BEfore I lay Brentius his ar­gumentes to the touchestone, I think it mete to speake somthing of the manyfolde here­syes of this oure tyme, which I iudge shal be nothinge disagreing from the purpose which I haue taken in hand. For this Sathanisme,Foure foū ­dations of Brentius doctrine or sathanisme whiche I will make mention of in this my preface, semeth to haue taken the begynnyg of none other thyng, then of these foure foundacions, which Bren­tius buyldeth vpon in this his lyttell trea­tise. For whilst euery man taketh vpon 1 him to be a iudge in the doctrine of Reli­gion, whilst euery man maketh a cōment vpon the scripture, accordyng to his owne conceit: whilst he beareth him self in hand 2 that they be as playne as a pyke staff, & as easye to be vnderstanded, as dyke wa­ter is to come by: whilst he thinketh that 3 nothyng shold be of any authoritie besyde them, & that the ordynaunces of the holy fathers, be vtterly to be trodē vnder foote: whylst he beleueth, that the church can neither 4 be sene nor knowen, so that it is free [Page] for euery congregation in corners to cha­lenge the name of a church, who seeth not that oute of these braunches of Brentius hys doctryne, of y^e which Martyn Luther was the fyrst founder, thys Sathanisme is sprong, which nowe prevayleth in ma­ny partes of Germanye, whiche also by lyttell and lyttell dothe labour to crepe in to the kyngdome of Poland, & the coun­tries bordring neare vnto it. Wherefore I shall not go any thing a wry from my purpose, if I shall fyrst speake somthing of that Sathanisme.The cōsent of Christē ­dom in re­ligiō aboue fourtie yeares past. Gen. 11.

Before these fourty yeares last past, such was the state of the whole world, so farre as Christian fayth toke any force, that the sentēce which we reade in Genesis, myght well be reported of it: It was a land of one lypp, and one cōmunication. & that which is written in the Actes of the Apostles of them which fyrst were converted to the fayth of Christ:Act. 4. The assemble of thē which beleved, was of one hart, and of one soule: lyke as they all worshipped one God, so they helde one fayth. There was one and the selff same manner in ministryng the Sacramentes, there was almost one & the selff same vse of cerimonies in euery place, [Page 2] all they spake one thing, they thought one thing, they agreed vpon one thing, so that you myght easely acknowledge it to be y^e citie,Psal. 121. whose fellowshipp is one cōsent and agrement. Wherefore seing they all were of one and the selff same mynd, they wold not be called but by one and the selff same name. Some of them wer not called Gno­sticall, other Apostolicall, other Euange­licall, or by any other suche lyke tytles of diuisyon, but they were all named Christi­ans of Christ, whome they dyd all cōfesse with one consent, in whome only they dyd beleue it to be lawfull for them to glory, or to advaunce them selues. then the which name, they iudged none other could be gi­uen them more excellent or honorable. For they were men vpryght, well meanyng, & fearyng God, which beleued y^t the kyng­dome of God dyd not consist in cōtention of wordes, but in simplicitie of belefe, nei­ther knew any other Gospell, but y^t which procedyng from the spyrit of Christ, was wrytten of Christ euen by the disciples of Christ.

This agrement of fayth, and vniforme doctryne of all men among them selues, as it prevayled among other nations, so a [Page] greate contynuaunce of tyme it floryshed among oure next neyghboures the Ger­manes: but specially among all those peo­ple, which be vnder youre Maiesties obe­dience, whether they be Polonians, either Litvanians, either Catholyke Russians, Prussians, or Masouians: synce the tyme that all these countryes dyd once receaue the Ghospell of Chryst, this stedfast agre­ment of fayth, hath continued vnspotted and vnstayned almost this six hūdred yea­res. And that, which wyll make you more to mervayle, it is not farr vnder or ouer an hūdred & fourty yeare, since the leprouse learning of the Waldenses hathe infected Boeme, which bordereth neare vpō youre Maiesties dominions. Synce that tyme it is come to passe, that a greate part of it hath cutt it selff of frō the residue of Chri­stendome. Which Scisme & diuisyon how many plagues it hath heaped vpon y^e head of that country, it is not neadefull in this place to make relation. This only is worthy to be marked, that whereas they and we speake one language commonly, yet oure coūtry could not be intysed with any dyuelish deceiptes, that leaving the assent and consent of the whole church, it wolde [Page 3] take parte with the Bohemians.

In the which doing,The vigi­lancie of the Bisho­pes, & de­uotion of the kinges of Pole. what shall I princi­pally prayse? either the carefullnes of our Byshoppes, or elles the speciall deuotion of youre vertuouse auncetoures, which at that tyme ordred the common wealthe? surely bothe the Bishoppes and the Prin­ces deserued to be decked with the prayses of all men. For the Byshoppes remem­bryng, in what a watche towre God had plased them, spared no studie, carefullnes, or paynes, that they myght provyde for the healthe of theyre flock committed to them of Christ.Such an o­ne was the holy father fysher Bis­hop of Ro­chester. Neither feared they any man hys force, but dyd sett them selues as a wall for the howse of Israel: nether dyd they abyde, that any poynt of a good pas­tor sholde be wantyng in them. And these most godly Princes the one youre grand­father Wladislaus Kyng of Poland, the other hys brother Vitoldus, at what tyme the Kyngdome was offred them of y^e Bo­hemians,A won­derful ex­ample for al Christiā kynges. which a lyttle before had parted and devided them selues from the body of Christ, which is the Church, w^t a mervay­louse coragiousnes of mynde, dyd thynk it better to refuse y^e Kyngdome, then that they sholde commyt any thyng not comly [Page] for Chrystian Princes. Yea, they made a flat answer to the Embassadoures of Bo­heme, that they thought it to be hyghe treason to God, to reigne among herety­kes. But yf they wolde returne in to the way of ryght religyon, and to the fellow­ship of the Catholyke Church, for the loue and the commoditie of Christendome, one of them with oute nay wolde take vpon hym y^e charge & regiment of theyre Kyng­dome. Now, I pray you, is there at this present, or hath there bene these many yea­res any Prynce, whose Religyon may be compared with the Religion of these Princes? As for me truly, I iudge these oure forsayde Kynges to be nothing inferioure to them, whome we reade to haue spoken vnto Chryst in this wyse:Matth. 19. Beholde, we ha­ue forsakē all thinges, and haue followed the. For what dyd they forgo but onlye lyttell shyppes and fyshers nettes? But these dyd rather chose to refuse a Kyng­dome voluntarily offred to them, then y^t for hope of inioying of it, they wold suffer them selues so to be shackled, y^t they shold haue lesse libertye to followe Christ: then y^t they wolde be disseuered from Christ his body, frō one, holy, & Catholyke churche.

[Page 4]Withoute doubt, that voyce of Christe dyd euer sownde in theyre eares, whiche also we haue hard procede of your mouth (moste vertuouse Prince) in the noble as­semble of youre Lordes, and cōmunaltye. what advauntage hathe a man, thoughe he gayne the whole worlde,Matth. 16. yf he sustayne the losse of his owne soule? or what ex­chaunge shall a man make for his soule? They thought nothing lesse, thē to chop or change heauenly kyngdomes for yearth­ly, euerlasting Kyngdomes for transitory: but if at any tyme the Religyon of Christ cam in questyon, so far of was it, that any rewarde or gyft was swete, that theyr lyfe semed sowre vnto them, which they were all way prest and redy to lose, rather then they wold shrynck from mayntayning re­ligyous quarell. Therefore, by reason, of thys circumspectnes of oure Bishop­pes, and singular godlynes of oure Prin­ces, whiche for the defence of God hys cause thought, that they ought not to stand in awe of any man, or preferr any thing before hys charitie, it cam to passe that the Christian, Catholyke, and ryght religiouse faythe, hathe cōtinued in your Maiesties dominions pure & vncorrupted [Page] nowe almost these six hundred yeares.

For what occasiō Lu­ther dyd sowe newe discorde.Notwithstanding, this is the fourtieth yeare, synce Martin Luther dyd leape in to the lyght, who was the fyrst in thys owre vnhappy age, which kyndled a fyar brand of discorde in the Churche of God. of so lyttell a sparkle, which at the begyn­ning myght easily haue bene quenched, oh what a furiouse fyar is raysed? at the first men began to reason & dispute of the for­gyuenes of synnes, which we commonly call Indulgences or pardones. Those dyd Luther fyrst inveygh agaynst, not that he dyd vtterly cōdemne y^e right vse of them, but because he thought, that y^e abuse was not to be borne withall. and that he dyd come to this combate, he was not led with any feruency of a right zeale, or with any loue or desyre of godlynes, but whereas he toke pepper in the nose, that the office of preaching the pardonnes cōmitted be­fore to the bretherne of his Ordre, that is the Augustin fryars, by reason of y^t which they felt no small profyt, was from them translated to the Dominicanes, and so his brethern disapointed of that commoditie, he thought this to be a iust cause to mar­che out of his monkery, and byd the whole church of God battayle, wherfor this his [Page 5] fyrst skyrmishyng was for hys bely sake, which he made a god of. the which thing he him self could not kepe close. For when at one tyme he ioyned in disputation with Eckius, Luther being set on fyar with fu­ry, & ouershoting all y^e markes of modestie, when certayne dyd admonyshe him to be­haue himself more quyetly w^t the spiryt of mekenes, for so much as it was God his cause, which was thē debated, he burst out in to these wordes:Luther his confession. This busynes began not for God hys cause, nor for God hys cause shall it be fynished. So vnable was he, long to couer or cloke the disease of his mynde. Nowe, marke you diligently,August. in the .44. Sermon de tempore. that which S. Augustin wryteth, that there be ij. rotes sett in .ij. feldes, of .ij. husband men, y^e one Christ planteth in y^e hartes of good men, the other y^e dyuell setteth in the har­tes of euell men. That which is planted of the dyuell, is couetousenes, the roote of all mischefe. but that which is planted by Christ, is charitye, the roote of all good­nes. of which the Apostle speaketh,1. Tim. 6. Ephes. 3. roo­ted and founded in charitye. Neither can any euell spryng oute of the roote of cha­ritye, neither any good oute of the roote of couetousnes. Nowe, counte well with youre self, oute of which of these rootes [Page] the cause of Luthers pyking quarells a­gainst pardones dyd growe, that you may vnderstand,The frute of a newe sect dyd spring out of the rote of covetousnes plāted in Luther. who was the planter. Be it y^t you be mervaylousely inamored with y^e man, yet wil you nyl you, you must graūt that it budded oute not of y^e roote of cha­ritie, but of auarice, which the dyuel plan­ted in his hart. For this is certayne and oute of all doubt, that he wolde not haue once mutterd against pardones, if the pre­ferment of preaching of them, had bene gyuen to his ordre: but when he percea­ued, y^t to be bestowed vpō others, which he whished rather to be gyuē to his brethern, he thought it to be a good cause, why he sholde play suche pevishe pageauntes.

what by lytle and lytle made Luther wurse and wurse.Nowe we haue learned, oute of what roote the first assault of Luther against y^e churche proceded, namely oute of y^e roote of covetousenes, which with often cōten­tions is dayly more and more encreased. For y^e begynnyng of this broyle, was co­vetousnes of money, afterward cam de­sire of glory, next to that followed a more pernitiouse affection to revenge, which at y^e laste dyd burst oute to a deadly displea­sure & hatred. It is well inoughe knowen, that at the begynnyng Luther was not so [Page 6] lewde and so farr past grace, for so muche as he thought not skorne to submytt his wrightynges to the iudgement of them, whose iudgemētes in dede he ought to re­verence. In a certayne epistle wrytten to Pope Leo, there are these wordes to be se­ne, which he wrote aboue eight and thir­tie yeares a gone: Moste blyssed father,Luther his submission to the Pope I offer my selffe flatt vpon the grounde be­fore youre holy fere, with all that I am worthe. Quicken me, slea me, call me he­ther, call me thether, approve me, reprove me, as it pleaseth you: I wyll acknow­ledge youre voyce, to be y^e voyce of Christ rulyng you and speakyng in you. But it is true, that Philo dothe wryte,Philo in the second boke of al­legories of the lawe. that con­tention is the norishmēt of anger, & there­fore they which be gyuen moste to cōten­tion, in all disputations and other confe­rencies, be sone moued to anger. And this is the propertie of anger, that it easyly is deceaued it selffe, and deceaueth others, so that you shall not easily fynde one angry man of a true iudgement, as being ouer­comed with dronckennes of the mynde, thoughe not of the body. Loke with howe muche more cōtention thinges were han­dled, which at the fyrst semed to be of no [Page] great importaunce, so muche the more did the contenders go wyde of the true way.

And this is so prouyded of nature, that almost neuer any errour dothe ryse,One er­rour for the moste part dra­weth many other after it. but it draweth many other after it, so that you shall scantly fynde any which is fallen in to any one errour, which dothe not euery day stray further & further from the bea­ton pathe of veritie. Lyke as in syngyng, yf in any one pointe the harmony be tro­bled, there is a certayne vnpleasant iar­ryng in all the other partes: so vniforme doctryne being wrested a wrye by meanes of some heresye, or straunge opinion, disa­greing from the swete melodye of truthe, sometymes openeth a wyder wyndow to greater disordre and confusion: & lyke as in the body of man, when the iuste propor­tiō of those qualities is distempered, whe­rein the healthe of all partes, & the sownd­nes of al the powres consisteth, many ma­ladyes & infirmityes follow one after an other: so if the mynde be once diseased, or not well established, it decayeth euery day more & more, & is subiect to more daunge­rouse syknes. His disease was curable at the fyrst, but in continuaunce of tyme, the infection dyd spreade it self so far, that it [Page 7] was past all remedye.

And first he toke that vpon him, which all heretykes vse to doo, that is,Luther be­gā his sect at rebellīg against the Pope. to disanul the popes authoritie, and to prescribe him rules of reformation: agaynst him he bent all his bedlembrayne, & labored with to the & nayle to withdrawe from him the good wylles of so many as he coulde, & to dashe him quyte oute of conceyt, that the ruler of the churche being so disgraced and dis­placed,Cyprian fyrst booke epist. 3. he myght (as S. Cyprian saythe) more cruellie and violentlie wreake hys wrathe with the spoyles & shyppwrackes of the Churche. Therefore takyng vpon him a saucye enterprise, he cast all his bo­kes of the Canō lawe in to the fyar, with many other of y^e Pope his writinges com­monly called Bulles: and not long after, he dyd wryte a booke of the captiuitie of Babylon, in the which not sparing y^e Sa­cramentes one inche, he dyd his endevou­re to turne euery thing vp syde downe. when Pope Leo had borne with these his presumptuouse pranckes y^e space of three yeares,Leo his long suffe­raunce. and had many tymes & oft warned him to returne home to the Churche, but all in vayne, at the last, as his dutie requi­red, he condemned him of heresye, he ex­cōmunicated, [Page] & cast him oute of the Con­gregatiō, oute of y^t which he had throwen him self before.Luther cō ­demned of the Pope, myndeth nothing but to de­face the supremacie. Then began he to rage more & more, and to seke all meanes how he myght vtter all his malicious mynde against y^e Pope, whome he wyshed in his hart to be sett besyde his seate, and to be bereaued of all his authoritie. In this one pointe dyd he vestowe all his care, studie, & travayle. so y^t afterward in writing his bookes, he thought it not to appertayne vnto him to haue regarde, what was god­ly or what was vngodlie, but what thing might moste deface the papacie, to the in­tent, what so euer he wrote, what so euer he sayue, what so euer he dyd, he might do it in despyte of the Pope, Councells, & Bishopes. This dothe he him self witnesse in a certayne epistle to y^e Citizins of Stras­borowe, to whome he dyd wryte after this manner:Luther his owne testimonie. Neither can I, neither will I (sayth he) deny this, that if Carolstadius, or any other, coulde haue persuaded me more then fyue yeares agone, that there had remayned nothing in the Sacramen­te but bread and wyne, he had made me a greate debtor of his: for in boulting oute this matter, I toke greate care, and a long [Page 8] tyme dyd weary my self, I stretched al the strynges of my wytte, to make my part good in this behalf, for so muche as I knewe wel, that I by this meanes I shold brede greate inconvenience to y^e Papacie.

Doth not he here playnely confesse, that by beatyng this newe fownde doctrine in to the peoples heades, he intended not to further the glory of Christ, to set abrode y^e knowledge of his truthe: but that as he hym selff was blynded with the myst of malice against the Pope, so he myght sett the hartes of other men a fyar with the same hatred? His mynde was rusted with suche rancor and spitefullnes, that he was redy wyllingly to deny Christ to be pre­sent in the Sacrament, so that by this oc­casion he might hurt or hynder the supre­macie.

For so muche then as in all his sayin­ges, writinges, doinges,Luter was lod with a dyuellishe spyrit, to do moste of those thin­ges which he dyd. he vsed none but of all other the most perniciouse councel­loures, that is angre & hatred, is there any which as yet will doubt, that those thin­ges which proceded from him, haue bene deryued from any other then y^e very diuel: If there be any suche doubter, let Luther hym self dryue away that doubt, who in a [Page] booke which he intytled De Missa angulari, that is, of priuate Masse, dothe euidently declare, who was the scolemaster of this his newe doctrine.Luther his dyuelishe dreame. For there he bringeth in the Dyuell disputyng with hym, & ma­kyng stronger obiectiōs against y^e Masse, then he was able to solute. Whose voyce also he there describeth to be a bygg, base, and boysterouse voyce, and which dothe make so terrible a noyse, that it chaunseth often after conference had with y^e Dyuell by nyght, that men be found dead y^e next day in the mornyng. For the Dyuell, sayth he, can kyll the body, besyde that he smy­teth suche a feare in to the mynde, y^t some tyme in the twynklyng of an eye, it is in­forsed to depart oute of the body. Which thyng he wryteth to haue many tymes al­most chaunsed to hym.Luther his dronken deathe. And in dede it hap­pened so vnto hym at the last. For being ouer nyght well whittled with wyne, and in his mery cuppes, next day early he was found dead in hys bed, after that he had for the space of nyne & thirtie yeares ray­sed many troblesome tempestes in y^e chur­che of God. And lo, this is that worde and Gospell of God, which many do so vaunt of, not established by Christ, but invented [Page 9] of Sathā, as he hymselff confesseth, which first dyd set it abroche. For he dothe make hys crakes, that the Dyuell dyd ministre hym argumentes, with y^e which he myght cleane cōfound bothe the order of Preste­hode and also the Sacrifice. The whiche twoe thinges being ouerthrouwen, dothe not God seme either to be vtterly denyed, or at y^e least to be spoyled of a greate pece of hys honoure: For where is no Preste­hode, no Sacrifice, it followeth that there is no acknowledgyng of God. Where­fore seing Luthers consciēce dyd crye oute agaynst hym, that anie other rather then Christ was the author of hys Gospell (if so be it be lawfull to terme so Dyuellishe doctryne, by so notable a name) he wolde not haue his followers to be called Chri­stiās, which was a cōmon name to al men which professed Christ before these late fourtye yeares, in y^e which Luthers lewde lore began to be spred abroade, but he cal­led them Ghospellers: that by this name he myght gyue it to be knowē, that bothe he and his were a sute by themselues for­ced and sequestred from Christ, & his bo­dy, that is, one, holy, Catholyke, and Apo­stolyke Churche: and that nothing appartaynyng [Page] to Christ dyd belong vnto hym.

Thus youre Maiestie vnderstandeth, from whens this is fetcht,Why Lu­ther his lore can not be allowed which some name the Gospell and the syncere worde of God, yea and that by y^t owne confessyon of y^e author hym selff, who, as Christ once sayde,Ioan. 7. My doctrine is not myne, but my fathers, which sent me, meanyng his hea­uenly father. So he was not ashamed to say: My doctrine is not myne owne, but my fathers the Diuelles, which sent me. Of whome he dothe bragg, that he bor­rowed argumētes, w^t the which he myght ouerwhelme Priestehode & Sacrifice, y^t so doing he might rasse quite out of remem­braunce all true worshippyng of the true God. Thoughe Luther hym selff sholde deny this, yet wolde the thyng it selffe be a sufficient profe, that it is the Dyuelles worde, and not the worde of God, which he dyd first blase abroade in this oure age. For as we reade in S. Paule: God is the God of peace and loue,2. Cor. 13. 1. Cor. 14. not of dissention and hatred. But he, which maketh diui­syon betwene Christian brethern, is y^e Dy­uell, sayth y^e Prophet. Therefor seing oute of this worde of Luther,Osee. 13. suche greate di­uisyon and separatyon is growen, as we [Page 10] nowe see (more is the pitie) in y^e churche, for so muche as so many sectes sundry one frō an other are ingendred of it, vpon who­me ells shall we father this worde, but euē vpon the Dyuell? Euery spyrit, sayth S. Ihō, which divideth Iesus, is not of God,1. Ihon. 4. & this is Antichrist. But he devideth Ie­sus,To devyde Iesus. as we haue proued at large oute of S. Augustyn, in that place where we dyd in­treate of traditions, which divideth either the churche from Christ the heade,August. in the .6. tre­atise vpon the Epistle of Ihon. either hym selffe from the churche, or the church with in it selff. Christ vouchesaffed to dye, that he myght gather to gether the chyl­drē of God, which were scattered abroade: Luther dyd direct all his doinges and wrytinges to this end, that he myght scatter those, whome Christ had vnited together with his p̄ciouse blood. Moreouer, Christ dyd declare by the manner of his deathe, howe displeasaunt all kynde of division is to hym.Christ by the māner of his death declared, that he lo­ueth not diuision. For neither wolde he dye as S. Ihon Baptist, who was beheaded: neither as Esay the Prophet, who was cutt a sun­dre w^t a sawe: that in very death he myght preserue all the membres of his body with oute any manglyng, that so no occasyon myght be offred to them, which couet no­thing [Page] more, then to make chyppes of the churche, and to my [...]se it in to many gob­betes. But Luther all the dayes of his lyfe (after that he fell in to heresye) applyed nothing more ernestly, then that the body of Christ which remayned whole & sounde vpon the crosse, amyd the clawes of y^e per­secutours, sholde hereafter no longer con­tinewe vnbroken, and vntorne among the handes of Christians. So then that cruel­tie,Luther more cruel then the wycked soldyars which dyd put Christ to deathe. which y^e synfull souldioure swolde not commit in breaking the body of Christ, Luther hauyng an outeward shewe of god­lynes, but yet denying the vertue thereof, feared not to put in practyse, but dyd as muche as lay in hym, to make māmockes of Christ his body, which is, one, holy, Ca­tholyke, and Apostolyke churche. And is there yet any, which wyll make a doubt, whether his worde be the worde of the dyuell, or no? to whome it is as naturall a cō ­dition, to diuide, teare, and scatter, as it is the propertye of Christ to gather those thinges together which be scattered.

Luther author of sectes.And that you may not thinke, that I withoute a cause lay to Martin Luthers charge the diuision and separacion which is brought in to the Churche, I pray you, [Page 11] heare (most vertuouse Prince) in to how manye sondry sectes he hathe hewed, and hacked the most noble bodie of Christ. For after y^t he puffed vpp with a prowde con­ceite of hym selffe, thought that it becam hym well in certayne articles & opinions to depart from the vniforme assent & con­sent of the Churche: see, I pray you, what a wyde wyndowe of making diuision and separaciō, he afterward opened to others. One, named Andrewe Carolstadius,Andrewe Carolstad. his behaui­oure in the absence of his deare frende Lu­ther. was in a manner his sworne brother, he had hym fastened (as he thought) with an in­soluble knot of stedfast frendship: yet for all that, dyd not he continew in one iud­gement and opinion with Luther the ter­me of .ij. whole yeares. For whist Luther was a way from Wittenberge, Carolsta­dius vnknowing to him abolished y^e Mass, cast of his religiouse apparell, caused the most blessed Sacramēt to be touched with lay mennes handes, persuaded y^e sedicious people, that thronging as it were oute of wyde open gates, it sholde byd battayle to the Churches and Altars, and that it sholde whurle all images oute of them.

Althoughe Luther returning to Witten­berge, dyd not disalowe the thyng it selff, [Page] yet because it was done withoute his au­thoritie, he founde greate fault with it, as being vndiscretely done and oute of ordre. So much dyd he disdayne that any thing shold be set vp or pulled downe of any man a lyue, except he had fyrst gyuen oute a cō ­mission that so it sholde be.Luther most gre­die of glo­rie. The gentle­man was so gredy of glory, that he might well syng this verse which dyd become his ambitiouse ielosie: ‘Riualem possum non ego ferre Iouem.’

I think greate skorne that God above

Sholde fansie y^e thing which I do love. He dyd wryte .ij. bokes, against y^e heavenly Prophetes, in one of the whiche he war­neth, those preachers to be forbidden the benefytes of water and fyar,Luther a sore enni­mie to image brea­kers. whiche per­suade y^e people to throwe downe images, or at the least he willeth so to nypp them in the heades some other way, that they presume no more so to prate, because after the destruction of images, commonly fol­loweth the destruction & slaughter of men. Good Sirs (sayth he) the pulling downe of images, is not the mark which the dy­vell shoteth at, but to make hym selffe a muse to start in and oute at to shed blode, & to make one man cut an others throte. [Page 12] The spiryt of imagehaters is not good, for it breathes murders and vprores, al­though it beareth a fayre face for a whyle, tyll suche tyme as it spyeth any advaun­tage. Thus Luther and Carolstadius dyd burne with deadly displeasure one against the other, they dyd rayle so spytefully one against the other, that they semed wurse then heretikes one to the other. And this was not the least cause of their enimitie & contention, that bothe dyd chalaunge this prayse vnto him selff, for bringing fyrst vn­to light the true knowledge of the Gho­spell. But it is knowen well inoughe,Carolstad. the fyrst marryed preste in Germany. that Carolstadius was the fyrst Preste y^t euer marryed a wife in Germany, and enter­prysed those thinges which I made reher­sall of a littell before: for which cause he thought the prayse of fynding oute y^e true light of the Ghospell, to be only due vnto him. But when he perceaued, y^e more ac­coumpt was made of Luther, who in dede passed him farre in wytte, learninge, and vtteraunce, to the intent he might make hys name ryng among hys posteritie, he thought it good to coyne some newe con­ceited doctrine, which being suche as Lu­ther had never medled with all, he sholde [Page] not presume to any part of y^e prayse, which he had newly inuented.

