others that were therewith acquainted before the printing of the Booke Stay a little I pray you for my memory is bad if your period be long who were those that were acquainted with the booke before the printing of it Were they Iesuites or of what profession were they But I will not presse you too farre least I loose my labour Onely goe on with your sentence who are as ready to ingage their credits and liues in defense of the faith of the present Church of England by Law established and in opposition of Popery and Romish superstition as any others doe with griefe obserue the maleuolencie of some dispositions of these times with whom a slip or misprision of a word or two as liable to a faire and charitable vnderstanding as otherwise doth not onely loose the thankes due for all the good contained in the worke but also purchase to the Author a reprochfull imputation and way-making to Popish Deuotion and apish imitation of Romish superstition Nay I pray you Mr. Printer continue out your speech to the end And howsoeuer he may be requited for his paines herein he shall neuer depart from his good intention and wishing that the reader may at all times and for all occasions be assisted with diuine grace obtained by continuall prayer And for the misdeeming Censures and detractions of any hee feareth them not but rather hopeth that his prayers to God for them wil be more beneficiall to them then any their Censures or detractions can be any way preiudiciall to him who doth in this and all things else humbly submit himselfe to the judgement of the Church of England whereof he is a member and though inferiour vnto most yet a faithfull Minister Haue you said all Mr. Printer Now surely I cannot but smile to see how pretily and smoothly you can plough with anothers he yfer what an infinite disproportion there is betweene your style and your person and yet both you and your leare-father are strongly conceited that you are able to cosen all the world by making them beleeue that you are the man that framed this Apologeticall Epistle Alas you doe but dance in a net all this while Do not you thinke I smelled your cunning conueyance till now Or doe you thinke the world is so simple as to prayse or applawd you for the Author of this your pretty witty Epistle And now by the Epistle it selfe will I conuince it to be a very packe of knauery And to put you out of conceit that you are the Author of this Epistle Mr. Printer I will goe no farther then the last words of it Dare you be so bold with the Author who is no small man and hopes yet to be greater at least for his good seruice in this booke as to say he is inferiour to most I know this neuer came out of your lips though it went through your presse Ex vngue leonem This could not come but from the modesty of the Author himselfe or from some frend to helpâ— out at a dead lift But be it his or yours or whose iâ— wil be I wil be bold to go ouer the rest where I lâ—â—t You say your Authors are as ready to ingage their credits and liues in defence of the faith of the present Church of England by law established and in opposition of Popery and Romish superstition as any others Hoe there Here Master Printer I must tell you you take a greater ingagement vpon you then your credit wil be taken for If they should openly by word as here you haue set downe in print ingage themselues in this point euen the principals if they should haue as little credit giuen them as the surety they may blame themselues Verba quid audio cum facta videam Let this booke speake for them whence a Iesuite may conclude farre stronger arguments to assure the Church of Rome of these her sonnes Then the Authors themselues with all their powerfull eloquence can â—uer perswade vs that they are the true brâ—d sonnâ—â— of the Church of England The Iesuites haue the Aâ—â—â—ors booke to shew a prooâ—e vpon Record but we haue nothing to shew but a poore Epistle and that written in the Printers name And how shall they euer ingagage their credits and liues in defence of the faith of the present Church of England by law established a clause of some waight had we any better authoritie for it then the single assertion of a Printer who haue beene both so prodigall of their Credit aduenâ—urous of their liues if the lawes established be of any force and all to win countenance and credit to the holy Catholicke Church of Rome and who will belieue that they will oppose Popery that labour to aduance it and to suppresse the truth of the Gospell by law established in the present Church of England Or how shall they oppose Romish superstition that tooth and naile would haile it in by head shoulders in a most superstitious forme of Romish deuotion But you proceed and say They doe with griefe obserue the maleuolency of some dispositions of these times with whom a slip or misprision of a word or two as liable to a faire and charitable vnderstanding as otherwise doeth not onely loose the thankes due for all the good contained in the worke but also purchase to the author a reprochfull imputation of way making to Popish Deuotion and apish imitation of Romish superstition O good God What a packe of hypocrisie and senselesse absurdities and shamelesse impudencie is here All their damnable foysting in of popery and that no lesse then infidell prayer for the dead must be excused