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<DATE>2010-07-26</DATE>
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<NAME>Pip Willcox</NAME>
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<STC T="S">18533</STC>
<STC T="S">18533.5</STC>
<BIBNO T="umi">99900381</BIBNO>
<VID>176510</VID>
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<DIV1 TYPE="title page">
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<P><FIGURE>
<P><HI>A declaration</HI> of the recantation of Iohn Ni|chols (for the &s;pace almo&s;t of two yeeres the Popes Scholer in the Engli&s;h Seminarie or Colledge at Rome) which de&s;ireth to be reconciled and receiued as a member into the true Church of Chri&s;t in England.</P>
<Q><BIBL>1 E&s;dr. 4.38, 41.</BIBL>
<P><HI>Magna e&s;t veritas &amp; praualet.</HI></P></Q>
<Q><BIBL>Tertul. de virginibus.</BIBL>
<P>What&s;oeuer &s;auoreth again&s;t the truth, is an here&s;ie, be it neuer &s;o ancient a cu&s;tome.</P></Q>
<Q><BIBL>1. Peter 2.17.</BIBL>
<P>Feare God: Honour the King.</P></Q>
<P>Imprinted at London <HI>by Chri&s;topher Barker, Printer</HI> to the Queenes mo&s;t excellent <HI>Maie&s;tie.</HI></P>
<P>Anno 1581. Fe|bruarii. 14.</P>
<Q>HONI SOIT QVI MAL Y PENSE</Q>
<FIGDESC>decorative border incorporating the royal English blazon or coat of arms</FIGDESC>
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</DIV1>
<DIV1 LANG="lat" TYPE="dedication">
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<HEAD>&leaf;Illu&s;tri Equiti, clari&s;si|moque <HI>Regiae Maie&s;tatis</HI> Londini Ca&s;trorum prae&s;idi, <HI>cu&s;to|dique in&s;igni, praestanti, ac nobilitate verae</HI> &s;a|pientiae, &amp; virtutis in&s;ignibus decorato, Do|mino <HI>Odoeno Hopton, domino &s;uo ob&s;eruan|do,</HI> Iohannes Nicholaus gratiam &amp; pa|cem a Deo patre, &amp; a Domino no&s;tro Ie&s;u Chri&s;to.</HEAD>
<P>_PATER ille coele&s;tis (vir praestanti&s;&s;ime, omni pietatis, atque religionis genere perpo|lite &amp; exculte) &s;ic mei pe&s;ti|lentis papi&s;tici erroris tabe pe|n&egrave; con&s;umpti, &amp; ab omni fer&egrave; virtute remoti tandem mi&s;ertus e&s;t, vt ex den&s;i&s;&s;ima mortis caligine, atque profunda ignorantiae aby&s;&s;o, me &s;ibi ingratum &amp; inobedientem filium eruere dignaretur: atque in &s;uae eccle&s;iae,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Luk.
15.20, 21.</NOTE> nullis ido|lolatriae &s;ordibus maculatae, gremium reuoca|re non negaret: &amp; omnimoda bonarum lite|rarum eruditione refertos, &s;ati&s;que &s;anctita|tis notis cumulatos viros excitaret, qui &s;uo fraterno labore &amp; indu&s;tria, contenderent qu&agrave;m maxim&egrave; po&s;&s;ent, in Christi Euangelicae veritatis agnitionem me dem&ugrave;m vendicare:
<PB REF="3"> quorum incorruptis, nullis hypocri&s;ews inuo|lucris, &amp; integumentis, documentis, praecep|ti&s;qu&egrave; inuolutis imbutus ac in&s;tructus, quo|rum (inquam) con&s;ilio fretus, &amp; &s;uffultus, (di|uina illa gratia animum meum ad bonita|tem di&s;ponente) non ambigo, neque animi pendeo, me po&s;&s;e cau&s;am meae religionis &s;u&s;cipere, tueri ac defendere, in conspectu illo|rum aduer&s;ariorum, quos aliquandiu diurna co~&s;ortij familiaritas mihi no~ ignotos fecit. Ea &s;unt Dei omnipotentis in me collocata bene|ficia, quae enumerando percen&s;ere, &amp; expli|cando con&s;equi non e&s;t mearum virium. Ali|quando fedi&s;&s;imae orationis, vanitatis &amp; ig|norantiae &s;eruituti mancipatus eram: iam ver&ograve; omnis mendacij &amp; in&s;citiae ob&s;curitate noc|teque fugata, clari&s;&s;imum mihi veritatis lu|men affulget: ingenium meum anteh&agrave;c ad&egrave;o deprauatum, &amp; a verbo Dei alienum erat, vt maiori delectatione, atque vehementiori de&s;i|derio, hominum commentitias traditiones ci|ti&ugrave;s approbarem et amplecterer, qu&agrave;m profe&s;|&s;ionem illam Catholicam, quam Chri&s;ti Apo|&s;toli tradiderunt, martyres &s;uo &s;anguine effu|&s;o confirmauerunt, &amp; fideles hucu&s;que con|&s;eruant, amplexibus exciperem, &s;inuque foue|rem: Nunc ver&ograve; ingenio meo Spiritus &s;ancti flamme accen&s;o &amp; inflammato (depul&s;is men|tis <PB REF="3"> erroribus, quibus con&s;trictus &amp; irretitus fueram,) Sathanae impo&s;turas intelligentia &amp; ratione comprehendo, fal&s;ae opinionis tene|bras ab oculis depello, (auxilio diuino mihi &s;uffragante) &amp; &s;alutarem Euangelij verita|tem magno cum amore pro&s;equi incipio. Ante hoc conuer&s;ionis meae tempus, verbo Dei au|res erant mihi clau&s;ae, vt illud audire abhor|rerem, atque reclamarem, in me caecitas ita dominatum habuit, vt fulgentes Christi E|uangelij radios videre aspernarer. Iam duc|tore Spiritu &s;ancto, atque atroci con&s;cientiae vulnere &s;timulatus, animaduerto Papista|rum fabulas pror&s;us incerto niti fundamento, illor&uacute;mque religionem non mod&ograve; nulla affer|re con&s;cientiae multis delictis obrutae &amp; cir|cunce&s;&s;ae efficacia medicamenta, ver&ugrave;m eti|am alti&ugrave;s tela infligere, animam, (vitae pri|mam cau&s;am) diris infaust&iacute;&s;que vinculis at|que compedibus arctare &amp; constringere, &amp; plan&egrave; apert&eacute;que Deo eiu&s;&abque; verbo vim infer|re. Turpia illorum idola, cra&s;&s;i&s;&s;imi errores, bla&s;phemiae infinitae, &s;uper&s;titiones dete&s;tabi|les, vani&s;&s;ima commenta, ac denique vitae inaudita &amp; horrenda turpitudo, atque dede|cus ob oculos mihi ver&s;antur. Meditor ita|que at&abque; cogito quantis quam&abque; varijs a&s;tutijs &amp; blandimentis, homines cuncti doli frau|di&s;que <PB REF="4"> expertes, immune&s;que, ver&s;uti Papi&s;tae alliciunt atque titillant, ad &s;uam pernitio&s;am doctrinam amplexanda~. Ad hos praefatos ho|mines deludendos, &amp; in &s;empiternam fraude~ conijciendos, in angelos &s;e lucis tran&s;ferunt, &amp; eam vitae exteriorem pietatem prae &s;e ferunt, qua facili&ugrave;s incautoru~ hominum mentes cir|cumuenire queant. Sed plus gloria &amp; praedi|catione &s;ua bona opera (&s;i bona dici po&s;&s;int) efferunt, atque extollunt, qu&agrave;m veritas conce|dere po&s;&s;it. Non verentur illi (omnibus pudo|ris velis reuul&s;is, cunctoque dei altitonantis ti|more depo&s;ito, omnique charitatisnota relega|ta &amp; in exilium pul&s;a) dicere illos coelitum dignitatem, moribus &amp; institutis, atque vitae &s;anctimonia con&s;ecutos. O impudentes P&agrave;pi|&s;tas, mendacij &s;ordibus illinitos, &amp; omni ani|mi funestae prauitati &s;uccumbentes, atque &agrave; fide Chri&s;tiana, &amp; charitate fraterna auer|&s;os! Quotus enim qui&s;que inter vos vitam non degit belluinam? Quis Dominum timet? Quis illum diligit? Quis pietatis ruinas ede|re formidat? Quis inter vos (vt breui com|prehendam) fontem aquae vitae non de&s;erit, &amp; ci&s;ternas &s;ibi fodit maxim&egrave; di&s;&s;ipatas?<NOTE PLACE="marg">Iere.
2.13.</NOTE> Si quorundam Papi&s;tarum vitam, omnium &s;ce|lerum, libidin&uacute;mque maculis noti&s;&s;imam, La|tinis verbis explicare conarer, Latinae linguae <PB REF="4"> rudes nihil inde fructus perciperent, quia quod diceretur, neutiquam intelligeretur. Qua de cau&s;a operaepretium me facturum duxi, &s;i nu|da ac impolita (bona tamen cum fide, anim&oacute;|que &s;yncero) exarata narratione beneuolo Lectori &s;atisfacerem, lingua nostra Angli|cana narrando &amp; exponendo ea, quae vidi at|que audiui &agrave; viris fide dignis inter illos ge&s;ta. Praeterea nostros &s;acrificulos Romani Ponti|ficis (filij perditionis) mandato mi&s;&s;os &amp; dele|gatos in hanc florenti&s;&s;imam Angliae In&s;ulam ad peruertendos huius terrae accolas, &amp; veri|tatis &s;plendori in&s;idiantes, quo &s;tudio perpetu&ograve; tenebras moliuntur in hoc regnum reducen|das, quas huic &s;olo &s;uo paterno minas commi|nantur, atque quibus conuitijs optimos quo&s;que viros in&s;ectantur, in hac epistola dedicatoria &s;ilentio praeteribo. De Papistis &s;atis hoc in lo|co verba feci&s;&s;e videor, &amp; hinc te (vir clari&s;|&s;ime, religione, iu&s;ticia, liberalitate, caeter&igrave;&s;que heroicis animi dotibus nobiliter &s;tipate &amp; vallate) hac oratione cra&s;&s;o filo mihi &s;cripta affari liceat, cui inter homines mortales plu|rimum debere, ac cui ob tuam erga me cha|ritatem, ad extremum vitae anhelitum me obstrictum &s;entio, deuinctum&abque; fateor. (Blan|da ab&s;it verbo vanitas.) Quem laborem pro me, c&ugrave;m verae Eccle&s;iae &s;eptis non tenebar in|clu&s;us <PB REF="5"> &s;u&s;cepisti, omnibus patefacia~, c&ugrave;m fue|ram carceribus dete~tus, e&ograve; qu&ograve;d in Papistaru~ partem propendebam, (&amp; in <HI>Seminario An|glicano,</HI> Romae duos (plus minus) annos &s;ede~ colloca&s;&s;em, qu&agrave;m &s;aepe me ad te accer&s;i voca|r&iacute;que fecisti, qu&agrave;m man&s;uet&egrave; humanit&eacute;rque mecum &s;emper egisti, qu&agrave;m &s;alubre mihi co~|&s;ilium impertitus es, vt Papisticae idololatriae faecem exuerem! nonne concionatores per|multos, non vulgari doctrina praeditos ad me accedere volui&s;ti? vt &s;i qua po&s;&s;ent ratione, me coele&s;ti Euangelij veritati reconciliarent at|que deuincirent. Plero&s;que mihi in&s;uper li|bros &s;uppedita&s;ti, quibus nonnunquam lectis, immen&s;o Dei beneficio, magnam inde vti|litatem &s;alutiferam mihi (paruo temporis in|teriecto &s;patio) comparaui. Habito identidem &s;ermone cum peritis, atque crebris concioni|bus auditis, ex indubiae veritatis inimico (Deo adiuuante) dum in his inclu&s;us cor|poris compagibus fuero, verum meip&s;um prae|&s;tabo amicum, &amp; ad &s;tudia &s;acrarum litera|rum animum applicabo, quarum prae&s;idio, Pa|pistarum fraudes detegere, &amp; furta conuin|cere valeam, &amp; omnibus (Deo meis conatibus auspicante) demon&s;trabo, quod &s;it illis artifici|um, quo pri&ugrave;s per&s;uadent qu&agrave;m doceant, vbi autem veritas docendo poti&ugrave;s &s;uadeat, qu&agrave;m <PB REF="5"> &s;uadendo doceat.<NOTE PLACE="marg">Ambro&s;. in 1. cap. ad Rom.</NOTE> <HI>Declarabo cunctis i&s;tos &s;e no~ putare reos, qui honorem nominis Dei deferunt creaturae, &amp; relicto Domino, con|&s;eruos adorant, &s;ibique per&s;ua&s;um habent Deum &s;ine mediatore inexorabilem e&s;&s;e, &amp; pror&s;us ignorant ad reges per tribunos &amp; comites eu~dum e&s;&s;e: quia homines vtique &s;unt reges, &amp; ne&s;ciunt quibus debeant Re~|publicam credere. Ad Deum autem, quem nihil latet, omnium rerum merita nouit, ad promerendum &s;uffragatore non e&s;t opus, &s;ed mente deuota. Vbicunque enim talis loquutus fuerit ei, procul dubio re&s;ponde|bit illi.</HI> Sed aduer&s;arij no&s;tri, et&s;i videa~t &s;crip|turas &s;acras &s;uae &s;ententiae oppo&s;itas, confiteri tamen nolunt &s;e in tetra erroris caligine ver|&s;ari. Quare haec Sancti Hilarij verba in illos haud indign&egrave; quadrare videntur:<NOTE PLACE="marg">Hilarius de Trinitate li. 6. cap.
84.</NOTE> <HI>Grauis &amp; periculo&s;us e&s;t lap&s;us in multis, et&s;i enim &s;e intelligant, tamen pudor exurgendi autori|tatem &s;ibi prae&s;umit, vt quod errant, prude~|tiam velint exi&s;timari, quod cum multis er|rant, intelligentiam a&s;&s;erant veritatis.</HI> Et vnde illud quae&s;o? Ex contemptu cert&egrave; &s;crip|turarum, &amp; ex in&s;olenti &s;uperbia qua inflati &s;unt. Si circundarent &s;ibi qua&s;i murum firmi&s;|&s;imum, &s;cripturaru~ doctrinam, nunquam t&agrave;m cit&ograve; ad illoru~ interiora irrumpere po&s;&s;et ho&s;tis. <PB REF="6"> Tunc omnes errores, &amp; idola, &amp; &s;imilitudines veritatis comminuerent atque di&s;pergerent, &amp; ade&ograve; iudicarent immunda, vt ea (men&s;trua|tae mulieris) &s;ordidi&s;&s;imo &s;anguini co~pararent. Si corde non ficto diuinum auxilium compel|larent, &s;ibi&abque; nihil inaniter arrogarent, Do|minus &s;upern&egrave; intrans in corda &s;ua, claro &s;uo lumine mentes illoru~ illu&s;traret, rationi (ani|mae formae) iubar &s;uum infunderet, detegeret occulta, doctor&abque; fieret eorum quae ignorarent, tantum &s;i illi ea quae ab illis &s;unt, auferre vel|lent. Sed omnia haec media, quibus po&s;&s;ent &s;al|uari, tanquam &s;i nulli e&s;&s;ent v&s;ui, re&s;puunt &s;per|nunt&abque;, qua de ratione illorum &s;alus valde d&eacute;|&s;peranda e&s;t. Concedat Deus <HI>Optimus Ma|ximus</HI> vt re&s;ipi&s;cant, &amp; veritatem agno&s;ca~t, dum huius lucis v&s;ura, &amp; hoc vitae curriculo fruuntur, at&abque; omnia figmenta, quae multis &s;im|plicibus aditum ad coelorum regnu~ penit&ugrave;s in|tercludunt, &s;eponant, at&abque; abijciant, &amp; Sancti Dauidis verborum recordatione~ obliuio nun|qua~ deleat,<NOTE PLACE="marg">P&s;al.
34.13, 14.</NOTE> quae in Hebraico textu &s;ic &s;e habe~t. <HI>Iamim oheu chaiim hecaphets hais mi tou liroth v&s;ephatheca, merag, le&s;conecha Net&s;or: Mirma Middabber. id e&s;t,</HI> Quis ille vir qui vult vitam, diliget dies ad videndum bonum, cu&s;todi linguam tuam &agrave; malo, &amp; la|bia tua &agrave; loquendo dolum. Et Beatus Paulus: <PB REF="6"> <GAP DESC="foreign">, id e&s;t,<NOTE PLACE="marg">1. Cor. 6.20.</NOTE>
<NOTE PLACE="marg">1. Pet. 1.19.</NOTE> <HI>Empti e&s;tis pretio magno, glorificate igitur Deum in corpore ve&s;tro, &amp; in &s;piritu ve&s;tro, quae &s;unt Dei.</HI> Temer&egrave; forta&s;&s;is magis qu&agrave;m prudenter hanc epi&s;tolam, nullis verborum phalaris flo&s;cul&iacute;&s;ue Ciceronianis exaratam, tuae amplitudini di|care conabar, &s;ed meae temeritati tua igno|&s;cat humanitas, at&abque; dignetur, vt &s;ub tuo pa|trocinio &amp; tutela, haec breuis recantationis meae declaratio in lucem a&s;pectum&abque; omnium intrepide prodeat, &amp; impioru~ maleuolentiam flocci pendat, quibus nocendi voluntas non dee&s;t, &s;ed officiendi pote&s;tas abest, &amp; declina|ta recumbit. Ne epi&s;tola haec longior &s;it qu&agrave;m par est, diuti&ugrave;s tuam amplitudinem detinere nolo, &s;ed vt hoc meae erga te qualecunque ob|&s;eruantiae monumentum beneuola manu ex|cipere ne grau&egrave; tibi ducas, mirum in modum po&s;co &amp; imploro. Dominus Ie&s;us te tuo&s;&abque; (vir magnifice) muneribus &s;uis ornet, augeat&abque;, &amp; in multos annos Eccle&s;iae &s;uae con&s;eruet &amp; re|tineat: Sereni&s;&s;imam ver&ograve; <HI>Reginam Eliza|betham,</HI> (quam exteri pleri&abque; omnibus laudis ornamentis efferunt) protegat, &amp; longaeuam in terra faciat, ad gloriam Dei propaganda~, &amp; ad comprimendam &amp; confringendam ini|micorum
<PB REF="7"> &s;uorum audaciam, denique ad con|&s;olationem no&s;tram: Nobili&s;&s;im&ograve;s Proceres, adeo&abque; omnes huius regni potenti&s;&s;imos ordi|nes defendat, &amp; omni benedictionum genere cumulet, &amp; ad verae pietatis, &amp; regni Christi propagationem per|ducat. Amen.</P>
<CLOSER><SIGNED>Tuae amplitudini addicti&s;simus &amp; humilimus &s;eruus Ioannes Nicholaus.</SIGNED></CLOSER>
</DIV1>
<DIV1 TYPE="preface">
<PB REF="7">
<HEAD>The preface to the gentle <HI>Reader.</HI></HEAD>
<P>_GOD that is my recorde, and &s;earcher of all mens heartes (good Chri&s;tian Reader) knovveth,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Ier. 11.20. &amp; 17.10. &amp;
20.12. 1. Chron. 28.9. 1. Sam. 16.7. P&s;al. 7.10. E&s;ay. 29.13.</NOTE> that with vnfeyned heart I greatly wi&s;hed this de|claration of my repentance, &amp; de&s;ire to be receiued to the true Church, to be imprin|ted, for two principall cau&s;es: the one, to certifie my deare countrey men of my re|conciliation to the true Church, the other of my di&s;po&s;ition to do them good hereaf|ter, when it &s;hal plea&s;e God to increa&s;e me with greater knowledge, and to manife&s;t how it hath plea&s;ed Chri&s;t our Sauiour the head &s;hepheard,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Heb. 13.20.</NOTE> to call me away by his in|&s;truments the faithfull and godly, from the whore of Babylon,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Apoc. 18.9.</NOTE> from the &s;chole of error and from the temple of here&s;ie, to the City of righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e, the true Church, his vn|defiled &s;pou&s;e. I doubt not but that the godly and vnfeined louers of the glorious and comfortable Go&s;pell of Ie&s;us Chri&s;t will heartily reioyce and giue God thanks, <PB REF="8"> <GAP DESC="duplicate" EXTENT="1 page"> <PB REF="8">
<GAP DESC="duplicate" EXTENT="1 page"> <PB REF="9"> that it was his diuine plea&s;ure to bring me a lo&s;t &s;heepe into his folde,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Mat. 18.12. Luk.
15.4.</NOTE> &amp; to him make their prayers in my behalfe, that he of his bountifull mercie will vouch&s;afe to graunt me continuall per&s;euerance therein euen vnto the ende of my life, that I may neuer &s;warue from his heauenly trueth vnto blindne&s;&s;e and errour,<NOTE PLACE="marg">P&s;al.
125.5.</NOTE> wherewith once &s;e|duced by fal&s;e prophets, I was holden cap|tiue. But nowe hauing the a&s;&s;i&s;tance of Gods holy Spirit, the trueth of his &s;acred worde, and perfect loue of the faithfull on my &s;ide, I pa&s;&s;e not what wicked Papi&s;tes &s;peake or do again&s;t me: their immode|rate and vnciuill bitterne&s;&s;e proceeding from the furious and &s;tormie pa&s;&s;ions of their poy&s;oned heartes I may well lament, but re&s;traine I can not: therefore I &s;ay, Let the Papi&s;ts here in England fret and fume, and &s;ay of my name what euill or &s;launder they can deui&s;e, let them write their letters to Rheims in Fraunce, and from thence to Rome with the po&s;te, and certifie all the Engli&s;h Scholers there, that the Popes &s;choler their owne companion and fellow &s;tudent is reuolted from papi&s;trie, hath left the Pope in plaine fielde, and quite deny|ed him, prote&s;ted again&s;t his bla&s;phemies, <PB REF="9"> and renounced the deuili&s;h dregges of all his Idolatrie. So &s;oone as the&s;e letters &s;hal come to viewe,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Robert Par&s;ons &s;ometimes of Bailyol Colledge in Oxford.</NOTE> they will name one Father <HI>Par&s;ons</HI> Ie&s;uite a Prophet, or South&s;ayer, for that he at Rome in the Engli&s;h Semi|narie in a certaine exhortation made to the &s;chollers, prophecied that one or other of that company (my &s;elfe being then pre|&s;ent amonge&s;t them) &s;houlde degenerate from their faith, and be the ouerthrowe of that colledge: he confirmed al&s;o the profe thereof by example, beginning with Chri&s;t and his Apo&s;tles,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Mat. 26.16. Luk. 22.4. Ioh. 6.71.</NOTE> &amp; pyking out Iudas one of the colledge of Chri&s;t that for&s;ooke his ma&s;ter, and then from the colledge of the Apo&s;tles he named Nicholaus that reuol|ted.<NOTE PLACE="marg">Actes. 6.5. Apoc. 2.6.</NOTE> Nowe will their diuines declayme in the refectory pulpit of my &s;udden &s;eque|&s;tration, and e&s;tranging from their bro|therly &s;ocietie. The triall and experience of their ra&s;h iudgement, hatred, and enuie, mocking &amp; &s;coffing, had &amp; pronounced a|gain&s;t others, giueth me &s;ufficient notice that I &s;hall incurre their like rayling, and mi&s;report. I knowe that I cannot be voyde of their imagined &s;launders, in iudging me to be the fir&s;t begotten &s;onne of the deuil, I cannot e&s;cape their &s;ini&s;ter expo&s;ition of <PB REF="10"> all things to the wor&s;t: wherefore I mu&s;t arme my &s;elfe with patience, and &s;eeing through Gods goodne&s;&s;e I am reduced from the mi&s;erable captiuitie of blindne&s;&s;e and errour, to the true vnder&s;tanding and knowledge of Gods holy trueth, I neede take no great thought for their conceiued choller, &s;launderous &s;peach, and rayling wordes of Sathans prompting, &s;ithens they haue dealt &s;o maliciou&s;ly with my betters. And as for their holy father the Popes cur&s;e with booke, bell and candell, it &s;hall not grieue me at all, neither will I take one vnquiet nappe for al his banning and cur&s;ing: and &s;eeing I haue renounced his Popi&s;h church, wherein I neither heard the worde of God &s;yncerely taught, the Sacraments rightly admini&s;tred, nor the Name of God duely called vpon: Seeyng that (I &s;ay) I for&s;ooke the idolatrous church of Rome, and haue &s;o gone from it,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Dan. 6.23. &amp; 3.26.</NOTE> as Daniel went out of the lyons denne, and the three children out of the furnace, and am come to that Church, wherein the mo&s;t earne&s;t Papi&s;tes them &s;elues can not deny (if they will &s;ay truely and as they thinke in their owne con&s;cience) but all things be gouerned purely and reuerent|ly <PB REF="10"> in this true Church of Chri&s;t, I haue a de&s;irous minde to profit my louing coun|treymen, according to the Talent which God of his bountifulne&s;&s;e &s;hall giue vnto me, in preaching vnto them his holy word, in exhorting them vnto watchfulne&s;&s;e and prayer again&s;t Romi&s;h doctrine, which is builded vpon fal&s;e miracles and traditions of men, beeing the fanta&s;ticall deui&s;es of their bu&s;ie braine for lucre and ambition &s;ake: fynally in warning them vnto a|mendement of life, that both by their faith and conuer&s;ation Gods name may be glo|rified. If thou art a member of that church the &s;pou&s;e of Chri&s;t, whereof he is head, and not Antichri&s;t, the Bi&s;hop of Rome, it needeth not then (good chri&s;tian Reader) much to entreat thee to take in good part this vnlearned declaration of my recon|cilement made as it were ex tempore, my &s;elfe being in pri&s;on and wanting bookes, to the great impediment and hinderance of this my di&s;cour&s;e. The beneuolence of the Papi&s;tes I &s;eeke not, for if I &s;houlde, it were but in vaine, I can not obteine it, for that I haue with vpright con&s;cience made a true rehear&s;all of &s;uch thinges as I haue &s;eene at Rome, yet not all, nor the twen|tyeth <PB REF="11"> part thereof, but here one thing, and there another, and &s;o fewe thinges in all: and this I adde in the ende, if they can not afforde one good worde by mee, yet for good fellow&s;hippe &s;ake let them then &s;ay, <HI>Requie&s;cat in pace,</HI> but let it be a &s;olemne dirge for Ari&s;totles &s;oule, who neuer knew the true God, but euer liued in gen|tility &amp; blindnes of the trueth, that he may be deliuered out of Purgatory where they hold him to be, &s;o that we may haue con|ference with him, &amp; know of him whether it be &s;ub&s;tantiall &amp; true diuinitie &s;uch as he taught and &s;et forth in writing, or els whe|ther it be Plato his diuinitie, who was an Heathen or Gentile, and which of them is be&s;t: and as for the diuinitie which Chri&s;t preached, and was deliuered by the Apo|&s;tles, and receiued of the faithfull, they are not acquainted with. God euermore en|flame and direct me with his holy Spirit, that the zeale of his trueth may throughly pearce and po&s;&s;e&s;&s;e my heart, that I may &s;afely walke in the wayes of righteou&s;nes &amp; holines al the dayes of my life, &amp; vtterly abandon &amp; dete&s;t all hypocri&s;ie, &amp; idola|trous &s;uper&s;tition.</P>
<CLOSER><SIGNED>I. N.</SIGNED></CLOSER>
</DIV1>
</FRONT>
<BODY>
<DIV1 TYPE="declaration">
<PB REF="11">
<HEAD>A declaration of Gods benefites towardes me a wretched &s;inner.</HEAD>
<P>_HOwe prouident a patrone, and bountifull a father the Lorde of life hath bene vnto me his vn|thankeful and rebellious childe, his &s;undry and manifolde benefits doe te&s;ti|fie, and this my vnfeyned reconciliation to the true Church doeth verefie the &s;ame, yea the continuance of his louing kindene&s;&s;e was herein principally declared: for where|as mine owne natural corruption wrought dayly in me the bani&s;hment out of his fa|uour, and the danger of reprobation, he not|with&s;tanding in con&s;ideration of my frail|tie, neuer with&s;toode to helpe me in all dan|gers both bodily and gho&s;tly, and to plucke me out of the pit of perdition, whereinto the haynou&s;ne&s;&s;e of my offences haled me by violence. Oh gratious God, howe &s;hall I a &s;inner, conceiued in &s;inne, and brought vp in iniquitie, worthily aduance the excel|lencie of thy loue? who &s;hal giue me a heart to conceiue this thy kindne&s;&s;e? whence &s;hal I haue vtterance to &s;ound out thy mercie? <PB REF="12"> Of my &s;elf (becau&s;e I am a ve&s;&s;ell of wrath &s;ubiect to &s;inne, death, hel &amp; condemnation) I can not conceiue &s;o perfect a worke: thou therefore which art the euerla&s;ting foun|taine of all goodne&s;&s;e,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Ier. 2.13. Iam. 1.17.</NOTE> giue it me, oh giue it me, and I &s;hall haue it, and in the hauing of it I &s;hall magnifie thy Name, extoll thy power, &amp; marueile at thy mercy. Thou ha&s;t had &s;peciall regard to my fraile e&s;tate, and &s;afetie of my &s;oule. I had once lo&s;t the pre|cious pearle of thy ble&s;&s;ed Go&s;pell,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Matth. 13.45, 46.</NOTE> which is the true iewel of all chri&s;tian ioy, but by thy gratious gift I haue found it againe, in con|&s;ideration whereof, Chri&s;tian duety bindeth me to take the &s;acrifice of thanke&s;giuing,<NOTE PLACE="marg">P&s;al. 116.12, 13.</NOTE> and burne the &s;ame vpon the altar of an humble heart, that the redolent &amp; perfumed incen&s;e thereof a&s;cending vp into heauen,<NOTE PLACE="marg">P&s;al.
