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A13159 A briefe replie to a certaine odious and slanderous libel, lately published by a seditious Iesuite, calling himselfe N.D. in defence both of publike enemies, and disloyall subiects, and entitled A temperate wardword, to Sir Francis Hastings turbulent Watchword wherein not only the honest, and religious intention, and zeale of that good knight is defended, but also the cause of true catholike religion, and the iustice of her Maiesties proceedings against popish malcontents and traitors, from diuers malitious imputations and slanders cleered, and our aduersaries glorious declamation answered, and refuted by O.E. defendant in the challenge, and encounters of N.D. Hereunto is also added a certaine new challenge made to N.D. in fiue encounters, concerning the fundamentall pointes of his former whole discourse: together with a briefe refutation of a certaine caluminous relation of the conference of Monsieur Plessis and Monsieur d'Eureux before the French king ... Sutcliffe, Matthew, 1550?-1629. 1600 (1600) STC 23453; ESTC S117866 358,520 534

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nomine armamini contra ecclesiam dimicatis and our sauiour founde no greater enimies then the Priests Scribes and Pharisies which stoode most vpon the succession of Moses and title of Gods people The diuell h 2. Cor. 11. Transformeth himselfe into an angell of light and brasse is often set out with a glorious lustre as if it were golde But nothing can be deuised more counterfait then the papist who albeit hée maintaine a religion full of nouelties and improbable fantasies yet taketh on him as if hée were the onely catholike christian and ietteth vp and downe with a maske of catholike religion So apes clad with purple iackets beare themselues verie proudly among other beasts and all for their gaie apparell But as apes by their apish trickes bewray themselues to bée apes so papists by their apish popish and fonde deuises shewe themselues to be factious heretikes and no true catholikes That they are no true catholikes the very name of catholike and true signification of this worde declareth For Catholike doth signifie that which is vniuersall or generall And the church is called catholike bicause it conteineth all the people of God and all Christians whether of time past or time to come or time present and in what place soeuer they remaine dispersed The christian faith likewise is called catholike for that it is and euer was and euer shall bée generallie taught and receiued of faithfull christians In time past God was peculiarly knowne of the people of Israell and to them was the law giuen and prophets were sent But our Sauiour Christ sent his apostles into all the world a Matth. 28. Docete saith he omnes gentes Hée also tolde them they shoulde witnesse his truth to al nations of the earth Eritis mihi testes saith b Act. 1. he in Hierusalem totā Iudaeam Samariam vsque in totam terram So that we are to vnderstand that there is but one catholike church into which al true catholikes are to be gathered This Catholike Church c In Psal 56. saith Saint d In Psal 44. Augustine is spred throughout the world and conteineth not onely those that are present but those also that are past and are yet to come And Saint d In Psal 44. Hierome saith That this church is one and is founded by the apostles doctrine and conuerteth men to Christ Wée belée also that there is but one apostolike and catholike faith which all true catholikes both haue holden do holde and must holde vnto the worlds end In this catholike church saith e De haeres c. 3. Vincentius Lirinensis wee are to holde that which alwaies hath beene beleeued of all christians for that is truely and properly catholike Hée f Ibid. c. 34. teacheth vs also That the propertie of catholikes is to keepe the doctrine committed to them and left with them by the ancient fathers and to auoide prophane nouelties Further hée g Ibid. c. 25. determineth That those onely are truely and rightly called catholikes which onely holde and beleeue that which the catholike church in olde time did vniuersally holde With him also doth Leo sometimes bishop of Rome agrée Vna est vera singularis perfecta inuiolabilis catholica fides h Epist 81. ad M●●na●h pa●aest epist 95. saith hée cui nihil addi nihil minui potest That is there is one true singular perfect inuiolable catholike faith whereunto nothing can be added and from whence nothing is to be diminished This grounde then being laide and I thinke confessed by the aduersaries themselues that those onely are catholikes that holde the catholike faith receiued vniuersally of all true christians of all times and all places and that the catholike faith is that which Christ commaunded vniuersally to bée taught and which of all the catholike church hath béene generally receiued and which is most perfect and absolute and admitteth no additions alterations nor innouations it may easily bee prooued that the papists are neither catholikes nor hold the catholike faith of Christ Iesus For first they do not beleeue that which the catholike