Cap. 1.

AS it is most true, and the very grounde of al Christian com­forte,Ephes. 1. Haeb. 9. that Christes deathe hathe payed duely and suffi­cyently for the sinnes of all the worl­de,August. Euch. cap. 65. by that abundant price of redemp­tion paied vpon the Crosse: So it is of lyke crediet to all faithful, that no man was euer partaker of this singulare be­nefite, but in the knotte and vnity off his body misticall, whiche is the chur­che. To the membres wherof, the strea­mes of his holy blodde and beames off his grace, for the remission of sinne and sanctification, be ordrely, throughe the [Page 22] blessed Sacraments as condethes of goddes mercy, conueyde. All whiche Sacraments, though they be institu­ted and vsed as meanes to deriue Chri­stes benefites,Marke the grounde of the cause. and bestowe his grace of redemption vppon the worthy re­ceiuers: yett lyke effecte or force, is not by the meaning of theyre first au­thor and institutour, employed vppon all receiuers, nor gieuen to all the Sacra­ments. That may wel [...] appeare, iff we marke the exceding abundant mercy, that is powred vppon all men at theire first incorporation and entraunce into the housholde of the faithfull, by Bap­tisme: In whiche sacrament, the merites of oure masters deathe be so fully and largely caried downe for the remission of sinne, that were the liefe before ne­uer so loden withe most horrible offen­syes, that in this misery man may com­mit, yet the offender is not onely par­doned of the same, but also perfectly ac­quieted for euer, of all payne or pou­nishement (other then the common mi­series [Page] of mankind) whiche his propper offenlyes before committed by any me­anes might deserue, And no lesse free nowe then the childe after baptisme, which onely originall sinne brought thether. So saithe S. Ambrose by these wordes: Gratia Dei in Baptismate nō quae­rit gemitū, Super vn­dec. cap. ad Rom. aut planctum, aut opus aliquod, nisi solū ex corde professionē. The grace of God in Baptisme requirethe nether so­rowe nor mourning▪ nor any other woorke, but onely an hearty profession of thy faith. Whereby he meaneth, that after oure sinnes be once thus freely wyped awaye in oure first regenera­tion, there is no charge of pounishe­ment or paenaunce for farther release of the same.

But nowe a man that is so freely dis­charged of all euill liefe and sinne com­mitted before he came in to the fami­lye, yff he faule in to relapse, and defile the temple of god,Note then (as goddes mer­cy allwayes passethe mannes malice) e­uen in this case also, he hathe ordeyned [Page 23] meanes to repayre mannes faule agey­ne. That is, by the Sacrament of paena­unce: which therfore, S. Hierō termethe the second table,In cap. 3. Isai. or refuge after ship wracke: as a meanes that may bringe man to the porte of saluation, though lightely not with oute present dam­mage and daungeour. In which blessed sacrament, though goddes grace haue mighty force for mannes recouery, and workethe abundantly bothe remis­sion of sinnes, and the discharge of ae­ternall poonishement due by iuste iud­gement to the offender, yet Christe him selfe (the author of this Sacrament as the rest) ment not to communicate suche efficacye or force to this,The force of Chri­stes death is not so largely applyed vnto vs in the sacra­ment off p [...]un­ce as in Baptisme. as to bap­tisme, for the vtter acquieting of all payne by sinfull life deserued. For as in Baptisme, where mā is perfectly renued, it was semely to set thoffender at his first entraūce on cleare grounde, and make him free for al thinges done a brode: so it excedingly setteth forth goddes iu­stice, and nothing imparethe his mer­cy, [Page] to vse (as in all common well­thes by nature and goddes prescrip­tion is practised) withe grace discipline, withe iustice clemencye, withe fa­uoure correction, and with loue, due chastisement of suche sinnes, as haue by the how should children bene com­mitted.

Nowe therefore, if after thy free ad­mission to this family of Christ, thou doo greuously offende, remission maye then be had ageyne: but not common­ly with owte sharpe discipline, seeing the father of this oure holy houshowld poonisheth where he louethe,Ad Hab. 12. and chastisethe euery childe whome he re­ceiueth. Whose iustice in pounishe­ment of sinne, not onely the wicked, but also the good must muche feare. Whereof S. Augustine warneth vs thus: Deus (saithe he) nec iusto parcit, nec iniu­sto: Lib tra Fauscū cap. 20. illum stagellando vt filium, istum punien­do vt impium. God sparethe nether the iuste, nor vniust: chastising thone as his childe, pounishing the other as a wic­ked [Page 24] person.

A childe then of this houshowlde contynuing in fauoure, though he can not euerlastingly perishe withe the im­poenitent sinners, yet he muste (being not by som especiall praerogatiue par­doned) beare the rodde of his fathers discipline. And gladly say with the pro­phet. In flagella paratus sum. Psal. 37. I am redy for the roddes. And what so euer these wantons, that are ronne owte of this howse, for theire owne ease or other mennes flattery shall fourge, let vs con­tinue in perpetuall cogitation of oure sinnes forgeuen: and by all meanes pos­sible recompense oure negligencyes pa­ste. Let vs not thinke but God hathe sumwhat to say to vs, euen for oure offensyes pardoned: being thus warned by his owne mouthe. Sed habeo aduersum te pauca, Apo. [...].2. quòd charitatem tuam primam re­liquisti: Memor esto itaque vnde excideris, & age poenitentiam, & prima opera fac. But somwhat I haue ageynst the, bicause thowe arte faullen from thy first loue, [Page] Remembre therfore from whense thowe felle, doo paenaunce, and be­ginne thy former woorkes agayne. And the consideration of this diuer­sity betwixte remission had by bap­tisme, and after relapse by the sacrament of paenaunce, moued Damascen to call this second remedy,Deorth. fide lib. 4. cap. 9. Baptismum vere la­boriosum, quod per paenitentiam & lachri­mas perficitur. A kynd of Baptisme full of trauell, by paenaunce and teares to be wroght. In whiche God so pardone-the sinnes, that bothe the offense it self, and the euerlasting payne due for the same being wholy by Christes dea­the and merites wieped away, there may yet remayne the debt of temporall poonishment on oure parte to be dis­charged, as well for som satisfaction of goddes iustice, ageynst the aeternall or­dre wherof we vnworthely offended, [...] Cap. [...]. as for to answer the Churche of her right (as S. Austine saithe) in whiche onely all sinnes be forgeuen.

Mary when occasion of satisfiyng [Page 25] for oure offensyes in this lyefe is ne­glected, or lacke of tyme, by reason off longe continuance and laite repenta­unce, fuffereth not due recompense in oure lyefe, whiche is the tyme of mer­cye, then certes the hande of God shall be muche more heuy, and the poonish­ment more greuous. And this is withe oute doubte to be looked for, that the debt due for sinne, muste ether here by payne or pardon be discharged, or elles to oure greater greife after oure depar­ture required.

And this to be the graue doctryne and constant faithe of the fathers I must first declare: bothe for that it shall firmely establishe oure whole mater, and clearely open the case of contro­uersy betwixt vs and the forsaken com­pany. Who woulde so gladly lyeue at ease in theyre onely faithe, that they list nether satisfye for theire sinnes, nor procure goddes mercy by wel wor­kyng. In this case then let vs seeke the ordre of goddes iustice, by the diligent [Page] consideration of som notable persona­gies, of whome we may haue by the plaine scripture euident testimony bo­the of the remission of theire sinnes, and theyre paenaunce and pounishment after they were reconciled ageyne.

Adā that first did faule, and vvas first pardoned did yet a­bide the skourge for his sinnes.Oure first father Adam, in whome we may behoulde almost the whole course of goddes iudgemēt, and throu­ghe whome bothe sinne and all pou­nishment due for sinne entred in to the worlde, I thinke he had the first bene­fite by Christes deathe for the remissi­on of his disobedience: or at the leaste (bicause I woulde not auouche an vn­certeyne thinge) this I am shure, that by Christe he was raysed vp to goddes fauoure ageyne. Of whome we fynde it thus written in in the booke of wis­dom.Cap. 10. Haec illum qui primus formatus est pater orbis terrarum, cum solus esset crea­tus, custodiuit: & eduxit illum a delicto suo. This (saithe he, meaning by Christ vn­der the name of wisdom) salfely prae­serued him that was first formed off [Page 26] God, the father of the worlde, when he was created all a lone: and raysed him oute of his sinne ageyne. The whiche disobedience (withe what other sinne so euer was therunto in him ioy­ned) thoughe it was thus clearly par­doned, yet the poonishment therof, bo­the he felte longe after in his owne per­son, and it lyethe vpon his posterity till this day. For whiche sinne he him selfe begane to doo paenaunce (as Ire­naeus saithe) euen in paradise:Li. 3. c. 33 and then God practised iudgement vpon him (as Augustine noteth) first by his di­senhaeretaunce, then by paynefull tra­ [...]ell inioyned, by the vnaptnesse off [...]he earthe to serue his tourne, by re­bellioune of the inferiour creatures, by the trooblesom motions of his owne affections, and bryefely, in all poyntes by a lothsom lyefe and a dredfull dea­the. Yea and that his pounishment cea­sed not in this worlde by his deathe, but many hundrethe yeres after remay­ned as forther condemnation of his [Page] disobedience, I shall more conuenyent­ly a none declare.

Nowe sekyng forther to haue cleare and open euidence in this case, we can not wisshe more proufe then may bee had by the straunge workyng and dis­pensation of God, in the many foulde affaires of that sanctified people, and chosen nation of the Israelites. In whiche peoples perpetuall peotection, a man might fiend a perfecte platte off mercy and iudgement. So often they faule, so sodenly they rise: so greuous­ly they offende, suche mercy they fynd, that it is maruelous to consider. Of this electe family therfore thus God speakethe.Psal. 88. Si autem dereliquerint filij eius legem meam, & in iudicijs meis non ambu­lauerint, visitabo in virga iniquitates eorū, & in verberibus peccata eorum: misericor­diam autem meam non dispergam ab eo, ne­que nocebo in veritate mea. Yf his children reiect my lawe, and waulke not in my iudgementes, withe rodde will I viset theire wickednes, and in stripes theyre [Page 27] sinnes: yet will I not take my mercy frō him (or theyme, as it is allso redde) nor harme him in my trauthe.Goddes penple first par­doned, vvas then after poo­nished. This people, at theire first passage oute of E­gipte commytting horrible Idolatrye, was pardoned therof at the instaunce of Moises: yet so saithe oure lorde God vnto him. Ego autem in die vltionis, Exod. 32. vi­sitabo & hoc peccatum eorum: But yet in the day of reuengement, I will viset this theire offense also. The same peo­ple offending greuously ageine by mur­moure and mistrust of goddes carefull prouidence towardes theyme, at theire Gouernours humble sute were expres­sely forgiuen in these wordes.Numer. 14 Dimisi iuxta verbum tuum. I haue pardoned theime according to thy worde. But af­ter theire assured warraunt for the full remission of the fault, and the aeternall payne due to that greuous sinne, be­houlde yet theire ponishment tempo­rall for the same. Attamen omnes homines qui viderunt maiestatem &c. For all that (saithe oure lord) euery one that ha­the [Page] seene my maiesty, and the woon­ders whiche I wroght in Egipte, and in the wildernesse, and yet hathe not­wythstanding tempted me tenne ty­mes, shall not behoulde the land for whiche I bounde my selfe by othe to theire forefathers. But passing the peo­ples sinne, Moises and Aron theime sellfe, in many poyntes minister abun­dant proufe of this mater. Who bothe dying in perfecte fauoure of God, yet for theire mistrust weare discharged of gieding goddes people,Num. 20. or entringe theime sellfe in to the lande so hartely desired, and so long looked for before▪ of these two the prophet saith thus: Cu­stodiebant testimonia eius et praeceptum quod dedit illis. Psal. 98. Deus tu propitius fuisti eis, & vlciscens, in omnes adinuentiones eorum. They obserued his testimonyes, and the charge that he gaue vnto theime. Lord God thou wast mercifull vnto theime, and sharply reuenged theyre owne inuentions. The lyke ordina­unce of goddes iustice in poonishment [Page 28] of suche as he highly fauoured, may ap­peare in Samson, in Holy,Iudic. 16. 1. Reg. 3. and all other notarious personages in the whole scri­pture.

But the heartely beloued of God kinge Dauids example so bearethe dou­ne oure aduersaryes, that I can not well omit it, thoughe I nowe longe to be nearer my mater. This prophet had an eypresse pardon, withe a plaine prouiso that he shulde notwithstanding beare the heuy hand of God, for the poonish­ment of his former sinne. Once for ta­king priede in the multitude and num­bryng of his people, God, thoughe he pardoned him,2. Reg. vlt. yet by the Prophet Gad gaue him leaue to chuese of three na­med skourges, whiche he woulde: to whome he answhered. Coarctor nimis: sed melius est incidere in manus domini, mul­tae enim sunt misericordiae eius. I am sore vrged: but better it is to faule in to God­des handes, for his mercyes be exceding many. And so according to his electi­on, he had many thousandes of his [Page] people perished by Goddes plage. Off whose case, S. Gregory saithe maruai­lous muche in these fewe wordes. Deus delictum delet, sed inultum non deserit: pec­cato non parcitur, quia sine vindicta non laxatur. Li. 9. in Iob. ca. 82. God wyepeth a way mannes offense, but he leauethe it not vnpoo­nished: sinne is not spared, because it is not withe oute reuenge released. But before this, he had a full warraunt off remission of his horrible mourder and adoultery, by the prophet Nathan, sa­ing vnto him thus after his repenta­unce.2. Reg. 12. Dominus quoque transtulit peccatum tuum, non morieris: veruntamen quoniam blasphemare fecisti inimicos nomen domini propter verbum hoc, filius qui natus est tibi morte morietur. Oure lorde hathe remo­ued thy sinne: neuerthelesse, bicause thou hast made thenimyes blaspheme our lordes name by this woorde, thy sonne whiche is borne vnto the shall dye the deathe. Off whiche mater S. Augustine by occasion taulking ageinst Fanstus, asketh what maner of pardon [Page 29] it was,Lib. 23. cap. 67. that the prophet brought from God vnto Dauid. And he answhereth thus. Ad quam rem nisi ad sempiternam salutim? neque enim praetermissa est in illo, secundum Dei comminationem, flagelli pa­terni disciplina. To what ende elles (had he his pardon) but to euerlasting salua­tion? For he scaped not the skourge of his fathers discipline, according as the threatning of God before did portend. All the forsaide examples then being so euident, they must nedes conclude this assuredly, that after oure offenses be re­mitted, there commonly yet remai­neth summe payne and righte debt, to be discharged by the offenders ponishe­ment, before he receiue the ample be­nefite of aeternall saluation.

Cap. 2.

ANd the weght of this foresaide grounde, ha­the euer pressed the ad­uersaries of truethe so sore, that behoulding as it were a farre of, what inconuenience this might importe, they euer busely endeuoured to staye the beginning of theyre likly ouer­throw. But yet (as it was and wil be for euer noted in faulse teachers) they seke diuers escapes, so disagreable, that one hindereth an other, and nether of they­me helpes theire owne cause. One sorte not so impudēt, but agreate deale more foulishe then theire felowes, agree by force of the places mamed and euidēce of the examples, that there is pounishe­ment to be suffered, and som temporall payne remanent to be discharged in this world,Melanch. after remission of sinne, but for the next after this liefe (so ferde they be of purgatory) they will haue [Page 30] none at all. Thother secte maisters fea­ring what might folowe on that gra­unt, in no case will confesse, that there is any payne due for sinne, in this worlde or the next, after the fault be once remitted. For Caluine capitayne of this later bande, sawe well,Caluinus. that if a­ny debt or recompense remayne to be discharged by the offender after his re­concilement, it muste neades ryse by proportion, weght, continuance, num­bre, and quātity of the faultes commit­ted before. Whereby it must of necessi­ty be induced, that bicause euery man can not haue time, ether for the houge­nesse of his sinnes past, or his late re­pentaunce, or his carelesse nagligence, to repay all in his liefe, that there is all, or som parte answherable in the nexte worlde to coom. And therfore boulde­ly and impudently, as in case of this ne­cessity, he aduentureth to deny withe shame, that any of all these paynefull miseries be as pounishements for the sinnes of the sufferers: but certeyne fa­therly [Page] checkes, exercises of patience and vertue, rather then afflictions en­ioyned for sinnes. Whiche vaine shifte hathe no bearing by reason, or text of scripture: but onely is vphoulden by the exercised audacity of the author. S. Paul in plaine wordes writethe: Corpus mor­tuum est propter peccatum, Ad Ro. 6 Vide Au­gust. super illud psal. 50. in peccatis conce­pit me mater mea. & stipendium peccati mors est. The body is deade be­cause of sinne. And deathe is the re­warde of sinne. And so of Dauid: bi­cause thowe haste slayne Vrias, Non re­cedet gladius de domo tua saith the scrip­ture: the swhorde shall not depart thy howse. And ageyne, bicause thowe hast made the enemies blaspheme my name, thy childe shall dye. And of the people of Israell: Visitabo & hoc peccatum eorum. I will viset this sinne of theyres also. Yet in this lighte of scripture, where, as the pounishement is named, so it is expressely mentioned that sinne is the proper cause thereof, the aduersary see­kethe a blinde mieste, to dase the sim­plicyty of the reader, and to mainteyne [Page 31] errour. It helpethe oure cause exceding muche, that the very shewe of an argu­ment, dryues theyme to suche vnsee­mely shiftes. S. Augustines wordes shal for me sufficiently refute this errour, Veritatem dilexisti, impunita peccata eorum etiam quibus ignoscis, non reliquisti. In psa. 50 (He speakethe to god in the Prophets per­son). Thowe loues righteousnes, and hast not lafte vnpounished, no not the sinnes of theyme whome thow louest. Notwithstanding, this is verye true: that all these afflictions thoughe they come of sinne, and for the rewarde of mānes offensies, yet God of mercy tur­nethe theyme to the exercise of vertue,August. lib 2. de pecca to mer. cap 33. and benefit of suche as shall be sayued. But it is one thing to dispute of what cause they come, and an other to reason of the wisedom of God in the vse of the same. Who, as the sayde Augustine witnesseth, is so mighty in his proui­dent gouernaunce, that he is able to tourne, euen the very sinnes theyme selues, to the benefite of suche as by [Page] grace and mercy shall be raysed vppe to saluation. And muche more is he ready to frame the pounishement whiche he him selfe of iustice workethe for corre­ction of sinners, to the saluation of the electe.

