I doe alwayes inueighe at him Truely I doe not hate the Byshop of Rome for hee neuer did me any iniurie personally it is his extraordinarie superioritie that I write agaynst Bycause in my opinion it is a manifest rebell agaynst the holy Scriptures agaynst saluation and the whole state of Christianitie Neither doe I reproue their Canons especially those whiche were established in that first and purer age of the Churche ne yet those later Canons such I meane as doe concerne Iudiciall Courtes Which teach good and commendable preceptes and rules for the administration of Iustice. But I do vtterly detest and as much as in me lyeth abhorre those ambitious and flatteryng constitutions and pestilent dispensations and such like infinite filthy absurdities erected for the procurement of dignities or for pillyng and pollyng of coyne I will alledge two holy constitutions for example sake Wherof the one is described in these wordes The Lord hath committed the charge of all earthly heauenly Empire vnto Peter beyng appointed porter of eternall life What Christian hart can willingly suffer such Sathanicall arrogancie to be yelded vnto a mortall creature And yet I will shewe one other of the same stampe farre more horrible The Pope hath an heauenly will and in those thinges that his will is bent vnto his will must bee taken for law neither can any man say the contrary why he should not doe so For he may dispence beyond all law and make that to bee right that is quyte cōtrary in amendyng and alteryng of lawes bycause the fulnesse of all power resteth in him These be those golden Decreés for sooth wherewith our Syr Ierome would haue vs yoked This is that notable Iurisdiction of that Papane Seé for the whiche our Osorius waxeth so whotte That though I burst in sonder yet ought all Christian Nations be subiect vnto it as he affirmeth But I on the contrary part do iustifie that this Papane supremacie is no more mentioned in the Scriptures then a meare straūger so altogether vnknowen vnto Peter vnto Paule and the rest of the Apostles and to the succeédyng course of the primitiue and purer Churches that there was neuer one worde spoken of it vntill the reigne of the Tyraunt Phocas at what tyme was the very first hatchyng of it Afterwardes in deéde by litle and litle through pride pillage peltyng flatteryng it enhaunced it selfe so farre aboue measure that it claymeth now Iurisdiction ouer Heauen Earth and Seas as I haue declared somwhat before doth more plētyfully appeare by other blasphemous Decretalles published by the very mouthes of these holy Popes them selues Wherfore this extraordinarie Iurisdiction of the Pope is a most friuolous paynted disguised and deformed frameshapen chaungelyng though Osorius would hange him selfe therefore And kingly authoritie shall beare chief preheminence vpō the earth accordyng to the sundry and euerlastyng testimonies both of the old and new Testament vnto the whiche Peter and Paule do in expresse wordes subscribe whereunto all cōmēdable antiquity most approued aūcientie haue willingly yelded their agreable cōsent which hath alwayes exercized their gouernement in so well disposed moderation as beyng contented with her owne limites territories hath not licentiously presumed vnlawfull clayme ouer all the worlde as your most arrogant chaire of pestilēce doth challenge whose vnsatiable greédy gapyng for filthy lucre the heauens the earth nor hell it selfe is able to satisfie You affirmed in your Epistle that through the abolishyng of your Canons all feare and care was vtterly rooted out of our hartes I made aunswere that many men were wonderfully enriched by your Canons but very fewe enduced to haue any especiall regarde to feare God by the knowledge of them But you trustyng to discredite myne aunswere demaunde a question of me Whether the Ciuill Law doe instruct men in the feare of God whiche albeit they doe not say you yet the monumentes therof ought not be consumed with fire What is the matter Osorius How hanges this together The question was moued of Canon Lawes and you on eche parte vbrayde agaynst vs the Ciuill Law Our communication was concernyng the feare of God You deny that the Ciuill Lawes ought to be burnt Are ye starcke dronke or doe ye bable this out in a dreame Are ye not ashamed of this monstruous talke truely it is very irkesome to me and I am throughly tyred out with so blockish an aduersary I affirmed that the authoritie of the Canon Lawes dyd so farre forth preuayle with vs as they were founde agreable to godlynes and that Iustice was ministred by the Decreés therof in our Ecclesiasticall Courtes You maruaile how this cā be true for so much as Luther had already burnte them all First of all I demaunde this question of you Why do ye maruaile at that thyng now which earste ye did so constauntly deny why did you so wtout all shame dissemble in matters so euident Wherewithall neither all Portingall nor your Maistershyp could but bee acquainted consideryng the dayly entercourse and continuall traffique betwixt vs. Agayne what moueth you to name Luther herein Uerely we for our partes haue the name of Luther in such great admiration that we do firmely beleue that you might likewise haue easely bene his Scholer in Diuinitie All which notwithstandyng we name not our selues Lutheranes but Christians neither doe we iudge any man so absolutely perfect amongest the whole ofspryng of Adam whose wordes and deédes we may accoumpt without exception vnreproueable Furthermore I founde fault with you bycause you accused our Preachers as though they taught in their publicke Sermons vnpunishable libertie in sinning and herein I likened your saucie malapertenes to litle better then to blasphemie because with so horrible reproche you did infamously slaunder the doctrine of the Gospell preached by our Deuines whiche sentence after your wonted guise you turne in and out and peruert the same from thyngs to persons and say that I doe ascribe Deuine Godhead to Luther Bucer and Martyr O monstruous vermine did I euer speake or thinke any such matter I did esteéme them in deéde when they lyued as famous worthy personages in respect of their learnyng and godlynesse in like maner now they are dead I will defend the remembraunce of their names as much as I may namely Bucer and Martyr with whom I was familiarly acquainted and did know them to be auncient godly Fathers exquisite in all vertue learnyng and so much more furmountyng you in Diuinitie as you do excell that your drawlatche derlyng Dalmada in your deintie delicacie of the Latin toūg But sithence it hath pleased you with so grosse and foolish a lye to forge new gods for me whō I should worshyp I will be bold by our leaue to disclose your Idoll whom maugre your teéth ye shall not deny but your selfe doe worshyp with Deuine honour I meane that Romishe Prelate of the Papall Seé The whiche for asmuch as accordyng
with the Gospell the persons with the thynges them selues righteousnesse of fayth with righteousnesse of workes neither noteth which are the naturall causes of the thynges nor which are the proper effectes of the causes but disguiseth the causes vnder title of effectes and effectes likewise misturneth into causes For where as workes are properly the effectes of fayth neither are of their owne nature good nor can be esteémed for good but through Iustification goyng before yet our Osorius frameth his discourse as though the chief and especiall bullwarke of all our righteousnesse were built wholy vpoÌ„ workes And that which he readeth in Scriptures shall come to passe accordyng to workes the same forthwith he coÌ„cludeth to be done for the workes sake as though heauen were now a due reward for our trauaile and labours not the gift of grace as though they do worke might clayme it as due dette for their workes sake and were not rather promised to them that beleue for the Sonne the Redeémer his sake But we haue discoursed enough vpon this matter it remaineth that we pursue the tracke of the rest of his disputation And bycause we haue spoken sufficiently as I suppose of the one of those two propositions which he calleth false and whereof hee hath accused Luther to be the Authour Let vs now fyritte out the other and seé what vermine it is and how it is able to defende it selfe First of all whereas Luther hath noted this saying to be the chief piller and foundation of Christian doctrine That no man ought to ascribe the meane of his Saluation in any thyng els then in the onely fayth of Iesus Christ afterwardes he proceédeth to the other pointe That the fruites of good workes are engendred and doe issue from this fayth euen as the fruite is engendred of the roote of a good treé and that workes doe follow fayth of necessitie none otherwise then as a fertile treé budding out first his greéne leafe and beautifull blossome doth at the last by course and force of nature bryng forth fruite The sentence Osorius iudgeth to be haynous in no wise sufferable and yet in the meane tyme denyeth not but that good workes do follow fayth But he cryeth out with an opeÌ„ mouth this to be false that good workes doe follow Luthers fayth But it is well yet that we heare in the meane whiles that good workes are engendred out of Fayth but in no wise out of Luthers fayth I would therfore learne of you Osorius out of whose Fayth good workes doe proceéde Forsooth my fayth sayth hee is not Luthers nor Haddones fayth if he bee Luther Scholer herein Come hither Osorius a good fellowshyp that I may stroke the smoath shauelyng of yours a whiles Truely I can not choose but all to beloue you and beleue you also when you speake the truth for I I suppose that the Oracle of Apollo can bee no more true then this Oracle is that workes doe follow your fayth as you say They follow in deéde apasse in great clusters And bycause ye vouchsafe not your selfe to expresse vnto vs what kynde of workes those are it shall not greéue me to do so much in your behalf And yet what neéde I make proclamatioÌ„ of them whenas your owne bookes do so aboundauntly and manifestly vtter the same as that no man can be so blynd or deafe but he must neédes seé heare them What art thou desirous Reader to haue described vnto theé as it were in a painted Table what blossoms this pregnaunt fayth of Osorius doth shewe forth Peruse his writynges and his bookes especially those Inuectiues compiled agaynst Luther Haddon Was euer man in this world that hath heaped together so many lyes vpon lyes hath compacted so many blasphemies and slaunders hath vttered so many errours hath euer by writyng or practize imagined expressed vomited out so many tauntes reproches madde wordes vanities cursinges bragges follies and Thrasonicall crakes so much rascallike scoldyng mockes doggishe snarllyng as this beast hath brayed out in this one booke wherein you shall neuer finde Luther once named but coupled together with some title of reproche as outragious fraÌ„ticke or madde If those trimme monuments of your gay workes do cleaue as fast to your dayly conuersatioÌ„ as they are ryfe to be founde euery where in your bookes and the testimonies of your witte I Appeale to the iudgement of the indifferent Reader what consideration may bee had of that your fayth which whelpeth out vnto vs such a monstruous lytter For if a good â—â—â—â—growyng vpon a sounde roote do not commonly bryng forth fruites vnlike to the stocke And if children doe vsually represent their progenitours in byrth in some lineamentes of personage resemblaunce of maners or other applyable feature of Nature for the Gleade as the Prouerbe is doth not hatche forth Piggeons it must surely follow of necessitie that either your workes whereof you vaunt your crest do by no meanes follow your fayth or els we must neédes adiudge you a man scarse of any fayth at all And therefore to aunswere briefly to those glorious vauntes whiche you make touching workes that follow your faith and not Luthers fayth if you meane those workes which I haue rehearsed I will gladly agreé with you but if your meanyng tende to good workes truly your owne writynges will without any other witnes condemne you for a great lyar But go ye to Let vs allow this vnto you which you require to be graunted that is to say That your Fayth doth necessaryly drawe after it good deédes as the Southeast wynde doth draw along the cloudes yet what should be thestoppell in the meane space to barre good deédes from Luthers or Haddones fayth more then from yours Bycause say you fayth commeth by hearyng and hearyng by the word of God I do acknowledge this a very Catholicke maxime a sentence meéte for a true Christian. But I wonder what monster these mouÌ„taines will bryng forth at the last But Luthers fayth commeth not of hearyng for hee doth not heare the wordes of Christ. What wordes I pray you and where are they writteÌ„ Forsooth where Christ as he sayth doth promise euerlastyng life to them that Repente and doth man ace hell and destruction to them that are impenitent Where is this Seéke it Reader And bycause Luther doth not heare those wordes of Christ. Ergo his fayth commeth not by hearyng and therefore yeldeth no fruites of good workes but starke bryers brambles onely Go to And what doth your fayth in the meane space Osorius Let vs heare what grapes it produceth But my fayth sayth he that is to say the faith of holy Church whenas it coÌ„senteth to the wordes of Christ And whenas also Christ hym selfe doth threaten destruction to the impenitent sinners this fayth therfore wherewith I doe beleue these wordes of Christ causeth me to be repentaunt What do I heare Osorus why what neédeth repentaunce
worke Nay rather let them vnderstand if they be the children of God that they are made plyable by Gods Spirite to doe the thynges that ought to be done and when they haue done so to yeld thankes to him by whom they were made to do so For they are made plyable bycause they should do something not bycause they should do nothing c. Which saying doth make euident vnto vs that eche of these two are to be founde in Freewill both that it is made to do when it doth well and agayne that it selfe also doth when it is made to do So that herein is no contrarietie at all but that it may both demeane it selfe by suffering and also by doing and to aunswere for Luther with Luthers owne wordes to witte after diuers and seuerall sortes and after the common phrase of speach in diuers and seuerall respectes For in respect of the worke it selfe whenas will occupyeth the place of an Instrument or toole it both doth is made to do euen as other tooles do in any matter whereunto they are applyed But if you haue relation to the efficient cause or workeman to whose vse it serueth in steéde of a toole in this respect the will of man demeaneth it selfe altogether sufferyngly as the which in respect of procuryng of Gods Grace from whence issueth all motion of good will it worketh nothyng at all but simply obeyeth suffereth For in any good worke what is mans will elles then an instrument of the holy Ghost voluntary in deéde bycause it is moued whether soeuer it is moued of her owne accord yet is it an instrument notwithstandyng bycause of thynges well done it is neither the cause it selfe nor any sparcke of the cause in respect of the worker but a seruaunt rather and a handmayde onely whose seruice the Spirite of God being the worker doth apply to do these things which it pleaseth him to haue to be done in vs for the accomplishyng wherof it ministreth no helpe at all as of her selfe But the Papisticall generation can not disgest this by any meanes to whom sufficeth not that Freewill shal be taken as an instrument or as it were a workeshoppe onely vnlesse it beare as great a stroke or rather with Gods Spirite workyng together with it nor doe they thinke it sufficient that the whole action of our Election and regeneration bee ascribed to the onely freé mercy of God vnlesse we also as felow workemē be coadiutours of this worke together with God For euen the same doe Osorius wordes emporte manifestly which folow in this wise Do ye not therefore perceaue sayth he by Paules owne wordes that Freewill is approued by his authoritie which Luther doth practise to ouerthrowe For to what ende would he haue called vs fellow workers with God if none of vs did further the worke that GOD worketh in vs to what purpose would he haue admonished vs to worke our owne Saluation if to do it were not in our owne power We are together Gods labourers as Paule reporteth 1. Corinth 3. Where I know that the word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 doth signifie together labourers But what is this at the length to the purpose doe you not here playnly put the old Prouerbe in practize to witte I aske you for Garlicke and you offer me Oynyones I desire to borrow sickles and you lyke a churlishe neighbour deny that you haue any Mattockes How carefull the Apostles were in plantyng the doctrine of the Gospell we are not ignoraunt nor do deny And it is not to be doubted that Gods prouidence vsed them as most choyse instrumentes to addresse and husband his Uynearde yea and that not without singular profite But we make no enquiry here as now how much mans industry did bryng to passe by the outward preachyng of the word or whom it profited most but the question is here touchyng the fruite of inward cōuersion whether Freewill of her selfe do worke or not worke any furtheraunce towardes the embracyng of fayth towardes repentaūce towardes spirituall righteousnes towards attainement of Saluation and towardes the regeneration of lyfe So that the state of the question be now to witte Whether mās mynde and will beyng of the selfe same nature that it was when we were first borne be endued with any actuall or effectuall power able to worke together with Gods holy Spirite towardes the begynnyng of our conuersion and entryng into our godly consideration of good purposes and actions of inward obedience Wherein many writers doe vary in Iudgement and opinion yea that not a litle But Osorius propositiō alledged here of the Apostles together workers maketh nothyng to the purpose nor auayleth to the maintenaunce of Freewill a rushe For to admit that the Apostles were together workers with God yet that those same together workemē should be hypred to worke in this Uyneard and sent abroad into the Lordes haruest proceéded not of their owne voluntary motion or Freewill but of the freé Election and callyng of God onely Agayne this their Ministery as farre forth as concerneth their own persons euen then when they laboured most earnestly was extended no further then to the outward preachyng dispensation of the word for as touchyng the inward conuersion of the hearers nourishment of their fayth this was the onely worke of the holy Ghost and not of the Apostles Paule did plante Apollo did water But what doth this helpe to Freewill when as neither he that plāteth nor he that watereth are any thing at all but God onely who geueth the encrease And what is the reason then why they are sayd to bee nothyng Is it bycause he that plāteth and he that watereth and he that ploweth doth nothyng at all was Paule nothyng or did he not worke at all who beyng continually trauailyng is reported to haue laboured more then all the rest or shall we say that the rest of the Apostles did nothyng which did employ not their trauaile onely but shedd their bloud also in furtheryng the worke of the Gospell Yeas veryly wonderfull much if you respect the outward Ministery of Preachyng the word and their function But we doe enquyre of the inward operation of conuersion and the renewyng of the myndes which is the onely worke of God not of Freewill nor of mans outward endeuour Godly Preachers in deéde doe pearce into the eares of men with outward voyce set downe before them the wordes of fayth and truth And yet thus to do springeth not of their own Freewill but from the freé callyng of God whereby they are lead to do the same but to beleue the doctrine inwardly to become faithful hearers of the wholesome word is the onely worke of the holy Ghost who by secret inspiration doth dispose the myndes doth renew the hartes doth inspire with fayth finally of unwillyng doth make willyng so that here is no place left now for Freewill to challēge but that he onely possesse
doubted that mens willes can not resiste the will of God but that he must needes doe what God will for as much as he doth dispose the willes also as him listeth and when him listeth Therefore to will and to nill is so in the power of him that willeth and nylleth that it neither goeth beyond Gods power nor hindereth his will but is many tymes hindered by the power of God and alwayes ouermaistered c. But that is somewhat more hard which is obiected out of the same Article that will is so fast bounde that we cā thinke no euill thought by any meanes For so doth Osorius cite the place Wherein he doth first cast a myste before the Readers eyes and then deale iniuriously with Luther For he doth neither faythfully nor fully rehearse the wordes of his Article He is also no lesse iniurious to Melancthon and Caluine whō he alledgeth as partakers of the same opinion Albeit I know right well that they doe not varie from Luthers meanyng yet did they alwayes of very purpose refrayne from this kynde of speache Where did Melancthon euer write that all thynges are performed by vnaduoydeable necessitie Where did Caluine say that Freewill was but a deuise in thynges Who euer heard Bucer say that man was not of power to thinke euill not bycause they varied from him in meanyng and Iudgement but they chose rather to quallifie with some more plausible kynde of stile that which seémed to be propoūded by him somewhat more roughly But to returne agayne to Luthers wordes I doe reknowledge herein not your new furnished cauill Osorius but the auncient rusty canker of many others agaynst Luther as of Leo Roffensis Eckius Iohānes Coclaeus Albertus Phigius Iohn Dreidon Alphansus de Castro Andrew Vega Peter Canisius and such like which do neither read Luthers writyng with Iudgement neither consider his meanyng nor cōferre the first with the last but catch here and there a worde halfe gelded for hast and out of these beyng sinisterly construed if they finde any one thyng more then other fitte to be quarelled withall that they snatch vp that they vrge stiffely and are alwayes rakyng their nayles vpon that scabbe as the Prouerbe sayth And bycause amongest all other his Assertions they can picke out no one sentence more odious in the Iudgement of the simple people it is a wōder to seé what a coyle they keépe here and how viperously they gnaw and turmoyle this one Sentence wherein he sayd That mans will hauyng lost her freédome is now of no force at all not so much as to thinke an euill thought And in this respect surely I can not but marueile much to seé the vndiscreéte disorder of some but chiefly the singuler shamelessenes of Osorius For albeit Luther in so many his Commentaries Sermons Bookes and Aunsweres doth vrge this one pointe alwayes and euery where trauaile earnestly to proue that mās Freewill beyng voyde of Grace auayleth to nothyng but to cōmitte sinne yet doth Osorius so frame all his writyng agaynst Luther as though Luther did teach that mans Freewill could not so much as thinke an euill thought And frō whence doth he pike this quarell out of the wordes of Luthers Article before mentioned I suppose But for as much as Luther doth in the selfe same Article openly professe that Freewill of her owne nature auayleth to nothyng but to Sinne and that all the imaginations of the hart do of a certeine naturall inclination rushe headlong into euill in what sense can that mā be sayd not to be able to thinke an euill thought whiche is alwayes occupied in imaginyng euill But I beleue he will presse vpon vs with Luthers owne wordes wherewith he affirmeth that no mā of him selfe is of power to thinke a good thought or an euill thought c. Well let vs heare what conclusion this Logician will coyne out of these wordes Mans minde whether it thinke well or euill doth neither of them both of her owne power Ergo Mans mynde of it selfe cā neither thinke a good nor an euill thought I do here appeale to your Logicke Osorius What kynde of Argumēt is this by what rule make you this cōsequent what bycause the substaunce of the matter doth depend vpon the first causes properly will you thereupō conclude that the secōd causes do therfore nothing at all Or bycause the freédome of doyng is restreined to the first and principall cause to witte to the onely Maiestie of God that therefore mans will is no cause at all bycause it is not freé and that therfore it cā thinke no ill thought by any meanes bycause it doth it not of her owne strength and libertie as though to do a thyng properly a thyng to be done of her owne proper power were all one to say So then by this reason the Iewes which crucified the Lord of glory shal be sayd to do nothyng bycause all the outrage whatsoeuer they kept was determined before by Gods vnsearcheable coūsell In like maner Pharao in withholdyng the people of Israell and Nabuchadonasor in spoylyng them may be sayd to do nothyng bycause the hart of the one was hardened by the Lord and bycause the other leadyng his armye into Egypt was constrayned to chaunge his will in his iourney and bende his force agaynst Ierusalem Likewise neither the Shippe whiles she sayleth nor the Pylote within the Shippe do any thyng at all bycause their course whether it bee fortunate or vnfortunate is not alwayes directed after their owne will but as the wyndes the tydes do driue them For what doth Luthers disputation of Freewill enforce els but that he may referre all the order of doyng to Gods freé disposition onely Neither doth hee dispoyle mā of will altogether which doth onely disable will of freédome Neither is it a good consequent to say bycause mans will is denyed to be freé therfore that man is altogether destitute of will bycause it is not freé but alwayes captiuate bounde an handmayde as the which in euill thyngs is either alwayes seruaunt to Sinne or in good thynges handmayde to grace euen as an Instrument or toole is alwayes at the bestowing of him that worketh withall For what should let but Luther may as well call Freewill by the name of a toole as Esay doth name the wicked by the name of Sawes in the band of the Lord and as well as in many places of Ezechiell those hartes are called stoany hartes which the Lord doth promise to soften and mollifie with his grace And yet I will not much trouble Osorius herein For whether will be freé vnto euill or be seruaunt vnto euill it maketh litle to the present purpose nor will stād Osorius much in steéde This is vndoubtedly true that mans naturall strength bee it freé or be it bond is more thē strong enough to all wickednesse So were all these stormes raysed agaynst Luther neédelesse also consideryng that he doth so frankely