church euer beleeued but that which the church of Rome beleeueth Pius quartus a In constit Pij 4. ordeineth that all that are preferred in schooles shall openly professe That they beleeue all things conteined in that creede which the church of Rome vseth The forme of their profession is this Ego N. firma fide credo profiteor omnia quae continentur in symbolo fidei quo sancta Romana ecclesia vtitur Likewise are they bound to condemne all doctrines which that church condemneth and anathematizeth In the Spanish b Manual de oraciones por Hieron Campos catechisme set out vnder the name of Canisius he is termed a true Christian That holdeth nothing but that which the church of Rome holdeth Y no tiene cosa fuera de lo que tiene la yglesia Romana Finally the papistes c C. ad abolendam de haeret condemne all for heretikes That either teache or thinke otherwise of the sacrament of the altar or of confession of sinnes or other Romish sacramentes then the church of Rome How then can we estéeme them catholikes that for a generall and catholike faith embrace a particular or peculiar faith of the church of Rome and openly professe so much Secondly they do not beléeue the catholike church but the Romish church nor do they make themselues members of the catholike church but of the church of Rome subiect to the pope whome they beléeue to be their head d De eccles militant c. 2. Bellarmine doth define That to be the true church which is vnited in confession of faith and communion of sacraments and obedience to the pope of Rome e C. vnam ext de maior obed Boniface the eight determineth That all that will be saued must of necessity be subiect to the bishop of Rome In the f Manual de Hieron Campo● catechisme published vnder the name of Canisius the church is defined A congregation gouerned vpon earth by the pope the onely head of the same Vna congregacion regida en la tierra por el papa vnica cabeza de toda ella Finally the a Confessio Burdegalens Iesuites of Bourdeaux do professe That to be the church onely which hath communion with the church of Rome whereof the pope is the chiefe gouernor But the auncient fathers teach vs that the catholike church is not tyed to one city or one country or one pope or bishop but vniuersally spredde ouer the whole earth as hath in part béene declared Si dei est ecclesia saith a Chrysostome b In homil 1. in epist 1. ad Corinth vna est non Corinthi solum sed vniuersi orbis So I may say if the Romanists were the catholike church then should not their vniuersall church be termed by the name of the church of Rome but of Gods
saith d Lib. 2. paert 1. Occham est dogma falsum fidei contrarium orthodoxae e Apud Matth. Paris in Hen. 3. Robert Grosthed saith That heresie is an opinion chosen of humane vnderstanding contrary to Scripture and either openly taught or defended f Apud Dionys Carth. in 3. sent dist 31. Durande signifieth That heresie is onely an opinion contrary to canonicall Scripture Opinio ista g Aen. Sylu. de gest concil Basil lib. 1. saith he non est haeretica quia non est contra canonicam scripturam The h councell of Basill doth determine him to bée an heretike That doth reiect the catholike faith deduced out of canonicall scriptures and prooued by fathers Séeing then the papists haue caused a great diuision from the apostlike and ancient church and haue taught other doctrine contrarie to that of Christ Iesus and haue corrupted the verie déepest mysteries of Christian religion and haue digressed from apostolicall rules and taught doctrine contrary to Christian faith to the catholike church of former times and finally to canonicall scriptures as may appéere by their groundes of faith by their legends and decretals by their Tridentine doctrine concerning the Gospell and the lawe by their idolatrous masse by their worshipping of saints nay of stockes and stones ragges and rotten bones by their rebellion against princes and their allowance of the gouernment of the pope there is no question to bée made but that papists are cleerely heretikes CHAP. IIII. That the church of Rome is not the true church of Christ NOw if the pope and his faction the papists bée heretikes then doth it necessarily follow thereof that they are not the true church For the true church kéepeth the faith sounde and intire But these a 1. Tim. 1. Haue made shipwracke of faith Heretikes are gone out from vs bicause they are not of vs as saint b 1. Iohn 2. Iohn saith Those of the true church are of the houshold of faith and the apostles heires But heretikes are strangers as c De praescrip aduers haeret Tertullian saith and maintaine doctrine contrary to the apostles Heretikes as d In dialog contr Lucifer Hierome saith Are not the church of Christ but the synagogue of antichrist Againe if the church of Rome haue altered and innouated Christes religion then can it not bée the true church for That e 1. Tim. 6. doth faithfully keepe the faith committed to her in deposte and auoideth all prophane nouelties shée f Ibidem kéepeth Gods commandements without addition or blemish Catholica ecclesia sedula cauta depositorum apud se dogmatū custos nihil in ijs vnquam