But nowe the other sorte which be more curteise,The con­futation of the se­cond opi­nion. and confesse that in this worlde the iust may suffer of reason for his sinnes already remitted, but not in the nexte liefe, as theire doctrine is very vntrue, so it geueth greate license and liberty to euil lyuers, and is the ve­ry moother of praesumption. For if man weare s [...]ere to be discharged at his de­parture hense of all payne for his sin­nes, then certes weare it madnesse, to trauell in this life forther for his offen­syes, then he must of necessitye. Yea more, it makethe the case of greuous sinners tyll the houre of theyre deathe (so that they then at last repent) much better, then of smaulle offenders con­uerted longe before. For these must be pounished in theyre liefe, thother can [Page 32] not be pounished (as these suppose) af­ter theyre deathe. What a vayne absur­dity is this, that the prophet offending once or twise in all his tyme, shoulde suffer so heuy iudgement: and the party whiche abidethe in wickednesse tyll thende of his liefe, when sin rather lea­ueth him, then he sinne, must bicause of his late conuersion, withe out payne be caried at ease to heauen? This is not doubtlesse semely to Goddes iustice and ordinaūce, whose waies be truethe and vprightnesse.Homil. 11. in Leuit. Est apud iudicem iu­stum poenae moderatio, non solum pro qua­litate, sed etiam pro quantitate. To a iust iudge there must be consideratiō had of pounishement, bothe for the quality and quantity (so saith Origen). And the holy scripture thus. Quantum glori­ficauit se, & in delitijs fuit: tantum date illi tormentum & luctum. Looke hou highe she exalted her sellfe, and hou delicately she lieued: and geue her so muche wo and torment ageyne,Cap. 16. It is spoken as of Babylon in the reuelations of S. [Page] Iohn.

And bicause this toucheth our mat­ter, and the very point thereof: I will stand withe the aduersary the longer. Here then I aske him, why God ta­kethe pounishement in this worlde, for sinne allready remitted? His answher must nedes be, for the reuenge and hate­red of sinne, and satisfiyng of iustice. Now thē doth god practise iudgment and iustice no wher but in this world? Or if it be not here answhered, bicause of lacke of space, or late recōciliation of the offender, shall oure lorde of neces­sity be forced to remitte the debt, and release his sentence of iustice for lacke of meanes to pounishe in an other wo­rlde? No no, Goddes hāde is not abbrid­ged by the terms of this liefe. Late re­pentaunce can be a benefite to no man: God forbed it shoulde. Especially seing poonishement and iudgement for sin (as many learned doo suppose, and as rea­son withe scripture bearethe) properly apperteineth not to this worlde, but by [Page 33] a speciall grace, and singulare benefite, whiche God of peety graunteth to su­che as he louethe, that they may here praeuent his angre: whiche elles in the nexte lyefe shoulde be found more greuous, wher properly is the reward of sinne, and iudgement kept ordinarily for the same. As it is plaine mercy and grace, when man may take pounish­ment of him selfe (as S. Paule saithe) and be his owne correctour,1. Cor. 11. to auoyde the iudgement of God. And therof the nexte liefe is termed commonly dies domini: where there is no place for ou­re woorking, but sufferance alone: whe­re the accompt of mannes lyefe must be straitly required, and the sinnes euen of the iust, not otherwise amendid, sharply visited.Euseb. Emiss. ho­mil de di­uersis viti Therfor if Melanch­thon graunt that the rightuous and re­conciled persons, may iustly beare the skourge of God, for satisfying for their sinnes before pardoned, in this worlde, where, thoughe poonishment be ex­ercised for wickednesse properly, yet at [Page] the least not so ordinarilye as in the next, where God hathe laide vp the greate store of rewarde, as well for the good as the badde: he muste neades by force of reason acknouledge, that the worlde to coom is no lesse (iff it be not more) apoynted of oure lorde for iuste iudgeing of oure faultes forgiuen, then the tyme of this present lyefe, where as many an euill lyeuer escapeth all poo­nishment, so diuerse of greate vertue suffer full greuous torments. Excel­lently well saide S. Augustine:Euch. c. 6. Multa mala hic videntur ignosci, & nullis supplicijs vindicari: sed eorum paenae reseruantur in posterum &c: muche euil may seeme he­re to be pardoned, and with out all poonishment released: but the paine for suche thinges is reserued tyll the worl­de to com.

But let vs steppe a fout farther, and yet so muche nearer the matter: and note well whether we may fynde any case, where the payment for sinnes re­mitted, passeth the bondes of this lye­fe, [Page 34] and so required in the nexte▪ that by plaine dealing and orderly proceadinge,Marke vvell that God pounisheth in the nexte life, the sinnes of the iuste. we may the better instructe the simple, confounde the aduersary, and make truethe stand vpon it selfe.

Consider then withe me that oure first father pardoned of his sinne, as I proued before, was poonished for the same, and withe him all the iuste off those dayes, not only in the time of this praesent mortall lyefe, but many hun­drethe yeres after theire departure. For whose deliuery, the Catholike Chur­che houldeth and oure Crede teacheth [...]lso, that our master Christ descended doune in to helle. And that no man he­ [...]e be deceyued, he must vnderstande, [...]hat it was no smaule pounishment to be banished so many worldes to gether from the lande of the lyeuing, and to [...]acke the ioyfull fruition of heauens blisse: whiche of it sellfe, but that it was not aeternall,Augu. En chi. ca. 112 had ben more then all tem­porall paynes, that may be suffered, And this to be one of those miseryes whiche [Page] oure first fathers disobediēce wrought and so to be payne for sinne, I think [...] euery wise man will confesse. Yea [...] was the greatest dominion of sinne tha [...] coulde be, for the ouerthrow of whiche, Christ him sellfe vouchsaulfed to entre in to the lande of darknes. It is called of the Prophet, lacus sine aqua [...] a lake withe oute water:zach. 9. 1. Pet. 3. And of th [...] Apostle Carcer, a prieson. Where the fa­thers be also named, vincti tui, thine that were bounde. Wherby we must vnderstande that Christ had a flocke impriesoned and bounde, for the debt of sinne in a nother worlde. But that we may make inuincible proufe, that this theire captiuity was a iuste inioy­ned plage and paenalty for sinne, we must report what we finde in auncy­ent Ireneus of this matter. And he af­firmeth that Adam was iudged and condemned for his wilfull faule, till Christes coomming,Li. 3. ca. 33 in these wordes. Necesse fuit dominum ad perdicam ouem venientem & tandem despositionis recapitu­lationem [Page 35] facientem, & suum plasma requi­entem, illum ipsum hominem saluare qui fa­ [...]tus fuer at secundum imaginem & similitu­ [...]inem eius, id est Adam: implentem tempo­ [...]a eius condemnationis, quae facta fuerat pro­ [...]ter inobedientiam▪ and streght after. [...]olutus est condemnationis vinculis, qui cap­ [...]iuus ductus fuerat homo, thus I englishe [...]: It was necessary that oure lorde com­ming to the lost shepe, and making a re­ [...]apitulation of his apoynted ordina­ [...]nce, and vew of his owne hande­woorke, should also saue the same man whiche was fourmed after his owne i­mage and liknesse: I meane Adam, then fulfillinge the tyme of that condemna­tion whiche was for his disobedience apoynted, and so the man ledde in to captiuity was released of the bondes of his condemnation.

Eusebius Emissenus yet more expres­sely helpethe oure cause, as foloweth.Homil. 1. de festo Pasch. Confestim igitur aeterna nox inferorum, Christo descendente, resplenduit: siluit stri­dor ille lugentium, & Cathenarum disruptae [Page] ceciderunt vincula damnatorum. Out off hand at Christes comming in to helle, that aeternal darkenesse shyened bright: the gnasshing of the mourners ceased, and the brosten bandes of condemned persons, fell from theyme. Here loe ma­ny one, by the iudgement of this holy writer, were loused from muche mise­ry by Christes descending doune. Where, to oure purpose we must espe­cially be aduertised, that all the iuste in those inferiour partes were not in lyke faelicitye withe our father Abraham, or other of suche perfect holinesse: (all­thoughe he also suffered the common lacke, in longe looking for translation to ioy) for som there were of meaner vertue, and yet in the fauour of God, whiche suffered personall paine for purginge and recompense of theire sin­nes committed in this lyefe:Som vver released of paine, at Chri­stes descē. of whome this Author semeth to meane.

And as S. Augustine supposethe, the scripture must nedes import suche a lyke thinge: vndoubtedly teaching that [Page 36] Christe was not onely in the place off rest, where Abraham and other in his harbour were, but allso in placyes off torment, wich coulde not touche his holy person:Act. 2. Quem Deus suscitauit solutis doloribus inferni: Whome God raised vp agayne after he had lowsed helle pai­nes. Thus saithe this holy Author. Quia euidentia testimonia & infernum cō ­memorant & dolores, nulla causa occurrit, Epist. [...]9. cur illò credatur venisse Saluator, nisi vt ab eius doloribus saluos faceret: sed vtrum omnes quos incis inuenit, an quosdam quos illo beneficio dignos iudicauit, adhuc requi­ro: suisse tamen eum apud inferos, & in eorū doloribus consttutis hoc beneficium prestitisse non dabito: Bicause (saith he) euident testimonies make mention bothe off Helle and paines, I see not why we shoulde belieue that oure Sauiour came thether, but to discharge som off the paines therof: mary whether he loused all, or summe whome he thoght woor­thy of that benefite, that woulde I le­arne. For I am out of doubt he was in [Page] helle, and bestowed that gracious beni­fite vpon som that were in paines▪ thus far spake Augustine. Let no man here take occasion to thinke that this fa­ther ment of any release of the damned in the inferious helle: for that errour he euer detested, and writeth ernestly a­geinst Origen for the same.De fide & operibus cap. 16. Then it must neds be, that he spake of som whi­che were in paine and torment, and yet woorthy to receyue mercy▪ (so he ter­methe theire estate bothe here,Cap. 33. and in the .xij. booke of the literall exposition on the Genesis, where he hathe the sa­me wordes with more large proufe of the conclusion) whiche nether agre­eth with the state of Abrahams rest, nor yet with the forsaken soules. And the name of helle is nowe common­ly taken for any one of the inferiour partes, where God practiseth iudge­ment for sinne euerlastingly or tempo­rally: thoughe (as Augustine saithe) it can not be founde in plane scripture, that Abrahams happy resting place [Page 37] shoulde be termed Hell, or Infernum.

But I nede not seeke forther in the deape mistery of Christes affaires in the inferioure partes. For as I am not ashamed to be ignoraunt vpon whom he bestowed the grace of deliuery, so with Augustine, or rather with God­des Church, I dare belieue, that he lou­sed sum, vppon whome he exercised iudgement before. And forther maye bouldely auouche, that as ther were cer­taine at his coomming doune, not vn­worthy after longe paines tolerated to be released in his praesens, so there be yet some, which by mercy and meanes of goddes Churche be released dayly. Not of that sorte whiche died oute of Goddes fauour:Bernard. ser. de. s. Nicolao. Quibus clausa est ianua misericordiae, & omnis spes interclusa salu­tis: Vppon whome the doore of mercy, and the hope of helthe be closed and shutt vp for euer, but of the iust depar­ted in faith and piety, and yet not ful­ly pourged of all corruption of iniqui­ty.

Let thenimyes of Goddes truethe comme now, and deny if they can for shame, that Goddes iustice for sinnes remitted, reacheth not sometimes to the placies of poonishement in the ne­xte liefe: let theime withe purgatory rase vp the fathers resting place so plai­nely set fourthe by scripture, beleued of the whole Church, and alwaies tought by the holy fathers. Yea let theime that will hauno pleace for sinners, fiende with blasphemy, hell like torments for Goddes oune Sonne, with the damned spirites. My hearte surely will scarse serue me to report it, and yet cursed Caluine was not a fearde to write it: and with arrogant vauntes ageynste the blessed fathers, to auouche the same. That miserable forsaken man sawe, that the onely graunt of the oulde fathers poonishmēt by the lacke of euerlasting ioy, might of force drieue him to ac­knowledge, that God sometimes exer­ciseth his iustice vppon those whiche he loueth, in the next liefe: and so con­sequently [Page 38] that Purgatory paines might be inferred therevppon, therefore he fel hedlong to this horrible blasphemy,Caluins blasphe­my vpon the article of Chri­stes de­scention. that Christe went not to lowse any from the paines of the next liefe, but to be pounished in hell with the deadly damned him selfe, for to amend the lacke of his passion vppon the Crosse. O oure cursed time, O corrupte condi­tions: this beaste writeth thus ageinst oure blessed sauiours death, and ageinst the sufficiency of the abundant price of our redemption: and yet he lieueth in mannes memory, yea his bookes be greedely redde, redde? Nay by suche as woulde be counted the chiefe of the cleargie, and beare bishops names, they are commaunded to be redde: and the very booke wherein this and all other detestable doctrine is vttered,The hae­retikes priuely sett forth by bookes that vvhiche they dare not openly preach. especially by theire authoritie commendid to the simple curates study: that they might there lerne closely in deuilishe bookes, suche wicked haeresies as the preachers theime selues dare not yet in the light [Page] of the worlde vtter nor maintaine.

But other be not so farre faullen, therefore they must of reason confesse, that God by iust correction, hathe be­fore Christes coomming visited in the next worlde many hundred yeares to gether, the sinnes of those whome he dearly loued. Althoghe not onely in all that time, the soules of the holy Pa­triarches felt the lacke of the abundant fruition of the Maiesty, but also for sin they bothe then in rest,Excepting som that by pecu­liure prae­rogatiue haue al­redy receyued theire bo­dyes. and nowe in vnspeakable foelicity, want till this day the increase of ioy and blesse, that by the receiuing of there bodies yet liyng in doust, they are vndoubtedly suer of. Therfore it is ouer much praesumption to limit the maiesty of God in the go­uernement of his owne creatures, to the borders of our shorte liefe, and all­most it toucheth his very prouidence withe iniury, to say that he letteth him skape withoute poonishement for his sinnes, that repented not till the houre of deathe: as for whome he hath [Page 39] no skourge in the next liefe, as he had here, if deathe had not preuented his purporse. These childishe cogitations can not stand with the righteousnesse of his will, that for the first sinne com­mitted, doothe not onely pounishe ma­ny euerlastingly of the forsaken sorte, but also for the same, poonisheth bothe his best beloued in earthe, and for a time abbatithe the foelicitye of the blessed Sanctes in heauen. But I will not stray after these men. My matter is so fruct­full that I may not roue. And thoughe the sectes of these dayes haue so infe­cted euery branche of oure Christian faithe, that a man can not well ouer­passe theyme what so euer he taketh in hande, yet I will not medle withe the­ime no forther, then shall concerne the quicke of oure cause, and the necessary light of our matter.

Cap. 3.

THis being then proo­ued, that God him selfe hathe often visited the sinnes of suche as were very deare vnto him, let vs nowe diligently behoulde the graue authority of lousing and bin­ding sinnes, and the courte of mannes conscience whiche Christe woulde haue kepte in earthe by the Apostles and Pastours of our soules: where we neade not doubt but to finde the very resemblaunce of Goddes disposition and ordinaunce, in poonishing or par­doning offensies. For the honoure and poure of this ecclesiasticall gouerne­ment, is by especiall commission so am­ple,Note. that it conteineth not onely the preaching of the ghospell and ministe­ry of the Sacraments, but that whiche is more neare to the mighte and maie­sty [Page 40] of God, and onely aperteynethe to him by propriety of nature, the very exacte iudgement of all our secret sin­nes, with lousing and binding of the same.Ioan. 5. For as God the father gaue al iud­gement to his onely Sonne, so he at his departure hense, to the honour of his spouse and necessary giding of his peo­ple, did communicate the same in most ample maner (as S. Chrisostom saithe) to the Apostles and priestes for euer: that they practising in earthe terrible iudgement vpō mānes misdedes, might fully repraesent vnto vs the very sen­tence of God in poonishement of wic­kednesse in the worlde to coome.Lib. de sa­cer. 3. The princes of the earthe haue poure to binde too, but no further then the bo­dy, but this other (saith he) reachethe to the soule it selfe, and practised here in the worlde benethe (which is a stra­unge case) hath force and effect in he­auē aboue. The poure of all potentates, vnder the maiesty of the blessed Trini­ty, in heauen and earthe, is extreme basenesse [Page] compared to this.

By this graue authority therfore, the pastors and priestes imitating goddes iustice, haue exercised continually poo­nishement, frō the springe of Christian religion, downe till these daies, vppon al sinners: perpetually enioyning for sa­tisfiyng of goddes wrathe, poenaunce and woorkes of correction, ether be­fore they would absolue theime, as the oulde vsage was, or elles after the re­lease of theire offensies, wiche now of late for graue causes hath bene more v­fed. In whiche sentence of theire iudg­ment we plainely see, that as there was euer accompt made emongest all the faithfull of paine due vnto sinne, thou­ghe the very offense it selfe and the gil­tinesse (as yow woulde saye) thereof, were forgiuen before: so we maye ga­ther that it was euer enioyned by the priestes holy ministery, after the quali­ty and quantity of the faulte commit­ted. Whereupon they charged som mea­ner offenders with certaine praiers o­nely [Page 41] other with large allmose, diuerse with longe fasting, many withe peri­lous peregrinations, sum with suspen­ding frō the sacramentes, and very gre­uous offenders, with curse and excom­munication.

Wherby thou maiste not onely proue that there is paine to be suffred for thy sinnes,Excom­munica­tion hath the image of goddes iustice in the vvorld to coom. but allso haue a very image of that misery whiche in the next lyefe may faule, not only to the damned for euer, but allso to all other whiche neglected in this tyme of grace the fructes of poenaunce, and woorkes of satisfaction for thanswer of theyre lieues past. This greate correction of excommunication and separation from the sacramentes,Virgam. S. Paule termeth the rodde, wherwith he often threatened offenders:1. ad Timo. yea and somtymes thoughe it was with greate sorowe (the pou­nishment was so extreame) he mighte­ly in Goddes steade occupied the same.Cap. 2. 1. Cor. 5. As once ageinst Himemeus and Alex­ander: and another tyme towardes a [Page] Corinthian, vpon whome, being ab­sent, he gaue sentence of theire delyue­ry vppe to Satan: not to be vexed off him as Iob was for thencrease of me­rite,In 1. ad Cor. ca. 5. (saithe Chrisostom) but in theire flesshe meruelously to be tormented for paiment for theire greuous offensyes: and as the Apostle writeth of the Co­rinthian, that his soule might be false in the day of oure lorde.

This poonishment was euer by cut­ting of from the Christiane society, and often ioyned with torment of bo­dy or sicknesse. And sumtymes withe deathe.Act. 5. Note. As in thexcommunication off Ananias and Zaphiras: Whiche Chri­stes vicar S. Petre, to the greate terrour euen of the faithfull, grauely pronoun­ced on theyme for retayning backe cer­tayne Churche gooddes, whiche by promesse they had before dedicated vn­to god and thapastles distribution.

August. de Carrep. & gra. ca.. 5.This kinde of poonishment of sin­ners was euer counted so terrible, that we fiend it caulled of the oulde fathers [Page 42] damnation:Ita Greg [...]. Nis. orat. de Castigatione. as one that most resembles the paynes of the worlde to coom off all other. And iff man coulde see withe corporall eyes the misery of the party so condemned in Goddes church, his hearte would brast: and it would moue terroure of forther damnation euen to the stubborne contemners off the Churches authoritye. The which cen­sure of goddes priestes, thoughe it was sumtymes to the euerlasting woe off suche offenders as neglected the bene­fite of that present payne, yet common­ly it was but chastisement and louing correction of oure deare moother, for theire deliuery from greater greefe in the lyefe to coom.