the people to be taught on this wise rather That God of hys goodnes and mercye would haue all men to be saued And that the cause why all are not saued is for that all will not receaue the grace indifferently offered vnto them And this maner of teaching they do suppose to be sound On the contrary that the other doctrine of predestinatiō doth take cleane away all force vse of wholesome preachinges exhortations and disciplines c. If we onely eyther were alone or were the first that were vrged with these slaunders and cauillationes there were lesse cause to wōder at the wickednes of this our age But I do seé now no new thinge here neuer spoken of before nor any other thinge but such as many notable learned men haue bene sundry tymes combred withall long sithence Emongest whom cōmeth first to hand Augustine whom beyng occupyed in thys cause sometyme the Pelagianes but most of all the Massilianes did molest much with the very same obiectiones as appeareth playnely by the transcript of Prosper and Hillary their letters to Augustine euen the which obiections our deuines are now a dayes pressed withall which if were true then might he seeme to haue vndertaken this quarrell not rashly nor altogether in vayne as our men haue done also But let vs aunswere to their complayntes Such as are appoynted teachers in the congregation of God if they should beate into the grosse eares of the rude multitude this part of doctrine which treateth of the secrett predestination of God so nakedly and barren of it selfe as not doyng ought els nor respecting any other thing ne yet applying wtall any wholesome exhortations and allurementes to vertue shold stirre and prouoke none to vertues endeuour honest carefulnes and godly lyfe these reasons might carry some showe of truth perhapps But this matter ought to haue bene foreseene Osor. how these preachers behaue thēselues what they preach how in what maner and to what end they do lay this doctrine open before the people before you should haue burst out into those cruell accusacions and slaunderous reproches If some yoūglings peraduenture may be found not so modestly and soberly to demeane themselues as may beseeme them allured either through delight of noueltie or caryed thereunto through lightnes of witte or to braue out their knowledge and learning it is not conuenient that the lowse and vncircumspect dealing of some particuler persons should be preiudiciall to the truth of the doctrine Godly and modest wittes surely as they conceaue the true reason of this doctrine so doe they Iudge it no lesse necessary to be applyed to the end they may pluck downe that pernicious opinion of yours treating of merites of confidence in workes and of doughtfulnes of Saluation For the ouerthrow whereof what more necessary doctrine to edifie the congregacion withall may be applyed in the Church of Christians And therfore to conclude briefly For asmuch as all the doctrine of Predestination doth tend to this ende chiefly that men may be forewarned not to trust to much to their owne strength but to repose all their hope and affiaunce in God It is vntrue that you do obiect That the doctrine of predestination doth perswade rather to desperation then to godly lyfe For what is this els as Augustine sayth then as that you should say that men do then dispayre of their owne safety when they beginne to learne to repose their hope and affiaunce in God and not in themselues in any wise c Whosoeuer therefore shall instruct the ignoraunt people in the true doctrine of predestination of the holy ones discretly and modestly and in due season when case so requireth and shall ioyne withall godly and wholesome exhortations the same shall he do profitably enough without anye inconuenience seeing that the preaching of both may be well coupled and agree together according to the testimony of Augustine who affirmeth that neyther the preaching of fayth profiting in godly fruits ought to be hindered by the preaching of predestination that they which are taught may learue how to obey And agayne that the preachīg of Predestinatiō ought not to be hindered by the preaching of fayth profiting in godly fruites that they which obey may know in whom they ought to reioyce not in thoir owne obedience but in him of whom it is written he that doth reioyce let him reioyce in the Lord. Will you vnderstand Osorius how the coupling of these too doctrines is not preiudiciall to the preaching of the one to the other Paule the Apostle of the Gentills did many tymes sette forth the doctrine of predestination to the Rom. Ephe. Timot. The same did Luke in the Actes of the Apostles Christ himself likewise doth make often mencion of the same in hys sermons all which did not cease to preach the word of God neuerthelesse and do notwithstanding withal entermixt diuers good and godly exhortations to liue well Paule when he sayd it is God that doth worke in vs to will and to bring to passe according to hys good pleasure did he therefore abate any thing of hys godly lessons to make vs lesse carefull to will and to worke the thinges that are acceptable vnto God In like maner where he sayth he that hath begonne a good worke in you will bring the same to effect euen vntill the day of Christ Iesu Yet did he not cease to perswade them earnestly in the same Epistle written to the Phillippianes that they should not onelye beginne but perseuere vntill the end Beleue sayth Christ in God and beleue in me yet is thys neuerthelesse true that he speaketh in an other place No man commeth vnto me or beleeueth in me vnlesse it be geuen him from the father Christ sayth also he that hath eares to heare let hym heare Yet doth God speake in the scriptures these wordes also that he will geue them a hart frō aboue that they may vnderstand eyes that they may see and eares that they may heare c. And although it were not vnknowne vnto hym who had eares to heare and who had not that is to say the gifte of obedience Yet doth he exhort all men to heare Although Cipriane did both know and wryte that fayth and obedience were the gift of God and that we ought not reioyce in any thing because we haue nothing of our owne yet this was no hindraunce at all vnto his earnest preaching but that he taught Fayth and obedience neuerthelesse and most constantly perswaded to good life When we heare S. Iames teach vs that euery good and perfect gift commeth downe from the father of lightes yet this preaching of grace nothing withstoode but that he continued to rebuke such as troubled the cōgregation saying If you be bitterly zelous and your hartes be full of contencion doe not reioyce nor lye not against the truth for this is not the Wisedome that came from aboue but earthly beastly and diabollicall
litle that which Theodore Byshoppe of Ancyra teacheth We thinke it vnseemely to paynt in materiall colours the countenaunces and counterfaytes of Saynts but we ought to delight our selues now and theÌ„ with the beholding of theyr vertuous liues which theyr writinges do deliuer vnto vs as certayne liuely Images of the soule But such as erect theyr portraictes lett them tell vs what profitte may redownd vnto them by the same Is it because the maner of remembraunce by this spectible view doth helpe their memory But it appeareth manifestlye that all such Imaginations are vayne and dyabolicall deuises c. Moreouer Eusebius Byshopp of Pamphilia writing to Constantia Augusta for aunswere to here request made vnto him for the Image of Christ Denied that it could be possible that the resplendizaunt and most orient exellency of his Maiesty could be portrayed by any dead resemblaunce or any trisling picture Using this reason If that his heauenly disciples quoth he were not able to behold him in the Mount who fâ—lling flat vpon the earth confessed that they were not able to behold so great a sightâ— howe much lesse can the fashion of his flesh be resembled or endured sithence he had put of mortality and washing corruption cleane away had now translated the shape of a Seruaunt into the glorious Maiesty of a Lord and God c. To passe ouer of sette purpose the reasons of Nazianzen Basile and Athanasius debated vpon this matter in the same couÌ„sell For what neéd I cyte any more Testimonies of men sithence the Lord himselfe doth witnesse the same out of heauen The voyce of our God cryeth out in his word Thou shalt not make to thy selfe any grauen Image nor the likenesse of any thing Contrary to this crieth out the Pope in the TrydeÌ„tyne counsell let vs make our selues grauen Images we will make vs Imamages and Pictures who shal be obayed the pope or the Lord What hath the temple of God sayth Paule to do with Idols How shall the Temple of God stand sayth the Pope without Images and Pictures The Popes Parasites prate apace in theyr decreés The honor that is done to the Image of Christ is done to Christ himselfe For the honor of the signe doth redownd to the thing signified But the voyce of Chryst cryeth out farre otherwise which doth teach that the honor done vnto the first patterne can neuer be employed better then vpon his liuely members and liuely Images Whatsoeuer you haue done to the least of my brethren you houe done it to me He that receiueth you receiueth me Iohn the Apostle doth geue this lesson My litle children beware of Images What doth the Pope with his Trydentyne hyrelynges decreé out of his triple Crowne My sweét Babes retayne Images with you and seé that there be no saint in heauen which may not haue a Temple on the earth nor let any place of the Church be seéne voyd without some Imagerye whosoeuer shall either teach or thinke the contrary let him be accursed And by thys meanes what make ye els of the Temple of God but a denne of Idols The Lord crieth out by the mouth of his prophet Iere. Theyr Pictures are the doctrine of vanity and Abacuc the Prophet calleth Images the workemanship of lying And you make carued Images and woden Images bookes of the lay people On which side shall the fayth of the christians bestow it selfe shall they beleue the Prophets of God or the liyng of the Papistes If we that be christians doe liue by fayth and if fayth come by hearing and hearing by the worde of God and not by Images why are your Temples so open and common receptakles of dumme Stockes and Blocks and so fast lockt and shutte vppe from the word of God to speake freély to euery nation in their mother toung Nay rather why are the liuely Images of the liuyng God mangled and cutte of and why are his lyuely Temples consumed with fire and sword for dead Images of dead soules But to admitte thus much that Images and Pictures may happely serue to some vse els where then in Churches and besides the case of worshippyng Yet by what testimonye of the Scriptures do ye presse common weales not onely with the vse of Images but with a necessity also of hauing theÌ„ in churches and chappelles as though Christian Religion were not established vpon a sure Rock and defesible enough vnlesse it must be vnderpropped with the Popes pelting poppets how is it then that they which freély preach agaynst this neédeles necessity and fruitlesse fawning vpon Images accordiding to the prescrypt Rule of Gods word yea so protest the same as neuerthelesse offering not a finger so much nor any kinde of force in the meane time to the ouerthrow of those altares and Images but referre the matter wholy to the Magistrate not respecting ought els but that all Christians should worshippe God onely and alone Shall these professors say I which teach the trueth be accused or they rather which agaynst the direct word of God enforce the people to manyfest Idolatry But of this briefly and as it were lightly ouerrunue whereof Haddon hath both grauely and aboundauntly discoursed before Behold yet how this slaundrous mountayne swelleth and increaseth You haue most wickedly condemned sorrowfull contrision of the hart and good workes of the godly you haue cutte of all hope to liue vertuously and Godly by coÌ„firming a certayne notable vnpunished Licentiousnesse of liuing c. Where finde you this Osorius In the golden Legend I suppose or in the seuen sleépers dreame If you haue found any such thing in any their writings that doth condemne Contrition Godly teares and workes of good men Set downe the Authors name then good Syr cite the wordes and place if you can If you canne not what meaneth then this your vncessaunt outrage of lying and slaundering But happely Osorius is not so much to be blamed for this as his Notary is who raking together certayne scrappes out of other mens writinges very ill fauouredly and more illfauouredly deprauing them doth make a most illfauoured and framshapen deliuery of them to Osor. For by the matter it selfe it is apparaunt that Osorius was neuer exercised in the bookes whereat he barketh so much This sentence I confesse is in one of Luthers Articlesâ— namely The righteous man doth offend euen in his best workes And hereupon Osorius concludeth his argument Ergo A righteous man doth not worke any good worke but all that he doth is wicked and mischieuous But where did this Portingall learne his logicke whereas the right order of concluding after the Rules of Logicke should haue bene rather on this wise The righteous man doth offend do he neuer so well Ergo. The iust man doth worke well For vnlesse he did worke good workes how could he offend in a good worke As if a man shall frame an argument on this wise Osorius
peruert the myndes and eares of all men You quarell with Paule and demaunde where he learned that those persons should be restrained from the communion and societie of Christians which retayned Circūcision Hee did learne it of Christ our new lawgeuer as I recited before hee did learne it of the holy Ghost whom by the singular benefite of God he knew to be that reuealer of the truth hee did learne it of God by whom he was by especiall callyng chosen to preache the Gospell He did not say you alledge therfore the old Law to this effect As though any man is so madde besides your selfe that will mainteine sundry sentēces to be alledged out of the old Testamēt which are not conteined there This do I say This is my meanyng This do I verifie that our Lord Iesus Christ did obserue this order continually in enlargyng the Gospell to witte to vouche testimonies out of the law and the Prophetes and the same order was also continued by the Apostles This to be vndoubted true not onely all Deuines and Byshops but all mowers also carters children and women do know and confesse if they haue either them selues handled or heard the Gospell preached by others And yet this our graue grayheaded Prelate in this so manifest light cauillously quarelleth as though the matter were doubtfull and stuffeth whole leaues with toyes gayly knittyng vp the knot at the length on this wise What is it sayth he which the Apostles speake in their assembly It seemeth good to the holy Ghost and vnto vs. They do not say It is written in the Scriptures O rotten gyd dye brayne How could the Apostles vouch the old Testament in a new matter when they made a new ordinaunce But in all thynges that were conteined in the law and the Prophetes these wordes were alwayes vttered in the speaches of our Sauiour Iesu Christ and his Apostles These selfe same wordes I say we shall finde many tymes repeated and euery where redoubled whiche you doe reiect maliciously and impudently It is writtē And this also That the Scriptures might be fulfilled Shall I annexe hereunto examples It neédeth not say you The matter is euident So is this also manifest that you doe wickedly abuse the holy Scriptures to peruert the truth of the Gospell For where as you do demaunde of me a litle after How I dare be so bold to say that the auncient Fathers dyd adde nothyng to the gouernement of the Church but that they founde in the Scriptures I will likewise demaunde of you what came into your braynes beyng an old man a Byshop and so reuerend a father to burden me with wordes which I neuer spake neuer wrate neuer once thought vpon If it shame you nothyng to make so open a lye to the manifest viewe of all the world how will you behaue your selfe in matters of Diuinitie wherein the vnleattered people haue no iudgement I affirmed that the auncient Fathers of the primitiue Church did vouch the Scriptures and the holy Ghost I do acknowledge these wordes to be myne owne Tosse them tumble them as ye list and the more ye gnawe vpon them the more will your teéth be on edge For as then your Councels whereunto you leane so much were not hatched neither any interpretours as yet fully plumed These two wherof I made mention were the onely soūde foūdations and pillers namely the holy Ghost the Scriptures after them whole flockes of interpretours flusht in all which I do not generally condēne Neither had any iust cause of contētion bene betwixt vs in this matter if you were not vnmeasurably quarellsome For wheras I had set downe in playne wordes that our late Deuines do produce the Assertions of the Fathers in their bookes as euidently appeareth by their monumentes what neéde you to prouoke me to a tedious and vnnecessary an aunswere and to plunge your selfe into questions partly false partly impertinent as I haue heretofore declared But our gentle Byshop is so vnmeasurably geuen to chatteryng wherein he delighteth beyond reason that he will willyngly permit nothyng to proceéde in order though it be altogether contrary to the purporce of the disputation Out of this corruption of your mynde commeth to passe That you deny that lust Rebellion and outrage are reckoned sinnes with vs What say you reuerend father do not we accoūpt lust rebellion outrage to be sinnes For this do you affirme in these wordes Here I aske an other questiō of you if you had but one crūme of shamefastnes humanitie wit or modestie would you with such foule slaunders dissame any kynde of people liuyng in the world yet not so foule as foolish for nothyng cā be imagined more foolish then to rayle so absurdely aswell without all shew as likelyhode of truth Pause here a whiles Osorius ponder well this your vndiscreét accusation and henceforth write more aduisedly except you meane to bewray your amazed madnesse to all the worlde But how can you handle any matter discreétly that to pike a quarell to brawle vpon will wrangle about playne wordes nay rather gnaw in gobettes seély sillables and titles of wordes For where as I wrate on this wise You do accuse vs as though we had turned out our Nunnes and droues of Monckes to lust and lowsnes of lyfe and had sold their houses for money This sentence our proper witted Aristarchus doth not cōceaue and doth beleue that these wordes Their houses sold for money should bee construed as though I did meane that the Selles of Nunnes and Monckes were sold for their owne behoofe When as I affirmed playnly that their houses were sold to the vse of the weale publique whiche wordes no man could haue wrested so monstruously but this brablyng rascall Paraduenture this will seéme a great fault to call a Byshop rascall And I confesse no lesse in deéde But I do not argue with a Byshop but with a very Beast crowned with a Myter who oftentymes calleth me franticke sometymes dronken euery where wicked and lyar Wherfore sithence he hath forgotten and vtterly layd away the personage of a Byshop he may not gape for any softer speach from me But if he chaunce to call him selfe home hereafter and gather agayne some grauitie and modestie agreable to his profession it shal be very easle for me to returne to mildnesse and fayre speach which I doe commonly vse with myne acquaintaunce and with straungers also vnlesse they bragge in brawlyng praūce proudly as Princes in ostentation of learnyng and pietie disdaynefully despising all other mens iudgementes in respect of them selues It displeaseth this our Gentleman also that my stile is so inflamed agaynst those stinckyng sinckeholes of that cowled generatiō I spake of ours which I might more easily accuse then you can defend for I knew them better you did my Lord. So had they bene lesse knowen vnto me if by the especiall prouidence of God I had not happely escaped out of these