51.17.</NOTE> may be acceptable to thy diuine Ma|ie&s;tie, who&s;e &s;peciall delight is in &s;uch a burnt &s;acrifice and oblation.</P>
</DIV1>
<DIV1 N="conversion" TYPE="account">
<PB REF="12">
<HEAD><HI>A di&s;couerie or laying open</HI> of my zeale in Poperie, and howe I preached before that Antichri&s;t of Rome, and al&s;o of the cau&s;es of my mo&s;t happie conuer&s;ion to the trueth.</HEAD>
<P>_IT is not yet a twelue-moneth pa&s;t (good Chri&s;tian audience, &amp; welbeloued brethren in our &s;auiour Chri&s;t) &s;ince that, before &s;ome of you nowe pry&s;o|ners, and the~ my &s;cholefelowes, I preached, as you knowe, com|maunded by our &s;uperiours at Rome, in defence of the Romi&s;he Religion, which nowe (God be thanked therefore) (being redu|ced by the godly and dayly coun|&s;ell of the ryght wor&s;hipfull Syr Owyn Hopton Knight, Lieute|nant of her Highne&s;&s;e Towre of London, the &s;tro~g &amp; pith thy per|&s;wa&s;ions <PB REF="13"> of learned Preachers, which through his meanes and permi&s;&s;ion, had acce&s;&s;e vnto me, and the hearing of their fruiteful &s;ermons, confirmed by the true and liuely word of Chri&s;t Ie&s;us) I vtterly dete&s;t. How earne&s;t I was then in per&s;wading the Engli&s;h Students to embrace Papi&s;trie, and in exhorting you &s;ometimes my Scholefellowes, (as the Popes Apo&s;tles,) fayth|fully to doe your me&s;&s;age, con|&s;ta~tly to take the cro&s;&s;e of Chri&s;t vpon you in all troubles and afflictions, and couragiou&s;ly to abide Martyrdome, I thinke you haue in remembrance. A|bout halfe a yeere pa&s;t,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Anno. 1580.</NOTE> I was al&s;o reque&s;ted by the Prefect or Ma&s;ter of the Engli&s;h Stu|de~ts, named father
<HI>Peter</HI> Ie&s;u|ite, a Spaniarde borne, to make a Sermon in the Latin tongue, vpon the fe&s;tiual day of Peter <HI>ad <PB REF="13"> Vincula,</HI> certayne Engli&s;h Doc|tours of the citie, and &s;ome of the Popes Chappel, with other &s;tra~|gers being pre&s;ent at dinner. I preached then contrary to y^e true Religion, again&s;t faith, the buck|ler of our defence, the Towre of refuge, the enemie of de&s;peratio~, the comfortre&s;&s;e of the afflicted, and the perfecte way to &s;aluati|on. I preached al&s;o repugnantly to maintaine popi&s;h idolatrie, a|gain&s;t the heauenly Go&s;pell, the newe Te&s;tament, and la&s;t wil of our Sauiour Chri&s;t. Thus dyd I wilfully fyght agayn&s;t Gods worde, albeit my con&s;cience cry|ed within me day &amp; night, This is not the right way to get eter|nall life, thou mu&s;t wor&s;hip God,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Apoc. 22.9.</NOTE> and not a &s;tocke or &s;tone. Well, it plea&s;ed God of his mercifull goodne&s;&s;e to vi&s;ite me with grie|uous &s;ickne&s;&s;e both of bodie and minde, two dayes after I made <PB REF="14"> this Latin Sermon, which was the Wedne&s;day after S. Peter <HI>ad Vincula</HI> his day.<NOTE PLACE="marg">Augu&s;t. 5.</NOTE> Truely then lying very &s;icke in my bedde, and more like to die, then liue, con&s;ci|ence &s;o pricked and di&s;quieted me, that I feared condemnation: my con&s;cience alwayes &s;ugge&s;ting, and as it were telling me, Papi|&s;trie to bee an idolatrous and &s;u|per&s;titious religion. Yet for all that, I thought that religion to haue bene be&s;t, although I di&s;|puted often again&s;t the &s;ame, in|&s;omuch that many of my &s;chole|felowes &s;u&s;pected me to haue bin an heretike (for &s;o terme they Prote&s;tantes.<NOTE PLACE="marg">Act.
24.14.</NOTE>) One of you that was prefecte of our chamber in the Engli&s;he Seminarie, may ea&s;ely gather that I was no true louer of the Go&s;pel, when as I &s;o &s;harply &s;pake, and preached a|gain&s;t the profe&s;&s;ors therof. And how vnwi&s;ely I &s;lept, in the col|de&s;t <PB REF="14"> time of the yere the la&s;t win|ter, vpon hard boards, for&s;aking my bedde,<NOTE PLACE="marg">1. Reg. 18.28. Luk. 18.12.</NOTE> howe I &s;courged my &s;elfe with whipcordes, and how I fa&s;ted twi&s;e in the weeke: you may coniecture by this, that I was a Papi&s;t, which woulde &s;eeke &s;o to &s;horten mine owne life: you knowe al&s;o, how I tooke thereby a vehement cough with continuall &s;pitting, which &s;ince your departure grewe to a dan|gerous di&s;ea&s;e, wherof I thanke God I am nowe recouered. My Confe&s;&s;or dyd adui&s;e me to &s;uch and &s;o extreme di&s;cipline and cor|rection of my bodie, as had I &s;til followed his directions, I had bene dead yer nowe, and put in the grotte, for graues haue they none at Rome, but Vawtes. If this be good or whol&s;ome coun|&s;el for a man &s;o to correct him&s;elf, that hee &s;hall bee the cau&s;e of his owne death, iudge you. But I <PB REF="15"> left tho&s;e &s;uper&s;titions, and &s;uf|fered rea&s;on to rule my wil, be|fore it was too late, and hauing recouered my health, I pre&s;en|ted my &s;elfe before the Pope, and obteyned leaue to goe to <HI>Rheims,</HI> for that the ayre there was more te~perate. I had before that time made an Oration &amp; a Sermon in the Latin tongue, pre&s;e~ted be|fore the Pope and foure Cardi|nals, and before all them that were with the Pope in the Con|&s;i&s;torie. If you my brethren yet pri&s;oners within the Towre, deny the a&s;&s;ertion thereof, yet to your &s;hame, and my credit, they that &s;hall goe to Rome for plea|&s;ure &s;ake, may &s;afely goe to the Popes Protonotary, dwelling fa&s;t by Saint Peters church in the inqui&s;itory palace, or to any of his clarkes, and there make inqui&s;ition of my name, which is regi&s;tred in three great paper
<PB REF="15"> volumes, of &s;uch as are alwaies pre&s;ent, wryting in chambers, to whom all men without daunger may re&s;orte: where, turning to my name, they &s;hall finde y^e Ser|mon and Oration conteyning tenne &s;heetes in Paper, for the which the Pope gaue me great thankes, and &s;o did the Cardi|nals, with all the re&s;t. Moreouer (which I had almo&s;t forgotten) being before the Pope, I had a wallet for foure Prie&s;tes, and a Doctor, &amp; others, full of Agnus deis, Grana benedicta, Medel|las, Cro&s;&s;es, and Beades, with other tra&s;&s;hes: and fora&s;much as I had neuer before that tyme &s;eene the Pope ble&s;&s;ing wallets, I did hold y^e wallet before him, and would haue had him to hold it vpon his lappe, and &s;o to haue ble&s;t it with his red cappe. Well, I neuer drewe backe my hand from him, vntill extraordinarily <PB REF="16"> he had ble&s;t it three times, which before that time as I thinke, was neuer &s;eene. So that Eng|land is happie, which hath got|ten &s;uch a wallet, with &s;o many ble&s;&s;ings, wherby (perhaps) they may deliuer their Grand&s;iers a|pace out of purgatory: it is a &s;trange thing to &s;ee what vertue may be thru&s;t into a wallet. O vnwi&s;e people that tru&s;t to &s;uch tra&s;&s;hes. If I had money plen|tie, I would get you a thou&s;and ble&s;&s;ings, but God ble&s;&s;e vs all from &s;uch hypocriticall benedici|ties. Well, concerning my iour|ney, I for&s;ooke Fraunce, &amp; came not at Rheins: but traueiled tho|rowe Germany, and arryued in Englande, and was within eight dayes taken pri&s;oner, and brought to the Towre: and be|ing there kept in pri&s;on for Papi|&s;try, I thought it good to co~&s;ider the e&s;tate of my religion, not fea|ring <PB REF="16"> the death of the bodie,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Matt. 10 28. Luk. 12.5.</NOTE> &s;o much as the condemnation of my &s;oule, to burne in hell fire for euer, if I helde not true religion, although that others in their bookes &s;hould write me a holy Martyr. Thus in pri&s;on with a &s;orowfull minde, a carefull thought, and a trouble&s;ome con|&s;cience, I &s;pent the time, where with &s;obbing teares and hearty prayers, I craued of GOD, that he of his merciful goodnes, would vouch&s;afe to a&s;&s;i&s;t mee in al troubles and per&s;ecution, that valiantly I might bee able to fight vnder his banner, &s;toute|ly to ouercome the &s;ubtil a&s;&s;aults of the deuill,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Mat. 10.38. &amp; 16 24. Actes.
5.41. 1. Pet. 3.14, 15. 2. Tim. 2 11, 12.</NOTE> prudently to de&s;pi&s;e the deceitful promi&s;es of worldly felicitie, manfully to abandon the frailtie of the fle&s;h, and ioyful|ly to take vp the cro&s;&s;e, and fol|lowe Chri&s;te, euen to the death, the death of martyrdome. It <PB REF="17"> plea&s;ed God, hearing this my fooli&s;h petition, &amp; knowing me to be &s;educed by fal&s;e prophets, (I &s;ay not, ne dare &s;ay, &s;uch as you my brethren are,) for that I hope you haue determined to recant your wicked religion: but I doe, and may boldly &s;ay, &s;uch as you were before your apprehen&s;ion, and impry&s;onment here in the Towre. Well, I &s;ay, it plea&s;ed God of his goodnes, knowing me to bee in errour, to lighten myne eies, that I might clearely &s;ee the abominable Idolatrie, the per|nitious &s;uper&s;tition and vaine ce|remonies, which are v&s;ed &amp; prac|ti&s;ed in al Cou~tries, where Anti|chri&s;t reigneth, who is an enemy of God, a robber of his honour, a fal&s;e &s;educer of y^e people, a di&s;tur|ber of co~mon weales, a corrupter of Gods holy word, a Coziner of princes, a &s;etter downe of newe lawes &amp; &s;trange co~mandements, <PB REF="17"> otherwi&s;e then our ma&s;ter Chri&s;t in his ble&s;&s;ed word doeth allowe: &amp; briefly, a great &s;tumbling blocke of offence to infinite thou&s;andes of the true louers of the Go&s;pell, an open per&s;ecutour, &amp; a bloudie butcher. Whe~ my heart was pre|pared to perceiue the fickle fun|dation of this vn&s;auored religio~, I recanted from the bottome of my heart, and bewailed that euer I was a Papi&s;t: but afterwards &s;omewhat comforting my &s;elfe, I craued, and doe craue, and &s;hall with Gods helpe a&s;ke mercy and forgiuene&s;&s;e, for al my idolatrous crymes and faultes committed a|gain&s;t his diuine maie&s;tie. I &s;hal become of a Rebell a true &s;ubiect, of an enemie of the trueth, an em|bracer thereof. I will &s;tudy and endeuor by God his grace during my life, that his wrath and indig|nation worthily de&s;erued, may be pacified, &amp; that I may be founde <PB REF="18"> acceptable in his &s;ight at y^e dread|full day of iudgement,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Rom. 2.16. Apo. 20.12.</NOTE> when eue|ry man &s;hall giue an accompt of his Steward&s;hip. I wil moreo|uer do what I can to reforme the iudgement and con&s;cience of our Aduer&s;aries, and to bring the e|nemies of the Go&s;pell to the loue thereof.<NOTE PLACE="marg">Rom. 6.16, 18.</NOTE> But it is not in him that willeth, neither in him that run|neth, but in God that &s;heweth mercie. There &s;hall want no dili|gence in me by gods helpe, in this my fir&s;t &s;ermon after my recanta|tion, to haue you my brethren brought into the way of &s;aluatio~, who yet hitherto (as it &s;eemeth) either ignorantly or wilfully wa~+der from the &s;ame. I haue cho|&s;en a Theame fit for my purpo&s;e to di&s;couer the errours and va|nities of your religion. But be|fore I enterpri&s;e to di&s;cour&s;e o<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="1 letter"> my text, I thinke it mo&s;t needeful to make my prayer to God, that
<PB REF="18"> I the preacher may with a pure minde, feruent zeale, whole&s;ome doctrine and bolde vtterance, in|&s;truct you that bee here pre&s;ent, and that you the hearers may di|ligently marke, &amp; obediently fol|low y^t which is taught, y^t you may heare Gods word with reuere~ce, &amp; practi&s;e the &s;ame in your life &amp; conuer&s;ation, that I may preach to the honor of God, to y^e extolling of his benefits towards vs mi&s;e|rable wretches, to the edifying of his church, to the enlargement of his holy kingdom, to y^e aduance|ment of the trueth of his &s;acred Go&s;pel, to the extirpatio~ of &s;inne, to the aboli&s;hing of Papi&s;try, to y^e reformation of you y^t bee infected therewith, to the plucking down of Babylo~, &amp; finally to y^e building vp of the walles of Ieru&s;ale~. In which prayer I co~mende to your good deuotion the whole e&s;tate of Chri&s;t his church milita~t here on earth, &amp;c.</P>
</DIV1>
<DIV1 TYPE="recantation">
<PB REF="19">
<HEAD>The recantation of Iohn Nichols a Seminarie man, &amp; lately
<HI>the Popes Scholer, made in the Tower of</HI> London, the fifth day of February, 1581. &amp; the 23. yere of her Maie&s;ties mo&s;t ble&s;sed reigne, before Syr Owyn Hopton, Knight, with diuers other Gen|tlemen Citizens of London, and many others. Where al&s;o were pre&s;ent certaine of the &s;ame &s;ect, and lately his fellowes and companions.</HEAD>
<EPIGRAPH>
<Q><BIBL>Matth. 7.15.</BIBL>
<P>Cauete a fal&s;is prophetis, qui veniunt ad vos induti ve&s;tibus ouium, &s;ed intus lu|pi &s;unt rapaces.</P>
<P><HI>Beware of fal&s;e prophetes, which come to you in &s;heepes clothing, but inwardly they are rauening wolues.</HI></P></Q>
</EPIGRAPH>
<P>_IN this parcell of &s;cripture, good Chri|&s;tian audience, and welbeloued brethre~, we haue three things worthie to be noted. The fir&s;t is a caueat, warning, or watch word giuen by our Ma&s;ter Chri&s;t, whe~
<PB REF="19"> he &s;ayth, <HI>Cauete a fal&s;is prophetis?</HI> Beware of fal&s;e prophets. Fal&s;e teachers of mens traditions, Ro|mi&s;h Prie&s;tes, craftie &s;educers, he biddeth vs take heede of &s;uch de|ceitfull Iuglers. In the &s;econde poynt or co~ma, he telleth vs their outward habit, by the which we may di&s;tingui&s;h and know them from true Prophets, when as he &s;aith,
<HI>Qui veniunt ad vos induti ve|&s;tibus ouium:</HI> Which come to you in &s;heepes clothing. In the thirde poynt, which is the &s;hutting vp of the &s;entence, he &s;heweth vs their inward habit, <HI>Sed intrin&s;ecus &s;unt Lupi rapaces:</HI> But inwardly they are rauening wolues, deuourers of the flocke. The&s;e three poyntes or diui&s;ions will I handle, God willing, in order, as the text gi|ueth me occa&s;ion. Our auncient aduer&s;ary the &s;erpent (derely be|loued in our &s;auiour Chri&s;t) was neuer more bu&s;ie to &s;eeke the de|&s;truction <PB REF="20"> both of body and &s;oule, the time neuer more dangerous to fall, the people neuer &s;o leude &amp; prone to &s;inne and idolatrie, the Papi&s;tes neuer &s;o vigilant to de|ceiue their owne countrymen, as in the&s;e our latter dayes, whereof Chri&s;t prophecied: neyther &s;eeke they onely to &s;poyle them of their goods, but al&s;o to plucke them from the trueth and ready waye to &s;aluation, vnto wicked errour and idolatrous &s;uper&s;tition, and from the perfect path that leadeth to life euerla&s;ting, vnto the lame~|table way of endele&s;&s;e torment &amp; vtter de&s;truction. Wherefore my brethren, if you haue the feare of God before your eyes, if you haue the loue of trueth dwelling in you, if you haue an e&s;peciall care to &s;aue your &s;oules, yeelde not to the &s;erpentes per&s;wa&s;ion, take heede of fal&s;e prophets, co~&s;ent not to the doctrine of Romi&s;h prie&s;ts, <PB REF="20"> the Popes Apo&s;tles: For &s;ayeth one,
<HI>Dum Romani &s;acerdotes qua~ maxime po&s;&s;unt, enituntur multa praedicare, quae &s;aluti animarum co~|uenire videantur, non pauca praedi|cant, quae ad perennem animarum perniciem ducu~t:</HI> Whiles that the Romi&s;h prie&s;ts endeuor as much as they may, to preache many thinges, which &s;eeme to agree to the &s;aluation of &s;oules, then teach they not few things which tende to the perpetuall de&s;tructio~ ther|of. The fir&s;t point of their deuili&s;h doctrine, in &s;educing the blinde and ignorant people, is this, To tell vs, that we leaue this article of our Creede vnbeleeued, <HI>Credo &s;anctam Catholicam Eccle&s;iam,</HI> I beleeue in the holy Catholike Church, if we acknowledge not the Romane church to be the ho|ly catholique Church. As though that were true. In the iudgeme~t of all the learned and godly, the
<PB REF="21"> Catholique Church is di&s;per&s;ed ouer the face of the earth, not tied or vnited to any proper place as Rome, or per&s;on as the Pope. The Councill of Nice, in tyme pa&s;t committed the charge of the Catholique Church, to three prin|cipall Patriarkes, Rome, Alex|andria, and Antioch, which after|wards came to Con&s;tantinople. Nilius in his booke <HI>de primatu Romani Pontificis,</HI> of the &s;upre|macie of the Bi&s;hop of Rome, &s;ayth,
<HI>Quandoquidem quaeda~ pro|uinciae &s;pectant ad eccle&s;iam Ro|manam, aliquae ad Epi&s;copum Ale|xandriae, &amp; aliquae ad Epi&s;copum Con&s;tantinapolaeos, iam non magis &s;ubditae &s;unt Romano Epi&s;copo, quam Romanus Epi&s;copus &s;ubditus &s;it illis:</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Prima|cie by ly|mitatio~.</NOTE> Fora&s;much as certayne countries are limited to y^e church of Rome, certeine to the Bi&s;hop of Alexandria, and certeine to the Bi&s;hop of Con&s;tantinople, they <PB REF="21"> are now no more vnder him, then he vnder them. I gather by this Councill of Nice, which all Pa|pi&s;ts of Rome do allowe, that the Church of Rome was not onely accompted Catholique, but al&s;o the Church of Alexandria was taken to be Catholique, &amp; in like maner the Church of Antioch. I am certeine you wil not deny the Bi&s;hop of Rome euer heretofore to haue bene, &amp; as yet to be Pope, therefore I inferre the Bi&s;hop of Alexandria, and the Bi&s;hoppe of Antioch to be Popes, &amp; Chri&s;tes Vicars, and &s;o con&s;equently to be three Popes, and three Chri&s;tes Vicars. Haue you taught our Engli&s;h men &s;o, y^t there be three Popes, &amp; three Catholique chur|ches, and are you put in pri&s;on therefore? No, no, I know it is o|therwi&s;e. I take you to be hire|lings. Pope Gregory the xiii.<NOTE PLACE="marg">Greg. 13.</NOTE> of that name, or rather by his right <PB REF="22"> name, <HI>Hugo Bon compaignion,</HI> Hugh goodfellowe, hath brybed you with his money, that you &s;hould preach him to be Pope a|lone, and none other. Is this pre|tie &s;tuffe, <HI>vt amor nummi e&s;&s;et ca|&s;us multorum,</HI> that the loue of mo|ney &s;hould be the fall of many? I will &s;peake a litle more touching your Catholique church. <HI>Athana|&s;ius</HI> &s;aith, <HI>Roma e&s;t metropolis Ro|manae ditio nis,</HI> Rome is the mo|ther church (not of the whole worlde) but of the prouince of Rome. I wil not &s;peake of En|gla~d, Ireland, Scotland, Fra~ce, De~marke, <HI>Polonia, Suetia, Bohoe|mia,</HI> of Germanie, <HI>Heluetia, Pru&s;|&s;ia, Ru&s;&s;ia, Lituania, Pomerania, Au&s;tria, Rhetia, Vallis, Tellina, &amp;c.</HI> where the Go&s;pel flori&s;heth. But is your church y^e mother church? and hath your Pope gouernme~t and iuri&s;diction ouer the chur|ches in A&s;ia and Affricke? It is
<PB REF="22"> well knowen that there is Chri|&s;tianitie in A&s;ia, Affricke, Arme|nia, Aethiopia, Cyprus, Con&s;tan|tinople and other places, where the Pope dareth not once peepe, for all his pontificalitie at Rome. And in re&s;pect of all Chri&s;tian a&s;&s;emblies &amp; faithfull members, where&s;oeuer the church is called Catholique, that is meant vni|uer&s;all. So that your church and all churches are to bee tried and knowen not by your erring coun|cils, canons, con&s;titutions, de|crees and glo&s;&s;es, but by y^e word of God, which is the touch&s;tone of trueth. Ireneus &s;aith,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Lib. 3. cap. 11.</NOTE> <HI>Colum|na &amp; firmamentum eccle&s;iae e&s;t E|uangelium &amp; &s;piritus vitae.</HI> The pil|lar and buttre&s;&s;e of the church is the Go&s;pell and &s;pirit of life.<NOTE PLACE="marg">Augu&s;t. de vnitate Ec|cle. lib. 3. cap. 3.</NOTE> Au|gu&s;tine vnto y^e Donati&s;tes &s;aith, <HI>Sunt certe libri dominici quorum authoritati vtrique con&s;entimus, vtrique credimus, vtrique &s;eruimus: <PB REF="23"> ibi quaeramus eccle&s;ia~, ibi di&s;cutia|mus cau&s;am no&s;tram:</HI> There are verely bookes of our Lorde, vnto the authoritie whereof eche part agreeth, eche part beleeueth, and eche part regardeth,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Church to be &s;ought in the &s;crip|ture.</NOTE> there let vs &s;eeke for the church, and thereby let vs examine and trie our mat|ters. This I thought good to note here, lea&s;t that any of this faithfull congregation &s;hould at any time be caried away with y^e bare name of your catholique churche. Nowe moreouer you &s;eeke to proue your church by an|tiquitie, multitude, &s;ucce&s;&s;ion of per&s;on or place, none otherwi&s;e then fal&s;e coyners, who will not haue their money knowe~ by the finene&s;&s;e of golde, or by the touch|&s;tone, but by the waight, by the &s;ounde, by the coyne, and by the colour which they may ea&s;ely counterfeite. Therefore they al|ledge antiquitie vnto vs, follow|ing <PB REF="23"> that which was &s;poken vnto Iob by one of his friendes,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Iob. cap.
8.8.</NOTE> <HI>Con|&s;ule quae&s;o pri&s;cam aetatem, et com|para te ad perue&s;tigationem maio|rum illorum:</HI> A&s;ke for the auncient generation, and prepare thy &s;elfe to &s;eeke for the fathers.<NOTE PLACE="marg">Iob.
32.7</NOTE> <HI>Prouecti aetate loquentur, et anno&s;i notam facient &s;apientiam:</HI> Dayes &s;hall &s;peake, &amp; the multitude of yeeres &s;hall teach wi&s;edome. To whom I could an&s;were by Iob him&s;elf, eue~ in y^e ver&s;e next following,<NOTE PLACE="marg">9. ver&s;.</NOTE> <HI>Ma|gi&s;tri &s;emper &s;apientes non &s;unt, ne|que &s;enes omni tempore intelligunt Iudicium.</HI> The ma&s;ters are not al|waies wi&s;e, neither do y^e olde men alwayes vnder&s;ta~d Iudgement. <HI>Profect&ograve; &s;piritus ille in mortali,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">8. ver&s;.</NOTE> <HI>et afflatus omni potentis efficit eos in|telligentes:</HI> It is y^e &s;pirit of God, &amp; not yeres, that ought to &s;peak in man.<NOTE PLACE="marg">Augu&s;t. ad Pet. Diac. cap.