And for this cause, as thexample off all agies past may sufficiently proue,Aug. Euch cap. 65. were certeyne tymes and ordinary ter­mes of poenaunce apoynted, for iuste satisfaction for euery offense: and by the holy Canons so limited, that no sinne weetingly might be reserued to Goddes [...]euy reuenge in the end of oure short [Page] dayes. It were to longe to reporte the rueles and prescription of poenaunce, out of Nice Councell or Ancyre: [...]icen c▪ 12. Ancyre. 5 or out of S. Cyprian, for theire pounishment that fell to Idolatry in the tyme of De­cius and Diocletianus: or out of Am­brose, the notable excommunication of Theodosius themperour. By al whi­che and the lyke, in the historys of the ecclesiasticall affaires, he that can not see what payne is due vnto sinne, euen after the remission therof, I houlde him bothe ignorant and malitious blinde. And if any man yet doubt why, or to what ende the Church of Christ thus greuously tormenteth her oune children, by so many meanes of heuy correction, whome she might by good authoritye freely release of theire sin­nes, let him assuredly know, that she coulde not so satisfye goddes iustice al­wayes, by whome she houldeth h [...] authoritye to edifye and not to de­stroie: to byind as well as to lowse. Althoughe suche dolour for offensyes [Page 43] committed, and so ernest zele may she sum tymes finde in thoffender, that her chiefe and principall pastors may by theire soueraigne authoritye, wholy discharge him of all paines to coom. But elles in the common case of Chri­stian men, this poenaunce is for no o­ther cause enioyned,Ibidem. but to saue theime from the more greuous torment in the worlde folowing. In the whiche sense S. Augustine bothe speake the him self, and proueth his meaning, by thapo­stles wordes as foloweth. Propterea de quibusdam temporalibus poenis, 1. Cor. 11. quae in hac vita peccantibus irrogantur eis quorum pec­cata delentur, ne reseruentur in finem, ait Apostolus: si enim nosmetipsos iudicaremus, a domino non iudicaremur. Cum iudicamur autem a domino corripimur, ne cū hoc mun­do damnemur. Therfore (saithe he) it is of certaine temporall afflictions whi­che be laide vpon theire neckes, that being sinners haue theire trespasses par­doned, lest they be called to an accompt for theime at the latter ende, that the [Page] Apostle meaneth by, when he saith: Iff we would iudge oure selues, we shulde not then be iudged of oure lorde. And when we be iudged of oure lorde, then are we chastened that we be not dam­ned with the worlde. This onely care­full kyndnesse of oure moother ther­fore, that neuer remitted sinne that was notorious in any age, but after sharpe poonishment, or ernest charge withe sum proportionall poenaunce for the same, doothe not onely geue vs a louing warning to be ware and pre­uent that heuy correction of the world to coom, whiche S. Paule callethe the iudgement of God, because it is a sen­tence of iustice: but allso in her owne practise here in earth, of mercy, in par­doning: of iustice, in poonishement: she geueth vs a very cleare example off bothe the same to be vndoubtedly lo­ked for at thandes of God him selfe, by whome in the kingdom of the church, these bothe in his behallfe be proffita­bly practised▪ for iff there were no re­specte [Page 44] of the dredfull day in thend off oure lyefe, nor any paine forther due for sinnes remitted, in the next worlde, then were it cruell arrogancy in the­ministers to charge men withe poena­unce, needlesse to the offender, and fo­ly to the sufferer. But god forbed any shulde be so malipert or misbeleuing, as to miscredet the dooings and doctrine of the Catholike Church, whiche by thauthoritye she hathe to bynde sin­nes, and the protection of the holy go­ste, hathe vsed this rodde of correction to the proffite of so many, and hurte of none, euer sence oure maisters dea­the and departure.

Cap. 4.

THere be of the Epicures of our time, that seeing the vsuall practise of paenaunce not onely by the Churcheis praescri­ption, but also by man­nes oune voluntary acceptation, open­ly to tend towardes the truth and proufe of Purgatory,Melanch. haue bouldely impro­ued (not withstanding the expresse counsell of the Apostle, where he wil­leth vs to iudge oure selues) all chasti­sement of our bodies, as vnnaturall tor­ments to the iniury of oure owne per­son, and the excellencye of oure na­ture. Ageinst these corruptors of Chri­sten condicions and vertuous liefe, thoughe the examples of all faithfull woorshippers of God sence the worlde began, doo clearely stand, yet the nota­ble history of the Prophet Dauids re­paire after his heuy faule, bicause it ha­the an especial warraunt of his pardon, a plane processe in poenaunce, a goodly platte of due handelinge the sores off [Page 45] oure sinnes after they be remitted, and conteineth a manifest feare of Purga­tory, shall best serue oure turne.

This Prophet then, thoughe he was assured of his pardon, and afterwarde (as I saide before) by Goddes owne hād poonished, yet crieth oute withe abun­dant teares. Amplius laua me ab iniqui­tate mea, & a peccatis meis munda me. Psal. 50. More and more washe me from my iniquity,Cap. 4. Apol. Dauid. and of my sinnes pourge me cleane. Dauid offended (saith S. Ambrose) as kinges commonly do, but he did poe­naunce, he wept, he groned, as kinges lightly doo not: he confessed his fault, he asked mercy, and throwing him self vppon the harde grounde, bewailed his misery, fasted, praide, and so pro­tested his sorowe, that he laft the te­stimony of his confession to all the worlde to come. What moued this bles­sed man, by Goddes oune mouthe par­doned of his sinnes, so to torment him [Page] selfe? That happy awe and deape feare of Goddes iudgemēt in the next world, whiche the cursed security of this swheete poysened doctrine of oure da­yes hathe nowe taken awaie, euen that necessary feare of the thinges that might faule vnto him in the next liefe, caused this holy prince and prophet so to vexe and molest him selfe. It was hel, it was Purgatory that this poenitent did behoulde: ether of whiche he knewe his sinnes did well deserue. S. Augu­stine shall beare me witnesse, in wordes worthy of all memory. Yea the pro­phets owne wordes vttered in a bitter praier and a psalme full of sorowe, shall beare me witnesse: thus saith S. Augu­stine.In psa. 37. Haec iste grauiora formidans, excepta vita ista in cuius malis plangit & gemit, ro­gat & dicit. Domine ne in furore tuo arguas me, neque in ira tua corripias me: Non sum inter illos quibus dicturus es ite in ignem ae­ternum qui praeparatus est diabolo & ange­lis eius: Neque in ira tua emendes me, vt in hac vita me purges, & talem me reddas cui [Page 46] emendatorio igne opus non sit. This man, besides the miseries of this liefe in whi­che he was when he thus houleth and wepeth, forther makethe sute and sai­the, O Lorde rebuke me not in thy furie, let me not be one of theime to whome thou shalt saye, awaie from me in to fier perpetuall, whiche is prouided for the deuill and his aungells. Nether yet correct me in thy wrathe, but so purge me in my liefe time and wholy frame me, that at lenght I may haue do neade of the Amending fier. So farre speaketh this doctour. By whome we may learne that Dauid after sharpe poonishement taken first at Goddes hand, and then in the middest of many mise­ries of this mortall liefe, did yet before hande behoulde the horrible iudge­ments in the next worlde: thone for the damned soules and spirits, thother for the amendment of such as God lo­ued and shall be saued: in the earneste memoriall of whiche assured paines, and for the auoiding thereoff, he so [Page] afflicted him selfe as is before sayde.

His hearte was in heuinesse, his soul in sorowe, his fleshe in feare, and in his bones there was no rest before the face of his sinnes. Thinke you here a prote­stant preacher withe a mery mouthe in Nathans steade, coulde haue driuen him from this course of poenaunce, dis­suaded him from the feare of purgato­ry, eased him with onely faith, and sett him in securitye and perfect freedom from his offenses past,Ecclesi. 22. No no, Musica in luctu importuna narratio. Mirthe in mourning is euer out of season. Flagella & doctrina in omni tempore sapientia. But roddes and discipline be allwaies wise­dom. These delicate teachers had ne­uer roume but where sinne bare greate rule. And it is no small licklyhod of goddes exceding wrathe towardes vs in these daies, that such soft phisitiōs ple­ase vs in so daungerous diseases. It was not the doctrine of this time that hea­led Nabuchodonosor: but this was his plaister.Daniel. 4. Peccata tua eleemosynis redime, & [Page 47] iniquitates tuas misericordijs pauperum. Re­dime thy sinnes by almose, and thy ini­quities, by mercy towardes the poore. It was exceding fasting and many so­rouwfull sobbes, that bare of Goddes hande from the Niniuites, It was the paiynefull workes of poenaunce that Iohn the Baptist first preached. This was Paules rule, that if we woulde poonishe or iudge our selues, then woulde not God iudge vs. In to whose handes it is a heuy case to faule.1. Cor. 11. Haeb. 10. Horrendum est (saithe he) incidere in manus Dei viuentis. For he shall call to accompt and reako­ning (as S. Bernarde supposeth) euen the very actes of the iuste,In cant. 55 ser. if thei be not well and throughly iudged, and corre­cted to his handes:

The vndoubted knowledge of whi­che straite accompte, moued oure fore­fathers to require suche earnest affli­ctions of the people, for satisfiyng for their sinnes.

And here gentle reader geue me le­aue, though I be the longer, to geue the [Page] a little taste of the oulde doctours dea­linges in the sinners case▪ that thowe maist compare oure late handeling of these matters, with their dooinges: and so learne to lothe these light marcha­untes, that in so greuous plages deale so tenderly with oure sores. And yet I in­tend not so to roue, but that the very course of oure taulke well noted, shall be the necessary inducing of that truth whiche we nowe defende concerning purgatory. Especially if it be conside­red, that in all praescription of poena­unce by the antiquitye, the paine of sa­tisfiyng was euer limited by the varie­ty of the offense. And then that the ve­ry cause of all payne enioyned, was for the auoyding of Goddes iudgement in the liefe to coom. First auncient O­rigen writeth thus.Homil. 3. in lib. Iud. Behoulde our mer­cifull Lorde ioyning allwaies clemen­cy with seueritye, and weying tbe iust meane of our poonishement in merci­full and rightuous balanse. He ge­ueth [Page 48] not the offenders ouer for euer: therefore comsider how longe thowe haste straied and cōtynued in sinne, so longe abase and humble thy selfe be­fore God, and so satisfie him in Con­fession of poenaunce. For if thowe a­mend the matter and take poonishe­ment of thy selfe, then God is pitifull, and will remoue his reuengement from him, that by poenaunce praeuen­tented his iudgement. Thus we see this father so to measure the paine and poonishement of sinners, that he maketh his principall respect the auoyding off the sharpe senrence to coom.

S. Cyprian the blessed martyr, no­teth certeyne conuersies in his dayes, who thought they had much wrōge to be further burdened with poenaūce for theire faule, more then the returne to God ageyne: he toucheth the maners of oure time very nere, his wordes sounding thus.Sermon. de Lapsis. Before theyre sinnes [Page] fully purged, before the confession of theire faulte made, before theire con­sciencies by the prieste and sacrifice be cleansed, before the ire and indigna­tion of God be pacified and past, they thinke al is wel and make boste therof. But he enstructeth theime in the same place better, as folowethe: Confesse your selues brethern whilest ye are in this lyefe, and whilest the remission and satisfaction by the preestes apoyn­tement is acceptable. Let vs turne vn­to God with all our heartes expres­sing the poenaunce for oure sinnes, by singulare greefe and sorowe: let vs cal for mercy, let vs prostrate our selues before God, let oure heuinesse of hart satisfie him, let vs with fasting wee­ping and houlyng, appeace his wrath. whom, for that he is our louing fa­ther, we acknowledge to be merciful: [Page 49] and yet bicause he beareth the maie­sty of a iudge, he is for iustice muche to be feared. To a deape and a gre­uous wounde a longe and sharpe saul­uing must be accepted. Exceding er­nestly thou must pray: thow muste passe ouer the remnaunt of thy tyme with lamentable complaintes, thow must for thy softe bedde take harde earthe and asshies, and tomble thy self in sackcloth, for the losse of Chri­stes vesture refuse all apparell, after the receite of the deuilles foode, chuese earnest fasting: and by diligent ap­plijng thy sellfe to good woorkes and almose deedes, purge thy sinne and delyuer thy soule from deathe. So dooth S. Augustine correct the errour of suche,Cap. 3. & 4. de poeni­tantiae medicina. as thinke the chaunge of lyfe withe oute al cogitation or care off theire offenses past, to be sufficient for mannes perfect repaire and reconcilea­tion [Page] to oure lord ageyne. It is not suf­ficient (saith he) to amende oure ma­ners and turne back from our misde­des, vnlesse we satisfie before God for theyme whiche we haue allredy com­mitted, by dolour of paenaunce, by humble sighes and grones, and by the sacrifice of a contrite harte woor­king with allmose dedes.

And in this sense ageyne he vttereth this comfortable ruele Sed neque de ipsis criminibus quamlibet magnis remittendis in ecclesia, Euch. 65. dei desperanda est misericordia, agen­tibus poenitentiā secundū modū sui cuiusque peccati. But we may not despaire off Goddes mercy for the remission of sin­nes in the Churche, be they neuer so greuous: I meane to all suche as will doo poenaunce according to the quan­tity of theire faulte. So S. Ambrose wri­ting to a religious womā that had bro­ken her vowe of chastity (whiche in those dayes was reckoned one of the [Page 50] most deadly and greuous crimes that coulde be) warnethe her thus. Grandi plagae alta & prolixa opus est medicina: grande scelus grandem necessariam habet sa­tisfactionem. A greuous hourt must haue a deape and long sauluing, a henous of­fense requireth maruelous muche satis­faction. Yea and as I take his wordes,This sin­ne is bet­ter boul­stred novv a daies. he planely admonisheth her, that she shall haue muche a dooe to satisfy fullie for her sinne duering her liefe: and ther­fore he semeth to will her, not to looke for full remedy and release before she feele Goddes iudgement. Whiche he meaneth not by the generall day, but the particulare accompt whiche folo­weth streght vpon mannes death. But that I deceyue no man wiettingly I wil report his owne wordes.Cap. 8. ad virg. laps. Inhere poeni­tentiae vsque ad extremum vitae, nec tibi prae­sumas ab humano die posse veniā dari: quia decipit te qui hoc tibi polliceri voluerit: quae [...]nim proprie in dominum peccasti, ob illo solo [...]n die iudicij conuenit expectare remedium. Continue in poenaunce to the last day [Page] thow hast to lieue, and praesume not o­uer bouldely of pardon to be obteyned in mannes day: for who so euer promi­seth the so, he deceyueth the: for thou that hast offended directly ageinst God him sellfe, must at Goddes hande one­ly in the day of iudgemēt trust of mer­cy. Yf he meane by the last Iudgement, then thauthor supposethe that suche horrible incest shall be poonished tyll the day of the generall resurrection, in purgatory:De ciuitate dei cap. 1 [...]. lib. 21. for after that day as Augu­stine affirmethe, there shall be no more any of the elect in payne. He meaneth then surely nothing elles, but that ther can be no poenaunce answerable fully in this lyefe to so greuous a cryme, and that the Churche ordinarely pardoneth not the sinnes, whiche be not by sum proportion of payne and poonishmen recompensed. And this is ordinary, thoughe by the supreame powr giuen to Goddes ministers for the gouerne­ment of the church, the offender may in this case or the lyke, iff his compe­tent [Page 51] dolour of hearte and zele so re­quire, wholy be acquieted through the merits of Christes death, and the happy felouship of fanctes, in the communion of the common body: where the lacke of one membre is abundantly supplyed by the residewe. Mary it is a hard mat­ter to be so qualifyed, that a man may not be vnworthy of so singular a grace and vnaestimable benefit. Therfore this praerogatiue perteining not to very ma­ny, excepted, for the residue that by the ordinary Sacrament be raised vp from theire fawle, euery one must ende­uoure to doo poenaunce more or lesse, according to the quantity and circum­stancyes of the crime committed: so S. Augustine saide before, so doothe S. Ambrose meane nowe, geuing this wo­man warning that her fault was so hor­rible, that the paenaunce doone in this lyefe coulde not properly and exactly make recompense therefore, and yet af­ter poonishment tolerated at Goddes a­poyntement in the next lyefe, he doub­teth [Page] not to assure her of pardon at the lengthe, and release of all paine. Thus was sinne handeled in those dayes. And why it was so painefully riped vp to the very battom, yowe see. Compare oure days and dealing to theires, and thow shalt wonder to see the diuersitye betwixt theire maners, and oures: and to see the phisicions woorke so diuer­sely, where the diseases be all one.

I might here well to my purpose re­peate the singulare praises, that S. Hie­rom gaue vnto noble Paula:In epitaph. Paulae. who (as he writeth of her) withe fountaynes of teares, exceding lauishe almose, and pitifull fasting, wasshed away such ve­niall and smaule offensies, as other men wovlde scarsely doo muche more gre­uous crimes. And to seeke for what ende this holy matrone vexed her sellfe and tormented her body, it were in a maner needelesse. for being not gilty of any greuous sinnes, she coulde haue no greate feare of hell paynes: then it must neades be, that she tooke poonishment [Page 52] of her sellfe to praeuent Goddes tempo­rall skourge in the lyefe to coom.

She well considered (for it was the doctrine of that holy tyme) that euery sinne be it neuer so small or common,Note, doth indebt the offender vnto God: and therfore the iustest person that li­ueth (excepting Christe, and for his honour his moother) as S. Augustine saith must confesse debte, and crye for pardon by oure maisters praier: Dimitte nobis debita nostra: forgiue vs oure debts. the whiche, because they be debt, must ether be pardoned by praier, or paide by paine. And therfore being not here re­mitted, or not satisfied by worthy poo­nishment in this liefe, they must of iu­stice be purged after oure departure, ac­cording to the numbre of theime and the negligence of the offender. And this faithe of Purgatory and respecte of Goddes iudgements to come, feared the holyest persons that euer were in goddes Churche. This droue many a blessed man to perpetuall paenaunce: [Page] this broght Hierom him sellfe in to the wildernesse of Syria, there to lament the lapse of his fraile youthe, euer in expectation of this call: Exi foras Hie­ronime Coom out Hierom: this filled the desertes with many a noble here­mite, this raysed vppe the cloisters and all the holy houses of mowrning and praiers in the whole worlde, and ha­the in all agyes appeared bothe in the wordes and woorkes of all Christen people, as we shal better a none declare.

But list yow see how this doctrine of paenaunce liked Caluine? The shrew sawe that by graunting of this satisfa­ction for sinne and the profitable vsage thereof in this liefe, that it might argue of necessity the residue of some pai­nes in the nexte if it were here omit­ted or not ended. And therefore I pray you see how substantially he aunswe­reth and how like him selfe, Parum me mouent (saithe he) quae in veterum scriptis de satisfactione passim occurrunt, In institut. video enim eorum nonnullos, dicam simpliciter, omnes [Page 53] fere quorum libri extant aut in hac parte lapsos esse, aut nimis aspere & dure loquutos. I make small accompt of that whiche I often finde concerning Satisfaction in the auncient writers, for I perceiue di­uers of theime, shall I be plaine withe yow? in a maner euery one that euer wrote till this daye, in this pointe to haue bene foule deceiued, or spoken more roughly then they shoulde haue doone. Is not this a felowe a lone? whe­ther thinke yowe nowe oure englishe bragger craking all the doctors to be on his parte, or this man confessing plainely that they be all ageinst him, and yet setting not a butten by theyme all, whether think you is more arrogant? I am sure Caluine dealeth here more sin­cerely, and thother more deceitfully. Iff crakyng had bene a maistery in sum­mer games as lying is, our man mighte haue wonne of all the worlde, two ga­mes at a clappe. But there is no remedy he must yelde to the lerned that haue opened his impudency, Therefore I le­aue [Page] him, and take the benefit of this his maisters confession for forther confir­mation of my cause. doubting nothing but that most wiese men, seeing by the aduersaries graunte all learned fathers to be on oure side, will accept it ether as a fulle proofe, or no smaule praesum­ption of that truethe whiche we de­fend.