cause it to shieuer in peéces to the grounde Osorius doth preferre vnmaryed lyfe before wedlocke alleadgyng hereunto Paule to the Corinthes We also confesse euen as much as Paule sayth yea very gladly so that ye alledge Paule whole and vnmangled It is good sayth Paule for a man not to touche a wife but hee addeth a correction yet for auoyding fornication let euery man haue his owne wife I would sayth Paule euery man were as I am hereunto hee knitteth fast a correction likewise But euery man hath his proper gift of God one after this maner an other after that I might rehearse more to the same effect out of the same Chapter But Paules meanyng is conceaued sufficiently in these few sentences And yet to confesse the truth this your disputation of single lyfe auayleth not properly to mainteine your Monckerie for vnmaried life extendeth it selfe to all estates of Christians generally and is not restrained to Monckes onely But you oppresse vs with exāples partly auncient as of Basile Paule Ierome Nazianzene Partly of these later yeares as Dominicke Bruno Fraūcisce Here I might take lawfull exception to your testimonies if I would for Frauncisce was no Moncke besides that also vnlearned altogether a forger of friuolous superstitions as appeareth by those durtie dregges whiche you call Golden Legendes And who that Bruno was must be enquired amongest the Friers for els where is no mētion made of him neither yet of Dominicke The residue of the Fathers except Gregory professed a solitarie lyfe but enduced hereunto partly through desire of learnyng partly for vprightnesse of lyfe yelded more commoditie to the Christian profession then may easily be expressed whose dayly conuersatiou rules of maners did as farre differre from the rules of our Mōckes as the heauens are distant from the earth and good from euill But let vs graunt all that you will and admit those Monckes whom you speake of to bee godly and commendable persons for in deéde some were such may they therfore be compared in equabilitie of estimatiō to those men who were conuersaunt amongest the fellowshyp and common societte of men will you know whom I will name I will first of all name Iesus Christ our Lord and Sauiour then some that were before him Abrahā Isaac Iacob the Patriarches Esay Ieremie notable Prophetes next after the commyng of Christ the glorious cōpany of the Apostles All these almost except Christ alone were maryed and euery of them adioyned them selues to the commō societie of men that they might profite the generall felowshyp of mankynd What say you M. Ierome May your Monckes though neuer so commendable be compared to this felowshyp of so excellent and famous personages May any equabilitie seéme to bee betwixt them either in the excellencie of the holy Ghost or in sinceritie of lyfe or in antiquitie of tyme There can be no comparison betwixt them my Lord neither was any neéde at all to rehearse these examples if you had well ordered your talke herein for this generall company beyng the floure of the auncient primitiue Church standyng in the face of your drowsie lozelles will so dazell their sight that they shall not be able to lift vp their eyelyddes for the inaccessible brightnesse of them And yet do not I condemne vnmaried lyfe or that kynde of sole lyfe I condemne your false and wicked argument whereby you would persuade the vnmaried Christian to be better and more holy then the maried and the solitarie better then the Citizen S. Paule is of a contrary iudgement But the righteousnesse of God by the Faith of Iesus Christ is with all men and vpon all men that beleue for there is no differēce We haue all sinned and haue neede of the glorie of God but we are iustified freely by his grace through the redemption which is in Christ Iesu. Paul doth speake here playnly There is no difference Osorius doth make a difference whom shall we beleue Agayne The same Paule Glorie honor and peace to euery person that worketh good to the Iewe first then to the Gentile for there is no respect of persons before God If God doe not respect the person where is then the singularitie of your Mōckes if he regard not the place as appeareth by the wordes of Christ to the womā of Samarie The tyme shall come and now is c. whereunto tendeth your solitarines wherof you dispute so idlely All persons sayth Paule which are Baptized haue put on Christ here is nother Iewe nor Gentile bonde nor free man nor womā for we are all one in Christ Iesu. If Christians bee all one in Christ Iesu as S. Paule witnesseth what shall become of your differēces of tymes and professions But we will leaue the scriptures whiche euery where do confute your vayne superstitions and false forged distinction How shall we satisfie the auncient fathers who do prayse Monckery wonderfully They doe commende men excellent in learnyng and vertue which doe employ their quyet leysures to the commoditie of the Church Such men will I aboundaūtly prayse as well as they For Iohn Baptist liued in the deserte then whom arose not a greater amōgest the childrē of women But what will ye conclude hereof Was Iohn Baptist a more perfect Christian liuyng in the wildernes then our Lord Iesus Christ that was cōuersaunt amongest men Truly your wicked distinction doth emplye this doctrine in effect but the auncient Fathers say not so of whō you rehearse nothyng besides bare names although they would iustifie your wordes I would not beleue them agaynst the Scriptures neither do they desire to be credited otherwise And to this point forsooth your gay defence of Monckerie so stoutly trauailed garnished with such a trimme Coape of paynted wordes wherew̄t whole leaues are beblotted is come at the last as to be adiudged either altogether superstitious or wicked or nothyng necessary At the last you departe from men and come to women and with a flat deniall affirme that virgines were not forced into Nunneries I neéde not to make any great proofe hereof for all mē that do know any thyng at all are well acquainted herewith I will therfore for this tyme content me with your own wordes For you say that it was forbidden by the Tridentine Councell that frō thence forth they should do so any more How say you fine man He that forebyddeth a thyng to be done in after tyme doth hee not couertly emplye that the same was done before Write more circumspectly my Lord if you can and if you can not you were better speake nothyng at all But our reuerend father is now at very good leysure for he now begynnes to Fable with vs. He sayth that he had much conference with an idiot or simple Moncke who was often as any mention is made of the loue of God so often he falleth grouelyng on the grounde as if his senses were rauished and yet the mā is prettie witted
are teachers and therupō that confusiō of all thyngs doth ensue amōgest vs. Both these are false Osorius and it becōmeth you nothyng at all beyng a Bishop and an old man to imagine all thynges so licentiously disorderly in the face of the whole world after your owne phantasie Yet make you no ende of demaundyng And therfore you desire to know what we dyd lacke at any tyme heretofore to the sober discipline of good myndes There lacked both the old and the new Testament which is the onely instrumēt of the health of our soules beyng close locked fast from vs by the wicked practize of your Confessours and Friers and Monckes we wanted godly Pastours and especially good Byshops vnlike vnto you whiche should haue fed the flocke of Christ committed to their charge with that heauenly foode of the holy Scriptures accordyng to Christ his own institution And yet ye demaunde once agayne Whether we wanted learned Priestes who could deliuer out so much of the holy mysteries as was needefull which without daunger might haue bene expoūded to vnlearned men What is this that you say Osorius so much as is neédefull do ye beleue that in the Scriptures is any thing to much will ye prescribe any boundes or limites to the holy Ghost our Lord and Sauiour Iesus Christ was of an other mynde who spake in this maner Man doth not liue by bread onely but by euery word proceedyng from the mouth of God Your meanyng is that some tast bee taken onely of the holy Scriptures Christ commaundeth vs to be instructed in euery word you teach that men should warely touch so much of the heauēly doctrine as farre forth as may be without daunger But the holy Ghost by the mouth of Paule teacheth farre otherwise in these wordes All Scripture inspired by the holy Ghost is profitable to teach to admonishe to reproue to instruction which is in righteousnesse that the mā of God may be made perfect prepared to all good workes Paule doth commende vnto vs all heauenly Scripture iudgeth that we ought to be instructed with the same vnto all perfection of godlynes It pleaseth Osorius that so much onely be taken as may be deliuered without daunger O blasphemous toung do you feare ieopardie in the doctrine of the holy Ghost do you thinke that there is to much in the Scriptures or any thyng neédelesse that may be cut of and left out But this foolish demaunder proceédeth yet forewardes and enquireth If heretofore wanted any that might supply the place of the vnlearned that might pronounce this worde Amen Truly I dare not tearme you by the name of an Idiot my Lord beyng a stately Prelate and a profound Deuine but I shall not do amisse if I call you a playne blockish Asse Paule commaundeth all doctrine and all prayer to bee vttered in the congregation in a knowen tounge that all the people vnderstāding the matter may say Amen You in steade of the whole cōgregation do appoint some one Idiote or vnlearned Parish Clarke to vtter this word Amen But I beseéch you with what reason by what Custome with what Argumēt do you proue your Assertion except you will obiect vnto vs the monstruous rable of your Cowled generation and Confessours late vpstartes whose wickednesse and ignoraunce we do condemne as execrable and abhominable at the last our Syr Ierome concludeth That errours vprores pride and a thousand other discommodities are wont to ensue by the vnderstanding of Scriptures These do so in deéde as you say Osorius but they come from the deuill they proceéde out of the durtie pudles of your Massemongers Confessours and Monckes not from the pure riuers of holy Scriptures whiche are plentyfull vnto vs into euerlastyng lyfe Not from the engraffed worde which is able to saue our soules not out of the preachynges of the Prophetes to whom we must geue diligent heede as to a candle geuyng light in the darke Lastly not from the readyng of holy Scriptures whiche our Lord Iesu Christ commaunded vs to searche bycause they bee the same that hold most faithfull testimonie of our Sauiour Iesu Christ. You may now perceiue by these most true and inuincible sentences partly taken out of the Decreés of our Lord Iesus partly out of the Apostles how detestable blasphemous your conclusion is which doth make the Scriptures to be Authours of all wickednes when as by the infallible testimony of the holy Ghost The law of the Lord is an vndefiled law conuertyng soules the testimonie of the Lord is true and geueth wisedome to the simple whenas the Statutes of the Lord are right and reioyce the hart and geueth light vnto the eyes In deéde this is the wisedome of your scarlet Doctours whiles you are not cōtented to persecute the professours of the Gospell with all maner of crueltie but also diffame the Gospell it selfe make it guiltie of all naughtines When notwithstandyng that godly reuerend Elder Peter whom ye do shamefully alledge as founder of your Churche doth in expresse wordes pronounce That the word of the Lord which endureth for euer is deliuered vnto vs by the Gospell Now you doe perceaue Osorius or the Christian Reader may easely vnderstand although ye will exclame agaynst it how you haue behaued your selfe in this question not onely mischieuously and wickedly but blockishly and ignoraūtly whiles ye doe so blasphemously defend that prayers should be ministred in the cōgregation in an vnknowen language cōtrary to reason contrary to auncient Custome contrary to nature and contrary to the holy Ghost And now glauncyng along by the rest of the doctrine of the Church you make a long rehearsall of my wordes yet touch not one sillable of thē so much as to confute them Surely my Lord you are at very good leysure when you can spare so much tyme to entermixt whole sentences of myne in your writyngs play mumme budget in thē all if you do allow them why doe ye recite them if you doe not allow them why do ye not reprehēd some one of them was euer any man besides your selfe so franticke that would in a long discourse recite whole sentēces out of the writyngs of his aduersary and would refell nothyng in any one of them This is very fond foolish childish vtterly to be scorned at but it is altogether your owne the common fault of your selfe Osorius Consider I pray theé Christian Reader and behold what a sage and wise aduersary I haue At the last you take vp that by the toe which I did confesse That we had shaken from our neckes the Popes yoke At this you seéme to bee wonderfully displeased yet I know no cause why you should not be pleased withall For you proue nothyng you discouer nothyng with any Argument but after your old maner heape vp a number of slaunders together wherein is neither truth nor any likelyhoode of truth At the last you adde hereunto a
Onely Now chuse you therfore one of these two whiche ye will whether we shall adiudge Chrisostome a Lutheran bycause he trusteth to Fayth Onely or your selfe an execrable Iewe which set your Confidence vpon workes Agayne the same Chrisostome in other place makyng a Commentary vpon the Epistle to the Ephes. vseth the selfe same exclusiue word By Fayth onely sayth hee shall Christ saue the offendours of the law And bycause ye shall know his meanyng perfitely not the offendours of the ceremoniall law but of the same law namely which was endited by the finger of God in the most sacred Tables conteinyng the tenne Commaundementes Adde also hereunto the saying of the same Doctour in his fourth Homely vpon the Epistle to Timothe What thyng is so hard to beleue as that such which are enemies and sinners not Iustified by the law nor the workes of the law obteined forthwith to be placed in the chiefest dignitie of merite through Faith Onely c. We haue recited a litle before the wordes of Basile vpon the Sermon De Humilit so that it neédeth no further rehearsall where in expresse speach excludyng from maÌ„ the glory of his own righteousnes he doth testifie that we are euery of vs Iustified by fayth onely in Christ Iesu. I might cite his owne wordes agayne vpon the 32. Psalme as effectuall as the rest where he describyng a perfect man doth describe him to be not such a one as trusteth to his own good deédes but such a one as reposeth all his whole confidence in the onely mercy of God In like maner also Theophilact Now doth the Apostle sayth he declare euidently that very Fayth Onely is of power to Iustifie And by any by he citeth the Prophet Abacuc as most credible witnesse thereof Briefly what shall we thinke that those auncient Fathers of the purer age and primitiue Churche dyd determine therof Whenas Thomas Aquinas him selfe chief champion of this Sinagogue of Schoolemen being otherwise in many thynges a very wrongfull and false interpretour Yet vanguished herein with the manifest truth was enforced no lenger to dissemble in this questioÌ„ of Fayth Onely For in his thyrd lesson vpon the first Epistle to Timothe the 3. Chap. disputyng of the law and concludyng at length that the wordes of Paule did not apperteine to the ceremoniall law but vnto the Morall law There is not sayth he any hope of IustificatioÌ„ but in Faith Onely and arguyng agaynst Osorius of set purpose as it were he citeth to this effect the testimonie of S. Paule We suppose sayth the Apostle that man is Iustified by Fayth without the workes of the law Rom. 3. I am not yet come to this pointâ— to discusse how true this doctrine of Luther is touchyng Iustification by Fayth Onely But whether this doctrine was erected first by Luther And I trust I haue sufficieÌ„tly proued that it began euen from the first age of the primitiue Church and in the very dawnyng of the Gospell and hath bene so deliuered ouer from the most auncient writers and continued vnshaken euen vntill our age so that no man neédeth hereafter to geue credite to Osorius makyng so shamelesse a lye vpon this doctrine of Fayth Onely Iustifieng And this much hetherto concernyng Luther I come now to that point wherein Osor. did likewise shamefull belye Paule And what doe I heare now Osorius Doth Paule as you say so promise the inheritaunce of the heaueÌ„ly kyngdome to them which worke good deedes and not to them also whiche rest vpon fayth onely That is to say Which haue reposed all their affiaunce in Iesu Christ onely How shall we conceaue this where finde you this and how doe ye enduce vs to beleue this out of the Epistle as I thinke to the VtopeÌ„ses Looke there Reader at thy bestleysure for Osorius was at good leysure to lye but had no tyme at all to confirme his lye But he alledgeth somewhat I suppose out of the Epistle to the Gallat 5. Chapt. That is to say that the Apostle doth threaten vtter banishement from the kyngdome of God to the wicked and haynous sinners which yeld them selues ouer wholy to all filthynesse of sinne This truely is a true saying of the Apostle Who denyeth it But what doth Osorius in the meane space gather hereof Forsooth bycause the horrible wickednesse of men doth exclude those persons from the kyngdome of God which are endued with a false fayth onely or none at all rather hereof doth he conclude his Argument by opposition of contraryes That life euerlastyng is promised to the good and vertuous workes of men O clownishe Coridon But we are taught by the rules of Logicke that if a man will frame a good Argument of coÌ„traries hee must bee first well aduised that those propositions which are appointed for contraries must dissent and disagreé eche from other by equall and proportionable degreés Wherby it is cleare that this is not a good consequent The silthy lyfe of the wicked doth exclude men from the inheritaunce of euerlastyng habitations Ergo the honest and vpright lyfe doth obteine euerlastyng habitations And why is this no good Argument bycause the propositions â—oe not agreé together in proportionable qualitie The offences that are committed by vs are of their own nature of all partes vnperfect euill purchase to them selues most iust daÌ„natioÌ„ But on the contrary part our good and verâ—uous deédes yea beyng most perfectly accoÌ„plished by vs want yet alwayes somethyng to absolute perfection and of their owne nature are such as rather stand in neéde of the mercy of God then may deserue any prayse in the sight of men To the same ende spake Bernarde very fittely Our righteousnesse is nothyng els then the indulgence of God But here commes yet an other place of S. Paule out of the whiche this wylde wiffler may rushe vpon vs with his leaden dagger not altogether so blunte and rustye herhaps The wordes of the Apostle a Gods name in the second to the Romaines Not the hearers of the law onely but they that performe the law in their lyfe and conuersation shal be accompted righteous before the IudgemeÌ„t seat of God c. To auÌ„swere briefly I will gladly allow that which this enemy to Paule doth obiect out of Paule so that hee will not in like maner refuse the the whole discourse of the Apostle and ioyne the first with the last For the whole Argument of the Apostle in those iij. Chap. is concluded in this one Sillogisme All men shal be rewarded with the coÌ„mendatioÌ„ of true righteousnesse God him selfe witnessing the same whosoeuer be able with their owne workes to accomplish the whole law published in the tenne Tables and commaunded by God to be kept absolutely as the law requireth But there is no liuyng creature whether he be a Iewe and is ruled by the law of the tenne Tables or a Gentile and lyueth after the law of nature
at all where so manifold so great treasures of good workes doe flow so plētyfully out of that riuer of fayth which workes do prepare an assured way to perfect righteousnes For what mā is he that dare presume to challenge the name of a righteous man in respect of his vnrighteous dealyng or who is he that repenteth him of his good deédes But let vs marke the sequele of this tale Agayne whenas the same Lord doth say you shall bee my frendes if ye do the thynges that I commaunde you If I do geue credite to Christes wordes and doe earnestly desire to be receaued vnto his frēdshyp I will employ all the power of my soule to fulfill all his Commaundements c. Truely I do commēde you Osorius and accompt you an happy man also if you performe in deédes that ye protest in wordes But what neédeth then to make any playster of Repentaunce for as much as you do accomplish all Gods commaundementes as you say No but I doe apply all the power of my soule that I may accomplish them How so I pray you Bycause I doe beleue Christes wordes and therfore yeld my carefull endeuour that if I doe any thyng amisse I may purge the same with Repentaunce and that I may obserue all his good preceptes to the vtterest of my abilitie Behold now Reader the platforme of Osorius his fayth Whiche by succeédyng encreasinges of dayly buddyng blossomes yeldeth continuall fruites of most beautifull and holy workes cōteined in the sappe braunches and barke of that pleasaūt stocke How commeth this to passe First of all bycause hee is endued with that fayth which fayth is proper and peculiar to holy Church Thē bycause he doth beleue the wordes of Christ Furthermore bycause he doth prepare him selfe through this fayth that he may clense his sinnes with Repentaunce and what shall become in the meane space of righteousnesse of workes in the Confession of sinnes Lastly bycause he doth addresse the conuersation of his lyfe as neare as he can after the line and leuell of Christes rules Go to Let vs compare this platforme of his fayth and the fayth of Luther and Haddon together Osorius a Gods name doth credite Christes wordes Luther and Haddon distrusting Christ hath geuen no credit at all to the wordes of Christ. Osorius beleuyng Christ and esteémyng aright of his wordes gaue him selfe to Repentaunce as became a good Christian mā and so enured him selfe thereunto that hee abhorreth his owne wickednesse and is become obedient to Christes Commaundementes These iollyfellowes haue raunged all their lyfe long in such carelesse securitie as men neuer touched with any remorse of Repentaūce or regarde of amendemēt of lyfe after the doctrine of Christ. Auaunte therefore cursed Luther and his cōpanion Haddon both byrdes of an ill feather with this your vnbelief which could neuer be enduced to haue a will neither to beleue Christ nor to come to Repentaunce nor yet to accomplish Christes preceptes You might at least haue taken example by Osorius patterne and thereby haue learned fayth and bytternesse of Repentaunce But goe to now Bycause Osorius doth triumph so gloriously of the credite that hee geueth to Christes wordes Let vs discusse the truth of his speach and search out the difference betwixt this his fayth whereof he maketh such bragges and Luthers Fayth Take an example The wordes of Christ in the Gospell are these This is the will of my Father that hath sent me that euery one that seeth the Sonne and beleeueth in him shall haue euerlastyng lyfe and I will rayse him vp in the last day Iohn 6. And immediatly after the same Christ redoubleth the same wordes agayne and agayne thereby to emprinte thē more deépely into their mindes Veryly veryly I say vnto you he that beleueth in me hath euerlasting lyfe Agayne Iohn the first To as many as beleeued in him he gaue power to be made the Sonnes of God And by by in the 3. Chapter He that beleeueth in the Sonne hath lyfe euerlasting And how oft doe you heare in the Gospell the sondry sentences and the notable titles and Testimonies wherewith the Lord doth aduaūce the fayth of his Elect and the wonderfull commēdation wherewith he doth amplifie the force and efficacy therof Thy fayth sayth hee hath saued thee Be it vnto you accordyng to your faith Math. 9. Be it vnto thee as thou hast beleeued Math. 8. Feare not beleeue onely Mar. 5. Beleeue onely and thy daughter shal be made whole Luc. 8. If thou canst beleeue all things be possible to the beleuing mā Math. 9. And he that beleueth in me shall do the workes which I do and greater workes thē I do shall he do Iohn 14. You doe acknowledge these wordes of Christ I suppose which you can not deny I demaūde of you now whether your fayth or Luthers fayth do agreé better with the wordes of Christ Luthers that doth call backe all thyngs vnto fayth Or yours that doth yeld ouer all to the workes of righteousnesse Whenas the Lord being dayly conuersaunt with the Publicanes as the Gospell reporteth doth preferre the Publicane before the Pharisee Mary Magdalene before Simō Banqueteth his prodigall Sonne more sumptuously then his obedient brother whenas he carrieth vpon his shoulders his scattered and lost sheepe looketh narrowly for his lost groate bindeth vp the woundes of him that fell among theeues offereth him selfe a Phisition to the sicke more gladly then to them that were sounde and whole whenas hee placeth Harlottes and Sinners in the kingdome of God before the Pharisees when hee requiteth their trauaile with equall wages that came to worke the last houre of the day with them that bare the brunte and heate of the whole day in the Vynearde when hee compareth and setteth the last before the first when hee promiseth Paradise to the theefe for his faithes sake onely when he fashioneth Paule of a deadly Enemie to be an Apostle whenas he doth not onely receaue to mercy the Gentiles castawayes by nature excluded from the promise voyde of all hope Reprobates for their Idolatrie but hath them in greater estimation then his naturall Sonnes What did hee meane els by all these examples then to disclose vnto vs the secret mystery of our Iustification Which consisteth rather in forgeuenesse of Sinnes then in doyng good deédes which is to be esteémed by the onely mercy and promise of God wherof we take hold fast through fayth and is not to be wayed by the valew of righteousnes nor any merites of workes Therfore sithence all you opinion doth so wholy discene from this kynde of Doctrine with what face can you affirme that your Fayth is consonaunt with the wordes of Christ and Luthers discrepaunt The Apostle doth in so many places throughout his whole Epistles thunder out as it were that there is no righteousnesse but through the faith of Iesu Christ that no saluatiō is to be obteined