34.</NOTE> If antiquitie &s;hould pre|uaile, why then (I pray you) is the Church compared to a litle <PB REF="24"> Barke or Ship, which the more &s;he is vpon the &s;ea, the more &s;hee leaketh: vnto a hou&s;e, which with age decayeth &amp; falleth to ruine: to a Citie and the policie of it, which is corrupted from tyme to time, if it be not brought backe to the fir&s;t in&s;titution: &amp; to a mans body, whereunto yeeres do bryng all kindes of euill: to be &s;hort, age is euen as &s;ickene&s;&s;e it &s;elfe to the mo&s;t healthfull and temperate body in the world. I &s;ay the~ that antiquitie alone ought to make vs thinke, y^t in the Church there is a great &s;icknes, and much fil|thynes, &amp; that euen for this cau&s;e alone, without any longer con|futation, it is requi&s;ite to bring a broome to purge it, and to call for a Phy&s;ition. So farre is it off, that for the&s;e things a man &s;hould mainteyne your Churche to bee pure &amp; holy, as you do. Further|more I demand, how you wil an|&s;were <PB REF="24"> vnto Saint Augu&s;tine, entreating vpon the three&s;core and fourth P&s;alme, who &s;ayth, That Ieru&s;alem began by Abel, and Babylon by Cain. The pro|mi&s;e was made by I&s;aac, and the ba&s;tardi&s;e by I&s;mael. Who were the elders? If antiquitie were a marke of the trueth, how woulde you haue an&s;wered vnto y^e Iewes, who tolde Chri&s;t that they were the children of Abraham,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Iohn 8.33.</NOTE> who was the fir&s;t father of the belee|uers? They had their Genealo|gie from the creation of the fyr&s;t man, they did alledge the coue|nants that were made betweene God &amp; them. Notwith&s;tanding, Chri&s;te being &s;ent vnto them ac|cording to the&s;e promi&s;es, vnder the &s;hadowe of this antiquitie, they maliciou&s;ly called hym the carpenters &s;onne, a Samaritane,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Matth. 13.55. Iohn 8.48. Marke 1.27.</NOTE> one that had the deuil, &amp; a prea|cher of Noueltie. And there is <PB REF="25"> great likelyhood, y^t if &s;ome of you Papi&s;ts had bene the~ there, &s;eeing at that time they v&s;ed y^e &s;elfe &s;ame arguments, you would haue hol|pen to haue crucified him. Fur|thermore, what wil you an&s;were vnto the Greeke Churches, the Armenians, Ethiopia~s, &amp;c. foun|ded by the Apo&s;tles, and as olde as the church of Rome, yea and elder too, &s;eeing that the Church of Chri&s;t, as we knowe, tooke her beginning from the Ea&s;t to the We&s;t? If antiquitie be a marke of holines and puritie, they are ho|ly and pure: and if they bee holy and pure, then the latin Church in compari&s;on of them, is mo&s;te vnholy and impure. If they bee Heretiques and impure, then it followeth that antiquitie is not a marke to proue the holines or ve|ritie of the Church. Howe then? &s;hall we reiect antiquitie? nay ra|ther, we imbrace it with all our <PB REF="25"> hearts, &s;o that it bee agreeable to Gods worde. Tertullian
<HI>de Vir|ginibus velandis,</HI> &s;aith, <HI>Con&s;uetu|do initium ab aliqua ignorantia vel &s;implicitate &s;ortita, in v&s;um per &s;uc|ce&s;&s;ionem corroboratur, &amp; ita ad|uer&s;us veritatem vendicatur. Sed Dominus no&s;ter Chri&s;tus veritate~ &s;e, non con&s;uetudinem cognomi|nauit. Viderint erg&ograve;, quibus nouum e&s;t, quod &s;ibi vetus e&s;t. Haere&s;es non tam nouitas, qu&agrave;m veritas reuincit. Quodcu~que aduer&s;us veritatem &s;a|pit, hoc erit haere&s;is, etiam vetus co~|&s;uetudo:</HI> Cu&s;tome either of &s;im|plicitie, or of ignorance, getting once an entrie, is inured &amp; &s;treng|thened by &s;ucce&s;&s;ion, and then is defended again&s;t the trueth. But Chri&s;t our Lorde calleth him&s;elfe trueth, and not cu&s;tome.<NOTE PLACE="marg">Ioh.
14.6.</NOTE> Let them take heede therefore, vnto whome the thing &s;eemeth newe, that in it &s;elfe is olde. It is not &s;o much the noueltie of the
<PB REF="26"> matter, as the trueth that repro|ueth an here&s;y. What&s;oeuer &s;auo|reth again&s;t the trueth, is an he|re&s;ie, be the cu&s;tome thereof ne|uer &s;o olde. <HI>Victi ratione opponunt con&s;uetudinem, qua&s;i con&s;uetudo &s;it maior veritate.</HI> Beyng ouer|come with rea&s;on, they defende them&s;elues with cu&s;tome, as though cu&s;tome were better the~ the trueth. We may not pre&s;cribe of cu&s;tome, but wee mu&s;t ouer|come with rea&s;o~. Cu&s;tome with|out trueth is the mother of error. <HI>I&s;tud non e&s;t curandum quod ali|quis ante no&s;tru~ tempus fecit, &s;ed id precipue nobis curae debet e&s;&s;e, &abquod; a Chri&s;to factum e&s;t. Non e&s;t imi|tanda nobis hominum con&s;uetudo, &s;ed dei veritas expectanda:</HI> That is, We mu&s;t not regard y^t which any other hath done before vs, but we mu&s;t regarde that which Chri&s;t hath done, which is before all. For we mu&s;t not followe the <PB REF="26"> cu&s;tome of men, but the trueth of God. Againe he &s;aith,<NOTE PLACE="marg">De &s;eip&s;o ad Pompeian. epi&s;t. 9.</NOTE>
<HI>Mos &s;ine ve|ritate, e&s;t vetu&s;tas erroris. Et dixit dominus, Ego &s;um veritas: &amp; no~ lo|quutus e&s;t Dominus, Ego &s;um con|&s;uetudo:</HI> Cu&s;tome without trueth is an old error. And y^e Lord hath &s;aid, I am the trueth, and not, I am cu&s;tome. Ignatius &s;ayeth,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Ignatius ad Philadelph. Canon. con|&s;uetud. di&s;t. 11.</NOTE> <HI>Quem non audire e&s;t manife&s;ta perditio:</HI> Whome not to heare is manife&s;t perdition. See then howe the mo&s;t auncient &s;ende vs alwayes to learne the trueth of him, which is mo&s;t ancient of all. Thus much briefely touching antiquitie or cu&s;tome. Nowe let vs come to multitude. It is &s;ayde expre&s;&s;ely,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Exod. 23.2,</NOTE> <HI>Exodus.</HI> 23. <HI>Ne in&s;i&s;tito ve&s;tigiis potentiorum ad mala:</HI> Thou &s;halt not folowe a multitude to do euil. Al&s;o, <HI>Mat.</HI> 7. <HI>Lata e&s;t porta, &amp; &s;patio&s;a via quae ducit in exitium, multique &s;unt qui ambula~t per mediu~ eius.</HI> Wide is y^e <PB REF="27"> gate, and broade is the way that leadeth to de&s;truction, and many there be which go in thereat. Co~|trariwi&s;e, <HI>Luke.</HI> 12.
<HI>Ne time, &ocirc; par|ue grex, nam vi&s;um e&s;t patri meo dare vobis regnum:</HI> Feare not, my litle flocke, for it is my fathers will to giue you a kingdome. Moreouer, wee &s;ee how that all the worlde was brought to one Noah, and afterwardes came to Abraham, then God cho&s;e one people of I&s;rael, the lea&s;t (as it is &s;ayd) of all peoples, and finally of all peoples the lea&s;t parte, that is to wit, Chri&s;tendome: which for this cau&s;e he calleth a litle flocke, &s;o farre forth, that S. Augu&s;tine &s;aith, That y^e Church was &s;ome|time in one Abel, &amp; in one Enoch. <HI>Augu&s;t. &s;uper P&s;alm.</HI> 128. Where|fore multitude ought rather to be pre&s;umption, then a marke of the true Church. Fora&s;much al&s;o as man by nature is alwayes
<PB REF="27"> more prone to euill, then to any goodnes, if multitude &s;houlde take place, then Paynims &s;hould be happier then we be, for y^t they &s;urpa&s;&s;e in nomber. For whereas there is one that beleeueth in Chri&s;t our Sauiour, you haue a thou&s;ande that beleeue him not. What a multitude is there of Turkes, of Iewes, and other in|fidels? Al&s;o in Noah his tyme, what a multitude there was y^t would not acknowledge God, nor folow his commandements, nor giue credit to Noah his prea|ching, but with one con&s;ent con|&s;pired again&s;t him, mocked him, &amp; his religion, <HI>Gen. chap.</HI> 6. The Samaritanes were more in no~|ber, then they of the tribe of Iu|da. And in Iuda and I&s;rael, the multitude of the idolaters was the greater. For the Prophet E|lias made his complaint, that he was left alone, &amp; that all the re&s;t
<PB REF="28"> had for&s;aken their liuing Lorde, and giuen them &s;elues to idola|trie: and as you may reade in <HI>Ie|remie</HI> 4.<NOTE PLACE="marg">1. King. 22.6, 13, 24.</NOTE> There aro&s;e vp 400. fal&s;e Prophets, who &s;warued from Gods lawe, and folowed their owne imaginations, again&s;t one good Prophet Micheas. And the Prophets crie,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Ierem.
18.18</NOTE> <HI>Omnem popu|lum &s;eductum fui&s;&s;e, a regibus v&s;|que ad Sacerdotes &amp; Prophetas:</HI> That all the people were decei|ued, euen from the Kings, to the Prie&s;tes and Prophets. In the Church of Chri&s;t al&s;o, nomber &amp; multitude &s;hall haue as &s;mall roume: for euen at the beginning thereof,<NOTE PLACE="marg">E&s;a. 53.1. Ioh. 12.38. Rom. 10.16.</NOTE> it was &s;ayde, Who hath beleeued our word? and to whom hath the Arme of the Lorde bene reueiled? Anon after the death of our Sauiour, the Scholemen hold, y^t for one in&s;tant, the church &s;tood in the Virgin Mary alone. In the time of Arrius, almo&s;t the <PB REF="28"> world throughout, was of y^e Ar|rian here&s;ie, and fewe be&s;ides A|thana&s;ius, with fiue of his com|pany, profe&s;&s;ed the true fayth.<NOTE PLACE="marg">Theod. lib. 2. cap. 16.</NOTE> Wherefore the Emperour of the Arrians &s;ayd, That foure or fiue per&s;ons with their Athana&s;ius, woulde trouble the peace of the world. To whom Liberius the Bi&s;hop of Rome an&s;wered, That his &s;olitude or fewne&s;&s;e did not a|ny whit dimini&s;h the worde of faith. As for the declining e&s;tate of the Church, wee are giuen to wit, That when y^e &s;onne of man &s;hall come, before who&s;e co~ming Antichri&s;t &s;hall &s;educe the world, <HI>Neque fides,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Matt. 24.12, 37.</NOTE> <HI>neque charitas inuen|ta erit in terra, &amp; i&s;ti dies erunt tan|qua~ dies Noah &amp; Lot:</HI> There &s;hall neither faith nor charity be found on the earth, and tho&s;e dayes &s;hal be as the daies of Noah &amp; Lot, &amp;c. The Eclip&s;e then of this Moone &s;halbe as it were vniuer&s;al, al the <PB REF="29"> whole earth being put betweene y^e Church &amp; the &s;unne. And there|fore if we &s;hall finde no other di|rection in &s;uch darknes, then the multitude, we &s;hall haue no part with that litle nomber. So much for multitude, whereof the Pa|pi&s;ts make great account. Nowe will I &s;peake a litle of Succe&s;&s;i|on, which you, my brethren, take to bee a very &s;ub&s;tantiall argu|ment of the trueth. But Chri&s;t &s;aith in the 23. of Matthewe, <HI>In cathedra Mo&s;is &s;edent Scribae &amp; Phari&s;aei:</HI> By order of Succe&s;&s;ion, the Scribes and Phari&s;es &s;it in Mo&s;es chaire. Annas and Cai|phas touching Succe&s;&s;ion, were a&s;wel Bi&s;hops as Aaron and E|leazar. Of Succe&s;&s;ion S. Paul &s;aith to the faithfull at Ephe&s;us, <HI>Scio quod po&s;t di&s;ce&s;&s;um meum in|trabunt lupi rapaces, ex vobis ip&s;is exurgent viri peruer&s;a loquentes:</HI> I knowe that after my departure <PB REF="29"> hence, rauening wolues &s;hall en|ter and &s;ucceede mee, and out of your&s;elues there &s;hall (by Suc|ce&s;&s;ion) &s;pring vp men &s;peaking peruer&s;ly. Therfore S. Hierome &s;aith, <HI>Non &s;anctorum filii &s;unt, qui tenent loca &s;anctorum:</HI> They bee not alwayes the children of holy men, that (by &s;ucce&s;&s;ion) haue the places of holy men. Notwith|&s;tanding the Pope him&s;elfe will &s;ay, as it is before alledged, <HI>In Pa|pa&s;i de&s;int bona acqui&s;ita per meri|tum, &s;ufficiunt quae a loci praedece&s;|&s;ore prae&s;tantur:</HI> If the Pope want good things by his own merits, the good thinges which hee hath (by Succe&s;&s;io~) of Peter his pre|dece&s;&s;or, are &s;ufficient. And the glo&s;e vpon <HI>Petrus fecit Papas hae|redes bonitatis &s;uae:</HI> Peter made y^e Popes, heires of his goodnes by Succe&s;&s;ion. And againe, <HI>Papa recipit a cathedra &s;anctitate~.</HI> The Pope receiueth his holines by <PB REF="30"> &s;ucce&s;&s;ion of his chaire. Such affiance &s;ometime had y^e Scribes and Phari&s;es in their &s;ucce&s;&s;ion: therefore they &s;ayde,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Ioh. 8.33, 53.</NOTE> We are the children of Abraham. Vnto vs hath God made his promi&s;es: art thou greater then our father A|braham?<NOTE PLACE="marg">Iohn 9.29.</NOTE> As for Chri&s;t, we know not from whence hee came, or what can he &s;hewe for his &s;ucce&s;|&s;ion? And when our Sauiour went about to reforme the abu|&s;es and errors, they &s;ayde vnto him,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Matt. 21.23. Iohn 2.18.</NOTE> By what power doe&s;t thou the&s;e things? and who gaue thee this authoritie? where is thy &s;ucce&s;&s;ion? Vpon which wordes Beda &s;aith,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Beda in Matth. 21.</NOTE> <HI>Intelligi volunt diabo|li e&s;&s;e quod fecit:</HI> They woulde haue the people vnder&s;tand (for that he had no &s;olemne &s;ucce&s;&s;i|on) that al that he did was of the deuill.<NOTE PLACE="marg">Cyrillus Ca|rena in Luc. 39.</NOTE> And Cyrillus frameth their words in this &s;ort, <HI>Tu ortus ex Iuda, commi&s;&s;os nobis fa&s;ces v|&s;urpas:</HI> <PB REF="30"> Thou beeing of the tribe of Iuda, (and therefore hauing no right vnto the prie&s;thoode) ta|ke&s;t vpon thee the office that is committed vnto vs. Likewi&s;e Chry&s;o&s;tom imagineth y^e Pha|ri&s;es thus to &s;ay,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Chry&s;o&s;t. in Mat. Hom. 39.</NOTE> <HI>Tu de &s;acerdo|tali familia natus non es, Senatus tibi hoc non conce&s;&s;it, Cae&s;ar non donauit:</HI> Thou art not of y^e hou&s;e of prie&s;ts, the Councill hath not graunted it thee, the Emperour hath not giuen it thee. Thus to mainteine them&s;elues in credit, (for that they had &s;ucce&s;&s;ion, and continuance from Aaron, and &s;ate in <HI>Mo&s;es</HI> chaire) they kept Chri&s;t quite out of po&s;&s;e&s;&s;ion,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Matt. 23.2.</NOTE> and &s;ayd vnto him then, euen as you my brethren &s;aye nowe vnto vs, Who euer taught vs this perni|tious doctrine before? what or|dinary &s;ucce&s;&s;ion of per&s;ons, and vocation haue we? what Bi&s;hop admitted vs? who confirmed vs?
<PB REF="31"> who allowed vs? Therefore (good chri&s;tian hearers) let not the&s;e the Papi&s;tes great wordes much aba&s;h vs. The Scribes &amp; Phari&s;es in the like ca&s;es v&s;ed the like language long ago. But let me a&s;ke you a que&s;tion. Howe can you &s;hewe any demon&s;trati|on or probabilitie, that the &s;ucce&s;|&s;ion of your church is lawfull? If there were any church that could alledge &s;ucce&s;&s;ion of per&s;ons, it were the church of the Iewes, for they were of the hou&s;e of Aa|ron, from the father to the &s;onne, and be&s;ides them none might &s;a|crifice. Moreouer to them it was promi&s;ed, that they &s;hould conti|nue &s;o for euer. And in deed, when the Prophets exhorted them to reformation, they had no other thing in their mouth, but this, <HI>Lex a Sacerdote non peribit, neque con&s;ilium a &s;apiente, neque ver|bum a propheta:</HI> The lawe &s;hall <PB REF="31"> not peri&s;h from the prie&s;t; nor the coun&s;ell from the wi&s;e, nor the word from the Prophet. But the &s;pirit of y^e Lorde an&s;wered them, <HI>Quomodo dicitis, Sapie~tes &s;umus,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Iere. 8.8.</NOTE> <HI>&amp; lex Iehouae penes nos e&s;t? vtique ecce ad fal&s;itate~ operatur &s;tylus, ad fal&s;itatem operantur legis periti: fe|cer&uacute;ntne &s;apientes vt erube&s;cerent? con&s;ternat&iacute;ne &s;unt &amp; capti? ecce verbum Iehouae &s;pernunt, eccuius rei &s;apientia ine&s;&s;et eis?</HI> Howe &s;ay ye, We are wi&s;e, and the lawe of the Lord is with vs? For it is in vaine, that the pen is made, and that there is a &s;cribe: wi&s;e men are confounded, and &s;eeing that they haue reiected the worde of the Lord, what &s;halbe their wi&s;|dome any more? In like maner when the Iewes boa&s;ted to Ie|&s;us Chri&s;t, that they were of the &s;eede of Abraham,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Iohn 8.44.</NOTE> I know it wel (&s;aith he) but the deuil is your fa|ther. And in very deede this &s;uc|ce&s;&s;iue <PB REF="32"> and hereditarie wi&s;dome crucified Chri&s;t, and reiected &s;al|uation offred vnto them, as al&s;o this &s;elf &s;ame &s;ucce&s;&s;io~ (although it be only pretended) wor&s;hippeth Antichri&s;t, and interteyneth her owne perdition. Moreouer I de|mande what the&s;e alledgers of &s;ucce&s;&s;ion would haue an&s;wered to the <HI>Arrians, Samo&s;etans, Ne&s;to|rians, &amp;c.</HI> who had their begin|ning continued from the fir&s;t Bi|&s;hops euen to them&s;elues, and namely to <HI>Ne&s;torius</HI> and
<HI>Samo&s;e|tanus,</HI> both which were lawfully called to y^e patriarchal churches, the one to Con&s;tantinople, and the other to Antioch? Al&s;o, what will you an&s;were to the &s;ucce&s;&s;i|on alledged by al the Greeke and ea&s;t churches? To be &s;hort, to the reformed churches of England, De~mark, Swethe~, a great part of Almaigne, through all which there is at this daye this &s;ucce&s;|&s;ion <PB REF="32"> from Bi&s;hop to bi&s;hop, from Pa&s;tor to Pa&s;tor? If you wil al|ledge the Popes &s;ucce&s;&s;ion, wee deny it you, &amp; it is another que|&s;tion. If &s;imply &s;ucce&s;&s;ion, you haue lo&s;t your cau&s;e. If your doc|trine, then we gaine this poynt, y^t the &s;imple &s;ucce&s;&s;ion of per&s;ons without y^e &s;ucce&s;&s;ion of doctrine, is nothing worth. With this &s;en|tence of Pope Adrian the fourth, I end to di&s;cour&s;e any further of antiquitie of per&s;ons, <HI>Succedi|mus, non Petro in pa&s;cendo, &s;ed Ro|mulo in parricidio:</HI> We &s;ucceede, not
<HI>Peter</HI> in feeding, but <HI>Romulus</HI> in killing. And &s;o is it truely: for you &s;hall haue no Pope, that tea|cheth the people howe to liue in the true feare &amp; loue of God, but &s;uch an one as per&s;ecuteth and killeth the Chri&s;tians, that chere|fully embrace, and comfortably receiue the glad tydinges of the Go&s;pell. Thus being comman|ded <PB REF="33"> to in&s;truct the ignorant, and to feede them with the heauenly word of God, he practi&s;eth tyran|nie again&s;t them. Wherfore this is an euident &s;igne (that if wee &s;hould &s;eeme to grant, (which in no ca&s;e is to be graunted) the &s;uc|ce&s;&s;ion of <HI>Peter</HI> vnto your Bi&s;hop of Rome) that he doeth farre de|generate from the diligence of <HI>Saint Peter,</HI> who had more care to &s;aue &s;oules, then to become riche &amp; famous in the face of the earth: yea, to haue all men &s;ubiect vnto him, euen Emperours and kings to ki&s;&s;e his foote. Your Pope do|eth alter from the doings of S. Peter, for Saint Peter neuer warranted to any man the po&s;|&s;e&s;&s;ion of heauen for monies &s;ake: but your Pope, like a good ped|ler, &s;etteth all things to &s;ale, and he that bringeth mo&s;t, &s;hal in hea|uen beare the greate&s;t &s;waye. Wherefore the&s;e wordes of <HI>Bapti|&s;ta <PB REF="33"> Mantuanus</HI> are true, &s;peaking of the vnhappie &s;tate of Rome:
<Q><L>&mdash; venalia nobis</L>
<L>Templa, &s;acerdotes, altaria, Sacra, coronae,</L>
<L>Ignis, thura, preces, coelu~ e&s;t venale, Deu&s;&abque;:</L></Q> Among&s;t vs in Rome, churches, prie&s;tes, altars, ma&s;&s;es, crownes, fire, incen&s;e, prayer, and heauen are &s;et to &s;ale, yea God him&s;elfe a|mong&s;t vs may be had for mony. <HI>Budaeus</HI> &s;ayth,
<HI>Sanctiones Po~tificiae no~ moribus regendis v&s;ui &s;unt, &s;ed, (propemodum dixerim) argentariae faciendae autoritatem videntur ac|commodare:</HI> The Popes canons &s;erue not nowe to guyde mens liues, but, (if I may &s;o &s;ay) they &s;erue rather to make a banke, &amp; to get money.
<HI>Bernard of Clunice</HI> &s;ayeth thus, <HI>Roma dat omnibus omnia dantibus. Omnia Romae cum pretio:</HI> Rome giueth all things to them that giue all thinges. All things at Rome wil pa&s;&s;e for mo|ney. Yea euen in the Popes own
<PB REF="34"> Decretals, you &s;hall find it noted thus, <HI>in &s;exto de elect. &amp; electi po|te&s;tat. fundame~ta in margine, Roma e&s;t caput auaritiae, ideo omnia ibi venduntur:</HI> Rome is the head of al couetou&s;nes, &amp; therfore al things there are &s;et to &s;ale. Yea Thomas Becket him&s;elf (whom you call a &s;aint, (&amp; who&s;e fe&s;tiual day about Chri&s;tmas time you keepe with great &s;olemnitie,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Gul. Neub. lib. 2. cap. 15 &amp; 25.</NOTE> &amp; a fewe of his bones you keep in &s;uch reuere~ce, y^t God him&s;elfe is not honored &s;o much) whe~ for his wilfull di&s;obe|dience, &amp; trea&s;on co~mitted again&s;t his prince, he had fled for ayde and &s;uccour to Rome, and &s;awe that nothing woulde be wrought there without mony) wrote thus thereof to the Bi&s;hop of Menze, <HI>Mater Roma facta e&s;t meretrix, &amp; pro&s;tituta e&s;t pro mercede:</HI> Rome our mother is become an harlot, and for money and meede layeth her &s;elfe to &s;ale. To be &s;hort, you <PB REF="34"> know that our fathers long &s;i|thens were wont to &s;ay,
<HI>Curia Romana non captat ouem &s;ine lana:</HI> The court of Rome wil not take the &s;heepe w^tout the fliece.<NOTE PLACE="marg">Iohn 2. Matth.
21.</NOTE> Chri&s;t &s;ometime thru&s;t &s;uch byers, &s;el|lers, brokers and coar&s;ers out of the Temple: but contrariwi&s;e, you haue receiued in byers and &s;ellers, and thru&s;t out Chri&s;t, and &s;o haue turned the hou&s;e of God into a denne of theeues. Saint Paul &s;ayth thus vnto the people of Ephe&s;us, <HI>Argentum &amp; aurum nullius concupiui:</HI> I haue de&s;ired no mans golde or &s;iluer. Vpon which wordes, in the glo&s;e it is noted thus,
<HI>Per hoc lupi cogno&s;|cuntur, qui talia concupi&s;cunt:</HI> Hereby they y^t de&s;ire &s;uch things, are knowne for wolues. Saint Hierome &s;aith,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Hierom. 1. quae&s;t. 1. lib. Nunquam diuinatio.</NOTE> <HI>Quia Prophetae pe|cuniam accipiebant, prophetia eo|rum facta e&s;t diuinatio:</HI> For that the Prophets fel to taking of mo|ney, <PB REF="35"> therfore their prophecy was become a &s;ooth&s;aying, that is to &s;ay, it was of the Deuill, and not of God. This I &s;aye, that ac|cording to your dealing, hee that is poore, is not like to go to hea|uen, but y^e rich is &s;ure to be &s;aued. Nowe you alledge &s;ucce&s;&s;ion of places, not farre vnlike to the Iewes, who will inclo&s;e <HI>orbem in vrbe,</HI> the whole worlde in one citie: but we &s;ee that God hath cho&s;en many out of Ieru&s;alem, &amp; the Church is not tyed therunto, &amp; God hath &s;uffred by his righte|ous will, many Chri&s;tia~ churches to be turned into the te~ples of the Turks, as that of
<HI>Ephe&s;us,</HI> foun|ded by <HI>S. Paul,</HI> &amp; <HI>S. Iohn,</HI> &amp; that of Bonne in Barbarie, where <HI>Saint Au&s;tin</HI> preached, &amp;c. And further it is &s;ayde there expre&s;ly, <HI>Glo&s;&s;a communis in eum ver&s;iculum, A|pocal.</HI> 12.8. <HI>&amp;c.</HI> that y^e Church of God for a long time, by rea&s;on of <PB REF="35"> the per&s;ecution of Antichri&s;t, &s;hal retire her&s;elf into the wildernes, as the common glo&s;e it &s;elfe doeth expounde. If euer there were church that might alledge &s;ucce&s;|&s;ion of place, it was Ieru&s;alem, for of it was &s;aid,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Deut.