Cap. 5.

HAuinge vndoubtedly wōne thus much both by euidēt testimony off holy writte, by the war­raunt of all the learned fathers, by good reason, and by the ad­uersaries owne confession, I will be boulde to bare the very ioyntes of the argument, that bothe the simple maye [Page 54] acknowledge my plaine dealing, and the Protestant haue his vauntage, if the reason stand not vpright. With out colour or glose then thus I make my proufe.

1 After the sinnes of man be pardoded, God oftentimes poonisheth the offen­der, the Churche poonisheth him, and man ponisheth him selfe, ergo there is summe payne due after sinne be remit­ted. 2 Secondely this paine can not all­waies be discharged in this world, ether for lacke of space after the remission, as it happeth in repentaunce at the hou­re of deathe, or elles when the party li­ueth in perpetuall welth with oute care or cogitation of any satisfaction, there­fore it must be answered in another place. 3 Thirdly the common infirmities and the daily trespasses which abase and defily the woorkes euen of the vertu­ous, of theire proper condicion doo de­serue paine for a tyme, as the mortall offense deserueth perpetuall: Therefore as the mortall sinne, being not here pardoned, [Page] must of iustice haue the reward of euerlasting pounishement: so it must nedes folow, that the veniall fault not here forgeuen, shoulde haue the reward whiche of nature it requireth: that is to saie, temporall paine.

And therefor not only the wicked, but the very iust also must trauell to haue theire daily infirmities and fraile­tie of theire corrupte natures forgiuen; crying withe oute ceassing forgeue vs oure debtes: Quia non iustificabitur in conspectu tuo omnis viuens. August. Euch ca. 71 For no man a lieue shall be able to stande before the face of God in his owne iustice or righteousnesse, and if thes lighte sinnes shoulde neuer be imputed, then it were needlesse to crie for mercy or confesse debt, as euery man dooth be he neuer so passing holy. To be briefe, this debt of paine for sinne by any way remai­ning at the departure hense, must off iustice be answered: Whiche can not be with oute poonishement in the nexte liefe, then there must be a place of iud­gement [Page 55] for temporall and transitory paines in the other worlde. The whole discourse made before hath geuen force enoghe to euery parte of the argument: the scriptures doo proue it, the practise of the Churche confirmeth it, all the doctors by oure aduersaries graunte, a­gree vpon it. Yf they haue any thinge to say, here I make theime faire play: the grounde is open, the reasons laide na­ked before theire face: remoue theime as they can. Lett theime deale simply if they meane truely, and not flourishe as they vse, vppon a faulse grounde, that in flowe of worddes they may couer errour, or in rase of theire smoothe talk ouerron trueth.

And that euery man may perceiue that wee haue not raysed this doctrine vpō reason onely or curiosity, (althou­ghe the graue authoritye of Goddes Churche might herein satisfye sober wittes) we will now by Goddes helpe go nearer the matter, and directly make proufe of Purgatory by holy scriptures: [Page] reciting such placeis of the oulde and newe testament, as shall prooue oure cause, euen in that sense whiche the lernedst and godlyest fathers of all a­gies, by conference of placies or other lyklyhood, shall fiende and determine to be most true. Alleaging none els but such as they haue, in the floure of Christian faith, noted and peculiarely con­strued for that purpose whiche now is in quaestion. That the aduersaries off that doctrine, may rather striue withe the saide sanctes and doctours, then wi­the me, that will as they shall well per­ceiue doo nothing, but truely reporte theire wordes or meaninge. Or rather that such as haue erred in that case, by giuing ouer light credit to the troblesom teachers of these vnhappy daies, maye, when they shall vnderstande the true meaning of the scrptures, the constant doctrine of the Catholike Church, the wordes of all auncient writers, the de­termination of so many holy coun­cells, and the oulde vsage of all nations [Page 56] by humble praiers obteyne of God the light of vnderstanding the truethe, and the gifte of obedience to his will and worde. Or if there be any so sattled in this vnlickly secte, that he purposeth not to beleue the graue writers of ould times, nor receiue theire expositions v­pon suche placeis as we shall reciete, for that praeiudice whiche he hathe of his owne witte and vnderstanding, yet let him not maruell at my simplicity, that had rather geue credet to others then my selfe: Or that in this hote time of contention and partaking in religion, I doo repose my sellfe vnder the sha­dowe of so many worthy writers, as anone shall giue euidence in my cause.

Cap. 6.

IF we well consider the wonderfull base condi­tion and state of man­nes nature corrupted by our first fathers disobe­dience, and more and more abased by continuall misery that sin hath broght in to oure mortall liefe, we shall fiende the woorke of Goddes wisdom in the excellent repaire of this his creature, to be full of mercy, and full of maruell. But proceading sumwhat further, and weying not onely his restoring, but all­so the passing greate auaunsment to the vnspeakable glory of the elect, there shall reason and all oure cogitations vt­terly faint and faile vs.

The kingdom prepared is honou­red with the maiesty of the Glorious Trinity, with the humanity of Christe oure Sauiour, with the blessed Mary the vessel of his Incarnation, with the bewtifull creatures and wholy vndefi­led, [Page 57] of al the ordres of Angelles. Ther can nothing doubtlesse present it selfe before the seate of Goddes glory, nor stand in his sight, that hath any blemi­she of sinne, any spotte of corruption, any remnaunt of infirmity. There may no creature matche with those perfect pure natures of spirituall substance in the happy seruice of the holy Trinity,VVhat purity is required for then­trance in to h [...]uē. that is not holy as they be, pure as they be, and wholy sanctified as they be. No­thing can ioyne with theyme in free­dom of that heauenly city, in the ioy­full estate of that triumphant cōmon­wellthe, that is not purified to the po­ynt, and by the woorke of Goddes own hande fully fined and perfieted. This is the newe City of Hierusalem, whi­che the holy Apostle sawe by vision: Nec in eam intrabit aliquid coinquinatum. Apoc. 21. Nothing shall entre therin, that is defi­led. It is the Churche with oute spotte and wrinkle, it is the temple of God, it is the seate of the lambe, and the land of the lyuing.

Nowe our kinde, notwithstanding oure pitifull faulle and singulare fray­lety, with exceding corruption and vn­aptenesse bothe of body and soule, ha­the yet by Christe Iesus oure redemer, the assurance of this vnestimable bene­fite, and the felowship of perpetuall fruition with the Angels. To whome as we must be made aequall in roume and glory, so we must in perfect clea­nes be fully matched with theime. For it were not agreeable to Goddes ordi­nary iustice,Leuit. 21. who in this earthly sanct­uary expressely forbiddeth the oblati­ons of the vncleane,Rupert. de diui [...]i [...] of. l. 6. ca. 36. that he shoulde in the coelestiall soueraigne holy ack­nouledge any nature that wer not pure and vndefiled: or make mannes condi­cion not abettered, aequall to the dig­nity of Angelles that neuer were repro­ued: wherby vniustice might appeare in God, or confusion in the heauens commonweleth, where onely all ordre is obserued.

And though mannes recouery after [Page 58] his faule be wroght by Christ, and the perfect purgation off sinnes by the bloodde of him that onely was with owte sinne, yet it was nott conueni­ent, that the might of that mercy should woorke in this freedom of oure willes, with owte all payne of the party, or trauell of thoffenders. Wheroff man streght vpon his miserable dounefall (as S. Ambrose excellentely well no­teth) had warning by the fyery swhord houlden at the entraunce of paradise:In psa. 118 ser. 20. therby putting him in remembraunce, that the returne to blesse so soone loste, shoulde be throghe fiere and swhorde hardely achieued ageyne. Therfore if any man thinke the onely forgiuenesse of oure sinnes paste, sufficient ether for the recouery of oure first degree, or the atteyning of forther dignity in the glory of the Sanctes, he seethe not at all what a deape stroke sinne hath sett in mannes soule, what filthe and fee­blenesse it hathe wroght in the body, what ruele and dominion it beareth in [Page] this our mortality, what care all per­fect men haue hadde, not onely in the healing of the deape wounde, but allso in purging the reliques, and full abba­ting the abundant matter therof. And yet when man hathe with all his might wrastled with the poure of sinne, being in this estate, he can not be able to re­couer the worthinesse of his creation, muche lesse the passing honour and ende of his redemption. Let him washe and water his coutch with teares, let him weaken his body with fasting, and humble his hearte with sorow: Happe­ly the fiery swhorde shall not hinder his passage after his departure, yet tyll the separation of the body and the soul, full freedom from sinne or perfect pur­gation therof (excepting the priuilege of certayne) can not be fully obtey­ned. Wherin yet mercy at thende hathe the chieff stroke, by whiche the soule that was the principall vessell of sinne, and no lesse abased then the body, shall oute of hand in the perfectest sort, ob­teyne [Page 59] the purity of Angelles and fe­lowship with theime for euer.

I maruell not nowe to see the Pro­phet seeke not onely for the remis­sion of his greuous sinnes, but to be better cleansed, to haue theime wholy blotted owte, to be made as white as snowe: behoulding the purity that is requisite for a citizen of the coelestiall Hierusalem. And I note this the rather of the soule, bicause I see that the body allso, before it can shake of the stroke and plage of sinne, must be driuen (by the common course) to doust and ele­mentes, that being at the ende raised vppe ageine in the same substance, may yet wholy in condicion and quality be so straungely altered, that in honoure and immortality it may euerlastingly ioyne with the soule ageyne. To the newnesse wherof,August. li. 20. de ci­uit. ca. 16. 1. Cor. 15. the very elements that before answered it in qualityes off corruption, shall be perfectly by fyre reformed, and serue in beauty and in­corruption aeternall. Yff sinne then be [Page] so reuenged and throughly tryed ou­te of mannes body, and all corrupti­on owte of these elements for the glo­ry of that newe and aeternall kingdom, shall we doubte of Goddes iustice in the perfect reuenge of sinne in the soul, or purifying that nature, whiche as it was most corrupted and was the very seate of sinne,Note. so namely apperteyneth to the company of Angelles and glory euerlasting? It were not otherwise a­greeable to Goddes iustice suerely, nor conuenyent for the glorious estate to coom: it were nether right, nor reason.

He will then, where man neglecteth the day of mercy, sharply viset with torment, him sellfe: and bothe pourge and purifye the drosse of oure impure natures defiled and stayned by sinne, with iudgement and rightuousnesse.Isaie. 4. A bluet Dominus sordes filiarū Syō, & san­guinem Hierusalem, lauabit de medio eius, in spiritu iudicij, & spiritu ardoris. Oure lord shall wasshe oute the filthe of the doghters of Syon: and will cleanse [Page 60] blodde from the middest of Hierusa­lem, in the spirite of iudgement, and the spirite of burnyng. But bicause we will not stand vpon coniectures in so ne­cessary a poynt, yowe shall see by what scriptures the graue and learned fathers haue to my hand confirmed this bele­ued trueth. And first I will recyte those placyes whiche doo set furthe bothe the quality and condicion of that poo­nishment, whiche God taketh vpon man for sinne in the other worlde: and also did geue iust occasion to our fore­fathers of the name of Purgatory.

There be two textes of scripture to this purpose so like, that many of the doctours, for better conference in so weghty a case, haue ioyned theime to­gether to make their proufe full: and so will I doo by theire example. The first is in the thirde chapter of the Prophet Malachie in these wordes.Malach. 3. Ecce venit di­cit Dominus exercituum, & quis poterit co­gitare diem aduentus eius? Et quis stabit ad videndum eum? Ipse enim quasi ignis [Page] conflans, & quasi herba fullonum: & sedebit conflans & emundans argentum, & purga­bit filios Leui, & colabit eos quasi aurum & argentum, & erunt Domino offerentes sa­crificia in iustitia. Et placebit Domino sa­crificium Iuda & Hierusalem, & caetera. Beholde he commeth (saith the Lorde of hostes.) And who maye abyde the daye of his comming? Who can stand and endure his sight, For he is like mel­ting and casting fier, and as the wasshers herbe.Sope And he shal sit casting and trying oute siluer, and shall pourge the chil­dren of Leui and clense theime as goul­de or siluer. And then shal they offer sa­crifice in righteousnesse: and the offe­ringes of Iuda and Hierusalem, shall be acceptable vnto our Lorde. And thus farre spake the prophet. The second is this,Cap. 3. taken out of the first epistle to the Corinthians. Secundum gratiam Dei quae data est mihi, vt sapiens architectus funda­mentum posui, alius autem superaedificat. Vnusquisque autem videat quomodo super­adificet. Fundamentum enim aliud nemo po­test [Page 61] ponere, praeter id quod est positum: quod est Christus Iesus. Si quis autem superaedifi­cat super fundamentum hoc, aurum, argen­tum, lapides preciosos, ligna, foenum, sti­pulam, vniuscuiusque opus manifestum erit. dies enim Domini declarabit, quia in igne reuelabitur: & vniuscuiusque opus quale sit ignis probabit. Si cuius opus manserit quod superaedificauit, mercedem accipiet: si cuius opus arserit, detrimentum patietur: ipse au­tem saluus erit, sic tamen quasi per ignem. Thus in english: According to the grace of God geuen vnto me, as a discriete builder I haue laide the groundewark: but another buildeth theron. Let euery man be circumspect howe he buildeth on it. For no fundation can be laide, but Christe Iesus, which is allready laide. Yff any man builde vppon this groun­dewark, gould, siluer, preciouse stones, wodde, hay, or stooble, euery mannes worke shall be laide open. For the daye of oure Lorde will declare it, bicause it shall appeare in fiere. And that fiere shal trye euery mannes woorke what it is: yf [Page] anye mannes woorke erected vpon that foundation doo abide, he shall receiue rewarde, but if his worke burne, he shall susteine losse (or it shall susteine losse, meaning by the worke it self, as the text well serueth also) but him sellfe shall be saued notwithstandinge, and that yet as throughe fire. These be S. Pauls wordes.

Nowe as men studious of the truth, careful of oure faithe and saluation, and fully free from contention and parta­king, let vs entre into the searche off the meaning of these two textes, withe suche plainesse and sinceritye that I dare saie the aduersaries theime selues shall not mislyke our dealing.Plaine de aling. We will folowe all lyklyhoodes by comparing the scriptures together, and admit with all, the counsell and iudgement of such our elders, as hy theire confession shall be taken for holy, learned, and wise. 1 First the Prophet and Apostle bothe, make mention of purging and of puri­fying sinne, and corruption of mannes [Page 62] impure or defiled workes: 2 they bothe agree this cleansing or trying oute off the filthy drosse gathered by corrup­tion of sinne, to be doone by fier: 3 they bothe throughly folowe the similitude of the fornace and gouldsmith in fi­nyng his metalles, and trying oute the drosse and base matter from the perfect finesse of more worthy substaunce: 4 they bothe plainely vtter theire mea­ninges of suche as shall afterward be saued, though it be with losse: geuing vs to vnderstande, that the partyes so purged, shall be after theire triall wor­thy to offer a pure sacrifice in holy­nesse and righteousnes: 5 They bothe note this purgation to be wrought by the hande of God. All these must nea­des be confessed, euen of the contrary teachers: whiche thinges together, con­teine more probability for the proufe of oure purpose, then they can for any other sense finde. But nowe touchinge the texte nearer, and finding that this woorke of mannes amending shall be [Page] wrought in the next liefe, then it must nedes so induce this sense, that no mea­ning may well be admitted, whiche e­uidently setteth not forth the truthe of Purgatory.

And that this worke is not properly taken for any suche trouble or vexa­tion that may fall to man in this liefe, but for a very torment praepared for the next worlde, firste the quality of the 1 iudgement, and meanes in the execu­tion of that sentence of God (whiche is named to be doone by fiere) seemeth rather to import that, then any other vexation, the poonishement of the 2 worlde folowing allwaies lightely so termed. Then man is in this purging only asufferer, which belongeth name­ly to the nexte worlde. But especially 3 that this sentence shall be executed in the day of our Lorde, which properly signifieth ether the day of our death, or the sentence of God whiche streghte foloweth vpon death: or the laste and generall iudgement. All the tyme off [Page 63] mans liefe wherein he foloweth his freedom, is called Dies Hominis: the daie of man, bicause as man in this liefe for the most parte serueth his owne will, so he often neglecteth Goddes: but at his deathe, there beginneth Dies Domi­ni: Where God executeth his ordina­unce and will vpon man. This triall then of mannes misdeedes and impu­re workes, must ether be at his deathe, or after his departure by one of the two iudgementes. But if we note diligently the circumstances of the saide letter, it shall appeare vnto vs, that this purgatiō was not ment to be onely at mannes death: both bicause it shall be done by 1 fyre, whiche (as is saide) commonly no­teth the torment of the next liefe: and then S. Paule expressely warneth vs to take hede what we builde, in respect of 2 the difference that may fall to suche as builde fine workes, and other that ere­cte vppon the foundation, impure or mixte mater of corruption: but the pai­nes of deathe being common to the [Page] best, as well as to the worst or indiffe­rent, and no lesse greuous in it sell­fe to one then the other, can not be im­ported by the fire whiche shall bring losse to thone sort, and not paine tho­ther. 3 Besides all this, that day which the prophet speaketh of, shall be notori­ous in the sight of the worlde and very terrible to many: And S. Paule plainely affirmeth, that in this iudgement there shall be made an open shewe of suche woorkes as were hidde before from man, and not discerned by the iudge­ment of this world: whiche the priuate deathe of one manne can not doo. And lightely thapostle warning man of the sentence of God in the next lyefe,2. Cor. 5. ad­monisheth him that oure dedes must be laide open before the iudgemēt seate of God. so here. Dies domini declarabit, quia in igne reuelabitur: the day of oure lord will open the matter, bicause it shall be 4 shewde in fyre. Last of all, the Prophet nameth the tyme off this sharpe tryal, Diem aduentus domini: whiche is a pro­per [Page 64] calling of one of the iudgements: ether that whiche shall be generall at the last day, or elles that whiche euery manne must first abyde streghte after his departure, when he shall be called to the peculiare reckoning for his owne actes. In ether of whiche iudgements,Magis. l. 4 dist. 47. this purging and amending fire shall be fownde. For as in that generall wast of the whole world by the fyre of con­flagration,2. Petri. Cap. 3. whiche is called ignis praece­deus faciem iudicis because it awaiteth to fulfill Christes ordinance in the day of his second comming, as in that fier the whole man both body and soule may suffer losse and extreme payne for his poonishment or purgation, and yet by that same fyre be saued: euen so oute of doubt at this particulare iudgement streght vpon euery mannes death, the soule of the departed if it be not before free, must suffer paines and Purgation by the like vehement torment woor­king onely vpon the soule, as the other shall doo on the whole man. And the [Page] prophets wordes now alleaged, do me­ane principally of the purgation that shall be made of the faithfuls corrupted woorkes, by the fiere of conflagration, in the seconde comming of Christe: thoughe his wordes well proue the o­ther also, as S. Paule too, meaneth by theyme bothe.