for sooth and all the blame laid vpon the maleuolency of some dispositions of these times And who are those and why maleuolent surely those that espying the craft of Iesuited spirits in these our dayes in broching grosse and palpable Popery dare oppose themselues and cry out against such bold attempts These be the men of a maleuolent disposition in these times and all because these times doe breed such Iesuited spirits And therefore no maruaile if the author of this booke cannot but greeue that his Popish booke cannot finde a generall approbation But they are maleuolent as with whom a slip or misprision of a word or two c. But a word or two at the most misprinted or misplaced the matter of all this maleuolency Nay but a slip or misprision of a word or two Why we know that in Coyne he that is the author of a slip and would vent it for the Kings Currant Coyne is guilty of treason Now much more a slip or false doctrine foysted in for Gods Currant siluer such a slip once broched is an errour but stiffly maintained it becomes an heresie And is not this such a slip here A most wicked Popish doctrine was published by the Author or Authors in print namely Prayer for the Dead against the Faith and Doctrine of the Church of England and yet
thinke it fit to trouble your Ladiships eares with any tedious canuasses to and fro but rather to recommend it to your Ladiship in one briefe view to peruse the same at your best leasure And here it is in writing praying your Ladiships honour to pardon my rudenesse and plainnesse therein according to your honours promise to my Lady here Cur. Sir I thanke you very kindly wishing I could as easily requite your paines and courtesie as I can hardly otherwise deserue it Ioh. Madam your noble acceptance shall be to me as a most ample recompence Cur. I promise to bestow the reading of it thorowly Ioh. Madam God grant you may reape much fruit thereby The Lady CVRIA reades the Writing of M. Iohannes here set downe concerning the Booke intituled A Collection of Priuate Deuotions OR The Howres of Prayer And hereupon as it seemeth such is â—he affection of the Authour or Authours and Abbetters of this Booke of Deuotion that rather then they will be scrupulous to auow themselues affectionate well-willers at least of the Church of Rome if not rather symbolizers and intercommuners with her yea and to be Authours of reducing this Church of England backe againe to that spirituall Aegypt while all along without difference they shuffle all together in one Church as more particularly will appeare in the sequell They sticke not to prefix the Iesuits vsuall Marke IHS vpon the Frontispiece of their Deuotion and vnderneath it a votarie or two with a Crosse deuoutly erected As if they would with the Name of IESVS Inchanter-like coniure downe the Spirit of Truth and coniure vp the spirit of Pontifician errour and sedition againe in this our Church So that this Booke of Deuotion bearing and wearing the Iesuits badge vpon the Forehead we cannot better parallell then to that egregious dissimulation and counterfeit Deuotion which HENRY the Third of France tooke vpon him when he found that he could not by downe-right force suppresse the Truth with the Professors of it Therefore he attempts what force there is in framing and conforming himselfe to be a patterne of Deuotion to others Hereupon he builds Monasteries vndertakes Prilgrimages confirmes the Brotherhood of Penitents erects the Order of Hieronymites is daily and familiarly conuersant with the Capuchins and Fueillans called Iesuites carries a Crucifix and Beads in Procession with a whip at his girdle causeth many Bookes of Deuotion to be printed and to conclude he institutes the Order of the Knights of the Holy Ghost founded vpon such conditions as tye them by a strict and sacred bond to the Church of Rome And wherefore all this Saith the Storie to omit other complementarie ends For the entertainment of a number of Minions and Horse-leeches to whom they must rather weigh then tell money but chiefly to pull downe the Protestants to vndermine them by this lure of worldly greatnesse withdrawing the chiefe Heads who could not attaine to this high and stately degree of Knighthood but by renouncing of their Religion But see the mischiefe of it this dissembled Deuotion not so well suiting with his other hâ—mours of Feasts Maskes sumptuous pastimes drawing on new impositions to maintaine them led the first dance of rebellion While saith the Storie the Queene-Mother and those of Guise seeing the King drowned in these delights of Court did willingly entertaine him in that humor that either busying himselfe in numbring his Beads or treading the measures of a dance themselues might hold the Raines of Gouernment and dispose of affaires of State without controule What way also this made for the Spanish-faction working by his Indian-Gold the Storie sufficiently toucheth But this by the way The parallell I confesse is vneuen in regard of the persons compared the one a Prince the other meane Parsons But the things compared are not so vnequall as Popish deuotion on both sides that adorned with the Badge of the Holy Ghost this of Iesus in both those two Diuine Persons in the Trinitie most hellishly and impiously prophaned being made the Badges of those who are professed Vassalls of Antichrist