12.11. 2. Sam. 7.10. 1. King. 8.29</NOTE> <HI>Dominus in hoc Templo in aeternum habitabit:</HI> The Lord wil euermore dwell in this hou&s;e. Al&s;o,<NOTE PLACE="marg"><GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="1 letter">. King. 21.7. P&s;al,
132.14.</NOTE> <HI>Elegi <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="1 span"> hanc domum, vt nomen meum <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="1 word"> in perpetuum maneat:</HI> I haue cho+&s;en this hou&s;e, to the end that my name may dwell there for euer. And therefore the Prie&s;ts had no other an&s;were to al the Prophets that reprooued them, but this, <HI>Templum Domini,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Iere. 7.4.</NOTE> <HI>Templum Do|mini:</HI> The Temple of the Lorde, the Temple of the Lorde. But &s;ee what the Lorde him&s;elfe an&s;we|reth vnto them, <HI>Ite</HI> (&s;ayth he) <HI>ad locum meum in Shiloh, vbi habita|uit nomen meum a principio, &amp;c.</HI> Go, and &s;ee Shiloh, I haue cho|&s;en <PB REF="36"> it from the beginning for my hou&s;e: nowe &s;ee what I haue done vnto it for the wickednes of my people, I wil do euen &s;o to the place, which I haue giuen vnto you, and to your fathers. But if you will that I dwell there, a|mend your wayes, &amp; turne from your euil deedes. Now therefore I &s;ay, if God hath for&s;aken his owne Temple, for the iniquitie of the Prie&s;tes, euen then, when he had none be&s;ides erected in the whole worlde, mu&s;t we tye our &s;elues to the church of Rome, or to any other place, where all the clymates of the world are equal|ly his temple? I can not but mar|uaile, why any of our countrey men &s;houlde take the church of Rome, to be the mother church of all churches, and the &s;ame to be an article of our faith. We are not expre&s;ly commanded by the word of God, to acknowledge y^e church <PB REF="36"> of Rome, <HI>Caput mundi,</HI> the head of the worlde: neyther is it expre&s;|&s;ed in holy &s;cripture, that we are condemned, if we beleeue not at all the traditions of men: but the Scripture manife&s;tly doeth<NOTE PLACE="marg">E&s;ay 29.13. Matth. 15.3. Colo&s;. 2.8.</NOTE> for|bid vs to beleue them. If you can find one only text of the &s;cripture, that willeth and commandeth vs to beleeue in the Romane church, as hauing prerogatiue ouer all churches the world throughout, I will be on your &s;ide to y^e death. But no &s;uch place, I am certain, you can &s;hewe in the whole Bi|ble, that the Romane church is y^e <HI>holy Catholique Church,</HI> which all men (of what countrey &s;oeuer they be) mu&s;t acknowledge to be chiefe&s;t. It is not &s;ufficient to claime &s;ucce&s;&s;ion of place, it beho|ueth vs rather to haue regard to the &s;ucce&s;&s;ion of doctrine.<NOTE PLACE="marg">Bernard. in Concil. Rem</NOTE> <HI>Bernard</HI> &s;ayth, <HI>Quid prode&s;t, &s;i canonice eli|gantur, &amp; non canonice viuant?</HI>
<PB REF="37"> What auaileth it, if they be cho&s;e~ in order, &amp; liue out of order? So &s;ayeth Saint Augu&s;tine <HI>contra Donati&s;tas,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Augu&s;t. lib. 6. 1. q. 3. Vo|catur canes.</NOTE> <HI>Ip&s;um characterem multi lupi &amp; lupis imprimunt:</HI> The outward marke, or right of a Bi|&s;hoppe many giue to wolues, and be wolues them &s;elues. There|fore the auncient father Ireneus giueth vs this good coun&s;ell, <HI>Eis qui &s;unt in eccle&s;ia praesbyteris, obe|dire oportet, qui &s;ucce&s;sionem ha|bent ab Apo&s;tolis: qui cum epi&s;co|patus &s;ucce&s;sione chari&s;ma verita|tis certum, &s;ecundum beneplacitum patris acceperunt:</HI> It becommeth vs to obey tho&s;e Prie&s;tes in the church, which haue their &s;ucce&s;&s;i|on from the Apo&s;tles, and toge|ther with the &s;ucce&s;&s;ion of the By&s;hoprickes, according to the good wil of God the Father, haue receiued the vndoubted gyft of the trueth. Saint Cyprian be|ing likewi&s;e charged for di&s;&s;en|ting
<PB REF="37"> from his predece&s;&s;ours, an|&s;wereth thus,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Cyprian. lib. 2. Epi&s;t. 3.</NOTE> <HI>Si quis de antece&s;|&s;oribus meis non hoc ob&s;eruauit &amp; tenuit, quod nos dominus exemplo &amp; magi&s;terio &s;uo docuit, pote&s;t &s;im|plicitati eius venia concedi: nobis vero igno&s;ci non pote&s;t, qui nunc a Domino admoniti &amp; in&s;tructi &s;u|mus:</HI> If any of my predece&s;&s;ours haue not ob&s;erued and kept the &s;ame that our Lord hath taught vs both by his example and com|mandement, his &s;implicitie may be pardoned: but we (if we doe the like) can hope for no pardon, being now admoni&s;hed &amp; in&s;truc|ted of our Lorde. Compare y^e v&s;e &amp; order of our churches (my bre|thre~) with y^e Primitiue church of God, and you &s;hall ea&s;ely &s;ee the right of our &s;ucce&s;&s;ion. S. Cypri|an &s;ayeth, <HI>(ad Pompeium contra Epi&s;tolam Stephani) Si canalis aquae quae copio&s;&egrave; pri&ugrave;s &amp; largiter profluebat, &s;ubit&ograve; deficiat, nonne ad <PB REF="38"> fontem pergitur? &amp;c. Hoc &amp; nunc facere oportet Dei &s;acerdotes prae|cepta diuina &s;eruantes, vt in aliquo &s;i mutauerit &amp; vacillauerit veritas, ad originem Dominicam &amp; Euan|gelicam, atque Apo&s;tolicam tradi|tionem reuertamur: &amp; inde &s;urgat actus no&s;tri ratio, vnde &amp; ordo &amp; origo &s;urrexit:</HI> If the pipes of the conduyte, which before ranne with aboundance, happen to faile, doe wee not v&s;e to &s;earch to the head? &amp;c. The Prie&s;tes of God keeping Gods commande|ments, mu&s;t doe the &s;ame: that if the trueth haue faynted or fayled in any point, wee returne to the very originall of our Lorde, and to the tradition of the Go&s;pel, &amp; of the Apo&s;tles, that from thence wee maye take the di&s;cretion of our doings, from whence the or|der it &s;elfe and originall fir&s;t be|gan. Thus much touching &s;uc|ce&s;&s;ion of place. Now I exhorte <PB REF="38"> you brotherly to be reconciled to the true church of God, I meane the Church of England, wherein you finde not &s;o many idolaters, Necromancers, heretikes, adul|terers, Sodomites, churchrob|bers, periured per&s;ons, mankil|lers, Runnagates, mo~&s;ters, Si|cophants, Clawbacks, &s;launde|ring tongues, &s;cribes and phari|&s;es, as you may ea&s;ely finde in the church of Rome. Boa&s;t not of the &s;ucce&s;&s;ion of your Pope. S. Paul &s;ayth,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Rom.
10.17.</NOTE> Faith co~meth (not by &s;ucce&s;&s;ion, but) by hearing, and, hearing commeth (not of legacie or inheritance fro~ Bi&s;hop to Bi|&s;hop, but) of the worde of God. They are not alwayes godly, that &s;ucceede the godly. Mana&s;|&s;es &s;ucceeded Ezechias, and Ie|roboam &s;ucceeded Dauid the Prophet. By &s;ucce&s;&s;ion, y^e Turke this day po&s;&s;e&s;&s;eth and holdeth the foure great patriarchal Sees <PB REF="39"> of the church, Con&s;tantinople, A|lexandria, Antioch, and Hieru&s;a|lem.<NOTE PLACE="marg">Dan. 9.25. Matt.
24.15. Mar. 13.14. Luk. 21.20.</NOTE> By &s;ucce&s;&s;ion, De&s;olation &s;hal &s;it in the holy place, and An|tichri&s;t &s;hall prea&s;&s;e into y^e roome of Chri&s;t. Thus much (welbelo|ued brethren) touching &s;ucce&s;&s;ion of place. Now I will &s;peake a li|tle in confutation of your forged myracles, wherewith you &s;eeke to oppugne the true church of Chri&s;t, and defende your wicked church of Antichri&s;t, polluted with all maner of dete&s;table ido|latrie and cur&s;ed &s;uper&s;tition. There are two maner of myra|cles,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Miracles.</NOTE> the one true, the other fal&s;e. Myracles are counted fal&s;e, when either they be not that which they &s;eeme to bee, or if they be, they are not &s;upernatural, but are done by vertue of nature, and that, the Angels either good or bad, three maner of waies may bring to pa&s;&s;e. For &s;ometime the <PB REF="39"> force of nature which they be&s;t knowe, they accommodate to the matter, of which coniunction with efficient cau&s;es folowe the effects, and that &s;uddenly, which effectes are of the beholders, thought to bee myracles. The de|uils knowe, that frogs, wormes, or &s;erpents bee ingendred of pu|trefacted and rotten things, &s;o that there be put heate in certain degrees, in con&s;ideration where|of, (&s;eeing that it is not a hard thing for them to do the&s;e things which by nature maye bee wrought) it is y^e ea&s;ier to deceiue the weake of beliefe. And by this meanes S.<NOTE PLACE="marg">Augu&s;t. de Trin. lib. 3.</NOTE> Augu&s;tine thought (as he writeth in his third booke of Trinity) Pharaos Magicians &s;ometime to haue done the &s;ame. Moreouer the coniunctions of the &s;pirits, of bloud and of hu|mors, do much di&s;quiet mens bo|dies, from whence proceede the <PB REF="40"> &s;ights or vi&s;io~s of things, which are in tho&s;e things con&s;erued in y^e &s;ame motion, before they come into the
<HI>phanta&s;ie</HI> or imaginatio~: and by the &s;ame rea&s;on and or|der wherewith the &s;pirit is trou|bled, it ioyneth them together, which thing appeareth in &s;uch as be Phrentique. Wee are not bound of nece&s;&s;itie to beleeue all &s;uch myracles what&s;oeuer, with|out exception. Alexander of Hales &s;ayeth, <HI>Par.</HI> 4. <HI>quae&s;t.</HI> 53. <HI>Mem.</HI> 4.
<HI>ar.</HI> 3. <HI>&s;olut.</HI> 2. <HI>In &s;acramen|to apparet caro, interdum humana procuratione, interdum operatione diabolica:</HI> In the Sacrament it &s;elfe there appeareth fle&s;h, &s;ome|tyme by the conueyance of men, &s;ometime by the woorking of the deuill. Likewi&s;e &s;aith <HI>Nicholaus Lyra,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Lyr. in 14. Dan.</NOTE> <HI>Aliquando in eccle&s;ia fit ma|xima deceptio populi in miraculis factis a Sacerdotibus, vel eis adhae|rentibus propter lucrum:</HI> Some|time <PB REF="40"> euen in the church the peo|ple are &s;hamefully deceiued with feigned miracles, wrought either by the Prie&s;tes, or els by their companions for lucres &s;ake. Mi|racles be not euermore vndouted proofes of true doctrine: therfore Saint Augu&s;tine &s;aith vnto the Manichees, <HI>Miracula non facitis,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Aug. lib. 13.</NOTE> <HI>quae &s;i faceretis, tamen ip&s;a in vobis caueremus:</HI> You woorke no my|racles, and yet if you wrought a|ny, at your hands we would take heede of them.<NOTE PLACE="marg">Iere. 23.</NOTE> The Prophet Ie|remie &s;aith, <HI>Seduxerunt populum meum in mendaciis &s;uis, &amp; in mira|culis &s;uis:</HI> They haue deceiued my people by their lyes, and by their myracles. Aug. <HI>in Ioan. tract.</HI> 23.13. &s;aith, <HI>Contra i&s;tos (vt &s;ic lo|quar) mirabiliarios cautum me fe|cit Deus meus, dicens, In noui&s;si|mis temporibus exurgent p&s;eudo|prophetae, facientes &s;igna &amp; porten|ta, vt in errorem inducant (&s;i fieri <PB REF="41"> pote&s;t) etiam electos: praedixi vobis. Ergo cautos nos fecit &s;pon&s;us, quia &amp; miraculis decipi non debemus:</HI> My God hath warned me to be|ware of the&s;e myracle mongers, &s;aying, In the la&s;t dayes &s;hal ri&s;e vp fal&s;e prophets, working &s;ignes &amp; wonders, to y^e end (if it be po&s;&s;i|ble) to bring the elect into error: beholde, I haue forewarned you. Therfore y^e bridegrome hath wil|led vs to beware, for we may not be deceiued, no not by miracles. S. Chry&s;o&s;t.<NOTE PLACE="marg">In Matth. Hom. 49.</NOTE> &s;aith,
<HI>In fine te~poris co~cede~da e&s;t pote&s;tas diabolo vt fa|ciat &s;igna vtilia, vt iam mini&s;tros Chri&s;ti non per hoc cogno&s;camus, quia vtilia faciu~t &s;igna, &s;ed quia om|nino haec &s;igna non faciu~t:</HI> In y^e end of time power mu&s;t be granted to y^e deuill to worke profitable mira|cles, y^t then we ca~not know y^e mi|ni&s;ters of Chri&s;t, by y^t they worke profitable myracles, but by y^t they worke no myracles at all. S. Au|gu&s;t.
<PB REF="41"> &s;ayth, <HI>Non dicat, Ideo verum e&s;t, quia illa vel illa mirabilia fecit, vel i&s;te vel ille, aut quia homines ad memorias mortuorum no&s;trorum orant, &amp; exaudiuntur: aut quia illa vel illa ibi contingunt, &amp;c. Remo|ueantur i&s;ta vel figmenta mendaci|um hominum, vel portenta fallaci|um &s;pirituum:</HI> Let no man &s;aye, Therefore it is true, for that this man or that man wrought this or that myracle, or for that men make their praiers at the tombes of our dead, and obteine their de|&s;ires, or for that the&s;e miracles be wrought there, &amp;c. Away with the&s;e things, they may be either the iuglings and mockeries of deceitfull men, or els illu&s;ions of lying &s;pirits. Againe &s;aint Chry|&s;o&s;tome &s;aith,<NOTE PLACE="marg">In Matth. Hom. 49.</NOTE> <HI>Per &s;igna cogno&s;ce|batur qui e&s;&s;ent veri Chri&s;tiani, qui fal&s;i: Nunc autem &s;ignorum opera|tio omnin&ograve; leuata e&s;t, magis autem inueniuntur apud eos qui fal&s;i &s;unt <PB REF="42"> Chri&s;tiani:</HI> In olde tyme it was knowne by myracles, who were the true Chri&s;tians, and who the fal&s;e: but nowe the working of myracles is taken quite away, and is rather found among them that be fal&s;e chri&s;tians. Neither is the Go&s;pel of Chri&s;t preached this daye vtterly without myra|cles. The blinde &s;ee, the dombe &s;peake. Your idols are fallen. Your great Babylon is come to ground. The&s;e thinges my bre|thren, (if you haue eies to &s;ee) are no &s;mall miracles. Saynt Chry|&s;o&s;t. &s;ayth,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Chry&s;o&s;t. in. 1. Cor. hom 8.</NOTE> The conuer&s;ion of the worlde is a miracle. Saint Aug. <HI>De verbo Domini &s;ecund. Matth. Serm.</HI>
18. &s;ayeth, <HI>Modo caro cae|ca non aperit oculos miraculo Do|mini, &amp; cor caecum aperit oculos &s;ermone Domini:</HI> Now a dayes the blind fle&s;he openeth not her eyes by the myracle of our Lorde, but the blinde heart openeth his <PB REF="42"> eyes at the worde of our Lorde. And againe,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Ibid.</NOTE> <HI>Modo aures corporis &s;urdae non aperiuntur: &s;ed qu&agrave;m multi habent clau&s;as aures cordis, quae tamen (verbo Dei penetrante) pate&s;cant.</HI> Nowe a dayes the deafe eares of the body be not o|pened: yet many they are, that haue the eares of their heart &s;hut vp: which eares notwith&s;tan|ding are opened by entring of the worde of God. Therefore I may rightly &s;aye to you with other wordes of Saint Augu&s;tine <HI>de ciuitate Dei,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Lib. 22. ca. 8.</NOTE> <HI>Qui&s;quis adhuc pro|digia vt credat inquirit, magnum e&s;t ip&s;e prodigium, qui mundo creden|te non credit:</HI> Who&s;oeuer yet re|quireth myracles to bring him to the fayth, is him&s;elfe a great my|racle, who &s;eeing that the world beleeueth, remayneth &s;till in vn|beliefe.<NOTE PLACE="marg">Matt. 27.4<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="1 letter">.</NOTE> Whereas the Phari&s;es &s;aid of Chri&s;t, Let him now come downe from the cro&s;&s;e, &amp; we will
<PB REF="43"> beleeue him. Saint Hierome in Matth. 27. &s;ayth vnto them,
<HI>Eti|am&s;i de cruce de&s;cenderet, &s;imiliter non crederetis:</HI> Yea, although he &s;houlde come downe from the cro&s;&s;e, yet would you not beleeue him. But it were a worlde to be|hold the glorious countenance of your myracles, your cro&s;&s;es can &s;peak,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Popi&s;h miracles.</NOTE> your idoles can goe, your i|mages can light their own la~pes, your holy water is able to calme the &s;ea, to cha&s;e away myce, &amp; to make barren women to co~ceiue. If you doubt hereof, co~ferre with Ma&s;ter Cope,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Dial. 1. Pag. 18.</NOTE> whome (as I thinke) you knewe aliue, &amp; were pre&s;ent at his burial at Rome in y^e Engli&s;h Church: you knewe him a Canon of S. Peters church at Rome, and one whom Cardinal Ho&s;ius greatly e&s;teemed. But now both Ho&s;ius and Cope are dead. Conferre al&s;o with that worthy Prelate the Bi&s;hop of <PB REF="43"> <HI>Verona,</HI> your holy father
<HI>Lypo|manus.</HI> I am &s;ory, welbeloued, that you are &s;o readie to approue your myracles with fal&s;e rea&s;o~s, and vn&s;table grounds: howbeit &s;uch religion, &s;uch myracles. Saint Hierom &s;ayeth,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Ad Alga&s;i|am.</NOTE> <HI>Mendaci|um Antichri&s;ti Chri&s;ti veritas de|uorabit:</HI> The trueth of Chri&s;t &s;hall deuoure and con&s;ume the fal&s;ehood of Antichri&s;t. The hea|then had their deuili&s;h myracles in the temple of their fal&s;e gods, &amp; in effect true, as may appeare by all their hi&s;tories. Reade Ti|tus Liuius in many places.<NOTE PLACE="marg">Et M. Cic.
1. Diuinat.</NOTE> Si|mon Magus, who would be ac|knowledged as Chri&s;t, wrought miracles. So much touching your miracles. Touching reuela|tions &amp; vi&s;ions, which are a kind of myracles, wee haue the playne text which decideth this matter: <HI>Cum &s;urgens in medio tui Prophe|ta, &s;omnians &s;omnium, ediderit ti|bi <PB REF="44"> &s;ignum aut prodigium, (quamuis eueniat &s;ignum illud aut prodigiu~, quod praedixerat tibi) dicendo, Se|quamur deos alienos, quos non no|ueras, &amp; colamus eos, &amp;c.</HI> If there &s;hall ari&s;e (&s;ayeth the Lorde in Deut. 13.) amidde&s;t thee a Pro|phet or a dreamer of dreames, and that the &s;igne or myracle which he hath tolde thee come to pa&s;&s;e, &amp; thereupon woulde turne thee away to &s;trange gods, &amp;c. thou &s;halt not heare him, &amp;c. There are then both Prophets and vi&s;ions true in effect, and yet fal&s;e in their ende, and the tryall of them (as wee may &s;ee by this text) is the doctrine. Likewy&s;e when Saynt Iohn (to the ende to keepe vs from fal&s;e prophets) exhorteth vs to proue the &s;pirits,<NOTE PLACE="marg">1. Iohn 4.</NOTE> and by and by he addeth, Hereby &s;hal you knowe the &s;pirit of God, Euery &s;pirite that confe&s;&s;eth that Ie&s;us Chri&s;t is come in y^e fle&s;h, is <PB REF="44"> of God, &amp;c. that is to &s;ay, Proue the &s;pirits by the doctrine which they preach. Therefore Saul &amp; Caiaphas haue prophecied, but (as Saynt Augu&s;tine &s;ayeth) as Balaams a&s;&s;e once &s;pake,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Augu&s;t. lib. 2 ad &s;impli. quae&s;t. 1.</NOTE> &amp; yet for all that, they might haue once &s;poken the trueth: for the deuill him&s;elf (to colour his lying) &s;ome|times &s;peaketh the trueth. Howe weake (my brethren) your reue|lations be, and howe &s;mall credit ought to be giuen therunto, there is no man but &s;houlde know. At Rome you haue them that re|ceiue reuelations daily, as for ex|ample: A poore man there is in the citie of Rome (of whome I doubt not but you haue heard) who maketh men beleeue, that our ble&s;&s;ed Lady, with her garde of heauenly mayds, &s;aluteth him, and hath conference with him dayly. This man is no otherwi&s;e then a Saynt counted among <PB REF="45"> the Ie&s;uits. The Pope hath him to pray for him, the people regard him as a holy holy man. This man helpeth the citizens, to bring the wood from Tyber &s;yde to their hou&s;es: of his gaine hee re|&s;erueth nothing el&s;e, but y^t which is &s;ufficie~t for meat, drink &amp; cloth: y^e re&s;t he giueth to y^e poore. Father
<HI>Hieronimus</HI> Ie&s;uite, repetitour of the Logicia~s in the Engli&s;h Se|minarie at Rome, reported that there was there dwelling, an old woman (I wil not otherwi&s;e cal her, for I deale gently &amp; mildely w^t you) which would (as he &s;ayd) tell him euery thing that hee had done in his life time, and when he came to her hou&s;e at any time, &s;he would tell one of her maydes (not hauing &s;een him) that there was &s;uch a felowe comming vnto her hou&s;e. She al&s;o foretolde him, y^t he &s;houlde become a Ie&s;uite. Hee reported in like wi&s;e, how y^e Pope <PB REF="45"> in diuers matters co~&s;ulted w^t her. He prai&s;ed this woma~ out of mea|&s;ure, &amp; &s;ayd how &s;he was greatly in fauor with God, who reuealed &s;uch hidde~ &amp; &s;ecret my&s;teries vn|to her. He co~mended thereby the happie &s;tate of Rome, that there &s;houlde be &s;uch in y^t city, as were worthy to receiue the&s;e reuelatio~s &amp; vi&s;ions: he counted her a Saint. No dout, if one y^t I knew at Cow|bridge in Wales, in the Towne where I was borne, had bene there, they would haue taken him as a Saint, and familiar felowe with Chri&s;t. For, (whe~ he was a|liue, as he wandred the countrey) he made men beleeue, y^t he woulde tell them their fortune, what thinges had before chaunced in their time, &amp; thinges that &s;houlde happen afterwardes euen vnto their dying day. But this man (as he was wont to &s;aye) tooke his reuelations fro~ the Pharies: But <PB REF="46"> the Romani&s;ts affirme, that their reuelations come from God, or from &s;ome Angell or Saint of heauen, where as in very deede, if a man had the &s;traight exami|nation of them, I am per&s;waded they would confe&s;&s;e, that they haue their reuelations from the Phairies, or fro~ the deuill, as the other had, whereof mention is made. Moreouer, there was a rich man in Lombardy, that had y^e like reuelations, but farre more excellent then the other: vpon con&s;ideration whereof hee &s;olde all that he had, and gaue it to the poore frankly. For it was reuea|led vnto him in a vi&s;ion by Chri&s;t &amp; his Apo&s;tles, and the &s;ame al&s;o confirmed with the bodyly pre|&s;ence of our ble&s;&s;ed Lady, that he &s;hould be Pope of Rome, and &s;hould tra~&s;late the See of Rome into the citie of Hieru&s;alem. This man, not able to reade, pre&s;umed <PB REF="46"> to preach, and gathered vnto him twelue Apo&s;tles, who (at his co~|mandement) preached in like|wi&s;e. They had many folowers, and &s;uch as beleeued him, &s;o much the &s;ooner, for that he told them, that hee had receiued a re|uelation. He was pre&s;ented be|fore Cardinall Bromeo Cardinal of Milaine, who examined him: and when he had tolde this vi&s;i|on, he was di&s;mi&s;t, and &s;ette at libertie. They counted not this man an heretique, for crediting &s;uch fal&s;e reuelations, making him&s;elfe Chri&s;t, &amp; choo&s;ing to him &s;elf twelue Apo&s;tles. Oh my bre|thren, deceyue not your &s;elues, &amp; &s;eeke not to deceyue others that meane you no hurt. It is but in vaine to &s;wim again&s;t y^e &s;treame. It is not wi&s;dome to mainteyne an error knowe~. I am &s;ure your con&s;ciences are burnt with hoate yrons, &s;peaking and mayntey|ning <PB REF="47"> lyes in hypocri&s;ie. Oh giue not your &s;elues ouer into repro|bate &amp; wilful mindes, de&s;pi&s;e not the wi&s;dome of God within your &s;elues. Seeke not to be offen&s;iue and grieuous to any which bee of the Church of Chri&s;te. Doe what you can, Gods trueth is mightie, &amp; &s;hall preuayle. Dagon &s;hal fal down headlo~g before the Arke, the darknes &s;hal flee before the light, &amp; the more fiercely ma~s wi&s;edome &s;hall with&s;tande, the more glorious &s;hal God be in his victorie: the more you doe fal&s;ely &s;launder the faithfull and true meaning mini&s;ters of God, the greater &s;hal their reward bee in the heauenly kingdom of Chri&s;t. If you take my conuer&s;ion to the true church, to be outwardly and not inwardly, and the &s;ame to be &s;potted with hypocri&s;ie, I may bee &s;orye, not for my &s;elfe, (as though I were &s;uch a one as you <PB REF="47"> take mee to be, for GOD kno|weth it is nothing &s;o, his name be prai&s;ed therefore:) but for your ra&s;hne&s;&s;e in iudging that which you knowe not. It is God that is the &s;earcher of mens heartes, and none other. If I recanted, eyther for feare of puni&s;hment, or for prefermentes &s;ake, you mought count me then (if it were &s;o, as it is not) to be farre wor&s;e then a Turke or Pagan, who neuer receiued the trueth. Howe can I be a Prote&s;tant outward|ly, and a Papi&s;t in heart, with a minde to be &s;aued? You knowe, that according to your owne pa|pi&s;ticall lawes, no man dare in co~mon a&s;&s;embly deny the Popes authoritie, and afterwardes to name him&s;elf the member of that church of Rome. I am &s;ure that no man is a true chri&s;tian, which with his lippes doeth profe&s;&s;e Chri&s;t, and with his heart doeth <PB REF="48"> flatly denye him. As I doe ac|knowledge that there is a God, a Trinitie in vnitie to be woor|&s;hipped, who hath mo&s;t gloriou&s;|ly beautified the heauens, mo&s;t plentifully enriched the earth, mo&s;t Angelically created man, who hath ordeyned the heauen to mayntaine life and light, the earth to &s;uccour and &s;u&s;taine na|ture, all creatures liuing in land and water, to &s;upply his wants, nothing to be reckened &amp; named, which he hath not mo&s;t libe|rally giuen vnto man, as appoin|ting him lord and &s;oueraigne, but them his ve&s;&s;els and &s;eruants. Again&s;t hunger, (le&s;t we &s;houlde fami&s;h) he hath prouided nou|ri&s;hment, again&s;t thir&s;t, (le&s;t we &s;houlde peri&s;h) he hath ordayned &s;auoury liquors. Again&s;t colde, (le&s;t we &s;hould die in our naked|ne&s;&s;e) he hath giuen vs clothing. As I acknowledge the omnipo|tencie <PB REF="48"> of God, and confe&s;&s;e the vnmea&s;urable greatne&s;&s;e of his goodnes &amp; loue towardes man: &s;o do I verily, from the very bot|tome of my heart, dete&s;t your Po|pi&s;h religion, &amp; embrace the vnde|filed trueth of Chri&s;tes Go&s;pell. I cal God to witne&s;&s;e, that what I haue already &s;poken with my lippes, that doe I e&s;tabli&s;h in my minde. I be&s;eech you all, (&s;uch as haue for&s;aken the Pope) &s;ome|times to praye for mee, that it would plea&s;e God to make me a profitable member of his church, and &s;tedfa&s;t in the faith of Ie&s;us Chri&s;t, euen vnto y^e end of my life. So much for Antiquitie, Mul|titude, &s;ucce&s;&s;ion of per&s;ons or place, miracles and reuelations. God of his mercy graunt you, my brethren, true repentance. Nowe good Chri&s;tian audience, and welbeloued brethren, I will &s;peake a worde or two touching <PB REF="49"> the images, which Papi&s;tes al|low, and haue in their churches. The &s;criptures in &s;undry places plainely forbid any image to bee made. The Lorde warned the people of I&s;rael,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Deut. 4.15.</NOTE> that they &s;hould reme~ber that they &s;awe no image in the day that y^e Lord &s;pake vnto them in Horeb, out of the mids of the fire.<NOTE PLACE="marg">I&s;a. 40.18.</NOTE> And in I&s;aiah, <HI>Cui a&s;&s;i|milabitis Deum, aut qua &s;imilitudi|ne illum exprimetis?</HI> To whome then wil you liken God, or what &s;imilitude will you &s;ette vp vnto him? And againe, the Lorde con|firmeth the &s;ame,<NOTE PLACE="marg">I&s;a. 44.9. to the 19.</NOTE> &s;aying, <HI>Quis au|debit effingere Deum, aut fu&s;ile aut &s;culptile facile, quod nihil prode&s;t?</HI> Who hath made a god, or molten an image, that is profitable for nothing? Beholde, all they that are of the fellow&s;hip thereof, &s;hal be confounded, for the workmen them&s;elues are men: let them all be gathered together, and &s;tande <PB REF="49"> vp, yet they &s;hal feare, and be con|founded together. I can not a li|tle maruayle, that among you, my brethren, (I meane the Pa|pi&s;tes) that <HI>Dominicke A&s;otus,</HI> writing vpon the Epi&s;tle to the Romanes, the fir&s;t chapter,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Rom. 2.21.</NOTE> dur&s;t &s;o boldly affirme, that in the &s;ame comma~dement of God, the Chri|&s;tia~s were not forbidden to make images, repre&s;enting the fourme of man: for (&s;ayde hee) the lawe there onely maketh mention of birdes, of fourefooted bea&s;tes, &amp; of creeping wormes, whereas in very deede they are &s;trayghtly charged not to make the images of male or female. Moreouer it is expre&s;&s;ed in the P&s;alme,<NOTE PLACE="marg">P&s;al. 115.4, 5, 6, &amp;c.</NOTE> <HI>Os ha|bent, &amp; non loquuntur, pedes ha|bent, &amp; non ambulant, aures habe~t, &amp; non audiunt, nares, &amp; non odo|rantur:</HI> They haue a mouth, and &s;peake not, they haue feete, and walke not, they haue eares, and <PB REF="50"> heare not, they haue no&s;es, and &s;mell not. The Carpenter is bla|med in I&s;aiah,<NOTE PLACE="marg">I&s;aiah 44.13, 14.</NOTE> which of one part of the hewen tree, maketh an i|mage, of the other parte he ma|keth fire, and vpon the &s;ame he baketh bread, he carueth and la|boureth much, that he may ex|pre&s;&s;e the &s;imilitude of a man. By all the&s;e places it doeth manife&s;t|ly appeare, that the images of men are vtterly forbidden, which are in&s;tituted to a religious end: And yet you (though you knowe that all maner wor&s;hipping of images is forbidden by expre&s;&s;e te&s;timonies of the holy &s;cripture) mu&s;t haue them for&s;ooth, (as you &s;ay) for bookes vnto &s;uch as can not reade. What thinke you in making the image of God the fa|ther, and God the holy Gho&s;t? You knowe God is a Spirite:<NOTE PLACE="marg">Iohn 4.24.</NOTE> whereof it followeth, that you can not expre&s;&s;e his forme, with <PB REF="50"> lineaments, with paintings and colours. It is writte~,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Iohn 1.18. 1. Tim. 2.16. 1. Ioh.