permutat nihil minuit nihil addit as saith g Contra haeres c. 32. Vincentius Lirinensis Contrariwise h Ibidem c. 36. Heretikes not content with the ancient rule of faith are daily seeking out nouelties and are desirous to adde to change to take away Further if the faith of the church of Rome bée not catholike and generall and that which our Sauiour commanded his apostles to teach all nations then is not that the true church For as wée beléeue the church to bée catholike so we beléeue that the faith thereof is catholike and vniuersall We may not follow the pope of Rome nor the bishop of Ierusalem or Alexandria but the catholike church and that wée shall do if wée embrace that faith which the whole church throughout the worlde confesseth Sequemur vniuersitatem saith i Aduers haeres c. 3. Vincentius Lirinensis si hanc vnam fidem veram esse fateamur quam tota per orbem terrarū confitetur ecclesia If any haue a singular faith beside that which alwaies and in all places hath béene taught by the apostles and their true successors wée are not to harken to them No a Deut. 13. Although a Prophet or great learned man rise vp among vs yet are wée not to listen to him This may bée sufficient to teach vs that the synagogue of Rome is not that church whereto wée are to resort and adioine our selues But forsomuch as heretikes as apes imitate men so counterfeit to bée the true church as b Epist ad Iubatan Cyprian telleth vs and euery societie and company of heretikes do thinke themselues to bée christians and beare themselues bolde on the name of the catholike church as c Lib. 4. instit c. 30. Lactantius writeth and considering that the church of Rome hath long abused the worlde with the maske of the true church I thought it very requisite in this chapter briefly to set downe such arguments as may cléerely demonstrate what shée is and so much the rather for that many simple soules haue héeretofore béene seduced and perswaded that Rome is the citie of God and that chaste spouse of Christ which loueth and serueth none but him If our aduersary will needes call the same the catholike church yet let him first peruse and answere our arguments as they are héere laide downe in order First then we both confesse that the church of Christ is built vpon Christ Iesus No man saith the d 1. Cor. 3. apostle can lay any other foundation beside that which already is layd which is Christ Iesus He is e Isai 28. that Corner stone that is e Isai 28. placed in the foundation of Sion He is that f Matth. 16. Rocke vpon which the church is built Super hanc petram quam confessus es saith saint g Ser. 13. de verb. Dom. Augustine super hanc petram quam cognouisti dicens tu es Christus filius dei aedificabo ecclesiam meam id est super meipsum filium dei viui aedificabo ecclesiam meam Other fathers h Ambros in c. 9. Luc. Cyrill lib. 4. de Trinit that say the church is built either vpon The confession or faith of Peter or else vpon Peter himselfe do vnderstand indirectlie Christ Iesus whome he confessed and on whome he beléeued and on whome Peter was built But the church of Rome is built vpon the pope and vpon the papacy Est Petri fedes saith i In praefat in lib. de pontif Rom. Bellarmine lapis probatus angularis pretiosus in fundamento fundatus He k Lib. 2. de pontif Rom. c. 3. saith also That the pope is the foundation of the building of the church and goeth about to prooue it by certeine words of Hierome who neuer thought any such matter a Sanders his rocke of the church Sanders doth endeuour to prooue That the popes are the immooueable rocke of the church b Contr. Sa●eel●● Turrian because Christ saith Aedificabo ecclesiam meam non aedifico ecclesiā meam concludeth that the popes of future times are vnderstood and this is the common opinion of all papists How then can that be the true church that is built vpon a diuers foundation and either neglecting or not greatly caring for Christ Iesus the
f Iames 4. saith hée that is able to saue and to destroy But in the church of Rome the pope beareth himselfe as a soueraigne monarke and hée taketh on him power to bind and loose in heauen earth and purgatorie And his agents say That his lawes binde in conscience and that hée hath power to saue and destroy The Romish church is gouerned by his lawes and acknowledgeth him to bée the supreme iudge of controuersies 29. The true church of Christ contenteth herselfe with the religion first taught by the apostles For as g Lib. 4. contr Marcion Tertullian saith Id verius quod prius id prius quod ab apostolis And as h Aduers haeres c. 26. Vincentius Lirinens●● saith it is the propertie of heretikes Not to content themselues with the ancient rule of faith but to seeke nouelties from day to day and to desire to adde to change to take away But the church of Rome doth not content herselfe with the doctrine of the apostles nor with the ancient rule of faith but is still adding changing taking away as may appéere by the popes decretals 30. The true church is dispersed euery where For our Sauiour f commanded his apostles To teach all nations i Matth. 