that Man of Sinne and being worne by such as would still be reputed Protestants they are the verie Ensignes of Apostacie from CHRIST to Antichrist and therefore how true Seruants and Subiects such can be to Protestant Princes who by their Order of Knighthood are sworn Liegemen to the Pope I leaue to others to iudge Onely that King caused to be published sundry Bookes of Deuotion yet all of one meale But this Booke hath no fellow must alone be published for a singular and vniuersall Platforme of all Deuotion silencing and suppressing all other Bookes of the like nâ—ture So that what entertainment in time is this deuout Booke like to find in the world when none else shall be permitted to be printed yea when as not onely Bookes of religious Deuotion but also of sound Doctrine may not be allowed to see the light As therefore Popish Deuotion is the Daughter of blind Ignorance So on the contrarie this Deuotion is like to proue the Mother of Ignorance verifying that Riddle of the Water and Ice mutually bred of each other Mater me genuit eadem mox gignitur ex me And so plausible is this Booke of Deuotion to all Papists as they begin to triumph not sticking to say that they hope ere long these faire and towardly beginnings will grow on apace to the full and vniuersall reestablishment of their Roman-Catholicke Religion here in England telling their seduced Disciples as one of them now reformed blessed be GOD told me that we had now already at London a Booke of Seuen Sacraments publickly allowed In summe therefore let not the Authours of that Booke disdaine to be vulgarly reputed and reported for the Seruants of the Church of Rome whose Badge specially that of the Iesuites they sticke not to put vpon the Front of their Deuotion And so much for the first Frontispeice of the Booke Now to the next Page wherein they father this Septenary horary forme of deuotion vpon the practise of the ancient Church And these houres of prayer are compiled much saith the Booke after the manneâ— published by authoritie of Quéene ELIZABETH 1560 c. First for the ancient Church of CHRIST No Church did anciently obserue or precisely prescribe these Seuen houres of prayer duely and daily to be vsed as the Authour or Athours would beare vs in hand How ancient I pray you is this Canonicall obseruation Forsooth Pope PELAGIVS the Second was the first instituter of the Seuen houres and that was towards 600 yeeres after CHRIST This somewhat ancient But what authoritie haue we for it PAMELIVS vpon CYPRIAN saith They say so that this PELAGIVS was the first instituter Onely They say so Though POLYDOR VIRGIL speake a little more confidently Satis constat It is apparant enough but tells vs not whence Nor doe I find this Septenary to be more ancient then Pope GREGORY the Ninth who composed the Decretals about 400
fashion of Refection 〈◊〉 in the Licentiousnesse of drunken Songs And ibid It is questioned whither a man must not fast on the Sabbath but not whither he must not reuell it on the Sabbath which neither is done on the Lords day of those that feare God although they fast on that day And deuout Bernard Obserue the Sabbath which is to exercise thy selfe in the Holy-dayes so as by the Râ—st present thou mayest learne to hope for that which is eternall And that a prophane person may not flatter himselfe as though his voluptuous keeping of the Sabbath may teach him to hope for those eternall and true ioyes in heauen Heare the same Bernard or rather Gillibert whose Sermons are added to fill vp Bernards vpon the Canticles inserted in Bernards workes where mentioning Esay 58. hee saith Non dicit c. He saith not onely that the Sabbath is a Delight but he addeth And Holy and Glorious to the Lord that these things may not bee in the confusion of thy Glory Non sit desidiosum Sabbatum tuum operare in Sabbato tuo opera Dei Let not thy Sabbath bee idly spent but in thy Sabbath worke the workes of God Opus Dei in die siâ—o And surely the Lords day is not called so for nought If it be Christs day sanctified and founded in his Resurrection as S. Augustine saith then what workes are proper for that day whereby it may bee sanctified of vs and wee of it but such as are the fruits of those that are risen with Christ from the graue of sin to newnesse of life and not those which with the swinâ— would lead vs backe to our wallowing in the mire And is not the hearing and meditating of Sermons a speciall part of the sanctification of the Lords day How come we to be sanctified but by the word of God Sanctify them with thy truth thy word is the truth saith Christ. And as we noted before that Deuotion is blind whose lampe is emptie of oyle to supply the light A plaine argument that the Authors whole booke of Deuotion is but a meere counterfeit And to inuy or inueigh against the due sanctification of the Lords day what is it but to raze the very foundation whereon all true religion is built To heare Sermons and not to meditate of them is to receiue water into a Sieue to be an vncleane creature that chowes not the cudde to receiue the seed vpon the highway side where it being vnharrowed and vncouered is by the fowles of the ayre that fowle spirit that raignes in the ayre and in the vnsetled hearts of aery and windy braines to be deuoured The Lords day is the Marketday of our foules He that stands idle in