Luthers doctrine was an occasion of the Sa­cramētaries sect.To the vttering abroade of which doc­trine, it is playne, that Luthers bokes dyd offer occasion, who, as Calvine dothe re­corde, wryting against transsubstantiatiō, semed to sounde a larum to rayse vp the heresie of the Sacramentaries. For Lu­ther dyd teache, that after Consecration, there remayned in the Sacrament y^e sub­staunce of brade and wyne.Caluin in the. 2. defē ­ce agaynst Ihon west. which some dyd so vnderstand, as thoughe Luther had taught that Christ, whome the Scriptu­res wytnesse to haue bene incarnat, that is, to haue taken vpō him oure fleshe, had bene in the Sacrament impanate, that is, taken vpon him bread, whome also it shold be idololatrie for any man to worshyp in the Sacrament, onles he dyd cōmunicate. As who shold say, that the body of Christ were not made in the Sacramēt with the worde of Christ, but with oure receaueing, and that there coulde not be suche vertue in Christ his wordes to make his bodye there, onlesse it were put to oure mouthe. What is this ells but to falsifye the wor­des of the Scripture, and in stede of that which Christ sayde, This is my body, to [Page 13] say, this shall be my body when it shall be receaued? But in very dede, it is aboue .xx. yeares agone since Luther being as it we­re caught with Buchers wyly lyme twig­ges dyd agree vnto this his opinion: for Bucer by no meanes wolde be persuaded to confesse the bodie and blood of Christ to be in the Sacramēt substantially, onles Luther wolde lykewyse yelde thus muche to him, that the body & the blood of oure Lorde is not there, onles it be receaued, as Ruard Tapper a man of excellent lear­ning expounding the tenth article of Lo­uayne dothe wytnesse in his wrytinges.Luther be­guyled of Bucer be­came a Sa­cramētarie Thus Luther invegled w^t Bucers baytes, whylst he intended to make Bucer holde of his syde, he hym selffe becam a Sacra­mentary. For there is nothing, which doth more strenghthen the Sacramētaries he­resye, then this opinion of Bucer, which Luther consented to. of the which thing Ihon Caluine dothe make his boste in di­uerse places. Thus farr had Luther mar­ched at that tyme. but as yet he had not taken oute his lesson so farr in his Christ curse rewe, that he durst deny the presence of Christ his body and bloode in the Sa­crament. The fyrst which had the face to [Page] deny it in oure dayes,Carolstad. fyrst pre­sumed to denye the presence of Christ in the sacra­ment. Melancthō to Friderike Miconiꝰ was Andrewe Ca­rolstad, to whome Philipp Melancthon, wryting of this matter, gyueth this com­mendation: Carolstade (sayth he) hathe stirred vp these coles, a sauage man, voyde of wyt, withoute learnyng, lackyng hys common sence, whome as yet we neuer could perceaue to vnderstande or practise any poynt of ciuilitie, so farre of is it, that we could beleue any reuelation to be made to hym by the holy ghoste. Of whome also he thus wryteth in an other place: Euen as Luther dyd in spyte of the Pope,Of oure Lorde his supper a­gaynst the Anabap­tistes. so ly­kewyse Carolstade in spyte of Luther, not for any zeale or loue of godlynes, raysed vp this controuersy of the supper of oure Lorde. And he bryngeth in there a worthy sentence, which wold to God he dyd har­tily fauoure: In my iudgement (sayth he) it is greate folly to plant any new opiniōs withoute conference & consent of the aun­cient churche. Notwithstanding that this fellowe is so paynted oute in his ryght co­loures of Melancthō, yet hathe he so ma­ny to take his parte in defending this his dyuellishe doctrine, y^t nowe you may fynde mo Sacramentaries then Lutherans, and among them many of excellent learning, [Page 14] and singular grace of vtteraunce, whiche couet rather to be counted Carolstadiās, then Lutherans. Therefore agaynst thys kynde of herisye, he dyd set oute many bo­kes, in one of the which intituled agaynst Zwinglius, Oecolampadius, and other new Wicleffistes, he is meruaylouse hotte agaynst this sort of sectaries, and wryteth that they haue digged themselues thorow the scripture allmost ten shyftyng wayes, & starting holes. And that he neuer hathe readen of a more fylthie heresye thē it is, which had euen at the fyrst syght so many heades, so many sutes of sectes, althoughe in the principal poynte, that is, in tearying and tormoyling Christ, they agree toge­ther lyke lambes. In that boke which he named: That these wordes of Christ stand styll in theire full force, This is my body, he reciteth seauen: and in y^e treatise which a lyttell before hys deathe he termed:Eight di­uerse in­terpreta­tiōs vpon these wor­des, this is my bodye. A shorte confession of the honorable Sacra­ment, he rehearseth eight diuerse and dis­agreing interpretations vpon these wor­des, This is my body. The first of y^e which interpretations, Carolstadius dyd holde: the second Zwinglius dyd maintayne, the thyrd Oecolampadius did defend, y^e fourth [Page] Swinckfeldius, whom in derisyon he nick named Stinckfeldius, and after other in­terpretoures Campanus was y^e seauenth, for he telleth not namely who were the au­thoures of y^e other three expositions. But if he were now a lyue, he myght recken on hys fyngers endes a greate number mo interpretations of those fewe wordes of Christ. For since his tyme, many haue ben so mad, and so blindly bolde, that they ha­ue not feared in the consecration of oure Lorde hys supper to choppe and chaunge Christ his owne wordes, and in stede of that which he sayde, This is my body, they haue made no bones at it to say,Ioach. in his booke intituled, A ryght faythe of oure Lord his supper. this is my breade. Others haue not shronck one whit, to leaue oute the wordes of cō ­secration, for thus they bryng oute theire wordes: Take, eate, do this in remem­braunce of me: as I haue readen, it noted of Ioachimus Westphalus,Schnep. in his confes­sion of the Eucharist. Pflug ī his epistle to [...]rasm. Re­terodamus and Erardus Schneppius. Althoughe Iulius Pflug (whose Godlynes is so greate adourned with norable learnyng, that the very en­nimyes of God his Churche, be inforced to confesse, that he behaueth hym selff as a Bishopp ought to doe) wryteth, that whilst Luther lyued, there stepped forthe a [Page 15] straunge fellow, no man knewe frō when­ce he cam, (peraduenture he was ingen­dred of the slyme of the yearthe, no fleas, and many other vermyn be) which denyed that the wordes of Christ were necessary to consecrate the Sacrament: more ouer he sayde, that the kindes of breade & wyne neaded not, but that it was inoughe if the Sacrament were receaued with the spiri­tuall mouthe of the hart.

Beholde, I pray you,The hor­rible fru­tes of this nue Gospel what frutes this fyft Gospell hathe brought in among vs, by reason of the which, wycked wretches wyll take vpon thē either to clyppe, or ells to ouer hyppe Christ his owne wordes in the consecration of this Sacramēt, which of all other is moste excellent. Which mis­syng & minssyng of wordes, Thou Bren­tius, who hathe dedicated this booke to you, which I haue taken in hand to proue false, dothe think to be lawfull, yea in the administration of the Sacramēt of Bap­tisme, which is the only Sacrament with oute y^e which we can not be saued, thoughe Caluyn say neuer so muche to y^e contrary. For whereas Christ hathe prescribed vs this forme in playne wordes, that we shold Baptize in the name of the Father, and of [Page] the Sone and of the Holy ghoste he sayth that he ment nothing lesse then to bynde the efficacie of Baptisme to certayne wor­des,Brentius beaneth with the en [...]ng of the for­me of the wordes in Baptisme. for so muche as he dyd not institute any inchauntment or charme, whiche is bownde to an exact manner of wordes, & scrupulouse obseruacions. so y^t he thinkes it no heyuouse offence to chaunge y^t sound, if so be there remayne y^e meaning of Christ his wordes. this opinion held he, whome Bergerius made a God of, & whose wor­des and wrytinges he wold haue men be­leve to be as true as the Ghospell. Nowe see you not, howe frutefull heretykes be in delyueringe, and bringing forthe theire monsters? for you shall scantly fynde one of them which hath either hatched a new heresye, or newe furbushed any stale and condemned opinion, which hathe not ma­ny erroures, wonders, and monsters fol­lowing him hard at his heles. And this is a common qualitie to all heretykes, that they wil not be cōptroled or gayne sayde: & if they se theire fautes corrected,Heretykes can not a­byde to be corrected. which they love beyond home, and worshipp as idolles made with their owne handes, they are so farr from bending or mending with suche corrections, that they be more set on [Page 16] fyar w^t hatred against them which sought to reforme them: and so they war euerye day wurse and wurse erring them selues,2. Tim. 3. and making others also to erre.

A certayne wicked desire to reuenge doth. leade them thus farr, with the which their myndes be so blynded, that they can not see the truthe, but embrace false thinges in steade of true.Luther in his capti­uitie Bab. Luther may be a sufficient profe of this matter, who wryteth, that a fryar founde fault with him, because on a tyme he thought, that it shold be a goodly matter, if a generall Councell wold make a decree, that the lay people myght com­municate vnder bothe kyndes.Luther ful of disclame and arro­gantie. Think you that he was content to set the fryars cor­rection light, for a matter of so greate weight? no mary, I warrant you. But I perceaue (sayth he) the Papistes leane on their elbowes for leasure: and I see, that they haue good store of paper: I will do my diligence, y^t they may haue their han­des full of wryting: for I will run so farr before them, that whilst my ioly aduersa­ries do triumphe, that they haue cōquered any one of myne heresies, (as they thinke) in the meane tyme I may haue aduaunta­ge at them, by laying a newe heresye in [Page] theire way. By & by he blaseth a newe he­risye abroade, & proclameth all them tray­tours to God, which denie y^e cōmon people to receaue y^e Sacrament vnder bothe kyn­des. And truly in y^e same place he doth on­ly accompt them diuelish doctours, which kepe backe y^e laytie from y^e vse of y^e cuppe. But hercken with in a lyttell whyle after, how farr he raungeth at ryot in a rage, as thoughe he had a familiar spyrit of fury (sayd reuerence) in his tayle: That autho­rite of prescribyng the laytie bothe kyn­des, which at the fyrst he wolde haue to be at the appoyntment of a Generall Coun­cell,Luther in his booke of the forme of the Masse. with in a lyttell whyle after, he ma­keth of none effect, in so muche that the, shamelesse Syr feareth not to vtter these wordes: If a generall Councell at any ty­me sholde make a decree, in no case we wolde receaue bothe kyndes, but then in despyte of the Coūcell, we wolde take but one, or ells none, but in no sauce bothe, & them whiche wolde admit bothe, we wol­de curse (as they say) with boke, bell, and candell. What myght be pend more pre­sumptuouslye? If the Councell, vnto the which the moste learned, y^e moste auncient, the most holy men were sommoned oute [Page 17] of all quarters of y^e world to be assistaun­tes, wolde shewe no cause, why the cuppe sholde be any longer kept from the laytie, that Canon of the Councell sholde be cancelled: but if Luther sholde ordayne it so, then sholde it preuayle and take place.

But certaynly after Luther began once to despyse & to set at naught the Authorities of the auncient Doctoures, the Decrees of the moste holy Popes,Luther the author of ouerthrowyng bothe prestehode & sacrifice the Determinatiōs of generall Councelles, that is, of the vni­uersall church: at the last he grewe so farr from grace, that, as we haue made men­tyon a lyttell before, he laboured to ouer­throwe the ordre of Prestehode, and the Sacrifice, besyde that he excluded Christ oute of the Sacrament onles he were re­ceaued, and forbadde due reuerence there to be done vnto hym: lyke as also befo­re he had taught, that breade and wyne dyd remayne after the consecration. Of this roote dyd spryng afterwarde the Sa­cramentaries heresie. And euē as Luther wolde haue it lawfull, for hym of his owne heade, to put oute olde ordres, & to brynge in newe fashions, so Caluine with his croked Apostles thought, he neaded not to as­ke leaue to doo the lyke, for so much as he [Page] dyd set as muche by hys paynted sheathe, as Luther dyd, and stode so muche in hys owne cōceipt, that he was able to matche Luther at all assayes, and to answer hym to omnia quare. Therefore he dyd that which Luther and all they of hys lure as yet had not done, that is, he dyd abolyshe holye vestimentes,Caluin in what thinges he fol­lowed Lu­ther, and in what thinges he o­uerrā him in wicked­nes. when God hys seruice was celebrated, the vse of tapers and can­delles, the ringing of velles, y^t there myght be no difference betwene holy thinges and prophane, and least yf that any worshipp sholde be gyuen to the reuerend sacramēt, men sholde conceaue and beleue, that there were more in it then breade & wyne. More ouer and that, he gaue charge that the sa­crament sholde not be ministred to them which dyd lye a passing oute of thys lyffe, which not withstanding the auncient Fathers named Viaticum, which may be En­glished costage, or comfortable prouisyon to trauayle by the way. He was of this mynde, that they were not to be allowed to receaue the Sacramēt, which were not able to receaue with the whole congrega­tion: to them which were neither shryuē, neither assoylde, he wylled that the sacra­ment sholde be gyuē. Besyde thys he dyd [Page 18] put downe holy dayes, and the readyng of the Epistle & the Gospell, as the Churche was wont to vse them. And lest he sholde be thought to take so muche vpon hym on­ly in the sacramēt of the altar, he dyd also deuyse a newe doctryn in the sacramēt of Baptisme. For where as he had learned thys lesson of Luther, that they make the deathe of Christ of none effect, & that they seke an other Mediator besyde Christ, which thinke good worckes necessary to saluation, nowe because Baptisme is a good worcke, he thought that they which teache that we be saued throwe Baptisme, do fynde an other meanes to come to hea­uen, then by the deathe of Christ, and that they make the blood of Christ to be shed­de in vayne, which seke for any soule heal­the in the water of Baptisme. Therefore he teacheth, that infantes, if so be, they be begotten of Christian parentes,Baptisme is not ne­cessary for infantes, sayth Cal­uine. be made membres of Christ, be accompted the children of God, and made heyres of y^e kyng­dome of heauen withoute Baptisme. So that forasmuch as to the intent they may be saued, it maketh no greate matter whether they be Christned or no, he is well cō ­tented that they departe out of thys lyffe [Page] without Baptisme: alas, what haue these fond fellowes left vnryfeled? To what boldnes & bedlemnes are they not grow­ne? which haue not feared to do villanye to the very sacramēts, without the which no man may be saued.

A compa­rison be­twene the Lutherans and the Zuingliās which of them be best.Nowe therefore you haue .ij. Ghospelles, yf so be it be lawfull to terme so synfull sectes, with so honorable a name, one of the Lutherans, an other of y^e Zwinglians. for bothe sydes will take theyre othe vpon a booke, that opinion which they defend & mayntayne, to be the pure and lyuely wor­de of God. If you wyl weygh the doctrin of bothe parties, the Zwinglians go farr beyond the Lutherans, or certaynly come not much behynde them: these alleadge as many places of Scripture to serue theyre turne as they do, & as for theire ioly gra­ce in vtteryng theire myndes, and vehe­mentie in persuading, they stayne them, & carry the garland from them. If you will haue regarde to an outeward shewe, and counterfeyt coloure of holynes, the Lutherans graunte, that the Sacramētaries be more Godly lyvers then them selues. For thus Nicolas Amsdorffius a Lutherā doth wryte of them:Nicolas Amsdorff. The Anabaptistes and the [Page 19] Sacramentaries do beguyle all Germa­nye with theyr holynes, as monckes dyd deceaue all the worlde with theire preten­sed holynes. If you wil go by the number, the Sacramētaries cleane weyghe downe the Lutherans, seing they haue invegled many Lutherans to be of their opinion.

They them selues confesse this: for one of the cheife Cockes of theyre game Ihon Westphalus, dothe crowe after this sorte:In his boke intituled, A ryght faythe of the supper of oure Lorde. no false doctryn is spred so farr abroade, none is mayntayned so ernestly, or coue­red so w^t the cloke of hypocrisie, none doth lede so many in to y^e by wayes of errours, as dothe the deceaueable doctrine of the Sacramētaries. who also in an other pla­ce writyng agaynst Caluin, dothe call his owne cōpany for y^e smalnes of it, a weake and feble flock in comparison of the huge number, in whiche he hytteth Caluine in the tothe, that he doth glory and putte all hys cōfidence: & this euery man knoweth, y^e verye fewe embraced Luthers Ghospell, except the cities of Saxonie: all the resi­due, whether they be in Helvetia or Ger­many, they be either Catholykes or Sa­cramentaries. But if you will haue an eye vnto a stubbern stomack in defendyng a [Page] wrong opinion, it is so farre of, that the Zuinglians yelde one iote to the Luthe­rans in this point, that Caluine maketh his crakes, y^t they be stouter Champions a greate way: for at what tyme the Luthe­rans for profe of theyr doctrin dyd chere­fully offer them selves to terrible deathe, he sayth that his scolefellowes the Zuin­glians were much more redy to scale the truthe of theyre doctryn as they toke it, with theyr blode. and to prove his saying true, reade the Regester of all those mar­tyres, whiche have stode in the defence of theyr herisye vnto death in oure tyme you shall fynde among them mo Zuinglians then Lutherans. So then althoughe the Zuinglians be not one iote behynde the Lutherans, and beare them selves no lesse bragge vpon the scriptures then they doe, yet eche of them esteme one an other wur­se then heretykes: specially the Lutherans do so abhorre the Zuinglians, that they thynk men shold stoppe theyr eares when they speake, and that theyre blasphemies ought rather to be cōfuted with y^e sworde of the Magistrate, then with the pen of a learned man in so muche that the Sacra­mentaries cōplayne much of theyr cruel­tie, [Page 20] saying y^t the Lutherās haue not driuen away the tyranny of the Pope oute of the land, but rather haue taken it in to theyre owne hand: and that in steade of shaking y^e Popes woden yoke from theyr neckes, they have put on a yoke of yron.Ihon west­phalus his aunswer for the Sa­cramenta­ries. But Ihō Westphalus hearyng of this complaynt, to excuse his brotherhoode, sayth, that it is no Tyranny, to resist heretykes which be Tyrauntes of the sowle, and to hyndre them from practising vpō Christ his flock theyre cruelty outewardly coloured with fayre wordes, but inwardlye kylling and destroying, not with the materiall swerd, which only sleaeth the body, but with poy­son of corrupt & pestilent doctryne, where with y^e dyvell kylleth mennes soules, spea­kyng them fayre and feadyng them with lyes. The pastor (sayth he) playeth not the Tyrant, which chaseth away the wolues. The Magistrat vseth no tyranny, if accor­ding to the lawe he cut y^e combes of mysdoers, and dothe execution of them which be giltye. the rulers of the Church ought not to be accused of tyranny, because they excommunicat breakers of orde and stub­bourne persones, because with worde of mouthe & wryting they reprove false tea­chers, [Page] because they put temporall rulers in mynde of theyre dutie, because they al­lowe the procedinges and necessary sharpnes of Magistrates in punishing syn. If spirituall Magistrates & Ministers wolde with more smarting remedies dryue away the daungerouse diseases, which infect the members of the whole bodye, the Church sholde be lesse troubled with these soule­sleaers, it sholde sustayne lesse damage: so many sholde not be seduced, as there be nowe: and being seduced, sholde not stand so styfly in theyre erroures. He spake these wordes very truly agaynst the Sacramen­taries which may also sarue fytly agaynst hym, and hys fantasticall fraternitie.

Nowe as touching the Sacramentaries, Martyn Luther dothe gyue thys verdict of them: In good ernest we gyue sentēce, that all Zwinglians and Sacramētaries be heretykes, & none of Christ his church, because they say, that the body and blood of Christ is not receaued with the carnall mouthe in the honorable Sacrament.

Who also in a certayne epistle to a noble mā Albertus Marques of Brandenburg, Duke in Prussia, sayth, that no conferēce or disputation ought to be had with them, [Page 21] for so muche as euen frō the begynnyng, so farr as there is anie Christian grown­de, there hathe bene one vniforme belefe of all men, concernyng thys Sacrament. Therefore (sayth he) if any man do nowe doubt of it, he dothe as thoughe he bele­ued not one, holy, and catholyke churche. Who also semeth not onlye to condemne all the whole Churche of heresye, but also Christ hym selff with his Apostles & Pro­phetes, with whose moste reuerend testi­mony this article is confirmed, in y^e which we do professe, that we beleue the holy ca­tholyke churche. For so sayth Christ: I am with you vntyll the end of the worlde. And Paule calleth the Churche the pyller and staye of the truthe. Moreouer, theyre owne opinion beareth wytnesse agaynst them, for so muche as in the exposition of thys text they so iarr and disagree, that a man may fynde almost seuen or eyght in­terpretations. Here Martyn Luther pro­nounced a moste true sentence, makynge no more agaynst the Zuinglians, then a­gaynste hym selffe, and hys owne broo­de, which scamble by the cares no lesse a­mong them selues, and set no lesse by the consent of the Churche then they doo. He [Page] goeth on wryting to y^e forsayde duke, say­ing in thys manner: Wherefore I aduer­tise and beseche youre grace, that you will auoyde suche men, & suffer them not with in y^e precinct of youre iurisdiction: for this you must nedes assure youre selffe, that if you graunt suche sowers of sectes anye quiet abyding in youre territories, when you may be rydde of them, it shall be an heauy burden to youre conscience, & you shall scantly be able euer hereafter to pull oute the worme which continually shall gnawe it. Thus dyd Luther warne hys adherentes to graunt no intertaynement to the Sacramentaries, whome he boldly dyd affirme to be ministers of Sathan, ly­ars, yea very lying it self, hypocrisie, and simulation. And in that booke which he intituled De coena Christi, of the supper of Christ, he biddeth all men beware of Zuinglius, as of the poyson of Sathan. This is Luthers censure or verdict vppon the Sacramentaries.

what the Sacramētaries think of the Lu­therans.Nowe on y^e othersyde heare what they thinck of Luther and all hys partakers. The Lutherans (sayth Oecolampadius) bryng with them a blase or appearaunce of the worde of God, but not the worde of [Page 22] God in dede, as the common trade of he­retykes is, who all will seme to haue the staffe of God hys worde to leane vpon.

Bucer also wryteth, that euery man spea­keth ill of Luther for hys comptrolyng & snappishe kynde of wryting,In his Dia­logues a­gainst Me­lancthon. and for that he can not abyde that any man sholde cō ­trary hym. If he wyll bynde men (sayth Bucer) not to gayne say hym in any poin­te, let hym proue hym selffe to be God. In translatyng and expoundyng the scriptu­res, he hathe committed very grosse faul­tes, & that not in a fewe places. Thus you see, that the Zuinglians thought it to be­come them as well to swarue frō Luther, as it dyd Luther to differ from the vniuer­sall churche. In lyke manner the ministers of Surk makyng answer to a boke, which Luther a lyttell before he dyed, had set oute agaynst the Zuinglians, inveyhing byt­terly agaynst them, among other thinges speake in this wyse: The Prophetes and Apostles had alwayes regarde to the glo­ry of God, not to theyre owne priuat pre­ferment, not to theyre owne selffe wyll & prowde conceite, but they only dyd seke the soule healthe of synners: but Luther seketh hys owne profyt, he is styff necked, [Page] he is puffed vpp with pryde, he strayght way gyueth them ouer to the Dyuell, as many as at a beck will not subscribe to his opinion: and in all his reformations there appeare many tokens of a malitiouse spi­ryt, but not one sparck of a frendly or fa­therly affection. Lo, this is the iudgement of the Sacramentaries vpon Luther & his followers, & agayne the verdict of Luther concerning the Sacramētaries. And it is not to be doubted, but bothe verdictes be true, since bothe parties came forthe of o­ne scole, and were thaught of one scole­master the Dyuell. Some there be which reporte abroade, that an agreable confes­sion was made betwene the Zuinglians & the Lutherans, concerning the sacrament of the altar. But lest any man sholde be deceaued with this false rumor, I think it good to folde vpp in a fewe wordes, what I knowe certaynly of this matter. I haue already opened, what heauyng & shoueing was betwene Luther, who affirmed the breade to be the body of Christ substanti­ally and really, and Oecolampadius and Zuinglius, which sayde, that it was but a signe & bare figure only. The which con­tention so sone as it begā to be made hotte, [Page 23] in cōtinuaunce of tyme, it grewe to suche a greate flame, y^t they tossed the fyar bran­des of this controuersie one at an others heade, aboute the space of fyften yeares, because (as Calvyn wryteth) they coulde not abyde to heare one an other quietlye to speake theyre myndes: For (sayth he) althoughe they met once together to dis­cusse thys matter, yet they so helde one an other at the staffes end, that they brake of, and left the matter in as euell a pyckell as they founde it. So that when they sholde haue come to some agrement, they shron­ke backward more and more, myndyng no thing elles, then to mayntayne theyre ow­ne opynion, and to comptroll and confute them, whiche sayde the contrarye. When Caluin spyed that,Caluin ta­king vpon hym to be a iudge be­twene the Lutherans & the Zuingliās, ray­sed vpp an heresie ne­ver heard of before. he toke vpon him to be iudge betwene them bothe, as Muncerus intermedled hym selffe betwene the Pope and Luther, & condemnyng as well Zuin­glius and Oecolampadius hys opinyon, as Luthers, brought in a newe heresye, neuer heard of before, not only vnknowen to the auncient Fathers and Doctours, but also straunge to the late vppstart dy­uellishe proctoures the Sacramentaries.

For he taught, that breade and wyne vsed [Page] in oure Lorde hys supper, be nothing elles then an assuraunce, and as it were a cer­tayne seale confirmyng all the promisses made vnto vs in Christ: and thys dyd he teache withoute the authoritie of y^e scrip­tures, withoute the warrant of the holy fathers, without the consent of hys owne fraternitie. With which doing besyde of­fending of Luther, he gat greate displea­sure of the scole of Tigurine: the whiche scole, for so muche as it dothe reuercene Vlryke Zuinglius, as the fyrst founder of theyre doctryne, coulde not abyde y^e Cal­uyne sholde fynde faulte with hym, & with out any warrāt of scripture forge a newe fangled opynion of the sacramēt: Caluyn afterward glad and fayne to quenche this hott displeasure kyndled against hym, dyd wryght an Epistle, in which he labored to shewe, that he dyd not swarue from Zuin­glius and others his good masters of that scole, in the doctryne of the supper of ou­re Lorde, whereas in very dede he varyed greatly frō them.Caluin cō ­victed of a lye. Yea he went aboute to beare the people in hand, y^t all they which held and beleued the Confession of Aus­bourch a citie of the Vandales, dyd ioyne with hym in hys doctryne of oure Lorde [Page 24] hys supper. Of y^e which thing seuen yeare before, he set furthe a certayne booke in­tituled, A sum of the confession of the sa­cramentes:Called in Laten Au­gusta Vin­delicorum. in which he plyet it a pase to declare, that the Confessionistes of Aus­bourge, do not once wrynckell, but go smothely away with that opinion of the sacrament of oure Lordes supper, which y^e Confessionistes of Tigure or Surk do teache, among whome Caluin hym selffe is num­bred. Nowe, for so muche as by the space of one yeare or twayne, no mā did wryght agaynst that forsayde booke of Caluine, many dyd gesse by thys long silence, that Caluin hys councell was accepted and al­lowed: and then began thys to be bruted abroade, that the Confessionistes of Aus­bourch, of Lutherans were become Zuin­glians. Dyuerse of Luthers scollers stor­med at thys, that they sholde be reported to haue bene traytours to Luther, & lyke runagates to haue fled to Zuinglius sy­de, for so muche as it was vnknowē to no man, howe ernestly Luther dyd set against the opinion of Zuinglius concernyng the Sacrament of oure Lorde hys supper.

