Holy Scriptures will not the Vnlearned observing these things be ready to murmur complaining that so great Burdens are laid upon them by which their Gospel-Liberty is sorely abridged And will they not be easily withdrawn from observing the Constitutions of the Church when they shall see that they are not contain'd in the Law of Christ l Sed cum multa palam tradantur observanda quae Sacris in literis expresse non habentur nonne Idiotae haec animadvertentes facile murmurabunt conquerentes cur tantae sibi imponantur Sarcinae quibus libertas Evangelica ita gravicer elevatur Nonne facile retrahentur ab observantia Institutionum Ecclesiasticarum quando eas in lege Christi animadverterint non contineri De Translat Bibl. c. 22. Fo. 96. To which may be added all those which make a vast number who as the Cardinal Rodolpho Pio di Carpi believe that if the Bible be in the Vulgar Tongue all Men will become Hereticks m Soave 's Hist of the Counc of Trent l. 5. p. 460. For who do they usually mean by Hereticks but those who by reading the Bible do first discover and then renounce their Errors Now tho I confess there are some things believed by Papists which I think it
is this That they are equally accommodated to the Learned and the Ignorant to little Children and to grown Men to the weak and to the perfect to the shallow and the more profound Wits (u) De la Lect de l'Ecriture sainte l. 2. c. 6. But the Representer asks If the Scripture be so plain and easy how comes it there is so little agreement in the understanding it How are there so many different and contrary Divisions Sects and Perswasions in this one Nation How comes it that even in the essentials of Christianity concerning the Trinity c. there has been and at present is so great diversity among those that read the Scripture I answer 1. That the agreement among Protestants is not so little as he pretends That the Reformed Churches agree in all essential Points of Faith any Man may be satisfied who will take the pains to read over the Harmony of their Confessions But 2. Let the Disagreement be more or less it proceeds not from the Obscurity of the Scriptures This is evident because the Disagreement among those that read the Scripture is as great in those things that are most plainly as in those that are more obscurely delivered Can anything be more plain than these words of Christ concerning the Cup Drink ye all of it (w) Mat. 26. 27. Or those of St. Paul in which he applys this Drinking to the Lay-Corinthians (x) 1 Cor. 11. 25. Suppose it was Christ's Intention that the Laity should partake of the Cup as well as the Bread would not those Men who do not see it in these words in whatsoever Words he had express'd it have found out another meaning It 's plain then that it is not the obscurity of the Text from whence this diversity of Interpretation arises But. 2. To gratify the Representer I 'le plainly tell him what it is 1. In those who have different Lusts and Interests to serve 't is their different Lusts and Interests with which the Scriptures must be forced to comply 2. In those who are sincere and do not profess contrary to their Belief it is the different Prejudice or Principle they are possess'd with Tho the Scripture speaks never so plainly against the Doctrine and Worship of such a sort of Men yet if it be inconsistent with that which they have laid for the main Principle and Foundation of their Faith they can never perswade themselves that the Words are to be taken according to the most common and obvious sense but must find out some other meaning for them For instance It is a Principle with the Romanists that their Church cannot err Let therefore Scripture be never so express against the Worship of Images against Transubstantiation against Communion in one kind against the Propitiatory Sacrifice of the Mass against Prayer in an unknown Tongue yet they must of necessity conclude that it does not mean what it seems to say because if it should it unavoidably follows that their Church hath gosly err'd which according to their Principle is as impossible as that the Truth and Promise of God should fail And that it is indeed this Principle not the Obscurity of the Scripture that makes the difference in many Texts between them and us is evident enough by this consideration viz. That they cannot see that in the plainest words that is contrary to their Principle whereas in words not only obscure but most remote and impertinent they can see that which is agreeable thereto 1. They cannot see that in the plainest words that is contrary to their Principle If to worship an Image be unlawful their Church hath err'd therefore they cannot see it is forbid in the Second Commandment tho it is hard to conceive that other Words can be used more full to that purpose For be it graven Image or graven Thing or Idol that is forbidden it matters not since the Similitude or Likeness of any thing in Heaven above or in the Earth beneath c. is forbidden also 2. But see now how they can find that in the most remote and impertinent Text that is agreeable to their Principle Would you have a Scripture for the Worship of Images Bellarmine gives you Mat. 5. 34 35. Swear not by the Heaven for it is God's Throne nor by the Earth for it is his Footstool (y) De Imagin Sanctorum l. 2. c. 12. If you think this not clear enough take 2 Tim. 3. 