28. And wée beléeue not a particular church but The catholike church that is the societie of Christians of all times and places but the Romish church neither conteineth the Gréekes nor Africans nor men of Asia that haue for many ages béene diuided frō that church Nor doth it reach to the people before Christ but onely a Bellar. de eccles milit c. 2. conteineth such as liue in obedience to the pope How then can the church of Rome bee the catholike church Shall the church of that citie bée as great as the church of the whole worlde 31. The true church of Christ conteineth neither lyons nor tygres nor woolues but consisteth onely of shéepe and lambes Nay it maketh milde Christians of sauage and wilde atheistes and miscreantes and as Paule of a fierce persecutor by christianity was made a constant professor so the mildenesse of this our christian mother the church changeth mens cruell natures They shall not hurt nor kill saith b Isai 11. God by his prophet in all my holy mountain The wolf shall dwel with the lambe and the Pard shall ly with the Kid. c De incarnat verbi Athanasius saith that nothing but Christes faith caused barbarous nations to become peaceable Quis coegit barbaros gentesque alias in suis sedibus saith he immanitatem deponere pacifica meditari nisi Christi fides crucis signaculum d Lib. 2. contr Parmen Optatus speaking of catholikes Which of vs saith he hath persequuted any man Can you shew or prooue that any of you hath beene persequuted by vs But the church of Rome hath of late yéeres and yet doth murder infinite numbers of men that would not adhere to her Romish faith Their e Extr. de haeret per tot lawes are bloody and cruell their executions are more cruell In the time of Charles the emperor the fift of that name it is found in f Meteran de Belgicis tumultibus record That aboue fiftie thousand persons were by sentence of iudges executed to death for the profession of their faith in the low countries In France as their owne stories report at one g Anno 1572. time thrée score thousand Christians without order of law were most shamefully massacred Circiter sexaginta hominum millia saith h Lib. 23. p. 508. Natalis Comes speaking of the massacre varijs in locis per illud tempus trucidata fuisse dicta sunt in Gallia And so extraordinary was the furie of papists that they spared neither age sexe nor qualitie Vel puberes vel impuberes saith i Ibid. p. 507. he trucidati sunt neque vllius sexus vel aetatis vel dignitatis habita est ratio Neither may wée thinke that they haue shewed lesse crueltie against Christians in Spaine Italie Germany England and other nations The Romish church hath died her garments in the blood of saints and the prelates haue shewed themselues leaders to the people in these barbarous executions Well therefore may that bée applied to them which a Lib. 2. con Parmen Optatus spoke of the cruell Donatistes Lacerati sunt viri tractatae sunt matronae infantes necati abacti partus ecce vestra ecclesia episcopis ducibus cruentis morsibus pasta est Men haue béene tormented women haue béene abused infants haue béene murdred women forced to loose their children behold your church is fedde with crueltie and your prelates haue béene captaines to the vulgar sort in their cruell executions 32. The catholike church neuer shewed more fauour to the Iewes and Infidels then to Christians that disliked the bishops of Rome The Christian emperors b L. hac valitura Cod. de Iudaeis Caelieolis excluded the Iewes from all gouernment and authoritie in the common-wealth and c Ibidem restreined their insolencies with diuers sharpe lawes The like course they d Cod. de Paganis sacrif templ tooke also with Pagans and Infidels shutting their temples and forbidding their sacrifices and Idolatries But the Romish synagogue doth indure the impieties of Iewes in the midst of Rome albeit they denie and blaspheme Christ Iesus tormenting and killing christians that shall but once offer to speake against the pope Likewise e Onuphr in Alexandro 6. Alexander the sixt receiued Turkes and Maranes into Rome being erpelled out of Spaine and the popes are content that their subiects shall trade with Turkes albeit they cannot endure any christian that shall mislike the popes authoritie 33. The true church of God neuer sought by forging and falsifying of mens writings and by lying and slandering to aduance Christes religion For truth is strong enough of it selfe and néedeth not to bée supported with falshood f Prouerb 12. and a Lying lips are an abomination to the Lord. False witnesses and slanderers in ancient time were so farre from beeing estéemed in the church that they were b excluded out of the church g Concil Agath c. 27. Concil El●bert c. 73. 74. But the church of Rome perceiuing that she cannot otherwise preuaile goeth to worke by plaine forging and falsifying leauing nothing sound that once passeth her fingers h Canones apostolor constiutione● Somewhat she commendeth vnder the name of the a apostles and many thinges vnder the name of ancient fathers There is no ancient father but she hath ascribed vnto him many children which were neuer begotten by him as the workes of Cyprian Origen Athanasius Hierome Augustine Chrysostome Gregory and others do plainely testifie For who séeth not how many vnlearned and vnsound treatises are dayly published vnder the names of ancient fathers Nay the Romanistes are much offended with Erasmus and other learned mens censures that haue gone about