the marketplace is justly reproued Or he that buyes those spirituall commodities needfull for his soule in hearing of the word and goes presently and squanders it away and brings it not home to dispose of it for his weekely vses is an vnprouident housekeeper a prodigall vnthrift of grace because he heares not for afterwards for the time to come Such are they that either are carelesse of hearing the Word or when they haue heard goe and dance it away about the May-pole or walke and talke it away in idle prate or any kind of prophane or profuse recreation Those are like the Wolfe who neuer attaine to any more learning of God then to spell Pater but when they should come to put together and to apply it to their soules in stead of Pater they say Agnus their mindes and affections running a madding after the profits and pleasures of the world Such are enemies to all Godlinesse and expresse their enmitie in nothing more then in their proâ—anation of the Lords Holy-Day If any man would know of 〈◊〉 estate and condition of any Parish in generall in 〈◊〉 Land whether it bee religious or no let him buâ—â—â—quire what conscience they make of the due sanctification of the Lords day That 's the true touchstone of a truely religious man And although all are not that sincerely whereof they make outward profession for there will euer be some hypocrites among sound Professors yet none can be a true and sound Christian who makes not speciall conscience of a religious and sober keeping of the Lords day For this day well kept sanctifies to a man the whole weeke The seuenth day sanctifieth our six as the tenth of our goods doth all the other nine As Elias his meate made him strong to trauell forty dayes and forty nights to Horâ—bâ— so the hearing and meditating of sound Sermons on the Lords day ministers strength to our soules to serue God all the weeke in our particular Callings But I may not transgresse the bounds of my proposed breuity For Conclusion of the Commandements among other offenders against the sixt Commandement he reckoneth those that be sowers of strife and sedition among any men whatsoeuer Now how farre the Author is guilty hereof or whether he may not merit to be put in the forefront with the most grand Authors of strife and sedition not onely to set priuate men together by the eares but the whole Church and state of England in a most fearefull hurly-burly and combustion I referre to all wise men to judge that doe but read this most pernitious pestilent and Popish Booke As it followeth Of the Sacraments of the Church What Sacraments trow we are these The Sacraments of the Church This is written I am sure fiylo 〈◊〉 This title is no where learned but from the Church of Rome from the Councell of Trent and from the shop of Iesuiticall Catechists He learned not this of his Mother Church of England if so he account her his Mother and not rather that other Church to which he intitles his Sacraments for the Church of England sets downe the title simply Of the Sacraments saying also Sacraments ordained of Christ. So that she intitles the Sacraments vnto Christ the sole Author of them But let vs heare what those Sacraments of the Church be or how many Namely Two and Fiue which put together as euery Arithmetician can tell make seuen Now England thou art come to thy seuen Sacraments againe This euery Papist can now bragge off And haue they not reason for there is more in it then the bringing of vs backe to the seuen Sacraments againe he would hereby knit vs fast againe to be one Church with the Church of Rome For these seuen Sacraments he calls the Sacraments oâ— the Church Oâ— what Church surely no Church euer held seuen Sacraments but the Church of Rome nor doe I read of seuen Sacraments beâ—ore Peter Lombard set them downe All the ancient Fathers knew but two Saint Ambrose writing six bookes of the Sacraments could find but two The Greeke Church neuer held but two yet saith our Author the Church holdeth them yea the Catholicke Church of Christ as before in his Preface Whereupon here he concludes
the Authors will not acknowledge it an errour but put it vpon the Printer But the thing it selfe cryes shame vpon the authors of such iuggling tricks And if there had not beene some maleuolent dispositions in the world to quarrell such impious affronts giuen to Christ and his blessed truth maintained in the Church of England there had not beene so much as one word amisse being all so exactly waighed in the Goldsmiths ballance before it came to bee minted for currant then prayer for the dead would haue passed for a doctrine of the Church of England But maleuolent dispositions haue troubled and marred all But it was nothing but the misprision of a word or two aâ— liable to a faiâ—e and lawfull vnderstanding as otherwise Indeed if so such dispositions cannot bee excused from maleuolency if they judge not chariâ—ably where there is no cause to the contrary Euer take a mans meaning rather with the right hand then with the left if it bee capable of a good instruction But â—ere the quarrell is not about the slip of a word but of a positiue false doctrine The question is whether prayer for the dead may not be taken as well in a good sense as in a bad Charity being judge Yes if blind popish Charity may be judge Nor is it a word or two but a whole solemne prayer of