but by the Mediatour the Sonne through whom righteousnesse is Imputed not purchased by workes neither to him that worketh saith hee but to him that beleeueth in Christ that Iustifieth the wicked And yet you seémyng not to bee so much as acquainted with this righteousnes by Imputation as that ye dare not once name this worde Imputation doe notwithstandyng stand so much in your owne conceite as though Christ at his commyng should finde all fayth in Osorius but no fayth at all in Luther If a man might be so bold with you it were no vneasie matter to pike out diuers other sentences out of Scripture whiche would quickly cracke the credite of your fayth As where the Apostle writyng vnto Timothe doth so manifestly Prophecie That it should come come to passe before the end of the world That many should departe from the faith beleeuing lyeng Spirites and doctrines of Deuilles forbidding Marriadge and the eating of meates which the Lord hath prepared to be receaued with thankes geuing These doctrines of Deuils for as much as the lying spirite of Osorius doth so stoutely mainteine bende all his force to vphold in this latter age of the world as besides him no man more obstinately what may be thoughe els but that either he is departed from the fayth or that the Apostle is an open lyar Agayne Where the same Apostle writeth touchyng Antichrist paintyng him out in his colours as it were so liuely expressing him to the apparasit view of the world his Throne his wickednesse his iuggling his lyes his pride his immesurable arrogancie vauntyng him selfe beyond all hautynesse of mans Nature What may a man Iudge of these sentences the meanyng of the whiche can by no meanes possible be applyed to any thyng els thē to the Romish Sée 2. Thess. 2. Agayne in the Reuelatiō of S. Iohn where the same Antichrist is set in open stage hauing the shape and countenaunce of a meeke Lambe whiche vnder the visour of false hornes should resemble the true Lambe and restore the Image of the wounded beast to lyfe and speache Whiche place of Scripture bycause can not be wrested any other wayes then to that Romishe Ierarchie whiche bendyng to ruine at the first was restored by that great Archeprelate of Rome yet in this most apparaunt Text of Scripture if Osorius faith he demaūded whether it may be applyable to the Bishop of Rome we shall finde him as farre dissentyng from the purpose of this Prophecie as if he were demaunded the way to Canterbury he might aunswere a poake full of Plummes We haue hitherto sufficiently enough declared I suppose that Osorius for all his bragges is voyde of all ayde to defende his Fayth And so for this tyme I will commit the cēfure of those gay workes which flowe so plentyfully out of that glorious Fayth to that Iudge which shall display the hidden corners of darkenesse and to the consideration of them who by the view of his bookes haue skill to discerne a Lyon by his pawes or rather an Asse by his lolieeares Now remayneth at length to discouer briefly that which he barketh agaynst Luthers fayth Now let vs see Luthers fayth sayth hee whether it can bryng forth any liuely fruite It cā not by any meanes c. Lye on yet more a Gods name First of all bycause hee teacheth that all workes appeare they neuer so godly are desiled with sinne Nay rather but that you were by nature of so corrupt a Iudgement that ye can not frame your selfe so much as to speake the truth you would neuer haue patched this lye amōgest the ragges of your leasings Luthers disputation cōcerning faith good workes tendeth to nothyng els but that which the Scriptures euery where the sacred spirite of truth and S. Paule inspired with the holy Ghost doe by all meanes and reasons confirme which we all ought of very duetie to embrace For Luther endeuouryng to make euidēt the doctrine of Iustification comparyng our good workes with the lawe of God is enforced to confesse the very truth of the matter that is to say That there is nothing so holy in workes but beyng of it owne nature in some respect vncleane and defiled must néedes be vnsauorie in the sight of God if without Christ it bee racked with exact scrutyne of Gods seuere Iudgement And hereof quarell is pyked forthwith agaynst Luther as though he should affirme that whatsoeuer workes the very regenerated engraffed in Christ them selues did worke were nothyng els but méere sinnes and wickednesse And bycause he doth abbridge good workes in that part onely wherein they be falsely adiudged to be of valew to Iustifie before God Osorius doth argue agaynst him in this wise as though he did vtterly roote out of mans lyfe all Ciuill and Morall vertues and vertuous conuersation Wherein a mā can not easilye determine whether he doth shewe him selfe more iniurious to Luther or bewray rather his owne blockish grosenesse No man euer taught more soundly no man more highly commended good workes then Luther did beyng separated a part from the doctrine of Iustification And whereas he doth extenuate the force of workes in the treatize of Iustification he doth not therein so altogether derogate from workes as rather frendly aduertize them whiche through vayne Confidence of workes doe challenge to them selues righteousnesse in the sight of God and do depende so much vpon the deseruynges of workes as though there were none other foūteine from whence our Saluation might be deriued Luther therfore vsing Argumēt agaynst those persons doth boldly auow that all our workes are defiled yet not simply but in respect of their application beyng considered without the fayth of the Mediatour Whiche beyng most truely spoken by Luther is as sinisterly wrested by Osorius as though he had spoken it simply that there is no good or commendable thyng in workes nothyng in them acceptable to God though neuer so duetyfully or vertuously performed And for this cause hee concludeth at last as with an vnuanquishable Argument That by no meanes possible Luthers fayth could bryng forth any frutefull workes like as that barren figge tree growyng neare vnto the high way whereupon grewe nothyng but leaues But this is Osorius his owne conclusion not Luthers a Sophisticall cauill concludyng falsely If S. Paule doubted nothing at all to esteeme all thinges sinnefull which were done without faith Rom. 4. If it were lawfull for Augustine to write in this wise Thy workes are examined sayth he and are foūde all defiled Why doth he rage so furiously agaynst Luther bycause he doth professe that the déedes which we call good are in none other respect to be daémed for good thē as they bee valued by the fayth of the Mediatour The consideration of this doctrine as is of it selfe most assured so doth it not tende to that end that Osorius imagineth to discourage godly myndes from vertuous endeuour Rather well disposed
persons are so much the more enflamed to embrace vertue by how much they finde them selues more bounde to Gods bountyfull mercy for as I vnderstand nature hath so prouided that fayth workyng by loue should alwayes be more effectuall thē the law constrainyng through feare If this rule of Paule can not yet be beaten into that bussardly braynes how that our déedes be voyde of all prayse and estimation teachyng you that all thyng is Sinne that is wrought without fayth Let Augustine yet preuayle somewhat with you Beléeue sayth he in him that doth Iustifie the wicked that thy good workes may proue good workes For I will not vouchsafe to call them good as long as they do issue from an euill trée And therefore our Sauiour him selfe recityng and rewardyng the good déedes of his faythfull doth not speake in this maner as though he spake generally Thou hast fedde the hungry Thou hast lodged the harbourlesse Thou hast refreshed the néedy and clothed the nacked but restrainyng all these thynges to the fayth which ought to be towardes him I was hungry sayth he and ye fedde me and I was naked and ye clothed me I was in miserie in chaines and emprisoned and you visited me and gētly refreshed me I was harbourlesse and ye refreshed me c. So that he regarded not so much the deédes them selues which are indifferently employed vpō the relief of the néedy as he esteémed the fayth which worketh those déedes for Gods sonnes sake his names sake Wherefore forasmuch as vpon this fayth dependeth not onely the Iustification of all mankynde but of all the actions of mans lyfe in the sight of God as vpon this onely roote and foundatiō what absurditie ensueth hereof to say That all our workes as of them selues their owne nature are filthy in the sight of God vnlesse they be sprinckled with the fayth bloud of the Mediatour Now these thyngs beyng agreéd vpon Let vs returne to the Argument of Osorius The fayth of Luther sayth Osorius can by no meanes yeld any good fruite Why so Bycause hee doth say that all our workes seeme they neuer so holy are infected and wholy defiled Go to and what more Ergo. No liuely fruites of good workes sayth hee can ensue from Luthers fayth for as much as all our doyngs are corrupt and sinneful as Luther him selfe witnesseth I do heare you aunswere you That the Antecedent is true but the consequent most salfe For to confesse that to be true which Luther hath most truly alledged that all our good deédes beyng viewed with the eyes of Gods Iustice without fayth and without the Mediatour are of them selues no lesse abhorred in the sight of God then wicked sinners yet is not Osorius conclusion therefore true that Luthers fayth is the wellspryng and seédeplot of all vngodlynes The reason therof is euident For whatsoeuer actiōs or endeuours of mās life are of their own nature blame-worthy the fault of the same proceédeth not from fayth but frō the poysoned corruption of our weake fleshe And therfore Luther agreéing very wel with Augustin cōmaūdeth to take hold-fast of fayth That our workes may thereby be made good workes For as much as whatsoeuer is not of fayth and is not onely not shielded vnder her protectiō deserueth not to be accompted for good but also after the testimony of Paule is esteémed in the sight of God no better then very sinne and offence This matter beyng confessed a mā may frame an Argumēt agaynst Osorius much more fitly after this maner For as much as the law in her proper effect cā do nothing but engender wrath and was for this purpose published that sinne should appeare much more sinnefull It followeth rather by Osor. doctrine who seémeth to mainteine with the whole bent of his skil the glory of the law that no good workes are engendred of the law but sinne rather as from whēce more plentyfull matter of wrath is raysed to our destruction But Luther handleth the matter farre otherwise all whose Diuinitie howe much the more carefully doth enseale vnto vs the fayth of Christ which is the onely mother and nourse of all vertuous deédes so much the greater encrease of good workes must of necessitie spryng by his doctrine And therefore as I suppose we haue handsomely enough for this tyme wrong out of Osorius his fingers this choakyng bone wherewith he hath kept all this sturre agaynst Luther and thrust it into his owne throate That Luthers fayth is the well spring seede plot of all wickednes but his faith the founteine of all vertue But here comes an other bolt out of the same quiuer as well made and as wisely shotte Let vs behold how neare the marke he shootes withall Agayne bycause Luther doth affirme that the force of lust is so strong that he beleeueth no man able to resiste it It is a common custome I perceaue amongest many persons to extenuate and despise boldly Originall sinne and that decay of nature in wordes but I could neuer finde any one that was able to suppresse and vtterly subdue the strength therof in deéde in this mortall lyfe except that onely man of whom it is written Whiche of you doth accuse me of sinne vnlesse we will couple this our Osorius next vnto him and make him his equall who with singular vnspeakeable courage doth fight agaynst nature so stoutely I thinke that no force of naturall corruptiō no entycementes of ticklyng lust can driue him from his state of innocencie But I will no more rippevp the lyfe and maners of Osorius I will examine the force and vigour of his Arguments and the vnioynted ioyntes and shiuered sinewes therof Luther doth deny that man in this lyfe is able to vanquishe the strength of sinne vtterly raignyng in the fleshe Ergo No good workes doe proceede from Luthers Fayth Why do ye not by the same Logicke conclude likewise Ergo There is nothyng in the world besides the Crowe that is blacke Nor any skill in the learned that is not in Osor. packe But go to let vs chaūge the names of men let the matter remayne And in place of Luther let vs vse the name of Paule Marke now as wise a reason or rather the very same onely the names of persons beyng chaunged Paule complainyng of the sinne which doth accosiber his flesh doth protest that in his flesh dwelleth no good thing Ergo No good workes are engēdred out of Paules fayth For what difference is there I pray you betwixt the wordes of Paule Luthers positiō if ye compare them together rightly whenas eche of them with vnelagreable assent haue relation to the selfe same vnuanquishable tyranny of Originall Sinne. But now let vs heare how necessarily this consequent must follow of this wonderfull reason wherewith hee would seéme to proue that Luthers fayth is the vtter subuertour of all good workes for in this wise crawleth forward that lyeng spirite out of
the Apostles doctrine ye may now at the last I warrant you learne of this Portingall Thales the pure and sincere Interpretation of Paules discourse touching the Predestination of the Gentiles and the reiection of the Iewes whereof he debateth in all those his three Chapters 9.10.11 The vnderstanding whereof because neyther Luther himselfe nor any of all the rest of Luthers Schoole were able to conceaue it is good reason that we not onely attentiuely harken vnto but also without controlement beleue this new pyked caruer not of sentences onely but a planer of wordes also whiles he do lay open before our eyes the very naturall meanyng of that place to be sensibly felt euen to the vttermost tittle thereof And for as much as there be two thinges chiefly handled by Paule in these three chapters First wherein he reioyseth with the Gentiles for that their calling and most prosperous knowledge of the light of the Gospell Secōdarily wherein he lamenteth the lamentable fall of the Iewes their most sorowfull blindenes and taking occasiō hereupon doth forth with enter into a discourse of fayth and the infallible certeintye of Gods promises For whereas that blessednes was promised to the posterity of Abraham here might some scrupule haue troubled his minde as there wanted not of the Iewes some that pyked hereout matter to cauill vpon as though God had broken the promise that he once had made as one that hauing obliged hymselfe before with so many couenauntes and promises to this generation did now contrary to his othe cast them of and despise them S. Paule valiauntly impugning the disorderous reproches and cauillations of these with sondry forcible reasons doth fortifie this his defence with iiij Argumētes chiefly First that this promise of the blessing was made in deede to Abraham and Israell and to their posteritie but this promise in as much as is spiritually to be taken did not so restrayne it selfe onely to that externall Family alone after the kinred of the fleshe as that it noted not vnder the same fellowshyppe and kinred of Israell the Gentiles also such especially as were endued with like sincerity of fayth He addeth furthermore that albeit the same promise did concerne those Gentiles chiefly which ioyned themselues to Christ yet the same was not so wholy translated to the Gentiles the Iewes beyng forsakē but that a great portiō of these also remnaunts as it were of that lamētable shipwracke beyng preserued should be partakers of the same promise and blessednes together with the Gentiles In the third place that it came to passe through their own villany vnbelief not of any inconstancie on Gods behalfe that this promise of God did so much fayle them but that they did exclude themselues rather from the benefite of Gods promise Lastly that neyther this reiection shoulde continue so for euer but that it should once come to passe as the Apostle prophecieth that the fulnes of the Gentiles beyng accomplished the whole nation of the Israelites recouering at the length the former grace of their auncient promise shoulde be restored agayne to the benefite of their former blessing Uerily I do confesse that this interpretation of Osorius is not altogether amisse wherein I seé nothing yet false or newly deuised moreouer nothing spoken of here that hath not long sithence bene spoken yea and with a farre more playne lightsomnesse by our expositors for we beyng long agoe sufficienly enstructed in Paules schoole haue vnderstood well inough without Osorius schooling the that promise was peculiar to the seede of Israell beyng the children of promise and not to the Children after the flesh Moreouer neither are we ignorant hereof that that blindenes happened not to all Israell but in part onely not of any inconstancy on Gods behalfe but that they fell themselues from true righteousnes by their owne default as people following the righteousnesse whiche came not by fayth but flattering themselues in obseruing the workes of the lawe Furthermore that whiche Thapostle doth prophecie shall come to passe concerning the restoring agayne of that whole nation at the length as we all hartily wish for so no man I suppose is so blockishe but doth vnderstand sufficiently all whatsoeuer Paule hath spoken of this matter by his owne writing though Osorius did neuer interprete it And agayne touching the examples of Isaac and Iacob set downe by Paule whom Gods election would should be preferred before their brethren though elder in birth in the deuision of the Fathers patrimonye We are neither ignoraunt nor forgetfull thereof whereupon we do nothing disagreé frō Osorius in conceauing the same thing vnder the types and figures of those persons and doe professe in as many wordes that neyther the prerogatiue of kinred nor workes nor yet the lawe but that Gods election calling and grace doth make the true Israelites Forasmuch therefore as our expositours in all these poynts of doctrine haue nothing at all hitherto swarued from the truth of Paules doctrine or your interpretation what corrupt exposition is that at the length of these our Interpretours wherewith you are so much offended forsooth say you because they doe not sufficiently enough conceaue the very ende whereunto Paule did referre those argumentes Goe to then sith you prouoke vs hereunto Let vs first seé what argumentes those be of Paule then to what ende they be applied Because the Iewes did challenge to thēselues a title of righteousnes through the obseruaunce of the law which neuerthelesse they did not obserue in very deéde partely because swelling w e pryde for the Nobilitie of their race they did promise vnto thēselues a certaine peculiar election with God before all other nations Paule entending to treate very sharply agaynst the insolent arrogancie of them doth argue agaynst thē with most forcible argumentes taken out of holy Scriptures namely That the substance of Gods election neither did hang vpon the works of the Law neyther vpon the roialtie of race not yet vpon auncient of parentage but did depend vpon the onely freemercy of Gods compassion and Fayth of the Gospell And to make the same appeare more euidently he putteth foorth vnto them the example of Isaac and Ismaell whereof the one though by byrth were yonger yet obtained through grace to be the first and was thereby aduaunced to the dignity of inheritaunce where as they both were generall issues of one and the same father Abraham though they had not both one mother And to auoyde the daūger of scrupule that might ensue by reason of the two mothers hee doth yet confirme the same with a more notable exāple Namely the example of the two brothers that were twinnes Iacob and Esau who issuing of one Father of one mother and one birth and before they had done any thing good or euill God did translate the honour of birthright and blessing to the yonger to beare rule ouer the elder And whereof came this but from the freé
creator himself in destroying hys creature may well be adiudged to haue condemned now not his creature which he made but the creature of Sathan which the Serpent destroyed But you will say Then was the Image of God deformed as soone as it was created I know it but by whose default by Gods default or mans default but why did not the good creator of the world forbid it to be done when as he foresaw it would come to passe As though he gaue not an especiall commaundement to the same effect in playne wordes Nay rather if your reason be so captious as will not be satisfied but with naturall reason I might more reasonably demaunde this reasonable question of you why dyd not man obay the expresse restraynt of God For what do ye reade was not Adam forbidden to touch the vnhappy Apple of vnlucky knowledge was he not carefully admonished and forewarned by denouncing the daunger that would ensue thereupon And beyng sufficiently armed with the power of Freewill hadd he not strength enough in him selfe to take heéde why thē did he not looke to him selfe at the least in season if he were not willyng to beleue and obey Gods aduertizement Certes as lōg as her reprosed him selfe his whole sauetie in the saue keépyng and custody of the Lord he was in no daunger at all But settyng Gods commaundement at naught once whenas he chose rather to become the bondslaue of Sathan aspyring to be as wise as his Creator and God here what should Gods Iustice doe now which was not bounden to be any more carefull for an other bodyes Seruaūt And yet for all this God of his mercy did not so forsake and yeld ouer his creature although his Creatour most vnkyndely forsooke him beyng his Creature He did beautifie this runneaway with the light of Reason whereby he might know what ought to be eschued and what ought to bee embraced Furthermore to make him more carefull to regard vertue he planted into him very deépe rootes and prickes of conscience hee added moreouer Statutes and Lawes not onely emprinted within euery ones hart but engrauen also outwardly in spectible Tables Finally besides these written ordinaunces of the law he did euer now and then among rayse vppe Prophetes vnto them who with liuely voyce and teachyng should neuer cease by aydyng by promising by terrifieng by obtestyng by sweéte exhortyng briefly by all maner of meanes should neuer cease to reteine the people in an vniuersall obedience accordyng to order duetie What shall we say to this also that he furnished the very Gentiles them selues though they were neuer so beastly and barbarous with the doctrine of Philosophers oftentymes with coūselles of grauen men with wonderfull helpes of good letters and preceptes of Philosophy persuadyng them to all thynges and withall not sparyng to pricke them foreward to the embracing of vertue and eschewing of vyce with horrible examples oftentymes as it were with a spurre I beseéke you now what wāted to be added more either to Gods Iustice to expresse mercy or to his mercy to expresse Iustice or to his diligēce to expresse his continuall fatherly carefulnesse But here wanted naturall strength you will say Yet was not God to bee blamed for this but mans folly rather And yet neither in this behalfe did Gods fatherly goodnesse deny his assistaunce for euen for this so are also he made a playster And to Cure this vniuersall poyson of nature he gaue as vniuersall a Mythridatū made with the precious bloud of his onely begotten Sonne wherewith the weakest Creature in the world and the most ouerwhelmed with Sinne might easily atteyne remedy of eternall lyfe For as much therefore as mankinde was of euery side so wōderfully fensed with so many and so great benefites of Gods gracious mercy what is there that any man may eyther want to be supplied by thys our most bountifull God and Creator or what could this good and mercifull God haue done more liberally for hys creatures but here bursteth out more contention and quarreling amongest the deuines wherein they plunge thēselues to much For whereas this fayth in Christ is not pertinent to all persons and that the greater sort of people do not acknowledge the sonne of God and that he is not so faythfully Reuerenced as becommeth and that they repose not the safety of their imbecillitie in this Christ as they should now commeth here the question what the cause should be then of this hys reiectiō from whence it proceédeth from out the will of men or or from out the decreé of God or out of both causes beyng coupled together Osorius here grounding hys authoritie vpon his fine Cicero doth very mightely affirme That they were therfore made the vessels of wrath because they would not be made the vessels of mercy But how this may be true I can not conceaue sufficiētly Although I do not deny this that those which eare made vessels of wrath are altogether replenished with a rebellious will wherewith they do voluntarily forsake the offered grace of their vocation yet this same will is not the cause of reprobation but the effect rather doth follow and not go before it and it selfe is made rather then maketh reiectiō For neither such as be razed out of the booke of Election are therefore become the vessels of wrath because they did forsake mercye but they doe therfore throw away mercy offred vnto thē bycause beyng excluded from the grace of Electiō they were foreappoynted to be the Uessels of wrath castawayes so that Osor. might haue spoken more truely on this wise that such were made the vessels of wrath whō God would not haue to be the Uessels of mercy And for thys cause those Pharaonicall persequutors of the church were subiect to wrath not onely because they will not be partakers of Gods mercy but also because they cannot Besides this also in as much as all the Mercies of God are contayned in Christ onely and in the knowledge of Christ as as it were fast lockt in the Ark of God in what sense will Osor. say that they which will not beleeue are made the Uesselles of wrath as though the sinne of Infidelity did not rather proceéde of the ignoraunce of Iudgement then of any motion of will of purpose For it consisteth not within the compasse of naturall strength for euery man that will to be able to know Christ as him listeth But such as it is geuē vnto frō aboue that they may be able to know and haue a will also to know Christ. Otherwise in what sense do the scriptures teach that Christ shal be the stone of offence and Rock to stumble vpon to them who doe not beleeue and do stumble vpon the worde of fayth whereunto they are marked if the whole matter were atchieued not by the decreé of God but did hang vpon the determinatiō of man euē as the Apostles doth testifie in an other place that