Cap. 7.

ANd though such as shal liue at the comming of the iudge in the later daye, shall then be pur­ged of theyre corrup­tion and base workes of infirmity, by the fyre that shall abetter and alter the impure nature of these corruptible ele­ments, or otherwise according to god­des ordinaunce: yet the common sort [Page 65] of all men whiche in the meane tyme depart this worlde, must not tary for theire purgation till that general amen­ding of all natures, no more then the very good, in whome after theire ba­ptisme no filthe of sinne is fownde, or if any were, was wiped a way by poena­unce, muste awayte for theyre saluati­on: or the wicked tary for theyre iuste iudgement to damnation.The par­ticulare iudgemēt But streght this sentence ether off iudgement or mercy, must be pronounced: and ther­fore it is called the particulare iudge­ment, by whiche the soule onely shall receyue well the or woe, as at the day of the greate accompt bothe body and soule must doo. Of this seuerall triall the holy Apostle S. Paule saith:Ad haebr. 9 statu­tum est omnibus hominibus semel mori, post hoc iudicium: It is determined that eue­ry man once must dye, and after that commeth iudgement. And a nother scripture more expressely thus:Eccles. 11. Facile est coram domino reddere vnicuique in die obi­tus sui, secundum vias suas. It is an easy [Page] matter before oure lorde, that euery man at the day of his death shulde be rewarded according to his lyefe and ways. Agayne in the same place: Memor isto iudicij mei: sic enim erit & tuum, mihi heri, & tibi hodie. Haue in remembraunce my iudgement, for such shal thy nowne be: yester day was myne, to day may be thyne. And therfore S. Ambrose saith, that with oute delay the good poore man was caryed to rest, and the wicked riche owte of hand suffered torments. That euery man (saith he) may feele before the day of iudgement, Super 5. ad Roman. what he muste then looke for. And in ano­ther place the same holy man writeth, that Iohn the beloued of Iesus is all­redy gone to the paradise of euerlasting blesse,In psa. 118 ser. 20. passing as fewe shall doo, the fie­ry swhorde at the entraunce off ioy with oute all stoppe or tariaunce: be­cause the fiere of loue in his lyefe tyme had such force in him, that the amen­ding fyer after his chaunge should take [Page 66] no houlde of him at all, so saith Am­brose. But of this priuate iudgement the Reuerent Bede hathe a goodly sen­tence in the fyfte of his historye.Cap. 14 Me­minerimus facta & cogitationes nostras non in ventum diffluere, sed ad examen summi Iudicis cuncta seruari, & siue per amicos Angelos in fine nobis ostendenda, siue per ho­stes. Let vs remembre (saithe he) that al oure dedes and thoghtes shall abide, and not be caried a way with the winde, but be reserued to the examination of the highe Iudge: and so shall be laide before oure face at oure ending, ether by our good or aduersary Angells.

By all whiche it is euident,The sou­les be not in doubte of theire damnatiō or saluation, til the day of iudge­ment. that the soules sleape not: (of which errour Lu­ther was allso noted) nor be reserued in doubte of their damnation, ether per­petuall or temporall, tyll the latter day: but streght waye receyue as they deser­ued before in theire lyefe, ether welth or wofull paines.

In this day of oure lorde then this Purgatory paines must beginne, to all [Page] suche as haue after theyre Baptisme, where they layde the foundation off Christes faith, builded the workes off lesser sinnes and imperfection, and not wasshed theyme a way by paenaunce in theyre lyfe, nor obteyned mercy for the same. The whiche trueth, the pla­ces of the Prophet and Apostle before alleaged with out al vnsemely wrething or wraesting doo so plainely beare, that if ours were a sense neuer hearde of be­fore, yet the onely comparing off the textes, and necessary circumstancies off the letter might rather dryue vs to that meaning, then any other that they can euer alleage or proue. But now, as Ca­tholikes euer doo, keping the owlde meaning and fourging no newe, geuing no other sense then that whiche the persuation of all Christian people both learned and simple hath driuen from the beginning of oure faith downe to oure dayes, and framyng no other vn­derstanding then that whiche we finde expressely in the learning and faith off [Page 67] our fathers bothe set forth and proued, who is so rude in iudgement, or so en­tāgled with any contrary opinion, that will not acknouledge the trueth and doctrine euery way so compassed with proufe and all liklihoods?

But as reason is, and my promesse was at the beginnyng. I will lett the good Christian see the wordes of most notable auncyent writers, that he may reioyse his faithe to be so suerly grown­ded. First then yowe shall perceiue that S. Augustine expoundeth the texte off the prophet Malachie before recited,Cap. 3. for purgatory paynes euen as I saide. I am certeyne he may muche moue our aduersaries, as one whome they chaleng to be patrone of som of theire opinions: but howe vniustly in all poyntes, God knoweth, and in this matter especially yowe shall nowe perceiue. After the re­hersall of the Prophets wordes and wel weying the matter, he thus writeth.Lib. 20. de ciuit. Cap. 25. Ex ijs quae dicta sunt videtur euidentius ap­parere, in illo iudicio quasdam quorumdam [Page] purgatorias poenas futuras. Vbi enim dicitur Quis sustinebit diem introitus eius? aut quis ferre poterit vt aspiciat eum? quia ipse ingreditur quasi ignis confla­torij, & quasi herba lauantium, & sedebit conflans & emundans sicut argentum & aurum, & emundabit filios Leui, & fundet eos sicut aurum et sicut argentum, quid aliud intelli­gendum est? dicit tale aliquid & Isaias: Lauabit dominus sordes filiorū & fi­liarum Sion, & sanguinē emundabit de medio eorum spiritu iudicij, & spi­ritu combustionis. Nisi fortè sic eos di­cendum est emundari à sordibus, & eliquari quodam modo, cum ab eis mali per poenale iu­dicium separantur, vt illorum segregatio at­que damnatio purgatio sit istorum, quia sine talium de coetero commixtione victuri sunt: sed cum dicit, & emundabit filios Leui, & fundet eos sicut aurum & argen­tum, & erunt domino offerentes ho­stias [Page 68] in iusticia, & placebit domi­no sacrificium Iuda & Hierusalem: Vtique ostendit eos ipsos qui emundabuntur, deinceps in sacrificijs iustitiae domino esse placituros: ac per hoc ipsi a sua iniustitia e­mundabuntur, in qua domino hostiae displice­bant▪ porro in plena perfectaque iustitia ipsi erunt cum mundati fuerint: quid enim ac­ceptius deo tales offerūt quàm seipsos? verum ista quaestio de Purgatorijs poenis, vt diligen­tius pertractetur in tempus aliud differenda est. thus in Englishe. By the foresayde wordes it semeth very euident, that in the tyme of that iudgement there shall be certeyne Purgatory paynes for sum sorte off men. For when it is saide: VVho can be able to susteyne the day of his comming? who can stande in his sight? bicause he shall sitte trying owte and purifiyng as it were gould and siluer, and entre in lyke the fier of the fornace, and as wasshers sope: he shal make cleane the sōnes of Leui and [Page] shall trye theime as goulde and siluer: What other thing by all these words cā be ment?Cap. 4. (but purgatory paines) Name­ly seeing the prophet Esay hath the li­ke in these wordes. God shal wasshe a waye the filthe of the sonnes and doghters of Syon, and purge blodde frō the middest of theime, in the spirite of iudgement and fier. Except a mā might conueniently say that they shal be was­shed from filthe, and as yowe woulde saye newe fourged, when the wicked by finall iudgement are seuered owte of theire company: that so theire de­parture and damnation may be the pur­gation of the rest, bicause after that daye they shall lieue for euer without the company of the badde. But when the Prophet saith more, that he will clense the childrē of Leuy, and purify theime as gould and siluer, that they may offer theyre oblations in rightu­ousnesse, and the sacrifice of Iuda and [Page 69] Hierusalem shall pleace oure Lorde. He surely giueth vs to wiet, that euen the same selfe men whiche shall be purged, must afterwarde offer to God the sacrifice of iustice, that being once thus amended of theire vnrightuous­nesse, in whiche theire offeringes could not be acceptable vnto God, may af­terwarde in pure and perfect iustice of­fer theime selues as a most pleasaunte hoste and oblation vnto our Lord. But this quaestion of purgatory paines I will differ to a further treaty hereafter. All this hathe S. Augustine: Whereby we may both acknowledge his minde and the Prophets meaning: whiche ac­cording to the grace geuen vnto him in the expounding of scriptures, he ha­the sought owte by conference of that place with other the like owte of Esay, by weiyng discretely the whole cir­cunstance of the letter, and finally by comparing of the other meaning, whi­che to summe might haue bene reako­ned apte and mete for that place. In all [Page] whiche dooing he was as farre from rashe iudgement, as our newe doctours be from good aduisement.

But bicause he referreth vs to the further discussing of the same matter afterward, in the named woorke: it shal be to oure purpose not a litle, to haue this doctours full minde and constant iudgement therein. In the xxj. booke after muche matter vttered, and very depe discussing of the cause, he maketh this grounded Conclusion.Cap. 13. Temporales paenas alij in hac vita tantum, alij post mor­tem, alij nunc et tunc, veruntamen ante illud saeuerissimum, nouissimūque iudiciū patiun­tur. Non autem omnes veniunt in sempiter­nas poenas quae post illud iudicium his sunt futurae, qui post mortem sustinent tempora­les: nam quibusdam quod in isto non remit­titur, remitti in futuro saeculo, id est ne futu­ri saeculi aeterno supplicio puniantur, iam su­pra diximus. Temporall paines (that is to say poonishement whiche shall haue an end) some men suffer in this liefe, some other after theire deathe, and o­ther [Page 70] som, bothe nowe, and then:Tempo­rall pai­nes in the next liefe as vell as in this. But al this before the daie of iudgement that is the greatest and last of all other iud­gements: not all that be temporal­ly poonished after theire departure com in to paines perpetuall which shall be after the generall daie: for we haue allready declared, that there be certeine which haue remission in another worl­de, that is to saie a pardon that they be not poonished euerlastingly, that had not forgeunesse in this. By these wor­des we may be assured, that as in the next liefe there be paines endlesse and perpaetuall for the wicked, so in the sa­me worlde aftet oure end here, there must nedes be som transitory poonish­ment and correction, for suche of the meane sorte as shall afterward be saued. And againe he speaketh (as I take it) of the fyer of Conflagration that shall in the latter day pourge some that be mea­ne, and waste other that be wicked, and send theime from that praesent poonishment, to further aeternall damnation. I [Page] will recite his owne wordes, that ye may perceiue the perpetuall constancy off this excellent mannes minde in this matter. It shall also be a testimony sufficient for the vnderstanding of S. Pauls wordes nowe before alleaged. Si aedificauerit super fundamētum, ligna, foenū, stipulam, Serm. 3. in Psal. 103. id est mores saeculares fundamento fidei suae super aedificauerit, tamen si in fun­damento sit Christus, & primum locum ipse habeat in corde, & ei nihil omnino antepona­tur, portentur et tales: Veniet caminus & in­cendet ligna, faenum, stipulam: ipse inquit sal­uus erit, sic tamen quasi per ignem. Hoc aget caminus: alios in sinistram separabit, alos in dexteram quodammodo eliquabit. Yf any man erecte vppon the foundation woodde, hay, or strawe, that is to saye worldly affections vpon the grounde­wark of his saith: if yet Christ be in the foundation, and beare the greatest stro­ke in his harte, so that nothing be prae­ferred before him, suche may well be borne withall▪ for the fiery fornace shal come and burne the woodde, hay and [Page 71] stoble, and shall be saued, as the Apostle saith, thoughe it be for al that throughe the fyer, that fornace then shall parte some to the lifte hande, and try forth other (if a mā man may so tearme it) to the right hand.

And as S. Augustin taketh these base substances of wood, hay, or stoble, to si­gnify wordely affections and seculare desires: so S. Ambrose noteth by the same, vaine, curious,In com. su­per hunc locum. and vnprofitable doctrines: the drosse of whiche friuou­lous matter muche corrupting the sin­cerity of oure faithe, must be separated from the foundation, by the fyer of the saide fornace. For this is a generall do­ctrine with owte exception, that what so euer be vnderstanded by those light matters, whether it be a difformity in liefe or in doctrine, that onely defilethe and not vtterly destroyeth the faithe whiche is the foundation, nor wasteth the loue due vnto oure Lord, what so euer (I saie) that be, it must be tryed oute by the spirite of iudgement and [Page] fier. Briefly then, thus S. Ambrose ex­poundinge the Apostles woordes. He shall be saued by fier, In commentarijs super 3. c. 1. ad Cor. wtiteth, Ostendit illum saluum quidem futurum, sed paenam ignis passurum, vt per ignem purgatus fiat saluus, & non sicut perfidi aeterno igne in perpetuum torqueatur. The apo­stle declareth that he shal be saued, and yet suffer the paines of fyer: that being pourged by that fyer, he may so be sa­ued, and not as the vnfaithfull, perpe­tually be tormented in euerlasting fire.

This temporall torment of the next liefe S. Hierom very fitly calleth. A iudgmēt of god ioyned with mercy, the continuance whereof, or other circun­stancies to serue mennes curiosity he dare not define, being contented oute of doubt to beleue that certeyne sinners be in greuous torments, and yet not with owte hope of mercy▪ these be that holy mannes wordes in his com­mentaries vpon the Prophet Esai,Cap. vlt et in primum Cap. Ezech in illud, vi di quasi speciē electri. taul­king by occasion, of the continuance of purgatory paines. Quod nos solius Dei [Page 72] scientiae debemus relinquere, cuius non solum misericordiae sed & tormēta in pondere sunt: & nouit quem, quomodo, & quamdiu debe­at iudicare. Solumque dicamus quod huma­nae conuenit fragilitati, Domine ne in fu­rore tuo arguas me, neque in ira tu­a corripias me: & sicut diabili omni um­que negatorum atque impiorum qui dixe­runt in corde suo non est Deus, credimus ae­terna tormenta, sic peccatorum atque impio­rum, & tamen Christianorum, quorum ope­ra in igne purganda sunt atque probanda, moderatam arbitramur & mixtam clementiae sententiā iudicis. In englishe: We must cōmit this secrette to Goddes wisedom and knowledge, whose not onely mer­cy, but iudgemēt and iuste ponishment be paised. For he right well knoweth whome, how, and what time he ought to poonish. And let vs onely as it be­commeth oure frailety crie owte: Lorde in thy furious wrath argue me not, ne­ther correct me in thy angre: for as we beleue the aeternall damnation and tor­ment [Page] of the deuill with the forsaken sorte and wicked, that saide in theire harte there is no God, so we suppose, that vpon sinners and euil men, being yet christen men, whose woorkes shall be bothe pourged and tryed by fyer, shal be pronounced a moderate sentence mi­xed with mercy and clemency. Loe here, this worthy writer graunteth there be two sortes of pounishments by fyer, one of the damned spirites and wicked men aeternall, and an other off certeyne that in theire lyefe were sin­ners, and sum wicked men too, who yet being in Christes Churche and v­sing the benefite of the blessed sacra­ments, had theyre sinnes so forgeuen, that not purging theire wicked lyefe by sufficient poenaunce in theire dayes, they must of necessety entre into the torment of transitory fyere, there to be poonishid not in rage and rigoure with out pity, but in anger of fatherly corre­ction ioyned with clemency and much mercye.

Cap. 8.

THese three noble lear­ned men might right wel satisfie oure search, for the sense of the tex­tes bothe off the Pro­phet and Apostle, and persuade any re­asonable man in the whole cause: yet for that there be som that meane not to relent in their lewde opinions, for light proffers, I will store theime with testi­monyes.