Therefore there stepped forth some which with contrary bokes, confuted that forna­med [Page] boke of Caluine: agaynst whome, it is nowe more then .ij. yeares agone synce Caluin dyd wryte a booke, intituled A de­fence of the sounde doctrine of the Sacra­mentes, whiche the Ministers of the Ty­guryn and Geneva Churche had compre­hended before in a brefe forme of Confes­sion, contayninge a confutatyon of those reproches, with the whiche vnlearned and euell tonged men do slaunder it. not long after, he also dyd set forthe an other defen­ce agaynst y^e false accusations of Ioachim Westphalus, whose bokes, which he na­mely dyd wryght agaynst Caluin, as yet I could neuer come to syght of. yet for all that whylst I was wryting this worcke, there happened to come in to my handes a lyttell boke of y^e sayde Ioachim Westpha­lus a Lutheran, which boke hath this na­me: A iuste defence against the lowde lyes of Ihon a Lasko, which he telleth agaynst the Churches of Saxonie, in his Epistle to the moste excellent Kyng of Poyle. In a letter sent to y^e Senatoures of Franck­forde, he maketh twyse mentyon y^e whylst Luther lyued, there were certayne at Frāc­forde vpō the ryver Meyne which taught Zuinglius his heresie & that very craftily [Page 25] vnder thys cloke that they swarued no­thing from the Churches of Saxonie: of whome that they sholde take diligēt hede, Luth. hym selffe dyd ernestly exhorte them by writyng. But after that Luther was deade, he saythe, that they more boldly and more shawfully dyd set lyes a broche, say­ing, that in the Sacrament of oure Lorde hys supper, they dyd agree with the Con­fessionistes of Ausbourgh: when in dede (as he sayth) there is greate difference be­twene the Confession of Ausbourgh, and the doctryne of the Sacramentaries: for so muche as the Confessionistes of Aus­bourgh do teache, that the breade is truly the body of Christ, that the body & bloode of Christ, is truly distributed by the han­des of the ministre, and is receaued in this sacramēt with the mouthe of them which cōmunicate: contrariwyse the Sacramen­taries do teache, that it is only a token or signifycation of Christ his body which is absent, that the minister gyueth but bare breade and wyne, and that the receauer ta­keth but bare breade & wyne. Wherefore he exhorteth the Magistrates of Franck­ford, y^t they wyll be ruled by Luthers coun­cell, that they auoyde suche false teachers, [Page] and banyshe them cleane oute of theyr ci­tie. A scabbed shepe (sayth he) is sequestred least it infect the whole flock.Heretykes are to be handled & punyshed seuerely. A putrifyed member is cut of, least it corrupt the resy­due. Leprouse men be shut oute of all com­panye, least they poyson them which be hole: howe much more ought those, which be taynted with the spirituall leprosy of y^e sowle, be abandoned and remoued farre, least they spill & infect the shepe of Christ? The Apostle forbyddeth to receaue in to house those which bryng not with them Apostolyke doctryne, least the receauers may be partakers of theyr euell doinges: then howe shall they be intertayned in to Christian mennes company, which bring a doctryn cleane contrary to the Aposto­lyke veritie? The scripture dothe oftenty­mes prayse hospitalitie, it cōmaundeth to vse mercifull and charitable dedes toward banished men and straungers: but so that we hurt not oure fayth, so that for doing good to a fewe, we hurt not a greate ma­ny. For as it is a dede of charitie, to re­ceaue straungers in to hospitalitie, and to intreate thē courteously, if so be for theyre frendly intertaynement and good turnes they disquiet not the churche and the common [Page 26] wealthe, so it is an vncharitable dede to bestowe hospitalitie vpon them which be vnthanckfull, busye bodies, and hurt­full to the weale publyke: to pitie them, to cherishe them, is no poynt of Christian charitie, but a mayntaynaunce of dyuell she peruersytie, it is not mercye, but crueltie. Thus dyd Ioachim spake in that epistle which he dyd send to the Magistrates of Franckforde, this present yeare. 57. Of y^e which matter Tymanus the pastor of Bre men thys yeare laste paste dyd wryte mu­che to the same effect. Afterwarde I dyd see a very newe boke set furthe by Caluin, which he named: The laste admonition of Ihon Caluin to Ioachimus Westphalus, vnto y^e which if he do not shewe hymselffe obedient, he shall be so taken and handled, as Paule cōmaundeth vs to take & handle obstinate heretykes. In the which booke also he rayleth lyke a rybaulde vpon the Citizins of Meidburge, Breme, Ilhesam,Caluine rayleth a­gaynst the Lutherans spytefully. & certayne other cities of Saxonie, which with common consent had condemned his opinion: he telleth them that they be so be­witched with theyre erroure, that the auncient diuines among them, be ignorant of those thinges, which younge children do [Page] learne in theyre Catechisme. He saythe, y^e these beastely men neuer tasted what ver­tue is in the supper of the Lorde, or what it ment, that they be past all shame, that nothing cometh from them but shouelles full of slaunders and false reportes: whilst they tell for truthe Luther his lowde lyes, so that they may make theyre blynde bro­therhode and the ignorant sort beleue that the mone is made of grone chese, being cō ­tented only to be praysed of y^e people, they feare neither the iudgement of God, nei­ther of hys Aungelles. He casteth in theyr tethe theire bedlem boldnes, flyrtyng, and folishe lightnes, blynde dronckennes, dog­gishe and currishe curstenes, Lucifers lof­tynes, saying that pryde is to them in stede of Godlynes, that madnes hathe spoyled them of all manly & ciuile manners, that stubbornnes hathe left no light of reason or discretion in them. He calleth thē brayne sycke noddies, Cyclopes, a prowde rable­ment takyng part with those Gyauntes which the Poetes fayne to haue interprysed to pull Iuppiter oute of heauen, bar­kars and bawlers, phrantyke, beastes, pe­uishe, prowde as peckockes, styf as stakes, & with suche other coloures he paynteth [Page 27] them. He complayneth on them, that they cry oute of hym and hys, that they be not worthy to treade vpon the grownde, and that onles they be spedily dispatched oute of the worlde, there is no other mercy to be shewed vnto them, but to banishe them, and send them to lyue among the fearce Scythians, & vntamed Indyans: also be­cause they accuse Kynges of sluggishnes, for not drawing oute the sworde strayght way, to make hauocke of the Sacramen­taries, and to race theyre name oute of all remembraunce. These be the wordes of Caluin in hys forsayde boke, by y^e which it is gyuē vs playnely to vnderstand, that it is but a tale of a tub, which is reported of the agrement of the Lutherās and the Zwinglians, seyng all y^e Churches of Sa­xonie for y^e most parte, haue condemned y^e doctryne of y^e Sacramentaries. Although in y^e meane season, that is not to be dissem­bled, howe he dothe make hys bragge in the same boke, that y^e two eyes of Saxo­nie, Wittenberge, and Lipsia, dyd not de­cree any suche thyng agaynst his doctry­ne, neither Philipp Melancthon, whome he saythe, can no more be pulled from a­greing with hym in this one poynte, then [Page] he can be pulled from his owne bowelles. But it followeth not by and by that it is true, because Caluin wryteth so: & we do conceaue a better opinion of Philipp Melancthon then so.

Of the thyrde sect of the Anabaptistes.You thynk peraduenture, that these .ij. sectes be they only, which in this oure mi­serable worlde durst chalenge vnto them selues the name & authoritie of the Ghos­pell. But you be deceaued, if you thynk so. For by syde these, there is an other thyrde sect more peryllouse, the which, because it baptizeth agayne those which were law­fully baptized of the Catholikes, is called the sect of y^e Anabaptistes: of which sorte the brotherhood called, Waldenses, semed to be, who withoute peraduenture of late dyd rebaptise, althoughe some of them but euen y^e other daye, as they declare in theyr Apologie, haue gyuen ouer that manner of twise baptisyng: notwithstanding, as sure as God, they agree in many articles with the Anabaptistes. Which Anaba­ptistes trulye, Antonius Corninus dothe wryte in hys Dialogues, to haue chefelye issued out of Zuinglius sect, no otherwise then y^e deceptfull Grecians dyd out of the woden horse, which they dyd bring trayte­rously [Page 28] into Troy. But if any man wyll searche thys matter more depely, althou­ghe they be of one opinion with y^e Zuin­glians, concerning the Sacrament of the altar, yet shall he fynde, y^t they haue sucked theyre Anabaptisme oute of Luthers pap­pes, that is oute of Luthers bokes.Anabapti­strie fyrst sprang out of Luther his doctrin Cer­taynely Balthasar Pacimontanus, which semeth to haue fyrst sowed this sect, dothe triumphe, that Luther was of his mynde: as Luther hym selffe confesseth in a boke which he dyd wryte to .ij.Balthasar Pacimon­tanus fyrst founder of the Ana­baptistes sect. Parrishe Prestes concerning Anabaptisme. Bucer also do­the wytnesse, that the Anabaptistes Ghospell cam, from whence Luthers doctryne dyd come, that is to say, oute of Saxonie. At what tyme Luther dyd wryte to the Waldenses, among other theyre articles,Bucer in the .3. chap. vpon Saint Matth. he founde greate fault with this, that they baptized younge chyldren, in hope of that faythe, which they sholde obtayne, when they came to yeares of discretiō. He sayth therefore, that it were better not to bap­tize younge children at all, then to baptize them withoute faythe: because the sacra­mentes neyther ought, neyther can be re­ceaued without fayth. And if you receaue any sacrament withoute faythe, you shall [Page] receaue it to youre greate damnation. We laye against youre doctryn (sayth he) this saying of Christ: He which beleueth and is baptized, shall be saued. Hereof dyd the Anabaptistes take occasion of theyre heresye. For whereas Luthers opinion semed to them to be agaynst all reason, as in very dede it is, y^e younge children haue faythe of theyre owne, they thought it a more sure way to let them alone vnbapti­zed: and not to Chrysten them, tyll suche tyme as they coulde beleue for thē selues, because they sayde, this was grounded v­pon the worde of God, which worde they cryed with lowde voyce, sholde endure for euer, and agaynst which worde they dyd make theyre boaste, that hell gates sholde not be able euer to preuayle.Memno Phrisius his holde brag cō ­cerning his doc­trine. Among whō one Menno Phrisius, who semeth to pass all the sorte of them in learning, saythe in this wyse: Certaynely, o heauenly Father, I can not be deceaued in this matter with thy worde: I haue beleued, and that haue I receaued by the holy Ghoste, as y^e worde of truthe. And with in fewe lynes after: I knowe certaynely and surely, that with this my doctryne, which is the worde of God, in the day of ryghtwise iudgement, [Page 29] I shall iudge not onlye Lordes & Princes, not only the worlde, but also y^e Aungelles them selues. Thus dothe he magnifically make his vauntes of his doctrine, as thou­ghe it were God hys worde, with no lesse confidēce and corragiousnes then Luther dyd of hys doctryne. Notwithstandyng Luther dyd as hottly inueyhe against this sect, as he dyd agaynst the sect of the Sa­cramentaries, and wryting a boke to two Plebanes, as before I haue made mentiō, among other sayinges he oseth these wordes: Whereas the Anabaptistes saye, that we fynde in no place of scripture, that in­fantes either haue faythe, or y^e they ought to be baptized, we graunte in dede that it can not be proued by any scripture which saythe playnely and euidently in these or suche lyke wordes: You ought to baptize younge children. for they do beleue, if any man be ernest with vs to shewe any suche text, we must nedes gyue hym place,Luther is fayne to flee for helpe to tra­ditions a­gaynst the Anabap­tistes. and graunt hym the victorye, for we fynde it not in the whole Byble. But good & rea­sonable Christians do demaunde no suche thinges of vs: that is the fashion of bra­blers, and obstinate persons, to the intent y^t they may be accompted wyse. But they [Page] for all theyre Byble bablyng, and crying for scripture, alleadge for them selues no scripture, which saythe, you ought to bap­tize those which be of yeares of discretiō, but not infantes and younge children. By & by after, by the tradition of the Apostles allwayes obserued in the churche of God, he teacheth, that younge children are to be baptized, all be it no scripture dothe gyue any suche commaundement. And lyke as before in defending the Sacrament of the altar, so now in mayntayning Christning of younge children, he dothe cheifly leane vpon the authoritie of the churche: which authoritie for all y^t he wyll not let vs laye in his way (for feare of gyuing him a fall) so oftē as he requireth scripture of vs, for profe of any one thing be it that it hathe bene receaued and allouwed of the church neuer so many yeares.

The Ana­baptistes wurse thē all other sectaries.This therefore is the thyrde Ghospell, much more pestilent then y^e other twayne. For besyde that it taketh clene away the sacrifice of the Masse, & the ordre of Pres­tehode with the Lutherans, and denieth y^e real presence of Christ in the Sacramēt of the Altar with the Zuinglians, it hathe many other articles, bothe blasphemouse & [Page 30] also seditiouse. For it forbyddeth the pub­lyk ministery of God hys worde, it defen­deth that Christ toke not man hys nature vpon hym of y^e blyssed virgyn, it reneweth the errour of the Chiliastars, it despyseth rule, and wyll not haue men subiect to lau­full authoritie. Therefore, where so euer this sect taketh place, it rayseth vp greate vprores and seditions. Examples of thys we haue many cities in Germany, & espe­cially the citie of Munster.An exam­ple by the citie of Munster. For as Henry Dorpius a Lutheran, and he which trans­lated hys history out of the Germane ton­gue in to Latten Ihon Sleidane a Zuin­glian, haue wrytten in theyre Cronicles, aboue foure and twentye yeares agone, ther cam fyrst thether certayne preachers, to declare vnto y^e people in stede of Christ hys Gospell, y^e doctryn of Luther, whome when the Catholyke Prestes thought in no wyse to be suffred, Bernard Rothman with hys cōpanyons,Heretykes manner to provoke catholykes to dispute before a laie iudge. whome Philipp the Lantgraue of Hessia had sent to further & advaunce Luthers learnyng, dyd y^t which all heretykes vse to do: that is, chosyng & appoynting oute certayne cheife learned men of the catholyke faythe, they prouo­ked the Catholykes to ioyne with them [Page] in disputation: & that before a lay Magi­strate, whome they appoynted to be theyr iudge, and before whome they promised to proue the doctryn which the Catholykes held, to be false and erroniouse. But whē the Catholyke Prestes refused to dispute with them, they departed the citie, after y^t they were forbydden to execute theyr of­fice of preaching the worde of God. Af­ter this departure of the Catholykes, be­fore a yeare was comē fully to an end, the Anabaptistes lykewyse began in the same citie to sowe the seades of theyre doctryn, vnder the name of Christe hys Ghospell. And whē they had prouoked one an other to set fote to fote in disputation, but on y^e selffe same condition which before was of­fered to the Catholykes, which was, that nothing shold be alleaged but Canonicall scripture: beholde, Bernard Rothman, the cheifest trumpetor in all that citie of Lu­thers Ghospell, who makyng y^e lyke lawe a lyttell before, had chalenged the Catho­lykes to come to disputation, now wolde admitt no suche condition. So it cam to passe, that the Lutherans, which not long before had thrust the Catholykes oute of y^e towne, they themselues fearyng to mete [Page 31] or encounter in disputation with the Ana­baptistes, were shortly after by them ba­nished y^e same towne. No meruayle, thou­ghe they were so handled. For the Sena­tors also were pulled downe from theyre iudgement seates, the churches were spoyled and burned: and whosoeuer wolde not take parte with y^e Anabaptistes, perforce was dryuen oute of the citie. As for Ber­nard Rothmā, Henry Roles, Godfry Stralen, sent oute of Hessia, as they of Christi­ans grewe to be Lutherans, so of Luthe­rans they becam Anabaptistes, and with tothe and nayle furthered the Ghospel of Anabaptistes, shewing vs the experience howe true that is which is wrytten in the Scripture: The wycked man when he co­meth in to the depthe of syn, careth not what he dothe. For if any man do once forsake Christian Religion, vnto what so euer sect he dothe afterwarde inclyne, he makethe it but a pastyme to leape from one heresie to an other.

And this sect truly of the Anabaptistes,Anabapti­stes be de­uided in to diuerse kyndes. is diuided in to many sections. For they agree not in y^e principall pointes of theyre doctrine. In certayne cities of Germany some dyd run aboute naked, as thoughe [Page] they had a bumble be in theire breche, ex­hortyng the people to repentaunce, seking in y^e meane whyle busyly, how they might fynde any opportunytie to set the people together by the eares. Neither dyd thys heresie begyn yester day, or the day before, for it reygned also in saynt Augustyn his tyme. And as the moste parte of all other heresies be, so was this in the begynnyng deuyded in to many other partes. For so­me were called Donatistes, other Roga­tistes, other Maximianistes, other Circenses, who at the length were converted frō the sect of the Donatistes (for their name was more famouse then the reste) to the vnitie and fellowshypp of the Catholique churche: other some were called Circum­selliones,August. in his epistl. 50. and 30 and of he­resyes, 69. heresye. whiche no otherwyse then the Munsteriās in our dayes, dyd go beyond all other in myschevousnes, as saynt Au­gustyn in sundrie places recordeth, & Pos­sidonius also, who dyd sett oute a boke of saynt Augustines lyfe, testifieth the same. And at this day this Hydra hath no fewer hornes & heades, then it had in saynte Au­gustynes tyme.Possid. in the lyfe of S. August. chap. 10. For some be called Mun­cerans, some Orantes, that is to say, Pray­ars, some Silentes, that is to wyt, kepyng [Page 32] silence, Somniantes, that is, sleapers, Pueris similes, that is, lyke children, Synceri, that is, pure, Impeccabiles à Baptismo, that is, not synnyng after Baptisme, Liberi, that is, free, Binderliās, Sabbataries, Maderās, Hof­mannikes, and other which sprong vp af­ter them, Circumcisi: and it is lyke inoughe that the Adamites do pertayne to the A­nabaptistes. Some authors do father the begynning of Anabaptisme rather vpon Thomas Muncer then vpon Balthazar. Which Muncer aboue two & thirtie yea­res agone,Thomas Muncer of an Anabaptist dyed a penitēt Ca­tholyke. made a commotion of countrye men in Thuringia: for y^e which fact, when he was worthily punished, before his head was chopt of, he is reported to haue lamē ­ted pitifully, for that he had seduced y^e peo­ple: more ouer, to haue recanted all his er­roures, and confessyng his fault after the catholyke custome, to haue receaued y^e ho­norable sacramēt of the body & bloode of Christ vnder one kynde. But one Philip, which wryteth a story of hys lyffe, dothe make no mention that he taught to reba­ptize those which were once baptized.

This sect of the Anabaptistes, I am assu­red, is a pestilent and an abominable sect, what so euer any other sect elles is. And [Page] yet for all that, they which haue enbraced this sect, do stedfastly beleue, & assure them selues as well as the Lutherans, or Zuin­glians do, that theyre synnes be forgyuen them for Christ hys sake, that they be in God his fauoure, and that they shall in­herit the kyngdome of heauen: and they be very precise that all they which followe [...]eyre race, sholde certaynely and stedfast­ly beleue the same.

It is a false doctrine to teache spe­ciall fayth with the which eue­ry mā shold assure him selffe that his synnes be forgyuēWhereby we may see, howe false that principle of Luther is, that it is necessary for euery man, which will obtayne forgy­uenes of his synnes, to beleue surely, that his synnes be takē away, nothing mistrus­ting his owne weakenes, vnaptues, or vnworthines. Which althoughe it hath all­way bene, & is nowe a conclusion common to all heritikes, so it is flat against y^e scrip­tures, and the Catholike faythe. What cā be more manifest then this text of scriptu­re:Eccle. 5. For the remission of thy syn be not w^t out feare. All be it oure synnes be pardo­ned, yet for all that the holy Ghoste wyll not haue vs to be all together careles. Notwithstāding this scripture, these fellowes think it a deadly syn, if a man make neuer so littell a doubt that his syn is forgyuē. [Page 33] the same scripture sayeth vnto vs: Thou shalt not iustifye thye selfe before God,Eccle. 7. for he searcheth and knoweth the secretes of thy hart. do not they, I pray you, comp­troll hys scripture, which dare boldly sea­le them selues a quytaunce from all debt of deadly syn, and warrant them selues to be in God his fauoure: specially, seing to be iustifyed, is nothing ells in theyre opi­nion, then to haue obtayned forgyuenes of syn: An other scripture witnesseth: the hart of man is wycked and vnsercheable for man,Hiere. 17. and who shall be able to knowe it thorowly: I youre Lorde, which searche the hart, and proue the reines. But do not these men take vpon them to be as con­ning as God almightie, which take a cō ­ceite that they be able to searche and trye theyre owne hartes? Which thing surely he durst not presume, which sayde: Who knoweth all his offences? Lorde clense me from my secret synnes? Neither he,Psal. 18. which sayde: I feared all my workes, knowyng y^t thou doest not spare those which worke wyckednes.Iob. 9. If I be washed with snowe water & my handes be as cleare as cristall, yet shalt thou dypp me in my fylthines, & I shall lothe myne owne garmentes.

[Page]Paule warneth vs, saying: Iudge not be­fore the tyme,1. Cor. 4. tyll oure Lorde come, who shall dyscouer the dedes of darcknes, and shall set open the secret councells of men­nes hartes. And least any man may think that he speaketh only of that iudgement wherewith we iudge other, & not of that wherew^t we iudge oure selues, those wor­des which go a lyttell before, make S. Paules meanyng playne: But neither (saythe he) do I iudge my selffe. I am gyltie of nothing, yet for all that am not I iustified: for oure Lorde is he which iudgeth me.

Lo, Paule a chosen vessell of God, dyd fele no pryck of conscience, yet for all that, he durst not be so bolde to iudge hym selffe, but he left that to God, who is y^e knower and seer of all hartes. Then, darest thou chalendge that thyng to thy selffe, which belongeth to God only? Haste thou y^e face to preuent his iudgement, before he haue gyuen his verdict of the? art thou so har­dy as to warrant & assure thy selffe to be iustified, that is, that thy synnes be forgy­uen & pardoned? Christ gyueth vs in commaundimēt,Luc. 17. saying. When you haue done all that you are bounde to do, say: We be vnprofitable seruaūtes: And makest thou [Page 34] no bones maugre this precept of Christ, to vaunt thy selffe to be a profitable ser­uaunt? For who so euer beareth himselffe surely in hand, that his euell dedes be done away, that he is in the fauoure of God, what dothe he ells, but crake that he is a profitable seruaunt? The scripture saythe:Eccle. 9. Man knouweth not whether he deserue to be loued of God or hated: & doest thou cleane contrarily affirme, y^t thou knowest thy selffe to be worthy to be loued of God? For if thou boaste thy selffe, y^t thou know­est certaynly, that thy offences be forgyuē and forgottē, and that thou art inroled in the boke of lyffe, what doest thou ells but say, Thou knowest thy selff worthy to be loued [...] God,Iob. 9. and burden the holy ghoste with a lye? Holy Iob sayeth: If I shall iu­stifie my selffe, myne owne mouthe shall condemne me: If I shall pleade that I am innocent, it will proue me to be giltie: and althoughe I were perfect; yet my soule can not attayne to that knowledge. Art thou more holy thē he? Art thou more certayne of God his predestination then he? so that thou darest warrant thy selffe, that thou doubteles knowest thy selffe to be perfect and innocent, which knowledge he confes­seth [Page] to be kept secret from his soule? doest not thou feare least those wordes be spo­ken to the, which once were spoken to the Pharisies, whome Christ called paynted sepulchers:Matth. 23. Luc. 16. You be they (sayth he) which iustifye youre selues before men, but God knoweth youre hartes: for that which is commendable in mennes eyes, is abhomi­nable before God? And there can be no greater abomination in the syght of God, then this so greate presumption of here­tykes.

The first obiection makyng for speciall faythe is soluted.But some man peraduenture wyll say: why then? do you forbyd me to beleue y^e remission of synnes, which we professe in oure crede, God forbyd: Yea I byd you beleue constantly, and to make youre ac­compt certaynlye, that there is remission of synnes in the Churche, and that Christ hathe sufficiently deserued thys forgyue­nes, for me, for the, for y^e traytoure Iudas, for all men in y^e worlde,1. Ioan. 2. 1. Cor. 5. yea to them which arre nowe, or here after shall be damned in hell: who hangyng on the crosse, is made a propiciation for oure synnes, and not for oure synnes only, but also for the synnes of the whole worlde, who by his deathe hath reconcyled vs to hys father. But y^t [Page 35] thou sholdest beleue, that al men be parta­kers of this pardon, or that all do pleade possession in heauen at thys present, or y^t all men shall inheryt it in y^e worlde to co­me, not I,Heb. 2. but the scripture doth forbydde the to beleue. He tasted of the sower cupp of deathe for us all, but all men do not endeuoure to applye the benefite of hys deathe vnto them: he was a cause & mea­nes of saluation to all men, but the scrip­ture addeth to all,Heb. 5. which were and wolde be obedient vnto him. He dyd set the dore of euerlastyng lyff wyde open to all men, but Christ putteth this condition, If they shall kepe the commaundimentes. If any man refuse to obey him, if any man shall not kepe his lawes, if any man shall not continue with him vnto the end, he which putteth no doubt but suche a man is ne­uer y^e lesse sure to be saued, what doth he but deny y^e sentence of the Ghospel, which shall be pronounced vpon them which are set on the left hand among the goates: a­uoyde hence from me you cursed caytyfes in to euerlasting fyar, which is prepared for the dyuel and his aungelles. So then,Matth. 25. to teache y^t it is necessary for euery man to y^e attayning of saluation, to beleue cer­taynely [Page] & to feare nothing, that his syn-be forgyuen him for Christ his sake, that he is God almyghtyes deare darlyng, y^t without question he is one of the heires apparant to y^e crowne of glory, is nothing ells then to teache that there be no pay­nes of hell prepared for the wycked, who doubtles as euerye Christian man bele­ueth, shall taste of terrible tormentes: not by Christ his default, as who shold say y^t his death and bytter passion auayled lit­tell to the sauing of theyr soules, but by theyr owne naughty negligence, whiche laboured not by worthy workes of repen­taunce, to applye the vertue of Christ his death and passion to them selues. Wher­fore, if I be not bounde to beleue that all men haue theyre synnes forgyuen them, if I be not boūde to beleue so of this man or that man, then truly am not I bounde to beleue so of my selffe, onles it be special­ly reueled to me of God.

Here wyll these heretykes replye: you do so reason with vs,The secōd obiection. as thoughe we en­coraged them whiche styll ly wallowing in theyre wickednes, to beleue that they be in y^e fauoure of God, whereas we only speake of them which be conuerted. I as­sure [Page 36] you, I dyd shoote at thys marke, I longed to make you confesse so muche.

Well then, you graunt that there is some thyng in vs, which may bolden & harten vs to beleue certaynly and assuredly, that is, if we be auerted from oure synnes and conuerted to God. But I pray you Sirs, what if one some in his owne fansie to be conuerted, which is not cōuerted in dede? As for an example, A peruerse Lutheran thinketh hym selff to be a cōuerted man, a more peruerse Zuinglian taketh hym seffe to a conuerted man, the moste per­uerted of all the Anabaptiste, either Ser­uetus, either Suenckfeldius, or any other most pestilent heretyke doth esteme hym selff to be a cōuerted man, wil you therfo­re warrāt hym to be in God his fauoure? lyke as none be more puffed vp w^t a proud conceyte of learning, then they which ha­ue least learning of all, in so muche that without cause it is not vsed in a prouerb, which Chucidides wryteth:Tuc. in his secōd boke of the war­re of Pelo­ponnesus. Ignoraunce bredeth boldnes, but knowledge causeth one to doubt and feare the wurst: so it is often sene, that such do certaynely & sted­fastly beleue that they be conuerted, when in dede they be most shamfully peruerted. [Page] The wyse man perceaued thys, when he sayde: there be wycked men so careles, and voyde of all feare,Eccle. 5. as if they lyued as vprightly as the most perfect men: whilst Saule thundered threatnynges agaynst the disciples of oure Lorde,Actes. 9. and mynded to murder them, and throughe ignoraun­ce plaged the churche of God, dyd not he seme thyncke you in hys owne conceyte to burne with a certayne syngular zeale of Godlynes? dyd not hys mynde gyue hym that he sought after God with all hys harte?Philip. 3. And that he dyd hym hyghe seruyce in makyng hauock of the Chri­stians, for so muche as what so euer he dyd in that case, he dyd yt of emulation, because he was a meruaylouse precise fol­lower of the tradytions of hys forefa­thers?Gala. 2. He had therefore a zeale and was hotte of the spyryt, but not accordyng to knowledge, and therefore he obtayned mercye,Rom. 10. bycause he knewe not what he dyd. Therefore that ys true whiche the wyse man wryteth:1. Tim. 01. there is a way which at the begynnynge semeth as yt woulde leade a man to lyfe,Pro. 14. but the end of it dra­weth hym to deathe and destruction. And in an other place: Euery man demeth the [Page 37] way where in he walketh, to be ryght & strayght, but God weyeth theyre har­tes. But lett infydeles and heretykes go,Pro. 21. althoughe the Zuinglians and the Anabaptistes thynke not them selues so greate heretykes as the Lutherans be.

