vniuersall Church of the worlde proposeth vnto them as doctrine to be receiued beleeued or practized by all faithfull Christians And as S. Augustin in the 41. of his fiftie homilies saith Whosoeuer is separated frome the Catholique Church that is to say that Church which spred in ouer the whole worlde as he specifieth in the precedent wordes how laudably soeuer he thinkes he liueth for that onely sinne that he is diuided from the vnity of Christ he shall not obteine life eternall but the wrath of God remaineth vpon him In which wordes as the reader may see according to the sentence of S. Augustin separation from the obedience of the vniuersall Church is sufficient to bring the curse vpon anie man notobstanding in other respects he liueth neuer so virtuously And according to this the Romanists may bouldly say they are accursed whoe deny all merit in workes proceeding from the grace of God Scr. 68. in Cant. they blessed with Sainct Bernard whom Caluin himselfe calleth a holye pious man that affirme with him that it is a pernicious prouertie to want merits yet especially at the houre of their death for humilitie with the same S. Bernard put all their confidence in the mercy of God that which the Romanists doe much more then the reformers notobstanding their defence of meritorious workes They are accursed whoe otherwise then Christ tought or affirmed teach affirme it vnlawfull for the laitye to communicate in one kynde And they blessed whoe with Christ his Church take it for a thing indifferent of it selfe to receiue in one or both kyndes stand to the ordināce of the most vniuersall Church without contention according to the difference of times places persons They are accursed whoe being vnlearned read scriptures interpret them falsely for the maintenance of their errours according to that of S. Peter saying Epist 2. c. 3. ther are certaine places in S. Paules Epistles which the vnlearned depraue to their owne perdition but blessed are they whoe read them as the Eunuch did that is with a S. Philipe I meane with one to shewe them the true sense as S. Basil his brother Nazianzene did Lib. 11. cap. 9. whoe according to Rufinus read the scriptures following the sense of them not according to their owne presumption but according to the writinges of their predecessours notwithstanding they were both verie famous renowned in learning They are accursed whoe either prohibit mariage or meates as ill in them selues as some ancient heretikes did or absteine not frome them both at such times in such cases as God his Church ordaineth them to absteine And they are blessed whoe according to the order of the Church directed by the spirit of God remaine with S. Paule vnmaried refaine from eating flesh at such times as the same Church appointeth Those are accursed for contemning of Christ in his Church whoe contrary to her appointmēt doe schismatically administer the publike seruice Sacraments in the vulgar tongue erroneously defending the same to be commaunded by the scriptures blessed are those whoe for reuerence to the holy scriptures conseruation of the dignity of the diuine offices other iust reasons hould it fitting to administer publike seruice Sacraments in a language most common to all nations to wit in the Latin tongue They are accursed whoe loue Christ his Saints so little as they accounte it idolatrie contrary to the scriptures to honore their images notobstāding ther is no place of scripture truly interpreted to be founde against them those are blessed according to the same scriptures whoe to shewe their exterordinarie affection to Christ duely reuerence both the images of him his blessed seruants They are accursed that refuse either to adore Christs bodie whersoeuer he affirmeth it to bee or account it idolatrie or superstition to honore the Saints who he him selfe saith he honoreth with a crowne of glorie blessed are they that performe his pleasure in both by adoring his pretious bodie blood in the sacrament by honoring his Saints in Heauen where he doth honour them as his seruants freinds Si quis mihi ministrauerit honorificabit eum Pater meus c. They are accursed who contrary to scripture reiect such ancient traditions as the most vniuersall Church approueth blessed are those who with due obedience obserue the same Accursed are they who reiect charitie frome the formall cause of iustification Maior autem horum est charitas 1. Cor. 13. which notobstanding according to the Apostle is greater then either hope or faith blessed are they who admit it in iustification as well as faith preferre it before faith with the same Apostle Accursed are they that by denying with the Iewes the bookes of the Machabies to be Canonicall scriptures denie Purgatory prayer for the soules departed blessed are they who with the Church S. Augustin hould the foresayd bookes for canonicall scripture say with him it is an vndoubted thing that prayer doth profit the dead Non dubiū est oration prodesse defunctis Aug. de cura pro mort c. 1. And in this māner if need were I could passe throu ' all the