seéme to speake sufficiently in the honest defence of him selfe so in respect of your deserte he were not able to vtter enough agaynst you After all this ye adde moreouer and demaunde with what honest reason Luther doth ioyne the constancy of hys Discipline with the defence of Gods Iustice. To answere briefly Certes with much more honester reason then your bloudy Bishop or you his skraping catchpolles who hauing embrued your rotchets in so much Christian bloud play the Butchers more like then Byshops can ioyne your pryde vayneglorious Tytles Pompe Arrogancy Cruelty Tyranny Treason Lust Lechery Opinions Heresies Determinations and intollerable Canones of mans Traditions together with Peter with Paule with Christ and with hys Gospell not to speake of the rest of your secret abhominations I am come now at the length to the triumphaunt end of this glorious booke where leauing Luther in the field sounding the retraiâ—t from the great battell of Freewill Osor. doth furbush hys furniture for the Triumph agaynst poore Gualter HaddoÌ„ and not without cause for because this quarelling CiuiliaÌ„ who a little before did yelde ouer the preéminence of Eloquence to Osorius and confessed him to be the chiefe carpenter of speach and named hym also the scholer of Cicero many tymes he seémeth so variable vnconstant now That he dare affirme that Osorius writing is vnsauory voyde of likelyhoode of truth and without sense argument and proofe which Haddon is so childishe in hys style making skarse anye semblaunce of witte in hys vtteraunce that he deserueth no commendation of witte at all but such as seemeth to stand in darckenesse of speach Finally whereas he doth so oftentimes obiect agaynst Osorius the name of Cicero by way of reproche He him selfe did very carefully foresee that no man shoulde be able to reproche hym with the name of Cicero for he speaketh nothing very eloquently nothing playnely nothing distinctly nothing pitthely nothing substancially nothing loftely What soeuer pleaseth hym he hath thrust into hys wrytinge and that also he doth confirme not by reason or argument but with skolding and lauishnes of tongue Lastly hys whole wryting is so bluntish so base so colde that it moueth Osorius to pity it rather then to hate it And that is the cause That Osorius cannot according to hys promise condiscend with hart and mynde to hys opinions as he promised he would do if he could winne the victory of the cause which he vndertooke with apte and conuenient arguments But now sithence he hath not done it sitheÌ„ce he hath brought no argument nor vsed any proofe to the purpose sithence also hys reasons be such as haue no force to mayntayne credite but such as rather doe disclose a token of some miserable frensye hereof therefore it commeth to passe that he seemeth to be acquited of hys promise if hee remayne as yet in hys opinion vnuanquished And therefore that Haddon did very vaynely take in hand to wryte that they did not lesse vndiscretely that set hym a worke Moreouer that neyther hys Schoolemaister was voyde of blame whosoeuer he were that did not instruct hym at the first in what place and in what forme he ought to apply his interrogation making to the substaunce of the matter Nowe hast thou gentle reader the last acte of Osorius fable which whether I may tearme to be Comicall or Tragicall I can not well tell but that it seemeth in myne opinion to resemble rather the shape of a Comedye more neerely For what glorious Thraso I pray you could euer haue handled hys part vppon a stage more rufflingly moue the beholders to lowd laughter more pleasauntly To haue the whole fruition of his sweet pigsnye Cicero as it were of Thais or Phillida what a sturr doth he keepe And because he perceaueth that Haddon hath a fansie to hys mynion which maketh him to stand in some feare least he wil beguile him how hatefully despightfully doth he exclame vpon him to driue him out of countenaunce not onely treading hym vnder hys feete but so furiouslye boyling agaynst hym That if this Parasiticall Gallaunt were now in England with hys cogging companion Sanga and but an handfull of Catholicke Monkes with them Uerely I beleue he would as Thraso pretended agaynst Thais also burst open the gates vpon him whom he doth now thrust downe in the belfry amongest boyes as one that deserueth no title of good word for his witt in whom is neyther any force of seÌ„tence nor any likelihood of truth in whose writings no examples finally which HaddoÌ„ no reseÌ„blance of Ciceroes delectable pronuÌ„ciatioÌ„ doth appeare but a certayn piteous staÌ„mering of speach vttred in hys writings vntowardnes childishnes in disputiÌ„g obscure a certein vnskilfull applicatioÌ„ of Rhetoricall interrogatioÌ„s learned of an vnskilfull Maister but as one that can skarse expresse hys meaning by his vtteraunce hath no pertaking of Ciceroes finesse nor coÌ„meth so much as any thing neere the maiesty of Cicero expresseth nothing purely nothing playnly nothiÌ„g distinctly nothing substaÌ„cially nothing loftely Finally vttereth nothyng but a vayne sound of foolishe wordes that it woulde pittie a man to see it Wherefore O wretched man that thou art poore stammering Haddon O piteous estate of this seély Phedria And in the meane tyme thys vayneglorious proud pecocke is bedeckt with all these Distritch feathers and glittering plumes wrapt vp together in a great brush perdie so that here is no want of any thing nowe but of some gyering Gnato which may lowt this Thraso out of hys paynted Coate But go to Let these thinges passe Osorius Although this vnbrydeled and cottquenelike maner of scolding and lauishnes of toung doth of right require that we shoulde likewise blaze out your braynsicknesse in the right colour and make you as it were a mockery for boyes yet dismissing now at the last those toyes and merry conceites of your dame deynty wherewith she hath as you say besmeared Haddons lips we will deale in earnest with you and therefore let vs see what it is wherewith you reproche Haddon so vnmanerly He sayd that you were Ciceroes scholler and a conning coyner of words what euill was in this Afterwardes himselfe doth confesse that your writinges are vnsauorye and without reason wherin sayd he amisse meaning this in effect as I think that you busye your selfe about a straunge matter as though you were raking after the Moone wherein ye neyther sauour any thing at all you are not able to teache nor willing to learne You doe slaunder certayne godly and learned personages here in England yea euen to their Queéne whom despightfully ye call by a nickname new Gospellers And thus do ye eyther of no reason at all or in such wise as if onely exchaunge of names were made would easily be more appliable vnto the forgers and counterfayte stagers of the Romish Gospell yea would accord much more fittely with them then with those that you do accuse moreouer where you
to vnlose it then Haddon was we should at least stand maruelously amazed at the inscrutable ingeniousnes of the man For determinyng with him selfe to make a playne demonstration that these new Gospellers as he calleth them should not in any wise be harkened vnto but should be banished out of all common weales as common plagues and maisters of all misrule and wickednesse he frameth his Argument vpon this pointe That whereas they tooke vpon them to restore the auncient puritie of the Gospell infinite mischiefes doe reigne notwithstandyng amongest their Auditories And that these teachers do keepe Schoole no where but they make the whole couÌ„trey there the worse for theÌ„ To this Sophisticall quicke HaddoÌ„ makyng auÌ„swere affirmeth that it is neither true that Osorius fableth of that waywardnesse of this people neither yet though it were true that it is preiudiciall to the defence of the cause now in hand For the controuersie here doth concerne properly matters of Relligion to the which if the conuersations of the professours were not correspondeÌ„t or if the séedes of Christes Gospell did not fall vpon the fruitefullest grounde altogether but were choaked vppe with thornes or that the Corne were ouergrowen with Cockell and Tares the fault therof was not in the word but in the people For humane actioÌ„s had neuer so good successe in this world but that the greater sorte were alwayes delighted with the worst and the worst part many tymes preuayled beyond the best And that this came to passe long sithence not onely in the tyme of Christ and his Apostles but in the age of the holy Martyrs also and doth likewise happen by a certeine continuall order and enterchaunged course of the world dayly and hourely so that not onely the Preachers of the word but the Church of Rome it selfe neuer wanteth matter sufficient of great greéuous complaintes And albeit as the maners of men are through the caÌ„kerd peéuishnes of wayward frowardes the most sacred word of God be euill spoken of amongest the Paganes and Infidelles yet if the matter be debated amongest wise and discrete personages it will not be thought matter reasonable that the thyngs which of their own nature are good should be called in question and condemned for the naughty behauiour of naughty packes abusing the same And therfore that Osor. did amisse herein to wrest the whole state of the question to maners and euill conuersation which did onely concerne matter of Relligion Moreouer also though neuer so straight InquisitioÌ„ were made of the life and maners of the professours of the worde yet behoued not Osorius to bende him selfe so sharpely agaynst our Preachers with any accusation before he had throughly acquited or at least wise aunswered the griefes and complaintes of many others of his own Catholickes which are much more haynous and worthy of speédy reformation To these reasons of Haddon let vs heare what Osorius doth I say not dispute but with open mouth cry out first he vaunteth and triumpheth that his argument is not resolued Afterwardes this gallant glorious Thraso doth meruaile very much with what face Haddon may deny this to be trew seeing that the very poreblinde do see it and is common in euery barbours shoppe sealed with the testimony of all men yea wherewith the Siopodes are so well acquainted also as he sayth that it is merueile that any man could be so shameles to deny it to be true For what is he that doth not onely coÌ„ceaue in imagination but also not behold with hys eyes yea feele it in the whole body to the great griefe of hys hart that luste doth raunge euery where allowed vnbrydeled licenciousnesse pestereth euery corner vnpunished Sanctuaries Religious houses lye tumbling in bloâ—d that Temples and Churches be robbed and spoyled Treasons practised agaynst Princes and Gouernours Finally all places whersoeuer these doctours teach schoole to be in a tumult and vproare And forasmuch as Haddon doth not onely heare all these not by report onely and confereÌ„ce of histories but also behould the same with hys eyes openly and vsually frequented how can he say that these things were neuer done March on couragiously in this dexteritie sharpnes of witte O Benedicte But go to let vs coÌ„sider awhiles the force of this ingeniouse man Whersoeuer these new preachers sayth he do plant themselues and teache there may you see all thinges polluted with most filthy Brambles Cockell and Darnell The man hath spoken But how shall I knowe this to be true that ye speake Osorius for sooth he is past all shame that denyeth it And why so I pray you Because the matter is knowen published abroad euery where to NatioÌ„s Countryes Ilandes all people finally bruted abroad ratified by the report of all meÌ„ Behold gentle reader a very woÌ„derfull euident demonstration concluded not with arguments silogismes as men are wont to dispute in the schooles of Chrisippus Cratippus but ratified yea sealed also as oratours vse to verifie their causes before the Iudges by the testimonye of publique seales and witnesses yea and that not by the report of a few but of all maner of meÌ„ of the people of Calecute I suppose of the Massagets Antipodes men of a new world yea beyond all herring as they say So farre so wide doth this Prelates knowledge of all thinges outstretch it selfe that he can test vpon hys fingers endes what all men do euery where what they speake and what they heare what may you require to be of more credite Christian reader sithence the worlde it self and the whole compasse of the same produced is wittnesse againste these newe prophettes the Lutheranes Which if might speak altogether with one mouth woulde vse this testimony as I thinke Whatsoeuer disorders and mischiefes whatsoeuer lust and vnpunished licenciousnes whatsoeuer outragious sacrilege whatsoeuer treacherous treason and conspiracies were euer hard of amongest any people the same be chiefly and aboue all others frequented and raigne especially amongst the coÌ„mon weales of the Lutheranes through the doctrine and preaching of their Prophettes In witnesse whereof we all and euery of vs as many as liue in this world doe set to our seales Ratifie and confirme the same to be true with our handes The worlde it selfe I think if it could speake would not speake otherwise forsooth And because it cannot speake for it selfe it hath appoynted Osorius to be proctor of the cause to speake for it In a matter therefore so manifest so approued and fealed is there any so impudent an Haddon that will dare to deny this But that ye may wonder yet a great deale more at his Rhetoricall amplification he proueth it to be true not onely by the suffrages of dumme men but cyteth to witnesse agaynst Haddon himselfe his owne eyes and eares Do ye not see sayth he with your eyes what should Haddon seé with his eyes do ye ask Osorius doughtles he might seé
is well enough known what meanes he vsed for the suppressing that tēptes of Carolastadius the Suenfeldians Zuinglius in hys booke entitled Elenchus contra Catabaptistas Caluin de hereticis Bullenger of Tiguirine in hys inuectiue agaynst the sectes of our time the Basileanes against the Georgianes The Heluetianes and people of Sauoye and Lumbardie how seuere and earnest pursuers were all these in rooting out of wicked opinions how estraunged and alienated from all desire of Faccions all these I say haue geuen vnto vs notable presidēts and examples therof And to speak nothing of other Churches what hath bene done in England long sithence yea and of late also towardes the ouerthrowing and confuting of erroneous opinions Let your Portugall Marchaūt certifie you by letter your notary what soeuer he be or in what corner soeuer yee lurcke whō I suppose to be sent ouer into England not for any other purpose but to become Osor. hys spye Go to where is now the experience of Osorius by the wh he hath found out in Luther as he sayth so many sectes and diuersities of opinions But the names of Sects had neuer bene so raked vp together no nor any sound of any such should euer haue bene heard at any tyme. If abode had bene made in the Fayth of the Pope and of the Romanistes So likewise also I suppose that if weé had not bene diliuered from that Ethnick Paganisme of the old Idolatrye this Botche had neuer infected our Churches neyther had Ierusalem bene euer troubled at anye tyme vnlesse Christ had bene borne neyther had so great and so many swarmes of Heretickes flusht abroad vnlesse the Apostles had preached the Gospell why therefore are we not weltered back agayn into that puddle of Paganisme or Iewishnes hauing shaken away from our shoulders the most sincere and pure religion of Christ according to the choppe Logicke of Osorius that wee may shroud our selues safely from the company of those wilde faccious Sectes and daungerous diuisions But Osorius though fallen away at the last from his tackle of mans experience hath gathered more courage yet vnto hym takyng handfast of the Ankerholde of Christ his owne wordes for the proofe of the Popes Chayre so that nowe this Seé seémeth no more humayne or terrestryall but heauenly and Angelicall Affirming that this power is established not by the ordinaūce of man but chiefly by the very words and ordinaunce of our Lord and Sauiour Christ himselfe Surely if Osorius can perswade that to be true he shall beare the bell away But by what reason will he make it apparaunt vnto vs not with one nor with a simple and naked reason but with a double horned Argument that shall cutt like a sworde for besides the authority of holy Scriptures and the Testimonyes of all auncient antiquitie also whereof he boasteth himselfe not a litle skilfull he affirmeth that he knoweth it to be true by experience But go to it remayneth that you declare vnto vs what authoritie of the sacred Scripture that is at the length and wherein that testimony of auncient antiquitie is to be found Thou must needes attend a whiles perhappes he will tell theé hereafter gentle reader For as now because Osor. is not at leysure to tell theé let it suffice theé that the man hath spoken it and vouchsafe at this present to interprete all hys speaches to be very Oracles as sweéte as honny And this much hitherto touching the Maiesty of the Seé of Rome The next vnto this hath he placed in order the obedience that they yelde vnto Princes which I maruell if any man can reade and not laugh at so also I beleue sure that Osor. himselfe could not stay but laugh at himselfe or els doughtles he was disposed to dally with vs when he wrate these wordes so pleasauntly deuised and so cunningly coulered But we sayth he do not refuse the aucthoritie of any lawfull power Howe truely you speak herein how reuerētly you esteéme of princes how obediently you behaue your selues to the higher authoritie and how hūbly you do acknowledge it and how you refuse no commaundement of the Magistrate Weé will take a taste if it please you by the conference of faythfull Historiographers by the course affayres of experience whereof the actes monuments of Princes doe make mencion Finally by search of antiquitie it selfe whereof you make your selfe experte and well beseene And to beginne first with the Empire of Greece the lawfull succession whereof contynued from Constantine the founder thereof about 500. yeares more lesse if the Bishop of Rome at that tyme would not haue refused to be subiect to the authoritie of the higher powers why then did Hadriane and after him Leo 3. hauing rooted out the kingdome of Desiderius and the Lombardes contrary to their faith an allegiaunce presume to be so hardye as to pluck away the imperiall maiesty afterwardes from the right and true heyres vnto the whiche aswell they the Bishops thēselues as also all the Italiane Natiō had submitted and obliged them selues by othe no lesse then the Greékes and why did they at theyr owne appointemente trāslate the same frō the Greékes to the Frenche nacion And although Charles him self vnto whom the Diademe Imperiall was geuen seéme worthy to be registred amongst the most vertuous famous Princes as one that endued the Church of Rome with greatest treasures possessions and liberties Yet was not that cause sufficient wherefore the maiestie of the sacred Empyre should beé vyolated and oppressed with manifest iniuries Namely sithēs the ouerthrow of that state could not choose but draw after it wonderfull troubles rancour of hartes Which thing happened in very deéd not long after For euen by the meanes thereof chiefly it came to passe that not only the Emperours of the East West were enflamed agaynst ech other with perpetuall deadly and vnquenchable hartburning hatred and enmity but also that Greéce being left naked of those helpes became an open Road to the Turkes and Sarracens for the suppressing of whose powers and recouery of which countrey I knowe not whether the whole power of the Romanistes when they haue retched it to the vttermost will be euer able to preuayle But to admitte that this translation of the Empyre came either of the speciall prouidence of God or to attribute the same to the worthines of Carolus or the Necessitie of the tymes or to mittigate the matter with some plausible and colourable excuse Yet is not this excrable sawcines of these Romish Bishopps sufficiently accquited hereby which durst be so presumptuously arrogant at that tyme or the Popes of this present which do imagine that their authoritie which they claime from Peter may priuileadge their insolent vsurpacion ouer the kingdomes of the earth and theyr iniurious transposing them where they liste nor doth waraunt their shamelesse challenge of lineall succession in the same authoritie as deriued from Peter himselfe vnto