Let vs nowe speake of Catholykes. Yea, among them you may fynde, which think them selues to be cōuerted, when in dede they be not. Salomon hath a notable say­ng: who can say truly, my hart is cleane, I am not spotted with syn?Pro. 20. in many fau­tes we displease God all the sorte of vs.

And al be it we were conuerted to God with all oure hart, yet ought we not cer­taynely to warrant oure selffe, but fixing oure faythe in God his mercye, leue the certayne determination of oure saluation to his iudgement, which searcheth y^e har­tes and the raines. Wherefore the pry­de of these men is to be accursed, which whilst they pronounce them selues to be conuertes, doubt not but that theyre syn­nes be forgyuen, and that they be in the fauoure of God.

But you wyll excuse your selffe agyne saying:The third obiection for speciall faythe. We doe not truste to oure owne worthynes, but to the mercie & promises [Page] of God, and we laughe at youre doltishe cauillation, when you say, that we must doubt by reason of oure vnworthynes.

For therefore was the Sone of God ap­poynted a Mediator, because we be vnworthye, and that the father sholde haue mer­cye vpō this wretched lump, vndeseruing, and full of fylthines, for his son his sake, who hathe suffred deathe for vs, rysen a­gayne, cōtinually praying for vs, dwelling in vs, & clothing oure nakednes with the ornamentes of his righteousnes. Accor­ding to the scripture: Nowe is there no condemnation to them whiche walcke in Christ Iesu.Rom. 8. You say well in dede, if the promysse of Christ were without all condition, if he wolde voutsaffe to bestowe hys mercye vpon them which turne not away from theyre synnes. But nowe the case so standyng, that he hathe made his promisse in this sorte:Matth. 19. If thou wylt entre in to lyffe, kepe the commaundimentes. and that he sheweth his mercye vpon none, but vpon them, which repent, and turne from theyr synnes. This youre opinion is a nowne adiectiue, and can not stand by it selffe. Do you think it to be a doltishe cauillation, to holde that we may well doubt by reason [Page 38] of oure vnrighteousnes? why then? think you hym to be a foole,Matth. 11. then whome Christ wytnesseth none greater to haue bene bor­ne of a woman, who saythe:Matth. 3. Bring forthe worthie frutes of repentaunce? Make you Paule also but a fole,Act. 26. who preached to the Gentiles, that they sholde do penaunce, & be conuerted to God, practisyng worthye workes of repentaūce? Who also writing to the Corinthians, concerning the sacra­ment of oure Lorde hys supper, saythe: Who so euer shall eate this breade, & drink this cupp of oure Lorde vnworthily, shall be gyltie of the body & blode of our Lorde.1. Cor. 12. For who so eateth or drincketh it vnwor­thily, eateth and drinketh his owne dam­nation. Lo Paule and Ihon do require of vs worthye workes of repentaunce, & yet wyll not you haue vs carefull for our worthynes? But you rather be to be accōpted not onlye witles, but also wycked, which dare presume to reproue the holy Ghoste of folye speakyng by hys chosen vessells, because he demaundeth worthye workes of them which be penitent, and because he forbyddeth them to receaue the Sacramēt vnworthily. You say truthe, that therefore the Sone of God is assygned a Mediator [Page] because we were vnworthye: but I pray you to that end, that we sholde contynue styll vnworthy? no I assure you: but that of vnworthy wretches, he might make vs worthy,Colos. 1. as S. Paule wryteth, to be parta­kers of the inheritaunce of Sayntes. For onles he had bene made oure Mediator, onles he had gyuē hymselffe a redemption for vs, which were vnworthye, althoughe we shoulde haue done all the good in the worlde, thoughe we sholde haue suffred all cruell tormentes, thoughe we had offred oure body so that it had burned, yet could we neuer haue brought forthe worthye workes of repentaūce. Therefore we must yelde worthy frutes of repentaunce, if we desyre to haue oure synnes forgyuen, and come in fauor with God: the which wor­kes we neither can, neither ought to war­rant oure selues that we haue, for he only can iudge of that, who is the knower of all hartes. But nowe, if we shall do that (which he must iudge of, & not we oure sel­ues) then oure heauenly father for his son his sake which suffred for vs, rose agayne from deathe, prayeth for vs, & dwelleth in vs, not so much clothing vs, as recompen­sing with his owne righteousnes, y^t which [Page 39] is wantyng in oure ryghteousnes gyuē to vs by hym, thē (I say) our heauenly father wyll be mercifull to this lumpe not nowe vnworthy, & all defyled w^t filthynes. God forbydd y^t euer any suche wyckednes shold synck in to godly mēnes hartes, y^t we shold think so vnworthily of y^e death & passion of Christ, as though he were not able to ma­ke vs worthy to be partakers of the inhe­ritaunce of sayntes in light, y^t we might be counted worthy of that worlde to come: as though it passed his poure to washe away the filthines of the daughters of Sion,Luc. 20. Esa. 4. of whome the scriptures beare wytnesse, that he hath washed vs from oure synnes in his blode. & agayne:Apoca. 1. Ioan. 1. Hebre. 9. The blood of Iesu Christ purgeth vs from all syn. And in an other place, The blode of Christ shal clense oure consciences. And agayne, The blode of Christ shall clense oure consciences from deade worckes, we wyll not derogate so muche from Christ his blode, that we wyll deny hym to haue bene able to washe a­way oure filthynes: besyde this, howe shall God haue a dwellyng place in vs, if we be full of filthynes? seing it is writtē,Sapi. 1. wysdo­me shall not entre in to a malitiouse min­de nether shall dwell in a body subiect to [Page] syn? what partnershipp is there betwe­ne ryghteousnes and iniquitie: what fe­lowshipp is there betwene lyght & dark­nes? what atonement betwene Christ and Belial. Therfore, God wil not dwel in the lumpe of syn, nether wyll he be mercyfull to it if it be ful of filthynes. But he will make his abidyng in them, he wyll shewe hys mercye to them,1. Cor. 7. which in tyme past haue bene greatly defyled, but after they were once cōuerted to God, haue brought forthe worthy workes of repentaunce, be­yng washed so whyte by the benifyte of Christ hys blode, that afterward y^e saying of sainte Paule may be verified of them: And suche ones haue you bene in tyme paste, but nowe be you clensed, nowe be you sanctified, nowe be you iustified in the na­me of oure Lorde Iesu Christ. And becau­se we knowe not surely, whether we haue done worthie workes of repentaūce, whe­ther that oure synnes be forgyuen vs, and whether we be in God his fauoure, or y^e withoute peraduēture we shall posses the kyngdome of heauen, those wordes bea­ryng wytnes which you alleadge to make youre parte good:Rom. 8. no damnation is ap­poynted to them which be in Christ Iesu, [Page 40] which walcke not according to the fleshe. For althoughe we doubt not but that we be made one body with Christ,Gal. 3. so sone as we haue put on Christ, being baptized in hym throughe faythe, and the Sacrament of faythe, yet do we doubt whether we shall continue still in hym: and those wor­des afore sayde doe smyte greate feare in to vs, they which walcke not according to the fleshe: because oure conscience not on­ly beareth vs wytnesse that we haue often walked according to the fleshe, but also at the very same tyme when we seme to our selues to be conuerted, we can not certay­nely say, that no relikes of syn do remayne in vs. But this certaynly we reade:Rom. 8. They which walke in the fleshe, can not please God.

These men wyll demaund this question agayne of me: what then?The four­the obiec­tion of he­retykes for theyr spe­ciall fayth. do you councell vs to despeare? God forbydd. But as I deny constantly, that any man is bound to beleue certaynely, that his synnes be for­gyuen, so do I affyrme with no les sted­fastnes, that euery faythefull man doing his indeuoure as muche as in hym lyeth, ought of dutie in this lyfe with a strong & sure hope to looke for the forgyuenes of [Page] synnes, and in the worlde to come lyfe e­uerlasting. But this hope of oures, ought not to be fastned vpon oure selues, but v­pon God, whome when we do beholde, we be moste certayne, that he is faytfull bo­the in his promises, and also in his threat­ninges. But when we loke vpon oure sel­ues, it can not be but we must nedes trem­ble and quake consydering oure weaknes and fraylnes, thoughe we were gyltie of none other thyng. For seing we knowe y^e Lucifer the noblest Aungell in heauen did fall, that Salomon the wysest man that e­uer was, dyd commit folly, that the chil­dren of Israell God his most deare & cho­sen people were forsakē, and seing we vn­derstand this also, that God oweth vs no more seruice continually to defend vs, to ayde vs with his grace, to saue, cōduict vs in the way of euerlasting lyfe, then he dyd ether them afore rehersed, ether Iudas called to be an Apostle, ether Saul elected Kyng, ether Nicolas appointed to be Deacon, we can not be voyde of all feare: spe­cially seyng God dothe warne vs by hys chosen vessel, Beare not thy selffe to bolde, but feare,Rom. 11. for seyng that God spared not y^e naturall braunches, happly nether wyll [Page 41] he spare the.Philip. 2. Seing by the same vessell he exhorteth vs, that with tremblyng & sha­kyng we worke oure owne saluatiō. seing also he pronounceth by an other, that man to be blessed which allway stādeth in awe.Pro. 28. Yet for all that, this tremblyng muste not put vs cleane oute of comforte, but make vs more obedient to Christ, & styr vp oure hope toward hym, y^t euery one of vs may say with blessed Iob:Iob. 13. Althoughe he sholde kyll me, yet will I hope in hym. But if this seme to any man a straunge opinion, be­cause I councell men not boldly to beleue, and to assure them selues, but wyll euery man to haue a sure & certayne hope, that in this worlde he shall obtayne remission of his synnes, and in the worlde to come lyfe euerlasting, let hym thus vnderstand my meaning: that we can beleue nothing well, and rightly (I speake of the Catho­lyke belefe) which may proue false, and be other wyse then we do beleue: but we may rightly hope for those thinges, which ma­ny tymes chaunce cleane contrary to oure hope. Therefore seyng it may be, y^t a man may stedfastly beleue & certaynelye beare hymselfe in hand that he is in the fauoure of God, and yet this his opinion may de­ceaue [Page] hym, we be rather commaunded to hope, then to beleue. For y^e cause of faythe consisteth in truthe reueled as it were of God. But y^e moste sufficient cause of hope, consisteth in possibilitie and lykelyhode of obtayning that thyng, which a man may hope for, by reason of God his commaun­diment and promisse. Agayne, if you take & vnderstand fidem faythe, for fiducia truste or confidence, as these men some to vnder­stand it,Caluin v­pō the first of thō ca. 5 then fiducia, that is trust, excludeth all feare, and hope hathe feare to wayte vpon her, & to cary vp her trayne. Where­fore we be better commaunded to loke for the remission of oure synnes, with a cer­tayne and sure hope, then with a certayne and sure faythe. Althoughe truly nether any man is forbydden to beleue, so that he be not alltogether careles,Caluin in his institutiōs cap. 5. and recheles. In this mynde Caluin hym selffe semeth to be, when he sayth: God doth cōmaund vs so to be certayne, that we cast not of all care. & agayne in an other place: Whē we do teache, y^t fayth ought to be sure and certayne, we do imagine no suche fayth, as is deuyded farr from all doubt: nether any suche securitie, which is cut of frō all care: but we say rather, that faythfull men haue [Page 42] cōtinuall warr with theyre owne mistrust & doubtfullnes: so farr of is it, that we do lay any suche soft pillowes vnder theyre consciences, y^t they sholde fele no disquiet­nes of mynde at all. Agayne, notwithstandyng how greatly so euer they be trobled and vexed in conscience, we deny that they faynte or fayle from that truste, which we haue conceued of the mercie of God.The coūcel of Trent in the fyft session. 9 cap.

But I think it good here to recite, what the Fathers assembled at y^e generall coun­cell of Trent, haue determined vpon this matter. These be theire wordes: Although it be necessary to beleue, that synnes ne­ther be forgyuē, nether euer were released but frely by the mercye of God for Christ his sake, yet must not we saye, that he is quyted of hys synnes, which maketh hys boaste, & only leaueth on the certayne con­fidēce of forgiuenes of hys synnes, seyng bothe of the heritykes, & also the scisma­tykes, this vayne & detestable confydence may be holden hereafter, and at this pre­sent day is mayntayned & preached moste ernestly, contrary to the faythe & doctryne of the Catholyke churche. Nether is this to be affirmed, that they which be truly iu­stified, ought withoute all doubt to make [Page] theire accompt that they be made perfect, and none other to be absolued from hys synnes, and to be iustified, but hym which certaynly doth beleue, that he his assoyled and made ryghteouse: and that this onlye faythe is cause of his absolution and iusti­fication: as thoughe that he which dothe not beleue this, did doubt of God his pro­mises, of the vertue of Christ his deathe & resurrection. For as no good man ought to doubt of God hys mercy, of Christ hys merytes, of the vertue and poure of the Sacramentes, so euery man whilest he cō ­sydereth hym selffe, weygheth hys owne weakenes and vnaptnes, may well feare that he is not in God his fauoure: Seing no man can knowe with suche certaynete of faythe as may not be deceaued, whether he haue obtayned the fauoure of God. The holy Fathers do not here exclude euery kynde of certaynte,An explication of the wordes of the Synode but the certaynete of that fayth only which can not be de­ceaued. With suche certaynte they deny y^t any man can knowe y^t he is in the fauoure of God. But that a man may knowe af­ter a morall and probable certaynete, or by godly reuelation, as we veryly beleue that y^e blessed virgyn Mary, and the Apostles [Page 43] dyd, they make no controuersye at all.

Moreouer, the Fathers here do not com­maund vs to doubt, as the aduersaries be­lye them, but they say that euery mā when he loketh back to hym selffe, to hys owne fraylete and vnfytnes, may feare that he is not in God his fauoure, and yet for all that be neuer the farther of from God his fauoure, althoughe he be not voyde of all feare for his syn, which God hathe veryly forgyuen. I thought it good to speake more at large of this poynte, because in y^e laste synode I heard say, that certayne not vnderstanding the matter throuly,The arti­cle of Lo­uaine. founde greate fault with the article of y^e Doctors of Louayne, whiche is as followeth: The faythe with the which any man doth sted­fastlie beleue, and vndoubtedlie holde, that his synnes be forgiuen for Christ his sake, and that he shall possesse euerlasting lyfe, hathe no wytnesse or warrant of the scri­pture, but is cleane contrary to them. Al­thoughe we ought with certayne & sure hope, by meanes of the Sacramēt of Ba­ptisme and penaunce, loke for in this lyfe truly remission of synnes, & in y^e worlde to come lyfe euerlasting. Therfore in y^e defen­ce of this article, I thought good to bring [Page] in these thinges by the way. Now wyll I come agayne to that poynte where I left.

The Ana­baptistes more rea­die to suf­fer tormentes for theire faythe, then any other.Albeit the Anabaptistes be more mis­cheuouse then the Lutherans, or the Zuinglians, yet do these with no les audacitie then bothe they stedfastly beleue, and per­suade them selues surely, that for Christ his sake theyre synnes be forgyuen them, that they be in hyghe fauoure with God, that they shall possesse the kyngdome of heauen. And this they do not only bragg of in wordes but also they declare in their dedes. For they be muche more redy, then ether the Lutherans or the Zuinglians to suffer death, to abyde most cruell punishe­mentes for the mayntenaunce of theyre faythe. For they run to all kynde of horri­ble tormētes, with no lesse corage, then thei sholde go to feastes and bankettes: so yf any man thereof wolde gather an argu­ment, ether of the truthe of there doctrin, ether of the certaynete of theire being in fauoure with God, he myght easyly be brought in to this mynde, that he sholde beleue, that there were none other sect, which had so true faythe, or were so sure of the fauoure of God. But true it is, which Saynt Paule faythe,1. Cor. 13. Althoughe I [Page 44] shal gyue my body so that I burne, & haue not charitie, it dothe me no good. But he hathe not charitie, which deuydeth vnitie. Suche sayth Saynt Cyprian, Althoughe they were kylled for confessing the name of Christe yet cā they not washe oute this spot with theire blode:Cyp. in his thyrd treatise of the simplicitie of prelates. the syn of discorde stayneth so depely, and is so vnable to be clensed that by very deathe it may not be purged.no Martyrdome is withoute the church He can not be a Martyr which is not in the churche, he can not attayne to the kyngdome of heauen, which forsaketh her which shall reigne in the kyngdome of heauen. Christ gaue peace vnto vs, he commaunded vs to agree and to be all of one mynde: He charged vs to kepe the bondes of loue and charitie vncorrupted, and vnbroken. He can not offer vp hym selffe a Martyr, which hathe not heldefast brotherly charitie. Blessed are they, which suffer persecution, saythe Christ,Matth. 5. but he addeth, for righteousnes sake.Not the payne, but the cause maketh a Martyr. Therefore saythe Saint Augustin, they be true mar­tyrs which suffer persecution for righte­ousnes sake, not they which be punished for iniquitie and wycked diuision of Chri­stian vnitie. Oure Lorde him selff was cru­cified with theues, but as one passion dyd [Page] ioyne them, so diuersitie of cause dyd sepe­rate them: the punishement of the wicked may be lyke, but the cause of Martyrs is vnlyke. And y^t is it which maketh Mar­tyrs, not the punishment, as Saint Augu­styne repetyng it often in diuerse places teacheth vs.Augustin. epist. 50. Wherefore it is to no purpo­se, that Caluin dothe so highely prayse him and his for this cause,Caluin craketh of the chearefullnes of his bretherne in suffring for theire faythe. and that in this re­spect he iudgeth them to be preferred be­fore the Lutherans, because they be more prest and redy to suffer all kynde of pu­nishment. For if so be, that as euery man is moste redy to suffer deathe for y^e faythe of his sect, so his faythe sholde be iudged moste perfect and moste sure, there shall be no faythe more certayne and true, then is the Anabaptistes, seyng there be none nowe, or haue bene before time for y^e space of these thowsand and to hundred yeares, who haue bene more cruelly punyshed, or that haue more stoutely, stedfastly, chere­fully takē theire punishment,Anabapti­stes theire folyshe hardines in S. Augusti­nes tyme. yea or haue offred them selues of theire owne accorde to deathe, were it neuer so terrible & gre­nouse. Yea in Saint Augustyn his time, as he hym selffe sayth, there was a cer­taine monstrouse desire of deathe in them. [Page 45] For at what tyme the worshipping of Y­dolles dyd as yet cōtinue,Donatistes desyrouse to dye for their fayth he wryteth that greate thronges of Donatistes dyd come to the solemnities of the Paganes, that they myght be kylled of the Ydolatours. Also he sayth, that some there were which leaped among the harnessed souldioures, as they passed by, to y^e intent they myght be slayne of them: terribly threatning to wounde them, onles they were dispatched oute of theire lyues by them. Some tyme they did by violence compell the iudges to commaund the tormentors and the iusti­cers to kyll them, in so muche, that one is reported to haue mocked them in this sor­te, that he commaunded them to be pini­ond and led away, as thoughe execution sholde haue bene done of them, that so he might escape theire fury with oute blod­shedde, & harmeles: more ouer they made it but a may game to throwe them selues downe hedlong from ragged rockes, to drowne and to burne them selues.Anabapti­stes folishe hardynes in S. Ber­nard his tyme. Nether was there suche folyshe hardy heretykes in Saint Augustine his tyme only. For foure hundred yeares agone, at what time S. Bernard lyued, there were Anabapti­stes, which were no lesse prodigal to spend [Page] their lyfe, then were the Bonatistes, some (saythe he) dyd meruayle that they were led to theire deathe not only paciently but as it semed very frolyke and merye.False Mar­tyrs s [...]outenes not to be maruayled at. But suche meruayled at them which consyder not well, what poure the dyuell hath, not only vpon the bodyes of men, but also v­pon the hartes, in y^e which by the suffraūce of God, he once hathe gotten possession. Is it not a greater matter for a man to kyll hymselffe, then to suffer that wyllin­gly at an other man his handes? Experi­ence teacheth vs, that the dyuell hath bene so strong with many, y^t they haue drowned & hanged them selues. For example sake: Iudas hanged hym selffe no doubt by the suggestion of the dyuell. Yet for all that I think it a thing more to be wondered at, that he coulde put this in his hart to be­tray his master, then to hang him selffe.

The cōstancie of Martyrs is one thing, and the harde­nes of hart of herety­kes is an o­ther thing.Therefore there is no lykelyhode betwene the stedfastnes of Martyrs, and the stub­bornnes of these heretykes. Because god­lynes in them, but hardnes of hart in these, doth worke contempt of deathe. Nether haue the Anabaptistes of oure tyme swar­ued from theyr predecessours, nether haue they bene lesse stoute and cherefull in sus­tayning [Page 46] all kynde of death in the behalffe of theyr faythe,Iustus Me­nius. as among other one Ius­tus Menius an eye wytnesse of this thing hathe left in wryting, in that booke in the which he confuteth theyr heresyes. So by and by euen at y^e beginning, the Anabap­tistes heresye began to be very hott of spy­ryt, and after warde so often as it burned, the heate of it was nothing cooled or aba­ted. But so was it not with the Sacramē ­taries, whose cheyfetayne & fyrst founder whereas one Berengariꝭ was, aboute fy­ue hundred yeares agone so farre of is it that his disciples dyd offer theyr lyfe with lyke cherefulnes to all kynde of hazard & aduenture, that we reade how theyr great Doctor hym selffe dyd twyse recant & for­sweare his error. who not long after be­ing taken w^t a deadly disease, lying on his deathe bed, at the poynte of deathe shewed him selffe to be meruaylously sory, that he had ledde so manye people in to so fowle an error: and the reporte is that he vtte­red these wordes depelye syghing: O my God to day shalt thou appeare to me e­ther to my saluation, as I hope throughe my repentaunce, or elles to my greuouse damnation, as I feare, for them whome I [Page] haue deceaued with my peruerse doctrine, whome I could not reclame bake agayne to y^e true way of thy Sacrament: as Ihon Gerson doth declare, wryting against Ro­mantius de Rosa. They haue begone first of all in these oure dayes to bragg & boast of theyre Martyrs, whome notwithstan­ding bothe for theyr numbre & also for the cōmendation of theyr sufferaunce and pa­cience in punishment, the Anabaptistes of olde tyme haue excelled, and these of oure age do so farr surmoūt, that if they wold make a Martyrologe of theyre brethern,Yet M. Fox his Marty­rologe is a great boke. they might make greater volumes then y^e Sacramētaries. It is to no purpose ther­fore, that Caluine bosteth of the certaine­te of his doctrine, bycause the truste of it maketh men to feare nether the terrou­re of deathe, nether the iudgement seate of God. It is not worthe a strawe, that he vaunteth him selffe of y^e persecutiōs which he suffreth, & that he calleth his flock sely sheape appoynted to the slaughter. For y^e Anabaptistes do speake more braggly, and do more stoutely all these thynges, & haue done it many yeares agone, before any mā heard tell of the Sacramentaries. Reade who that lysteth the epistle of y^e Petilian, [Page 47] which saynt Augustyn confuteth,August. in the .2. boke against the letters of Petiliā. 19. 99. chap. he shall see, howe many complayntes he made for the persecution of his brethern: howe he calleth the Catholyke Prestes blody bu­chers, which made meanes to the Empe­roures,Do not our Englyshe Protestan­tes so ly­kewyse? to deale so cruelly with his inno­cent lambes, whome he glorieth to by and purchase heauen with theyr punishmentes and blodesheding: Let hym reade also the epistles of Gaudentius, against the which S. Augustyn wrytt two bookes, he shall fynde there,Aug. lib. 1. 5. chap. that he writeth how his disci­ples reioysed, that for the faythe of Christ they suffred the persecutors, that for the comfort of theyr congregation they abu­se the saynges of Christ and of S. Paule: Blessed be they whiche suffer persecutiō.Matth. 5.3. Tim. 3. They which wyll lyue Godlyly in Chryst Iesu, do suffer persecution.

But it is to be noted,Augustin. epist. 48. that Sainte Augu­styne saythe: If it were allway laudable to suffer persecution, he wolde not adde, for rigteousnes. Agayne:Persecutiō some tyme necessarie. if it were alway blame worthy to do persecution, it sholde not be wrytten in the holy scriptures, A slaunderer of his neighboure priuily, hym dyd I persecute. Therefore, sometyme he that dothe suffer it is vnrighteouse, and he [Page] which dothe practise it is righteouse. But with oute doubt, y^e euell men haue allway persecuted the good, and the good haue persecuted the euell men. They, hurtyng by doyng of iniury, these seking amende­ment by disciplyne. They outeragiously, these discretely: they gyuing place to their malitiouse affection, these applying them selues wholy to charitie. For he which murdreth, careth not howe he teareth: but he which healeth taketh aduysemēt howe he launseth: for he cutteth the whole and sownde partes, but this cutteth y^e rotting and feastring partes. The wycked men kylled the Prophetes, and the Prophetes kylled the wycked men: the Iues scourged Christ, and Christ scourged the Iues. Men gaue vp the Apostles to mans poure and authoritie, and the Apostles gaue men vp to the poure and thraldome of the dyuell. In all these doinges what is to be mar­ked,Martyrs be made not by ly­kenes of punishe­ment but of cause. but which of them dyd striue for the truthe, which of them for iniquitie, which of them mynded to hurt and auoy, which of them purposed to amend and redresse. Therefore not the lykenes af punishment maketh Martyrs: for an heynouse offen­der may haue lyke punishment to a mar­tyr, [Page 48] but yet an vnlyke cause: Three hanged on the crosse, one a Sauioure, the second to be saued, the laste to be damned. There­fore who so departeth from the church to heretykes and Scismatykes, allthoughe afterwarde he be kylled for the name of Christ, beyng oute of the boundes of the churche, and deuided from charitie, he can not, saythe S. Cyprian,Cyprian in his .4. boke & .2. epist. be crowned when he dyeth: They can not remayne with God, which wolde not lyue agreably in y^e churche of God. Althoughe they be thro­wen in to the fyar and brent,Cyp. of the simplicitye of prelates. thoughe thei be torne in peaces with wilde beastes, that shall be no crowne of faythe, but a puni­shement of infidelitie. That shal be no ho­norable end of religiouse vertue, but a de­struction for desperation. Suche an one may be kylled, but he can not be crouned. Therefore they haue no ryght to chalend­ge vnto them the glory of Martyrs, which be so far from the cause and quarrell of Martyrs, which haue not doubted to suf­fer deathe for dyuelishe diuision: So then nowe you haue three Gospelles, and them greatly disagreing among them selues. Yf you beholde their cherefullnes in suffring persecutions, the Anabaptistes run farr [Page] before all other heretykes. If you will ha­ue regarde to the number, it is lyke that in multitude they wolde swarme aboue al other, if they were not greuously plaged, & cut of with the knyfe of persecution. Yf you haue an eye to the outewarde appea­raunce of godlynes, bothe the Lutherans and the Zuinglians muste nedes graunte, that they farr passe them. Yf you wyll be moued with the boasting of the worde of God, these be no lesse bolde thē Caluin to preache, y^t theire doctrin must stand aloft aboue all the glory of y^e worlde, must stand inuincible aboue al poure, because it is not theyre worde, but the worde of the lyuing God. Nether do they crye with lesse lowdenes then Luther,Anabapti­stes not a­ble other­wyse to be ouercomed but by the authoritie of the churche. the fourth sect which Suencfeld raysed. that with theire doctryn which is the worde of God, they shall iud­ge the Aungelles. And surely howe many so euer haue wrytten agaynst this heresie, whether they were Catholykes or Here­tykes, they were able to ouerthrowe it not so muche by the testimony of the scriptu­res, as by the autoritie of the Churche.