rest of the points of controuerted doctrine easily showe the curse to fall vpon the misreformed brothers for their obstinacie disobedience to God his Church Sir Humfrey would faine seeme to beare a charitable minde towardes the Romanists in regarde he saith he dares not pronounce damnation vpon their persons and yet he proclaimeth confidently opēly to the whole world that their doctrine is damnable to which it is necessarily consequent that all such as die obstinately in it are directly damned so if Sir Hūfrey proceeds cōsequenter to this his tenet he must necessity iudge the same of at the least in generall of those which dye in the foresaid obstinate manner with out inuincible ignorance end their liues in it But if this be that which he calls greater charitie them Romanists haue all the fauour he doth vs we thanke him not for it such charitie he may better reserue to himselfe his brothers who in my opiniō haue no more thē they can spare And if this be all the difference which can be foūde betwixt the proceeding of the Romanists the reformers in this particular then I say that notwithstanding Sir Humfrey much laboureth to make his reader beleeue that he his reformed brothers are more charitable thē the Romanists in iudging of the state of the soules of such as departe in each religion neuerthelesse it is manifest he quite faileth of his intent supposing that the Romanists doe not vse to iudge but rather suspend their iudgment of particular persons except they haue some speciall reasons prudently morally to persuade themselues that this or that partie died in actuall obstinacie defence of his erroneous faith otherwise
THE VVHETSTONE OF REPROOFE OR A REPROVING CENSVRE OF THE misintitled safe way declaring it by discouerie of the authors fraudulent proceeding captious cauilling to be a miere by-way drawing pore trauellers out of the royall common streete leading them deceitfully in to a path of perdition Errare fecit eos in inuio non in via Psal 106. WITH A POSTSCRIPT OF ADVERtisments especially touching the homilie epistles attributed to Alfric a compendious retortiue discussion of the misapplyed by-way AVTHOR T. T. Sacristan Catholike Romanist CATVAPOLI Apud viduam MARCI WYONIS Anno M.DC.XXXII THE PREFACE I Haue viewed perused exactly a certaine smale vollume published by Sir Humfrey Linde He intituleth it the safe way but I finde it containes nothing either safe or sound To make it more plausible he giues it a Latin inscripton printing in the front of it via tuta not much vnlike to the practise of Mountibanks who to make their pouders more vendible set on their boxes strange titles to persuade the ignorant they are farre fetched of care vertue He calleth it a waie leading alle Christians to the true Catholike Church But indeede it is no waye but rather a diuerticle or diuersion or if it be a way it s onely a by-way leading sinple soules into woods deserts leauing them there vnmercifully to be deuoured by rauenous beasts If it be any way at all it is not via tuta but rather via torta a Kinde of negatiue way consisting in negation of the true Catholike way therefore as according to the doctrine of Aristotle negatio est malignantis naturoe negation is of a malignant nature so it being a negatiue way it cannot possible be any other then via malignantium the way of the malignant reprobate people He addes it leadeth to the true auncient Catholike faith now professed in the Church of England but this confirmeth that which I said before that his way is no true way but a by-way as leading to a by-place to a Countrie people separated from the rest of the world Tote diuisus orbe Britannus conducting to a nation diuided from the rest of the earth as in situation so is it separated in Religion from others yea from it selfe from the trueth from antiquitie as being no more auncient in all poynts then the daies of Queene Elizabeth as her 39. articles plainely testifie diuerse of them being first proclaimed by her her parliament hither the way leadeth there it leaueth the poore traueller at a non plus without any meanes to passe vnto Christ his Apostles He saith farther in the title that euen the Romanists his aduersaries doe testifie the safety of his way but this is most ridiculous most false of all the rest of his inscription he citeth indeed greate tropes of authors in pretense of his positions some of which are true Catholike writers but others not acknowledged for such by vs others manistly knowen to be his owne consectaries all those that are truly ours he doth eyther malitiously or ignorantly abuse so doth but make checker-worke or Crosse lines of them alto gether for his ministers to play in the pulpit with their parishioners at fox geese I imagin'd his name had bene Line but now I perceiue certainely it is not for he vseth neither line nor square in his booke I meane neither method nor square dealing For setting aside his prologue Epilogue his first chapter or section might aswell haue bene the last the laste his first as otherwise as for his sinceritie it is not to be