Origenes, one of greate antiquity, in many places of his woorkes vnderstan­deth bothe the saide textes of Malachie and S. Paule in the like sorte: by whome we may well take a greate taste of the tyme and churche where he liued, what men of wisdom and vertue then iudged [Page] off thinges, whiche nowe of fooles be contemned, and of haeretikes condem­ned also. But namely vpon the prophet Ieremy in these wordes:Homil. 12. Si post funda­mentum Iesu Christi, non solum in tuo corde aurum, argentum, & lapidem praeciosum superaedificaueris, verum & ligna, foenum, & stipulam, quid tibi vis fieri cum anima seiuncta fuerit a corpore? vtrum ne ingredi vis in sancta cum lignis tuis, & foeno, & sti­pula, vt polluas regnum dei? an propter lig­num, foenum, & stipulam, foris residere vis, & pro auro, argento, lapide precioso, nil mer­cedis accipere? sed neque hoe aequum est. Quid ergo sequitur, nisi vt primū propter lignum ignistibi detur, qui consumat foenum, lig­num, & stipulam &c. Yf vpon the foun­dation, which is Christe Iesus, thou do not onely buylde goulde, siluer, and preciouse stone, but allso woodde, hay, and strawe, what doost thou looke for after thy death? willt thow entre into the holy places with thy wodde, hay, and stoble, and defile the kingdom off God? or elles for thy woodde, hay, and [Page 74] straw, thow wilte abyde furthe: and so lyese the rewarde of thy goulde, siluer, and preciouse stone? But that were no reason: then there is no way but one, first to receyue fier for to consume and burne owte thy wood, hay, and stooble: and then afterward to receyue for thy better workes, the rewarde of saluation▪ so saith Origen. Whose iudgement iff any man mistrust in this poynt, bi­cause he erred in other, let him learne to miscredet onely his or other mennes singulare opinions and priuate phanta­syes, wherin they disagreed from the residew of the common body of Christ his Churche, and not contemne in any man the confirmation of the vniuersal sense,Basil. Cap. penult. de spiritu sancto. whiche he findeth in the vni­forme doctrine of all other Christian Catholikes. In deede it was so euident, that this Purgatory fyre of whiche the Apostle speaketh, shoulde be in the o­ther lyefe, that this learned man after­ward, leauing the meaning whiche the holy Church had opened for the prouf [Page] off certeyne transitory poonishment in the next worlde for meaner offenders, woulde of his owne heade go forwarde (whiche is the bane of many a goodly witt) and mainteyne that all greuous crimes,Vincent lyr and most wicked maners might be purged by this fyre after death, and the partyes in tyme saued,De fide & operibus Cap. 16. so that they had faithe for theire foundation▪ wher­by (as S. Augustine noteth of him) he made onely faith to saue the wicked, withowte repentaunce or good wor­kes. Ageinst whiche perniciouse errour the saide doctour often writeth: and proueth that this place of S. Paule can not make for the delyuery of the wic­ked or greuous offenders in any case. And being sumwhat vrged by the ad­uersaryes arguments, or elles bicause he woulde take all howlde from theyme whiche they seemed to haue by that scripture, he seeketh theime owte ano­ther meaning, not contrary at all to the trueth of Purgatory: but yet farther off theire purpose. Declaring that this fyer [Page 75] might (as he saith there) signify summe grefe off this worlde, for the aba­tyng of summe inordinate affections that be founde in many euen towardes thinges otherwise lawfull. Thoughe he was very lothe to auouche this as the vndouted meaning of that scripture, be­ing pleaced with any other wherby they shoulde not be forced to deny the aeternall damnation of impaenitent sin­ners: as in deede he neuer gaue this me­aning but where the Origenistes did vrge him, and in such places only where he answereth to Origens argumentes▪ for in other places where he was free from contention with the saide sectes, he euer in expresse termes grounded the doctrine of Purgatory vpon the A­postles wordes. Yea euen in the same answere to the aduersary he was so mindful of Goddes iustice in the world to coom, and ferd lest he might geue any occasion of the contrary errour to deny purgatory, that in the same talke with the Origenistes, he confesseth [Page] there might wel be summe greffe in the nexte lyefe allso, which might likewise purge and delyuer a man from the loue of transitory thinges, wherwithe the best sorte of men be in this our misery often very sore loden. Allthoughe in dede he doubted whether any suche af­fection and loue of thinges deare vnto vs in this worlde, as of wiefe, kinred, acquaintance,Euch: C [...]p. 67. & 68. or suche lyke might re­maine in man after his departure hense, and so there in time to be lessened, and in fine vtterly remoued or worne away, by som greefe and sorow which in the nexte lyefe might by the lacke of the said things, vexe and molest his minde. As we see it commūly faule in this pre­sent liefe, where man by diuerse prof­fitable troobles of this worlde, lerneth to set light by thinges, which in ordre he might well loue: being for all that more merite to forsake theyme.Euch: Cap. 69. And of this pointe S. Augustine hathe these wordes in one place: Tale aliquid fieri etiam post banc vitam incredibile non est: & [Page 76] vtrum ita sit quaeri potest, sum such thing may well be after this lyefe, and therof quaestion may be made.This cler­kly argu­ment our englishe apologie vrgeth. By whiche wordes, the haeretikes of oure tyme e­ther of ignorance or of malice (whiche be euer yoked to gether in suche men) haue borne the simple in hand, that this holy doctour doubted of Purgato­ry. A little houlde wil serue such wrin­gers: because he doubted of it, they be­leue, as they thinke by good authority, that with owt doubte ther is none at al. Yff S. Augustine had but saide, belike there is no suche meane place in the lyefe folowing: mary sir then they might haue picked more matter of their infidelity: and yet of that speach deter­mining no certeinty, there had bene no greate cause why they shulde haue for­saken the iudgement of Goddes Chur­che. But nowe he so doubteth, that he fyndeth more cause to thinke there should be one, then that any man might gether vpō his wordes, that ther should [Page] be none at all. No nor he neuer went so farre good reader, as to make any doubte of Purgatory paynes, for poo­nishment of sinnes committed in the worlde. For in all the same bokes where he hathe the lyke saing, and allmost in the very same places, he houldeth as a matter of faithe, and to be beleued of all Christen men, that the prayers of the lieuing doo release som of theire paines in the next liefe. And he constantly as all other Catholikes euer did, confes­seth that the sinnes or vncleane wor­kes of the liuing not duely by paenaūce wyped away in this worlde, must be mended after oure deathe: all thoughe it be very doubtefull in dede, whether there be any worldly affections lefte in mannes mynde vntaken vppe by death and resolution of the body and the soule, the care and remembrance wher­of, might be afterward by sorowe bothe purged and poonished.

And this to be his meaning, and that he termeth here purgatory, the griefe [Page 77] whiche a man hathe in losing that whiche he loued in this mortall liefe, his owne wordes testifye in euery off those workes in whiche he kepeth this combate with Origenistes.Lib. 21. de Ciuit. 26. In one place thus. Quod sine illicienti amore non habuit, sine dolore vrente non perdet: & ex earum rerum amissione tantum necesse est vt vrat dolor, quantum haeserat amor. That which by tiklinge loue was kepte, can not be loste with oute burning grefe. And loo­ke howe fast the loue of suche thin­ges did cleaue to mannes mind, so farre must sorow burne.Ca [...] So in the like talke with the saide Origenistes, in his booke de fide & operibus, he foloweth the same signification of Purgatory. Haec igitur (saith he) qnoniam affectu dilecta carnali non sine dolore amittuntur, qui sic ea habent, in eorum amissione passi detrimentum, per ignem quendam doloris perueniunt ad salu­tem: these thinges being by carnall af­fection loued, be not lightly lost with oute grefe, and therfore those that thus be affectionate, fele losse in parting [Page] from theime: and so coom to saluation throughe the fyer of sorowe▪ suche a sadnesse the yonge man that demaun­ded of our maister the waie to heauen, conceiued streght,Matth. 19. when motion was onely made, of distributiō of his good­des. Who being otherwise in the state of saluation, and to be borne with all, bicause he was a iuste man and lacked not the foundation of his faith, yet the very losse or leauing of his gooddes, was vnto him (if he cōtinued in that affecti­on) a wonderful greate torment, and as S. Augustin here calleth it, a kind of purgatory: the which, perfect mē, that aeste­me al the trasshe of this worlde as durte and donge to winne Christe, feele not at all: whome the doctoure supposethe therfore, to take no damage in the losse of thinges whiche they so litle loued.

Nowe in euery place where this ex­position is founde (as I think it is neuer in al his workes, lightly, but in conferē ­ce with the Origenistes) he alwaies ad­deth, that the like fire of sorow may al­so [Page 78] correct the affectiōs euē of the depar­ted, but yet whether it be so or no, he co­ūteth it a quaestiō of probable disputati­on, rather thē any matter of faith▪ as it is in dede very doubtful whether any such vnordinate affectiō may remaine vntakē vppe after mannes departure, which by grefe and sorowe in the other worlde may be in time wholy consumed. And further he neuer doubted. For in that famous worke of the City of God, wi­the in two chapters of that doubte ma­de of this kind of purgation, whiche we now haue declared,Cap. 24. li. 21. he vttereth his faithe withe Goddes Churche, off that greate torment and iust poonishe­ment of sinfull liefe, not sufficiently purged by poenaunce in oure time, whiche he calleth the Amending fire: and thus he saithe there. Tales etiam constat, ante iudicij diem per paenas temporales quas eorum spiritus patiuntur purgatos, re­ceptis corporibus aeterni ignis supplicijs non tradendos, & cae. It is certeine (saithe he) Constat, whiche is no worde of doubte­fullnesse) [Page] that suche men being purged by the temporall paines, whiche theire soules do suffer before the day of iud­gement, shall not after they haue recei­ued theire bodies ageine, be committed to the torment of the euerlasting fire. This he vttereth in the same place whe­re he doubteth of the other kinde of purgation:Vide quaest 8. ad Dul­citium. as he cōfessethe him selfe to be vncertein of the whole exposition, refusing none at all that were agreable to faithe, and woulde not helpe the fal­shood whiche he then refuted. In his Enchir: where he disputeth ageinste the same erroure,Cap. 110. he so little doubteth, that he calleth Purgatory damnation thoughe not perpetuall, as that whiche might be bothe eased and vtterly remo­ued by the sacrifice and suffragies of the Churche.

And thus did that graue author with­stand Origen then, whose folowers wer as it may be thought very busy and trooblesom in those daies and long af­ter. But yet his sure staffe ageinst that [Page 79] erroure was this, and the most com­mon defense of all Catholikes, that the temporall paines in the next world coulde neuer deliuer the great and gre­uous sinners that died with oute repen­taunce or remission of theire sinnes, from euerlasting death: bicause that torment was praepared for the smaule of­fenseis whiche we call venial sinnes: by whiche the holy Apostle ment, vnder the names of the base substances off woodde, hay, and straw,Ser. 4. de sanctis. as these wordes of muche importaunce may wel declare There be diuerse (saithe he) that mi­sconstruing these wordes of S. Paule before aleaged, by ouer vaine securi­ty and confidence deceiue theime sel­ues, beleuing that if they do build ca­pitall and greuous crimes vppon the fundation whiche is Christ, they shall be pourged throughe fire, and theyme selues afterward escape to euerlasting liefe: but this vnderstanding, good bre­thern, [Page] must be corrected. For those that so flatter theime selues, shameful­ly do begile theime selues. For that fiere whiche the Apostle speaketh of in these wordes: He shall be saued through fier, pougeth not mortal sin­nes, but smauler offensies onely.

To this purpose S. Hieroms wordes, or the reuerēt Bedes whether you will, (for ether of theire graue authorities shall serue my turne) doo wholy agree in the exposition of this sentence, Mortuo homine impio non erit vltra spes. In Cap. 11. Prouerb. A wic­ked man being once departed, is past re­couery or hope. Where the author wri­teth thus. Heu misere hoc pertransit Ori­genes, qui post vniuersale iudicium vitam credidit omnibus impijs dandam. Notan­dum autem quod etsi impijs post mortem spes veniae non sit, sunt tamen qui de leuioribus peccatis, cum quibus obligati defuncti sunt▪ post mortem possunt absolui. Origen passed ouer this texte pitifully, that beleued all the wicked should haue at lenght li­efe [Page 80] euerlasting, after the day of generall iudgement. Yet this is to be noted, that allthough there be no hope of pardon for the wicked after theire death, yet there be certeine whiche may be relea­sed of lighter trespasses, in the bond of which they departed out of this world. And so dooth Oecumenius a greeke author, expounde S. Paules wordes off veniall sinnes: for the purgation of whiche, he dobuteth not but that there is a fire of iudgement in the liefe to come. Ipse autem saluabitur: quis? Super. 3. Cap. 1. ad Cor. Qui au­rum, argentum, lapides preciosos superaedifi­cauerit: cum enim dixisset de eo quod merce­dem accipiet, nunc qualem mercedem aperit: salutem scilicet. Saluabitur autem non sine dolore, vt par est saluari per ignem transe­untem, & adhaerentes sibi leues maculas pur­gantem▪ thus in Englishe. By whome is it spoken when he saith, he shall be sa­ued? By him it is spoken that buildeth on the foundatiō, goulde, filuer and preciouse stones. For when he had towlde vs that suche shoulde haue a rewarde, [Page] nowe he openeth what that rewarde shoulde be: to wiett, saluation. And yet he must not be saued witheoute all pa­ine, as there is no cause why he should, that must passe through fier, and ther­by be pourged of the smauler spottes whiche sticke by him. In the same sense dothe Theodoretus bothe expounde the wordes of the Apostle, and vtter his iudgement of Purgatory also:Super. 3. c. Malach. and all­most the rest of all the latine or Greke writers, whiche my purposed breuitye with plentifull proufe otherwise for­cethe me to leaue to the studious rea­der.

One place more I will onely adde oute of Remigius, bicause he learnedly may knitte vp the place, by ioyning bo­the the prophet and Apostles wordes together,In. 3. cap. Malach. vpon whiche we haue stand so longe. Thus that good author wri­teth. Ipse enim quasi ignis conflans & pec­catores exurens, Ignis enim in conspectu e­ius ardebit & in circuitu eius tempestas va­lida. Hoc igne consumuntur lignū, foenum, [Page 81] stipula. Nec solum erit quasi ignis, sed etiam quasi herba fullonum, qua vestes nimiū sor­dibus infectae lauantur. Porro his qui gra­uiter peccauerunt erit ignis conflans & exu­rens: illis vero qui leuia peccata commiserūt erit herba fullonum. Hinc per Isaiam dici­tur, si abluerit dominus &c. Qui enim hahēt sordes leuium peccatorum spiritu iudicij pur­gantur: qui vero sanguinem habent, hoc est grauioribus peccatis infecti sunt, spiritu ar­doris exurentur & purgabuntur. Et sedebit conflans & emundans argentum, & colabit eos quasi aurū & argentū, hoc est intellectum & colloquium: vt quicquid mixtum est stan­no vel plumbo, camino domini exuratur: & quod purum aurum est & argentum rema­neat. Et purgabit filios Leui: In filiis Leui omnem sacerdotalem ordinem intelligimus, a quibus iudiciū incipiet: quia scriptum est: tempus est vt iudicium incipiat a domo dei: 1. Petri. 4. & alibi: a sanctuario meo incipite. Si autem sacerdos flammis purgandus est & colandus, quid de caeteris dicendum est, quos nullum cō ­mendat priuilegium sanctitatis? These goulden wordes haue this sense. He [Page] shall coom as the gouldesmithes fyre, [...]ing sinners. For in his sight a flame [...]l ryse, and a mighty tempest rownd [...]boute him: by whiche fyre, our wodde, hay, and stooble, shall be wasted and worne away. With that, he shall be lyke the clēsers herbe, wherby garmēts very much stayned be purged. To all those that haue greuously offended, he will be a burning and melltyng fyre: but to the light sinners, he shall be as the was­shers herbe. Whiche difference the Pro­phet Esai noteth thus:Cap. 4. Yff oure lorde wipe a way the filthe of the doghters of Syon, and blodd from the middest of Israel, in the spirite of iudgement and fyre. For such as haue onely the spottes of veniall sinnes, they may be amended by the spirite of iudgement, but men of bloodde, to witte the more greuous offenders, must be tried by fire. And he shall sitte casting and purifying siluer, and shall purge menne as goulde and siluer be purified: that is to say our [Page 82] thoghtes, vnderstanding, and wordes,I call stannum peuter, moued by the circumstāce of the letter. from impurity and vncleanesse, as from pewter and leade, by Goddes fornace shall exactly be pourged: and nothing shall be lefte but pure as goulde and fine siluer. And he shall pourge the sonnes of Leui: that is the ordre of priesthood, where this heuy iudgement shall first begin. For so it is writen:1. Pet. 4. Tyme is nowe, that iudgement begin at the howse of God: and ageine: Begin at my sanctuary. Yff the priest muste be purged and fined, what shal we deme of other, whome priuilege of holy ordre dooth not commende or helpe? thus farre goeth the author in conference of diuerse scriptures. Who, with the rest of all the holy fathers that compased their senses with in the vnity of Christes Churche, hathe fownd by euident te­stimonye of sundry scriptures, the pai­nes of purgatory: whiche the busy hea­des of oure tyme by vayne bragging off scriptures, in singulare arrogancy off [Page] theyre owne wittes, can neuer finde.

Cap. 9.

ANd I thinke they nowe haue smaule aduantage, by thexception of Ori­gens testimony: by oc­casion wheroff, suche light is fownde for oure cause, that we nowe by goodly authority haue bothe fownde the placies alleaged plainely to proue purgatory, and allso what sinnes it namely pourgeth, and what men af­ter theire death may be amēded therby▪ that not onely the bare trueth, but sum necessary circumstances to the studi­ous of the truethe, haue bene here by iust occasion opened, and all errour wholy remoued. Except this point may [Page 83] somwhat stay the reader, that heareth in som places the paines of Purgatory to be bothe a poonishment for greuous sinnes, and a purgation of lighter tres­passes with all: and yet that it now may appeare the contrary, by the mynde off som learned authors, who expressely make that payne as a remedy onely for veniall sinnes, and not to apperteyne at all to the capitall and deadely crimes that man often tymes doothe comitte: Therfore to be as plaine as may be ne­cessary for the vnlerned, or any other that is godly curious in thinges muche tending to the quiet rest off mannes conscience, it is to be noted: that this ordinary iustice of God in the lyefe fo­lowing for the purgation of the electe, can not discharge any man of mortall sinne,A mortal sin not re­mitted in this lief is not dis­charged by purga­tory. whiche was not pardoned before in the Churche militant vpon earthe. And therfore what crime so euer deser­ueth damnation, and was not in man­nes lyefe remitted, it can not by purga­tory paynes be released in the next: bi­cause [Page] it deserueth death euerlasting, and staith the offender from the king­dom of heauen for euer: no paine tem­porall in this worlde or the next but Christes passion alone, (the benefite wherof is not by the sufferers will, ex­tended to any that sinneth vnto death) being able to satisfy for the same.

As often then as thou hearest any Catholike man affirme Purgatory to poonishe or pourge greuous and deadly offenses, be assured his meaning is off the temporall paine due vnto wicked men and theire sinnes, after their bonde and debt of euerlasting death, with the very faulte it selfe, be in Goddes Chur­che remitted.A deadly sinne re­mitted is in case of a veniall sinne. For as S. Augustine saith, a mortall sinne forgiuen, is becomne a veniall trespasse, and so deserueth no more paine then a veniall sinne, which by transitory poonishment may be ful­ly and perfitely released▪ thus he saithe: Quaedam enim sunt peccata quae mortalia sunt, De vera et falsa poeni­tent. c. 18. & in poenitentia fiunt venialia, non ta­men statim sanata. There be sinnes [Page 84] (saith he) which being deadly off theire owne nature, be yet by poena­unce made veniall, thoughe not all­wayes streght healed. Then by this ruele, what so euer is spoken of veniall sinnes or the purgation therof: it is ment bothe by the smaule offenseis whiche of theire owne nature are ve­niall: and allso of the greater, so that they be forgeuen in Goddes church be­fore: wherby they are becomne veniall as the other, and deserue propertionally as the other: and may be taken a way (as the same man affirmeth) ether in this worlde or the next,Euch. c. 71 by the same re­medyes as the othere, thoughe not al­wayes so speedely.

Well then, to close vp brefely, all this haue we fownde by these scriptures al­leaged: that being diuerse degrees off men, Purgatory apperteineth but to o­ne sort. Firste not to suche as lacke the faithe of Christe, for they hauing no foundation are allredy iudged: nether [Page] to suche as haue not builded vpon the foundation, but rather defaced it withe woorkes of deathe and deuelishe do­ctrine. For all these must lyke widdred branches be cast in to the fiere, not to be purged, but vtterly wasted. There be yet other that kepe theire foundation faste, and woorke there vpon bothe goulde and siluer, but yet abased and sumwhat defiled by the mixture of o­ther infirmityes not sufficiently redres­sed in this lyefe: these must of neces­sity by Goddes ordinaunce, suffer the Purgation by fire: that theire woorkes purifyed and amended by the sentence of his iuste iudgement, may at lengthe by mercy and grace bringe theyme to their desired end.

Nowe the perfect estate, whiche, ha­uing this groundewarcke, and building thereuppon nothing for the most part, but the tried fyne workes of heauenly doctrine and perfect charity, can not fe­are the fyre, as in whome it shall finde no matter of waste. For if any drosse of [Page 85] seculare desires or worldly weakenesse, was in theire frailty contracted, theyre fructefull poenaunce in theire liefe, wa­shed that away by the force of Christes bloude, before the daie of oure Lorde greate and fearefull, came vpon theime: In whiche case God will not poonishe twise for one faulte,Naum. 1. nor entre into iud­gement with suche,1. Cor. 11. as haue iudged theime selues to his hand.