Do you think peraduenture, that we be nowe at an end of these Gospelles? Nay, we be yet very farr from the end. For Suenckfeldius hathe broched a fourthe [Page 49] gospell, agaynste whome I haue sene fyue bookes wrytten in the Germane tounge, in y^t which one Flaccus brauleth & scoldeth w^t hym. When he sawe the Lutherans, the Sacramentaries, the Anabaptistes, and al the heretykes, not of oure tyme only, but also in tyme past, to establyshe theyre er­rours by the Scriptures, the which is so certayne & sure, that the heade carpenter of all heresies in oure tyme Martyn Lu­ther could not deny it,Luther in that boke which he intytuled: that these wordes of Christ do as yet stand inuincible in so muche that he saythe, that the Canonicall Scripture hath at laste gotten thys name, that it is called the boke of heretykes, because all heresies take theire beginning of it, because all he­retykes do fly to the scripture for succou­re: therfore when Suenckfeldius had per­ceaued this, and had peraduenture readen it in Luthers bokes, he hym selffe deuysed a newe heresie, and leauing to the ayde & helpe of the scripture, ment aboute to take away all autoritie from the scripture. For this talke he was wont to haue among his Disciples. It behoueth not a man to be coning in the lawe or in the Scripture, but to be taught and instructed of God.

Althoughe thou reade ouer the Byble a thousand tymes, yet for all that shalt thou [Page] proue only skylfull in the Scripture, but yet neuer learned of God. The labour is but loste which is bestowed on the scrip­ture, for the scripture is but a creature. It is not mete that a Christian man shold be addicted to muche to a creature. We must gyue eare to God: we must loke to heare his voyce from heauen, that it may teache vs. Blessed is y^e man, saythe Dauid, whome thou shalt teache O Lorde.Psal. 43. He teacheth vs nowe a dayes, as well as he taught y^e pro­phetes and y^e Patriarches by visions. We must gyue hede to dreames, for by them God speaketh vnto vs. the voyce of God dothe teache vs a ryght, the scripture is not the worde of God, but only a deade letter, & to be rekoned among other crea­tures. Thinck not thy selffe to be learned oute of the scriptures, you must loke for y^e oute of heauen, not oute of bokes. The holy goste descendeth downe from heauē with oute any meane, not by y^e outewarde hearing, and preaching by the mouthe, e­ther reading of the scriptures. Althoughe that one Thomas Muncerus semeth to be the fyrst Author of visions, dreames, and reuelations, who also was the fyrst which shronck from Luthers sect, as Philippus [Page 50] sheweth in that story which he dyd wryte of hym, so that Luther was worthye of no lesse condemnation for stretching mennes consciences as it were vpon tentre hokes, then the Pope was for bindyng them in. Yet among those errours which Philipp layeth to his charge,Philipp. in his history of Muncer. he rekoneth vp only these, that he prescribed these wayes and rules of enbrasing Christian godlynes: Fyrst that men sholde refrayne from manifest crimes, as adulteries, murders, and blasphemies: then that they sholde chastē theire bodies with fastinges, vyle apparel, speakyng lyttell, loking sowrely, wearing a long bearde: then that they sholde go in to secrete places, and that they sholde oftē think vpon God: what God is, whether he haue any care of vs, whether our fayth be true: and that also they sholde requyre signes of God, by y^e which he sholde shew vs, that he is carefull for vs, and that oure faythe is ryght. That they sholde put no confidence in the wrytten worde of God. And that they sholde persuade themselues verilye, dreames to be the moste certayne tokens, that they haue receaued the holy ghoste. The same Muncerus dyd say, that he had commaundimēt to chaunge all se­cular [Page] gouernement. Wherefore when he was at Alstete, he made a boke, in y^e which he wrote the names of all them which had cōspyred with hym, to punishe all Princes which were not so Christian lyke as they ought to be, & to institute a Christiā Magistrate. These be y^e thinges, which Philip ascribeth vnto Muncerus. As cōcernyng Suenckfeldius, whome in despyte he na­meth Stenckfeldius,Philip. concerning Stencfeld. the same man in the preface of hys commentaries, which he set furthe the laste yeare vpon the Epistle of Saynt Paule to the Romanes, wryteth y^e Stencfeldius hath a hundred handes, that he hathe soldyoures euery where, which in his name do not onlye scatter libelles, but also moue seditions, boste of diuyne inspi­rations, leade men from the publyke mi­nisterye, from reading, and from thinking of teaching. And nowe also in certayne papers set oute agaynst me in the name of Stenckfeldius, is repeted that [...] a pleasaunt song to madd men, that God dothe not make men partakers of him by any helpe of wrytten doctryne, but with­oute all outewarde meanes. Nether Phi­lipp only, but also Caluine, and diuerse o­thers, do seme to make Suenckfeldius to [Page 51] be the author of these thinges. For all­thoughe before hym there were heauenly Prophetes, against whome Luther hathe wrytten two indifferent greate volumes, of whome Thomas Muncerus is beleued to haue bene captayne and ring leader, yet they dyd not so openly fray men from the publyke ministre of the worde, & from rea­ding the scriptures, as Suenckfeldiꝭ with his companions do nowe a dayes: which be not ashamed to drawe this place of S. Paule to y^e mayntenaunce of theire mad­nes,1. Cor. 13. where he compareth the knowledge of this present lyfe, which is by y^e worde,what scriptures Stēckfeld. stay­eth his sect vpon. with the perfect and reueled knowledge, which shall be in the lyffe to come. These they wrest to this lyfe, ascribyng y^t which is vnperfect to the holy scripture, y^t which is perfect to the reuelations of the spyrit, to which reuelations so sone as we haue attayned, that which is vnperfect, that is to say, the preaching & vse of the scriptu­re, they lyke dreaming doctours do think ougt to be cleane abolished. To this pur­pose they strech that place of S. Peter on the laste, althoughe in very dede it is con­trary to this theire inspiration, where he warneth vs to gyue hede to propheticall [Page] speache,2. Pet. 1. as to a bright burning candell in a darke place, tyll suche tyme as the daye starr doth ryse in oure hartes. They take the illusions of Sathan, for the lightning of the holy Ghoste, and for the morning starre: which so sone as it is rysen, then is there no more nede of the candell of pro­pheticall speakyng. They alleadge also those scriptures, which Luther also vou­ched for the confirmation of his erroure in his boke of abrogating the Masse.Heb. 8. Hier. 31. No man shall teache his neighboure, or his brother,Iacob. 3. saying: Knowe oure Lorde. For all shall knowe me frō the leaste to the moste of them.Matth. 23 There shall not be many masters among you, for you haue one Master in heauē.1. Ioan. 2. You neade not that any man sholde teache you, his anoynting teacheth you. Therefore they commaund men to run to this Master for succoure, that they may be taught of hym, not of the deade scrip­ture, or of men.

Suencfelde fynished that Ghospell which Sathan be­gan by Lu­ther.Behold most godly Prince, to what issue they haue brought the matter. After that by the example of Luther euery man toke it to be lawfull for hym to go from the assent and consent of the whole Churche, and to expounde the scriptures after hys [Page 52] owne brayne, that what so euer he imagi­ned, sholde be receaued as y^e worde of God, it cam to this poynte at the laste, that by the autoritie of the scriptures, they went aboute to make the scriptures of no au­toritye, and men were thaught to gyue more credit to dreames and reuelations, then to the scriptures. Luther toke away outewarde prestehode and the sacrament thereto belongyng: when Suenckfeldius perceaued, that he did this not only with­oute controlemēt, but also that his doing was allowed and approued of many, he lykewise toke away the externall miny­stery of the worde, by the same authoritie that Luther toke away the sacrifice. For why shold Luthers authoritie be stronger then Suenckfeldius his, seyng this man hath mo scriptures on his syde then he? For no scripture hath gyuen contrary cō ­maundiment that mo shold offer sacrifice, but that there shold be mo maysters then one, it hathe openly bene forbydden in mo places then one. For seing we haue one Mayster in heauen, his honoure semeth to be defaced, his dignitie semeth to be dimi­nished, if any other be herd besyde hym: as who wold saye that he is not fyt inoughe [Page] to teache vs, & as thoughe there were such lack of abilitie in hym, that he coulde not performe so muche withoute the help and ministery of man. So nowe the Ghospell which Sathan hathe begone by Luther, he hath fynished by Suenckfeldiꝭ, that after prestehod is takē away, after the sacrifice is dispatched, after y^t all holy thinges be brought in to vtter contempt, we may see also the outewarde ministery of the worde to be taken from vs: the Canonicall scrip­tures to be so stryped of all theyre digni­tie, that we be charged not to beleue them: that the scripture is not y^e worde of God, but only a deade letter, which is to be re­puted among other creatures, to y^e which to be wedded to muche, is not the parte of a Christian man. Nether is this Suenck­feldius an oute cast or rascal. For Philipp saythe, he is an hundred handed captayne, that he hathe souldiours in euerye place, which in his name do not onlye spred li­belles abroade, but also stirr vp seditions. This pestilent heresye of Suenckfeldius, rageth not onlye ouer all Germany, but also ouer all Heluetia: & there is an huge number of them which boaste themselues that they haue this inspiration, so that in [Page 53] many greate Cities by hearesay,Mo Suenckfeldiās, thē Lutherans or Zuin­glians. you may fynde of the cōmon sorte mo Suenckfel­dians, then ether Lutherans or Zuingliās. To say the truthe, I knowe not the man, nether haue I sene his bokes: but when I went on youre Maiesties Embassage to the moste Christian Emperoure and very Catholyke King Charles the fyft, of cer­tayne graue persones, & such as were wor­thy of al credyt I heard y^e contrary of that to be affirmed of Suenckfeldius, whiche Erasmus Roterodamꝭ once dyd wryte of them, whiche falsely vaunt them selues to be Euangelicall men,Suenckfel­dians mer­uailouse holy to se to. that he knewe none of them, which ioyned them selues to their company, and cōgregation, but he proued much wurse then he was before: but how many so euer embrased Suenckfeldiꝭ doc­trine, it was tolde me that they were so­denly chaunged, as thoughe they had bene inspyred by the holy Ghost, that they dyd put of olde Adam and put on new Christ, that afterwarde they walked no more af­ter the flesh, but after the spyrit, so that al men myght see y^t they had crucified theyr fleshe with theyr synnes and concupiscen­ces. Here many we see, how Sathan many tymes iuggleth him selff in to an Aungell [Page] of lyght, that by a coloure of holynes, he may deceaue the simple people. Euen as fowlers do set certayne intising baytes, to the intent they may take the byrdes with shewing them deyntie and lykersom mea­tes,Holynes of heretykes, is the diuell his pytfall to catche soules. Origenes. so is there a certayne holynes of the dyuell, that is a trap or pytfall of man his soule, by y^e which he may with a more sub­tyll sleyght inuegle & snare men with fal­se and forged wordes. Euen as Origenes expoundyng Ezechiel more at lardge doth declare. Suche pretensed holynes was to be sene in tyme past in the Psalbanes, Eu­chites, Anthropomorphites, Ebionites, Tacians, and other heretykes of the same sorte: the lyke of the whiche is also to be sene in the Pycardes, and the Suenckfel­dians, which is none other thing, as that moste learned man Origenes dothe saye, then a certayne trap priuily set and layde for man his sowle, by the deceate & crafty conueyaunce of the Dyuell.

A conclu­sion of the fourth new Gosballes.Now haue you foure Ghospells, but not according to Mathewe, Luke, and Ihon: but after Luther, Zuinglius, Muncerus, and Swenkfeldius. These be straunge na­mes, but theire Ghospells be more straun­ge, which you may rather call Goosebel­les, [Page 54] then Ghospells, for so muche as they haue brought in with them the matter of al mischefe not proceding from Christ, but from the dyuell the author and founder of them: for which cause, they chose rather to be called Ghospellers, then Christians, for that theyr conscience telleth them that they haue nothing to do with Christ, nor Christ with them. See I pray you, howe lyttel a sparcke, which so sone as it begā to kyndle myght easily haue bene quenched, (alas the day) in to howe greate a fyar is it blowne: in how many places euen with the dust and all (as the prouerb is) hath it ouerturned al Christian godlynes? do you suppose y^t I haue reckoned vp all y^e Ghos­pelles? nay. There remayneth yet a rake­hel rablement. For seing suffering syn vn­punished, is a great intysemēt to syn, when men perceaued, that they had no harme, which attempted such thinges, many stept forthe running as it were for y^e best game, which thinkyng skorne of old thinges, la­boured to make all thinges a new, & by in­uentyng some straunge kynde of doctryne might make theyr names neuer to be for­gotten. But who is so good in Arithme­tyke, that he is able to coumpt, or who is [Page] at suche leasure, y^t he is able to stand about declaring euery peculiar errour? For so muche as it is both a greate busynes, and also not pertayning to this present pur­pose? Wherefore I wyll stand no longer in recyting those three hundred at Apocel­la in Heluetia, which after seruice song to God, all the lightes being put oute, when they lyke brute beastes had defyled them selues, yet for all that ascended in to an hy­ghe hyll, frō whence they persuaded them selues, that they sholde be caryed vp bothe body and soule. And of other conuenticles of which Erasmus speaketh, in the which y^e mothers of theire owne accorde dyd gy­ue theyre children to be kylled,Erasmus in his treatise of the ami­able cōcor­de of the churche. and with chearefull countenaunce dyd stand by, and looke on whylst the slaughter was done, beleuing verily y^t theire children so slayne sholde be numbred amōg the cheifest sain­tes in heauē. Then the which thinge what may be sayde more horrible? Besyde this there is no cause, y^t I sholde speake muche of a certayne Preste takē in Suenia,A Preste in Suethen. which taught, that the Christian fayth was now almoste at an end: that seing the lawe of Moyses continued but a thowsand fyue hundred yeares, y^t lawe of Christ lykewyse [Page 55] sholde indure no longer:Husbandmen decea­ued by an heretyke. wherefore y^e tyme was now at hand, that an other lawe, & an other faythe, sholde be gyuen to men. And of an other not farr from Wittenberdge, which tolde the husband men, that by such a certayne day, & by such an howre, domes day shold be. which the sely soules beleued so certaynely, that they left of all their husbandry, loking for that howre. And after they had loked long in vayne, they were in ieopardy to peryshe for hunger, because whereas they had sowed nothyng, there was nothing for them to reape. And of y^e thyrd Dauid, which in y^e towne called Embden, renued the heresy of y^e Saduces, where as he denyed bothe the resurrection of the fleshe, the latter iudgemēt, Aungelles, Dyuelles, Baptisme, Matrimony, Scriptu­res, the kyngdome of heauē. Lykewyse of that Apostata of Premonstre, who taught that there was no hell,Caluin holdeth that Christ did not descēd in to hell. that Christ dyd not descend in to hell, (which opinion Caluin holdeth in his Institutions, or Catechis­me) the holy Patriarches and Prophetes not to haue bene in hell. Yea that Christ hym selffe, because whē he sayde, God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? semed [Page] to despere, & therfore was damned. Could any man speake any greater blasphemy? Moreouer I wyll not voutsaffe to speake of them, which thinck it an horrible thing to call oure lady the mother of God, in whome the heresie of Nestorius, lately cō demned in y^e councell of Ephesus, semeth to be renued. Nether wyll I make men­cion of them, which ten tymes in the day worshipp the dyuell, and there of arre cal­led demoniacalles. Besyde these there be spronge oute of Luthers scole, Ihon Campane, and among the Spaniardes, Myles Seruet, who wrote certayne bokes of the erroures aboute the Trinitie, very full of erroures and blasphemies. In the which they go aboute to set a newe glas vpon y^e olde cankred erroures of Arrius & Mace­donius, and to disanull that faythe, which the fathers gathered in the Councell of Nece and Constantinople, haue prescribed vs. For they defend ernestly, that onlye God y^e father and none elles is to be wor­shipped and called vpon, because he only seeth oure hart, the which no creature can do. And it is a precept of the olde Lawe, y^t he sholde be kylled which worshippeth any other, but God alone. To the which God [Page 56] they say we haue none other intercessor, procurator, or mediator, besyde oure only Lorde Iesu Christ. What other thing ells semeth to be forbydden by these wordes, then the adoration and inuocation of the sone of God, and of the holy ghoste?

Marke, I pray you,what great wyckednes dyd spryng oute of Luther his small be­ginninges. in to what a pickell they haue brought y^e worlde at laste? Pre­stehode being taken away, the sacrifice o­uerturned, the Sacramentes by all mea­nes troden vnder foote, many are so farre growne oute of grace, that they deny that there is any heauen, any hell, any Christ. Who wolde euer haue thought that of so small begynnynges, there shold haue pro­ceded so many horrible blasphemies, which we haue comprehended in fewe wordes?

But that is a trym saying:

If the disease had bene healed when it be­gan fyrst, the Churche of God sholde not now be pintched with such panges. These pestilent poysons of Seruetus be scattred farr and neare. and I wolde to God, most [Page] [...] [Page 56] [...] [Page] noble Prince, that euen as other heresies, which I haue recited for the most parte, so this had not entred in to youre Kyng­dome and dominions: the which whereas in dede it is more wycked then all y^e other, yet of all the heresies of oure tyme, there is not one which is more bolstred w^t scrip­tures then this is. For it cryeth all the day long nothing elles, but the scripture, scrip­ture, Ghospell, Ghospell. And see, I pray you, what a cōfidence this man had in his owne cōceyte. Although Caluin had writ­ten bookes agaynst his errour, yet durst he ventre to go to Geneua, and conferre with him face to face.Seruetus cōdemned and put to deathe by meanes of Caluin. At the lengthe af­ter long and sharpe disputation, when he dyd stick styffly in his opinion, he was cō ­demned to dye, which no doubt was done at the earnest sute and request of Caluine: who immediately dyd set furthe a boke, in which he declareth his doctrin, and descri­beth the whole matter as it was done, al­so he teacheth,Timmanus a Lutheran teacheth, that here­tykes are to be pu­nyshed. that it standeth with ryght and reason, that heritykes sholde be pu­nished with the sworde. The lyke of the whiche a certayne Pastor of Breme na­med Timmanus, in his sum of sentences, which he gathered not only of the bokes [Page 57] of the auncient fathers which were of the christian cōfession, but also of them which were of y^e cōfession of Ausbourghe, where by playne wytnes of Luther, Philipp, Vr­banus Regius, Nicolaus Amsdorffuis, Vi­tus Theodorus, he sheweth that Caluin w^t all Sacramentaries, and Anabaptistes, & other heretikes, are rather to be confuted with y^e mace of the Magistrate, then with wrytinges & disputations. Notwithstan­ding in y^e meane season, he saythe nothing of him selffe and his bretherne, as though they were not in y^e same case. Seing what sentence the Lutherans gyue of the Sacramentaries, the same gyue the Sacramen­taries of the Lutherans. For whereas Lu­ther hereof gathereth an argument, that the doctryn of the Sacramentaries proce­deth of the dyuell, because this sect euen at the first beginnyng dyd sprede in to many braunches, so farr disagreing on from an other, aboute the interpretation of these wordes, This is my body, he gathereth y^t reason mysely and truly, for it is most true that Gregorius Nazianzene wryteth:Nazianzē For what so euer is true, that is one: but what so euer is a lye, that is manyfolde and di­uerse. Before whome also Athanasius: [Page] There is,Athan. in his epist. of the decree of Nicene Synode a­gaynst the Arriās heresie. saythe he, (as oure fathers haue declared) the argument of true discipline and teaching, where all cōfesse one thing, nether disagree among them selues one from an other, or from theyr auncetoures. But they which be not of this mynde, are rather to be called wicked wretches, then true teachers and doctoures. Certainelye the Ethnikes, for so much as they professe not all one thing, but [...]arr among them selues, haue not true doctryn: but holy Christians contrarywyse be the preachers of syncere truthe, because they be all of one mynde, & be at no stryfe or debate among them selues: who althoughe they lyued in diuerse ages, yet for all that they mete at one marke, as it becometh the Prophetes of one God, and the interpretoures of one worde. Therefore this disagreing among them selues, is an infallible argumēt, that they be not styrred with y^e spyrite of God,The discorde of here­tikes amōg thē selues sheweth with what spyrit they be ledde. but of Sathan. But what nowe? If the Sacramētaries also by the same reason do proue, that the Gospell which Luther boa­steth y^t he brought to lyght, proceded from the Dyuell? Because we may see no lesse variaunce betwene the Lutherans and the Zuinglians, & they truly, althoughe they [Page 58] interprete not the wordes of Christ after the same sorte, yet they agree all in this poynte, that they wyckedly deny the body and blood of Christ to be present in the sa­crament. But it is a worlde to see, howe the Lutherās do byte and scratche one an other, not so much about y^e vnderstanding of any one place of Scripture, as aboute diuerse straunge opinions & articles.

But pleaseth it you to heare theyre dis­sentions & combates? Surely I wyll not thynk muche to rehearse them, not inten­dyng to be curiouse in obseruyng the or­dre of tymes, but that takyng my begyn­nyng of thynges of lesse weyght, I may procede to those matters, which be of greater importaūce. Two yeares after Luther departed this lyfe, when God in a manner gyuyng sentence oute of hys iudgement seate, openly condemned Luthers cause, by grauntyng a meruaylouse victory to the moste Chrystian Emperour Charles,A meruai­louse victory of the Emperour. a­gaynst the fauourers & followers of Lu­thers faction, a great armye of whome he put to flyght, with a very small band, with oute strykyng one stroke, ayded & assisted with the help of God alone, and not long after accompaned with a small trayne, passing [Page] ouer the floode named Elue,In Laten Albis. by y^e gui­dyng of an Aungell, he vanquished farre greater hostes of them, and toke the chei­fetayne of that faction prysoner. There­fore after this meruaylouse victory, in the which God hym selffe dyd fyght for the Emperour fyghtyng in hys quarell, Lu­thers sect was deuyded in to two sectes. For some became Interimistes, y^t is, Tyme takers: other Adiaphoristes, that is, Indifferent men, or Neuters. Moreouer there were .ij.The fyrst kynd of In­teremistes. kyndes of Interimistes, one sort by the permission of y^e Emperoures Ma­iestie, which professed them selues Luthe­rans, in no other poynte, but y^t they wolde not agree, that lay men sholde be kept frō receauing in bothe kyndes, or that maryed Prestes sholde put away there women.

As concerning all other orders & doctry­ne, they refused not to shewe them selues conformable to all other partes of Chri­stendome. These the Emperour by cōsent of Act of parlemēt, thought good to wink at vntyll the generall Councell. But whereas the Decrees of whole Christendome cā take no place, why shold the Act of one Realme or Empyre be there of any more force? Therefore allthoughe Mauritius [Page 59] a Prince Elector, dyd shewe himselffe wil­ling to obey the procedinges of the parle­ment,The deui­nes of Lips the second sorte of In­terimistes. yet the Diuines of Lipsia durst take this muche vpō them, that they wolde correct as pleased them the parlement booke, and appoynte a farther day of conforma­tion then the parlemēt had assigned. And as appartayning to orders & ceremonies, they dyd not greatly stryue with the Christians, but yet they laboured to retayne & vpholde mo poyntes of Luthers doctrine, then the parlement booke dyd permit. Wherefore they subscribed in this parle­ment boke, as being well cōtented to tea­che, that according to S. Paule, we be iusti­fied by faythe,Luthers addition to S. Paule his wordes re­iected. but yet reiectyng Luthers addition to S. Paules wordes, bi fayth on­ly, because they thought it a cursed thing, to add any thing to y^e worde of God. And this the Church thought good to enbrace, rather then y^e contrary opinion of Luther, y^t workes were necessary to iustification, and that we sholde not put all oure rygh­teousnes in the righteousnes of Christ a­lone. They graunted all the partes of pe­naunce, which the Church receaued: they agreed that there were seuen Sacramētes of the Churche, they restored the Masse [Page] which they had abolyshed, they bannished quyte all moste all the songes & ballettes, which Luther made in the Germaine ton­ge: also they shewed no cause, why they were not obedient to the iurisdiction of theire superintendētes. These be the thin­ges, which Flaccus Illyricus in a certayne exhortation, which he maketh to the churches of Misnia, wryteth to be contayned in the boke of the reformation of Lipsia. Moreouer y^e neuters of Wittenberge,The Adia­phoristes of witten­berge. al­though they semed not to disagree in opi­nion w^t the neuters of Lipsia, which thing Flaccus gesseth hereby, because they dyd not wryte agaynst theyr boke, yet because Luthers Ghospel began fyrst in theyr vni­uersitie, they thought it treason to shrinck frō it so sodenly, although many of theyr syde, and specially Philip Melancthon be­gan to be werye of it. Wherefore thin­kyng it as yet to be no conuenient tyme to chaunge that kynde of learning, which theyre Master had taught them, yet they thought good to take away certayne new orders, which he had brought in and to re­store most of the olde orders, according to the forme prescribed in the parlement bo­ke. They called these orders or cerimonies [Page 60] by a Greke name [...], in Latten you may call them indifferentia, that is, thin­ges which of theyr owne nature be suche,what the Catholy­kes thynk of outward cerimonies and howe far the A­diaphoris­t [...]s do agree with them. Psal. 44. that it skylleth nothyng to soule healthe, whether one leaue them or receaue them. For we oure selues which be Catholykes do deny, that y^e cheyfe poyntes of Christiā godlynes do rest in these thinges, whiche be done outewardly, seyng all the glorie of the Kynges daughter is inwardly. Chryst seeth inwardly, he loueth inwardly, he speaketh vnto vs inwardly, and he neither pu­nisheth or rewardeth but those thynges, which be inwardly: but were Christ is tru­ly worshipped inwardly, it can not be al­moste, but that such a worshipping sholde vtter it selff, and appeare to mennes eyes, by certayne sygnes and tokens. And these outewarde cerimonies haue thys proper­tye, that where so euer they be obserued a lyke of all men, they be wytnesses of a certayne agreemēt and consent. Therfore in these thynges, the neuters of Mitten­berdge thought good to cōsent to y^e Chri­stians, that by them they myght gyue it oute to be vnderstanded, that they began a lyttell to inclyne from Luther to Christ, and that they myght put the world in ho­pe, [Page] that in continuaunce of tyme it wolde come to passe, that reiecting Luthers lear­ning, they wolde embrace the Christian & Catholyke doctrine. Flaccus had this in the wynde,Illiricus vexeth the Adiapho­ristes. as one that hathe a very nice nose of his owne: therefore he resisted by all meanes, that there might be no chaun­ge or alteration. And when he sawe that he coulde not preuayle w^t warnyng, pray­ing, and beseching, then he spared not to tayle and scolde sometyme darckly, some­tyme plainely vpon his masters, and espe­cially vpon Melancthon, complayning y^t they forsoke Christ his cause and quarrel. For he knewe none other Christ but hym which was borne at Eylzleube,Islebij. and feared nothing to call them hogges of the Epi­cures kynde, regarding not the truthe but theyr bely, as whose bely were theyr God. At the last, when he perceaued that nether by fayre nor soule meanes, he coulde fray them from theyr purpose, he gaue them all vp to the dyuell.Illiricꝰ his sentence of excōmuni­cation vpō the Adia­phoristes. And whereas before he gaue them the name & tytle of Adiapho­ristes, yet sytting as it were on his iudge­ment seate, he condemned them with this sentence. For so muche as I perceaue that they remayne in theyr inpenitencye, and [Page 61] agaynst theyr consciences further the A­diaphoricall constitutions, and not to re­frayne to make wyndowes for the papa­cye to entre in, I gyue sentēce, that all vn­penitent Adiaphoristes, shall be taken as Ethnikes & Publicanes: that is, that no Godly man ought to holde any familiari­ty, conuersation, or frendeship with them. And especially to suche, as being compel­led by no ordre of lawe, shall do other wy­se, I declare y^t they be infected with theyre leprosy, & so consequently I warrant them of God his heauye angre & displeasure.