15. Thou hast known the holy Scriptures from a Child (z) Ibid. The Scriptures are called Holy Scriptures therefore the Images of Christ and his Saints are to be worship'd Here 's a Demonstration as bright as Midnight He must be stark blind or shut his Eyes hard who can avoid its light I omit many other Instances which are ready at hand By these now mention'd it 's manifest enough that Mens Disagreement about the Sense of Scripture doth not proceed from its obscurity but from the different Principles or Prejudices they are prepossest with Better would it be for the Church of Rome were it more obscure in many Points than it is And were it but as clear for them as it is against them they would not then complain of its Obscurity or prohibit the Vulgar the reading of it II. But the Protestants are for setting up every Man's private Reason to be Judg of Scripture What to be Judg of what in Scripture ought to be received and what rejected as the Socinians do This is a very disingenuous Misrepresentation Much more remote from Truth is it That they are far worse in this than the rankest Socinian in the World (a) P. 58. The Protestant he very well knows being satisfied by his Reason concerning the divine Authority of the Scripture he firmly assents to whatsoever he finds delivered in it tho he be not able to conceive how it should be He indeed uses his Reason in judging of the sense of Scripture which he must of necessity do or else he can have no reason to believe it in a true rather than a false sense But having to the best of his understanding found out the meaning of it he makes neither common nor private Reason the Measure of what is to be received so as to admit nothing into his Faith but what he is able fully to understand Tho he meets with some things which are above his Capacity yet he does not say as Socinus speaking of Christ's Satisfaction If the very word were in Scripture not once but often yet I would not believe it but thinks he has the greatest Reason in the World to believe them because God has deliver'd them And that some things in Scripture are above his Capacity this he thinks is so far from being a discouragement that it is rather a motive to his Faith for he might be tempted to suspect the Divinity of the Scriptures if he found nothing in them above the reach of his own little Understanding either at first to
so slippery so weak various wavering changeable inconstant as you see the private Reason of the Learned is to be rely'd on by them as their Guide in expounding of Scripture How can you imagine it possible for all Christians to concur in the same Belief while the Learned who read and expound the Scripture give differing and contrary interpretations of it For as long as the Scripture is no otherwise in their Heads and Hearts than by the interpretation they make of it their Faith must necessarily be as various as their Interpretation And is not the Story of the Manna which follows as applicable to the Learned For was not the taste of the Manna as different to the Priests as it was to the People Did it not relish according to that kind of Meat that was most grateful to every Priest's Palate Now if the Priests in Canaan had receiv'd a Command of bringing forth that sort of Meat whose taste should be like that of the Manna they ate in the Desert was it possible they should all agree in their Dish Since tho the Manna was the same they all fed on yet the Relish was as different as their Tempers and Palats Don't you therefore see that Men will never be of one Spirit and one Mind until the reading of the Scripture be prohibited to the Learned and not to some but to all his Holiness as Infallible only excepted For if it be allow'd to the Cardinals notwithstanding their Eminences above others together with his Holiness they will never agree in the sense of it For I can tell you of many Cardinals who have differ'd from his Holiness and among themselves too about the sense of it Is it not then as plain as Demonstration that there will be no end of Controversies as long as the Scriptures are read by any Man in the World besides the Pope And perhaps not then neither for since he is not infallible but when he speaks from his Chair which seldom happens at other times he may chance to contradict himself and give one sense of Scripture this Year another the next It were therefore most advisable could it possibly be effected that the Book it self were utterly abolished Let not any Man interpret this to the disparagement of Learning since nothing can be more evident than that the Learned have vast Advantages above the rest of Mankind for attaining to the true meaning of the more obscure Texts of Scripture provided they sincerely search after Truth and are so humble so sensible of their own liableness to mistake that they daily implore the Divine Assistance But if they be destitute of these Qualifications they are not only as subject to err but to err more dangerously than others In the beginning of the 10th Chapter the Representer talks again at the same impertinent rate so agreeable to him is this way of reasoning that he naturally falls into it in every Chapter But the Vanity of it lies so open that it need not be further exposed If any Man please to consult the place I shall leave it to himself to judg whether it be not every whit as applicable against permitting the Scripture to the Learned as the Vulgar But the Representer may say The Church of Rome does not allow the Learned to interpret Scripture according to their own private Reason For the Council of Trent has decreed That no Man presume to interpret Scripture contrary to the sense of the Church or the unanimous consent of the Fathers And has not the Church of England her Confession of Faith contrary to which she allows none of her Members to interpret Scripture Does she not admit all such Traditional Interpretations as can be derived from the Fountain And for all such Texts as are obscure and doubtful does she not direct the Vulgar to consult their Guides Tho it is true she does not command them to believe that White is Black or that Vice is Vertue if the Priest says that it is But however the Church of Rome denies them the liberty of interpreting the Scripture in their own sense it is certain that they commonly take it else how comes it that they give such different senses of