4.12.</NOTE> that no ma~ hath euer &s;eene God. Why then, if he can not be &s;eene, or if he po&s;|&s;e&s;&s;e inacce&s;&s;ible light, howe can he be pictured? or howe &s;hould a picture make him to bee &s;eene? Moreouer, God is vnmea&s;ura|ble and infinite, but the thinges which are paynted, grauen, or molten, are mea&s;urable &amp; finite. Likewi&s;e, Images are made of men, that the ab&s;ent, after a ma|ner may be thought pre&s;ent: but God is euery where, neyther is he ab&s;ent from any thing. It is written in the P&s;alme,<NOTE PLACE="marg">P&s;al. 139.7, 8, 9.</NOTE> <HI>Si a&s;cen|dero in coelum, tu illic es.</HI> There|fore it behooueth vs, not to make God pre&s;ent, with images, &s;eeing he is alwaies pre&s;ent, &amp; to al men. The image &s;hould with apt &s;imi|litude expre&s;&s;e y^t which is to be re|pre&s;ented. Howe doeth the image of God the father rightly &amp; truly <PB REF="51"> repre&s;ent him, whereas he hath no beginning? The images are made by man, and haue a begin|ning. Who can &s;et forth the quan|titie of God and his wonderfull woorkes, howe he is neuer idle, but euermore doing that which tendeth to the &s;aluation of man? Contrariwi&s;e, images &s;leepe, and doe nothing at all. Moreouer God is altogether wi&s;edome and knowledge: whereas your ima|ges feele nothing, and vnder|&s;tande as much. Saint Paul &s;ayeth,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Actes 17.29.</NOTE> that we mu&s;t not thinke the Godhead to be like golde or &s;iluer, or &s;tone grauen by arte. God that made the worlde and all thinges therein,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Actes 7.48.</NOTE> &s;eeyng that he is Lorde of heauen and earth, dwelleth not in temples made with handes, neither is wor&s;hip|ped with mens hands, as though he needed any thing, &s;eeing he gi|ueth to all life and breath, and all <PB REF="51"> things. Fortunate doe I thinke tho&s;e &s;tones to be, whereof ima|ges are made, and put vpon your popi&s;h altars, becau&s;e they are had in &s;uch reuerence and honor among&s;t you, whereas other &s;tones not vnlike vnto the~, lye in y^e &s;treetes, are troden with feete, and &s;pet vpon.<NOTE PLACE="marg">Papi&s;tes obiection.</NOTE> You obiect vnto vs the authoritie of the Scrip|tures, and &s;ay, It is lawfull to paint God in the forme of man: which you &s;eeke to proue by the vii. of Daniel,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Dan. 7.13, 22.</NOTE> I behelde (&s;ayeth the Prophet) till the thrones were &s;et vpon, and the ancient of dayes did &s;itte, who&s;e garment was white as &s;nowe, and the heares of his head like y^e pure wooll, his throne was like the fiery flame, and his wheeles as burning fyre. In Ezechiel, &s;peaking of God,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Ezech.
1.5.</NOTE> is expre&s;&s;ed the figure of man. I&s;a|iah &s;ayeth,<NOTE PLACE="marg">E&s;ay 6.1.</NOTE> that he &s;awe God &s;it|ting vpon a Throne. Mo&s;es al&s;o <PB REF="52"> with the Seniours &s;awe God, when hee &s;ate in his Throne or tribunal &s;eate.<NOTE PLACE="marg">Exod. 33.20, 23.</NOTE> And in the mount he &s;awe God in the forme of man departing. Seeing the&s;e things nowe vttered were &s;eene of the Prophets, why then is it vnlaw|full for vs to paint God with co|lours and karuing?<MILESTONE N="An&s;were."> I an&s;were thus vnto your obiection, The diuer&s;itie of bodily members, which is a&s;cribed vnto God in the holy Bible, hath &s;hewed in a my&s;terie, that the Diuine nature &s;hould take vpo~ it y^e humane na|ture, and likewi&s;e it &s;ignified my|&s;tically, that God &s;hould take vp|on him fle&s;he, and become man. Yea (to let this an&s;were goe) I &s;ay, it was the goodne&s;&s;e of God, wherewith he &s;o applyed him&s;elf vnto our infirmity, that whereas we could not vnder&s;tand his na|ture, GOD appeared &s;o in the &s;ight of man, as though hee had <PB REF="52"> bene man him&s;elfe. By his eyes hee de&s;cribed prouidence, by his armes, &s;trength, by his handes, workeman&s;hippe, by his no|&s;trelles, wrath, and many things of like &s;orte. And whereas you &s;ay that it is lawfull for vs (for the expre&s;&s;ing of God) to v&s;e the like lineaments, colours, and caruings, it followeth not. To GOD there is no lawe giuen which hee ought to ob&s;erue, ney|ther are all thinges lawfull to men, which he iu&s;tly and rightly hath done.<NOTE PLACE="marg">Exod. 7.5.</NOTE> God reuengeth him on his enemies,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Gen. 22.2, 10</NOTE> hee giueth com|maundement to the father to kill his &s;onne,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Exod. 11.2.</NOTE> and he willeth the He|brues to take with the~ the goods of the Egyptians: which thinges if men &s;hould doe or commaund, they could not cleare them&s;elues of a great offence, committed a|gain&s;t God. The Lorde hath deli|uered a law to men, and to him|&s;elfe <PB REF="53"> hath hee giuen no lawe: for &s;eeing that hee is the Authour of the lawe, hee may thereof except what he ly&s;t. Wherefore it is to be graunted, that hee hath done nothing without con&s;iderati|on and infinite iudgement. I woulde gladly bee briefe: there|fore I refer you to the chapters which &s;peake again&s;t Images. Reade <HI>Exod.</HI> 20.4. <HI>Leui.</HI> 9.4. <HI>Num.</HI> 33.52.
<HI>Deut.</HI> 4.15. <HI>P&s;al.</HI> 115.4. <HI>P&s;al.</HI> 135.
<HI>E&s;a.</HI> 40.18. <HI>Ierem.</HI> 10.5. <HI>Ezech.</HI> 6.6. <HI>Heb.</HI>
2.18. <HI>Wi&s;.</HI> 13.10. <HI>Baruc.</HI> 6. <HI>Act.</HI> 17.42.
<HI>Rom.</HI> 14.3. 1. <HI>Cor.</HI> 5.11. 1. <HI>Cor.</HI> 6.6. <HI>Gal.</HI>
5.19. <HI>Iohn</HI> 4.5, 21. You &s;ee, my brethren, in howe many places the &s;cripture doeth forbid vs to haue images, yet you will haue them, though God &s;ay nay, if your holy father the Pope doth allow them. Let vs &s;ee now what the auncient Doctors and graue fathers haue &s;ayd by your images.<NOTE PLACE="marg">Tertul. in lib. de Ido|lolatria.</NOTE> Tertullia~ in his booke of
<PB REF="53"> Idolatrie, &s;ayeth, God hath for|bidden an image as well to bee made, as to be wor&s;hipped. As far as making goeth before wor|&s;hipping, &s;o farre is it before that the thing be not made, that may not be wor&s;hipped. Some man will &s;aye, I make it, but I wor|&s;hip it not, as though hee dur&s;t not wor&s;hippe it for any other cau&s;e, but onely for that &s;ame cau&s;e, for which he ought not to make it: I meane, both wayes procure Gods di&s;plea&s;ure. Nay rather thou wor&s;hippe&s;t y^e image, thou giue&s;t the cau&s;e to other to wor&s;hippe it. Some one or other that maintaine idolatrie, wil &s;ay, And why then did Mo&s;es make the image of the bra&s;en Serpent in the wilderne&s;&s;e?<NOTE PLACE="marg">Num. 21.8.</NOTE> The olde ido|laters founde out and v&s;ed the &s;ame, aboue fourteene hundreth yeres agoe. One &amp; the &s;ame God, hath by his generall Lawe both <PB REF="54"> forbidden any image to be made, and al&s;o by his extraordinarie &amp; &s;peciall commandement he hath bidden an image of the &s;erpent to be made. If thou be obedient to the &s;ame God, thou ha&s;t his Lawe, Make y^u no image: but if thou haue a regard to the image of the Serpent that was made afterwarde by Mo&s;es, then doe thou as Mo&s;es did, Make not a|ny image again&s;t the law, vnle&s;&s;e God commaunde thee, as hee did Mo&s;es.<NOTE PLACE="marg">Origen. libr. 7. contra Cel&s;um.</NOTE> Origen &s;ayth, We make no image of God, as knowing him to be inui&s;ible, &amp; w^tout bodie. Againe he &s;ayeth,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Ibid. lib. 4. contra Cel|&s;um.</NOTE> The minde of the Lawe was this, that they &s;houlde in all thinges &s;o behaue them&s;elues, as the trueth requi|red, and that they &s;houlde be&s;ide the trueth, counterfeite nothing, repre&s;enting the &s;hape of a man or woman.<NOTE PLACE="marg">Cyprian in lib. de Ido|lorum vani|tate.</NOTE> Cyprian &s;ayth, Ima|ges were fir&s;t drawen, thereby <PB REF="54"> to keepe the countenance of the dead in remembrance, vpon occa|&s;ion whereof, thinges grewe at length vnto holine&s;&s;e, that at the fir&s;t were taken onely for &s;olace. Againe,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Ibid. tract. 1. in Deme|trian.</NOTE> what doe&s;t thou bowe thy captiue bodie before fooli&s;h images, &amp; earthly counterfaites? God hath made thee vpright: and whereas all the bea&s;ts of the earth are depre&s;&s;ed in &s;hape, ben|ding downe to the groundward, thou ha&s;t a loftie &s;tate towardes heauen, and to God thy counte|nance is erected. Then looke vp thither, thither ca&s;t vp thine eies, &s;eeke God aboue, that thou mai&s;t want hell belowe: lift vp thy doubtfull heart to hygh and hea|uenly thinges. What doe&s;t thou throwe thy &s;elfe with the deuill, whome thou &s;erue&s;t, into the pit of death? Clement &s;ayth,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Clement to Iames the &s;uppo&s;ed brother of our Lord.</NOTE> The de|uill by the mouth of other, is wo~t to bring forth &s;uch words, We to <PB REF="55"> the wor&s;hip of the inui&s;ible God, wor&s;hip the vi&s;ible images. And this is mo&s;t certeinly fal&s;e. For if you will truely wor&s;hip Gods I|mage, you &s;hould (by being bene|ficial vnto man) wor&s;hip the true image of God in him. What ho|nour of God is this, to runne a|bout the counterfeites of timber and of &s;tone? and to wor&s;hip the &s;hapes that are without &s;oule, &amp; de&s;pi&s;e man, in whom is the true &s;hape of God? <HI>Arnobius</HI> in his eight bookes again&s;t y^e Ge~tiles: We neither wor&s;hip, nor wi&s;h for cro&s;&s;es: you that con&s;ecrate wod|den gods, peraduenture wor&s;hip your wodden cro&s;&s;es, as partes of your gods. If you had not this image, &s;hould Chri&s;t be ignorant that he were &s;erued of you? Will you thinke that there is no honor done him? Then doeth he receyue your &s;eruings and wor&s;hippines by certaine traynes, by other put
<PB REF="55"> in tru&s;t, &amp; before he, to whome the wor&s;hip is due, haue any feeling of the matter, you doe your &s;acri|fice vnto the image, and &s;end him but the &s;crappes from another mans boorde. And what can be deui&s;ed more iniurious, &s;launde|rous, &amp; vncourteous, then to ac|knowledge one God, and make thy &s;ute to any other thing? to hope for helpe of God, and powre out thy prayers to a &s;en&s;ele&s;&s;e i|mage? Is not this (as the Pro|uerbe &s;ayth) to haue a quarrell to <HI>Alfon&s;us,</HI> &amp; fight with
<HI>Ferdinan|do?</HI> and where thou &s;eeke&s;t for ad|ui&s;e of men, to a&s;ke the &s;entence fir&s;t of porkelings, and of a&s;&s;es? Is not this an errour? Is it not properly a madnes, in trembling wi&s;e to make thy humble &s;ute to a thing that thou made&s;t thy &s;elf? And whereas thou doe&s;t knowe, and art a&s;&s;ured, that it is thine owne workeman&s;hip, the fruites
<PB REF="56"> of thine owne fingers, to fall gro|ueling vpon thy face before it? Very children knowe, that your images haue eyes, and &s;ee not, mouthes and &s;peake not. Where|fore then doeth the holy Gho&s;t &s;o often teach vs, and admoni&s;h vs the &s;ame thing in the Scrip|tures, as if we knewe it not? For that the very &s;hape and proporti|on of a man &s;et aloft, after it once beginneth to bee adored and ho|noured of the multitude, it bree|deth in euery man that mo&s;t vile affection of error, that although he find there no naturall mouing or token of life, yet he thinketh &s;ome god or godly thing is with|in it, and &s;o being deceyued, part|ly by the forme that he &s;eeth, and partly by the waye of authoritie and credite of the authors &amp; ma|kers of it, whome they take to be wi&s;e, and partly al&s;o by the exam|ple and deuotion of the people, <PB REF="56"> whome they &s;ee obedient to the &s;ame, he thinketh that the image being &s;o like a liuing bodie, ca~ not be without &s;ome liuing thing vn|derneath it. <HI>Lact.</HI> &s;ayeth in plaine wordes,
<HI>Non e&s;t dubium, quin reli|gio nulla &s;it, vbicunque &s;imulachru~ e&s;t:</HI> Out of all doubt, there is no religion, where&s;oeuer there is an Image. S. Aug. &s;peaking of the image of God the Father, &s;ayeth thus,
<HI>Tale &s;imulachrum Deo fin|gere, nefarium e&s;t:</HI> To deui&s;e &s;uch an Image of God, it is abomina|ble. <HI>Theodorus</HI> the Bi&s;hop of
<HI>An|cyra</HI> &s;aith, <HI>Sanctorum imagines &amp; &s;pecies ex materialibus coloribus formari minim&egrave; decoru~ putamus: manife&s;tum enim e&s;t, quod vana &s;it huiu&s;modi cogitatio, &amp; diabolicae deceptionis inuentum:</HI> We thinke it not conuenient, to paynt the images of &s;aintes w^t materiall or earthly colours: for it is euident, y^t it is a vayne imagination, &amp; the <PB REF="57"> procurement of y^e deceytfulnes of the deuil. To like purpo&s;e writeth <HI>Epiphanius, E&s;tote memores dile|cti filii, nec in eccle&s;ias imagines in|feratis, neque in Sanctoru~ coemite|riis eas &s;tatuatis, &s;ed perpetu&ograve; cir|cumferte Deum in cordibus ve&s;tris. Quin etiam neque in domo com|muni tolerentur. Non enim fas e&s;t Chri&s;tianum per oculos &s;u&s;pen&s;um teneri, &s;ed per occupationem men|tis:</HI> My deare childre~, be ye mind|ful, that you bring no images in|to the churches, &amp; that you erect vp none at the burials of the Saints, but euermore cary God in your heartes, nay, &s;uffer no images to be,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Marke wel</NOTE> no not in your pri|uate hou&s;es. For it is not lawfull to leade a Chri&s;tian man by his eyes, but rather by y^e &s;tudie or ex|erci&s;e of his minde. For this cau&s;e <HI>Epiphanius</HI> &s;ayth, The &s;uper&s;titi|on of images is vnfit for y^e church of Chri&s;t. It is a worlde to &s;ee,
<PB REF="57"> how welfauouredly, and howe towardly touching religio~, the&s;e men agree with the fathers, of whom they v&s;e to vaunt. They bee your owne good, and yet you &s;ee, how they &s;peake again&s;t your images. If time &s;hould permit, I were able to recite many &s;uch places out of the fathers, in con|futation of your wor&s;hipping &s;uch vaine images. You doe not onely allowe images to be had in churches, but al&s;o you cau&s;e them to be deuoutly and reuerently ho|noured, and that with the &s;ame honour that is due to God him|&s;elfe. One of the Bi&s;hops of the council of <HI>Nice</HI> &s;ayth,
<HI>Venerandas imagines recipio &amp; adoro, &amp; id perpetu&ograve; docebo:</HI> I receiue and wor&s;hip y^e reuere~t images, &amp; this wil I teach. Another &s;aith, <HI>Sacras imagines perfect&egrave; adoro. Qui ver&ograve; &s;ecus confite~tur, eos anathematizo.</HI> I do perfectly adore the holy ima|ges, <PB REF="58"> and I accur&s;e all them that hold the contrary. Another &s;aith, <HI>Non &s;unt duae adorationes, &s;ed vna, ip&s;ius imaginis, &amp; primi exempla|ris, cuius e&s;t imago:</HI> There be not two kynds of adoration, but one, which is as well due to the image, as to the paterne of the image. Saint Augu&s;tine &s;ayth, <HI>Sic omnin&ograve; errare meruerunt,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Augu&s;t. de con&s;en&s;u E|uangel. lib. 2. cap. 20.</NOTE> <HI>qui Chri&s;tum &amp; Apo&s;tolos eius non in &s;anctis codicibus, &s;ed in pictis pa|rietibus quae&s;ierunt, nec mirum, &s;i a pingentibus fingentes decepti &s;unt:</HI> So were they worthy to bee de|ceiued, that &s;ought Chri&s;t and his Apo&s;tles, not in the bookes of holy Scripture, but in paynted walles. Neither may one mar|uaile, if the feyners by Paynters were deceiued.<NOTE PLACE="marg">In Epi&s;t. Io|an. Epi&s;cop. Hier.</NOTE> The old father <HI>E|piphanius</HI> &s;ayth, It is a horrible wickednes, and a &s;inne not to be &s;uffered, for any man to &s;et vp a|ny picture in the church of the <PB REF="58"> chri&s;tians, yea though it were the picture of Chri&s;t him&s;elfe: yet you &s;tore all your Temples, and eche corner of them with paynted and carued images, as though without them religion were no|thing worth. Thus (good brethre~) you &s;ee both &s;criptures &amp; fathers again&s;t you. For&s;ake then your wor&s;hipping of images. Nowe will I &s;peake a litle, after what maner they wor&s;hip images at Rome. I haue &s;eene, and &s;o haue you, that on euery altar in Rome, there are &s;et vp either Idols or images. In S. Peters church, they haue the image of S. Peter in bra&s;&s;e, holding out his finger to ble&s;&s;e them as they pa&s;&s;e by: be|fore the which image the people fall downe, and make their pray|ers vnto it, ki&s;&s;e his foote, and touch it with their Beades. I would a&s;ke you once again, why they paynt God the Father, and <PB REF="59"> God y^e holy Gho&s;t. Euen becau&s;e lay men (when they &s;ee God to haue a body) &s;houlde thinke God the father, &amp; God the holy Gho&s;t to be men, as we be. Their prie&s;ts in Italie for the mo&s;t parte are altogether vnlearned. I deman|ded of &s;ome of the&s;e Italian prie&s;tes in the Italian tongue, whether God the father and God the holy Gho&s;t had bodies. They an&s;wered, Yea. Wel then, &s;eeing their prie&s;ts are ignorant in the&s;e thinges, you may per&s;wade your &s;elues that the &s;imple countrey|men are likewi&s;e ignorant. Fa|ther Pais reader of &s;chola&s;ticall diuinitie at Rome, in the Romane colledge (beeing demanded of Doctor Allen) whether it was as lawfull to wor&s;hip the thing that repre&s;ented, as well as the thing that was repre&s;ented by the Image: This graue &amp; lear|ned Father an&s;wered, it was <PB REF="59"> lawfull to wor&s;hip the tymber, whereof the Image was made. If this be not idolatrie, that a ma~ &s;hould wor&s;hip that thing which is more fit for the fire or for &s;ome other purpo&s;e, then to be wor&s;hip|ped, the~ there is no idolatrie wor|thy to be named at al. Thus much briefly touching images. God giue you a heart to conceiue the trueth. You wor&s;hip y^e pillar vp|on the which the cock crew, whe~ Peter denyed his ma&s;ter Chri&s;te. Why do you thus? What, doe you make the cocke a &s;aint? The Ro|manes haue made them a cratch or manger, repre&s;enting the oxe &amp; the a&s;&s;e, &amp; al&s;o the byrth of Chri&s;t, to the which workman&s;hippe of man, they fal down and wor&s;hip. Can you &s;hewe me a rea&s;on, why you &s;houlde kneele before the&s;e &s;tones, or why you &s;houlde ki&s;&s;e them, and touch them with your beades? What, haue you canoni|zed <PB REF="60"> the oxe and the a&s;&s;e Saints, &amp; doe you &s;aye in your Letanies, <HI>Sancte bos, &amp; Sancte A&s;ine orate pro nobis:</HI> Saint oxe and Saint A&s;&s;e, pray for vs? Why do ye wor|&s;hip the thirty pence, which Iu|das tooke to betray his ma&s;ter Chri&s;t? What, doe you count the thirty pence holy Reliques, for y^t Iudas had them, or for that they came from y^e chief prie&s;ts? What, do you make Iudas the traytour a Saint, or y^e chiefe prie&s;ts of the Scribes and Phari&s;es holy me~? The reliques of Saints are wor|&s;hipped, as bones &amp;c. they fall downe likewi&s;e on their knees before them, they crye vnto them, they touch the boxe with their beades, they &s;ee not the bones be|ing wrapped in &s;ilke, and put in a boxe, or in the altar, in boards, or in Chri&s;tal. The beades touch not the bones, but the outward boxe. The prie&s;t may beguyle the peo|ple, <PB REF="60"> putting in the boxe the bones of a dead hor&s;e, or the head of a foxe, in &s;tead of y^e Saints bones: for the people &s;eeth not what is in the boxe, or wrapped in &s;ilkes. Why doe the poore men for their a&s;&s;es bring offrings to &s;tations, as candels, torches, and &s;uch like? And why do the poore Romanes bring their a&s;&s;es to Churches, &amp; cau&s;e the prie&s;tes to &s;ay a fewe prayers ouer them, and &s;prinkle holy water vpo~ the~? Belike, they thinke to get a roome or place in heauen for them, &amp; &s; to ryde vpon A&s;&s;es in heauen, or el&s;e to get in|dulgences of the Pope for their a&s;&s;es. In deede they are (as the Prophet Dauid &s;ayth) <HI>&s;icut equus &amp; mula quibus non e&s;t intellectus:</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">P&s;al. 32.9.</NOTE> They are like hor&s;e &amp; mule, who haue no vnder&s;tanding. If I &s;hould recite all tho&s;e Idolatrous practi&s;es, which I haue &s;eene at Rome, a whole day were not <PB REF="61"> &s;ufficient to tell them: but by the&s;e few things layd downe, you may gather the re&s;t to be as bad, or ra|ther wor&s;e. Now I will &s;peake a litle of the wickedne&s;&s;e of Rome, which you count holine&s;&s;e, and make our Engli&s;hmen that were neuer there, beleeue &s;o. Fir&s;t I wil begin with your Cardinals, the pillars of your Church. Haue they not beautifull boyes, with whom they commit the &s;inne of Sodom,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Gen.