You see, what authoritye Flaccus taketh vpon him, which feareth not to pronunce all the Vniuersitie of Wittenberge (oute of the which came the same Martyn Lu­ther, whome he maketh a God of) accur­sed, & to forbyd all good men to haue any thing to do with y^e vniuersitie. The which his forbydding, as I wolde wyshe it to ta­ke place among all other godly people, so especially among them whiche be youre Maiestyes subiectes, then sholde we se in youre Realme lesse disquietnes. But, I pray you, what cause moueth hym to con­demne these Adiaphoricall constitutions? None other, but that he smelled that wyn­dowes [Page] were made to conueye in the Pa­pacye, whiche sholde followe after them.

Alac for you Syr is it so greate a faulte to buylde windowes for the Pope his su­premacie,Luther made win­dowes for sathanisme and not to make wyndowes for Sathanisme, that is Dyuellyshe doctryne to entre in? which no man can deny that Luther made with these choppynges and chaungynges, enterprysed of hys owne heade and autoritie. For, whence came the Sacramentaries? oute of what rote sprang the Anabaptistes? howe began y^e Suenck­feldians? where had we the Seruetians? surely oute of nothing elles, but of these turnynges and tossynges, which Luther hathe begone. Hym may we thanck, that we be taught y^t Christ his body and blood is not in the sacrament, that children be forbydden to be baptized, that all autori­tie is taken away from the Canonicall scripture, that some beleue, that there is nether heauen nor hell, that Chryst is de­nyed to be true God, and y^e Sone of God. Caluin hym selffe confesseth this, & Bal­thasar Pacimontanus graunteth y^e same, as I haue declared before, that they haue drawen theire doctrine oute of his bokes. Caluin writeth, y^t Luther taught the fyrst [Page 62] principles of true doctryn,Caluin his sentēce v­pon Luth. and shewed the way: But in the meane season he sayth, he was of an ouerthwart witte, which being entred in to y^e right way, so sone as he had tolde other men which way they sholde walcke, he hym selffe turneth a syde, and pitching his fote obstinately in one place, wold not remoue one inche farther. Ther­fore Caluine went beyonde those princi­ples, and croked rewes (I wolde a sayde Crosse rewes) and began to be more fyne, and at all assayes better appoynted, and denyed Christ to be present in the Sacra­ment. Yet Baltasar lept on lyne lenghte farther, who as Caluin dyd, with the Sa­crament of the altar, so he, althoughe not discentyng from Caluin, toke all vertue from the Sacrament of Baptisme, espe­cially as touching the baptising of youn­ge children. But for all this greate leape, yet Suenckfeldius oute reached it, for he bereaued the scriptures of all autoritie. at the lengthe, loke at what marke the Dy­uell shotte at the beginnyng, y^e same mar­ke his ministers Campanus and Serue­tus dyd hytte at y^e laste in denying Christ to be very God, and the sone of God: and in so doyng finished that Gospell, whose [Page] foundation Luther dyd laye. So it cam to passe, that when Luther had pearsed those bankes which were cast vpp to kepe oute the rage of the floodes, the mayne strea­mes of the waters dyd beate downe the bankes, ouerflowed and drowned farr & neare the feldes, corne, and villages. Ari­stotle gaue a very wyse precept,Arist. Polit. 2. as you re­member M. Flaceus, the which also befor hym his Master Plato dyd teache in the seuenth boke of his lawes, that chaunges of lawes, & ciuiles policies, are to be auoy­ded, and that it is better many tymes to wynk at the faultes of the lawe makers and Magistrates. Nether cometh there so muche profit many tymes, if one correct & chaunge, as there groweth losse and incō ­uenience, for that men do learne by lyttell & lyttell to disobey Magistrates. Therefore to chaunge old lawes for newe, shall be no thing elles, but all to gether to weakē the lawes, & to inure men to chaunge thinges of greater weyght and importaunce, whē those thinges which shall appeare very tryfles, shall be causes of moste greate calamities and miseries. The which thing, expe­rience hath taught in the chaūges begone of Luther, what wyndowes are made for [Page 63] this Sathanisme, whiche nowe we see in Germany. Therfore it behoued hym fyrst, to haue complayned on them, & manfullye to haue withstode them.A defence of Melanc­thō against Illiricus. And there was no cause, M. Flaccus, why vnmyndefull of youre dutie, you sholde so dispytefully and slaunderously intreate youre Master, who had deserued so well at youre handes, be­cause he, when he sawe it neadefull, dyd all hys indeuoure to bryng order & disciplyne in to the churche, bothe which thinges Luther had taken away, to y^e intent that men might retyre againe to that perfect pathe, from the which they had erred and gone a stray. This was a good meaning of a mā not of the wurst sort, who neuer lyked the chaūges brought in by Luther. Frō whose tyranny that he was at laste delyuered, he semeth to reioyse, seyng wryting to Car­louitius he graunteth that he had bene his filthie bond slaue. And I cā not but prayse youre stedfastnes in Religion (most godly Prince) that when diuerse were suetors to youre grace, that you wolde be content,The con­stauncie & godlynes of Kyng of Pole. that there sholde be an alteration in thin­ges (as some men thought) indifferēt, you could be persuaded by no meanes to do it, least you myght seme to gyue a token of [Page] youre going backward frō y^e Christian re­ligion left vnto you of youre forefathers, and of youre bending forwarde to Satha­nisme, which you see at this present flory­she in many places of Germany, and to be­gin to budd (more is the pitie) in diuerse partes of youre Realme. The thinges which were requested, may seme to some man to be of lesser importaunce, then that anye man sholde styck to graunte the ta­kyng away of them:How peril louse it is, to swarne from olde religion in small mat­ters. but put y^e case, there were no faute in cutting of those thinges, yet in cutting of a mans his owne selffe from all the rest of Christendome, is suche a greate trespasse, y^t al other synnes com­pared to it, seme but a more weyghing in balaunce with a myll poste. And this is y^e thing, which many seke for: for they desire diuision in men, and not in suche thinges, as they know well inoughe, pertayne no­thing to soule healthe. This, Vergerius hym selffe confesseth in certayne brefe cō ­mentaries,By what degrees Sa­thanisme dyd infect all Germany. which he (naughty man as he was) dyd write vpon the Pope his Epistle to the kyng hys councelloures. Flaccus wryteth very well, that these deceaptes be all to gether lyke a wedge, which at the poynte is very thynne, and being dryuen [Page 64] in to the woode, maketh no greate cleft or ryft: but yet for al that thoughe the fore­part of it be small, yet it maketh way for the thycker parte of the wedge, so y^t when that parte is entred in, necessarily y^e other partes shall followe, vntyll suche tyme as the wode be quite clouē. We see, howe Sa­than hathe wrought these craftes in Ger­many. The first riuing parte of this wed­ge was the striuing aboute pardones. The second part was somewhat thicker, when y^e layetie had leaue to receaue vnder bothe kyndes, when it was graunted that Pre­stes might haue wyues. The middell part was the allowaunce of the confession of Augusta: The laste parte was this vniuer­sall sathanisme, of which I haue spokē before, with the which all Christendome is so clouen, that except God wyll loke vpon vs with the eyes of his mercye, it can not easyly be recouered w^t any remedie. Whe­refore you dyd bothe wysely and godlyly (o moste worthy Prince) in that you ha­ue taken hether to diligent hede to youre selffe and youre Realme of this tearyng wedge, of the which also here after you must so muche beware, howe muche the saffetie of youre selffe and youre countrie is deare vnto you.

[Page]Nowe then by Flaccus rekonyng, we haue three or .iiij. sectes of Lutherans.Other sec­tes of Lu­therans. For he saythe, that the Interimistes or Tyme takers of Lipsiabe of two sortes, one pat­ched & pesed of others: the second made of it selffe. There must be then .iij. Disorders of Interimistes, and one disorder of Adia­phoristes, all whose familiaritye, Flaccus hathe forbidden all godly Christians. The fourth sect is not aboute Adiaphorical or indifferent thinges, but cōcerning weygh­tye & ernest matters. For there were cer­tayne at Wittēberdge almost twenty yea­res past, which as they were taught by Luther, dyd reiect y^t lawe of workes. Against whome he inueyed in many disputations, and called them in dispite Antinomos, Antinomi. that is, men contrary to lawe. The sixt sect is of the Confessionistes of Augusta, who not for wearing of a surplesse,Linea vestis. (for whiche cause Flaccus styrred vp suche coles, the which he saythe was the first parte of the myserable wedge) but aboute the cheife poynte of Christian religion,Luther in a boke in­tytuled: o­peretiones in Psalm. aboute that which Luther thinketh to be y^e head poyn­te of all Euangelical doctryne, on y^t which hangeth, as he sayth, y^e knowledge of hym selffe, the knowledge and glory of God: [Page 65] which he thinketh to be y^e opinion of free wyll, of the which he euer taught,Luther de­nyeth free will. that it only suffereth, and neuer dothe any thing, that it is a thing of a bare name, or ells a fayned matter in thinges, or a title with­oute a thing, because it is in no man hys powre, to thinck either good or euell, but as Wycliff his article condemned at Constance teacheth, all thinges come to passe of necessitie. So it is no doubt (sayth he) this name free wyll, to haue come in to the churche from the Master thereof Sathan, to seduce men from the way of God in to theire owne wayes: & euell workes (sayth he) God worketh in the euell men. To which doctryn also Philipp Melancthon dyd subscribe in those cōmon places which he dyd set oute at Wittenberdge,Melancthō how arro­gantly he at the first denied free wyll. when he was but one & twenty yeares of age, not withoute a certayne youthely arrogancie in no wyse to be borne with all. For he durst take vpon hym to gyue hys censure vpō the holy Doctoures. Augustine, sayth he, and Bernard, dyd wryte of free wyll, & Augustine truly dyd recant diuerse tymes in his last bokes written agaynst the Pe­lagians, his opinion of free wyll. As for Bernard, often tyme he turneth the cat in [Page] the pan. The Greke Doctoures dyd wryte somthing of this matter, but oute of or­der. I, for so muche as I followe not the opinions of men, I wyll declare the whole matter moste simply and playnely, which bothe olde and newe wryters haue darke­ned, because they dyd so interprete the scri­ptures, as thoughe also they wolde satis­fie the iudgemēt of man his reason. They thought that it was agaynst all polityke gouernement, to teache y^t a man dyd synn of necessitie: they thought it a cruell thing to fynde fault w^t man hys wyll, if it could not turne it selffe from synne to vertue.

Therefore they attributed more to man his strengthe then they ought to haue do­ne, and they dyd meruaylously disagree a­mong them selues, for so much as they dyd see that in euery place it was contrary to the iudgemēt of reason: and truly in this place, where as Christian doctrine disa­greeth muche from Philosophy and man his reason, yet Philosophy by lyttell and lyttell crept in to Christian doctryne, and this wycked opinion of free wyll is receaued, the goodnes of Christ is darckned by oure prophane and carnall wysdome. The worde of free wyll is vsurped most cōtrary [Page 66] to the holy scripture, to the meaning and iudgemēt of the holy ghoste, with y^t which we see holy men haue bene oftē displeased. There is added also oute of Plato his philosophie this worde of reason, which is as pernitiouse and daungerouse as the other. For lyke as in these laste tymes we haue embrased Aristotle in steade of Christ, so euen immediatly after y^e fyrst begynnyng of the Churche, Christian doctryne was corrupted with Platos philosophye: so is it brought to passe, y^t there be no syncere & pure bokes in the Church, besyde the Ca­nonicall scripture. All the commentaries, which learned men haue wrytten, smell of Philosophy. And with in a lyttel whyle after, dothe any man aske me, if there be any free wyll? I aunswer, because all thinges whiche come to passe, do necessarilye come to passe according to the predestina­tion of God, there is no libertie or freedo­me of oure wyl. What thē you wyl say, is there in thinges (y^t I may vse y^e Papistes wordes) no casualtye? no chaunce? no for­tune? The scriptures teache vs, howe that all thinges come to passe necessarily. Ec­kius sayth, that Valla wolde knowe more then euer he had learned, because he con­futed [Page] y^e scole mennes opinion of free wyll. And in the end, gathering a sum of all his saynges, he saythe: If you refer man his wyll to the predestination of God, there is no libertie ether in outeward or inward workes. But all thinges come to passe, ac­cording to the predestination of God. If you refer oure will to outewarde workes, to naturall iudgement, there semeth a cer­tayne fredome: but if you refer oure wyll to the affections, there is no libertie euen by the iudgement of nature. At the last he concludeth: Thou seest, Reader, that I haue wrytten more playnely of free wyll, then ether Bernard, or any Scole men.

And in his annotations vpon S. Paule to the Romanes, expoundyng that place of Paule, according to the predestination of God, after that he hath confirmed, y^t there is no casualtye in thinges, nor libertye of wyll, he saythe thus at the lengthe: We teache, that God dothe not only suffer his creatures to worke, but that he him selffe properly dothe all thinges: y^t euen as they graunte y^e vocation of Paule to haue bene y^e proper worke of God, so let them graunt that all those be y^e proper workes of God, whether they be meanes, as eatyng and [Page 67] drinkyng, which be common to men and beastes: or whether they be euell, as the adultery of Dauid, the seueritye of Man­lius in kylling his sonne: seing, it is eui­dent, that God dothe all thinges not suf­fering, but potenter, as Saynte Augustyne his worde is, that is, mightely working, so that y^e traytery of Iudas is as well his proper worke, as the vocation of S. Paule. Thus hath Melancthon wrytten in those bokes, which he dyd sett oute being as yet but a younge man:Luther how much be estemed the wrytinges of Me­lancthon, notwith­standyng they were after chaū ged and corrected. one of the which bo­kes, Luther wryting agaynst Erasmus of seruile wyll, saythe, is a boke neuer able to be confuted, worthie not only immor­tall fame, but also to be nombred among the Ecclesiasticall Canons: to the which (saythe he) when I compared thy boke, it semed so vyle and beggarlye, that I toke greate pitie of the. And making a preface to the other, he doubteth not to prefer it before the moste learned Commentaries of Thomas Aquinas. And that the Commentaries of Hierome and Origen, be but starke tryfles and fooles babells, if they be compared to his annotations. He is not farre from placing hym aboue Paule, but certaynely he giueth hym the chayre next [Page] to S. Paule. But Philipp him selffe often chaunging his mynde, hathe condemned bothe those bookes of erroures in many places, and specially in this poynte of free wyll. For he caused bothe of them to be afterwarde prynted, scraping oute many thinges, adding, chaunging, correcting, in so muche that the laste bokes were almost nothing lyke the fyrst. And in those com­mon places which were printed in y^e yeare of oure Lorde .1536. at Straesbrughe: in y^e yeare of our Lord .1538. at Wittenberdge: in the yeare .1546. at Lips: & in the yeare 1555. at Wittenberge: he openly hath re­canted al those thinges, which he dyd wry­te in those his fyrst bokes, of free wyl for thus he speaketh: Valla, and diuerse other take libertie from man his wyl,Melancth. confirmeth free wil in his later bokes. because al thinges be done after God his determina­tion. He addeth in his cōmon places prin­ted in the yeare .46. & .55. This imagina­tion sprong oute of the Stoikes disputa­tions, bringeth them to this poynte, that they take away all casualtie of good and euell actions, yea of all motions in beastes and in the elementes. But I sayde before, that they must not bryng in these Stoicall opinions in to the Church of God, nether [Page 68] that fatall necessitie is to be defended in al thynges, but that we muste graunt some chaunce or casualtie. It was not of neces­sitie, that Alexander kylled Clytus, nether must we confound the disputation of God his determination with y^e question of free wyl. And agayne in his places printed the yeare .1536. and .38. or later. For so muche as in the nature of man there is left iud­gement, and a certayne choyse of thinges, which be subiect to reason and sence,O Melanc­thē you had not bene a mete mā to be deane of diuinity in Trinitie Colledge at this day in Cam­bridge. there is left also a choyse of outeward ciuile & polityke workes: wherfore y^e wyll of man can of her proper poure without renuing, do some externall workes of y^e Law. This is y^e fredome of wyll, which the Philoso­phers do well attribute to man. For Pau­le makyng a difference betwene the spiri­tuall and carnal Iustice, graunteth y^t they which be not baptized, haue some choise, to refrayne the hand from murder, from rapyne, from theft. and this they call the ryghteousnes of the fleshe: but God com­maundeth them which be not baptized to kepe this lawe: and in an other place af­terwarde, this sentence of free wyll, hath no inconuenience in it, & it is y^e true mea­nyng both of other Ecclesiastical wryters [Page] and Synodes, & also of S. Augustyne hym selffe, nether dothe it bryng good myndes to desperation, nether dothe it discourage them from doyng theyre indeuoure, but it aduaunceth the helpe of the holy ghoste, and sharpneth the care and the diligēce of oure wyll. I defye the dotyng dreames of the Maniches, which denyed y^t oure wyll dyd any thing at all, thoughe it were holpē of the holy ghoste, as thoughe there were no difference betwene a paynted poste and oure wyll. He wryteth also, that three causes of a good action do mete to gether, the worde of God, the holy ghost, and man his wyll, assenting and not resisting the worde of God. For it may resist, as Saule resisted of his owne accorde, but when the mynde obeyeth and yeldeth, then doth it not gyue place to mistrust, but by the helpe of y^e holy ghoste, it indeuoureth it selffe to cōsent: in this indeuouryng oure wyll standeth not by ydely lokyng on. And agayne with in a few wordes after: I haue sene many not of y^e Epicures sect, which when they were in heauynes for theire syn, disputed thus with themselues, howe sholde I hope that I am receaued agayne in to God hys fa­uoure, seing I perceaue not a nue lyght, & [Page 69] nue vertues to be powred in to me? More ouer, if my free wyll dothe nothing at all, in y^e meane whyle tyll I fele that regeneration, which you speake of, to be wrought in me, I wyll gyue my selffe vp to despe­ration, and other synfull affections. This imagination of the Maniches, is an hor­rible lye,If this opi­nion of Melancthō be true, why was one not long agone ex­pulsed out of Trini­tie Colled­ge in Cambrige, and wrytten in the Reges­tre booke for a semi­pelagian? and mennes myndes are to be dis­suaded from this erroure, & to be taught that oure free wyll worketh and endeuoureth. Pharao, Saul, resisted God not compelled, but wyllingly & frely: nether was Dauid conuerted, as if so be a stone sholde be turned in to a figg: but free wyll dyd some thing in Dauid: when he heard the rebuke and the promisse, then willinglye and frely he confessed his syn, and his wyll dyd some thing, when he comforted hym selffe with these wordes: Oure Lorde hath taken away thy syn. And agayne a fewe wordes after: For so muche as God hys promisse is generall to all men, & in God be no contradictorye wylles, of necessitye there is some cause of diuersitie in vs, why Saul is reiected and Dauid accepted, that is as muche to saye, there muste nedes be some vnlyke action in bothe of them.

And in the chapter afore going, which is [Page] of the cause of syn & of casualtie, he sayth thus: This is a godly and a true saying, to be holdē fast with bothe handes, or rather to be prynted in oure hart, y^e God is not a cause of syn, and that he wolde not haue syn committed, that he inforceth not oure wylles to syn, or that he approueth syn. But the causes of syn, be the wyll of the Dyuell, and the wyll of man, who myght abuse his wyll and turne hym selffe from God: whiche thinges he dothe there in­treate vpon more at large.

Melancthō declareth playnelye that he had bene a Maniche.By the which, euery man may see howe Philip Melancthō recanteth what so euer he wrote of free wyll in his common pla­ces, condemning also with his owne, his Master Luthers opynion, as wycked, and agreing with y^e Manichees heresie: which thing he also dothe in mo wordes, in hys Epitome of morall Philosophy, which he dyd sette furthe at Straesbroughe in the yeare of oure Lorde. 1538. where he lyke­wyse rebuketh those busye braines, which styrr vp many stryffes aboute free wyll, & the folishe ymaginations of Valla, who taketh away all libertie from oure wyll, because God ruleth & gouerneth all thin­ges. More ouer in his later commenta­ries [Page 70] vpon the epistle of Saint Paule to y^e Romanes, he caused those thynges to be scraped oute which he wrote when he was one and twenty yeare olde, that euell wor­kes were as wel y^e proper workes of God: as the adultery of Dauid, and y^t the tray­terdome of Iudas, was as well the proper worke of God, as the vocation of Paule. Also expounding that place, God gaue them vp to the lustes of theire owne har­tes. God (saythe he) nether willeth, nether alloweth, nether worketh syn. And becau­se the same Philipp was the autor of the confession of Augusta, thys also forsoke Luthers opinion, concerning the article of free wyll, the which for all that he helde so styffly to y^e end of his lyffe, that he offred hym selffe rather to dye, then that he wold reuoke it. In the which what greate con­fidence he dyd put, he playnelye declared bothe in the beginning, as a lyttell before I haue shewed, and in the end, of that bo­ke, which he dyd wryte agaynst Erasmꝭ. For allmoste at the end he thus speaketh vnto him: In this I highely cōmend you, that you olone aboue all other, haue sett vpon the matter it selffe, that is the cheife poynte and grounde of all oure cōtrouer­sie: [Page] and that you haue not weried me with by questions of the papacie, pardones, purgatory, and suche other tryfles rather thē causes, in the which other haue hetherto bayted and hunted me all in vayne. You therefore and none other haue espyed the pythe of the matter, and haue lept lustely at my throte. Therefore Philipp with his fellowes, which be of the confession of Augusta, durst sequester hym selffe from hys master Luther in openly disagreing from hym aboute that which is the cheife hin­ging of all matters in cōtrouersye. In do­ing of which thyng, what dyd he ells, but condemne him of wyckednes and heresie?The doctrine of Luth. is founded vpon the denying of free wille. And in very dede, the cheife fondation, on which the whole buylding of Luthers le­arnyng is stayed, is the opiniō of free wil, which can not synck or fall downe, but e­uen at y^e same tyme all those thinges must decaye and come to ruine, whiche he dyd wryte especially of iustification, and of o­ther thinges thereto belongyng. Caluin as yet defendeth the opinion of Luther in this behalffe,Pericope, a circūcision or paring of. and standeth styfflye in it.

And Brentius dothe seme not vtterly to disproue it in his fyrst pericope, which he dyd wryte agaynst the Reuerend learned [Page 71] mā named Petrus a Soto. I haue sene al­so a booke of a certayne Frenshe man, in the which he sharpely handleth his M. Melancthon, for that he swarueth from his M. Luther in suche a weyghtye mat­ter. In the which boke he also layeth to hys charge, that he croweth lyke one of Caluine his cockrells.

Nowe then we haue six heades of thys Lutheran monster, of the which the six is a heade in dede. For it concerneth y^e cheife ground of religion: and the seauenth hea­de is of no lesser importaunce, aboute the which what a tossing of bylldowe blades is there among the Lutherans?Or for weering of a Prestes cap as our Pro­testātes do. For they stryue not for wearyng of a surples, but for that whiche Melancthon calleth the cheifest matter of Christian doctryne, and totall sum of the Ghospell, that is to wyt for the opinion of iustification.In his Apologie of the Augustane confession, and in his common places. Nether dothe he misse the marke muche, in that he dothe attribute so vnto it. Notwithstan­ding aboute this poynte, they be at greate variaunce and defiaunce among themsel­ues. For whereas this controuersie in the Confession of Augusta was not playnely and clearely determined, one Andrewe O­siander thought it good for hym to ryfle y^e [Page] matter more neare the bothome: y^t which thing when he interprysed, makyng not Melancthon fyrst priuie to it, and others which were the cheifest Doctoures of the Confession of Augusta,Osiander ill handled of the Confessionistes they toke the matter so in the snuffe, that they were not farr from raysing an vpp rore. What faulte was not Osiander accused of? what ray­linges, and slaunders were not vttered a­gainst hym? As he hym selffe wryteth, he was called Herityke, Antichrist, Iue, black dyuell, dragon, a mischeuouse & abomina­ble man, the ennimie of Christ. This fable was also feyned of hym, that wheresoeuer he walked, two dyuelles followed hym in the lykenes of dogges, which for all that euery mā coulde not see, and at what tyme he dyd drynck or eate with his scollers in his lower stue,Hypocau­sto, alias an hotte howse. where he was accustomed to studye, the dyuell was sene in his vpper stue sytting in his chayre wryting. And such other lyke tales. More ouer, this fa­me flewe about of him, y^t he shold affirme, that the deathe and passion of Christ, dyd nothing auayle vs: where as, to saye the truth, we fynde in his bokes y^t he thought otherwyse. To be shorte, they had hym in suche hatred, y^t not only he was accompted [Page 72] wycked, but they also which dyd heare his sermones, were excommunicated oute of theire cōpanie, which thought them selues godly, yea they were not thought worthy of Christian man his buryall. A commis­sion was sent to Wittenberg, that his doctrine might be tryed and examined: it was condemned by Melancthon, Pomeran, Forster, and other.Osiander his doctrin cōdemned at witten­berge, was allowed at wirtēber­ge of the Confessio­nistes. The same doctrine was sent to Wirtenberdge to be discussed, and it was confirmed & allowed by Brentius, and those of the same sect. Here you see, howe muche the iudgement of the Doc­toures of Wittenberdge & Wirtenberdge dyd differ aboute one and the selffe same matter: notwithstandyng that there was but y^e differēce of one letter betwene them, whereas Osiander also laboureth to pro­ue playnely by alleadgeing certayne pla­ces oute of Luthers bokes, y^t Luther helde that which he had wrytten cōcerning iustification, that is, that the essentiall iustice of God dwelling in vs, and styrryng vs to doo well, is oure iustice. But agaynst that boke, which Philipp and his adherentes dye sette out agaynst hym, Osiander hym selffe dyd sett oute a contrary boke, in the which he sheweth a cause, why they dyd [Page] not allowe this his doctrine. Therefore he telleth, that at Wittenberdge none cōmen­ceth Doctour of diuinitye or M. of Arte, onles recityng the wordes of the othe, ac­cording to the forme prescribed vnto him, he sweare that he wyll holde faste,Al that ta­ke degree at witten­berge must swere to the confes­sion of Augusta, and Melancthō his iudge­ment. and also defend the three Credees, that is, of the A­postles, of Nice, of Athanasius. And that if any thing happen, which is not fully de­termined in those three Credes, & the Con­fession of Augusta, they sholde conclude nothing vpon it, before first they confer­red & asked councell of those Doctoures, which cleaue to that Confessyon. These Elders & Doctoures, for so much as they be Melancthon & his mates, if any thing cam in question, which was not wryttē in this Confession of Augusta, they which were sworne to y^e Confession, were bounde to holde nothing, but that which they al­lowed and approued. So that they were bounde by vertue of theyr othe, to receaue that they dyd allowe, allthoughe the con­trary were founde in the Canonicall scri­ptures: for so muche as they toke theyre othe y^t they wolde continewe in the agrea­ble consent of the Confession of Augusta, and not of y^e holy scripture. So that they [Page 73] sholde be gyltie of periurye if they wolde rather followe the scriptures.Osiander his verdict of the Confession of Ausburge. And who was he which penned this Confession, but Melancthō? who had also the powre and autoritie to interprete and expounde it?