the same Scripture How comes it that many of the Learned expound the sixth Chapter of St. John of the sacramental eating of Christ's Flesh and many as learned as they say that no such matter is there intended How comes it when so many tell us that these words This is my Body are so plain for Transubstantiation that he must be quite blind who does not see it that others whose sight is as good as theirs tell us they are not able to see this in them Do these Learned Men in their Exposition of the Scripture give us the sense of the Roman Church or do they not If not they follow their own private Reason if they do their Church gives contrary senses of Scripture and is as far from being one in this respect as it is from being Catholic He confesses p. 63. That some of the Protestants to keep up the Face of the Church do speculatively contend for Authority and Guides But then he says In Fact they defeat all these their Pretensions How do they in Fact defeat them Because they own no Authority so great or safe but it is to be subjected to the controul of every private Examiner They own an Authority so great as to Matters of External Government as to be subject to the controul of no Man who lives in Communion with the Church But he means an Authority so great that whatsoever the Church commands and prescribes to be receiv'd as the Truth and Faith of Christ it ought to be received But can the Church have no Authority unless Men are bound to believe without examination whatsoever she prescribes to be believed If so then had she no Authority in our Saviour's and his Apostles days no nor for several Ages after them For if any such Authority had been own'd in the fourth Century how came it to pass that after the Nicene Council the Arian Heresy spread more than it had done before If this be to open a Gate to all the Fanaticisms and Quakerisms in the World 't is certain the Protestants did not first open it but it was long before open'd by our Blessed Saviour when he gave this Command to his Disciples Call no Man Father upon the Earth for one is Your Father which is in Heaven neither be ye called Masters for one is Your Master even Christ (h) Mat. 23. 9 10. As much as to say There is none upon Earth by whose sense a Christian is to be absolutely determin'd his Faith is not to be resolv'd into any Man's Authority But by the Creed all Christians are bound to believe the Holy Catholic Church Yes That there is such a Church and that this Church teaches all Truths necessary to be known But it is one thing to believe this another thing to believe as
THE Peoples Right To Read the Holy Scripture ASSERTED In ANSWER to the 6th 7th 8th 9th and 10th Chapters of the Second Part of the POPISH REPRESENTER LONDON Printed for Richard Chiswell at the Rose and Crown in St. Paul's Church-Yard MDCLXXXVII IMPRIMATUR Hen. Maurice Rmo in Christo P. D. Wilhelmo Archiepiscop Cant. a Sacris Maii 27. 1687. The Contents Four Things proposed to be treated of I. WHAT the Practice of the Church of Rome in this this Matter is II. That this Practice is plainly contrary to the Will of God to the Reason of the Thing and to the Practice of the Christian Church for more than a thousand Years after Christ III. The Insufficiency of those Reasons by which the Representer endeavours to justify it IV. The Truth of those Inferences the Protestants draw from it Page 1 2. CHAP. I. THE Practice of the Church of Rome in this Matter represented Pag. 2 c. CHAP. II. THE Contrariety of this Practice to the Will of God to Reason and to the Practice of the Christian Church for more than a thousand Years Pag. 8 c. SECT I. It 's contrariety to the Will of God appears in that God 1. Caused the Scriptures to be written in a Language understood by the Vulgar Pag. 9. 2. Adress'd them to the Vulgar Pag. 11. 3. Commanded the Vulgar to converse familiarly with them Pag. 12. SECT II. It 's contrariety to Reason shew'd both from the Scope and End of the Scriptures and from the Testimonies of many Learned Men of the Church of Rome Pag. 14 SECT III. It 's contrariety to the Practice of the Christian Church proved by unquestionable Testimonies for twelve hundred Years downward p. 17 c. When and upon what occasion a Restraint was first laid upon the reading of the Scriptures p. 26 CHAP. III. THE Reasons the Representer offers to justify this Practice of the Church of Rome Pag. 27 SECT I. The general Reason viz. the Mischiefs that arise from the promiscuous reading of the Scripture consider'd and the absurdity of it exposed p. 28 c. SECT II. The Mischiefs objected are all of the same kind p. 33In particular these three 1. The Divisions that are among Christians 2. As many different Bibles as there are different Heads 3. Not only several Persons but the same Person many times hath different Bibles I. That the Divisions among Christians arise solely or principally from the reading of the Bible by the Vulgar 1. It is notoriously false 2. In case it were true it would not be of force to infer his Conclusion p. 36 It is notoriously false In that 1. There were Divisions among the ancient Guides of the Church ibid. 2. There have been and still are Divisions yea as many among the Learned of the Church of Rome as among the Protestants p. 37 The Learned Romanists are divided among themselves in all those Points in which they are divided from Protestants ibid. 4. Those very pernicious Doctrines and Practices which the Representer himself mentions are deriv'd from the Learned especially from the Learned of the Church of Rome p. 39 5. The Divisions among the Vulgar for the most part are not owing to themselves but to the Learned 41 If it were true that the Divisions among Christians arise from the reading of the Bible by the Vulgar yet it would not be sufficient Reason for denying the Bible to them p. 42 II. The second Mischief viz. If the