19.5.</NOTE> as I haue heard by the Romanes, and by a Gentleman who &s;erued to Cardinal Sfor&s;ie, who trauayled by land with me, from the citie Ancona to Venice? Haue not the&s;e yong Cardinalles pretie wenches in their palaces, whom in the day time they cal ei|ther their &s;i&s;ters or cou&s;ins, &amp; in y^e night time make them either their bedfelowes or co~cubines? And do you not knowe, howe that there was a yong Cardinall a Prince, <PB REF="61"> burnt at Rome not long &s;ince, by a common queane of the &s;tewes, &amp; toke from her the french di&s;ea&s;e, wherwith he dyed mi&s;erably? Do not your prie&s;ts at Rome, with|out &s;hame &amp; puni&s;hment, openly in the &s;ight of all men goe to the &s;tewes? I haue &s;eene them with mine eies, (as I walked y^e &s;treets) embracing the Queanes. O if a mini&s;ter heere in England &s;hould commit &s;uch abomination, and &s;cape vnpuni&s;hed, howe woulde you cry out again&s;t him and a|gain&s;t the Magi&s;trates! Yet to &s;ee your owne prie&s;ts &s;o to doe, &amp; your Magi&s;trates to &s;uffer it, you holde your peace, you &s;eeme to al|lowe it. What &s;hall I &s;peake of your Monkes? Was there not at Rome a whole mona&s;tery of &s;uch as beare a &s;iluer cro&s;&s;e in their hands, &amp; are apparelled in blewe, full of women, that went in habit of tho&s;e monkes, and were they <PB REF="62"> not &s;pied at the la&s;t, and e&s;caped vnpuni&s;hed? Be the&s;e the holy me~ that haue renounced the world, and haue vowed cha&s;titie? Now of the lay men, becau&s;e I will not &s;tand to di&s;cour&s;e vpon euery thing that I recite. How doe the citizens liue? Was there not late|ly a great rich citizen, that had a place to the which re&s;orted many yong Romane Gentlemen, who committed the &s;inne of Sodom one with another, and were they not &s;pyed out at the la&s;t, and did not they all &s;cape puni&s;hment, ex|cept one poore man which dyed for all? And did not the Romanes &s;aye, that he dyed wrongfully, for that the &s;inne of Sodom was but a tricke of youth? Count you me that a light offe~ce,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Gen.
18.20. &amp; 19.13.</NOTE> that cryeth vp to heauen to God for venge|ance? Moreouer, haue not y^e Ro|manes &s;ixe &s;treetes full of Curti|zants, and harlots, who pay a <PB REF="62"> yeerely tribute to the Pope? And be there not throughout al Rome Queanes, who lay out of their windowes carpets, and their gownes, which is a &s;igne to them that pa&s;&s;e by, that there they may haue a woman for money? At Shrouetide, what horrible abu|&s;es are there practi&s;ed at Rome without puni&s;hment! Doe not men go in womens apparell, and women in mens apparell? The Gentlewomen out of their win|dowes throwe ro&s;ewater, which is a token to them that pa&s;&s;e by, that there they may defile their bodyes one with another. What murther is there, in&s;omuch, that no ma~ can &s;it in his wagon with|out daunger of his life? The&s;e words of <HI>Petrus Bembus</HI> are true, <HI>Roma e&s;t &s;entina pe&s;&s;imorum ho|minum:</HI> Rome is the &s;inke of pe|&s;tilent varlets. I would not for a great deale of money, but that I <PB REF="63"> had &s;eene Rome: otherwi&s;e I &s;hould haue &s;tood in doubt, le&s;t I had mi&s;reported ought of them, but what I &s;awe, y^t &s;peake I, and te&s;tifie, and cry with Mantuan,
<Q><L>Viuere qui &s;ancte cupitis, di&s;cedite Roma:</L>
<L>Omnia cum liceant, non licet e&s;&s;e bonum:</L></Q> Ye y^t de&s;ire to liue godly, depart fro~ Rome: for when al things are lawful there, it is not lawful to be hone&s;t. Peraduenture nowe, you wil &s;ay y^t the Pope is a holy man. Although I am indebted vnto him 50. or 60. li. in money, yet wil I not, neither can I but &s;peake the trueth of him, vnle&s;&s;e I &s;hould &s;inne, (which God forbid.) Hath not this Pope, at his hauen citie Ancona, pri&s;ed &amp; taken away the marchandize of the Turkes mar|chants, for that one of the Turks had offended one of his &s;eruants? The Pope perceiuing the mar|chandize to bee of great valewe, tooke an occa&s;ion thereby to de|priue y^e marchants of their mar|chandize. <PB REF="63"> The emperour of the Turks wrote a letter to y^e Pope, de&s;iring him to re&s;tore the goods againe to his marchants: y^e Pope refu&s;ed &s;o to doe. Wherefore the Chri&s;tian marchants were in like &s;ort dealt withal at Con&s;tantino|ple. At Macerata, the Pope put a County out of his po&s;&s;e&s;&s;ion, and gaue it to his own &s;onne Iames, whom (of a begger) he hath made a Marques, able to &s;pend by the yeere, thirty thou&s;ande crownes, and is richly maried to a Dukes daughter: He gaue the countie for his po&s;&s;e&s;&s;ion, not halfe &s;o much as it was worth. There was al&s;o a monke, who came from the In|dians, who at Venice refu&s;ed a hundred thou&s;and crownes, for two precious &s;tones which hee brought with him, who thinking to plea&s;e this Pope now liuing, &amp; to get a greater rewarde, pre&s;en|ted the precious &s;tones before this Pope Gregorie, who taking the <PB REF="64"> gemmes or precious &s;tones, in &s;teade of reward, committed the Mo~ke to pri&s;o~, alledging nothing again&s;t him but this, that hee for|&s;ooke his cloy&s;ter, or mona&s;terie. Ma&s;ter Alet (whom you know) hath reported this to bee true: for he knewe this &s;ayd Monke, as he reported to two Gentlemen of y^e North that had byn at Hieru&s;a|lem, and to mee, and to three other &s;cholers. Thus much tou|ching his iniquitie. Nowe I will not &s;peake of the Popes pontificalitie, howe hee is caryed on mens &s;houlders, how the peo|ple kneele before him, howe the trumpets &s;ound, how y^e ordina~ce or double canons are di&s;char|ged, and howe the people cry out, <HI>Viuat papa Gregorius:</HI> (Let our di&s;&s;embling Antichri&s;t) Let Pope Gregory liue and reigne ouer vs. You faine (my brethren) y^t there is a purging place for the &s;oules <PB REF="64"> after this life, wherein they abide and &s;uffer the &s;elfe &s;ame puni&s;h|ment which is in hell, and are in no better ca&s;e (to &s;peake of the tor|ments) then they of hel. But here|in they are farre happier then the damned, for that they of purga|tory are &s;ure to be &s;aued, and they of hell, are &s;ure neuer to finde end of their mi&s;erable condition. You &s;ay, that &s;uch as be in purgatorie, may be relea&s;ed, and deliuered to heauen, by the praiers and dirges of &s;uch as be on earth. That there is &s;uch a place named as Purga|torie, you &s;eeke to proue by the Scriptures. Fir&s;t out of y^e booke of y^e <HI>Maccabees,</HI> where it is read, that good and profitable it was to pray for the dead. From hence you go to Zacharie the Prophet, where it is &s;aid in the ninth chap|ter, <HI>Eduxi&s;ti vinctos tuos de lacu, in quo non erat aqua:</HI> Thou ha&s;t deliuered thy pri&s;oners out of the <PB REF="65"> dungeon wherein there was no water. Al&s;o in Eccle&s;ia&s;tes the 4. <HI>De carcere atque catenis interdum quis progreditur ad regnum?</HI> Who at any time commeth from pri&s;o~, and fro~ fetters vnto the Crowne? You alledge the P&s;alme, <HI>Tran&s;i|uimus per ignem &amp; aquam, no&s;que in refrigerium eduxi&s;ti:</HI> We haue pa&s;&s;ed both fire and water, and thou ha&s;t brought vs to a refre|&s;hing place. Out of the newe Te|&s;tament you bring this place, where it is &s;aid, that the &s;inne of the holy Gho&s;t is not forgiuen, neither in this worlde, neither in the world to come. <HI>Ergo</HI> (&s;ay you) in this life &s;innes are forgiuen, &amp; al&s;o in the life to come. And out of Saint Matthewe you obiect, Take him, and binde him hand and foote, and ca&s;t him into vt|ter darkenes, and there let him &s;tay vntill hee hath payde the vt|termo&s;t peny. <HI>Ergo</HI> (&s;ay you) he <PB REF="65"> meaneth Purgatorie. Al&s;o you obiect the hi&s;torie of Lazarus and the rich glutton. You al|ledge moreouer this place of the Apocalyp&s;e, where it is &s;ayd, that nothing impure and defiled with &s;inne, &s;hall bee admitted to that holy citie of the Lorde. And you thinke that the&s;e wordes of S. Paul doe &s;erue to your purpo&s;e, that al knees mu&s;t bowe to God, that be in heauen, in earth, and vnder the earth. Finally, you bring foorth this place of the A|pocalyp&s;e, that euery creature in heauen, in earth, and vnder the earth giueth pray&s;es vnto the Lord. You thinke that the&s;e, and &s;uch like places of Scripture doe make greatly for your purpo&s;e. But it is knowen, that among&s;t you Papi&s;ts there be diuers opi|nio~s touching purgatorie. Some &s;ay that it is a true opinion, and an article of our fayth, to teach, <PB REF="66"> and beleeue, that there is a pur|gatory: Others there be, who not &s;o firmely and con&s;tantly affirme the &s;ame, but they either &s;u&s;pect, or thinke y^t there is &s;uch a place. Fir&s;t, I will &s;hewe, that Purga|torie belongeth not to any article of our faith, neither is it a nece&s;&s;a|rie thing to bee credited. Se|condly, I will declare, whether the &s;u&s;pition and opinion of pur|gatory &s;tandeth with rea&s;on, and is iu&s;t. I an&s;were vnto them, which &s;ay it is a nece&s;&s;ary opini|on, and an article of our fayth, to acknowledge that there is a pur|gatorie: If it were a certaine and firme article of our faith, it &s;hould then mo&s;t euidently &s;o appeare out of the te&s;timonies of the &s;crip|tures. For we do not de&s;cend in|to their &s;ente~ce, which be fathers, or will make men the authors of the matters of religion. It &s;hould be a reproch vnto the holy Gho&s;t, <PB REF="66"> if we &s;hould per&s;wade our &s;elues, that what&s;oeuer they write, doth tend to our &s;aluation, and that the &s;aluation of our &s;oules doeth &s;tand vpon their wordes. What thing &s;oeuer apperteyneth to our &s;aluation, the &s;ame by the vertue of the holy Gho&s;t is expre&s;&s;ed in the Scriptures. Saint Paul to Timothie &s;aith,<NOTE PLACE="marg">2. Tim. 3.16, 17.</NOTE> that the whole &s;cripture is giuen by in&s;piration of God, and is profitable to teach, to conuince, to correct and to in|&s;truct in righteou&s;nes, that the man of God may be ab&s;olute, be|ing made perfect vnto all good woorkes. If you doe contende to &s;et foorth any good woorke, or any thing nece&s;&s;ary to be credi|ted, which may not be confirmed by the &s;criptures, I would take that to be neither good, nor profi|table, if the Scriptures doe not plainly allow the &s;ame. We mu&s;t not beleeue your wordes to bee <PB REF="67"> true, whereas you &s;ay, The Apo|&s;tles haue not taught all things, which touch the &s;aluatio~ of man. This wil I graunt in politicall, but not in &s;piritual matters, that it &s;hould be true, which you &s;aye, that all things are not conteyned in Scriptures, which belong to the gouernement of a common weale. But to proue that y^e &s;crip|tures wrote &s;ufficiently touching our &s;oules health,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Tertul. de prae&s;crip.</NOTE> Tertullian <HI>in libro de prae&s;cript.</HI> &s;ayth, <HI>Foelix ec|cle&s;ia cui totam doctrinam Apo|&s;toli cum &s;anguine profuderunt:</HI> Happy is that church which hath receiued the whole doctrine con|firmed with the bloud of the A|po&s;tles. Our &s;auiour Chri&s;t &s;aith, <HI>Quae audiui a patre meo, omnia feci nota vobis:</HI> Tho&s;e things which I haue heard of my father, I haue reuealed vnto you. Moreo|uer, that I may returne to my matter, often it is doubted of
<PB REF="67"> Purgatory. The Greeke church in the councill of Florentine long &s;toode in doubt. And the common places of the &s;cripture, which are brought foorth, to proue this opi|nion, let them expound them no otherwi&s;e then the proper and lawfull interpretation doeth re|quire, and there &s;hall then bee left no place to proue Purgatorie. Saint Cyprian in his fir&s;t trea|ti&s;e again&s;t <HI>Demetrian</HI> &s;aith thus, After we be once departed out of this life, there is no more place of repentance, there is no more ef|fect or working of &s;ati&s;faction, life is here either lo&s;t or wonne. Euer|la&s;ting &s;aluation is here prouided for, by y^e due wor&s;hipping of God and the fruites of fayth. Saint Augu&s;tine &s;aieth, <HI>de ciuitate Dei. lib.</HI> 21. <HI>cap.</HI> 13. <HI>Quidam nullas poe|nas ni&s;i purgatorias volunt e&s;&s;e po&s;t mortem:</HI> Some men wil haue no puni&s;hment to be after death, but <PB REF="68"> onely the paynes of Purgatory. Euen in Pauls time there were &s;ome,<NOTE PLACE="marg">1. Cor. 15.29</NOTE> that being aliue, were bap|tized for the dead. And by the Council of Carthage. 3. canon 6. it appeareth, there were &s;ome y^t v&s;ed to thru&s;t the &s;acrament into the mouth of the dead body, mea|ning thereby (as it maye bee thought) to procure &s;ome reliefe of the &s;oule: The words be the&s;e, <HI>Placuit vt corporibus defuncto|rum Euchari&s;tia non detur.</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Concil. 3. Can.
6.</NOTE> <HI>Di|ctum e&s;t enim a domino, Accipite, &amp; edite: Cadauera autem nec acci|pere po&s;&s;unt nec edere:</HI> We thinke it good, that the Sacrament be not giuen to the bodies of y^e dead. For our Lorde &s;ayeth, Take and eate: but dead bodies can neyther take, nor eate. The&s;e were aunci|ent errours in olde time, as it is ea&s;ie to be &s;eene. As for the fanta|&s;ie of purgatorie, it &s;prang fir&s;t from the heathen, and was recei|ued
<PB REF="68"> among&s;t them in that time of darkene&s;&s;e, long before the com|ming of Chri&s;t, as it may plainly appeare by <HI>Plato</HI> and
<HI>Virgil. Plato in Timaeo. Virgil. Aeneid.</HI> 6. in whom you &s;hal finde de&s;cribed at large, the whole common weale, and all the orders and degrees of Purgatorie. Saint Augu&s;tine <HI>de ciuitate Dei, lib.</HI> 7. <HI>cap.</HI>
7. &s;ayeth, The olde heathen Romanes had a &s;acrifice, which they called,
<HI>Sa|crum purgatorum:</HI> A purgatorie Sacrifice. You will &s;ay, The A|po&s;tles of Chri&s;t haue taught vs purgatorie, (not by any worde that euer they wrote, but) by tra|ditio~. This is as true, as that S. Peter &s;ayd Ma&s;&s;e in Rome with a golden Cope, &amp; a triple crowne, vnle&s;&s;e perhaps &s;ome man will thinke, whereas S. Paul &s;ayth, <HI>Homines priuati veritate, exi&s;tima~|tes quae&s;tum e&s;&s;e pietatem:</HI> They be men voide of trueth, thinking <PB REF="69"> that their gayne is godline&s;&s;e: or whereas Saint Peter &s;ayth,<NOTE PLACE="marg">2. Pet. 2.3.</NOTE> <HI>Per auaritiam fictis &s;ermonibus nego|ciantur de vobis:</HI> Through coue|tou&s;ne&s;&s;e, by feyned talke, they make &s;ale of you: that by the&s;e words, they gaue vs warning of the very fourme and doctrine of your purgatorie: for better au|thorities then the&s;e be y^t I recken, you can lightly finde none. And whereas you tell vs out of &s;ome heatheni&s;h fanta&s;ie, that &s;innes can not be wa&s;hed away, but by long &s;pace of time, and payne in purgatory, Saint Cyprian &s;aith, <HI>In eodem articulo temporis, cum iam anima fe&s;tinet ad exitum, &amp; e|grediens ad labia expirantis emer|&s;erit, poenitentia~ clementi&s;&s;imi Dei benignitas non a&s;pernatur, nec &s;eru~ e&s;t, quod verum e&s;t:</HI> In that very moment of time, euen when the &s;oule is ready to pa&s;&s;e, and is euen at the lippes of the partie ready
<PB REF="69"> to yeelde vp the &s;pirite, the good|ne&s;&s;e of our mo&s;t mercifull God refu&s;eth not repentance, &amp; what|&s;oeuer is truely done, is neuer too late. Saint Chry&s;o&s;tome &s;ayeth, <HI>Latro in cruce, neque vno die opus habebat. &amp; quid dico vno die? Ne|que breui hora: tanta e&s;t Dei erga nos mi&s;ericordia:</HI> The thiefe on the cro&s;&s;e needed not &s;o much as one daye to repent him&s;elfe. What &s;peake I of one day? No, he nee|ded not one houre: &s;o great is the mercy of God toward vs. Saint Augu&s;t.
<HI>Epi&s;t.</HI> 80. &s;ayeth, If any man depart hence without repe~|tance,
<HI>Imparatum inueniet illum dies Domini, quem imparatum in|uenerit &s;uae vitae huius vltimus dies:</HI> Him &s;hall the daye of the Lorde finde vnprouided, whom the la&s;t daye of this life findeth vnproui|ded. Saint Ambro&s;e &s;ayth in his booke <HI>de bono mortis, Qui hic non accipit remi&s;&s;ionem peccatorum, <PB REF="70"> ibi non erit:</HI> He that here in this life receiueth not remi&s;&s;ion of his &s;innes, &s;hal not be there. And S. Hierome <HI>in Lamentationes Ierem. lib.</HI> 1. <HI>cap.</HI> 1. Thou &s;halt not goe foorth thence, vntill thou haue payed y^e la&s;t farthing, &s;ayth thus, <HI>Significat &s;emper non exituru~ e&s;&s;e, quia &s;emper &s;oluat noui&s;&s;imum quadrantem, dum &s;empiternas poe|nas terrenorum peccatorum luit:</HI> Chri&s;tes meaning is, y^t he &s;hal ne|uer come out, for that he mu&s;t e|uermore paye the la&s;t farthing, whyles he &s;uffereth euerla&s;ting puni&s;hment for his &s;innes com|mitted in this worlde. So &s;ayeth Saint Augu&s;t. <HI>de &s;ermone Do|mini in monte, lib.</HI> 1.
<HI>Donec &s;oluas noui&s;&s;imum quadrantem, miror, &s;i non eam &s;ignificat poenam quae vo|catur aeterna:</HI> Vntill thou pay the la&s;t farthing, I maruaile, but it meaneth that payne, which is called euerla&s;ting. Hereby, my
<PB REF="70"> brethren, I thinke it may partly appeare, that you maintaine your paynted fyre and paper walles, with painted authorities and pa|per rea&s;ons. Verely the Chri&s;tian people of the Ea&s;t church of God, which &s;ometime was as great &amp; as famous as the Church of the We&s;t, notwith&s;tanding they be|leeued in God, and his Chri&s;t, &amp; knewe there was both hell &amp; hea|uen: yet in your Purgatory they had no &s;kil. One of your Doctors &s;aith,
<HI>Alphon&s;us de haere&s;ibus lib.</HI> 8. <HI>de indulgentiis. V&s;que in hodiernu~ diem Purgatorium non e&s;t a Graecis creditu~:</HI> Vntil this day, of the Gre|cians, or of the Ea&s;t church, Pur|gatory was neuer beleued. Ther|fore you can not iu&s;tly &s;ay, y^t your fanta&s;ie herein was euermore ac|compted vniuer&s;al, or catholique. Augu&s;tine in P&s;al. 85. in deede &s;ometime &s;ayeth, There is &s;uch a certaine place, &s;ometime he deny|eth
<PB REF="71"> not but there may bee &s;uch a one, &s;ometime he doubteth: &s;ome|time againe hee vtterly denyeth there is any at all, and thin|keth that men are therein decei|ued, by a certaine naturall good will they beare their friendes de|parted. But yet of this one er|rour hath there growen vp &s;uch a harue&s;t of tho&s;e ma&s;&s;emongers, that the ma&s;&s;es being &s;old abroad commonly in euery corner, the Temples of God became &s;hoppes to get money, and &s;illy &s;oules were borne in hand, that nothing was more nece&s;&s;ary to be bought. In deed there was nothing more gainefull for the&s;e men, then to &s;ell ma&s;&s;es for the dead. Your owne Roffen&s;is &s;ayeth, <HI>Nemo nunc dubitat Orthodous, an pur|gatorium &s;it, de quo tamen apud pri&s;cos, vel nulla, vel quam rari&s;|&s;ima fiebat mentio: &s;ed &amp; Graecis ad hunc v&s;que diem non e&s;t credi|tum, <PB REF="71"> quamdiu enim nulla e&s;&s;et cura de purgatorio, nemo quae&s;iuit indul|gentias:</HI> No Catholique man nowe doubteth of Purgatory, wherof notwith&s;tanding among the auncient Fathers, there is eyther no mention at all,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Marke well.</NOTE> or very &s;eldome, yea euen vntill this day the Grecians beleeue it not, for &s;o long as there was no care of pur|gatory, no man &s;ought after par|dons. So much for Purgatory. Nowe I thinke it not ami&s;&s;e (my brethren) &s;omewhat to &s;peake a|gain&s;t your praying for the dead. Fir&s;t I wil di&s;proue your praying for the dead by &s;criptures. Then after, I will confute the &s;ame by the authoritie of the Doctours. To beginne with Scriptures, I cite the 2. of Samuel
12.22. While the childe was yet aliue, I fa&s;ted and wept, for I &s;ayde, who can tell, whether God will haue mercy on me, that the child <PB REF="72"> may liue? But nowe beeing dead, wherefore &s;houlde I nowe fa&s;t? Can I bring him againe any more? I &s;hall goe to him, but hee &s;hall not returne to mee. P&s;alme 49.7. A man can by no meanes redeeme his brother, hee cannot giue his ran&s;ome to God, &s;o precious is the redemption of their &s;oules, and the continuance for euer. Eccle&s;ia&s;tes 9.5. The dead knowe nothing at all, ney|ther haue they any more reward, for their remembrance is forgot|ten, and they haue no more porti|on for euer, in all that is done vn|der the Sunne. All that thine hande &s;hall fynde to doe, doe it with all thy power: For there is neyther worke, nor inuention, nor knowledge, nor wi&s;edome in the graue whither thou goe&s;t. Al|&s;o 1. The&s;&s;alon. 4. I woulde not haue you ignorant, brethren, con|cerning them which are a&s;leepe, <PB REF="72"> that you &s;orrowe not euen as o|thers which haue no hope:<NOTE PLACE="marg">1. The&s;. 4.13.</NOTE> for if we beleeue that Ie&s;us is dead, &amp; is ri&s;en, euen &s;o them which &s;leepe in Ie&s;us, will God bring w^t him. Wherefore comforte your &s;elues one another with the&s;e woordes. Thus much for &s;cripture. Nowe will I alledge the ancient te&s;ti|monies of the Fathers.<NOTE PLACE="marg">Cypr. &s;erm. de mort.</NOTE> Cyprian in his &s;ermon of mortalitie &s;ayth thus, Seeyng that we knowe, that our brethren, which bee de|liuered out of this worlde, by the hande and calling of the Lorde, are not lo&s;t, but &s;ent before: wee mu&s;t not here take on vs blacke gownes, &s;yth that they haue al|ready there put on whyte gar|ments: we mu&s;t not giue occa|&s;ion vnto the Paynims, that they may de&s;eruingly, and by good ryght blame vs, or lay to our charge, that we doe lament, and bewayle them, as peri&s;hed and <PB REF="73"> lo&s;t, whome wee doe affirme to liue with God, and &s;o to proue with the te&s;tymonies of our hearts, and breake the &s;ame faith that we doe profe&s;&s;e and &s;et forth by our communication &amp; talke. Againe hee in his fir&s;t treati&s;e a|gain&s;t Demetrian, When we bee once departed out of this life, there is no more place of repen|tance, there is no more effect or working of &s;ati&s;faction, life is here eyther lo&s;t or wonne, euer|la&s;ting &s;aluation is here prouided for by the due wor&s;hipping of God, and the fruites of faith: then we &s;hall bee without the fruite of repentance, &amp; griefe of payne. In vaine &s;hall weeping bee, &amp; prayer &s;hal be of no force or effect. Augu|&s;tine in his fir&s;t booke and 12. chapter of the time:<NOTE PLACE="marg">Augu&s;t. De temp.</NOTE> Therefore all the&s;e thinges, that is to wit, the looking vnto the corpes, or caring
<PB REF="73"> for it, the conditio~ of the burying, and the pompe of the funerals, are rather for the comforte of the liuing, then for the ayde and helpe of the dead. If co&s;tly and preci|ous burying doe profite the vn|godly, vyle burying, and none at all &s;hall hurt and hinder the god|ly. The multitude of &s;eruants did in the &s;ight of men make ex|cellent and glorious funerals vn|to that rich man that was all clo|thed in purple: but the mini&s;te|ry of Angels made much more excellent and noble funerall in the &s;ight of God, vnto the poore &s;illy creature that was ful of &s;kabbes, blaynes and &s;ores: for they did not lay him in a tombe of marble, but did cary him into the bo&s;ome of Abraham. Likewi&s;e in his fyr&s;t treati&s;e vpon the Epi&s;tle of Iohn, Whereof doe Schi&s;mes come? Hereof they come, when men &s;ay, We are righteous, we <PB REF="74"> doe pray, we doe obteine. Hie|rom in his 13. que&s;t. and 2. chap. We knowe that in this worlde wee can be helped one of ano|ther, eyther with prayers, or with coun&s;ell: but after wee bee once before the iudgement &s;eate of Chri&s;t, neyther Iob, Da|niel, nor Noah be able to pray for any body, but euery man &s;hall beare his owne burthen. The councill of Toledo. 3. <HI>cap.</HI> 22.23. <HI>qu.</HI> 2. <HI>cap. qui diui.</HI> We doe bidde &amp; commaunde, that they which de|part out of this life by the diuine calling of the Lorde, bee caryed foorth to their graues, onely with P&s;almes: for we doe altogether forbid y^e &s;ame prayer of funerals, that they be wont to &s;ing com|monly for the dead. <HI>Item &s;enten.</HI> 4. <HI>di&s;tinct.</HI> 45. <HI>Neque.</HI> Hee that prayeth for a Martyr, doth wro~g vnto the Martyr. Again&s;t pray|ing for the dead, I thought it <PB REF="74"> &s;ufficient to &s;peake thus much. Nowe I will &s;peake a worde or two of praying to Saintes. Fir&s;t the Scripture forbiddeth it: for it is written, P&s;alme 80.11. Giue vs help again&s;t trouble, O Lord, for vaine is the helpe of man. P&s;alme 115.17. The dead prai&s;e not the Lorde, neyther they that goe downe into the place of &s;i|lence. E&s;ay 63.16. Doutle&s;&s;e thou art our father, though Abraham be ignorant of vs, and I&s;rael knew vs not, yet thou, O Lord, art our Father, and our Redee|mer.