determine vpoÌ„ an other Emperour to be chosen And when Themperour sent Embassadours to the Pope to be receaued into fauour The Pope drew him out an InstrumeÌ„t with these coÌ„ditions annexed to witte that he should confesse the errors and heresies of his Princes and Cytties which were none at all that he should depart froÌ„ his Empyre and should committe hymselfe his Children and all his goodes and possessions to hys mercy and from thenceforth should neuer meddle with any of them without hys permissioÌ„ and sufferaÌ„ce Which articles albeit TheÌ„perour was not vnwilling to yealde vnto yet because the Pope perceaued that the States of the Empyre woulde not accepte it hys owne sacred holynes vpon Easter day appoynteth an other Emperour Charles 4. At the last Ludouick beyng poysoned not without the procurement and practize of this most mercifull Clement departed thys lyfe as Ierome Marius doth record within a yeare after the Election of this Charles in the yeare 1347. At the length the same Charles whom the Pope annoynted Emperour contrary the ordinaunce of all the States to th end to confirme the dignitie Imperiall to hys sonne and hys Successors so ioyneth in league with the Electors what with fayre promises bribes that he passeth ouer the reuenewes of Th empyre to the Electors this did he to establishe the Succession in hym and hys posteritie as Aeneas Siluius doth report Agayne the Electors bound the sayd Charles by oathe that he shoulde neuer require restitution of those reuenewes agayne which the Electors do enioy euen to this day By meanes whereof it came to passe that the Romayne Empyre beyng thus embased and the Reuenewes of the same empayred The Turkishe outrage hath long sithence freely possessed a great part of Christendome without resistaunce and is like to preuayle further yet for as much as the power and force of the Christianes beyng rent asunder and skattered abroad there is now none other power or PoteÌ„tate that is eyther able or dare adueÌ„ture to withstand the mighty puyssaunce of that outragious furye And the verye cause of all these mischiefes haue for the more part issued out froÌ„ that pestilent sincke of Rome who building hys rauenous neast with none other furniture more then with the scrappes that heé skrapeth together through violent seditious partaking of factions and dissentions of Princes hath brought Christendome to so small a handful now at the last that the Christian Princes iarring alwaies emoÌ„gest theÌ„selues do seeme that they will neuer be williÌ„g to be at one and agreé togethers for prouisioÌ„ to be made against the Turckes nor will be able at any tyme to make their partyes good agaynst the coÌ„tinuall inuasuones and Roades whiche this Tyraunt doth dayly make into Christendome But we haue shewed Recordes and examples sufficient whiche if be not true Let Osorius himselfe confute them by hys Antiquitie whereof he vauÌ„teth so singuler a skill But if they be most true as they be in deéde if he shall neuer be able to disproue theÌ„ where is now become that wonderfull obedience to the lawfull Magistrate where is that consideration of the Maiestie which as he sayth refuseth no ordinaunce of the higher power but doth yelde that vnto Cesar that belongeth to Cesar that vnto God that is due vnto God he addeth moreouer For we beleeue according to the testimony of Paule that lawfull Magistrates are so established by the ordinaunce of God that he that resisteth the lawfull aucthoritie outh to be adiudged not so much to resiste man as to resiste God himselfe If these wordes were as hartyly and vnfaynedly vttered as you professe honorably in wordes I meruayle theÌ„ froÌ„ wheÌ„ce came that so cruell rebellion of that Ecclesiasticall Seignorie agaynst the Superiour powers and from whence those moÌ„struous turmoyles of Empires and so execrable alterations of States these many hundred yeares came at the first The principall causes of all whiche tumultes commotioÌ„s and alterations â—prang from no where els then fromout that boyling fornace of the Popes canckered contumacye agaynst their liege Lordes and Emperoures From hence came the warres of the Emperour Henry the 4. 5. then of Fridericke 1. and 2. from hence the battell of Ludowicke of Bauiere and Ludowicke of Austriche In which vproares the Maiestie of the kyngdomes was not onely violated the power of the same weakened Princes combatyng against ech other like the brethren of Cadmus destroyed but Churches also were miserably torne and many godly consciences driuen into greéuous anguish of minde and most perillous staggering vncerteintie through these outragies of the Byshops who to extoll and enlarge their false forged dominion conceaued by as false forged opinioÌ„ were in effect the very cankers and botches of the Church and of all Europe besides What stroake then shall the authority of Paule who forbiddeth all resistauÌ„ce beare amongest these ruffling Prelates who delightyng and sporting them selues priuely to seé Princes and their Subiectes together by the eares and to rende and teare a sunder common weales and the publique peace and tranquilitie of the Church with Ciuill discentioÌ„s seditious Bulles and pestilent Libelles who through their priuiledges and immunities exemptyng them selues from publique Iustice and Ciuill Lawes do vse abuse Monarches and Tetrarches lyke bondeslaues after their owne lust and pleasure do blesse them curse them commaunde them intreate them rewarde them punish them allow disallow set vp set downe treade vpon with the heéles yea with their Papane power and Maiesticall prerogatiue cast downe into hell betray theÌ„ poyson theÌ„ how true this report is the Grecian FreÌ„ch and Germany Emperours playne patternes of their fury doe euidently and aboundauntly declare the smart therof felt Chilpericke the French kyng whom the Pope deposed from his kingdome and thrust into a Monckery Henry the 2. kyng of EnglaÌ„d whose Princely crowne takeÌ„ froÌ„ his head you reteigned by the space of foure dayes Iohn kyng of England who was first driuen out of his kyngdome by Pope Innocent 3. at the length poysoned by a Monke Henry 7. Emperour of Germany whom ye destroyed by poyson as ye did Victor likewise whose lyfe also a certeine Relligious lozell of your owne order cut short of a white or a blacke Moncke for he was a Dominicane Friar by ministryng vnto him the Sacrament dypped before in deadly poyson What shall I say of Phillippe the French kyng agaynst whom Pope Boniface 8. did procure Edward kyng of England to mainteyne mortall warres what shall I speake of Henry 6. Emperour of Rome agaynst whom as rebelles reuolted the Byshop of Collen and Leodicensis in which tumult Leodicensis was slayne And for breuities sake to passe ouer infinite other Dukes and Princes of Sycile Arragon Tuscane Calaber Naples Venice Germany Fraunce England Boheme Italy Rome Emperours Kynges Princes Marquestes Dukes Counsellours Senatours Consuls whom I dare auow were neuer more horribly molested in all their whole lyues then
bycause she loued much And agayne where excludyng all other by helpes he willed the Maister of the Synagoge to beleeue onely and sayd vnto an other all things are possible to him that doth beleeue And to the sicke of the palsey all sinnes are forgeuen thee without openyng mouth to any confession at all what shall we say that Sinnes are not therfore forgeuen bycause this word of confession was neuer heard of before or shall we say that God hath not heard their confession bycause there wanted priestes at that tyme If it suffice not to open the secretes of the hart vnto GOD what do these wordes of Chrisostome emporte where writyng vpō the 51. Psalme Homel 2. If thou be ashamed sayth he to confesse thy Sinnes to any mā confesse them dayly in thy hart I bidd thee not to confesse them to thy fellow seruaunt which may reproche thee cōfesse thee to him that may heale thee And agayne in an other place I bidd thee not to come before the people nor that thou accuse thy selfe to others But I will haue thee follow the wordes of the Prophet saying Open thy sinnes vnto the Lord. Confesse thy faultes therfore vnto God open thyne offences vnto the true Iudge with harty prayer not with thy toūg but with a remorse of consciēce c. And yet I speake not this as though that priuate confession of sinnes ought not be receaued in the church as vnprofitable whereas the counsell of a godly Minister is desired or consolation required by troubled consciences where the exercize of priuate absolution which is the word of the Gospell is by authoritie of the Gospell vttered by the Ministers And yet I doe so allow of it as that this name priuate Confession wherewith you haue wickedly entangled Godly consciences may neither participate with any nature of a Sacrament nor be deliuered to any as cōmaūded by Gods law Moreouer neither so necessary at all tymes as though without it sinnes were not forgeuen to the contrite and sorowfull in hart groūdyng them selues vpon the infallible fortresse of Fayth Wherfore if you be so farre in loue with this sacred eare cōfessiō Osori you may a Gods name go to your Priest as oftē as much as ye liste If we content our selues to be washed in the bloud of Iesu Christ if we repose all our hope affiaunce whatsoeuer in him alone trouble vs not nor hinder vs I beseéch you For thus are we directed by the authoritie of the Scriptures to beleéue that to be dypped ouer head cares in this most comfortable and sacred fonte is sufficient for the clensing and purgyng of our sinnes and agayne that neither this most blessed bloud of Iesu Christ is any other wayes effectuall vnto vs nor appliable to our comfort any other wayes then through Fayth onely which is to beleéue in his name Whatsoeuer Resemblaunce of truth your decreés do expresse vnto vs doughtlesse the Scriptures cannot lye wherein we are taught that our hartes are washed cleane by Fayth and that remission of sinnes is receaued through Fayth which is in Christ Iesu. Addyng moreouer the testimony of all the Prophetes that it must come to passe that as many as beleeue in Iesu Christ shall obteine forgeuenesse of their sinnes So that neédelesse Stole of your Catholicke confessours is altogether fruteles towardes the cleansing of our consciences In the meane space if the soule be afflicted with some more greéuous scrupule wherein brotherly consolation may seéme to be requisite we gaynsay no man that will goe to some godly learned Minister nay rather we do hartely allow therof we our selues also do the same many tymes yet such is our repaire togethers as tendeth rather to seéke counsell and comfort then for any necessitie to craue pardon for our sinnes Neither do we compell any man to do so nor do we make to speake Chrisostomes owne wordes a necessitie of Freédome neither make we a Sacrament therof Nor yet require we a Beadroll of all their Sinnes neither doe we enforce any person to state tymes of the yeare Finally we do not burdeine them with any clogge of satisfactory penaunce which of all other is most horrible Wherein it is a wonder to seé what is be fallen vpon you and the rest of your Catholickes Osorius I thinke veryly that Dame folly her selfe if could speake with toung would neuer vtter nor do any so wittles a foolery as hauing first pardoned acquited the offendour cleare from crime to enioyne him afterwardes to penaūce whereby he should be compelled after pardon receaued to make satisfaction notwithstandyng and so to send him after into Purgatory where he must satisfie to the vttermost far thyng I beseéch you Right Reuerēd Father for the honor of your great wisedome if all the filthynes of your consciences be thoroughly clensed first by Confession to what purpose serue any satisfactory and penall lawes where the offence beyng pardon remaineth nought now to be satisfied If they be not throughly clensed whereunto then auayleth that Priestly Stole Priestly crossing what becommeth of that absolution which you promise who will euer say that his offence is forgeuen which must be forced to make satisfaction by some maner of composition Moreouer if Christ haue made full satisfaction for our Sinnes and if his satisfaction be a generall release of punishmēt and crime what other neéde is there of any humaine satisfaction Agayne if Christes satisfaction be not a full satisfaction but that there must be enioyned a Temporall punishment then do I demaunde further what is it that the Priestes Stole and Crossing or the Popes pardons cā geue more to the releasing of punishment and crime thē the bloud of Iesu Christ the sonne of God was able to geue But to proceéde Now that this Catholicke people haue with this spunge of penaunce cleane purged all the spottes and blottes of conscience so happely what do they stay here No I suppose but steppyng foreward from vertue to vertue The myndes beyng furnished after this maner they doe forthwith addresse thē selues to that most holy mystery of all other most miraculous the Euchariste not rushyng rashely thereunto nor with vnwasht handes as the Prouerbe is but with feare and tremblyng doe humbly kneéle vpon their kneés with great reuerence open their mouthes to the priest ready to receaue that heauenly banquet in that which they tast not any bread at all no wine at all no nor any other terrestriall matter nor yet that substaunce which they do seé with their eyes and handle with their fingers but all substaunce of bread and wine beyng vtterly driuē away they do at one morsell receaue swallow down the very same body of Christ which was borne of the virgine Mary and the naturall bloud shed out of his side though vnder the forme colour and kynde of wine and not of bloud contrary to all sense and feélyng of
the Fathers and Elders which did apperteine to the well ordering and gouernmēt of outward discipline Yet euen in these was such a moderation consonauncy obserued as should nether extinguishe the glory of the Gospell nor entāgle consciences with combersome charge but serue onely for preseruation of necessarye orders For due obseruation of the which was graunted to the Church a certayne authoritye and power to dispose and determine according to the nature of places and necessitye of tymes such thinges as might seéme most agreéable and couenable for their assemblies But this authority hedged in as it were within her certein limits and boundes as was but humaine so forced it not such a necessitye of obseruance as did those other commaunded immediately from God For lyke consideration may not be taken of humaine precepts commaunded by men onely as must be had of thordinaunces of God Hereof commeth it that the breach or not performaunce of that one being done without arrogant cōtēpt or reprochful disdayn is not punishable as mortall deadly sinne In lyke maner the godly ministers of the Church were not without their due honor and authority yet such it was as exceéded not the appointed lymittes and measure For as then function ecclesiasticall was a Ministery and seruice not a Maistry or Lordshippe which consisteth in two thinges chiefly In preaching the worde and ministring the Sacraments and in directing outward discipline and ordering maners and misdemeanours In which kinde of ministery although cōmaundement be geuē to yeald due obediēce vnto the pastors yea though we heare these wordes spoken of Ministers He that heareth you heareth me Yet tend they not to this end that they may after their owne wittes and pleasures make new innouations frame new fashions of doctrine and coyne new Sacraments thrust in new worshippings and new Gods or thereby to erect a kingdome in the Church But their whole power and authoritye is restrayned to the prescript rule of the Gospell not to dispence and dispose thinges after their owne luste but to be the dispensors and disposers of the misteries of God Wherevpon in matters appertayning to Gods Lawe conscience is bound to yealde due obediēce to the pastoures according to this saying He that refuseth you refuseth me In other thinges that concerne the Tradicions of men or that haue no assurance of their creation by any principle of doctrine herein ought speciall regard to be had First to what end they are commaunded then also by what authoritye they are brought into the Church For the ordinaunces which are thrust in vnder such maner and condition as may enfeéble true confidence in the Mediator as may dispoyle cōsciences of their freédome and ouerthrowe the maiestie of gods grace or are linked together with a vayne opinion of righteousnes of worshipping of remission of sinnes of merites of Saluation or of vnauoydable necessitye Such I say ought without all respect to be hauished and abandoned as pestilent batches from the communion and congregation of the Church Consideration also must be had of the difference betwixt these thinges which the Church doth charge mens consciences withall by mans authoritye onely and the thinges which are established and proclaimed by the expresse word and commaundement of God For although the Church may of duety require a certein subiuection to the ecclesiasticall ministers as that we ought to obey the ordinaunces that are instituted for preseruation of ciuill societye and couenable decency Yet must the ministers be well aduised least vnder pretence and colour of ecclesiasticall authoritie they eyther commaund the things that are not expedient or oppresse the simple people with vnmeasurable Burdeines or thinke with them selues that the Church is tyed of neccessity to any Lawes established by men Euen so and the same that hath bene spoken of mēs Constitutions may in effect be applyed to Iudicall Courts Iudgementes For although authoritye be committed to the Church to iudge and determine of doctrines and outward misdemeanours although the resolution of doubtfull cōtrouersies the discouerie and opening of matters obscure the declaring and debatyng of matters confuse the reformation and amendement of matters amysse be left ouer to the Censure and iudgement of the Church many tymes Yet is not this ordinary authoritye so arbitrary and absolute but is also fast tyed to the direct rule of the worde So that in matters of controuersie this Authoritie came conclude commaunde nothing but that which the word of the Gospel must make warrantable Neither hath this authoritye any such prerogatiue to make any alteration of Gods Scriptures or to forge false and vntrue interpretations which may auaile to establishe an authoritye of men or of orders or to make any new articles of fayth or to bring in straunge Inuocations which are directly repugnant to the manifest authoritye of the Scriptures And therfore we creditt the Church as a Mistres and a teacher foreshewing the truth yet after an other maner altogether then as we be bound to obey the word of the Gospell preached in the Church by the mouth of Gods faythfull ministers which authoritye when they put in execution according to the authoritye of Gods word we doe beleue them yet so neuerthelesse beleue them as that our creditt is not grounded now vpon the testimonie of the Church nor vpon men but vpon the worde of God namely because their iudgemēt is agreable and consonant with the rule of the sacred scriptures and with a free confession of the Godly iudging directly accordyng to the voyce and worde of God The Church therfore hath authoritie in decyding controuersies of doctrine Yet so that it selfe must be ouerruled by the authoritie of the word Otherwise the Church hath neither authoritye nor iudgement contrary to the consonancy of the Scriptures In lyke maner in discipline and reformation of maners the Church may determine and iudge But here also consideration must be had of the differēce For the censures ecclesiasticall are of one kinde but Iudgements temporall of an other kinde For in forinsicall and temporall causes when Iudgementés are geuen although they receaue their authoritie from the word of God yet are they in force in respect of the authoritye of the Prince and the Magistrate And therefore they minister correction with punishment corporall according to the qualitye of the trespasse But the iudgements of the Church are farre vnlyke For in those maner of offences which appertayne to the ecclesiasticall Consistorye the Church hath her proper iudgements and peculiar punishments Wherewith it doth not afflict or crucifie mens bodyes notwithstandyng nor pursue vnto death but cutteth of from the congregation onely and common society of men such as doe wilfully and stubburnely sett themselues agaynst the Ministerye and such as doe harden themselues and obstinately perseuer in wickednes agaynst order and conscience and continue in errors and other notorious crimes contrary to the prescript rule of sound doctrine
Agaynst such the Church thundereth out endles excommunicatiōs denoficing the horrible curse of Gods euerlasting wrath and vnappeasable displeasure except they repent And these punishmentes of the primitiue Church in old tyme called 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 as were neuer ministred but vpon greuous and vrgent causes so was there no hope of release from the same vnlesse playne demonstration were made by open and publique confession of true and vnfayned repentaunce Which kinde of censure the aūcient Fathers deuided into threé degreés 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Excommunication Whereby all maner of offenders aswell spirituall as temporall were as it were cut of from all societye and partaking of the Church and Sacramēts 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Depriuation Whereby such as were but newly professed were remoued from their function 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Sequestration Whereby all offendours whatsoeuer were excluded from the Sacraments some from partaking of all the Sacramentes and some from the Communion onely whom the Grecians doe note by this word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Remouyng from the Communion table onely And thys was the very order and gouernement of the prymityue and Apostolique Church wherein florished not onelye that sincerity of doctrine whereof I spake before but also Ecclesiasticall discipline touching distrybution of dignityes placing of elders ordering of times reading of lessons frequenting of exercises Inquisition of lyfe Reformation of manners and other profitable ordinaunces established after the best manner was dayly exercised All which the prymytyue and vndefiled antiquity of the auntient Fathers obserued purely and sincerely after the age of the Apostles and in all respects very reuerently and orderly as the decrees and Canons of godly assemblies and Synods together with the Hystoryes and Monumentes of auntient Fathers do playnely and manifestly record Hauing now described and faythfully expressed the verye face and countenaunce of the auncient primitiue Church I referre me to any equall and indiferrent iudgement to discerne whether the Lutheran Church or the Lateran Churche of Rome to resemble that primitiue Church neérest And as for that primitiue Church of Rome hath bene aboundauntly and sufficiently spoken of already Now could I wish that the Romish prelates would vouchsafe to deliuer likewise some painted vysour of theyr Ieratohye if it myght please them or if they refuse so to do we will not disdayne to do so much in their behalfe whereby godly mindes may euydently perceyue the true causes that moued those Lutherans iustly to sequester themselues from that Romysh Reuell In which theyr sequestration notwithstanding from Rome they haue not remoued themselues one ynche so much the more from the Church of Christ. I speak of the Romish Church once agayne I say in that state that it is now The first Institution whereof touching doctrine and Traditions if be sifted and searched by comparing of her first foundation to the true Church of Christ it will euydently appeare that thys Romysh Church being but a late newfāgled vpstart doth expresse no sparke of resemblaunce of that auncient antiquity but patcht and botcht vppe altogether with new opinions erroneous abuses Idolatries traditions deuised by authority of men ioyned with an opinion of necessary worshipping and obseruaunces It is most certayne that the foundations of Christes church were grounded first vpon sure playne infallible and vnmoueable demonstrations proclaymed from aboue in the writinges propheticall and Apostolicall which be builded vpon the true knowledge of the essentiall will of God vpon true inuocation and prayer vpon vnfayned obedience to godward vpon assured acknowledgemēt affiaūce in the Mediator wh is very God and very mā and which doth display abroad the kingdome of Christ to be a spirituall and an euerlasting kingdome not temporall nor instituted or gouerned by mans pollicye or power but begonne by the preaching of the Gospell and enlarged by fayth in them which doe beleue and obay the word of doctryne and life with a pure and sincere affection On the contrary part the foundations of the Romish Ierarchy are builded vpon the decrees of Popes entangled with most intricate and I know not what most crabbed and crooked questions of Scholeianglers Polluted with most manifest errors vtterly dissentyng and cleane contrary to the prescript rule of Gods word which being apparaunt enough in very many matters besides yet is notably discernable in iiij principall pointes chiefly Fyrst Because this doctrine doth abolish quite the doctrine of the law of repentaunce of righteousnes by fayth and commaundeth a mammering doubtfulnesse out of which puddle yssueth an outragious ouerflowing Sea of papisticall errors Secondaryly because it doth transpose merites and worshippings which are proper and peculiar vnto the sonne of God into adoration oblation and application of the consecrated breade for the quicke and the dead by merite meritorious in theyr masking Masse and without theyr masse whereas in very deéd the Gospell doth playnely teach that the benefittes of the sonne of God are not applied to any person but in respect of euery theyr proper and peculiar fayth Thirdly after the manner of Infidels Because it translateth to dead men Inuocation which ought to be yelded to God onely Fourthly because it commaūdeth traditions of men Mounckish vowes Canonicall satisfactions pilgrimages and innumerable such dredge with an opinion of merite worshyppyng and necessary obseruaunce and doth preferre the same before the commaundementes of the law which God hath commaunded to be especially obserued To this Beadroll appertayne more then dottered Bussardly fables of Purgatory Pardons secret and compulsary confesūon pompous Processions and superstitious supplications wherein is carryed abroad to be gazed vpon the consecrated bread profaning of the Lordes Supper making sale thereof as it were in open Fayre or Markette Magicall consecrations of naturall thinges to wytte of water wyne oyle salt and such like What shall I say of that more then whorysh shamelenesse when as the Popes without all proofe or probabilyty of aunciēt antiquity of a certayne insolent arrogancy not by any Dyuyne authoryty but through theyr owne trayterous treachery haue raysed to them selues not a true Catholicke and Apostolycke Church to Christ Iesu but a Seraphycall Ierarchy exceédyng all earthly prymacy superiority and potentaty Wherein reygneth in place of Christ a proud Popysh Peacock For the Apostles cormoraunt Cardinalles For Martyres monstruous Mounckes for professors pestiferous persecutors For fathers Bellygod Byshoppes and Gorbelly Abbottes For Euangelistes cruell Canonistes Copistes Decretaries Summularyes seditious Sententioners For Minysters sheépysh shauelinges And for Pastours Maskyng Massemongers Who hauyng rauenously Raked the ryght of the Church haue turned and chaūged it into a newfangled fashion of an earthly kingdome where it may not suffice to serue Chryst Iesu our pastor and head onely to settle our selues vpon hym whollye to depend vpon hys mercy onely Unlesse we become vassals and bondslaues to thys popysh Byshoppe and honour him as a certayne other Chryst vpon earth who vnder a delycate vysor of