Bible be allowed the Vulgar there will be as many different Bibles among them as there are Heads p. 43 That every difference in Sense makes not a different Bible p. 44 The vanity of this Reason appears in that 1. It is of equal force against the reading of the Scripture by the Learned yea of much greater p. 45 2. Where the Vulgar are not permitted to read the Bible there are as many different Bibles in the Representer's Sense as where they are p. 46 3. The Argument retorted p. 47 III. The third Mischief may also be objected with as much Reason against the reading of the Scripture by the Learned particularly by the Roman Bishops Cardinals and Popes p. 48 SECT III. The Reasons the Representer gives why the Vulgar so differ in the sense of Scripture are two viz. The Obscurity of the Scripture and the setting up every Man's private Reason to be judg of it p. 50 1. The Obscurity of the Scriptures ibid. What the Protestants affirm of the plainness of the Scripture is no more than what the Ancient Fathers what the Bishop of Rome formerly and what many Learned Romanists of this present Age have affirm'd p. 51 That the Disagreement about the sense of Scripture proceeds not from the obscurity of it p. 52 From whence this Disagreement proceeds p. 53 2. The setting up every Man 's private Reason to be judg of Scripture p. 54 The Protestants make not Reason judg of Scripture as the Socinians do ibid. They make Reason no otherwise Judg than as our Blessed Saviour and his Apostles have allowed commanded p. 55 The Clergy of the Church of Rome notwithstanding their loud Cry against private Reason make it Judg as much as Protestants p. 56 His Argument from the Oneness of the Christian Faith answered and retorted p. 57 58 c. His other Arguments from the Authority of the Church the Creed Heb. 13. 17. 1 Tim. 3. 15. Mat. 18. 17. answered p. 61 62 c. CHAP. IV. THE false Constructions or wrong Inferences as the Representer calls them which the Protestants make from this Practice are three 1. That the Vulgar Papists are deprived of the Word of God. 2. That they take up all their Belief upon trust 3. That the Reason why they are not permitted to read the Bible is for fear least they should discover the Errors of their Religion p. 65 SECT I. The first Protestant Inference justified and the Representer's Reasons to the contrary shew'd to be idle and insignificant p. 65 66 67 c SECT II. That the Vulgar Papist takes all his Belief upon trust p. 7â— This shew'd in each of those Heads mentioned by the Representer And the absurdity of his Reasons to the contrary maâ— manifest p. 71 72 7â— SECT III. The third Inference vindicated and his two Reasons â— it shew'd to be of no force p. â—â— No thanks to them that the Bible is not denied the Learned p. â—â— That it is the Bible it self they look upon as mischievous p. â—â— Some Learned Men not so well qualified to discover their â—â—rors as some of the Vulgar p. â—â— Many of their Learned Men have discovered their Errors p. â—â— Why more liberty is given to their Vulgar here in Englaâ—â— than in other Countries p. â—â— That the Vulgar here in England have discovered their Errâ—â— p â—â— The Peoples Right to read the Holy Scripture asserted THough it is as evident as that the Scripture is in Print that the free Use of it is by the Roman Clergy
denied to the Vulgar yet when they are charged with it by Protestants they either take the confidence plainly to deny it or if they own the Charge as the Representer doth they endeavour to put such glosses upon it as to make their denial of the Scripture to be in effect but a better way of granting it For since it is not the words of the Bible but the sense and meaning of the words that is properly the Word of God while they withhold from them the Letter they provide means to acquaint them with the Spirit or the true sense of Scripture and so deliver it to them with much more advantage than People of any other Perswasion have it What others have formerly written for their Vindication in this Matter it is needless now to examine since it is not to be supposed but that the Representer hath said as much to the purpose as any of those who have gone before him I shall therefore confine the ensuing Discourse to what he hath said in his 6th 7th 8th 9th and 10th Chapters And that it may be the more clear and satisfactory I shall shew these four Things I. What is the Practice of the Church of Rome in this Matter II. That this Practice is plainly contrary to the Will of God to the Reason of the Thing and to the Practice of the Christian Church for more than a thousand Years after Christ III. The insufficiency of those Reasons by which the Representer endeavours to justify it IV. Vindicate those Inferences the Protestants draw from it All that is said by the Representer may I think be reduced to one or other of these Heads CHAP. I. THough some may think it needless to insist upon the first of these since what the Protestants charge the Church of Rome with in this Matter is freely enough owned by the Representer himself * Chap. 6. p. 45 46. Chap. 7. p. 52. Chap. 9. p. 57. yet because some of that Communion here in England who for prudential Reasons are not so straitly tied up do confidently deny it it may not be amiss for their information to give some short account of it from better Authority than that of the Representer For which we need go no further than the fourth Rule of the Trent Expurgatory Index which is this Since it is manifest by experience that if the Holy Bible be promiscuously permitted in the vulgar Tongue by reason of the rashness of Men more Loss than Profit will thence arise In this Matter let the Judgment of the Bishop or Inquisitor be stood to that with the advice of the Parish Priest or Confessor they may grant the reading of the Bible in the vulgar Tongue translated by Catholick Authors