<MILESTONE N="1"> Nowe for the fyr&s;t. If the helpe of man bee in vayne, why then do you pray vnto Saintes? And, If the dead prai&s;e not the Lorde, to what ende then &s;hould they be prayed vnto? If Abraha~ and I&s;rael (who were counted holy in the &s;ight of God) knewe not of them that were in earth, &s;hall wee thinke that other <PB REF="75"> Saintes haue preeminence a|boue the re&s;t? No, no, we deceiue our &s;elues, and the trueth is not in vs. Iere.
15.1. Though Mo|&s;es and Samuel &s;toode before mee, yet mine affection coulde not bee towardes this people. Thus &s;ayeth the Lorde, Cur&s;ed be the man that tru&s;teth in man, and maketh fle&s;he his arme, and withdraweth his heart from the Lorde. Ezechiel 14.14. Though the&s;e three men, Noah, Daniel, and Iob were among them, they &s;houlde deliuer but their owne &s;oules by their righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e, (&s;ayeth the Lorde) yet I am the Lorde thy God, which brought thee from the land of Egypt, and thou &s;halt know no God but me, for there is no Sauiour be&s;ides me. E&s;ther 14.3. O my Lorde, (thou onely art our King) helpe me de&s;olate woman, which haue no helpe but thee. Matth.
11.28. <PB REF="75"> Come vnto mee all yee that are weary &amp; laden, &amp; I will ea&s;e you. Iohn 14.6. Ie&s;us &s;ayde, I am the way, and the trueth. No man commeth vnto the Father, but by mee. To the fir&s;t. If Gods <MILESTONE N="1"> wrath kindled again&s;t his peo|ple coulde not be pacifyed at the interce&s;&s;ion of Mo&s;es and Sa|muel, who were Saintes, howe can you per&s;wade your &s;elues, that Saint George or Saint Gregory, or any other Saint may be heard of God praying for you? To the &s;econd. Here is com|mination <MILESTONE N="2"> of God pronounced a|gain&s;t them that put their tru&s;t and confidence in man. But you put tru&s;t &amp; confidence in &s;aintes, who interpretiuely bee men. <HI>Ergo</HI> this cur&s;e toucheth you. The&s;e holy men, Noah, Daniel, and Iob can doe no more but &s;aue their owne &s;oules, they can not with their prayers procure the <PB REF="76"> &s;aluation of other mens &s;oules. The&s;e three were Saintes, and in fauour with God, as others be, they had the viewe of the glo|rious maie&s;tie of God as others haue: <HI>Ergo</HI> I inferre, If there coulde no helpe be found in them, then you may be a&s;&s;ured, no helpe is to be founde in others. To the
<MILESTONE N="3"> thirde. God telleth vs there is no other Saluation be&s;ides him, but you (my brethren) hope to bee &s;aued through the clemencie of your Patrones that be Saynts: wherefore I conclude, that you breake the commaundements of GOD, when hee &s;ayeth that none can &s;aue you, but hee alone. <MILESTONE N="4"> To the fourth. The de&s;olate woman tooke GOD onely to bee her king, (&amp; not &s;ome Saint or other) her &s;hield, her buckler, her defence, her comforter &amp; hel|per. In this her di&s;tre&s;&s;e &amp; neede, &s;he ranne not vnto &s;ome Saint <PB REF="76"> to craue helpe at his handes, but vnto God him&s;elf, who was mo&s;t ready to graunt her reque&s;tes. Therefore you are much to bee blamed, that you will not follow the allowable exa~ples of others. To the fift. Chri&s;t biddeth vs,<MILESTONE N="5"> when wee are driuen to anye &s;traights, or are grieued w^t any kinde of troubles, to make our praiers vnto him, and not vnto Saints, for he maketh no menti|on thereof: and hee promi&s;eth that our petitions &s;hall be accep|table in his &s;ight. Seing that of his bountifulnes hee willeth vs to come vnto him, why come you not to him, why goe you vnto o|thers? O &s;tubburne and froward generation, O vnthankfull, and di&s;loyall &s;ubiects! You will not come when as you are bidden, you wil not receiue Gods gentle|nes of him&s;elf offred, but &s;eeke to craue of his &s;eruants, again&s;t his <PB REF="77">
<MILESTONE N="6"> will and plea&s;ure. To the &s;ixt. Chri&s;t telleth vs, that no man can come to y^e Father but by him. If no man can come to the Fa|ther, but by Chri&s;t, <HI>Ergo</HI> in vayne do you then make your prayers vnto Saints. Act. 4.12. Neither is there &s;aluation in any other: for among men there is giuen none other name vnder heauen, wherby we mu&s;t be &s;aued. Rom.
10.14. How &s;hall they cal on him, in whom they haue not beleeued? Iames 1.5. If any of you lacke wi&s;dome, let him a&s;ke of God, which giueth to al men liberally. Euery good giuing, and euery perfect gift is from aboue, and co~meth downe from the father of lights. You &s;ee in the&s;e places of &s;cripture God telleth vs playnly, we ca~not be &s;aued (by any other, neither by this Saint nor that Saint) &s;aue onely by Ie&s;us Chri&s;t. Thus much out of the
<PB REF="77"> &s;criptures. Now let vs &s;ee what the Doctors &s;peake again&s;t your praying vnto Saints. Fir&s;t I wil begin with Augu&s;tine in his &s;econd booke and 8. chap. again&s;t the Epi&s;t. of Parmenian. Saint Paul maketh not him&s;elfe a me|diatour betweene God and the people, but requireth that they pray all one for another, being all the members of Chri&s;t. If Saint Iohn would &s;aye, This haue I written vnto you, that you &s;inne not, and if you &s;inne, you haue me your mediatour before God, and I will intreate for your &s;innes, as Parmenian (the heretique) in a certaine place, made the Bi|&s;hop a mediatour betweene God and the people: what good and faithfull chri&s;tian man could a|bide him? Who would looke vp|on him, as the Apo&s;tle of Chri&s;t? or rather who would not thinke him to bee Antichri&s;t? Al&s;o vpon <PB REF="78"> the 108. P&s;al. All praier, y^t is not made vnto god by Chri&s;t, not on|ly doth not put away &s;in, but al&s;o is turned into &s;inne. Item in his 3. booke of freewil. Wee are not co~manded to goe to any creature y^t we may be made ble&s;&s;ed, but to the creator &amp; maker of al things, of whom (if we be per&s;waded o|therwi&s;e then y^e trueth is) we are deceiued w^t a damnable error. Ite~ in his booke of y^e &s;pirit &amp; the &s;oule, 29. cha. The &s;oules of the~ that are dead, are there where they do not &s;ee, neither heare what thinges are done, or chaunce in this life: Such is their care for the liuing, that they know not what we do, euen as our care is for the dead, that wee knowe not what they doe. Item, in his tenth treati&s;e vpon Iohn. My mother whome you haue called ble&s;&s;ed, therefore is ble&s;&s;ed, becau&s;e &s;he hath kept the worde of GOD, and not be|cau&s;e <PB REF="78"> in her the word was made fle&s;he. Item, in his booke of the remi&s;&s;ion of &s;innes, the 14. chap. The Apo&s;tle &s;aid truely, Bee you folowers of me, as I am of Chri&s;t He neuer dur&s;t &s;aye, Bee you iu|&s;tified of mee, as I am iu&s;tified of Chri&s;t. None is iu&s;t, but Chri&s;t iu&s;tifying. Therefore he &s;ayd, He that beleeueth in him that iu&s;ti|fieth the vngodly, his fayth is counted for righteou&s;nes. Who is &s;o bolde therefore to &s;aye, I iu&s;tifie thee, which may not bee &s;aid of the Saints, but of the holy of holie&s;t, y^t &s;aid, Beleeue in God,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Ioh. 14.7.</NOTE> beleeue al&s;o in me? Againe in his fir&s;t treati&s;e vpon the Epi&s;tle of Iohn: From hence commeth &s;chi&s;mes, when men &s;ay, We are righteous, we make holy the vn|holy, we doe iu&s;tifie the wicked, we doe pray, we do obtaine. <HI>Item</HI> in 84. treati&s;e vpo~ Iohn. Though we dye brethren for brethren, yet <PB REF="79"> the blood of no Martyrs is &s;hed for the forgiuene&s;&s;e of &s;innes, which thing Chri&s;t hath done for vs. Ambro&s;e vpon the 1. chapter of the Romanes: But we obteine Gods fauour, from whome no|thing is &s;ecret, as knowing what euery man is meete to haue, wee neede no &s;poke&s;man, but a de|uout minde, for what&s;oeuer &s;uch a one &s;peaketh vnto God, God wil an&s;were him. Chry&s;o&s;t. in his 2. hom. of the woman of Canaan: Tell mee woman, &s;ith thou art a wicked and &s;infull woman, how dur&s;t thou go vnto him? I know (&s;ayth &s;hee) what I do. Beholde the wi&s;edome of the woman, &s;he prayeth not vnto Iames, &s;he en|treateth not Iohn, &s;he goeth not vnto Peter: &s;hee did not get her &s;elfe to the company of the Apo|&s;tles, &s;hee &s;ought for no mediator: but for all the&s;e things, &s;he tooke repentance for her companion, <PB REF="79"> which did fulfill the roome and place of an aduocate: and &s;o &s;hee did goe to the high fountaine. Item in his &s;ermon of going for|ward of the Go&s;pel: There is no neede of a Porter, of a Mediator or mini&s;ter, no neede of Aduo|cates with God, nor of any run|ning, and gadding about for to &s;peake fayre vnto other: for al|though thou be alone, and with|out an aduocate, and praye vnto God by thy &s;elfe, thou &s;halt ob|teyne thy petitions. Cyrill in his booke of right faith: He was ta|ken vp into heauen: but as God he is &s;hewed to graunt the petiti|ons of them that wor&s;hip him, if they make their prayers in his name. For why is it more meete to giue Saints their a&s;king, and to graunt them their petitions, then for him, which is onely by his owne nature, &amp; truely God? Leo Bi&s;hop of Rome, in his 81. <PB REF="80"> Epi&s;tle: Although the death of many Saintes hath bene preci|ous in the &s;ight of the Lorde, yet the killing of no Innocent, hath bene the propitiation for the worlde. The righteous receiued, but gaue no crownes, and out of the valiantnes of the faithful are grauen examples of patience, not giftes of righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e. For their deathes were euery one &s;inguler to him&s;elfe, and none of them did by his ende paye the debt of ano|ther, fora&s;much as there is our Lord Chri&s;t, in whom all are cru|cified, all dead and buryed, and rai&s;ed vp againe. Era&s;mus in his booke called the Preacher: If a|ny man lacke wi&s;edome, let him a&s;ke it of God, and not of the Saints. So much again&s;t pray|ing vnto Saintes. Here in the fir&s;t parte of my declaration, I haue (as you knowe) declared a true report of the wickedne&s;&s;e of <PB REF="80"> Rome: I beganne with the Car|dinals liues, proceeded to the Prie&s;tes, Monkes, and citi|zens, and ended with the Pope. Seeing you know the&s;e reportes to be true, for your owne &s;aluati|on returne to the trueth. Bee not ob&s;tinate and frowarde in your fal&s;e opinion. You are courteou&s;|ly and gently intreated, yet are you neuer the better, but rather the wor&s;e, like Frogs that keepe a great crooking &amp; &s;turre again&s;t the light of the Sunne: &s;o do you again&s;t the glorious and comfor|table beames of Chri&s;t his Go&s;|pell. Be &s;ati&s;fied with trueth, and abu&s;e not the mercifull lenitie of our gracious Soueraigne, le&s;t that the Lordes di&s;cipline be re|&s;tored, which &s;hall re&s;traine your &s;preading poy&s;on, and auoyde the hazard whiche otherwi&s;e &s;hould happen, not onely to the church of God amo~g vs, (which
<PB REF="81"> might not thriue amid&s;t &s;uch pe|&s;tilent &amp; co~ber&s;ome weeds) but e|uen to the enda~gering (which the Lorde of glorie turne from vs) of this flori&s;hing common weale, &amp; her Maie&s;ties mo&s;t royal per&s;on, crowne &amp; dignitie. Your malici|ous &amp; cur&s;ed practi&s;es, as cocatri|ces, haue brought forth &amp; hatched great dangers to y^e co~mon weale already. If you &s;hould be &s;et at li|bertie, without recantatio~ e&s;cape vnpuni&s;hed, winked at, fauoured and &s;pared: greater mi&s;chiefe &s;hal in&s;ue your trea&s;onable practi&s;es, to y^e ruine and de&s;olation of this ble&s;&s;ed lande, which God of his mercie turne awaye from vs. What pe&s;tiferous bookes haue our Engli&s;h fugitiues thru&s;t foorth vnto vs, defacing Gods holy trueth, the Queene her roy|all Maie&s;tie, many of her hono|rable coun&s;ell, and &s;undry of her louing and faithfull Subiects?
<PB REF="81"> Haue thei not al&s;o procured Anti|chri&s;t, Pope <HI>Pius Quintus,</HI> to exco~|municate our Redoubted Soue|raigne, &amp; al the~ that co~tent them|&s;elues, chri&s;tianly &amp; quietly to liue vnder her gouernment? But an vnder&s;erued cur&s;e hurteth not. A|bout Mid&s;o~mer la&s;t was twelue-month, they renued the&s;e bulles of excommunication, grau~ted by this Pope Gregory, vnder the co|lor &amp; name of <HI>Pius Quintus</HI> publi|&s;hed. There were fiue hundreth copies printed at Rome, as two of you (my brethre~) can verifie the &s;ame, and how they were publi|&s;hed, as I heard at Rome, in the Engli&s;he Seminarie at Rhea|mes, and were put fa&s;t to pillars in the citie. The&s;e Bulles of ex|communication were &s;cattered throughout all Italie, Spaine, &amp; parte of Germanie. In the&s;e buls of exco~municatio~, (for&s;ooth) they haue di&s;charged (if their di&s;|charge &s;houlde bee credited) her <PB REF="82"> highne&s;&s;e Subiects from their loyaltie &amp; obedience to her Ma|ie&s;tie, their natural Prince. Haue not their Bulles pronounced her Maie&s;tie to be no lawful Queen, whom God hath placed ouer vs? Haue not their attemptes bene the &s;eede of rebellion? and haue they not cau&s;ed, and doe cau&s;e to this day, many to practi&s;e &s;ecret|ly her graces de&s;truction?<NOTE PLACE="marg">The loyaltie of Papi&s;ts.</NOTE> One of your Readers in Diuinitie po&s;i|tiue, I am certayne, before two hundreth &s;cholers, and not &s;o fewe, as one of you may te&s;tifie the &s;ame, mo&s;t impudently and deuili&s;hly &s;pake, that it was law|full for any man of wor&s;hip in Englande, to giue authoritie to the vile&s;t wretch that is, to &s;eeke the death of our &s;oueraigne Queene. But God who hath defended her, &s;till pre&s;erue her: And then let K. P. who threat|neth, and Antichri&s;t, Pope Gre|gory <PB REF="82"> an Italian borne in the citie of Bolonia, who prouoketh, ioyne their powers together: yet &s;hee &s;hall preuayle, to their &s;hame, &amp; to her honour. Father <HI>Pais</HI> a Spa|niard borne, reader in &s;chola&s;tical diuinity in y^e Romane colledge at Rome, &s;aid in y^e pre&s;ence of three hundreth &s;cholers at lea&s;t, the&s;e were his woordes, <HI>Bona Papae voluntas trita &amp; manife&s;ta e&s;t, &amp; eius crumena parata, &s;ed R. P. aut metus &s;ubtrahit, aut pote&s;tatis defe|ctus vetat, vt &s;uu~ in Angliam exer|citum ducere non audeat.</HI> That is, the Popes good will is tried and knowne, and his pur&s;e rea|dy, but K. P. either feare with|draweth, or power forbiddeth him that hee dare not venter, to bring his Army of Souldiers into Englande. But lea&s;t that I be too tedious to my hearers, of this fir&s;t part I wil make an end, <PB REF="83"> be&s;eeching you my brethren to become loyall and faythfull to your naturall Prince, for&s;aking your &s;uper&s;titious Idolatrie and cur&s;ed religion, your pompous glorie, and prowde hierarchie, and thus much for the fir&s;t part.</P>
<DIV2 N="2" TYPE="part">
<HEAD>The &s;econd part.</HEAD>
<Q><LG>
<L>Qui veniunt ad vos ve&s;titu ouium, &amp;c.</L>
</LG>
<LG>
<L>Which come vnto you in &s;heepes clo|thing, &amp;c.</L>
</LG></Q>
<P>In this place (being the &s;eco~d part of my diui&s;ion) whe~ the ho|ly Gho&s;t biddeth vs: Beware of fal&s;e prophets, he addeth al&s;o a note or marke, to know them by, in the&s;e words: Which come vn|to you in &s;heepes clothing. In the fir&s;t words, which come vnto you, there is al&s;o giuen vs one mark of a fal&s;e prophet, y^t is, to go before he be &s;ent, in y^e la&s;t words, In &s;heepes clothing, is &s;hewed, that when fal&s;e prophetes come, <PB REF="83"> it is but w^t flatterie &amp; di&s;&s;imula|tion. For to come in &s;heepes clo|thing: is nothing el&s;e, but to feine him&s;elfe a &s;heepe, that is, to make thy &s;elfe holy, whereas thou art nothing le&s;&s;e, to name thy &s;elfe a follower of Chri&s;tes holy worde, wheras thou art obedient to the traditio~s of me~, to name thy &s;elfe a Prophet, whereas y^u art not, to name thy &s;elfe a teacher of the trueth, wheras thou art a main|tainer of lies: to re&s;emble a &s;heepe in outward &s;hew, but in wardly to be a Foxe. What a fal&s;e pro|phet is, you may know if ye reade the&s;e places of &s;cripture that fol|low, to witte, <HI>E&s;a.</HI> 56.
<HI>Ierem.</HI> 6.23. <HI>Ezech.</HI> 22.34. <HI>Philip.</HI> 3.4. and the 2.
<HI>to Timoth.</HI> 3. <HI>Titus</HI> 1.2. <HI>Pet.</HI> 2. <HI>Luk.</HI> 16.
<HI>Rom.</HI> 16. For whiles they giue them&s;elues vnto couetou&s;ne&s;&s;e, (and that vnder a colour of god|line&s;&s;e,) what can otherwi&s;e fall out, then that which S. Peter <PB REF="84"> &s;ayth, With fained wordes they &s;houlde make marchandize of Gods people.<NOTE PLACE="marg">2. Pet.
2.3.</NOTE> So did the fal&s;e Prophetes among&s;t the Iewes: &s;o did their &s;acrificers, <HI>Matt.</HI> 15.5. with them, as our ma&s;&s;emo~gers haue done with vs. What maner wor&s;hipping of God haue they feyned? what &s;nares haue they laide? namely Indulgences, pur|gatorie, watchings, ma&s;&s;es for the dead, workes of &s;upereroga|tion, &amp; in fine to that pa&s;&s;e they brought it, that ob&s;cured y^e grace of our redemption, wherewith al &s;uch as beleue, by Ie&s;us Chri&s;t are freely redeemed, and get e|ternall life. No man thinketh a|mong&s;t the Papi&s;tes, but they ei|ther de&s;erue eternall life (by rea|&s;on of their owne workes:) or els if their outward workes fayle, to be damned for euer. This is y^t &s;ame diabolicall perdition, with the &s;way whereof, a great part of <PB REF="84"> Chri&s;tendome is caried headlo~g. And the cau&s;e hereof is, that men haue ytching eares, and therfore procure vnto them&s;elues heapes of teachers,<NOTE PLACE="marg">2. Tim. 4.5.</NOTE> to feede their fonde humors, men are highminded, &s;elf willed, louers of them&s;elues, beyng wedded to their owne wayes, and marryed vnto their owne deuices, they leaue the law of God, and follow after the tra|ditions of men. What (I praye you) is the cau&s;e, that there be &s;o many papi&s;tes in England? is it not, becau&s;e the true preachers are not beleeued? The trueth of|fendeth them, the Scriptures mi&s;like them, they are delighted with fal&s;ehoode, and content to &s;taye them&s;elues vpon mens in|uentions. Preceptes are giuen, &amp; yet the precepts of God are not regarded, en&s;amples abounde, and yet the en&s;amples of the con|&s;tant &amp; faithfull martyrs of God <PB REF="85"> are derided and &s;coffed at, the whol&s;ome coun&s;els of the godly eyther are lightly contemned, or el&s;e heard with &s;o &s;mall profite, that they enter in at the one eare, and goe out at the other. Is it then to be maruayled, if Chri&s;t &s;uffer the&s;e preten&s;ed prophetes, (the Papi&s;ts I meane) to &s;educe them from his trueth? reade 1. of the kings 22.22. In Achab the like hath bene done before, and in <HI>Ezech.</HI> 13.10. <HI>&amp;</HI> 22.28. we reade of them that buylded with vntem|pered morter. Seeing then that they will not giue credite vnto Gods worde, and therewith be contented, God is not to be bla|med, if (that the&s;e fal&s;e prophetes deceyuing them with an out|ward &s;hewe of holine&s;&s;e) he giue them vp to &s;trong delu&s;ions,<NOTE PLACE="marg">2. The&s;&s;. 2.11</NOTE> that they fall from the trueth to error, from light vnto darkenes, from heauen to hell. Such as <PB REF="85"> teach them the trueth, are de&s;pi|&s;ed, and others that in&s;truct them in the dregges of idolatrie, are e&s;teemed and had in great repu|tation. The&s;e fal&s;e prophets, that they may bring the&s;e carnal men vnto perfection: they tell them how their forefathers liued, whe~ they embraced papi&s;trie, howe that in comming to Churches, they were very diligent, in wor|&s;hipping of images they were de|uoute, howe paynefull in vi&s;i|ting holy places, howe liberall vnto the poore, howe mercifull to the afflicted, and la&s;tly, howe carefull they were to keepe Gods commandements. Where be all the&s;e good workes (&s;aye they) what is become of them? Nowe one man &s;eeketh to beguile ano|ther, one man &s;peaketh euill of an other, their deuotio~ to the church is waxen colde, charitie towards the poore is more then frozen. &amp;c. <PB REF="86"> And whereof (&s;ay they) procee|deth this heape of all mi&s;chiefe, the ripenes of this impietie what roote hath it, &s;pringeth it not fro~ the corrupt doctrine of the newe fangled Preachers? Vnto all the&s;e &s;uppo&s;ed cauilles, and mo&s;t manife&s;t &s;launders (for other are they not, but &s;launders and tho&s;e meere &s;uppo&s;ed) I an&s;were, whereas they &s;peake of the godly liues of their forefathers (if their liues had bene holy) the&s;e their good works, whereof they boa&s;t, were not vndoubted markes of true religion. For reade the hy|&s;toryes of the Gentiles, let the liues of the olde Philo&s;ophers both Greekes and Latines bee peru&s;ed: and it &s;hall not bee a|ble to be gayne&s;ayed, that for the ciuill &s;tate of their life, and the morall vertues, they lyued as vp|rightly as euer your forefathers did: yea, and that in &s;uch excel|lencie, <PB REF="86"> that &s;ome of them were e|uen beautified by the names of the vertues them&s;elues: as So|crates the Con&s;tant, Plato y^e reli|gious, Regulus the promi&s;e kee|per, Cato the &s;ober, and &s;uch like: yet neyther did their liues proue their religion to be true, neyther was heaue~ able to be &s;caled by &s;o &s;hort and weake a ladder. As for that they blame the liues of them that profe&s;&s;e the Go&s;pell, &amp; there|upon inferre that they haue no true religion, they &s;peake more (by their leaues) then trueth wil warrant. For the imperfections of Gods children, and the &s;innes of particular men, are not auaile|able to di&s;herite them of true reli|gion:<NOTE PLACE="marg">Gen. 9.2. &amp; 19.33. 2. king. 11. &amp; 12. Matth 26.72.74.</NOTE> as the drunkennes of No|ah, the ince&s;t of Lot, y^e adultery &amp; murther of Dauid, y^e back&s;liding of S. Peter, &amp;c do declare, of who~ to &s;ay they &s;inned, &amp; therfore they were not in the right way, were <PB REF="87"> to conclude very impertinently, &amp; without all rule of rea&s;on. Now wheras vpon this weake &s;uppo|&s;all grounded vpo~ an vntruth, ye mi&s;report of y^e preachers of Eng|land, &s;aying, that they allow all licentiou&s;ne&s;&s;e of life, it is cleane contrary, for they dilige~tly exhort the people to amendement of life: they condemne not good workes, no, they commend them highly. herein truely you and they do dif|fer: they make workes to followe faith as the fruites, according to that S. Augu&s;t.<NOTE PLACE="marg">Augu&s;t. de fide &amp; ope|ribus. cap. 14 &amp; epi&s;t. 106.</NOTE> &s;ayeth, <HI>Opera &s;e|quu~tur iu&s;tificatum non praecedunt iu&s;tificandum:</HI> You make workes the grounde and faith the roofe, putting the cart before the hor&s;e, and heate before the fyre. The Queene goeth before, &amp; her hand|maydes folow, not that &s;he is not able to go without them, but that as nece&s;&s;arily to the Maie&s;tie &amp; Royal port of a prince &s;uch atten|dance <PB REF="87"> is nece&s;&s;ary: &s;o is it in faith, and works. You my brethren &s;ay that good workes are nece&s;&s;ary, thereby to merite heauen and de|&s;erue &s;aluation. But as the &s;crip|tures are flat again&s;t you, euen &s;o are the doctours al&s;o, none of the~ do beare with you, they all beare again&s;t you. We teach the people trueth, you fables. Wee preach faith, and yet exhorte vnto good workes, you &s;eeke more for the hu&s;ke then for the kernel. We are not &s;uch as <HI>Cardinall Ho&s;ius</HI> mi&s;|deemeth vs to bee <GAP DESC="foreign">, naughtie and euil preachers, nei|ther preach wee any thing that Gods worde alloweth not. How your Elders and our forefathers liued, it &s;tandeth you in hande to con&s;ider of: they put their &s;onnes into mona&s;teries, &amp; their daugh|ters vnto Nunneries, what they did they haue an&s;wered, if they did well, they are pardoned by <PB REF="88"> mercie in the promi&s;e made vnto Abraham: if euil, no ma~ &s;hal haue a crowne but hee that fighteth lawfully. yet herein ye offer them a great deale of wrong, y^t as blind guides leading them into by|pathes, robbing the~ of their inhe|ritance, &s;poiling the~ of the trueth of Gods worde, ye put the &s;heepe to an&s;were for y^e blindne&s;&s;e of the &s;hepheard. That they liued in ig|norance it can not bee denyed, it was not of faith,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Rom. 10.14.</NOTE> for it was not grounded vpon the writte~ word of God: They did as they were taught, if they had bene taught better, better woulde they haue done, yet is it not fit y^t we &s;houlde conde~ne any mans &s;eruant whe|ther he &s;tande or fall. Neither is their early ri&s;ing to <HI>Mattens,</HI> to their <HI>Complyn</HI> at midnight, their going barelegged and barefoote, their fa&s;ting and wilful pouertie, their hard lying, their whippings <PB REF="88"> their going in &s;ackecloth, their lo~g praying in the &s;treetes, nor all o|ther y^e like practi&s;es able to drawe vs from the trueth. nay what wil ye an&s;were when God &s;hall a&s;ke you,<NOTE PLACE="marg">E&s;a. 10.12. Mat. 15.9.</NOTE> Why did ye wor&s;hip me with mens traditions? who hath re|quired this at your handes? Reade the booke entituled, <HI>Hie|ro&s;olomitanus peregrinus,</HI> you &s;hal finde, that the Turkes liue more au&s;terely in their Mona&s;teries and abroad, then euer any of you did. It were too long to rehear&s;e their outwarde godline&s;&s;e, they fa&s;t and pray as you doe, they build Temples, they maintayne ho&s;pitals, they vi&s;it the &s;icke, they pray in the night time more then you doe, and the day tyme they &s;pend either in prayer, or in &s;ome good woorke. They clothe the naked, feede the hungry, har|bor the harborle&s;&s;e, they followe you in al points of good woorks, <PB REF="89"> yea, and they farre &s;urpa&s;&s;e you. For proofe hereof, I referre you to the reading of their Hi&s;tories. yet will ye not &s;ay (I thinke) that the Turkes for all their good workes are like to bee &s;aued. If this were a good argument, y^t by good works men are &s;aued: then could I rea&s;on thus:
<Q>The Turkes do good works, But they which doe good workes &s;halbe &s;aued: <HI>Ergo</HI> the Turkes &s;halbe &s;aued.</Q> And whereas you &s;ay, y^t they did well which make their daugh|ters Nonnes. For (&s;ay you) they &s;erue God and our Ladie: if their &s;eruice be good &amp; commendable, &s;eeing that they attribute and apply that vnto our Lady, which (in Dauids P&s;almes) is &s;poken of God the father and the &s;onne, iudge you. For when they pray, they pray after this maner, <HI>In te domina &s;peraui, mi&s;erere mei do|mina, <PB REF="89"> dixit dominus dominae meae, &s;ede mater mea a dextris meis, &amp;c.</HI> In thee O Lady haue I tru&s;ted, O Lady haue mercie vpon mee, the Lord &s;aid vnto my Ladie, &s;it my mother at my right hand, &amp;c. In &s;uch &s;ort, that the&s;e bla&s;phe|mies, which they call our Ladies houres, were the chiefe deuotion of tho&s;e that were mo&s;t deuoute. Nowe &s;eeing the ble&s;&s;ed virgin was put in Chri&s;ts place: I a&s;ke what remayneth for him? and if, becau&s;e &s;hee bred hym and bare him, and brought him forth, &s;he accompli&s;hed y^e &s;aluation of tho&s;e that cal vpo~ her, what then was there, that he &s;hould deliuer him|&s;elfe to death for vs? But let mee (I praye you) &s;peake a worde or two, concerning the doctrine of the&s;e fal&s;e prophets, which tea|cheth a man to be iu&s;tified by his good workes. If I &s;hould iu&s;ti|fie my &s;elfe, myne owne mouth
<PB REF="90"> &s;hall condemne mee (&s;aith Iob:<NOTE PLACE="marg">Iob.