Whereby it nowe followeth, that all they which were sworne to y^e Confession,Ioan a Las­ko saythe, that this Confession is so honoured, that there be many of the best Lutherans which will saye that they had rather doubt of the doctrin of S. Paule hym selffe, then of the doctrine of the Confession of Au­gusta. were of necessitie constrayned to vnderstand the scripture, so as Philipp dyd vnderstand it, so that reiectyng the scripture, they were only bounde to those three Credes, and the doctrine of Melancthō. This good worde Osiander gaue Philip Melancthon. who also diligently forwarneth all fathers and mothers, that they take good aduisement howe they send theire children to Witten­berdge, there to procede Masters of Arte, or Doctoures of any facultie. For they be constrayned (saythe he) to forsweare the worde of God, and to sweare to Melanc­thons sayinges. For euery man sweareth (sayth he) that he wyll determine nothing with hymselffe of weightie matters tou­ching faythe, but by the iudgement of the Elders of the Augustane Confession, all­thoughe the scripture sayde the contrarie: the which who so euer wolde follow more willingly, sholde be gyltie of periurye. So [Page] there is (sayth he) a certayne close conspi­racye among them, which hathe more re­spect to the wordes of men then of God, & therefore dothe much indamage the Chri­stian common wealthe.Osiander his disdein against Melancthon. Melancthon his worde is of more credyt then the worde of God. I alleadged six and thirtie places of scripture, by the which I shewed, that God dwelled in his vs, yet was not I beleued. But so sone as Philip wrote but one lit­tell scrole to the confirming of the same, by and by credit was gyuen vnto it. And with in a littell whyle after he saythe: the­re was a voyce of the Father heard from heauen, saying: This is my welbeloued, in whome I am well pleased, heare hym.

Here hym (saythe he) not Philip, not other men, whiche stopp thy mouthe, and wolde haue the say after theire councell, and not after the worde of God. Thus Osiander coulde not abyde, that men sholde rather be bounde to the Confession of Augusta, which was Philips worde, then to y^e wor­de of God. For so muche as he wolde ha­ue men beleue, that to be y^e worde of God which he dyd teache, and not that which Philipp dyd teache, seing he toke himself­fe to be as good in euery poynte as Phi­lip: [Page 74] So that there was no cause, why hys saying sholde not as well be receaued for the worde of God, as Philip his saying. Especially seing Philip as in many other thinges,Tuentie o­pinions of the confes­sionistes cō cerning iustification. so in the docttyne of iustification was neuer stayde in one opinion. He sayth that there be twentie diuerse opinions of Melancthon concernyng this one artcle, and he reciteth fouretene sundrie opinions of his scollers, in that boke which he dyd wryte agaynst one Niericorar. For (saythe he) so sone as they spied one place of scrip­ture, in the which there was any mention of Iustice, by & by of it, they made a newe Iustice. For an example, one did reade, A­braham beleued, & it was imputed to hym for ryghteousnes: by and by he gathered oute of this one place .ij. kyndes of righte­ousnes, one of this worde, beleued: so that he sayde, that faythe was oure Iustice, an other of the worde, was imputed, so that he sayde that God dyd impute his iustice to vs, to accoumpt vs iuste all thoughe we were not, and that this was oure ryghte­ousnes. An other dyd reade: we be iusti­fied by his blood, strayght way he gathe­red, that the pretiouse blode of Christ is oure ryghteousnes. An other dyd reade: [Page] as by y^e disobedience of one, we were ma­de manye synners: so by the obedience of one, many shall be made ryghteousne: by and by he taught y^t the obedience of Christ was oure ryghteousnes. An other did reade: he dyd ryse agayne for oure iustifica­tion: the Resurrection sayth he of Christ, is oure iustification. An other dyd reade, the holy ghost shall reproue the worlde for iustice, because I go to my father, he affir­med by and by, that the goyng of Christ to his father, is oure iustice. An other dyd reade: that we be made ryghteouse with­oute desertes by y^e grace of God, he doub­ted not to holde that the grace and mer­cye of God, was oure iustice. An other did reade: to shewe his iustice for y^e remission of many synnes before cōmitted. Forthe­with he taught, that Remission of synnes was oure iustice. An other dyd reade: by his blue stripes we be made hole: he defen­ded oute of hand, y^t the woundes of Christ was oure ryghteousnes. Nowe therefore he saythe, that he hathe rekoned vp nyne kyndes of iustifications, gathered oute of the scriptures, disagreing one from an o­ther: and yet for all that he hathe not reci­ted all. He reherseth afterward, what eue­ry [Page 75] one deuised of hys owne heade. Some (saythe he) say, that ryghteousnes is the work of God, the whiche he worketh in Christ. Other, that God receaueth vs to euerlasting lyffe: other, that the meritte of Christ: other speake of an other certayne meane ryghteousnes, but they can not tell what it meaneth. So Osiander rehearseth fourtene opinions of iustification, & that which he hym selffe is Author of, is the fyftene. But accordyng to the rekoning which he maketh in hys confutation of y^e boke which Philip set oute agaynst hym, they shall be in all, one and twentie.

Now iudge you (most excellent Kyng) for so muche as they do so bycker among them selues,Howe pe­rillouse a thing it is to beleue sectaries stryuyng about great matters. not aboute the moue shyne in the water (as the common saying is) but by theyr owne confession aboute the chei­fe article of Christian doctrine, which con­tayneth the whole sum of y^e Ghospell, iud­ge you, I say, what a perillouse thing it is to put any of these men in trust with oure soules which being start vp of late, do not only swarue from y^e chefe masters of theyr congregation, but also disagree in them selues: as we see howe many tymes Me­lancthon hath turned his cote in this one [Page] opinion of iustification. Luther sayth it is a sure argumēt, that the doctryn of the Sacramētaries proceded from the dyuel, because he tolde seauen or eyght sectes of them, and for because that euen in the be­gynnyng it was dispersed in to so manye heades. But we haue rekoned vp, not sea­uen, but twyse seauē sectes y^t of Lutherās, cōcerning one article of iustificatiō which conteyneth y^e whole sum of the Ghospell. In all, there be foure tyme seauen sectes lackyng but one, contrarye one to the o­ther aboute other matters. One Gespar Querchamer a lay man & Citezin of Hal­lis,Six & thirtye cōtrary opinions aboute re­ceauing vnder bothe kyndes, or vnder one. gathered together six and thirtye con­trary places vpon one only article, which is of y^e receauing vnder one or bothe kyn­des, in the Sacrament of the Altar. If any man wyll add these six & thirtie opinions to the other seuen and twentye, there shal be in all three score & three. And yet howe many sectes be there, whiche we haue not rekoned: and wyl any man doubt, that the dyuell was the author of this doctryne?

Take hede, moste Godly Prince, that you thinck not that these men striue for God his cause, or that they busye theyr braynes to further and enlarge the worde of God. [Page 76] There is nothing further oute of theyre thought:Glorie is the marke which se­ctaries shote at. but this is the marke the which moste of them pryck at, that they may ad­uaunce theyr owne glory, that they maye vtter to y^e rude people theyr worde in stede of y^e worde of God, they haue called theyr names (sayth the prophet) vpon yearthe.Psal. 48.

To this end they wrest all theyre wytte, y^e they may make all the world ring with theyr name, that it may be sayde, this is y^e confession of Melancthon, this of Brentius, this of Osiander: for I wyll now say nothing of the Zuinglians, whome they take to be as greate heritykes as y^e Ana­baptistes, my talke is only of the Luthe­rans, whome they also iudge to be herity­kes: no other verdicte do all other Chris­tians gyue of them. Of them therefore speake I, that euen they, be they neuer so lapped in shepe skynnes, yet euery one of them hathe theyr hand on theyr halffe pe­nye, not regarding the thinges appartay­ning to Iesu Christ:The cōfes­sion of Augusta plea­seth not all the Luthe­rans. euery one of them hū teth after their owne honoure, and not after the glory of Christ. Wherefore euē they, allthoughe chekens hatched in one nest of Luther, yet all of them haue not one confession. For it is as cleare as the daye, [Page] that none receaued the confession of Au­gusta, but the churches of Saxonie. No, it was not receaued so muche as in y^e citie of Augusta, where it was fyrst presented to the Emperoure: for that citie semeth rather to weyghe more w^t the Zuinglians,The Citie Augusta hathe mo Suenckfel feldiās the Lutherans. and it is sayde, that there be founde mo of the confession of Suenefelde then of the confession of Augusta. Whiche I think was a cause, (that for so much as Philipp had wrytten an other confession more thē six yeares agone to be presented to y^e councel of Trent) thei gaue this tytle to the boke:Brentius maketh a new Con­fession. A confession of the churches of Saxo­nie. But Brentius althoughe he also wol­de seme not to iarre frō Luthers doctrine, yet wolde not he content hym selffe with that which was wrytten in the selffe same Towne, from whence Luthers Gospell did fyrst procede. But he dyd wryte a seuerall confession, not in his owne name, but in the name of his Prince, which he also pro­pounded to the assemble of the Tridētine Councell. And this is worthie to be mar­ked, that nether Grētius, nether Vrbanus Regius, nether Osiander, were sworne to y^e cōfession of Augusta. For they thought that it sholde disgrace them much, to fol­lowe any forme of fayth prescribed of Philip, [Page 77] seing euery one of them had this con­ceipt of hymselffe, that they had profyted more in the study of holy scripture, then Philip had done: & therefore eche of them thought hym selffe to be as able as he, to wryte a peculiar confession of his faythe. So these men, whylst euerye one of them was more carefull to blase abroade hys owne name, thē to fynde oute and further the knowledg of the truthe, thei dissenting euery one not only frō hym selffe, but also from their Master Luther, yea in substantiall poyntes of Christiā religion, thought it lawfull for euery one of them, to forge a newe faythe,Petrus a Soto why he wrote against the Confession of Brent. and to deuise a confession by themselues. A certayne learned Spanyard named Petrꝭ a Soto, who neuer had lear­ned any other then the Catholyke fayth, dyd well perceaue this, that Melancthon was autor of one confession, Brentius of an other: it gaue hym greate wonder, that eche of them held so diuerse cōfessions, for so much as both of them dyd confesse Lu­ther to be theyr Master, thys semed a mō ­strouse thinge vnto hym. He wolde not haue maruayled halffe so much, if y^e Zuin­glians had seuerally sette abroade theyre confession as they dyd aboue twentie yea­res [Page] agone, at what tyme the Protestantes dyd exhibite the confession of theire fay­the to y^e Emperoure. For (as I haue saide before) the Lutherans counte them hereti­kes, and they lyke wyse the Lutherans.

But when this was done of them, which made theire boaste, that they dyd profes y^e same Gospel, which Luther first inuented, that made hym stand almoste in a mase y^t they which were scollers all of one scole, dyd not consent in one confession of their faythe. And because, many men had this opinion of the duke of Wirtenberdge, vnder whose name Brentius dyd sette oute his confession, that he suarued not from the Christian & right ruled faythe, I mea­ne from that faythe which we haue left to vs, from hand to hand of oure forefathers, as they haue receaued it of the Apostles, Petrus a Soto being bothe a godly man, and also bearyng an ernest zeale to Chri­stian religion, dyd take it very heuily at y^e hart, that y^e Prince whome all men iudged to beare a singular goode wyll to the Ca­tholyke faythe, sholde suffer hym selffe so to be seduced with y^e persuations of Bren­tius and his Brotherhode, that he wolde rather after a newe fashion gyue vp to the [Page 78] Concell a newe confession of his faythe, then to rest and settell hym selffe in y^e Ca­tholyke faythe, which he had learned of his forefathers. Wherefore the aforesayde Petrus a Soto, coulde not refrayne hym selffe, but must nedes put in prynt the de­fence of his faythe, which not withstāding was not his owne alone, but also y^e faythe of the Catholyke churche.Petrus a Soto his order in writing. The which bo­ke he prouyded so to be wrytten, that on the one syde, it contayned the confession of the Princes preachers: on y^e other syde, the confession of the Catholykes. On the one syde, he dyd set the doctryn of the du­ke: on the other syde, the Doctryn of the Catholyke faythe: on the one page, y^t au­torities of Scripture seming to serue for them: on the other, many autorities forti­fying his fayth: On y^e one parte, the testi­monies of the auncient Doctors makyng for them, on the other parte, the wytnesses of the same doctoures weyghing w^t hym agaynst them.

The Prince of Wirtenberdge in y^e boke set oute by Brētius vnder his name, saith that he mynded to make all y^e worlde wit­nes of his ernest [...]esyre in raysing vp and furtheryng the true and godly doctrine.

[Page] Petrus a Soto his ad­monicyō to the Prince of wirten­berdge.Petrus in his Scholies taking an aduaū ­tage at these wordes, saythe: that doctrin was fyrst to haue bene agreed vpon, fyrst you sholde haue made youre rekoning, y^t the doctrine which you mynded to further and aduaunce, sholde be in euery poynte godly, especially now in these dayes, in the which euery man may see, that it is called in to question, whiche is the true and vn­counterfeited doctrine. Knowe this for a certaynete, moste worthie Prince, that ly­ke as youre ministers do iudge, that doc­trine to be wycked which the Catholykes embrace, so the Catholykes esteme, that doctrine which you endeuoure to promote and aduaūce: nether is there among them a lesser number of credible men, then a­mong youres, so that at leaste, you do not put to youre helping hand to further true and godly doctryne, but ether wycked doctryne by the wytnes of the Catholykes, ether doubtfull & vncertayne, as your selff of necessitie must confesse. Therfore, were it not more wysdome for you, ether to lea­ue of this interpryse, or at the leaste, sus­pend youre iudgement, and humbly abyde tyll God dyd lyghtē youre harte with the beames of his grace, and to obtayne that [Page 79] at God his handes with charitable wor­kes, and deuoute prayers? The wordes of the Prince, which he addeth immediatlye to the wordes before rehearsed oute of his boke, be these: For all be it, we be not ignorant, that there is a certayne differēce be­twene Ciuil and Ecclesiasticall offices: yet for so muche as the kingly Prophet dothe most wysely exhorte vs, saying:Psal. 2. Nowe you Kynges vnderstand, be you learned which be iudges of the yearth, serue our Lorde in trembling & feare: we ought not to despyse that heauenly voyce. &c. And Petrus ta­king aduaūtage at these wordes also, say­the in this wyse: but fyrst you ought per­fectly to haue knowē, what difference this was. It is very certayne, that a temporall Magistrate hath nothing to doo with discussing & definyng doubtes in matters of fayth:Ciuil and Ecclesiasti­cal gouuernement be not all one. for this is the charge & dutie of Ec­clesiastical Gouernoures. Polityke Prin­ces ought to learne of them, to stand vnto theire determination, otherwyse thei haue cause to feare that which followeth y^e wor­des before alleadged in the same place, lest oure Lorde be angry against them, & they peryshe frō the right way: for these threat­ninges dothe God thunder against Prin­ces [Page] which do not apprehend learning and knowledge. But what is more vndescrete and oute of order, then to followe doubt­full doctryne, to burden subiectes consciencies, with it, before the churche haue gyuē iudgement of it? On the othersyde cleane contrarly after manye other matters, he dyd wright in this sorte: Nothing is more discretely to be ruled, then the zeale of ac­knowledging and vpholding the truthe: the which how muche the more ernest and hotte it is,Zeale in matters of reagion is to be wise­ly conside­red, what manner of Zele it is. the more it bryngeth a man in to greate perilles and daungers, as Paule wytnesseth: Who being in tyme past a cu­riouse and scrupulouse follower of the traditions of his forefathers, and afterward felyng y^e very fatherly correction of God, speaketh of others, which presently were as he him selff sometyme had bene: I bea­re them wytnes that they haue a zeale of God, but not accordyng to knowledge.

Galat. 1. Roma. 10.For thys cause he saythe, that he suffreth greate sorrowe, and cōtinuall harte brea­ke for them. Therefore a man muste fyrst knowe in what place God hathe appoin­ted hym, and according to that he muste followe after, and not go before: he muste be drawen, and not drawe after hym y^e spi­rite [Page 80] and ordinaunce of God: Lest it be said vnto hym: come behynde me Sathan, thou act an offence vnto me: for thou vnderstā ­dest not the thinges which be of God.

What worde is there here, which is not modestly, godlyly, truly, and Catholykely spoken?Brētius falsely char­geth and raylet on vetrus a Soto. Yet Brentius wryngyng & wre­sting them to a wrong sence, made suche a styrr, as thoughe he wolde haue throwen the howse oute of the wyndowe, because y^e godly man durst presume to say vnto the Prince: Come by hinde me Sathan, whe­reas in very dede he sayde no suche worde to y^e Prince, but only gently admonyshed hym, that euery man sholde consyder, in what roume God hathe placed hym, lest that if he presume to run before, and not to followe after the Spirit of God, it may be sayde vnto hym, come behynde me Sa­than. But marke I pray you, the lack of discretion which was in Brentiꝭ: he which dyd wryte (saythe he) this assertion of the Catholyke faythe, agaynste the syngular confession of Brentius, his Christian na­me is Petrus, but his surname is a So­to. Whether that be the name of y^e place, where he was borne, or of the race where of he cam, I am not able to saye. But see, [Page] shall I say, how vnshamefast or how wyc­ked a rayler and rybalde Brentius is. He thinketh scorne to call him by his surna­me a Soto, but in despite he nyck nameth hym Asotus. In Greke they be called A­soti,Petrus a Soto his prayse. which y^e Latynes call decoctores, that is, spend thryftes, men past grace, vndone with ryot and reuel, which haue brought all theyr brauerye to the beggars bagg. But what manner a man dyd Brentius slaunder, when agaynste all ryght & con­science he dyd call hym Asotus? Surely a man as Godly as euer sucked a womās breste in oure dayes, whiche not onlye in wordes, but also in dede hathe long synce forsaken the worlde, and that he myght haue more leasure to leade his lyfe in god lynes, following the rule of Saynte Do­minick, became one of his order many yeares agone, applying hym selffe to no o­ther thing, then to the studie of holy scri­pture. Whose doctrine and lyffe very ver­tuously and purely ledd, was so much spoken of of all men, that before all other y^e moste Christian Emperour Charles the fift dyd chose hym to be his Confessor, to whome he wold reuele the priuie prickes of his consciens, of whome he wolde re­ceaue [Page 81] souerayne salues of the same sores, and by whose meanes he hoped to obtayne remission of his synnes. For moste mygh­tie Princes are wonte to prefer none other to that office, but those whiche be highely commended for theire excellent learning, and holynes of lyfe. And that you may more perceaue, that the Emperoure was nothing deceaued in hym, among many o­ther, he gaue this outewarde profe of his inwarde perfection, that when a Bishop­ryke was wyllingly offred hym, he refu­sed it, and rather dyd chose a pore kynde of lyuing, in y^e which he myght passe ouer the rest of the race of his lyfe, which was behynde. Surely I dyd see this man, at what tyme (moste excellent Kyng) I be­ing sent in embassage to y^e Emperour his Maiestie, dyd take vp by the way my lod­ging at Diling a with the Cardinall of Augusta, who as he is a man indued w^t other goodly gyftes of God, so is he a most er­nest defender of the Catholyke and ryght ruled fayth. This worthye Cardinall was wont neuer to be wery in praysing y^e ver­tues of this singular mā Petrus a Soto: whome notwithstanding this durtie Doctor Brentius was not ashamed to call A­sotus. [Page] Is this any thyng ells, but to call lyght darcknes, and darcknes lyght? But howe sholde we ells be able to knowe hym to be a scoller trayned vp in Luther hys scole, onlesse he had so shamefully slaun­dered this holy & vertuouse man? In what thing shall we hereafter beleue him, which euen in the fyrst fotyng founderd so fowly that he feared not openly to raunge in rayling so farr beyond reason? Yet for all this, dyd he not think that he had spyt out venym inoughe, onlesse as he had rayled vpon that maruaylouse deuoute and reli­giouse man a Soto,Brentius rayling on the Ecclesiasticall Magistrates. so he sholde deface the whole order of Bishopes & Prestes, who­me he calleth Asoticall or prodigall Prela­tes. As who sholde say, that there be not mo prodigall protestātes to be pycked out among y^t Lutherans, among whome ma­ny be of suche insatiable lecherye, that one wyfe can not content them, then among y^e Catholykes: especially countyng so many for so many, that is the littell number of the Lutherans, with the whole churche of Christians. But they can not tempre their tongues, but they muste make al y^e worlde wytnesse oute of whose scole they proce­ded, and following the example of theire [Page 82] Master Luther can not staye themselues from stuffing all theire bokes, with moc­kyng and mowing, iyrkyng and yerkyng, stingyng and wrynggin farre otherwyse then it becometh Christians.Brentius his poyson­ful proeme But herckē I beseche you, howe poysonfull a proeme he setteth before his boke. He maketh his entraunce, of a certayne fable of seruaun­tes, which rebelled against theire masters, and murthered them as they cam oute of farre countries. To such he lykeneth the Catholyke Byshopes, callyng them whip stockes, wycked bond slaues, which durst make resistaunce against their Masters, & pluck them oute of theire places, and well deserued dignities.

And wyt you how he proueth,Brentius fyrst profe that the Catholykes be such seruaūtes? It is writ­ten (saythe he) who is Paule? who is A­pollo?1. Cor. 3. but the ministers by whose meanes you beleued? And I pray you may not the Catholykes contrary wyse saye, what is Charles the Emperoure? what is Ferdi­nandus Cesar? what is kyng Sigismund? but ministers, by whome euery man reco­uereth that which is his owne, by whose protection we may leade our lyffe in quiet­nes and saffitie? Onlesse peraduēture you [Page] wyll saye, that scripture is not to be vnder standed of euery temporall Prince: He is the minister of God to defend that which is good:Rom. 13. The sworde is not borne before hym in vayne, for he is y^e minister of God to punishe those which be malefactoures. Zenacherib was a moste myghtie Kyng,Esa. 20. our Lorde calleth hym not only a ministre, but also a rodde and staffe of his fury, but there is no slaue so vyle, but he is to be preferred before a rod, or a staffe. What then shall Kynges haue theire heades tyde vn­der the peoples gyrdell, and not haue the people rather vnder theire obedience? Be­cause by theire meanes, God gyueth that to euery man which is due vnto hym, en­corageth good men with rewardes, disco­rageth euel men with worthie punishmēt? Brentius bendeth an other text of scrip­ture agaynst vs.Brentius secōd profe All is oures, whether it be Paule, whether it be Apollo, whether it be Cephas, whether it be the worlde. Brentius what conclude you by that scri­pture? Make you this conclusion: Ergo Paule,1. Cor. 3. Apollo, Cephas, & the whole world was subiect to the Corinthians? Why Si­gismund is oures. But I pray you, is he, as oure subiect and vnderlyng: God for­byd. [Page 83] but as one which beareth lawfull ru­le ouer vs, as oure Kyng and oure Lorde. Here euery man may see, howe true that is which Hilarius wryteth of heretykes. They alleadge y^e scriptures not knowing the meaning of them. And these Burning Brentians dyd sounde alarū to the coun­trie clownes,Hilarius in his boke to cōstantius. by the which they were styr­red vp agaynst theyr land Lordes & Mas­ters, by crying thus in theyr cares: all is youres, whether it be Paule, whether it be Apollo, whether it be Cephas, ether the worlde, ether Kynges, ether Princes, all be youre seruauntes, and you the seruauntes of Chryst: so that those thinges seme best to be applyed to Brentiꝭ & his Bretherne which he telleth of seruauntes which dyd rebel agaynst theyr Masters. They allead­ge also a thyrde scripture:Brentius thyrde profe. We do not prea­che in oure owne prayse, but we preache Iesus Christ, who is oure Master, and we youre seruauntes. By these three places vouched oute of S. Paule,2. Cor 4. Brentius pro­ueth that Paule maketh y^e Bishopes sub­iect to the Churche, & setteth the Church as a Mystresse ouer them. But as for vs, we be so farre from being ashamed to be called the seruauntes and ministers of the [Page] Churche, that he, which is the Cheife of all Bishoppes, & the vicar of Christ in yearth, dothe reioyce greatly in this rytle, that he wryteth hym selff to be the seruaūt of the seruauntes of God. For so muche as it is wrytten:Gen. 25. Let him which is hyghest, do him seruice which is lowest: and it is so in very dede,Rom. 12. 1. Cor. 9. that no men do greater seruyce, then they which be carefull in theyr office, as he was whose authoritye was euen nowe re­cyted: who when he was free, made hym selffe seruaunt to all that he myght wyn many:2. Cor. 11. who was not a lyttell trobled in mynde, for so much as he was carefull for all Churches, so that he coulde not chose but make exclamation. Who is weake, & I am not weake also? who is hurt in the fayth, and my hart burneth not? who wyll denye but that Bishopes be suche manner of seruauntes?Kynges be after a sor­te seruauntes. yea Kynges and Prynces haue the lyke yoke of seruitude layde vpō theire neckes. For if they prouyde not for the profyt of theire subiectes, if they cast away all care of theire healthe and weal­the, if they set all theire mynde vpon plea­sure, if they loke to the lyckyng of theyre owne fyngers, with oute doubt suche de­serue not to be called other right kinges, [Page 84] or right Byshopes. Salomon gyueth this councell: Art thou set in autoritie?Eccle. 32. be not proude of it. Be among them as one of them, and be carefull for them. This then to be a seruaunt & not a subiect, is not to take those whome thou bearest rule ouer to be they Masters who sholde appoynte the, what thou sholdest beleue, but y^t thou sholdest not therefore set vp they peacoc­kes fethers: but take care for them, study to do them goode, ouer whome God hath gyuen the authoritye and preeminence.