scorneth al husbandry and honest trauaile So strange is their doctrine that they woulde alter not onely Christes religion but also rules of state and houshold Where sir Francis telleth vs That he knoweth by experience what hurt womens perswasions haue done in hardening their husbands harts in matters of religion and saith That the night crowes perswasion preuaileth much Hée gibeth at the terme of Night crowes and chargeth the knight with Playing the part either of Iudas to betray Recusants or of Pilate to condemne them or afflict them But first there is great oddes betwixt the recusants that haue nothing either of Christ or of good christians but the bare name Christ Iesus our sauior Hée refused not to come into the temple though abused nor sought to betray his nation into the hands of high priests and forreine enimies These refuse to come to Gods church and are the high priests of Romes seruants and many of them haue too great affection to forreine enimies Secondlie euill do our Iustices deserue these reprochfull termes of Iudas and Pilate for dealing against euill affected subiects a Iustices and other her Maiesties officers stirred vp to do their duties against priestes and recusants by the reproches of the aduersarie and woorse affected Christians and may learne to execute the lawes more exactly séeing for their remissenesse they are called carpet knights and for dooing nothing railed at as if they were as euill as Iudas or Pilate In the meane while wée giue this Noddy to vnderstand that his consorts may much better bée termed Pilates that murder Christ in his members and condemne infinite innocent Christians and therefore in the end they are to looke for the end of Pilate The Recusants likewise may rightly bée resembled to Iudas that woulde so willingly betraie their masters brethren and their owne friendes and countrimen And it is no new thing for sacrificing priests that continually betray kill or immolate Christ as they say to be called Iudasses b 4. Brig 133. onus eccles c. 23. Bridget saith they are woorse then Iudas Corpus meum saith Christ in Brigits prophesies speaking of priests amarius crucifigunt quam Iudaei And againe Maledicti sacerdotes ad me simulatoriè accedunt quafi proditores Thirdly most true it is that simple men are often misledde by the subtile perswasions of péeuish women And therefore may they wel be resembled to black night crowes that are still croking in their husbands eares and entising them both to opinions and workes of darknesse Beside this these nightcrowes are too familiar oftentimes with night walking priests Iesuites that teach them new fashions of shrift and draw them into euill opinions and dangerous practises In Venice they encroched so farre vpon the womens fauour that their husbands forbad them to come any more néere the Iesuites Like fauour haue the Iesuites obtained at the handes of the goodwiues of Milan By meanes of the wiues of Friburge the Iesuites attempted to set dissension betwixt the Cantons of Suizzerland We may not therefore thinke it strange if trecherous priestes worke their feates by the meanes of women Where it is saide that by the leud perswasions of Recusant women many fall away our aduersarie asketh Whether they fall to enormitie of sinne or wickednesse of life As if the Recusants were such saints that they coulde not fall to sinne or wickednesse Certes the common opinion is otherwise For commonly Recusants make lechery and ribaldrie to bée no great sinne And their women make it more nice to go to Gods church then to go to strangers beds It is well knowne that papists allow of bordels and a C. at si clerici De iudi ijs account adulterie and fornication small faults and easilie they dispence with them Heerein England the priests corrupted the Gailors daughter of Wisbich and another priest ranne away with one of Bellamies maides Nay there is a priest in England that confessed how hee shriued fewe women but hee lay with them And yet the simple Recusants neither feele their owne shame nor prouide remedie against these priests of Baal Beside that Recusants are often drawne into strange and disloial practises as appeereth by the examples of Arden Someruil Babington Tichborne and many others But to omit filthinesse of life and trecherie it is fall great inough that simple men oft by leud perswasions fall into the errors and heresies of poperie so many and so gréeuous that popery as it conteineth nouelties aboue the doctrine which wee professe is nothing but a packe of heresies as wee shall particularly shewe héereafter But saith the discourser They are catholikes and haue a scruple to go to the Protestants churches because they thinke their religion is naught And thereupon hée concludeth That religion and conscience is cause of their refusall and not euill will or rebellion But the poore