These therefore thus guarded by goddes grace, in whom onely they cha­lenge this Priuilege, can not feele anye daunger, theire woorkes (as S. Paul sai­the) abiding the brounte of the fiere, thoughe they were in place of torment with the reste. For if suche doo passe the fyrie sworde, before they entre in­to the ioyes of heauen, yet they shall e­uen there be so shadowed, that to theim it can nether be any whit molestious, nor one moments staye from the re­warde of theire pure gouldē woorkes, whiche by fire can not perishe. For off suche, we muste beleue withe Goddes [Page] Churche, that they go streght to hea­uen vpon theire departure, with owte stay or poonishement in the next liefe. Althoughe Christe onely, of his owne force, being not subiecte to any spotte of sinne, did passe this fyre: and entre in to heauen, the aeternall gates opening theime selues vnto him as to the king of glory. Who being before in the pla­ces of paine also,Act. 2. yet coulde not possi­bly be touched thereby, as the Apostle saith.

And that is S. Ambrose his meaning (as I suppose) whē he saide. Vnus ille ignē hūc sentire nō potuit. Christ only was he, that could not fiele this fire. He spea­kethe of the fire through whiche euen the good must passe, before they coom to aeternall ioy. Where he doubteth not to auouche, that many a man that thin­kes him selfe gould, and is taken so to be of others too, shall yet there be pro­ued full of drosse and impurity, long to be cleansed before his finall freedom and deliuery: and yet to be saued throughe [Page 86] fyre.

But for those that be in dede perfect menne, as Iohn the beloued of Iesus, and Petre with the rest, this holy do­ctoure was so sure of Purgatory, that he thought these also to go throughe the same: and yet the fiery flamme to haue geuē place as it did to the three childrē, and as S. Augustin supposeth it shall do in the generall conflagration to the bodies of vertuous men,Dan. 4. when at the very same time it shall bothe waste the wic­ked, and purge the meane: the workes of one sorte withstanding the flamme, the drosse of the other in a maner fee­ding the same. S. Ambrose therefore thus writeth of the holy Apostle. De morte Ioannis aliqui dubitarunt, Ser. 20. in psa. 118. de transi­tu per ignem dubitare non possumus, quia in paradiso est, & à Christo non separatur: som doubt of Iohns death, but of his passa­ge by the fire, bicause he is in ioy with Christ, we can not doubt. And of S. Pe­ter he saith▪ siue ille sit Petrus qui claues accepit regni coelorum, Psal. 65. oportet dicat transi­uimus [Page] per ignem & aquam & induxisti nos in refrigerium. Yea iff it be Peter him selfe to whome the keyes of heauen were commited, he must say: we passed by fyre and water, and thowe haste brought vs into the place of refresshing.

But howe so euer God worketh in this case with the perfyte sort, this the churche beleueth, and so this doctoure teacheth, and therfore I dare be boulde to say it, that suche nether suffer any payne, nor taryaunce by the waye. Though by nature, that fyre or tor­ment praepared for the amendment and poonishing of sinne or the drosse ther­of, might of force and right take hould there, where corruption of sinne by a­ny meanes hath bene, thath is not who­ly purified before. Therfore the soule of our sauiour, being alltogether vn­spotted, coulde not be subiect to any sufferance in the worlde to com, by any ordinaunce praepared for the poonish­ment of sinne: that fyre hauing no further graunt by creation and naturall [Page 87] property, but to waste there where sin­ne is fownd to haue bene. Vpon other it woulde worke til all corruption were consumed, if mercy did not praeuent bothe in purifyng those singulare e­lect vesselles, and in repressing the na­ture of the flame praepared, that it prac­tise not iustice, where God hath abun­dantly shewed grace and mercy before.

All beit I doo not say that the fyry sworde is in the passage of euery soule towardes heauen, for that is Goddes secret: and I will with S. Ambrose in the same place say: Quod legi praesumo, Ibidem. quod non legi scientibus relinquo. That whiche I haue redd, in graue authority, that will I bouldely auouche: that whi­che I haue not redde, with feare and re­uerence I commit to men of more knouledge. As with owte exception I submit my sellfe to the determination of Goddes church in all these poyntes of mysteries, whiche in this deape mat­ter course of taulke may driue me vnto. But now for the meaner sorte that with [Page] Christian faith and good workes haue yet som baser building of infirmity or lighter trespasses allso, those must ne­des be tried by the fire of iuste iudge­mēt, in the worlde to come. And this is that which S. Augustin calleth so often the Amending fyre.Vide Ruper tum in 3. ca genes. In ser. de s. Nicolao. S. Ambrose the fy­ry sword, S. Bernarde termeth it the place of expiation, In quo pater benignus examinat filios rubiginosos, sicut examina­tur argentum: In whiche oure mercifull father trieth his rusty children as siluer is tried: Whiche all these holy fathers with the rest, oftentimes doo name by the common calling of Purgatory. Re­ade all these place is named if thow ha­ste occasion thy sellfe, and there thow shalte finde to thy singulare comforth, sufficient proufe of thy faithe, greate motion of godly lyefe, withe ne­cessary feare of Goddes iudgements. Thowe shalte maruell at the ignorance of oure time, that could euer doubt of so plaine a matter: thow shalt pity with all thy harte the vnworthy deceiuing [Page 88] of the vnlerned, and haue large matter to withstand the deceiuers, and to help the simple home againe.

Cap. 10.

ANd yet it shall be con­uenient, that I helpe the studious reader with fur­ther proufe oute of the holy scripture, that he may be fully established in his faithe, and the aduersary haeretike wholy confounded in his misbelife: Yf he list not rather (as I heartely pray to God that he may) geue ouer that vnnatural plea, houlden too longe ageinst the Catho­lyke Churche oure moother. Geue e­are then vnto the woordes of oure sa­uioure writen in the Ghospell of S. Matthew Esto consentiens aduersario tuo cito dum es in via cum eo: Cap. 5. ne forte tradat te [Page] aduersarius iudici, Lucae. 12. & iudex tradat te mini­stro & in carcerem mittaris. A men dico tibi nō exies inde donec reddas nouissimum qua­drantem Be att agreemente with thyne aduersary speedely, whiles thow arte with him in the waie. Lest that aduer­sary deliuer the vpp to the iudge, and the iudge committe the to an officer, by whom thow may be cast into prison: surely I say vnto the, thow shalte not gett oute, till thow haue discharged the vttermost farthing.

Now being desirous of the truethe and true meaning of this letter, (for the vnderstanding maketh all) bicause there may arise by the darkenesse of that fi­guratiue speache some diuersity of sen­se, let vs indifferently wey euery word, and with diligence examine the cir­cumstances of the texte wherby any light may appeare. And first being ad­monished to agree with oure aduersary, we may right wel knowe that he mea­neth not by the cōmon enimy of oure kind,1. Petri. 5. that rometh about seeking whom [Page 89] he may deuoure: for his cruell assaultes must onely by resistaunce be with­stand. [...]. Nether the worde whiche the Euangelistes there vsed, can properly signifye any malicious enymy,Litigator, seu actor. that by hatered of oure person is become oure deadly foe, as those whiche be skillfull in the languageis wherin they wrote, doo confesse: But rather, as well the worde as the iust consideration of the place, dryueth vs to acknouledge that this oure aduersary, here signifieth our brother, whiche hathe iuste qua­rel against vs in iudgement, for that we woulde not geue eare vnto him sharply admonishing vs of oure faultes, being therfore an aduersary to our vicies and fleshly conuersation. In which sort, to vs that are flesshe and bloodde, and redy to euel from oure youth, all be ad­uersaryes that preache Christe, the a­mendment of licentious maners, repen­taunce of oure lothsom lyefe past,Vide Bern. ser. 85. su­per cantit. or el­les vse ageinst vs the rodde of correction and bodyly poonishment, that our sou­les [Page] may be saued in the day of thappea­ring of oure lorde.

To this kinde of aduersary, Christe councelleth and commaundeth vs, for our greate good, to agree and consent whiles we be here in the way of this oure pilgramage and transitory lyefe: lest all these meanes whiche he wroght to reduce vs to the perfection off a Christian godly lyefe, be as it were a witnesse of oure contempte, and him selfe oure accuser before the iudge, that shall so iustely rewarde euery man ac­cording to his deedes:Act. 10. that is Christe him sellfe, to whome the father hathe geuen all iudgement. Whose ministers being Angelles, ether good or badde, for thexecution of iustice vpō sinners, shall at his appointment cast vs into the prison and dongion, there to be howl­den from lyefe and lyberty, till we haue payde the last farthing: the toleration of whiche bondes shall recompense the debtes, whiche by well dooyng and muche mourning, in the way off this [Page 90] world, we refused to pay: as S. Augu­stin piththely speaketh in these wordes. Si non reddit faciendo iustitiam, De libero Arbitrio. lib. 3. c. 15 reddet pa­tiendo miseriam: he that paithe not his debt by dooing that whiche is iuste and right, he shall pay it by suffering mise­ry. Whiche we trust the pitifull paynes of that prison, through the onely de­sertes and merites of Christe our lorde and God, shall so discharge, that after the payment ether pardoned or fully made, we may haue ioyfull accesse to his blessed presence.

For the forme of speache vsed in lyke ordre of wordes by bothe the Euange­listes, dothe vs plainely to vnderstand, that we may through Christe make ful payment therof. Elles he would not by liklyhoodd haue sayde, that we shoulde not escape fourthe tyll we had dis­charged the vtmost farthing, but ra­ther that seuere iudge woulde haue ge­uen charge, that thoffender shoulde be bond hand and foutte, and cast into the dark doungion of euerlasting damnati­on, [Page] praepared for the deuill, and his An­gells: whiche is the second and euerla­sting deathe. Namely the worde off Imprisonment so well agreing therun­to,Carc [...]r that it may not well admit any o­ther meaning, but a place of temporall torment. For a prison is a place of cor­rection and chastisement of suche as be on lyue, in which as longe as lyefe la­steth a man may be in hope of liberty, thoughe his bondage for a tyme be ne­uer so vntollerable: but when sentence of deathe is once pronounced in this worlde, or damnation in the nexte, then we may right wel knowe Goddes mer­cy to be shutte vppe, and the party des­perate of all recouery. Nether the name off imprisonment in scripture, is lightly taken for the place of euerlasting pou­nishment, nor can by conference of the sundry partes of this letter, haue here conuenyently any suche sense.

And these notes well and diligently considered, may geue greate light to the alleaged wordes otherwise somwhat [Page 91] obscure, and therwith prooue our mat­ter too. They be not of my scanning onely, as for som parte thowe shallte pecceiue by these wordes of Rupert,Super. 5. cap. Matt. an excellent good author. Aduersarius eo­rum qui erant eiusmodi sermo fuit euangelij, & omnis praedicator euangelicae veritatis, po­testatem habens non consentientem sibi trade­re iudici: & non solum iudici, verum etiam malo ministro, quemadmodum vnus eorum tradidit hominem satanae. The aduersary of suche men was the woorde of the gospel, and eche preacher of the trueth, who had powre to delyuer him that woulde not agree vnto him, to the iudge: yea further then that, he had au­thority to committe him to an euil mi­nister, as one of theime gaue vpp a man to Satā. Here we see what that aduersa­ry is, to whom we must consent in this lyefe: and withall, we haue an example in this iudgemēt of Goddes ministers, howe man may be committed in the next lyfe to a tormenter, that may vexe him then at Goddes prescripsion, as he [Page] doothe nowe at the charge onely of his minister: then in fauoure and mercy of the iudge, as it is nowe in loue and cha­rity of the vicegerent, then for the at­teyning of heauens blesse, as it is nowe for the saluation of the person poonis­hed. For the execution of Goddes sen­tence may be ether by a good spirite,Lib. 21. de ciuit. Dei. cap. 13. or oure aduersary Angel, or by his wil and worde onely, to whome all creatures serue and obey.

In this sense Paulinus, who was S. Augustines peare, writeth that the holy Gost and Goddes worde, be mannes aduersaryes in earthe: to whome if we applye oure selues obediently in this worlde, our sorowe can not be long in the next lyefe. But these be his owne wordes.Ad Amā dum. epi. 1. Neque septem dies luctus noster excedat, si consentiamus in huius vitae via, aduersario nostro, id est spiritui ac verbo dei quod nobis peccantibus aduersatur &c. Ou­re grefe can not be muche longer then seuen dayes (he meaneth it shall be a temporall payne, and not very longe) [Page 92] yff we consent in the way of this lyefe to oure aduersary that is to witte, the spirite and worde of God. For they be oure aduersaryes when we sinne: bi­cause the holy Gost chargeth the world with sinne, and the word of God, if we obey not, will be oure accuser and pro­motour vpp vnto the Iudge: who will haue an accompte of his talent, to the vttermost farthinge. Thus farre spake this Author: and in lyke sense many moe whome I neade not nowe name. Bicause there is such store of testimo­nyes, that not onely in som part make for the opening of this scripture: but alltogether for Purgatory. And one or two of theime I will briefly recite: bi­cause I determined with my sellfe, and bounde my selfe, for my discharge and the readers more safe warraunt, to bring no texte of scripture for the proufe off my purpose, excepte I might fynd som holy writers of the antiquity that vsed the same directly in that sense: that if a­ny man would reprehēd my meaning, [Page] yet he shoulde not be so bowlde withe suche as I can name, and prooue to be my authors therin.

But whome may I more safely alle­age for the contentation of sober wit­tes, and repressyng the aduersaryes bowldenesse, then the blessed martyr S. Ciprian? Who in the fourth booke of his Epistles, for the declaration that euery one whiche here is pardoned of his sinnes, shall not streght be exalted to the glory of sanctes and martyrs after theire deathe, vseth very fetly (as he dothe all other placeis of scripture) the forsayde text, by these wordes. Aliud est ad veniam stare, aliud ad gloriam peruenire: Epist. 2. aliud, missum in carcerē non exi­re donec soluat nouissimum quadrantem, aliud statim fidei & virtutis accipere merce­dem: aliud pro peccato longo dolore cruciari, & purgari diu igne, aliud peccata omnia passione purgari: aliud denique pendere in die iudicij ad sententiam domini, aliud sta­tim a domino coronari: In English: it is another thinge to stande at a pardon, [Page 93] then owte of hand to atteyne to glory: it is a nother maner of matter to be commited to prison,See hovve fully he expresseth bothe the vvord and meaning of purga­tory. thense not to de­part tyl the last farthing be discharged, and to receiue owte of hand the reward of faithe and vertue: It is one thinge by greate sorowe to be tormented for oure sinnes,He calleth the sen­tence off God in the next life iudgement. and by longe fyre amended and pourged of the same, and another to haue sufficiently pourged theim by martyrdom: in fyne, it is not all one to hange on Goddes sentence in the day of iudgement, and owte of hand to be crowned of oure lorde. These wordes as yowe see, expressely prooue oure matter, open the meaning of the scrip­ture whereon we nowe stoode, and doo clearely sett forth the ordre of Goddes iustice in the next lyefe. And they shall content the reader better, if he marke vpon what occasion this blessed man spake these wordes. There were many in the persecution of that tyme, that for feare or worldly respectes, denyed theire faithe, and offered to idolles: [Page] who afterward, the storme off tyranny somwhat being caulmed, cōfessed their faulte, and did penaunce for the same, by S. Ciprian and other good bishopes praescription, that then ruled the chur­che of those dayes. By whome, after due satisfaction made, they were admit­ted to the communion of the Christian company, and receite of the holy sacra­ments ageyne. But all pastours not off lyke mercy or seuerity in the case, so­me were suspended from the vse of the Sacraments longer, and othersom by more clemency with spede pardoned ageine. Nowe S. Ciprian, thoughe he were very seuere in suche a cause, (as in all his workes it dooth wel appeare) yet he was blamed by Antonyanus and others, that he dealte ouer mekely with suche as denyed theire faithe, in so spee­dy admission of thime to the peace of Goddes church, as they then termed that reconciliation: alleaging, that iff suche wordely wynd wauerers might be admitted so soone after thopen de­niall [Page 94] of theire faith, then there woul­de none stedfastly stande to deathe, by confession of theire belyefe and theire maisters name, any more: the refusers being in as good case as they, if pardon might so soone be procured. But S. Cy­prians answer is this: that theire admis­sion can not withdrawe any mannes zele from martyrdom, or confession of Christes name, seeing theire reconciliation dothe not set theime on so cleare bord as martyrs be, Who being tried by theire bloud shall streght receiue the croune of glory: When the others stan­ding but vpon pardon of theire sinnes, and not discharged of due paines for the same, must into prison notwithstan­ding, til they haue paide their vttermost duety: and by longe amending by fyre, at the last coom to that reward, which the martyrs atteined by sufferance att the first.Marke vvell. And thus I thinke this holy Martyr meaneth. His wordes surely be singulare and being well vnderstande, they conteine as much matter for our [Page] purpose, as can be possibly in so little rowme: besides the exposition of the texte wherein we yet do stande: But I will adde more, that al may be salfe on euery side.

Homil. 3. de Epipha­nia.Eusebius Emissenus, an author off greate antiquity and muche credet in the Church of God, helpeth our cause by this notable discourse folowing. Hi vero qui temporalibus poenis digna gesse­runt, ad quos sermo dei dirigitur, quod non exient inde donec reddāt nouissimum quadrantem: Dan. 7. per fluuium igneum de quo propheticus sermo commemorat, & flu­uius rapidus currebat ante eū, per va­da feruentibus globis horrenda, transibunt. Quanta fuerit peccati materia, tanta erit pertranseundi mora, quantum accreuerit culpa, tantū sibi ex homine vindicabit flāmae rationabilis disciplina: & quātum stulta ini­quitas gessit, Ezech. 24 tantum sapiens poena deseuiet. Et quia sermo diuinus quodammodo aeneae ollae animam comparans: Pone ollam super prunas vacuam donec incalescat aes eius: illic [Page 95] periuria, irae, malitiae, cupiditates, quae puri­tatem nobilis naturae infecerant, exudabunt: illic stannum vel plumbum diuersarum pas­sionum, quae aurum diuinae imaginis ad­ulterauerant, consumentur. Quae omnia hic ab anima separari per eleemosynas & lachri­mas compendij transactione poterant. Ecce sic exigere habet ab homine rationem qui seip­sum pro homine dedit, & confixus clauis, le­gem mortis fixit. Thus it is in oure ton­ge. As for all suche, vnto whome for their offenses our Lordes word is espe­cially directed, that they shal not coom owte till they haue payed the vtter­most farthing: Those must passe the fiery floode, by horrible fourdes off skawlding waues: Whereof the prophet maketh mention thus. And a firy stre­ame ranne before bis face. The space of passage shall be measured by the mat­ter of sinne: according to thencrease of our offensies, the discreite discipline of that flame shall reuenge ageine: and lo­ke howe farre in wickednesse our foly [Page] did reache, so farre this poonishement shall wisely waste. And like as Goddes worde compareth mannes soule to a brasen potte, saing: Set the potte empty ouer the coles till the brasse thereoff waxe hote: So there thowe shalte see periury, angre, malice, vnfructefull de­sires swheate oute, whiche did infecte the purity of mannes noble nature: there the pewtter and leade of diuerse passions, whiche did abase the pure goulde of Goddes image, shall be con­sumed away. All whiche thinges might in our liefe time haue easely ben wiped away by almose and teares. Such a strait accompte loe will he kepe with man,He allu­deth to the place of the se­cōd chapter to the Colossiās of the obligation of deathe vvhiche vvas a­geinst vs. that for mannes sake gaue him selfe to death, and being throuste through with nailes, hathe fastened the dominion of deathe allso. So farre hath Emissenus spoken: and his wordes be so wegh­ty, that they haue ben counted wor­thy rehersall in solemne sermons and homilies of the Antiquity, to stirre vpp [Page 96] theyre hearers to the necessary awe of Goddes iudgements, with much prouocation of vertuous liefe. S. Augustin hathe the selfe same discourse, almoste no worde thereof chaunged:Homil. 16 tom. 10. With this addition: I deo (fratres charissimi) conuer­tamus nos ad meliora, dum in nostra potesta­te sunt remedia: Therfore deare brethern let vs turne and amende by time, whi­lest the remedies be yet in our owne dealinge: And in another place thus he toucheth the scripture alleaged:In psa. 103 Appa­rebit Deus Deorum in Syon: sed quando? post peregrinationem finita via, si tamen post finitam viam, non iudici tradamur, vt iu­dex mittat in carcerem. The God of god­des in Syon shall appeare: but when? mary after oure pilgramage be past, and the iourney ended. Eccepte it so faule owte, that after our iourney here, we be deliuered vpp to the iudge, and so the iudge send vs to prison.