found either in the beginning midle or ending wherefore if his name be Linde as he subscribeth it is more agreeable to the inside of his worke which is very well linde indeede I meane with lies And the trueth is the greatest part of his pamphlet is but ouerworne brokery stuffe dropped from whites way B. Mourtons patched Appeale forged Imposture vshers outrages excepting some frenchwares taken out of the corrupted store house of that famous mountibanke Daniel Chamiere with whom I perceaue his worship hath had no smale corespondence He stileth himselfe knight which no doubt he is but as that title soundes honestie honor and nobillitie so none of that I finde in his booke which is so replenishsd with bragges boasts and protestations as one would sweare him rather to be a protesting puritan then a pure Protestant Which with other reasons moue me to suspect the booke is not his but a ministerial bastard fathered vpon his nobilitie for the greater authoritie of the worke but that I will not much examine onely this I say that when I had read it I did soma't doubt whether the knight could be so versed in our Roman diuines as thou ' to little purpose the penner appeeres to be which caused me to suspect the true authour is some one of greater reading and industrie then I imagin Sir Humfrey is Spuria multorum patrum proles yet on the other side I am verelie perswaded that considering the multitude of ignorant absurdities it conteines the authour of it cannot be a man of any sollide learning in diuinity which being supposed I cannot absolutely condemne Sir Humfrey for taking vpon him the name yet he cannot be iudged wholely excusable in his honor for that he consented to be the putatiue Father of so base a bratte This which I haue is the third edition the fourth may be dailie expected in regard the booke is so full of matter I meane of corruption Yet after the contents come once to be exactely discussed discouered I persuade my selfe it will quikly loose it vndeserued credit the dubtlesse if the leaues were larger it would ride poaste to Tobaconistis grossers shops I confesse Sir Humfrey I am Tom. Teltruth who cannot flatter or dissemble yet may you assure your selfe that altho' my speeche be ordinarily directed vnto your selfe my intent is directly to reprooue those onelie who in their contriuing of the worke for you in your name haue so profanely misapplyed abused sacred scriptures ancient Fathers an number of other graue Catholike authors so corruptedlie produced against their owne professed faith Neyther yet haue I anie meaning by my words to offēde the dignitie of your person which I respect in the highest degree of desert as neither the persons of those who truely are the authors of the worke haue deceiued both you others but rather with charitable S. Aug. I chiuse to say of you euery one of my aduersaries in religion Homo viuat moriatur error Let the man liue the error dye But now I will descend to particulars after due examine passe my sentence vpon euerie seuerall section cheefelie insisting in discussion of the citations of the aduersarie dedicating my whole censure not to the gentrie of my Countrie as Sir Humfrey doth and of whose mature Iudgments I can
first chapter of his Euchyr saith these wordes praestantia huius scripturae c. the excellencie of this scripture doth surpasse the scriptures multis partibus in manie respects or by manie degrees those scriptures which the Apostles left vs in partchement he doth not speake of the vnwritten tradition of the Church but of that scripture which as afterwardes he declareth Spiritus sanctus in cordibus imprimere dignatus est that is which the holie spirit doth digne or voutsafe to imprinte in our hartes Which as he speakes before in the same chapter is nothing els but the spirit of consent of the Catholike Church in faith and the concording doctrine of all faithfull Christians not of those onely which now liue in the whole world but those alsoe whoe by continuall succession haue propagated the faith of Christ from the tyme of the Apostles which is that Scripture which the Apostle saith 2. cor 3. is read by all men and the vnction quaest 2. Io. 2. docet nos de omnibus c. which teaches vs all things which as he further addeth afterwardes hath all truth in it selfe and containeth all faith and mysteries of Christian religion and resolues all doubtes which may aryse in matter of faith and soe costerus compareth not the vnwritten worde with the written precisely but the internall with the externall which internall scripture is iustely preferred by him before the bare written worde or caracter because as he takes it here it includes the true sense of both the one and the other by which it appeares that the exceptions which Sir Humfrey takes at this authors wordes ar captious and voyde of reason Vrspergensis is produced by Sir Humfrey page 400. of his deuia as a witnesse that the second councel of Nyce or seuēth generall synod assembled in the yeare 788. was reiected in the councell of Francford as vtterly voyde and not to be named