idiots are much abused where they are perswaded that either their owne religion is catholike or that ours is not catholike This is a common song which the popish priests sing in their eares but the note is iarring and the dittie can neuer bée prooued Catholike religion was that which the apostles taught generally throughout the worlde and that is the religion which wée professe in our Créede and finde written in holy scriptures All which we holde and refuse all doctrine contrarie to the same But the papists in their schoolemens commentaries and popish decretals and wicked missals and portuises and such like bookes of Romish deuotion haue brought in not onely a faith diuers from the apostolike and catholike faith but also contrarie to the same Much therefore do we pittie the blindnesse of Recusants that not onely shut their eies against the light and condemne that for heresie which indéede is truely catholike but also embrace falshood and heresies for true religion worshipping angels saints and the virgine Marie yea stockes rotten bones and rags in stead of one true God and embracing antichrist in stead of Christ And all this they do building themselues and their religion either vpon lying legends or popish decretals or vncertaine customes neuer vsed in the catholike church So that heerein there is neither one scrpule of true religion nor any dramme of conscience but onelie blindnesse and wilfulnesse of which afterward ensueth vnnaturall vnkindnesse towards their prince and countrie and wicked practises hurtfull to themselues their déerest friends and countrimen Neither can it excuse them That they are so perswaded in their conscience For all conscience ought to bée grounded on right reason and not vpon this or that fancy Therefore the a Thomas aq 1. p. q. 79. art 12. Siluest in verb. conscientia schoolemen say Quod conscientia est actus synteresis But this synteresis is nothing but a facultie of the minde wherein are principles naturally knowne preserued Saint b Lib. 2. de lib. arb c. 10. Augustine saith Quod in naturali iudicatorio adsunt quaedam regulae
Lucian and Rabelays but also all his owne companions of the societie of his firie father Ignatius As for his aduersarie hée hath not spoken any thing that in equall iudgement can be thought to sauour of immodestie For albeit hée seemeth to charge the Spaniards with Oppression and tyrannie and saith that they are Proud ambitious bloudie rauening and cursed of God yet his intention was not to touch the whole nation in which no doubt there are many ciuill religious and honest men and of great woorth especially when they come to the knowledge of the truth but diuers of them indefinitely and such especially as came in the popes seruice to execute his wrath and displeasure against innocent Christians For against these doth hée direct his discourse and against them doth hée animate his countreymen to fight séeing their purpose is to destroy our countrey and with crueltie to establish both a false religion and an absolute tyrannie Neither coulde hée vse more gentle termes considering the insolencies of the Spanish forces in these cases and the tyrannie of their gouernment The ambassadors of the citie of Siena a Natal Comes ●istor lib. 6. say That the gouernment of the Spaniard in the kingdome of Naples and other places of Italy is so rigorous that the countrey people desire to liue rather vnder the Turke then vnder the Spaniard And this by infinite insolencies and actes full of iniustice and crueltie for manie yéeres exercised by the Spaniards in the b Bartholomeus casas Indies in the c Belgica hist. Meterani Low countries and lately in the countries of Iuliers Wesell Monsterland and places adioyning may be verified Our ancestors were woont to say they were crabbe faced and woorse natured Vultu despicabiles moribus detestabiles as Matth. Parts testifieth And if antichrist and these that receiue his marke and worship him be cursed and miserable then are the Spaniards that are so willing to execute the popes most irreligious and vniust commandes most miserable and haue a great curse hanging ouer their heads But faith our fencing warder and bickerer The Spaniards are hated for their catholike religion especially and next for their virtue and valor He saith also that the like happened to the English when they were Lords of France for the most part and to the Romaines when they ruled a great part of the world But why should he seeke for new supposed causes when the true causes and reasons are so well knowne and so violent and all sufficient Beside that it is well knowne that the Neapolitanes Milaneses and Portingals do not hate the Spaniards for their religion but for the causes formerly declared Neither do we maligne the Spaniards for their catholike religion for we know that their religion is not catholike nay we do not hate them in regard of their false religion which they hould but rather pray for them and pittie thē but we haue great reason to suspect their encrochements and to detest their ambition iniustice rapines and tyranny How they may be called Fortes or valiant I report me séeing as