20.</NOTE>) for if I woulde bee perfect, mine owne mouth &s;hall condemne me, we haue bene all as an vncleane thing (&s;ayth E&s;ay) &amp; all our righ|teou&s;nes is as filthy cloutes.<NOTE PLACE="marg">E&s;a. 64.6.</NOTE> When yee haue done all tho&s;e thinges which are commanded: (&s;aith our Sauiour) &s;ay the~, We are vnprofitable &s;eruants, wee haue done but y^t which was our duetie to doe. And there is none righteous,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Rom. 3.10.</NOTE> no not one: by the workes of the lawe &s;hall no fle&s;h be iu&s;tified in his &s;ight, and all the&s;e words come from y^e mouth of God. But &s;eeing ye wil hardly admit the te&s;timonie of Gods worde, without the witne&s;&s;e of men: go to, let vs &s;ee what &s;ay the fathers in this behalfe? I doe &s;carcely (&s;aith Origen) beleeue that there can be any worke,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Origen. lib. 44. cap. 4.</NOTE> that may of duetie require a reward.<NOTE PLACE="marg">Ba&s;il. In P&s;al. 32.</NOTE> Ba&s;ill &s;aith that hee tru&s;teth not <PB REF="90"> in his owne good deedes, nor ho|peth to be iu&s;tified by his works, he hath the onely hope of his &s;al|uation in the mercies of GOD. And Saint Hierome,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Hierom, in E&s;ai. cap. 64.</NOTE> If we be|hold our owne merits, we mu&s;t be driuen to de&s;peration. The time will not &s;erue to handle this matter at large, therefore I ende this part, be&s;eeching al tho&s;e that loue the Go&s;pell vnfeinedly, to take diligent heede to &s;uch fal&s;e Prophetes, as come vnto them in &s;heepes clothing, faining them &s;elues holy, and by their holines thinke them &s;elues iu&s;tified.</P>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 N="3" TYPE="part">
<HEAD>The thirde part.</HEAD>
<Q><LG>
<L>Sed intrin&s;ec&ugrave;s &s;unt lupi rapaces.</L>
</LG>
<LG>
<L>But inwardly they are rauening wolues.</L>
</LG></Q>
<P>Although our Engli&s;h popi&s;h Prie&s;tes, (that come from Rome, or el&s;e from Rheimes in France, <PB REF="91"> to this our natiue &s;oyle) tell vs that they haue taken great labor, pa&s;&s;ed many daungers, yea and hazarded their owne lyues to &s;aue our &s;oules fro~ eternall dam|nation, and endles mi&s;erie, they are not to be beleeued for all the&s;e their brags. They are rauening wolues, they &s;eeke y^e euerla&s;ting confu&s;ion both of our bodies and &s;oules. What doe they teach, but fal&s;e doctrine? doe they not &s;eeke to per&s;uade vs to wor&s;hip &s;tocks and &s;tones, yea (which is wor&s;t) to wor&s;hip that idole in the Sa|crament? They teache more, then they are well able to performe. Howe can they proue, y^t Chri&s;t is really &amp; tran&s;&s;ub&s;tantially in the &s;acrament of the altar? This is the effect and force of all their ar|guments: Chri&s;t &s;pake it, whe~ he &s;ayde, <HI>Hoc e&s;t corpus meum,</HI> This is my body. They will haue no Tropicall figure herein to be ex|pre&s;&s;ed, <PB REF="91"> for that Chri&s;t &s;ayde and promi&s;ed, that he woulde &s;peake no more in parables. This argu|ment is nought, if you &s;aye, that <HI>Hoc e&s;t corpus meum,</HI> be a para|ble. If you &s;aye, that Chri&s;t pro|mi&s;ed to v&s;e no more figuratiue &s;peaches, you are farre deceyued. For hee v&s;ed a
<GAP DESC="foreign"> in this phra&s;e, <HI>Hic e&s;t calix noui Te&s;ta|me~ti, quem &s;i biberit qui&s;piam, &amp;c.</HI> This is the cup of the newe Te|&s;tament, which who&s;oeuer &s;hall drinke, &amp;c. You knowe no man can drinke the cuppe: wherefore here is <HI>Continens pro contento,</HI> the thing conteyning, for y^e thing conteined. If Chri&s;t v&s;ed a figure in this phra&s;e, <HI>Hic e&s;t calix, &amp;c.</HI> Why &s;houlde he not in like wi&s;e v&s;e a <GAP DESC="foreign"> in this phra&s;e, <HI>Hoc e&s;t corpus meum?</HI></P>
<P><HI>Fe</HI> The death of Chri&s;t is not re|ally pre&s;ent in the Sacrament. <HI>ri</HI> But the blood of Chri&s;t is pre|&s;ent <PB REF="92"> in the Sacrament, as his death is pre&s;ent.</P>
<P><NOTE PLACE="marg">Amb. de &s;ac. 4. cap. 4.</NOTE><HI>o</HI> Therefore the precious blood of Chri&s;t is not really pre&s;ent in the Sacrament.</P>
<P>The <HI>Minor</HI> propo&s;ition is proued out of Ambro&s;e, in his fourth booke of the Sacramentes, and fourth chapter, <HI>Vt recepi&s;ti &s;uae mortis &s;imilitudinem, &s;ic bibis &s;imi|litudinem &s;ui precio&s;i &s;anguinis:</HI> As thou ha&s;t receyued the &s;imilitude of his death, &s;o doe&s;t thou drinke the &s;imilitude of his blood.</P>
<P><HI>Di&s;</HI> The true naturall bodie of Chri&s;t is placed in heauen.</P>
<P><HI>am</HI> But the true natural body of man, can bee but in one place.</P>
<P><HI>is</HI> Therefore the true naturall body of Chri&s;t can be but in one place, and at one time in heauen.</P>
<P><NOTE PLACE="marg">Luk. 24.51. Act. 1.9.</NOTE>The
<HI>Maior</HI> is proued thus, <HI>Ie|&s;us receptus e&s;t in coelos, &amp; &s;edet <PB REF="92"> ad dexteram Dei, &amp;c.</HI> Ie&s;us was receiued vp into heauen, and &s;itteth at the right hande of GOD the Father.<NOTE PLACE="marg">Matt. 26.11.</NOTE> <HI>Pauperes &s;emper habetis vobi&s;cum, me ve|r&ograve; non &s;emper habebitis:</HI> The poore haue you alwayes with you, but me &s;hall yee not haue al|wayes. <HI>Ioh.</HI> 12. <HI>De&s;ero mundum, &amp; eo ad patrem:</HI> I for&s;ake the worlde, and goe to my Father.
<HI>Multi dicent in eo die, Ecce,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Matt. 24.23. Mar.
13.21.</NOTE> <HI>hic e&s;t Chri&s;tus, &amp; ecce, ibi:</HI> Many wil &s;ay in that day, Lo, here is Chri&s;t, and lo, there he is. What&s;oeuer is in many &amp; diuers places at once, is God. The body of Chri&s;t is not God, but a certaine creature. Therefore the body of Chri&s;t can not be in many places at once.</P>
<P><HI>Da</HI> Euery quantitie (that is) eue|ry body that hath le~gth, breadth, and thicknes, is conteined in one peculiar place.</P>
<P><HI>ri</HI> Chri&s;tes bodye hath length, <PB REF="93"> breadth and thicknes, and is a quantitie.</P>
<P><HI>o</HI> Therefore Chri&s;tes body is contained in one peculiar place.</P>
<P>The <HI>Maior</HI> is prooued out of Cyrill in his thirde booke of the Trinitie, pag. 245. <HI>Quic quid intel|ligitur habere corpus, hoc indubi&egrave; e&s;t in loco, &amp; in magnitudine &amp; in quantitate. Et &s;i &s;it in quantitate, euitare non pote&s;t circum&s;criptio|nem, hoc e&s;t habere &s;uum locum:</HI> What thing &s;oeuer is vnder|&s;toode to haue a body, that with|out doubt is in a place, in magni|tude and in quantitie. And if it be in quantitie, then it mu&s;t needes be in &s;ome peculiar place.</P>
<P><HI>Fe</HI> No naturall body can at one and the &s;ame time haue contrarie and diuers qualities.</P>
<P><HI>ri</HI> But to be in one place local, in another not locall, in one place with quantitie, in another with|out qua~titie, in one place finite, in <PB REF="93"> another infinite, is to admit con|trary qualities to a natural body <HI>o</HI> Therefore the body of Chri&s;t can not be in one place locall, in another place not locall, in one place with quatitie, in another place without quantitie.</P>
<P>We mu&s;t &s;o defend the huma|nitie of Chri&s;t, that we de&s;troye not his diuinitie. If we a&s;&s;igne to Chri&s;tes body plurality of pla|ces, wee de&s;troye his diuinitie: wherefore we mu&s;t not a&s;&s;igne to Chri&s;tes body pluralitie of pla|ces. The my&s;ticall &s;ignification that you haue imagined of your &s;hewes and accidents, that the formes of breade and wine out|wardly repre&s;ent the &s;pirituall nouri&s;hing of the &s;oule, is vaine and fanta&s;tical, without the wit|nes of any auncient Doctour, or father, &amp; is confirmed only by the authority of y^e Pope him&s;elfe. For what maner of feeding is there in <PB REF="94"> the&s;e accidents and holy formes, or howe can that thing that fee|deth not the body, repre&s;ent vnto vs y^e &s;piritual feeding of y^e &s;oule? The matter is plaine ynough of it &s;elfe, and needeth no cauill. The &s;ignification and &s;ub&s;tance of the Sacrament is to &s;hew vs, how we are fed with the body of Chri&s;t, that is, that like as mate|riall bread feedeth our bodie, &s;o the body of Chri&s;t nayled on the cro&s;&s;e, embraced &amp; eaten by faith, feedeth the &s;oule. The like repre|&s;entatio~ is al&s;o made in the Sa|crament of Bapti&s;me: that as our body is wa&s;hed cleane with water, &s;o our &s;oule is wa&s;hed cleane w^t Chri&s;tes blood. There|fore S. Aug. &s;aith, <HI>Ni&s;i Sacrame~|ta &s;imilitudinem quandam earum rerum, quarum Sacrame~ta &s;unt, ha|berent, omnin&ograve; Sacramenta non e&s;|&s;ent:</HI> If Sacraments had not a certaine likenes and repre&s;enta|tion <PB REF="94"> of the thinges whereof they be &s;acraments, then in deede they were no Sacraments. This re|pre&s;entation Rabanus Maurus <HI>lib.</HI> 1.23. expoundeth thus, <HI>Quia panis corpora confirmat, ide&ograve; ille congruenter corpus Chri&s;ti nuncu|patur, &amp; quia vinum &s;anguinem o|peratur in carne, ideo refertur ad &s;anguinem:</HI> Becau&s;e (not the acci|dents or formes of bread) but bread it &s;elfe confirmeth the bo|dy, therefore it is conueniently called the body of Chri&s;t. And be|cau&s;e wine worketh bloud in the fle&s;h, therfore it hath relatio~ vnto y^e blood. &s;o likewi&s;e &s;aith Druth|marus <HI>in Matth. cap.</HI> 28.
<HI>Vinum laetificat &amp; &s;anguinem auget, &amp; ideo non inconuenienter &s;anguis Chri&s;ti per hoc &s;ignificatur.</HI> This I &s;peak briefly of the &s;acrament of your Ma&s;&s;e. Reade the olde and newe Te&s;tament, &amp; marke if you finde any one word directly, or indi|rectly, <PB REF="95"> &s;ecretly, or plainely, which &s;peaketh nigh or farre, of the &s;a|crifice of your Ma&s;&s;e, which is in controuer&s;ie betweene vs. Contrariwi&s;e, &s;ee if you doe not finde therin from line to line, that Chri&s;t is the onely &s;acrifice once offered vp for all: that there is one onely wa&s;hing in y^e bloud of Chri&s;t, y^t there is one only God, to be called vpo~ in the onely name of Ie&s;us Chri&s;t. If you finde there the doctrines which we co~|demne, then in heart &amp; voyce con|demne vs, and cry fagot &amp; fire a|gain&s;t vs. If not, recant then, &amp; be &s;ory for your errors, cry God &amp; the Queene mercy. Be &s;orowful that you haue mi&s;called our &s;oue|raigne Lady, and that you haue &s;ayd you would burne her bones, and burne all them of her mo&s;t honorable coun&s;el, that fauoured not your cur&s;ed attempts, eyther
<PB REF="95"> aliue or dead: Many of who&s;e names I could rehear&s;e, but for certaine cau&s;es I wil put the fir&s;t letter of their names. let <HI>L.</HI> &s;erue the roome of a Lorde, and <HI>S.</HI> of a Knight. <HI>B.</HI> for a Bi&s;hop. &amp;c. <HI>L.K.</HI> who is dead, <HI>L. T.</HI> who is aliue,
<HI>E. L.</HI> aliue, <HI>E. B.</HI> aliue, <HI>E. W.</HI> a|liue, <HI>E. H. S. F. K. S. F. W. S. H. S. M. R.</HI> of <HI>L. Ar. B.</HI> of <HI>C. M. D.</HI> of <HI>C.</HI> and all &s;uch as haue puni&s;hed (or fauoured not) their idolatrous religion. <HI>B.</HI> of <HI>L. M. D.</HI> of <HI>P. L. D.</HI> of
<HI>Yor. L. B.</HI> of <HI>Win.</HI> who is dead, <HI>B.</HI> of Sali&s;b.
<HI>D.</HI> of Sali&s;b. <HI>M. I. F.</HI> preacher at London. <HI>D. H.</HI> at Oxenforde. <HI>D. F.</HI> preacher at Cambridge, with diuers others, vpon whom you &s;ayd, you would &s;hew no mercy. A man had neede to take heede of &s;uch, as yet you are, who make men beleeue (for all this their &s;pight and malice <PB REF="96"> towards their own natiue &s;oyle, which they greatly wi&s;h to be de|&s;troyed w^t fire, &s;word, &amp; famine: this am I able to verifye by &s;uch as are already conuerted to the trueth of Chri&s;t his Go&s;pell, and yet I haue omitted many things of their hatred &amp; practi&s;es again&s;t this Realme of Engla~d) y^t they hazard their liues to &s;aue our &s;oules from hell, whereas in very deede, they haue wrought (as much as lieth in them) our eternall damnation, and &s;o in|wardly are rauening woolues. what do they teach our Engli&s;h|men, but y^t the Pope is &s;upreme head, &amp; that, if they will be &s;aued, they mu&s;t acknowledge y^e Pope to be &s;oueraine Lord? This they teach without proofe of &s;cripture. Saint Cyprian &s;ayth,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Cyprian de &s;implic. praelat. &amp; in &s;enten. Epi&s;c. &amp; in lib. 1. Epi&s;t. 5.</NOTE> <HI>Vnum e&s;&s;e Epi&s;copatum, cuius quilibet Epi&s;|copus tenet &s;uam partem integra~ &s;ine diui&s;ione. Praeterea nullum &s;ui <PB REF="96"> te~poris voca&s;&s;e aut feci&s;&s;e &s;eip&s;um Epi&s;copu~ Epi&s;coporum, aut tyran|nide &s;uos &s;ibi &s;ubieci&s;&s;e &s;ocios.</HI> That is, y^t there is but one Bi&s;ho|pricke, of which euery By&s;hop holdeth his part wholy without any diui&s;ion. Al&s;o, that none of his time eyther called or made him&s;elfe Bi&s;hop of By&s;hops, ey|ther made through tyrannie his companions &s;ubiect to his obedi|ence. Al&s;o he complayning that prophane men, &amp; Schi&s;matiques withdrew them&s;elues to the By|&s;hop of Rome, &s;ayeth that there were none y^t did &s;o, but certeyne de&s;perate and wicked felowes, per&s;wading them&s;elues that the Bi&s;hops of Affricke haue le&s;&s;e po|wer then the Bi&s;hop of Rome. Saint Chry&s;o&s;t. &s;ayeth <HI>in homil.</HI> 83. <HI>in Matt. cap.</HI> 23.
<HI>Quicunque E|pi&s;coporum primatum in terra de|&s;iderabit, confu&s;ionem in coelis re|periet, et qui caput omniu~ e&s;&s;e con|tendet, <PB REF="97"> non co~putabitur in nume|ro &s;eruorum Chri&s;ti:</HI> Who&s;oeuer (&s;ayth hee) of the By&s;hops &s;hall de&s;ire &s;upremacie in earth, he &s;hal finde confu&s;ion in heauen, and he that &s;hal de&s;ire to be the chiefe, he &s;hall not be reputed in the num|ber of the &s;eruants of Chri&s;t. Loe here, the fathers of your owne Church &s;ay, that the Pope is not &s;upreme head. As for &s;criptures, reade them throughly, and you &s;hal not finde one onely text to ground your &s;upremacie vpon. Wherfore (good brethren) &s;eeing that your owne Doctors &s;peake again&s;t you, bee reconciled with me that am conuerted by Gods grace, and the indu&s;trie of his in&s;trume~ts, the right wor|&s;hipful &s;ir Owyn Hopton knight, the Queenes Maie&s;ties Lieute|nant of this towre of London, &amp; diuers godly preachers. Be with me reconciled, I &s;ay, and let vs <PB REF="97"> with one accord embrace y^e truth, and become loyall and obedient &s;ubiectes to our &s;oueraigne Lady Queene Elizabeth, who &s;o graci|ou&s;ly &amp; fauourably dealeth with vs, that, whereas (for&s;aking our countrey, &amp; &s;ubmitting our &s;elues to the gouernment, or rather ty|rannie of an Italian prie&s;t) wee haue de&s;erued the heauie wrath of our louing Queene to be puni|&s;hed with death, by our recanta|tion our tre&s;pa&s;&s;e may be forgot|ten, life graunted, &amp; wee brought into fauour againe. Wherefore, my louing brethren, (con&s;idering the promi&s;e of the bountifull cle|mencie of our gracious Queene, ready at al times to pardo~ our re|bellious and traiterous offences committed again&s;t her Maie&s;tie, and the dayly labour that this right wor&s;hipful knight &s;ir Ow|yn Hopton by name taketh, to co~|uert vs to the trueth of the Go&s;|pel) <PB REF="98"> recant, recant, ca&s;t not away wilfully your bodyes and &s;oules to endle&s;&s;e paine: &s;horten not your dayes, which God hath lent you here vpon earth to do good, and make not an ende of the~ in a bad cau&s;e. Allowe not the Popes &s;u|premacie, canons of council, de|crees of fathers, con&s;titutions of men, rites and ceremonies, par|dons and indulgences, inuocati|on of &s;aintes, merites by workes, pilgrimage, ma&s;&s;es, diriges, tren|talles, images, pictures, reliques, altars, &s;hrines, liues of fayned &s;aintes, fal&s;e miracles, vi&s;ions, dreames, fanta&s;ies &amp; &s;uch other tra&s;hes without warra~t of Gods worde, as it appeareth to y^e world in your &s;ermo~s &amp; Romi&s;h po&s;tils. And in fine, be not Phari&s;es, &s;et not light by the Go&s;pel of Ie&s;us Chri&s;t, for&s;ake not y^e law of God, to folowe after the traditions of men. <HI>In vanum mihi &s;eruiunt</HI> (&s;aith <PB REF="98"> our &s;auiour Chri&s;t in the Go&s;pell of &s;aint Matthew 15.) <HI>cum nihil, aliud docent qu&agrave;m traditiones ho|minu~:</HI> In vaine do they &s;erue me, while they teach &s;uch doctrines as are nothing but the comman|dements of men. Say not, that there be &s;euen &s;acraments, &s;eeing the Church of God receiueth but two, <HI>numero pauci&s;&s;ima,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Augu&s;t. de doct. Chri&s;ti. lib. 3. cap. 9. &amp; ad Ianu|ar. Epi. 118.</NOTE> of the &s;malle&s;t number, (as Augu&s;tine writeth) which are <HI>Bapti&s;mus trinitatis nomine co~&s;ecratus, &amp; co~|municatio corporis &amp; &s;anguinis ip|&s;ius:</HI> Bapti&s;me halowed in the name of the trinitie, and the com|municating of his ble&s;&s;ed body and blood, figured in the olde Te&s;tament by the circumci&s;ion and the pa&s;chall lambe. Repent (my brethren) repent, and crye to God for grace and mercy. Let it neuer grieue you to returne from the&s;e princes of darkenes, the de|uill and the Pope. And in deede <PB REF="99"> what haue you &s;eene in the court of Rome? Chri&s;t in exile, and An|tichri&s;t reigne in his &s;tead, Beel|zebub the iudge, wolues let loo&s;e, and the lambes in y^e &s;tocks. Ah good God, who &s;hall deliuer the world from this oppre&s;&s;ion? who &s;hall gather together the &s;heepe? who &s;hall reproue and conuince the wicked pa&s;tors? Shall there neuer be a limitation and ende of this intolerable mi&s;chiefe? Howe long &s;hal the Pope and his &s;haue|lings, who haue neyther fayth, godlines nor trueth, deceiue thy poore &s;heepe? Howe long &s;hal the &s;onne of perdition reigne ouer thy flocke? who being but a man, lifteth vp him &s;elfe aboue Kings, yea aboue Angels, and aboue the heauen of heauens, and hath cau|&s;ed men to di&s;pute that hee is not<NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">Pope Inno|centius. De tran&s;l. C. quanto. Prohoem. Clement. Glo&s;&s;a: Papa &s;tupor mundi. The Pope is the wonder of y^e world.</NOTE> &s;imply a man, but a partaker of the diuine nature with Chri&s;t, and that he hath the fountaine &amp; <PB REF="99"> roote of y^e &s;pirite of Chri&s;t in him. To be &s;hort, whereas thou, O Chri&s;t, ha&s;t &s;ubmitted thy &s;elf vn|der heauen, earth and hell, he wil co~maund kings, angels,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Glo&s;s. ex|trau. de &s;ede ad Apo&s;to|latus. Di&s;tinct. 40. C. &s;i Papa.</NOTE> deuils &amp; all, vnder colour of the key of the word, which thou ha&s;t deliuered to thy mini&s;ters. I a&s;ke, (thou being God, and made man for the &s;aluation of the worlde) how it can bee that this man, which maketh him&s;elfe God, &s;houlde be any other, then that &s;onne of per|dition, come for the perdition of the worlde. Thou that ha&s;t bene wounded for our tran&s;gre&s;&s;ions, and &s;mitten for our iniquities, &amp; with who&s;e &s;tripes we are hea|led, gouerne, helpe, and &s;uccour thy flocke: let Antichri&s;t peri&s;h, and be di&s;comfited by the breath of thy holy mouth, and aboli&s;hed by the brightne&s;&s;e of thy ble&s;&s;ed &amp; wi&s;hed comming. Come Lorde <PB REF="100"> Ie&s;u, come quickly, for thy names &s;ake. Let all the people &s;aye, Amen.</P>
<P><GAP DESC="foreign">.</P>
</DIV2>
<TRAILER>FINIS.</TRAILER>
</DIV1>
</BODY>
<BACK>
<DIV1 TYPE="colophon">
<P>&para;<HI>Jmprinted at London, by</HI> Chri&s;topher Barker, Printer to the Queenes mo&s;t <HI>ex|cellent Maie&s;tie.</HI></P>
<P>Anno 1581.</P>
</DIV1>
</BACK>
</TEXT>
</EEBO>
</ETS>