many words and sentences wherein the state of the dead is deuoutly prayed for and that in expresse words After the soule is departed Then O LAMBE OF GOD c. and That he may receiue this body How are these things as liable to a faire and charitable vnderstanding as otherwise Vnlesse it bee a charitable worke to pray for our deare brother after his soule is departed from the body that in his passage betweene earth and heauen which is a farre journey he may not misse or mistake his way by falling into the Pit of Hell or Purgatory Or what faire and charitable vnderstanding are these words liable to when after our dead brother hath receiued a formall absolution from all his sins which he hath committed in this life yet he hath need to be prayed for that he may escape the gates of Hell and the paines of eternall darkenesse What other construction can be made of â—hese words if Charity her selfe were the judge but â—hat according to the doctrine of that Church which â—olds Purgatory after this life and after absolution from a mans sins which Church our Author all along this booke of Deuotions graceth with the name of the one and onely Holy Catholicke Church the Mother of vs all c the soule being in danger to go into purgatory for all his Absolution shadowed heere out by the Gates of hell and the paines of eternall darkenesse close vnto which as it seemeth the soule passing may be in danger to fall therein Therefore the Author deuoutly prayeth that in his paâ—â—age to heauen he may escape the gates of hell and the paines of eternall darkenesse Nor need the Authors impute it to a maleuolent disposition to expound the gates of Hell and the paines of eternall darkenesse of Purgatory especially of finding them wrapped vp mistically in an expresse prayer for the dead But if the Author or any of his consorts can make a more â—haritable vnderstanding of this prayer for the dead we will giue them a charitable hearing But being vnderstood in the worst sense it doth say you not onely loose the thankes due for all the good contained in the worke but c. That were great pitty that so much good as is contained in this worke should be all lost by loosing the due thankes and all by the mistaking of a word or two let fall too but by a slip or misprision But for all that let not the Pretence or good opinion of the good contained in this worke so farre charme our affection to it as thereby to be drawne to take downe withall the poison contained therein as in a mingled golden Cup. It is Scaligers note that Malum non est nisâ—â— boâ—o The originall nature of the Deuill is good wherein all his wickednesse subsisteth But is euery booke to be inrertained for the much good though the Printer say All the good as if it were all good except the slip or misprision of a word or two as liable notwithstanding to a faire and charitable vnderstanding as otherwise contained in it Why The Roman Missall or Maâ—le booke hath much good contained in it in so much as when a motion was made to the Pope to haue it translated into the Mother tongue for all countries he answered Not so least the â—lies to wit the common people should come to taste of the good ointment Yea the Turkes Alcaron hath much good contained in it Are these bookes therefore to be approuâ—d in the true Church of God When one highly commended the Cardinall Iulian to Sigismund he answered Tâ—â—en Româ—nus est And though the Authors predicate neuer so much good to be contained in this booke of priuate Deuotions yet we may answer Tamen Romanus est It is a Romish booke for all that And let me tell you Mr. Printer and so tell your Author that the more he commends all the good contained in this worke the more pernicious and perilous he makes it to our simpler people Satan is neuer more dangerous then when he comes transformed into an Angell of â—igâ—t And that poyson proues the most speedingly mortall that is administred in a cup of the best wine which being of a more penetrating and searching nature then other duller liquor conueyes the poyson into euery vaine of the body spurring the spirits post to their finall period A booke of Deuotion is a golden cup of sprightfull wine pleasant to euery palate but if it be mingled with poison it is the more dangâ—rous especially to vulgar palates who want the quicke and acute judgement oâ—â—ast and relish to discerne it primoribus labris at the first touch taste or sent which as the best and safest antidote may preuent the taking of it downe And so the case standeth with this worke Mr. Printer that the better it is the worse it is â—ith vnder the colour oâ— venerable Devotion that execrable strumpet of Rome vaiâ—ed and hoâ—ded vnder the name of The Church The Church The Holy Catholicke Church the Mother of vs all which is the maine summe and scope of the Authors Deuotion is obtruded and thrust vpon vs to inchant and charme euen those who should be most vigilant and most oculated Aâ—gusses among vs. But besides the good losâ— it doth also say you purhcase to â—he 〈◊〉 nor a reproachfull imputatiâ—â— of way mâ—kiâ—g to Popish Deuotion and apish imitation of Romish superstition If the Author hath purchasâ—d to himselfe such an Imputation it is all at â—is owne cost he hath payd or it and who shall deny it to be due vnto him as his peculiar chattell Yea he hath bought it at a deare