to such as they shall understand can receive no hurt by such reading but increase of Faith and Piety Which Faculty let them have in writing But he that without such Faculty shall presume to read or to have the Bible he may not receive Absolution of his Sins except he first deliver up his Bible to the Ordinary If any Man shall say That this Rule hath not the force of a Law Monsieur de Maire Counsellor Almoner and Preacher to the King of France in a Book published by Authority shall give him an Answer This Rule saith he is founded in Ecclesiastical Right and no Man can transgress it without contradicting that Obedience which he owes to the Church and the Holy See from which it hath received its Confirmation Forasmuch as this Rule was not made but in prosecution of the Decree of the Council of Trent c. no Man can deny but that it hath been approved by the Holy Sea and authorized by the Bulls of Pius IV and Clement VIII who after they had view'd and diligently examin'd it publish'd it to the World with Order that it should be obey'd (b) Enfin je maintiens que cette Regle est fondeé en droict Ecclesiastique et qu' on ne la peut violer sans choquer l'obeïssance qu' l'on doit à l'Eglise c. Le Sanctuaire serme aux Profanes part 3. c. 1. p. 335 336. If says he there be any thing that can hinder this Rule from having the Force of a Law it must be either because it hath not been published or being published hath not been received but neither the one nor the other can be said since it is evident that this is the old Quarrel we have with our Hereticks that this is that which our Church hath always been upbraided with by the Enemies of the Faith this is that which is the Subject of their most outragious Calumnies this is that which hath been acknowledged by 〈◊〉 wise Men that which hath been earnestly maintained by all the Defenders of Catholick Truths c Ce que personne n' ignore ce que tout le monde publie n' y aiant point de creance plus commune ny plus generale parmy les fidels c. Ibid. that which no Person is ignorant of that which the whole World publishes there being no Point of Belief more common nor more general among the Faithful than this of the Prohibition to read the Bible without permission And this Belief so common is says he a certain Proof not only of the publication but of the reception of this Rule It cannot be denied but that it hath been received by all those Nations by which the Decrees of Trent were universally received And so they were as Pallavicino tells us d Pallav. l. 24. c. 9 11 12 13. in Italy Spain Sicily Portugal Poland the greater part of Germany and many other Countries But suppose this Rule were not received as imposed by the Council of Trent yet in all Popish Countries they have made it a Law to themselves It is not indeed observed in France upon the Authority of the Council but they have set it up and established it as a Law by their own Authority as is manifest by the Mandates of their Archbishops and Bishops the Decrees of their Provincial Councils and the Edicts and Arrests of their Kings and Parliaments e La Bible Deffendue au Vulgaire Part. 3. c. 1 4. Collectio Auctor Versiones Vulg. damnant It is true there is a little more latitude in France for granting a Licence for not only the Bishop and his Vicar-General but the Penitentiary or a Man 's own Parish Priest may grant it f Mandeuent de Monseigneur L' Archevesque de Paris portant defense de lire la Bible en Langue Vulgaire sans permission Fait le 2 Septembre 1650. But then to make an amends for this in other Countries the Rule is made stricter than it was at first by the Trent Fathers for that does not forbid the Vulgar Bible but only the reading it without a Licence whereas the 5th Rule of the Spanish Index prohibits the Bibles themselves in the Vulgar Tongue and all Parts of them too and that not
plainly grants that Some have not leave to read it who are capable of reading it as they ought and that in some Countries they cannot obtain this leave tho they never so much desire it Where by capable of reading as they ought he must if he speak sense mean those who will not abuse it tho it is a great mistake to confound these two as if they were the same when they are as different the one from the other as a sick Man is from one that is not capable of being well and therefore to say that a Man who abuses the Scripture is not capable of reading it as he ought is as absurd as that a sick Man is not capable of recovering his Health Were indeed all those that abuse the Scripture uncapable of reading it to good purpose I should not deny but they might with good reason be deprived of it But if they must be denied it for no other reason but because they abuse it then let all Men be deprived of their Eyes their Ears their Tongues c. there being no Man by whom these are not more or less abused Yea let not only some but every Man in the World be denied the reading of the Scripture because I fear there is scarce any Man who is most careful to avoid it but he may some time or other through weakness or ignorance abuse it It is therefore certain that a Man ought not for every Abuse to be deprived of this Priviledg And if for any of those mentioned by the Representer our blessed Saviour and his Apostles were much to blame who put all Men indifferently upon the study of the Scripture notwithstanding all these Abuses were as high in their time as they have been in any Age since Did I say not for every Abuse I will add not for any Abuse unless there can be any that God did not foresee for since notwithstanding any such Abuse he gave free liberty to all Men who can deny it to any unless they will take upon them to correct God And yet when all is done in case Men are to be denied the reading of the Scripture because they abuse it then those above all others ought to be denied it who most extragavantly abuse it I mean those who prove the Pope is as much greater than the Emperor as the Sun is greater than the Moon from Gen. 1. 