the seuenth And yet hauing examined this passage in that author I fynde he speakes not a worde of the Nycene councell but of a cettaine councell of Constantinople which he affirmes to haue ben called the seuenth synod general by the Emperatrice Irene and her sonne Constantine his wordes are these Sinodus etiam qua ante paucos annos in Constantinopoli congregata sub Irene Constantino filio eius septima vniuersalis ab ipsis appellata est vt nec septima nec aliquid diceretur quasi superuacua ab omnibus nimirum patribus Concilij Francfordiensis abdicata est Vrsperg pag. 176. in which wordes of what soeuer Councell vrpergensis intended to speake yet none of them mention the Councell of Nyce as all those whoe vnderstand latin may easily perceiue And if Sir Hunfrey will replye and say that tho' that author doth not mention the Nycene Councell in wordes yet doth he sufficiently declare his meaning to be of no other Councell then the seeond Nycene Synod in regarde he affirmes it to haue ben vnder Irenne and her sonne and the same which was condemned in the Councell of Francford I anser that by reason this author doth vtter twoe things which seeme to implye contradictiō to wit that this Councell was assembled at Constantinople and yet that it is the same which was reiected by the Councell of Francford it euidently followeth that no certaine argument can be drawne frō his wordes whatsoeuer his meaning was and this is sufficient to shewe that he is cited in vaine by the knight Secondly I say not obstanding vspergensis hallucination and suppose he did truely meane that the Councell of Nyce concerning the adoration of images was reproued by the Synod of Francford as some other authors admit in their disputatiōs with the sectaries of our tymes yet doth this nothing auaile our aduersaries cause both in respect the Synod of Francford is not accepted by the Romanists for an authenticall Councell in this particular as alsoe for that as some opinate it proceeded vpon false information and persuasion that the foresaid Synod of Nyce had decreed that images were to be adored with diuine honor and by this meanes the Fathers and doctors ther assembled were deceiued and committed an error of fact Which error neuerthelesse neither can nor ought to preiudice that doctrine which was before established by an authenticall generall Councell as was the secōd Synod consisting of a happie cōiunction of both the latin Grecian Church as of sune and moone And the reader may see that Sir Humfrey hath both dealt some thing insincere in the allegatiō of Vspergensis and alsoe hath proceeded preposterously in that he indeuored to infringe the authoritie of the greater Councell by the vncertaine proceeding of the lesse Page 261. of the same deuia he detortes the S. Irenaeus wordes contrarie to his meaning against Apostolicall traditions And yet S. Irenaeus euen in the wordes which are cited by him speakes onely against those who denyed absolutely that the trueth is deliuered by the Scriptures but onely by tradition and soe made them selues or their onwe traditions the rule of faith Of which number of hererikes saith he were Valentinus Marcion Cerinthus Basilides of whome he vttered the wordes cited by Sir Humfrey as affirming that the truth could not be founde by Scriptures by those whoe were ignorant of traditions for say they the truth was not deliuered by writing but by worde of mouth yet notobstanding this the same Irenaeus afterwardes speakes against others whoe doe not denye scriptures or rather against such as follow scriptures onely and reiect traditions receiued from the Apostles by succession of preists and conserued or obserued in the Church saying that they haue founde the pure truth as the pretended reformers nowe commonly babble of whome he saith that They neither consent to scriptures nor tradition and against whome saith the saint we ought euerie way to resist Soe that it is cleare that he disputes here onely against such heretikes as neither yealde to scriptures nor traditions and therfore he putteth for the litle of his chapter in this place quod neque scripturis neque traditionibus obsequantur haretici that heretiques neither obey scriptures nor traditions both which S. Irenaeus doth expressely imbrace And by this lett the reader iudge how intempestiuely the knigh doth produce this testimonie against those I meane the Romanists who neither reiect the scriptures nor approued traditions but like twoe indiuided companions receiue them both and let him alsoe consider whether the doctrine of holye Irenaeus in this place be not farre more contrarie to the tenet of the pretēded reformers then to the doctrine of the Roman Church whoe make onely scriptures expounded according to their owne sense the sole rule of faith Especially considering that the same ancient Father in the next ensuing chapter doth expressely receiue Apostolicall traditions saying in the verie first wordes traditionem itaque Apostolicam in toto mundo manifestam in Ecclesia adest perspicere omnibus qui vera volunt audire habemus