to witte That the Church is a multitude of people such as is bounde to obey the Pope of Rome seuered from other Nations by certeine Ceremonies which the Popes haue ordeyned fast tyed to the ordinary cōtinued course of Succession of Byshops and to that onely interpretation of Scriptures which the Byshops and Councels doe deliuer And this is the true proportion and full Definitiō of your Church if I be not deceaued But this Definitiō the learned in Logicke will deny to be good sounde where the thyng defined is not of all partes equiualēt with the Definitiō Which rule is not obserued here For to admitte this vnto you that in the true Church of Christ must be Popes Byshops who must be obeyed who also must haue an ordinary outward succession and who may challenge vnto them selues a speciall prerogatiue in the interpretation of the holy Scripture yet is not this by and by true that all Popes Byshops which are entituled by the name of Popes and Byshops which do pretende a continuall succession which do carry the countenaunce of consentes which do challenge a right in the interpretatiō of Scriptures are the true sheapherds of the Lordes flocke And why so forsooth bycause that thyng wāteth which makyng specially for the purpose you haue specially left out namely the truth of sounde doctrine which may be able to treade downe and crushe in peéces errour and hypocrisie That is to say That Byshops do truly and vnfaynedly become the same in the sight of God which in vtter shew they would fayne seéme in the sight of men Agayne that Succession be not of persons onely but a speciall Succession of Fayth vertuous lyfe that the obedience of the people may not proceéde so much of feare of punishment as of harty affection and willyngnesse of mynde that the interpretation of scriptures be not wrested to the maintenaunce of errour and mens sensualitie but be directed and aunswerable to the meanyng of the holy Ghost and the true naturall sense of the Scripture For these be the true markes Osor. whereby a true Church is discernable from a false not the title and name of a Church not the authoritie and Succession of Byshops not the opinion of a multitude besides the truth of Gods word But the very Rule of the word must be kept which will so describe vnto vs a true Church by true markes tokēs boundes and foundations That it be a Congregation dispersed abroad euery where ouer the face of the whole earth vnited agreéyng together in soūd◠doctrine of Fayth and the true worshyppyng of God which beyng sanctified by the holy Ghost and admitted by partaking the Sacramentes do truly beleéue in God through the Sonne of God Iesu Christ accordyng to the doctrine of the Gospell although some be enlightened with more spiritual graces gifts and some with lesse By this standard and Rule let vs measure now the Argumentes of Osorius Luther and Melancthon are fallen away from the Pope of Rome and his Cardinalles Ergo Luther and Melancthon haue rent in sunder the vnitie of the Church The onely Church of Rome hath an ordinary succession from Peter Ergo The onely Church of Rome is the true Church The great part of Christendome doth acknowledge the Church of Rome Ergo The Churche of Rome is the Mother Churche and Queene of all Churches The Churche of God hath a promise that it shall neuer erre Ergo He that doth interprete the Scriptures otherwise then after the meaning of the Church of Rome or that doth not acknowledge him selfe obedient to the Romish Decrees in all thynges is an heretique and doth sequester him selfe from the boundes and communiō of the Church To this aunswere shal be made briefly and logically These be meére fallacyes and deceites of the Equiuocation deriued from a false description of the Church and the succession thereof and from false markes For as touching the names and Tytles as touching the long pedigreés of neuer interrupted course of Succession as touching the consent of the multitude and the promises made by God if the other tagges were tyed to these poyntes and made suteable namely sound doctrine true godlynesse surely it would seéme somewhat to the purpose that Osorius mayntayneth But now whatsoeuer they bragge and vaunt of tytles and other reliques without the especiall coupling and cōioyning of the Euangelicall and Apostolicall doctrine is altogether nought els but smoake and winde nothing auayleable to establish the true vnity of the Church First as concerning the name of the Church we do heare Christ himselfe speaking Many shall come in my name Touching Successiō we heare out of Ierome Not they that sitte in the places of Sainctes c. Touching the multitude Augustine doth teach vs. That the consentes of voyces must be weyed and measured not numbred Touching Gods promise made for perseuerance in the trueth harken what Iohn Baptist speaketh Do not say we haue Abrahā to our Father For God is of power to rayse vppe sonnes to Abraham out of these stoanes If Osorius will argue after this maner why should not these arguments be of as great force The high Priest of the old law in the Iewish Regiment did beare the face and name of the Church with full allowaunce and cōmon consent of all the multitude yea euen in the tyme of Esay Ieremy Amos Elias and Christ. The same also did conuey theyr Succession from the priesthood of Aaron And did vouch also theyr authority seat lawe and the promise agaynst Ieremy agaynst the Prophettes and agaynst Christ. The Law say they shall not perish from the Priestes Ergo Those high priestes did enioy a true Church nor coulde possibly erre at any tyme. But if Osorius shall thinke with him selfe that these Argumentes were not forcible enough in the olde Church why should they be more effectuall in the new Churche In the olde lawe it was lawfull to examine the very prophettes themselues if they spake the word of the Lord yea certayne infallible tokens were set downe whereby they might be discerned In like maner euen in the new testament we are commaunded to proue the Spirites if obey be of God being forewarned by the spirite of God that we beleue not euery spirite And what kinde of people then be these Popes and Cardinals of Rome which of a more then Imperious Lordlynesse doe commaund and require all men to receaue and reuerence their Satutes Ordinaunces Ceremonies opinions and all theyr wordes and deédes ingenerall without exception and contradictiō vpon greéuous paynes and Penalties that shall ensue agaynst him whosoeuer dare presume to make a question of the right of their authoritye or to make any doubt of any theyr deuises and imaginations And so geuing the slippe to all those he commeth downe againe to our Church with a maruailous blaff of windy words but with no reason at all imagining to proue
fayne learne whether you thinke it stand more with reason that we should beleue you or beleue Saynt Paul If we shall credit S. Paul What aunswere then will you make to him that shall frame out of Saynt Paul an argument to ouerthrow the whole force and estimacion of your Purgatory on this wise Fe. Christ needeth no Purgatoriall Expiation Ri Christ is our Righteousnes out of S. Paul So. Ergo. Our Righteousnes needeth not any Purgatoriall Expiation Be well aduised now Osorius and consult with that your companion of Angren throughly If you doe not know that Christ is our righteousnes lett Paul teach you but if you confesse him to be so what degreés and increasings of purifying and clensing may you vaunt in those persons vnto whom Christ doth both impute and apply his owne righteousnes also not vnto them that doe satisfie for it but to them that doe beleue in him And thus much hitherto to that place cited out of S. Marke There remaineth yet a sentence or two of S. Peter that will serue to no small purpose for the maintenaunce of the creditt of Purgatory The first whereof is playne enough by these words of Peter written in the 4. Chapyter of his first Epistle If the iust man sayth he shall scarsely be saued what shall become of the wicked and vniust poynting iwis with the finger as it were and noting that by this difficultye of being saued saluation is not obtayned otherwise then by trauayles and labours and paynes endured before Surely this will no man deny vnto you as I suppose that such as will skratch for heauē by force must vndertake no small trauayles and labors For that crowne of glory is not atteined but by many tribulations and they that purpose to lyue godly in Christ Iesu sayth Paul must needes suffer persecution Goe to now what will this clouter patch together out of this at the last Marke now I pray you a wounderfull downishe conclusion meéte for such a clowting botcher Peter doth treat of the trauailes and affictiōs wherewith the holy ones are exercised before they attayne to be crowned in glory Ergo. Such as departed hence not washt clene enough in this lyfe must be new skowred in the Popes Purgatory Shall I laugh or shall I aunswere truely I cann not tell which I were best to doe Peter in deéde doth treate of the trauayle and tribulatious of the holy ones I confesse it to be true What afflictions I pray you good Syr If you meane the afflictions wherewith the holy ones are ouerladen and pressed downe in this myserable lyfe you say true If you meane other tormentes to be suffered after this lyfe your conclusion is false And least I may seéme to contend agaynst Osorius after Osorius accustomed guise with brabbling wordes and no matter at all and to maintayne my cause with taunting and snatching and not with sound argumentes I will vse for my proofe the most manifest testimony of the Scriptures whereby I will make it good without all gaynesaying that the speéch of Peter in this whole Epistle ought not in any wise be stretched to the paynes of Purgatory Peter doth in all this Epistle treate of those afflictions properly wherewith the faythfull are persequuted of the vnbeleuers for the testimony of Christ and for righteousnes sake as in the 3. Chap. If you suffer any thing for righteousnes sake you are blessed And in the 4. Chap. Least as straungers you be stryken downe and confounded with that tryall through fyer which is layd vpon you to proue you And agayne in the same Chap. If you suffer rebuke for the name of Christ you are blessed c. In Purgatory no paynes are layd vpon soules for Righteousnes sake but for wickednes and that not by men but by spirits Ergo. This place of Peter cann by no meanes be wrested to serue to establishe any paynes of Purgatory ¶ An other Argument Peter doth treate of those afflictions which doe beginne at the house of God and doe fall vpon the Apostles themselues 1. Peter Chap. 4. For it is tyme that Iudgemēt beginne at the house of God If it beginne at vs first what shall be the end of them which will not obey the Gospell But the torment of Purgatory fyer doth not fall vpon the Apostles Ergo the place of Peter cann in no wise be made appliable to serue for Purgatory I am constrayned gentle Reader to Combate hand to hand with Logicall conclusions agaynst this iangling cauiller because els we should haue no end of Chattering as also because he complayneth many tymes in his bookes that he is not confuted with any Reasons so that now he hath a Nutt to crack if he cann or els if he cann not that he cease hereafter to complayne without a cause And this much hitherto now of the first place of Peter Lett vs come downe to the other place The same Peter in the same Epistle To teache vs that there is no way foreclosed for the dead to come to Saluation doth say That Christ did preache the glad tydinges to the soules that were in prison We do so not deny that the dead haue no passable way to Saluation that withall we cōfesse with Paule that the liuyng shall not go before the dead in this iourney And where as you annex immediately out of S. Peter That Christ goyng in the power of his spirite did preach the glad tydinges of peace to the soules that were shutt vpp in prison There yet is no controuersie betwixt vs here at all And to what end at the last shall all this matter inferred confessed tende I pray you forsooth out of this flynte must the fier of Purgatory be stricken with this cutted gadd of steéle I suppose The glad tydynges of peace were brought to the soules of the vnbeleuers that were shutt fast in prison Ergo There were soules of vnbeleuers in Purgatory then A trimme Deuine truely and a profounde patron of Purgatory I warrant you Wherfore Goe ye to O ye Ghostly Confessours and worthypfull Massemongers O ye holy company of Monckes and Nunnes O ye honorable Cardinalles Catholicke Byshops and your sacred Synode of Fraunciscane Friers goodly brotherhoode of blacke powdred lyers finally all ye generation of cowled fraternities smoath and sweéte shauelyngs All you I say all you holy orders generall speciall I do call vpō and humbly beseéch you in the very bowels of those Seraphicall Sainctes S. Frauncisce S. Bruno and S. Benedict that you apply all your deuour and diligēce that ye can possible with mumblyng vpp of Masses Sacrifices Liturgies Prayers Uigilles Nocturnes Completories Diriges and Trentalles pray ye knocke ye ringe spryng holy water sing Masses for the quicke and the dead finde out some way bryng to passe that this treasure of this holy mother Church may amplifie and encrease dayly more and more through your most holy merites and whole mountaines of
before the floud which as theÌ„ were vnbeleuing liued after the fleshe For he was in Noah through the power of the holy ghost and in other good men through whose godly conuersation he did enstruct others that they might be conuerted vnto God Thus much the Glose which if cann not yet satisfy your incredulitye Lett vs heare Lyra harping vpon the very same string on this wise He did preach in spirite sayth he that is to say by the preaching of Noah when he enspired to make the Arke and to preach Repentaunce although Christes humanitye did not appeare as yet Loe here Osorius you doe heare now that the thinges were done not before Christ hadd cloathed himselfe in fleshe but before the generall floud Howbeit I am not altogether ignorauÌ„t froÌ„ whence you skraped that your illfauored toye to witt out of an other patch of a certein Gloaser who forsaking as himselfe doth confesse the glosse and the solemn aucthoritye of the Doctors not without crauing pardon of his malepert saucynes doth chopp in an exposition of his own illfauouredly botcht together farr differing from the other so that he doth interpret this Prison whereof Peter maketh mention in this place to be that Lymbus Patrum In the which Christ as he sayth descending in soule did make manifest to the auncient Fathers that the mistery of his redemption was accomplished Emongest whom sayth he were some that perished bodely in the generall floud c. But how shall this appeare to be true for whereas that Lymbus did receaue none but the godly Fathers and holy ones onely and Peter affirmeth that those to whome this preaching came were vnbeleuers how then could this Lymbus be a fitt place to chopp the vnbeleuers holy ones together But here againe will our Osorius and his glauering Gloaser iumpe with me alleadging that those sowles were vnbeleuers first but afterwardes repented and amended their lyues For on this wise wryteth he And it may be spoken probably enough That many of them which did not beleue perceauing the waters to increase more and more did then beleue and repented them of their Sinnes and so desceÌ„ded into Lymbum with the other holy ones c. But this probable coniecture is ouerthrowen cleane by the wordes of Christ himselfe They were eating and drinking sayth Christ and the floud came and destroyed all Where is that your Repentaunce then Osorius vnlesse peraduenture you fleé to this shift with your shuffling Gloaser to say that although this ouerflowing of waters came â—irst sodenly ouer the vallyes and low places yet came it not so vnawares ouer the hills but that such as dwelt on high stype places seing the ouerflowing encrease might repeÌ„t theÌ„ Which if be true then did Christ accordyng to this saying preach to those mounteyn men onely that were in prison And all the rest that were lowe Countrey men were throwen downe into hell Now I beseéch theé gentle Reader didst thou euer heare a more eloquent exposition and more worthy to be laught at howbeit to admitt this pleasurable Trifler his mery conceipt of mounteines vallyes yet this prety Mounteyne Gloser will preuayle very litle to the building vpp of Osorius Purgatory For whereas after the iudgement of that mysticall Diuinitie of your own Schoolemen there be sayd to be 4. Mansions in hell The deépest wherof is sayd to be the pitt of hell The second Lymbus a place for such as are not Baptised wherein the payne of the wante of fruition onely is assigned The third Purgatory where both the payne of the feélyng and the payne of want of fruition is susteined The 4. the Aboade of the auncient Fathers as you would say the bosome of AbrahaÌ„ In whether prison of all these 4. you shall shutt vp your mounteyn men will very litle preuayle you to proue your Purgatory by First I am sure that you will not thrust them downe into the lowest Doungeon of Deuills no more can you in Limbo of the vnchristened froÌ„ whence is no possible way to gett out agayne And if you will send them to Purgatory then your Gloser doth lye who affirmeth that they did repent in the end therfore doth reckon theÌ„ a place in the fourth roome emongest the holy ones And if this be graunted also then doth Osorius lye who hath thrust them not into Lymbum Patrum but into Purgatory by this reason Because he sayth that although they might haue repented them of their filthy and wicked lyfe at the last yet ought they neuerthelesse be kept fast lockt within the gayle of Purgatory vntill such tyme as they hadd suffered sufficient punishment according to the appointment of God Wherein if our Osorius doe say truely his Gloser doth lye as I sayd who assigneth a place for these mounteyn men after repentaunce in Lymbo emongest the holy ones But if he speake the trueth then must Osorius neédes be in an error Now whom were best for vs to beleue Osorius besides his Glosers or his Glosers agaynst Osorius I referr me herein to the Iudgement of Deuines Or if Osorius will not agreé that other Deuines shall determine vpon the matter I will set ouer the matter to this Syluaine Byshopp himselfe and his copemate Angrenc to be more curiously overlooked that in their next Invectiues vpon more deliberate aduise they may send vs word what aunswere they shall Iudge to make to these Gloses and Commentaryes I doe make hast to thother proper Reasons which are in number two th one fetc ht out of Baptisme thother out of Sacrifice for the dead I will aunswere to both What shall they doe sayth Paul which are Baptized for the dead if the dead doe not Ryse agayne These be Paules wordes in the I. to the Corinthians the 15. Chap. Wherein Osorius doth committ a doubble errour First in the very sence of the wordes and next in the knitting vp of the Argument For whereas Paul hath these wordes 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Osorius doth expound it as though this should be necessaryly spoken of them who doe receaue Baptisme in stead of them that are dead and do aunswere for their faith Whereas the meaning of the Apostle doth seéme more agreably appliable to them who in receauing Baptisme doe as it were putt on the nature and condition of dead men in profession and conuersation though they lyue otherwise after the maner of naturall liuing men And therefore as often as any man is be sprinckled with this holy founteyne he is sayd there to protest that he doth vtterly renounce and forgoe the vanities of this world as though he were not now in this world but dead vnto the world wherupon the Apostle sayth that we are Baptized for the dead he doth not say that we are Baptized in the behalfe of the dead but for dead bodyes or after the maner of dead bodyes that is to say after such an estate and condition that all which are