16. God made two great Lights the greater Light to rule the Day and the lesser Light to rule the Night That in the Churches Power are two Swords the Temporal and the Spiritual from that Speech of St. Peter to Christ Behold here are two Swords That the Pope is an absolute universal Soveraign because Christ said to St. Peter Feed my Sheep That a married Man cannot please God because St. Paul saith They that are in the Flesh cannot please God. And to give one Instance in the Subject we are now upon That no unlearned Man may presume to meddle with the Scripture because God commanded That if a Beast touch'd the Mountain it should be stoned or thrust through with a Dart. Did ever Men more abuse the Scripture than those who for bad purposes put such absurd ridiculous Senses upon it And yet these are the Men who have taken upon them to be the only infallible Interpreters of it Let all impartial Men then judg who best deserves to be forbidden to read it Whether his Holiness or an honest Mechanic The Truth is the Pope and his Clergy have set up a Worldly Religion so directly opposite to that of Christ that the Heretical Scriptures however tortured will never be brought to a compliance with The Mischiefs they talk of that arise from the Vulgar are but pretended the Mischiefs that come to themselves thereby are those they are indeed afraid of as was plainly confessed to Pope Julius III by those Bishops assembled at Bononia to consult about the establishment of the Roman Church m Verger Consil de Rom. Eccles stabilienda I shall not insist upon it That the Representer is so intent upon the Mischiefs that he quite forgets the Benefits which arise from reading the Scriptures and those many intolerable Mischiefs which flow from the neglect of it which the ancient Fathers have largely insisted upon The reading of the Divine Scriptures says St. Chrysostom is a Spiritual Meadow a Paradise of Delights a better Paradise of Delight than that other Paradise God hath planted this Paradise not in the Earth but in the Souls of Believers He hath placed it not in Eden or toward the East confining it to one place but hath extended it to the Ends of the World. Here is no Serpent it is a place free from wild Beasts and fenced with the Grace of the holy Spirit And this Paradise hath a Fountain as the other had a Fountain from which not only four but myriads of Rivers flow Would you know the Nature of it know it from its use It is not profitable to this present Life but to the Life eternal Let us spend our Time in this Paradise let us sit by this Fountain let us abide in the reading of these Scriptures For as those that sit by a Fountain and enjoy that cool refreshing Air and when the Sun grows hot dipping their Face continually do drive away the stifling Heat and easily cure their troublesom Thirst So he that sits by the Fountain of the Divine Scriptures if the flame of Lust annoy him bathing his Soul in these Waters he may easily extinguish it If fierce Anger molest him inflaming his Heart as a boiling Cauldron by instilling a little of this Water he may presently repress the importunity of the Passion and from all evil Cogitations the reading of the Divine Scriptures delivers the Soul. For which Reason the great Prophet David knowing the advantage that comes by reading the Scriptures compares the Man who constantly attends to the Scriptures to a Plant placed by the Rivers of Waters which always flourishes For as that Tree is not hurt by unseasonable Air or by the scorching Rays of the Sun So that Soul that stands by the flowings of the Divine Scriptures and is continually watered by them is unconquerable if Sickness Loss false Accusation Revilings Yea if all the Evils in the World assault such a Soul he easily repels all Perturbations of Mind having sufficient Consolation from the reading of the Scriptures n De utilitate lectionis Script If any Man list to see more to this purpose let him consult the Sermon And as the Benefits are many and so great that a Man may reap from the reading of the Scripture so the same St. Chrysostom tells us that Myriads of Mischiefs spring from the neglect of it o Proaem in Epist ad Rom. many of which he hath given us a particular account of in several of his Sermons SECT II. Let us now consider what these Mischiefs are the Representer makes such a Noise about Besides those mention'd
be true of many of the Vulgar is it not also as true of many of the Learned yea of many of the most Learned in the Church of Rome May it not as truly be said how many may be found among your Bishops Cardinals and Popes who according to their different humours as their Interest changes espouse different Doctrines and Perswasions Witness in elder times Pope Liberius and Vigilius who were either Hereticks or Catholicks as their Interest changed And for later times witness the Cardinal of Cusa who one while more zealous than he for the Authority of a General Council above the Pope But when he expected to be made a Cardinal who more zealous for the contrary Doctrine Upon which Richerius his Words are observable By this saith he we are given to know that very many who have defended the Truth in a state of Poverty have deserted the same out of hope of Dignities and a more plentiful Fortune and especially out of an ambition of being made Cardinals (l) Hist Concil general l. 3. p. 479. Witness Aeneas Sylvius who vehemently opposed that Doctrine when he was Pope which he had before as vehemently maintained when he was Clerk to the Council of Basil And that it was interest that gave him this new Light not I but Richerius and Maimbourg plainly assert (m) Richer Hist Concil general l. 4. parte 1. c. 6. Maimb Prerog Of the Church of Rome