Philosophers hould a Fortitudo est virtus pugnans pro iustitia Fortitude is a vertue striuing for iustice Lastly he offereth great wrong not onely to the Romaines but also to the ancient English to compare the Castilians vnto them For neuer was the Romaine or English gouernement like to the Spanish nor canne these two famous nations well bee compared to the inhabitantes of Casttle Granada Valentia and Arragon that vntill of late were a poore b Matth. Paris in Henr. base people and for the most part nowe consisteth of Gothes Vandales Mores Maranes and Iewes which haue surmounted and deuoured the auncient inhabitantes of Spaine He telleth vs also That it is no reason albeit some Spaniardes be found to haue those vices which Sir Francis imputeth to them that all the nation should be charged with them As if either he or any other did suppose all Spaniards to be of like vitious humor No Sir Francis doth onely charge Spaniardes indefinitely and those principally that are the popes vassals and agentes and are so willingly emploied in his seruice And in effect saith no more then our aduersary willingly confesseth He a P. 105. saith further That no nation in Europe hath more cause to glory and giue God thankes for his giftes aboundantly powred on them both natural morall and diuine then the Spanish who haue a country potent rich and fertile praised in scripture 1. Machab. 8. a people able in wit and body as appeared by Traian and Theodosius emperors by Seneca Lucan Martial Poetes by Hosius Damasus Leander Isidorus Orosius renowmed Christians by famous martyrs Christian kinges famous souldiers that haue conquered great countries by the sword and finally by excellent preachers that haue gayned many millions of soules to Christ by preaching And thus with bigge wordes and many great bragges he thinketh to put his aduersary downe But he is confident without cause and triumpheth before the victorie nay before he séeth his enimie To answere him in his owne tearmes I thinke there is no nation in Europe more behoulding to this base lying companion then the Spanish For renouncing all loue to his country and duty to his prince he hath sould himselfe to publike enemies to flatter them and to set out their praises Beside that he forgetteth all plaine and honest dealing and delighteth himselfe with vaine reportes and lyes The world knoweth that Spaine for the most part is a bare and barreine country and that the common sort is poore and miserable Portingall that is accompted the more fruitefull notwithstanding is but barreine Ieiuna miserae b Buchanan saith one tesqua Lusitaniae Valete longùm vosque glebae tantùm Fertiles penuriae How potent the country is it may appeare by this that it hath béene so often conquered by the Cathaginians Romaines Gothes and Vandales and lastly by the Mores of Barbary Theodosius and Traian albeit borne in Spaine were of Romaine bloud brought vp in Italy and Rome Seneca also and Lucan and Martiall had their learning and skill at Rome albeit Martiall for his filthy and obscene writing sauoureth of the humor of some Spaniards It is also a matter of méere impudency to compare the battels and conquestes of Spaniardes in the Indiaes where they had to do onely with naked men and people vnskilfull in feats of armes to the actions of the Romaines that haue subdued the most warlike people of the worlde Neither can wée account of his relation of winning of soules to Christ in the Indies by friers otherwise then as of a lying legend and vaine bragge that hath no ground For a Hierom. Benzo Barth Cas diuers report that they haue destroied millions of soules and speake sparely of winning of soules But were all this true that is héere reported yet maketh the same nothing so much for the Spaniard as the Noddie imagineth For what auaileth it
e Matth. 28. gaue them in charge To teach what he had commaunded them The f Gal. 1. apostle pronounceth him Accursed that should teach otherwise then the Galatians had receiued By the law of Moses the Sanedrin or chiefe tribunal in Hierusalem had soueraigne authority in iudgement yet might not those iudges pronounce sentence g Deut. 17. But according to the law of God The which doth argue that popish religion is built vpon groundes most absurd and contrarie to religion Finally some do stand much vpon ancient fathers and councelles and the first churches practise and haue not doubted to attribute much vnto them But now finding by experience that these do not much make for them and that the fathers themselues do wholy relie vpon the scriptures they flie wholie to the authority of the pope and to the late church of Rome and perceiue that vnlesse they may sit iudges in their owne cause the same cannot stand But héerein it may plainly appeare that they are no catholikes For ancient catholikes attributed most to scriptures and vsed the testimony of fathers and of the ancient church to declare the true sence and meaning of scriptures But a S●ss 4. conci● Tr●d these admit no sence But that of holy church as they call it which is nothing but the priuate fancy of so●e foolish pope Fourthly as in the foundations of