Baptized into the death of Christ the same renouncing the vanities of this world whereunto they were addicted first should from thenceforth behaue themselues as it were dead men and professe a mortification of the fleshe not much vnlike to this phrase maner of speéch wherewith we are wont to say that a man is left for dead not which is dead in deéd but he that is lyke vnto one that is dead So in the 2. of the Parali 9. We reade that Siluer was esteemed for nought not because it was no maner of Mettall but because that Mettall then was esteémed nothing worth Many are of the minde that this Reasō of Paul was deriued from the custome of certain ignorant persons which were Baptized for them that departed this lyfe without Baptisme Out of which stock sproughted out the Marcionites and other young Nouyces of whom Chrisostome doth make mention who being blinded with the lyke error as often as any of them died without Baptisme did supply an other in the bedd demaunding of him in the behalfe of the dead carckase whether he would be Baptized then was he that supplyed the place Christened in the name of him that was dead of which disorder when they were appeached they alledged for their defence this place of Paul wherein it was sayd some were Baptized for the dead Thus much Chrisostome Now to confesse that this was a custome of certein ignoraunt persons yet bycause neither Paule him selfe doth allowe of their deéde but doth deriue his Argument from the end and effect that followed Baptisme whenas all other Expositours of Scriptures do vtterly condemne this errour what cā Osorius pyke out of this to establish any certeintie vpon who if would haue vouchsafed to haue sought coūsell of Chrisostome would haue rendered a farre other maner of sense Exposition of this place namely the same whereof I spake before For after this sence were men sayd to be Baptized for the dead either bycause such as should receaue Baptisme did after the vsuall maner accustomed in those dayes professe to renounce this world as if they were dead men or els bycause as Chrisostome witnesseth they were commaunded to say before they were Baptized first I do beleeue in the Resurrection of the dead bycause they were Baptized into that Fayth therefore they were sayd that they were Baptized for the dead Moreouer if Osorius be desirous to know the maner of that auncient tyme in ministryng that Sacrament of Baptisme Cyprian doth expresse it vnto vs much more effectually then Marcion For we do learne this by Cyprian that such as were lyeng at the pointe of death were not as yet Christened did then craue to be receaued vnto Baptisme which Cyprian doth note vnto vs in these wordes The Baptisme sayth he that doth by and by couple vs vnto God whiles we are goyng out of this world Augustine also doth make mention of the same custome who also did desire to be Baptized him selfe being at the pointe of death The same chaūced to Nazienzen likewise whenas beyng on Seaborde he was in daūger to be drowned whereupō this sentence to be Baptized for the dead is more properly spoken of them which beyng euen now vpon the last gaspes are Baptized beyng taken as it were for dead already rather thē for the liuyng the quicke Frō which maner of Exposition Theophilact seémeth not to vary very much Who vnderstādeth that this Baptizing for the dead ought to be taken after this maner that they are Baptized in this fayth to beleéue that these bodyes these bones must be raysed agayne frō the dead And therfore many do coniecture that this custome to be Baptized in Churchyardes neare vnto the graues tombes of the dead was an aūcient custome receaued frō the Elders that so such as were to be Baptized might be made the more myndefull to confesse a rising agayne frō the dead not onely through the force of their Fayth but also by the applicatiō of the Ceremonie it selfe And thus much hitherto touchyng the sence of the wordes Frō the which how much the expositiō of Osorius doth swarue a blynd man may easily perceaue Now let vs consider the force of the Argumēt whereunto Paul doth apply Paul doth argue in deéd frō Baptisme to the rising agayne frō the dead on this wise Bodies are Baptized for the dead Ergo There is a rising agayne of the dead And this doth Paule fittly and applyably enough to witte deducyng an Argument from the reason which leadeth to the absurde For otherwise as Chrisostome sayth if the Resurrectiō be of no force why are mens bodies Baptized for the dead for to this end art thou Baptized bycause thou doest beleeue that thy dead body shall rise againe and shall not remayne alwayes dead And without all question this is the very mynde and meanyng of Paule whiche if Osorius would haue followed simplye and sincerely hee shoulde haue concluded the same out of Paule and out of Paules wordes Now this lyeng Sophister framyng an Argumēt out of the wordes that Paule did most aptly gather for the establishing of that Article of the faith to witte the Resurrection of the dead doth most foolishely peruert to vphold his peéuish Purgatory What shall they do sayth he that are Baptized for the dead if the dead do not rise agayne at all Now what sayth Osorius what shall they do sayth Osorius that are Baptized for the dead if there be no Purgatory at all Now I beseéche you Osorius for the honour of your Logicke whereas you haue scattered abroad euery where in your bookes so many outragious madd and frantike exclamations agaynst M. Luther did you feéle your selfe infected with no spice of frensie or more then harishe maddnes when you sate knittyng such fleyng moats and spyderweuett and such stubble I do not say of Beanehealme but very chaffe of oates together You will haue vs confesse that there is a Purgatory in any wise And why so Bycause as you say they that are Baptized are Baptized for the dead What els a good felowship but this baptizing for the dead were to no purpose if there were no Purgatory After this maner doth our deépe Logician Osorius conclude But S. Paule the Apostle doth conclude otherwise In vayne were it to be Baptized for the dead sayth S. Paule if there be no Resurrection of the dead Here doth Paule conclude of the Resurrection Osorius of Purgatory This doth Paule rightly and like an Apostle but Osor. on the contrary part peéuishly altogether and like an errand lyar For what hath Baptisme to do with Purgatory what hath fier to do with water Nay rather what one thyng doth more directly and more effectually ouerthrow Purgatory then Baptisme And by what Logicke then cā you forge fier out of water whenas there be no elementes so cōtrary one to the other as fier and water After this maner therfore doe I
and so left not that we should seéke for forgeuenes of Sinnes out of the same but that these outward signes deliuered vnto vs to Eate might putt vs in remembraunce of that euerlasting remission of sinnes which Christ should purchase for vs by the shedding of his precious bloud And for this cause he doth call it the upp in his bloud which shall be shedd for many sayth he into the remission of sinnes not transitory remission I suppose Osorius but into euerlasting forgeuenes of sinnes For other wise if it be a forgeuenes Temporall how will that saying of Ieremy be true And I will make with them an euerlasting couenaunt that I may not remember their sinnes any more If it be an euerlasting Release what neéde we then any further Sacrifices or what shall be sayd of that your holynes of Religion which doth make that thing transitory to vs that God hath vouchsafed for vs to be vnremoueable and to continue beyond all ages To be briefe that we may now knitt vp the matter by that that hath bene spoken before Behold here in few wordes the trueth and substaunce of this Sacrament Iustified with most true and approued Argumēts Whereunto if you will aunswere in your next letters to the Queénes Maiestie at your conuenient leasure you shall do vs a great pleasure 1. The Lord departing from hence did carry away with him out of the earth the substaunce of his body Ergo. He did not leaue the same substaunce behinde him 2. Christ did deliuer vnto vs a Mistery of his body onely Ergo. He did not deliuer his very naturall body 3. Christ did institute a Mistery of his body to be eaten onely Ergo. Not to be sacrificed In the remembraunce of forgeuenes of sinnes onely Ergo. Not a Sacrifice of cleansing and forgeuing of Sinnes 4 Saluation and remission of Sinnes is promised to them onely that beleue in Christ. Ergo not to them that doe sacrifice Christ. 5 Remission of Sinnes is not geuen without shedding of bloud Heb. 9 In the vnbloudy Sacrifice of the Masse there is no effusion of bloud Ergo. In the Sacrifice of the Masse is no Remission of sinnes 6. Saluation and free Remission of Sinnes doth consist of the promise through fayth The Sacrifice of the Masse is not free but meritorious nor cōsisteth of fayth but of merite Meritorious Ergo. The Sacrifice of the Masse is vneffectuall to Saluation and to the Reconciling of God 7. There is no Materiall cause of forgeuenes of Sinnes but the onely shedding of Christes bloud and no formall cause but fayth The vnbloudy Sacrifice of the Masse is neither fayth neither hath in it any effusion of bloud Ergo in the Sacrifice of the Masse there is neither Materiall nor Formall cause of Remission of Sinnes 8. The Sacrifices that doe not cease to be offred for Sinnes doe not satisfie for Sinnes Heb. 10. The oblatiōs of the Lawe can neuer make the receauers thereof perfect for if they could they would neuer haue ceased to be offred c. The Sacrifices of the Altar doe not cease to be offred doth name it a Sacramentall ministration In Clement it is called a representation of the kingly body of Christ. Others doe call it a signe of a true Sacrifice sometymes it is called the Sacrifice of prayer and thankesgeuyng by a certein mysticall figure of speakyng As in a certein place Ambrose doth call our Soules Altares Where writyng of virgines I dare boldly affirme sayth he that your Soules are Altares In the which Christ is dayly offred for the redemption of the body Not bycause our Soules be Altares or that the flesh of Christ is naturally or materially offered of vs but these sayinges are to be taken in the same sence as many other like sayings of the old writers are to be vnderstanded As where Ierome writeth on this wise That which was borne of the Virgine is dayly borne vnto vs Christ is Crucified vnto vs dayly c. After the same maner also doth Augustine speake Then is Christ dayly slayne to euery of vs whē we beleeue in him that he was slayne And the same Augustine in an other place vpon the wordes of the Lord. Christ doth ryse agayne dayly vnto thee And in his 10. booke De Ciuit ate Dei Cap. 5. God is not delighted in the Sacrifices of slayne beastes but of a slayne hart Euen as Chrisostome speaketh likewise In the holy mysteries the death of Christ is executed Besides this also as Gregory de Consecrat Dist. 2. Christ doth dye agayne in this mystery c. And yet is there no man so senselesse to say that Christ is borne euery day or is Crucified ryseth agayne oftentymes or that his death is executed in the mysteries accordyng to the very substaunce thereof But these be figuratiue and vnproper kyndes of speaches wherein is celebrated a certein mysticall execution of those thynges for a Remembraunce so that the thyngs them selues be not present properly which were long sithence finished but are representations by certein applyable resemblaūces of thinges signified onely whereby our fayth may as it were from hād to hand be admonished by the application of these outward signes what was accomplished before spiritually for vs in that most excellent Sacrifice of Christ. Euē as the Natiō of the Hebrues were sometyme fedd with the visible Manna as our bodyes are at this present strenghthened with dayly food of nourishyng sustenaunce which would otherwise perish through want Semblably bycause there can be no saluation for our forlorne nature besides the bloud of Christ Christ is therfore worthely called the bread of our lyfe and the foode of the world whereby the bodies are not fed for a few yeares but the soules are nourished to euerlastyng lyfe And for this cause Christ takyng an occasion of their communication which were cōferryng together of Manna and the eatyng of his flesh not vnaptly alluding to that heauenly banquett in Moyses which dyd refresh the hunger of the body for a tyme did call him selfe bread in deéde and spake the same also truly And why truly bycause he is truly and in deéde the bread and foode of lyfe not onely of this trāsitory and temporall lyfe but of euerlastyng lyfe not this lyfe onely which we doe now enioy in this world but which we shall lyue much more truly in the world to come And for this cause purposing euen then to suffer death for vs he did note vnto vs his body and bloud vnder the names of bread wyne This is my body sayth he This is the cuppe of my bloud Not bycause that bread and that cuppe were chaunged into his body and his bloud naturally substauncially and in deéde but bycause he could not before his death represent vnto vs the force and efficacy of that euerlastyng and spirituall Sacrifice by any more apt similitude or application of any other likenes which might continually preserue the remembraunce of him in
word of God Ergo They are worthy to be accursed whosoeuer will spurne agaynst this Catholicke doctrine And because they may seéme to speake this not without some good ground they haue scraped together a few shreddes out of Auncient Fathers namely Cyprian Hesychius Ierome Ambrose Irene Oecumenicus wherewith they may bolster vpp not their credytt but their false packyng shuffled in among to delude the simple people withall Out of Cyprian is vouched first this sentence in an Epistle of hys For why rather sayth he the priest of the high God then our Lord Iesus Christ who did offer a sacrifice vnto God the Father and did offer the selfe same that Melchizedech did namely bread and wine to witt his body and bloud c. And immediately after As therefore it is sayd in Genesis that the representatiō of the sacrifice did goe before by Melchizedech consisting of bread and wine which thing the Lord performing and accomplishing did offer the bread and the cupp mingled with wine and he that it fulnesse it selfe hath fulfilled the verity of the prefigured representation Whereupon groweth this Argument We are commaunded to do the same that Christ did Christ did at his supper offer the Sacrifyce of his bodye and bloud Ergo We also ought to do the same if we beleeue Cyprian I do acknowledge the wordes of Cyprian I doe allow the authority neyther doe I sist out ouer narrowly how he doth agreé herein with the trueth of the hebrue letter because he sayth that Melchizedech did offer bread and wine and that vpon this offring hys Pryesthood was grounded because he did offer bread and wine As though Melchizedech were not a Pryest before he offered bread and wine Neyther doe I presume to take vpon me to aunswere herein as Augustine did aūswere Crescentius I am not bound to the authority of this Epistle because I doe not accompt the Epistles of Cyprian as canonicall but I do measure thē by the Canonicall scriptures And whatsoeuer I finde in him agreable with the authority of Gods word I doe allow of it and cōmend him therefore but whatsoeuer is contrary to Gods word I do by his patience refuse it c. And therefore lett those sayinges of Cyprian be true and autentick for me Goe to then and what aduantage hereof may be gathered for the ratyfiyng of the popish sacrifice wherein they do say that they do offer the sonne of God really for a propitiatory sacrifice which is auayleable not to the Receauer onely but to the quicke and dead also We are commaunded sayth he to do the same that Christ did at his last supper But he did not offer sacrifice for himselfe at his last supper as I suppose And how then doth the Pryest do the same thing that Chryst did yet neuerthelesse he did offer at his supper his owne body and bloud Did he offer it for sinnes yea or nay If you say yea The Apostle will deny it who did acknowledge none other sacrifice of Christ but onely one and doth likewise affirme that Christ was offered once onely to purge and wype away the sinnes of many If you say nay how then doe the Priestes the selfe same who do sacrifyce for sinnes as they say But I returne agayne to Cyprian Christ sayth he accomplishing in effect and trueth that which went before in a shadow dyd offer his owne body and bloud This is true in deéd But where did he offer it at his supper surely so say the Papistes But Cypriā doth not say so For whereas he speaketh of bread and wyne mixt together what he meaneth thereby he doth imediately declare in the same Epistle very playnely and doth interpret himselfe openly that it may appeare that this was not done at the tyme of hys supper but doth confesse that the same was performed at the passion and death of our Lord which was foreshewed and prefigured before And agayn a whiles after he shall wash sayth he his garment in wyne and his vesture in the blood of the grape Now when it is named the blood of the grape what els is declared then the wine of the cupp of the blood of the Lord And thus much Cyprian not meaning the supper surely but the crosse of Christ which doth appeare euidently by this that he annexeth forthwith in the same place denying that we are able to drinke the blood of Christ vnlesse Christ had bene troden and prest in the wine presse first and had dronken of the Cupp before of which Cupp he should haue tasted first to the beleeuers Which speéch of Cyprian forasmuch as can not be aptly applied to any other thyng then to the sacrifyce of the Crosse it may easily appeare hereby what aunswere ought to be framed to the Argument The same which Christ did must be imitated of vs. Christ did offer at his supper hys bodye and his bloud according to the Testimony of Cyprian But this is false For Cyprian throughout all that whole Epistle did neuer affirme that Christ dyd offer his bodye and bloud at hys supper but vpon the Crosse. If an Argument must neédes be framed from out the wordes of Cyprian we shall argue much more probably on thys wyse The same that Christ did offer we must offer also Christ did offer the same that Melchizedech did Ergo We must offer the same that Melchizedech did But Melchizedech did offer bread wine according as Cyprian doth witnesse Ergo We also must offer bread and wine Is there any sillable here that may helpe the Papistes cause or vtterly ouerthrow it rather Here is an other boane to pycke vpon raked out of Ierome where he sayth Melchizedech in the Type of Chryst dyd offer bread and wyne and dyd dedycate a Christian Mystery in the bloud and body of our sauiour c. This knott also is cleane cutt away with the very same two-edged Axe for I am not ignoraunt that the Ecclesiasticall writers doe make comparison now and then betwixt the presentes of Melchizedech which he gaue to Abraham and the sacrifice of Christ vpon the Crosse to witte that one figuratiuely this other truely and in veryty Be it now as they say Yet is thys no good proofe notwithstandyng to iustify that the Priest doth forth with offer the Sonne of GOD in the mysticall Supper really to God the Father in full remyssion of sinnes And yet here also do not all the holy Doctours agreé amongest themselues in all poyntes whereas some do compare the oblation of Melchyzedech with the Sacrifice of the Crosse Agayne other do compare it with the Celebrating of the holy communion yea and do make it equiualent therewyth Some do neyther agreé with thēselues applying the Allegory now this way now that way and many times both waies Finally though they should be vniforme in theyr Allegory yet how true that Argument is that is deriued from an Allegory accordyng to that saying which is commōly frequēted in
Fryth that excellent learned young man and his companion imediately after committed to prison and suffred iust plague for their vniust crueltye And to passe ouer other what end Eckius and Iames Latomus came vnto I suppose you be not ignoraunt Mary Queéne of England after she had consumed so many godly Martyrs to Ashes being first forsaken of her husband and afterwardes raught away so quickly with such an vntymely death shall we thinke the same came to passe without some great iudgement of God Can you tell vs of nothing happening in your owne Countrey of Portingall after the horrible tortures and execution of William Gardiner which might haue bene a manifest token of Gods vengeaunce agaynst you But why doe I stay vpon these when as besides these infinite lyke presidentes be manifestly extaunt which ought worthely to terrify you and others also in the lyke For as for those Englishmen whom Haddon doth make mencion of there is no cause why you should be discouraged Especially sithence this litle Island is as your selfe doth confesse replenished with so many notable godly men excellent of witt of learning and of pietye who will neuer molest you as you say because they doe wonderfully agree and consent with you in Religion c. Surely Osorius in this you lye nothing at all wherein yet you haue forgotteÌ„ somewhat your olde wont For this is to true that you speake that here be ouermanye companyons and confederates of your errors in this Realme whereof some are roonne away of late more afrayd a great deale then hurt There be behind yet many tarryers I will not say Traytors to the Common weale whose witt and learning as we doe not despise so also doe we not feare any harme they can do vs for there is no question to be made at all of their witt nor of their learning but of other matters the direction and disposition whereof resteth wholy in the power of the Lord and not in any pollicye or force of men Lett these therefore whosoeuer they be whom you prayse so much haue their deserued prayse for their excellencye of learning and actyuitye of witt as much as you will who if they be of your sect may happely be learned doughtlesse godly they can not be Agayne if they be godly I am sure they will neuer agreé with you in thys Doctryne But as for mens agreément in opinion is not so much materiall Neyther is any part of our coÌ„trouersye at this present touching matters determinable by common consent multitude or wittes of men but must be decided by the infallible and vnchaungeable rules ordinaunces of the sacred Scriptures whereunto if your opinions be consonant as meéte is we will all together lykewise consent and agreé with you If otherwise what shall it preuaile you to be lincked in any vniforme consent of those men though they be neuer so excellently well learned but onely that you may seéme to become a raunging rouer emongest straggling Starters From thence you proceéd leauing them whom you say be of your minde and turne backe agayne to these Lutheranes and Haddonistes Who if would contend with you as you say with reasons with argumentes or with Testimonies you promise that you will not refuse the conflict But if they will brawle with cauntes and cursed speaking you will not be persuaded by any meanes to make them any aunswere c. Loe here a very pleasaunt panion and Maister of his Arte After that your gaye goodly choler had cought vpp as many slaunderous reprochfull croomes as it could eueÌ„ to the casting vpp of your gorge to the poysoning and infecting of godly and learned personages now at the last you prohibite them for pleading their causes least happely some one or other in making his purgation will sâ—â—t somewhat neare your holy Reuerent skirtes or least with some corrysiue in auÌ„sweryng he frett to much vpon the skabbe of your delicate conscience For that your Nature is of that complexion as will not lightly be offended with any slauÌ„derous touÌ„ges nor accompt it any ioate prayseworthy to exceede by any meanes in so filthy a kynde of contention Moreouer that it is no wisedome to spend your tyme so vnprofitably whereof you haue skarse any breathing from other more weighty afâ—ayres And therefore if HaddoÌ„ or any other of that Crew shal be so disposed as to rush vpon you with snatching and taunting more rigorously then shall beseeme them you will geue them free skoape to chauffe foame and exclayme agaynst you as much as they list and as much as they can And that it is not conuenient for your personage in respect of the charge that is committed vnto you that either you ought to be distempered with rayling or that you should aunswere to all cursed speaking If to these wordes and speéches all his other doinges and writinges were in eche respect correspondent what siner man might any man finde in this world what more noble mind what more excellent nature which hauing so throughly mortified his affections will not suffer him selfe to become impatieÌ„t with any iniuries or rayling raging agaynst him But if his doinges be called to an accompt before strickt Inquisitors and if they will examine his wordes by his deédes I beseéch you gentle Syr where was this mildnesse of spirit so gloriously commended by your selfe where was this lenity of nature where was this contempt of reproches exiled at that time whenas your reuerence being neuer prouoked with any iniury offered of our natioÌ„ nor so much as euer molested by word could not measure your insolent malice and wrath nor make any end of slaundering backbiting and rayling in so excessiue outrage agaynst the godly and learned Preachers of Christ both altogether vnknowen vnto you and withall neuer deseruing to be thought ill of at your handes Euery man must suffer the penalty of the breach of Law that himselfe maketh sayth Ausonius You require vs to cutt of all contentious brawling and to deale with you with sound Argumentes and Testimonyes We do like well your law For what can be more seémely for discreét Deuines then a calme and peaceable modesty in disputation not disquieted with any naturall motions nor waxing wroth with other mens rayling But who doth obserue this order that you doe prescribe worsse then your selfe good Syr If waÌ„t of time which you alleage in excuse or consideration of your function as you say be such an estoppell vnto you that you haue no leysure to aunswere to all mens raylinges how is it theÌ„ that in this your auÌ„swere to HaddoÌ„ be so many slauÌ„ders heaped vpp vpon slauÌ„ders so muche rayling in such skorpionlike nipping bitternesse wherein how vnmeasurably lauish you seéme beyond all coÌ„sideratioÌ„ of your personage all this your owne whole discourse remayneth a sufficient witnes against you wch doth breath out bray out and spew out nothing els but flames fierbraÌ„ds furyes botches madnes frensies outrages drouÌ„kenes feuers childishnes