c. 25. p. 338. Yea the Pope himself in his Bull of Retractation says in effect as much for speaking of the Disputes between him and Juliano Cardinal of St. Angelo he confesses the Doctrine he forsook was the ancient and that he embraced was new (n) Tuebamur antiquam sententiam ille novam defendebat Witness the Cardinal of Lorrain Does not he he himself confess that his Interest being turn'd he turned with it (o) Hist of the Counc of Trent l. 8. p. 767. Was not his Perswasion different according to the different Impressions he received from the Pope and the Queen of France When he first came to Trent how contrary his Sentiments in several Points were to those he had afterward when the State of affairs in France was altered and he had been caressed by the Pope and his Holiness had gain'd his good Opinion may sufficiently appear by comparing the places quoted in the Margin (p) Hist of the Counc of Trent ps 659 692 703 704 712 733 743 744 767 782 813. It 's too well known to need to be mentioned how that Gardiner Bonner and all the Popish Bishops Fisher only excepted espoused different Doctrines and Perswasions as their Interests changed and according to the different Impressions they received either from the King or the Pope And don't you now see how to these same Bishops Cardinals and Popes the Word of God was not always the same but alter'd according to Seasons and Times That it was one Word of God that directed Aeneas Sylvius while he was Secretary to the Council of Basil another while he was Pope That in King Henry VIII's and King Edward VI's Reigns the King's Supremacy in Ecclesiastical Affairs was in Gardiner's and Bonner's Bibles in Queen Marie's Reign the Pope's was found instead of the King 's The Conclusion hence is unavoidable That if all Men are to be denied the reading of the holy Scriptures who according to their different Humours as their Interest changes espouse different Doctrines and Persuasions they must be denied to many more than the Vulgar unless their Bishops Cardinals and Popes are to be placed in that rank SECT III. In the next place the Representer gives us his Reasons why the Vulgar so differ in the sense of the Bible which are two one of them imply'd the other expressed That which is imply'd is the Obscurity of the Scripture That which is express'd is the setting up every Man 's private Reason to be Judg of Scripture (q) Chap. 9. p. 58. Reason I. I. The Obscurity of the Scripture For if it be so plain and easy says he how comes it there is so little agreement in the understanding it When the Protestants affirm that the Scripture is plain and easie they mean it is so to those only who read it with honest Hearts who sincerely desire to know the Truth and to direct their Lives answerable to it and they mean that it 's so not simply in all things but in all things necessary to Salvation And when they affirm this they affirm no more than St. Austin did Believe me saith he whatsoever is in those Scriptures speaking of the Scriptures of the old Testament which are more obscure than those of the new it is high and Divine they contain nothing but what is true and that Doctrine which is most fit for the repairing and restoring of Souls and so disposed that there is no Man but may draw thence that which is sufficient for him provided he comes devoutly and piously affected as true Religion requires (r) Quicquid est mihi crede in Scripturis illis altum divinum est inest omnino veritas reficiendis instaurandisque animis accommodatissima disciplina plane ita modificata ut nemo inde haurire non possit quod sibi satis est si modo ad hauriendum devotè ac piè ut vera Religio poscit accedat De utilitate credendi c. 6. They affirm no more than what St. Chrysostom did for he says That all things necessary are manifest (s) 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Hom. 3. in 2. ad Thess They affirm no more than what the Bishop of Rome did formerly For the Holy Scripture saith Pope Gregory as I find him quoted by the Authors of the Preface of the Mons Testament is as a great River which runs always and which will run to the end of the World. The little Children and the Men of full Stature the strong and the weak do there find that living Water that springs up even to Heaven It offers it self to all and it suits it self to all It hath a simplicity that abases it self to the most simple Souls and a height that exercises and raises the most lofty †P. 9. Nay they say no more than what many learned Romanists of this present Age have said The Bishop of Vence speaking of the new Testament says The Son of God hath in it taken care to teach us CLEARLY and DISTINCTLY our whole Duty to him as well as our whole Duty to our Neighbour and our selves This is that which the Gospels contain The Epistles of the Apostles are a Comment upon it and an Explication more enlarged and distinct which leave not any thing in the Christian Life we ought to live upon Earth unexplain'd (t) Preface of Mr. Arnaud And Mr. Arnaud says That the holy Fathers have noted that one of those things which shew the Divinity of the holy Scriptures and in which they excel all the Writings of Men