Christian religion so likewise in diuers points of faith the papists do plainly declare themselues to bée no catholikes For first in the obiect of faith they mainly differ true catholikes beléeue in God onely Faith saith the b Rom. 10. apostle is by hearing and hearing by the worde of God c De diuin nomin c. 7. Dionyse saith That faith hath for his obiect the most pure and alwaies being truth that is God And euery Christian rehearsing his faith confesseth That he beleeueth in God the father the sonne and the holy ghost and in no creature But the papists beléeue in angels and in saints and call vpon them For as the d Rom. 10. apostle saith How shall they call on him on whom they haue not beleeued To them also they make confession of their sinnes and from them they looke for helpe and all things necessary as may bée shewed by infinite particulars Further they beléeue the determinations of the pope to be true and trust in him as in the rocke of the church e In opusc contra error Graecor Thomas Aquinas saith that it is a matter of faith to beleeue the determination of the pope Ad fidem pertinet saith he inhaerere determinationi pontificis summi in his quae sunt fidei imò in his quae spectant ad bonos more 's And this is also the opinion of f Summa Siluest in verb. fides Siluester Prierius They beléeue also whatsoeuer is taught by the church of Rome Ad fidem pertinent omnia quae sunt in doctrina ecclesiae saith g Ibidem Siluester Prierius and hée gathereth the same out of h 2.2 q. 5. art 3. Thomas Aquinas and that is their common opinion holding the traditions of the church in equal estimation with the worde of God all which can neuer bée prooued to haue béene beléeued by true catholikes For neither can it bée shewed that in publike liturgies they haue called on saints and on angels as the church of Rome teacheth or confessed their sinnes to them or beléeued in the pope or church of Rome Againe true catholikes beléeue that Christ Iesus was true man and had a body like to ours in height bredth thicknesse and that he filled the place where hée was as do our bodies We must beleeue saith a De essentia diuinitatis Augustine that the sonne of God according to his deitie is inuisible incorporeall and incircumscriptible but according to his humane nature that he is visible corporeall and locall b Contra Eutych lib. 4. c. 4. Vigilius saith That Christ is contained in a place according to his humane nature and that this is the catholike faith Illud corpus saith c Dialog 2. Theodoret habet priorem formā figuram circumscriptionē vt semel dicam corporis substantiam So likewise saith d Ad Thrasimund li. 2. c. 5. Fulgentius Siverū est corpus Christi loco potest vtique contineri But the papists do assigne him a body inuisible impalpable and such a one as is incircum scriptible and without the dimensions of height bredth depth A bodie that may be conteined in infinite places at once yet not continued to it selfe as is the nature of Continua quantitas Finally a mans whole body that is without all qualities of a body may be contained in euery little part of a consecrate hoste increasing and diminishing at the priestes pleasure Further euery catholike Christian beléeueth that our Sauiour Christes true body is ascended into heauen and there remaineth e Ioan. 16. Hée tolde his disciples before his passion That he must leaue the worlde and go to the father And in another place f Iohn 12. That they should not alwaies haue him with thē In the first of the Acts we learne That hee is taken vp from vs into heauen And the apostle S. g Act. 3. Peter doth plainely declare That the heauens must conteine him vntill the time that all things be restored And this also the fathers plainely teach vs According to his diuine nature saith h In Matth. tractat 33. Origen he is not absent frō vs but he is absent according to the dispensatiō of his body which he tooke i Lib. 10. super Luc. 24. S. Ambrose saith That neither on the earth nor in the earth nor after the flesh we ought to seeke Christ if we will finde him Saint Augustine saith k Tractat. 50. in Ioan. Hee hath caried his bodie into heauen although he hath not withdawne his maiestie from the worlde l Homil. 21. in euangel Gregory the first doth plainly affirme That Christ is not heere by the presence of his flesh The flesh of Christ saith Vigilius writing against Eutyches lib. 4. c. 4. when it was in earth surely was not in heauen and now because it is in heauen certainly it is not in earth Neither did euer any ancient father teach otherwise But the papists do teach that Christes true body and flesh is both in heauen and earth and vpon euery altar at one time and that hee is touched and receiued not of men onely but also of mise and dogs and other beasts which to true catholikes séemeth not onely absurd but also abominable All true catholikes firmely beléeue that th●●r sinnes are forgiuen them for Christ his sake and that they shall atteine eternall life according to these two articles of the créed which euery one professeth saying Credo remissionem peccatorum vitam aeternam God he Hath promised and sworne as the a Heb. 6.