After this sorte,the Apost­les & their successou­res bothe seruauntes and Lordes y^e Apostles were seruaun­tes, and lykewyse be the Byshopes theire successoures, to whome S. Paule speaketh after this forte: Take diligēt hede to your selues, & to your whole flocke, in the which the holy Ghoste hathe made you Bisho­pes to rule the Churche of God: to rule, saythe he, and not to be ruled, to be aboue in autoritie, not to be vnder in subiection. But vnto the flock, he vseth these wordes: Obey those which haue rule ouer you,Act. 20. and be ruled by them: for thei so watche, as thei which must gyue an accoumpt for youre soules. Dothe he say here, rule them? cō ­maunde and comptrole them? appoynte them how they shall teache you to beleue? [Page] nothing lesse. but obey, saythe he, and be ordred by them. I pray you, coulde any thing be spoken more playnely? could the­re a more manifest difference be made be­twene shepherdes and shepe, then that he wolde haue them to rule, and these to be ruled: And fearest not thou to resist the holy Ghost, giuyng sentence so playnely by the mouthe of Saynte Paule?

But let vs see Master Brentius, what manner a seruaunt Saint Paule was, who whē he was free,paule what manner of seruaūt he was. made himselffe seruaunt to all: he wrytyng to y^e Corinthians, whose seruaunt he professeth himselffe to be, speaketh to them in this wyse: What wyl you haue me to do?1. Cor. 4. wyl you that I come vnto you with the rod of correctiō? I pray you Brentius, doo seruauntes vse to come to theire masters to correct & punishe them? And with in fewe wordes after: I heare that there is fornication among you, yea and such fornication, as is not among the heathen, that is, that one slepeth with his father his wyfe,1. Cor. 5. and you haue swelled and not rather sorrowed, y^t he myght be rydde from among you, which hath committed this shamfull act. I being absent frō you in body, but present with you in soule, as [Page 85] if I were bodily present amōg you, in the name of oure Lorde Iesu Christ haue iud­ged hym which hathe wrought this wyc­kednes, to be giuen vpp in to the powre of Sathan to the destructiō of his body, that his soule may saued. Here you see, in what rod he came to them, after what manner a sorte he behaued hymselfe lyke a seruaunt toward his Masters, & not only to them,1. Tim. 1. but certane other also, namely Alexander & Hymeneꝭ, whom he wryteth y^t he dyd de­liuer vp to Sathan, to teache them what it was to speake blasphemy. He sayde not: Come behynde me Sathan. but y^t which was more terrible, he delyuered hym in to the handes of Sathā to the destruction of the fleshe. Wylt thou therefore Brentius call him a wicked seruaunt,Saint Petre what man­ner of ser­uaunt he was. which dyd re­bell against his Masters? You haue now learned what manner a seruaunt S. Paule was. What kynde a seruaunt think you S. Petre was? Vnlyke trowe you to Saint Paule? Ananias with his wyfe Zaphira had solde land,Act. 5. and kept back to his pro­per vse a certayne portion of the money which he had receaued, makyng his wyfe priuy of his councell, and bringing the re­manant, he layde it at the Apostles fere. [Page] But Petre sayde vnto Ananias: Ananias why hast thou gyuē place to the tentation of Sathan, to make a ly to the holy ghost, and not to bring hether the whole sum of money, which thou hast receaued for thy land? Before it was solde, was it not thy­ne owne possession? and after it was solde, was not the pryce in thyne owne powre? Howe couldest thou fynde in thyne hart to do such a thing? Thou hast not made a lye vnto men, but vnto y^e holy ghost. So sone as Ananias had heard these wordes, he fel downe, and gaue vp the ghost. After that, his wyfe came in to the place where Petre was, not knowing what was done to her husband. Petre sayde vnto her: Tell me truthe, solde you the lande for so muche? And she sayde: Yea, for so muche. Then sayde Petre vnto her: Why haue you a­greed to gether to tempt the holy ghost? Beholde the fete of them which haue bu­ried thy husband, are at the dore, and shall cary the oute. Immediatly she dyd synck downe, and yelded vp the ghost. Here you see, what manner of seruaunt Petre was, who had powre bothe of lyfe and deathe ouer his masters. Yea, & they which haue succeded the Apostles, when they sawe oc­casion, [Page 86] dyd vse no lesse libertie.what ma­ner of ser­uaūtes the Popes and Byshopes of olde ty­me were. Eusebius wryteth of one (by all lykelyhode it was Fabianus Bishop of Rome) that whē the Emperour Philipp, which was the fyrst Christined Emperour, in that daye when the last vigiles of Easter were kept, desy­red to be admitted to pray among y^e Chri­stians in the cōgregation, as being of one agrement of mynde with them, he coulde not obtiane his request of the Bishop, be­fore he was confessed, and humbled hym­selffe to their cōpany, which were brought to examination for theire faultes, and ap­pointed to a certayne place to do their pe­naunce in, otherwyse he sholde not be re­ceaued among the Christians, because he was fautie in many pointes. What (think you) the Emperoure dyd? dyd he grudge or complayne,Euseb. in the .6. boke 34. cap. of Ecclesiasti­cal history that he was put to foyle of his seruaunt? Nay. Eusebius writeth that he dyd redily obey, and by his outewarde dedes dyd declare his vertuouse and reli­giouse harte towarde God. So dyd not y^e Emperoure Constantine,An exāple of the Pope his autori­ty ouer the Emperoure who dyd gre­uousely persecute the Catholyke Bishop­pes, whilst euery yeare almoste he wolde haue a nue Confession of faythe deuysed, so that Socrates dothe recorde, that in his [Page] Reigne the faythe was chaunged nyne ty­mes.Socrat in the .2. boke 41. chap. of his Ecclesi­asticall hys story. So was the condition of that tyme, not muche vnlyke the state and manner of these oure troblesome dayes. But for all that, the Bishopes of that tyme dyd wor­thily wrastle against his tyranny. He in­tysed Liberius by his Eunuche, as Atha­nasius hymselffe wytnesseth in writing, to subscribe agaynst Athanasius,Athanasi. in his Epi­stle to the solitary li­uers. promisyng hym rewardes if he dyd it, threatning pu­nishment if he refused to do it. What an­swer made Athanasius to hym? We haue no suche rule in the Church (sayth he) we haue receaued no suche tradition of oure forefathers.Constant. the Empe­rour, rebuked of Po­pe Liberi. But if the Emperoure wyll put to his helping hand, to maynetayne y^e quyetnes of the Church, or if he cōmaunde those thinges to be cancelled and blotted oute which I haue written in the behalffe of Athanasius, let hym scrape oute those thinges, which he hathe wrytten agaynst hym,Coūcels of the Clergy not to be kept neare the court. & hereafter so often as anye Conuo­cation of the Clergie or Synode is called, let it be kept farre of frō the courte, where nether the Emperour be neare at hand, ne­ther Earle may thrust in amōg y^e Prestes, nether any iudge feare them with threat­ning. &c. After this was Liberius led pry­sonner [Page 87] to y^e Emperour, before whome whē he cam, he spake his mynde frely & boldly nothing abashed, saying: Leaue of from persecuting the Christians, thinck not to make me a meane by whiche thou mayst bring hereticall harlottye in to y^e Church of God, we be redy rather to suffer al tor­mentes then that we Christians shold co­me to that poynte, that we sholde be cal­led Arrians. Inforce vs not to be the en­ennimies of Christ. &c. Lo such a seruaunt was Liberius, redyar to suffer many tor­mentes, and to be banished his countrie, then he shold slack any thing in doing his dutie. with lyke fayre promyses, and foule threatnynges dyd the same Constantinus proue Hosius Bishopp of Corduba.Hosius Bi­shop of Corduba his stoute an­swer to the Emperour cōstantius, as witnes­seth Atha­nasius in the same places. But Hosius writing letters vnto him, dyd sette before his eyes the example of his brother Constās. What lyke pageaunt (sayth he) hath your brother played? what Bishop­pes hath he sent in to banishmēt? or who of his Countie Palatines dyd profer any wrong to y^e Prelates? I pray the be quyet, remember y^t thou art a mortall man, stand in awe of domes day, kepe they selffe vn­defyled agaynst that daye, intermedle not with Ecclesiasticall matters, and in those [Page] cases teache not vs what we haue to do, but rather learne them of vs. God hathe cōmitted to you the rule in temporall af­faires, to vs he hath left the charge in Ec­clesiastical matters. And as he which doth enuye your Emperiall estate, resisteth the ordinaunce of God, so beware you, least chalengyng vnto you the thinges whiche pertayne to the Churche, you make your selffe gyltie of treason agaynste God. It is written: Gyue vnto Cesar that whiche is Cesars: and that vnto God, whiche is due vnto God.Hilariꝰ in his boke to Constātius reproueth the Empe­rour bold­lye. Muche lyke to the afore­sayde was Hilarius Bishop of Poycters. I proclame vnto the (sayth he) the very same wordes, which I wold haue spoken vnto Nero, & the which I wolde not haue cared if Decius & Maximianꝭ had heard. Thou dost warre agaynst God, thou ra­gest agaynst the Churche, thou hatest the Preachers of God lyke todes, thou ouer­throwest religion, being a spoyling tyrant nowe not of prophane thinges, but of di­uine thinges. These thinges afore sayd, be common to them & to the: but these which follow, are proper to thy selffe. Thou lyest in saying, thou art a Christian, thou art a nue ennimie of Christ, thou art y^t forerūner [Page 88] of Antichrist, & thou behauest thy selff lyke one of his priuie councell. Thou forgest a faythe, leading a faytheles lyfe, thou hast vnhappy learning inoughe, but no skyl at all invertue: thou crepest in to mennes bo­somes w^t a goodly tytle: thou sleast vnder y^e pretence of religion: thou workest nothing elles but wyckednes. Being a false prea­cher of Christ, thou puttest oute the can­dell of Christian fayth. And in a fewe lea­ues after: I woulde nowe fayne knowe of the Constantius, in wath faythe thou art settled? For I knowe not they faythe, by reason, that thou hast chaunged it so ma­ny tymes, by the whiche chaungeable ty­mes, euerye man hathe run hedlong as it were by stepe stares downe in to the bo­thomelesse pyt of blasphemie. For after y^e first determination of true fayth, thou dy­dest put oute a nue faythe to making, cal­ling together a nue Councel at Antioche. But it is with you as it is with vnskilful builders, which being not able to discerne a thing when it is well, fynd faulte allway where none is, pullyng allwayes downe, which allwayes they must repayre & ree­difie agayne. an in the booke following. Surely it sholde become youre gentlenes [Page] to heare the voyces of them which make lowde exclamatiōs vnto you. I am a Ca­tholyke,many crye thus in England, who me Christē dome hopeth, that oure graciouse Que­ne wyll at the laste here. I wyll be no heretyke: I am a Christian, not an Arrian: & it is better for me to lese my lyfe in this worlde, then by the compulsion of any one priuate man, I sholde stayne and defyle the chaste virgini­tie, of syncere veritie.

Nowe you haue heard, what manner of seruauntes the Bishopes of that tyme Li­berius, Hosius, Athanasius, Hilariꝭ were. Howe stoutely they dyd withstand y^e wic­ked entrepryses, not of any one Prince & Lorde of one land,A compa­rison bet­wene the olde chur­che with the church of oure ti­me in de­fēding the ecclesiasti­cal autori­tie & doc­tryne. but the Emperoure of the whole worlde, how coragiously one of them durst say: Take not vpon the, o Em­peroure, to rule the roste in Ecclesiasticall matters, tel not vs what we haue to do in such cases, but rather learne those thinges at vs. What if they were a liue in oure a­ge, which almoste is no lesse accursed then theire age was, yf they dyd see not only euery prouince, but also euery citie almost to haue a seuerall faythe by them selues, and to prescribe, what the councell sholde do and determyne: I say, what wold they then do? no doubt they wolde say the very same thinges which they sayde before: we [Page 89] we be Catholykes not heretykes, we be Christians not Lutherans or Brentians: better were it for vs to suffer deathe then through any priuate man his compulsion, bereaue the truth of her maydenhode dyd Ambrose in the lyke case behaue hym selff vnlykely, the younger Valentinianꝭ Em­peroure when he was yet but a chylde vy the inforcyng of his mother, almost toke vpon hym to iudge of matters of faythe. What sayde Ambrosius to this? Dalma­tius, sayth he, the Tribune and Notarye, brought me a message from youre grace desyring me that I sholde chose Iudges, lyke as Aurentius had done. Yet he tolde not theyr names whiche were required to be iudges but he sayde thus much, y^t theyr sholde be a controuersie in the Consistory, which shold be determined by youre iud­gement. to whome as, I suppose, I shape a resonable answer, nether any mā ought to counte me obstinate in saying y^t, which youre father of worthye memory, hath vttered not onlye by worde of mouthe, but also hathe enacted by his lawes. In matters of faythe or of any Ecclesiastical order, he ought to iudge, whiche nether is vnequall in office, nor vnlyke in lawe. For [Page] these be the wordes of the decree: whiche his meanyng was that Prestes, sholde be iudges of Prestes. Besyde this, if it hap­ned that any Byshop were cōplayned on, and that a tryall or examination shold be made of his manners and behauyoure, he wolde also that suche a cause shold be iud­ged by an other Byshop. Therefore who dothe answer youre grace stubbornely, he which desyreth to haue you lyke youre fa­ther, or he whiche wolde haue you vnlyke to hym? onles peraduenture some man do think that the verdict of such an Empe­roure is not worthe a strawe, whose fayth was proued by his stedfast & constant con­fessiō, whose wysdome is also praysed far­re and neare for profyting & bettryng the cōmon weale. haue you heard most gent­le Emperoure that lay men haue at anye tyme set as iudges ouer an Bishop in cau­ses of faythe? Therefore arre we so wone with courte holy water, that is, fayre and flattring wordes, that we sholde forgette oure prestly authoritie, & that which God hathe gyuen me, sholde I put it from my selff, to an other? If a lay man must teache a Bishop, what followeth? ergo let a lay man dispute, ergo let a Byshop stand by [Page 90] as an auditor: ergo, let a Byshopp learne his lesson of a lay man. But truly if we wyl peruse ether the whole course of holy scriptures, ether the Cronicles of olde ty­me, what man can deny,Byshoppes iudges ouer Emperours in matters of faythe. but that in cases of faythe, I saye in cases of faythe, Bis­hopes were wont to be iudges ouer Em­peroures, and not Emperoures ouer Bis­hopes? By God his grace you shall lyue tyll you be an olde man, and then shal you be able to iudge, what manner of Bishop he is, which can be content that the key of prestly preeminēce shold hang at lay men­nes girdles. Your father being a man co­me to ful rypenes of yeares, sayd as God dyd put him in mynde, it is not myne of­fice to be iudge betwene Bishopes. Your grace sayth now, I ought to iudge.Amb. Epit. 33. Saint Ambrose doth not only write these thyn­ges, but also he dyd vtter them by worde of mouthe, as he him selffe declareth wri­ting to his syster: neuer troble your selff Emperoure (sayth he) thinkyng that you haue any imperial authoritie ouer diuyne thynges. Extoll not your selffe:Mat. 22. submitt youre selffe to God: it is wrytten, Gyue to God that which is due vnto God, gyue to Cesar y^t which appartayneth to Cesar. [Page] What was this to say, but euen as Petrꝭ a Soto semed to saye, come behynde me Sathan? & this he dyd, not by letters only whiche blushe not, but euen face to face in his presence.Caluin prayseth Petrus a Soto. Althoughe that Caluin be as sworne an enimie to our syde, as you Brentius for youre harte, yet bothe he highely commend the singular modestie and wys­dome of this holye fryar Petrus a Soto, ioyned with a ioly couragiousnes & stou­tenes of mynde. He denyeth (saythe Cal­uine) the Emperoure to be a mete iudge of so weyghtie a controuersye whiche in dede was contrary both to the present ne­cessitie of that tyme, and also to the conti­nuall condition and nature of the cause.

Caluin his opiniō that the Empe­rour cānot be iudge in Ecclesiasti­call causes.Lo Caluine dothe say, that the very natu­re of the thyng required, that the Empe­roure sholde be no iudge of Ecclesiasticall causes, especially in poyntes and matters of fayth. As Saint Ambrose behaued him selffe toward Valentinian, so dyd he to­warde Theodosius the Emperoure, who­me he dyd forbyd to entre in to y^e churche when he nuely returned from the bloody victory, which he had ouer his ennimies at Thessalonies: And when he had done the pe [...]aunce inioyned hym, he commaunded [Page 91] hym to departe y^e chauncell where y^e mys­teries were celebrated,Theodore. lib. 5. ca. 8. of his Ecclesiast. hist. saying those places of mysteries were for the Prestes only to come in to. And that y^e purple robe made Emperoures, but not Prestes. The which his doyng the Emperoure dyd take in so good parte, that he sayde afterwarde, that he knew none which could take vpon him lyke a Byshopp, but only Ambrose. This dyd Ambrose, nothing disamayde with y^e cruell tyranny which before was vsed of a certayne Emperoure to the blessed Mar­tyr Babila,Babila a Martyr. of whome Chrysostome dothe wryte notably, the which holye man after he had excōmunicated the Emperoure, & put hym oute of the Churche lyke a vyle & pernitiouse person, euen as a shephard dothe cast oute of the folde a scabbed and infected shepe, he had his heade stroken of. Whose foote steppes the only pryme rose pearlesse and singular example of holy­nes in oure contrie,Stanislaus a Martyr Stanislaus Bishop of Cracouia, followed. Who when he had excōmunicated the wycked Tyrant Bo­leslaus, for many mischeifes cōmitted, fea­red not to suffer a gloriouse deathe for the name of Christ.

Nowe haue you such a brasen face M. [Page] Brentius that you dare call them wycked seruauntes, whose prayse is spoken of in the vniuersall church of God,A comparison betwe­ne the Ec­clesiasticall Autorytye of Bishop­pes and the temporall authoritie of Princes. who doubt­les lyue a blyned lyffe in heauen, I saye dare you call these and suche lyke, whome it were to long a laboure to rekon vp, naughtie seruaūtes, who feare not to stir­re sedition agaynst theyr Masters, which make mo bones to pull them oute of theyr places? whilst ether they doo bequeathe them to the dyuell, for their abhominable offences, or do not suffer them to medle w^t those matters which pertayne not to their office, some tymes laying these wordes in theire dyshe, come behynde me Sathan? I graunt that Bishopes be seruauntes, but suche as of whome it is wrytten.Psal. 44. Thou shalt make them kynges ouer al the land. Whose preeminēce and rule, dothe so farr excell all temporall regiment,Chrysost. li. 3. of prestohod and of the wordes of Esa. 4. concer­nyng the preeminence of Bys­hopes. as we rea­de in Chrysostome, and Gregorius Nazi­anzene in the oration, whiche he made of the wordes of Hierimie, before the Empe­roure, as it is possible that any difference may be betwene the Spirit and the fleshe, betwene heauen and yearthe, betwene di­uine thinges and prophane. But heare in what reuerence y^e moste holy martyr Ig­natius [Page 92] hathe them.Ignatius epist. 7. ad Smyrnen­ses concer­ning hono­ryng of Byshopes. It is written (saythe he) my sone, honoure God and the Kyng. But I say, honoure in dede God as y^e au­thor and Lorde of all thing but the Bishop as the Prince of Prestes bearing the ima­ge of God principalitie according to God, but prestehode accordyng to Christ. And next vnto hym, thou must honoure the kyng. For no man is better than God, or lyke vnto hym, nether is there any more honorable in the churche then the Bisho­pe, beryng presthode vnto God, for the healthe of y^e worlde, nether to the kyng in battayle, prouiding to make peace & good wyll among al Princes. For he which ho­noureth the Bishop, shall be honoured of God: and who so dishonoreth hym, shall be dishonored of God. Howe often dothe he beate in to mennes heades, to be obedient to the Bishope? that they controle hym in no case, for it is a terrible thing to gayne say such an one. For a man despyseth not this visible man, but that inuisible God in hym who can not abyde to be despysed of any mortall man. For such an one is pro­moted not of man but of God.1. Reg. 8. For God saythe to Samuel of them which despised hym. They haue not contemned the,Exod. 16. but [Page] me. Lykewyse Moses spake vnto the peo­ple, which murmured against him, you ha­ue not murmured agaynst vs, but agaynst God. He reciteth the punishement which dyd fall vpon Core, Dathan, and Abiron: More ouer, what became to Osias and Saul the kynges, whilst they presumed to take the prestes office vpon them? so that there was neuer any nation so varbarou­se and vnciuile, but it thought theire pre­stes worthie of greate honowre and reue­rence. The presthode of the Iues, was but a shadowe in comparison of oute Christiā prestehode, yet for all that, the Bishopes of that tyme where had in suche reuerēce, that not only y^e Iues them selues, but also many of the gentiles dyd greate honoure vnto them.Ioseph. lib. 11. cap. 8 of the an­tiquitie of the Iewes. Origin. against Celsus lib. 5. Iosephus wryteth, and Origi­nes dothe report the same, and many of them, which haue cronicled the worthye Actes of Alexander, that Alexander king of the Macedonians when he obtayned not his request of Iadus y^e highe Bishopp of the Iues, stormyng and stomakyng at the matter very sore, came to Hierusalem with an armye mynding to destroy the ci­tie, and especially to vse all kynde of cru­eltie agaynst the Bishope. But when the [Page 93] Byshoppe wearing on an holy stole cam and met him of hys owne accorde accom­paned with a greate nūber of prestes and lay people, beholde the kyng which came in an anger, so sone as he spyed the Bisho­pe, ouercoming his furye, drue neare vnto the Bishoppe and worshipped hym. And afterwarde when Parmenon demaunded of the kyng, why he which was worship­ped of all men, nowe hymselffe did homa­ge vnto the Byshoppe of y^e Iues, he made aunswer that he dyd not homage to the man, but to God whose Bishopp he was. And I pray you,Attila his reuerence towarde Pape Leo. is that vnlyke vnto thys which the Story maketh mention of the Barbarouse kyng Attila, who when he had inuaded a greate part of Italie, & had s [...]oyled all with fyarr and sworde, & had shewed no mercie or pitie of any man, whē he was almost at the citye, the moste holy Bishopp Leo came oute and met him, and requested him to go no farther. Attila be­ing a fearce man otherwyse, cruell & blo­dy, who had not so muche as taken pitie vpō his brother germane,Paul. li. 15. of the Ro­mane af­fayres. whome he mur­dred, because he coulde not abyde, that he sholde be partaker with him of the kyng­dome, he dyd not only shewe greate reue­rence [Page] to the Bishop, as Paulus Diaconus wryteth, but also was obedient to his cō ­maundimentes.

See for God his sake what a thing this is? Those to whome Barbarouse kynges being very deadly ennimyes dyd think it theire dutie to do so greate honoure, that they wolde fullfyll theire commaundimē ­tes, no otherwyse then if they had taken them to be theire Masters, the very same Brentius who in God hys name wyll be counted a Gospeller, wolde not haue them in any honest & reasonable roume of ser­uauntes, but be accompted bōdslaues and pesauntes. Dothe not he here go beyond all barbarians & sauage people, with thys his barbarousnes?Act. 10. I myght here speake of Petre, whome Cornelius dyd worship­pe, of the godly honoures gyuen to Paule and Barnabas, but I wyll graunt you, y^t which you wolde haue me M. Brentius,Byshoppes in respect of theyre dutye be paynefull seruantes. that we Byshoppes be seruauntes: nether is there any kynde of seruaūtes y^t taketh greather paynes, y^t is more set to his tas­ke, y^e suffreth greater trobles of body and mynde. For what carking & caryng haue not Bishoppes, whilst they watche for the soules of them which be cōmitted to their [Page 94] charge, for the whiche they knowe, they shall gyue accoumpt, for so muche as it is sayde to euery one of them: take hede to this man, who if he shal miscarry thy sou­le, shall be punished for his:3. of the kynges cap. [...]0. Ezech. 3. And that also in Ezechiel: sone of man, I haue set the in watche ouer the howse of Israel, if when I say vnto the wycked, thou shalt dye the deathe, and thou neglect to tell my sayin­ges vnto hym, that he may returne from his wycked waye, that wycked man shall die in his owne wickednes, but his blood wyll I requyre at thy handes.Ezech. 38. For so mu­che as Byshopes be not ignorant of these and suche lyke sayinges, with which God threatneth euell pastoures, assuredly their labour is greate, and y^e troble of the myn­de greater then any man can beleue: for so muche as euery man knoweth, that y^e ty­me shall once come, when it shall be sayde vnto hym,Hiere. 13. where is thy flocke which was gyuen y^e, where is thy noble cattel? What wilt thou say for thy selffe, when he shall come and visite the, for thou doste teache agaynst thy selffe, thou doste instruct to thine owne distruction. Shal not sorrow­es come vpon the as vpon a woman tra­uayling of chylde? Beleue me o Brentius [Page] that when a good Byshop careful for his owne healthe and the healthe of the peo­ple,Heretykes do greatly encrease the laboure of By­shopes. calleth these thinges in to his mynde, he feleth incredible stinges of sorrowe in his hart: specially in these dayes, wherein you haue made thys yoke of bondage ly more heauily vpon oure neckes, whilst o­ne of you say, behold here is Christ, an o­ther, nay he is there, y^e third tushe he is in the priuie parlers,Mat. 24. y^e fourthe no loke yon­der he is in the wyldernes. With y^t which youre waueryng wordes you haue so be­witched the sely shepe, that nowe in many places they knowe not were Christ is, es­pecially in those places where contrary to the playne and euident worde of God, you haue taught them not be ruled by theire shephardes. Whereby it is nowe come to passe, that many be growen to suche bold­nes and madnes, that they say they be the Bishopes and Pastors of their owne sou­les that they shal gyue accompt for them, not the Bishoppes.what lose­nes of lyfe sectaries haue brou­ght the people vnto to So that they arre be­come vnto them selues in stede of doctou­res, in stede of Pastoures, in stede of coū ­celles, they bynde them selues, they lose theire owne consciences as they please, and because you gyue them powre to iud­ge [Page 95] of doctrine, what so euer boke cometh in to theire handes, they followe suche faythe as that boke teacheth them. This man is of the Confession of Augusta, an other of Brentius belefe, an other of O­standers, an other of Tigurine, an other of the Anabaptistes or the Citie of Mun­ster an other of y^e brethern Waldenses or Picardes, an other of the Seruetian con­fession. To be shorte,Hilar. to Constan. laste boke. that which Hilarius dyd wryte of his age, may be also verified of oure age. There be nowe so many fay­thes as theyre be fansies: there be so many doctrines as there be manners, there bud out so many causes of blasphemy as there be vyces, whilst faythes ether be ordayned as we wyll, or be vnderstanded as we wil. And whereas there is but one faythe as there is but one God, one Lorde, one Bap­tisme, we go a stray from that fayth which is one only: and whyst manye faythes be forged, they be come from naught all, to none at all. To this poynte haue you brought the worlde Brencius, whilst euery one of you studie to deuise a sundry Con­fession of youre faythe: you arre cause of this miserable and perillouse state of the Churche, and if the Byshopes were loden [Page] with anye burden of bondage before, you haue holpen to make it weyghe much mo­re heauye. But loke, how much more hea­uie y^e yoke of theyr seruitude is, the grea­ter theyre trauayle is, the more honoure is due vnto them. Therefore lyke as all wayes vnder wycked tyrauntes, whether they were suche as dyd openlye persecute Christ, or being fayned fauourers of Christ dyd vtterly race out y^e fayth of Christ, they were no better estemed then seruauntes, they were vexed with the same or rather greater punishmentes then naughtie ser­uauntes were, so howe many so euer good Kynges & Emperoures reyned, they dyd gyue vnto them hyghe honoure and re­uerence: euen as among all other we reade that Constantinus worthily called great was wont to do.

DEO GRATIAS.

AMEN.