more of the Commandments than what they find in their Catechism 5. As to the Sacraments Had he not need trust strongly who believes that Christ instituted the Sacrament of Order in saying Do this w Rhemes Test Annot. in Luke 22. v. 19. Abridgment of Christ Doct. p. 184 185. Behold here the Lights the Vulgar Papist enjoys Is it not now as manifest as Light it self That whosoever reproaches him with Blindness in the midst of so many Lights may with as good Reason prove him to be in the dark when Noon-day shines upon him Especially considering That besides these Books the Church hath given direction to all Parish-Priests to explicate on Sundays and Holy-days the Gospel and some Mystery of the Faith to such as are under their Charge c. But have we not reason to believe that the Explications of their Parish Priests are answerable to those we meet with in their Books and then notwithstanding these Helps and Assistances not only some but many of his Church may believe without understanding who cannot be condemned of Negligence and Sloth in the use of those means their Church has provided for them And if the Parish-Priests are generally as ignorant as many Learned Men of the Church of Rome tell us they are even they themselves believe without understanding and therefore much more the People But by what follows the Vulgar Papists are very blame-worthy if they know not the Scripture better than the Vulgar of any other Communion For it is an unquestionable Truth that when a Book contains high Mysteries of Religion Mysteries superior to all Sense and Reason and those not deliver'd in expressions suited to every Capacity but obnoxious to various interpretations that the People is in all probability likely to have more of the true sense of this Book and to be better informed of the Truth of the Mysteries it contains who are instructed in it by the Learned of that Communion and taught it by their Pastors Prelats and those whom God hath placed over them to govern and feed the Flock than any other People who have the Book put into their own hands to read it and search it and satisfie themselves In answer to which I shall propose a few Questions to the Representer 1st Whether it be an unquestionable Truth that when a Book contains not only high Mysteries but such things as for the far greater part are not above the Capacity of the Vulgar that he shall have more of the true sense of this Book who is instructed in it by his Pastors only than he who is instructed in it by them and studies it himself too In all Sciences there are some Mysteries now is he likely to understand any other Science better who takes only the Instructions of his Teachers than he who together with them diligently studies it himself also 2. Suppose nothing but high Mysteries were contained in this Book yet may not he as well understand these Mysteries who is instructed in them by the Learned and searches them himself as he that trusts only to the Instructions of the Learned 3. Is it for the sake of these high Mysteries that the reading of this Book is forbidden the Vulgar If so then 1. Why was it not forbidden sooner since these Mysteries were in it from the Beginning 2. Why are other Books publish'd for their use in which are Mysteries superior to all Sense and Reason and those not deliver'd in expressions suited to every Capacity but such as may be wrested by the Vnlearned and Vnstable to their own destruction Such I mean as the Contemplations of the Life and Glory c. Jesus Maria Joseph c. And therefore 4. Is it not evident that it is not for the sake of the Mysteries but of those things which are too plain and obvious to vulgar understandings that the reading of this Book is prohibited But he confirms what he says both by Reason and Scripture 1. By Reason Are not the Pastors more capable of teaching the People than the People are of teaching themselves An admirable Reason Let us see how it will hold in other matters Is not the Master or Tutor more capable of teaching the Scholar than the Scholar is of teaching himself He therefore will have more of the true sense of any Book in Logick Physicks or Metaphysicks that never looks into the Book himself but only hears a Lecture once in a Week or Month from his Tutor upon some part of it than he that makes the Book his constant study 2. As admirable are the Proofs from Scripture We know Moses gave the Book of the Law to the Levites to keep and read it every seven years to the People And in King Jehosaphat 's Reign the Priests and Levites did read it and teach the People so did Jeremy by God's Command so Isaiah so Ezekicl And did not our Blessed Saviour take the Book of the Prophet and read it and expound it to the People And was not this the Office of the Apostles and Deacons c. The Argument is this The Priests and Levites read the Book of the Law and taught the People so did Jeremy Isaiah and Ezekiel Yea our Saviour and his Apostles read and expounded the Scripture to the People Therefore they will understand more of the true sense of the Scripture who never read it than those who do What pity was it that Moses and the Prophets and our Saviour and his Apostles did not understand the force of this Argument for if they had they would no doubt have forbidden the People to read the Scripture and then we had never been pester'd with those Sects and Heresies that spring from it But they were altogether unacquainted with the Roman Politicks Tho therefore they read the Scripture to the People themselves and read it in the vulgar Tongue yet they left it free to the People to read it and not only so but laid it as a Duty upon them He adds For this intention was Ananias sent to Saul Peter to Cornelius and Philip to the Eunuch who professedly own'd he could not understand the Prophet in so necessary a Point as that of the Messias without an Interpreter x P. 51. None of which Instances make any thing for him but that of the Eunuch makes much against him For the Eunuch was reading the Prophet Isaiah tho he could not understand him and St. Chrysostom y Hom. 35. in Genes and others z Non intelligebat Scripturae sensum homo prophanus idiota tamen quoniam pio studio legebat subito mittitur illi Philippus interpres vertitur Eunuchus in virum tingitur aquâ ater Aethiops niveo agni immaculati vellere induitur subitoque ex mancipio prophanae Reginae fit servus Iesu Christi Eras Epist l. 29. Epist 82. observe that God as a Reward of his Diligence and Piety in doing what he was able sent him a Teacher And what follows hence First that they ought not