To this place also S. Bernarde doth swhetely,In vita Hūberti. but yet fearefully allude in this exhortation: Volat (saith he) irreuo­cabile [Page] verbum, & dum creditis vos cauere poenam istam minimam, incurritis multò am­pliorem. Illud enim scitote quia post hanc vitam in locis purgabilibus, centupliciter quae fuerunt hic neglecta reddentur, vsque ad nouissimum quadrantem. Oure word, not possible to be called back, flyeth farre: and whilest yowe seeke to auoyde a little greefe here, yow incurre muche greater. For assure youre sellfe of this, that after this lyefe, in places of purga­tion, all negligencies past must be re­paide a hundreth foulde home againe, tyll the discharge of the last farthinge.

Here nowe let oure aduersaryes in this bright shining truethe, blynde theime selues: let theime bowldely bost, of theire accustomed impudency, that the Catholikes haue no scriptures, nor apparence of scriptures: or iff they stand with vs for the meaning, let theime shape withe all theire conueya­unce, any one shifte to answer these do­ctours wordes: Or if the vniforme con­sent of so many of the beste lerning, [Page 97] and greatest wisdō in the whole Chur­che, may haue no rowme with theime, let theime shewe wherupon theire own credets be growne so greate, that withe owt reason, liklyhod, or authority, men must neades beleue theime. It is a stra­unge case, that what so euer they auou­che, it must be Goddes worde: what meaning so euer they make for main­teinaunce of their wicked foly, it must be termed the true sense of scripture: And the trueth it selfe shewing al force, in the conference off diuers places off holy writte, in weght of reason, in the workes and wrytyngs of al antiquitye, shall be so lightly regarded.

I woulde to God the people pitifully deceiued by suche vaine flying taulke, coulde behoulde the vpright wayes of trueth,The dif­ference betvvixte the Ca­tholikes dealing, and the aduersa­ryes. or coulde learne by the plaine dealing of oure side, to require som grownded proufe of these new doctou­res deuiseis. They may well perceyue, if they haue any necessary care of those weghty matters touching our saluation [Page] so nere, that the Catholike neuer ad­uētureth to bring any scripture for his purpose, but he wil be suer for his war­raunt, to haue the same so expownded by the auncient fathers of oure faithe: lest by his rashnesse he deceyue other, and father som faulshod vpon the holy writers of Goddes will: whiche were horrible sacrilege. But on the other side if a man might pose maister Cal­uin, or Flaccius, or suche other of that light family, what doctour or scripture they folowed in the exposition of S. Iames his place,Iacob. 5. for the anointing with holy oyle, when they were not asha­med to geue this sense of that scripture: that it weare good to call the elders off the people, that had som salue or ointe­ment medicinable to ease the sike man­nes sore: what woulde they say? I am sure suche felowes will not excuse theimeselues by ignorance, (for the ar­rogācy of that sort, had rather be coun­ted ether malicious or praesumptuous, then vnskillfull,) but of passing bowl­denesse [Page 98] all suche must neades be noted, that dare shape suche an exposition off Goddes blessed worde, whiche they neuer hearde surmised of any wyse man before.1. ad Tim. 5. What doctour did they or Lu­ther folowe, when they expounded S. Paules wordes of widowes mariage af­ter vowes made, whiche the texte cal­leth breaking theire first faithe, to be meant by the promesse of the Christi­an faithe made in Baptisme? Was not this a galant glose in this sense? she that breakes her faith of baptisme, shall be damned for mariage. Aske theime wher these prety scholes were first picked. Pose master Iuell where he had, that the churche of God might erre. Yowe shall see theime ernestly vrged in these matters, howe little they haue to say, and yet how fast they will tennesse one to another in taulke.

But I will not make a reckoning of theire vnseemly glosies: I woulde their folowers would onely but aske theime in all matters, from whense they had [Page] suche newe meaninges, whiche they falsely father on Goddes word: that we might once hedge theime with in som compasse of reason, as we be contented with al oure heartes, to charge our own selues in euery matter that we handle, as partely they may conceiue by oure dis­course, and shall more clearely anone.

Cap. 11.

Obiect. BVt nowe the other side seeketh for som shiftes, and drawethe backe in thys extremyty thus. That the places of the owlde and newe testa­ment, nowe rather alleaged for my pur­pose and the proufe of purgatory, thou­ghe [Page 99] they be thus expounded of the do­ctoures, yet they may haue some other meaninge, and sumtymes be construed otherwise by the fathers theime selues. Ansvver. To whiche I answer, and freely confes­se that they so may haue in deede: but the aduersary must take this with all, that the pillars of Christes Churche woulde neuer haue geuen this sense e­mongest other, or rather before all o­ther meaninges that probabelyty or cōference of scriptures did driue theime vnto, hadde it conteyned a plaine faul­shood, as the haeretike supposeth it doo­the. Yea had not the doctrine of Purga­tory bene a knowne trueth in all ageis, it should neuer by the graue iudgement of so many wyse men, haue atteyned any coloure of scripture. For thoughe many meaninges be fownde of moste harde places in all the bible, yet there is no sense geuen by any approued do­ctoure, that in it sellfe is faulse. And thinke yowe diuerse textes of the holy scripture coulde haue caryed a faulse [Page] persuation of Purgatory, downe from the apostles dayes to oure tyme, for true doctryne? Marke well, and yowe shal perceyue that the Church of Chri­ste hathe euer geuen roome to the di­uersitye of mennes wittes, the diuision of graces, and sondry geftes in expositiō of most places of the whole testament:Diuersity of sensies be allo­vved, so that none of theime conteine any falls­hood in it selfe. with this prouiso alwayes: that no man of singularity should father any faul­shodde or vntrueth vpon any texte: but otherwise, that euery man might abund in his meaning. Mary faulshood she ne­uer suffered one momēt, to take hould or bearing of any scripture, vnreprae­hended.The dili­gent vvatche that the chur­che ke­peth ouer the truth. Ecclesia multa tolerat (saith S. Augustine) & tamen quae sunt contra fi­dem vel bonam vitam, non probat, nec tacet, nec facit. the Churche beareth many thinges: yet suche thinges as be hourt­full to faithe or good lyefe, she neuer approuethe,Epi. 110. nor dothe theime her selfe, nor howldethe her peace, when she se­eth theime doone by others.

Therof we haue a goodly example [Page 100] in oure owne matter. So longe as any conuenient meaning might be fownde owte by the holy writers, of that place alleaged owte of S. Paule for suche as should be saued through fier, she liked and alowed the same. Som proued that the elect must be saued by lōg sufferāce, som sayd the tribulatiō of this lyfe and world must trie mennes faith and wor­kes, som said the grefe of mind in losing that whiche they ouer muche loued, was the burning fire of mannes affecti­ons: som woulde haue the greuous ve­xation of departure owte of this lyefe, to be a purgatory paines: som construed the texte, of the fyre of conflagration, that shall pourge the workes of many in the latter day: finially they all agre­ede, that the temporall torment of the worlde to coom is litterally noted, and especyally meant by the fire which the Apostle speaketh of. All these so little doo disagree emongest theime selues, that not onely by diuerse men, but off one man they might well all be geuen. [Page] And being al in theime selfe very true, the holy Churche so likethe and allo­weth theime eche one, that yet by tho common iudgement of al learned men, that meaning for Purgatory paines, she approueth as the most agreeable sense to the texte, and whole circumstance off the letter. But as soone as Origen went aboute to prooue by the same scripture, that all wicked men shoulde at lengthe be saued after due purgation by fier: then this pillar of truethe seeing an o­pen faulshod gathered by the scripture of goddes worde, coulde susteyne no longer. She set vpp against this errour her pastors, the graue fathers of our fai­the▪ who ceased not, as occasion serued, to geue men warninge of the deceite intended: not onely stille mainteining the doctryne of Purgatory, but allso expressely condemnyng all the repre­henders thereof, as hereafter it shall be better declared: and so misliking no sense that in it selfe was true, the meaning of Purgatory yet, hath bene of all the [Page 101] learned counted so certaine, that in ge­uing any other lykly exposition, that was euer added with all, as most con­sonant to the will and wordes off the writers. So dothe Theodoretus, so do­the S. Augustine, and so in a maner did they all. And as the saide holy doctour saith (with whose wordes I am much delited, bycause he of all other maketh trueth stand most plainely vpon it self) One texte of scripture may well haue so many vnderstandings as may stand withe truethe, 12. Confes. and be not repug­naunt to good lyefe and manners. And he hedgeth the diuersity of men­nes wittes in the exposition of scrip­ture, with in the dooble knott of loue, which is towards God and our brother:De doctri. Christiana li. 1. c. 36. VVho so euer (saith he) takethe him selfe to vnderstande scripture or anye parte thereof, and in that meaning ae­difieth nothing at all the dooble loue, of God and oure neightbour, he mis­seth [Page] the true meaning thereof. Butt who so euer can fiend owt such a sense that may be commodious to the incre­ase of charitie, althoughe it were not directly intended by the writer, yet he is not harmefully deceiued, nor fo­wnde a lyar therein. so saith he. Nowe as for oure matter, I am well assured, there dare no man, thoughe he were destitute of Goddes grace, yet not for shame of him selfe, affirme that the do­ctrine of Purgatory is hourtfull to ver­tuous liefe, the onely miscreditt wher­of, hath vtterly banished al good Chri­stian condicions: oriniurious to the fa­ithe of Goddes Churche, whiche is not onely agreable, but principally in­tended by the plaine letter of Goddes worde, and consonaunt to all other meanings, that may be gathered by any such scripture as we haue alleaged there for: and to be short, receiued of so many fathers, so wise, and so well learned, as [Page 102] we haue named for that purpouse, as a truethe moste reasonable, most natu­rall, and most agreeable to Goddes iu­stice.

Well then, the misbeleuers can haue no shifte nor escape, by the chalenge of Goddes worde, or doctures, or diuersi­ty of sensies: here is no houlde for er­roure: all I trust be safe and sure on eue­ry saide. Obiectiō Theire extreme and onely re­fuge is, that the paine of Christes pas­sion, and his sufficient payment for ou­re sinnes, standeth not with oure satis­faction or poenaunce in this liefe, nor with paine or purgatory in the next. O lorde howe farre may mannes ma­lice reache? that not contented to abuse theire reason and the worde of God in persuasion of erroure, but are bowlde to referre Christes blessed deathe allso, to cloke together with faulshood, ansvver. wan­ton and licentious lieuing.

Many vertuous persons haue ben pro­uoked by the meditation of oure saui­ours sorowes, to leaue the flattering [Page] welthe of this worlde, and to charge theime selues with perpetuall vexation of body: but that any did euer so rest vpon Christes passion, that in respecte thereof, they might passe theire dayes midle welthe off lust and liberty, that was (I trowe) vnhearde of, before this sinfull secte. These felowes argue thus: Christe hath paide the full price of our sinnes, ergo we must doo no poenaunce, nor suffer any paine for theime. But S. Paule thus: Christe by paine and pas­sion is entred into the glory of his kingdome, Rom. 8. ergo if we looke to be his felowe heires, or partakers of his glory, we must suffer affliction with him, and io­yne with him in paines and passion. S. Peter also thus: Christe hathe suffered leauing you an example that ye should folowe his steppes, 1. Petri. 2. therefore all his blessed liefe passed in paine muste be a perpetuall sturring vppe of toleration,Matth. 3. and gladde suffering for his name aga­yne. Iohn oure masters messenger prae­pared [Page 103] the way of Christes deathe and doctrine, by worthy fructes of poena­unce:Mat. 4. and that was the beginning off Christes owne preaching, therefore I dare be boulde to say these thinges are not abrogated by the teaching of the Ghospell, nor voide by Christes passi­on: whiche onely maketh oure workes and merites, to be of that value and ac­ceptation, that all catholike men coun­te theime of: whiche elles to the satis­fying for sinne shoulde be nothing a­uaileable, nor to to the atteining of he­auen any thing profitable. But it is foly to make ouer many wordes in a case so plaine, seeing the example of both God and good mennes dealing, abundantely proueth mannes poonishment ether temporall or aeternall, to stand well wi­the the excellent value of oure sauiou­res deathe. For if paine for sinne, were iniurious to Christes death, then the holy prophet Dauid that liued long in greuous poenaunce, were iniurious to his Lordes deathe: then the Churche [Page] were iniurious to her owne spouse his deathe, that chargethe all offenders with poenaunce: then God him sellfe were iniurious to his owne sonnes dea­the, that sharply poonisheth sinne for­geuen: then Christe him felfe were in­iurious to his owne death, that bothe by his example and holy preaching, dyd euer commend sharpe poenaunce and paine.

These delicate teachers of oure time, that vnder praetence of preaching the Ghospell, auouching the glory of God and the grace of oure redemption, haue serued mennes lustes, abandoned the owlde austerity of Christian liefe, and rased oute of the peoples hartes the fe­are of Goddes iudgementes, were fore­seene by the holy Apostle Iudas: And he calleth theime,Iudas in e­pist. Impios, transferentes Domini nostri gratiam in luxuriam. Wic­ked men, turning the grace of our Lor­de vnto wantonnesse and lust. Ageinst whome allso S. Paule made this excep­tion:Ad Gal. 5. that they shoulde not in any wise [Page 104] by the freedom of our redemption cha­lenge any liberty of the fleshe.

Notwithstanding Christes passion then, we must not otherwise thinke, but to suffer for oure owne sinnes: not as helping the insufficiencie of his me­rites, but as making our selues apte to receiue that blessed benefite, which ef­fectually worketh vpon no man, but by meanes: nor serueth any to saluati­on, but by obedience of his will and worde.Ad Haebr. cap. 5. For if Christes death shoulde woorke accordinge to the full force of it selfe, it woulde doubtlesse supp vpp all sinne, and al paine for sinne: it might wype away death, bothe of this praesent lyefe, and aeternall it woulde leaue ne­ther Hell, Purgatory, nor paine: the pri­ce and worthinesse thereof being so abundaunt, that it might, being not o­therwise by the vnserchable will and wisdom of the sufferer limited, saue the whole worlde. But nowe ordinary wa­yes by Goddes wisdom appointed for the bestowing of that excellente medi­cina­ble [Page] cuppe, (as S. Augustine termeth it) and condicions required in the par­ties beside, Christes deathe dooth not discharge vs of satisfactiō for oure sin­nes,Articulo. 1 falsò imp. nor of any other good woorke, whereby man may procure his owne saluation.

And I am not a frade to vse the word Satisfaction, The vvorde Satisfaction so ab­horred of haeretikes is cōmon vvith the ovvlde fathers. with Cyprian, Origen, Ambrose, Augustin, and the rest of that blessed felowship: Who right well kne­we the valew of oure redemption, and the force of that satisfaction whiche oure sauiour made vpon the Crosse. I dare well leaue these pety diuines and speake with the grand capitanes of our faith and religion. And I woulde to God I coulde as well in any part come after theime, in example of Christian liefe: Who not so muche in worde, as in the course of all theire conuersation, lefte vnto vs perfecte paterns of greate and greuous poenaunce. Theire longe watching and wailing, theire straunge, wyelde, and waste habitation, theire [Page 105] roughe appareling, theire harde lying, theire meruelous fastinge, theire per­petuall praing, theire extreme volunta­ry pouerty, and all this to praeuent god­des iudgement in the worlde to coom, for those smaule infirmities and offen­sies of theire frayle life, may make oure aduersaries ashamed of theime selues, that nether will folowe theire blessed steppes, nor yet (whiche is the greatest signe of Goddes angre towardes them that can be) like it, and alowe it in o­thers.

Cap. 12.

ANd we allso, that by goddes grace and great mercy be Catholikes, muste nedes here con­ceiue singulare feare of Goddes terrible iudgements, whiche of [Page] iustice he muste practise vppon oure wickednesse, that liue nowe in pleasure and worldely welthe after suche a care­lesse sorte, that men may iudge we haue no respect of the dredfull day, nor care of Purgatory, whiche in wordes we so ernestly mainteine. The deape and per­petuall feare wherof,For Christes sake, let al Ca­tholikes here at­tende. caused oure elders not onely to leade theire lyfe in suche perpetuall payne, but further forced theyme to breake owte in bitter teares, and vtter most godly prayers, that they might escape the iudgement of God, exercised by the paynes of Purgatory at the end of oure shorte and vncertain lyfe. Summe of theime I will recite, that oure hartes may melte in the ne­cessarye foresighte off that terrible time, and the heretikes be a shamed to deny that, whiche so constantly in woorde and woorke they euer pro­fessed.

For feare of this fyre to coom, holy S. Bernarde makethe this meditation. O vtinā magis nunc daret aliquis capiti meo [Page 106] aequas, & oculis meis fontē lachrimarū, fortè enim nō repèriret ignis exurens, quod interim fluens lachrima diluisset. Oh woulde to God som mā would nowe before hand prouid for my head abundaunce of wa­ters, and to min eies a foūtain of teares: for so happely the burning fire shoulde take no howld,Ser. 55. in Cautic. wher rōning teares had cleansed before. And thus againe the same blessed man debateth the matter with his owne conscience. I tremble and shake, for feare of fawlyng in to Goddes handes: I woulde praesent my sellfe before his face allredy iudged, and not then off him to be iudged. Therfore I will make a reckoning whiles I am here, of my good dedes and of my badde: my euill shal be corrected with better workes, shal be wattered with teares, shall be pounished by fa­sting, and amēded by sharp discipline. Prouision must be made that I bring [Page] not thether cockell in steade of corne, or chaf to gether with VVheate. I shal rippe vp to the very bottom al my wa­yes, and my whole study, that he may find nothing vntryed, Naum. 1. or not fully dis­cussed to his handes: And then I hope in his mercy, that he will not iudge for the same faultes, the second tyme.

In the lyke godly sense spake a no­ther,Emissaenus dc poeniten­tia niniuit. longe before his dayes: Beatus qui hic mala sua deflere, qui hic debita sua festinat exoluere, & innocentiam quam iam non potest per baptismum reparare, recupera­re studeat per summum poenitentiae fructum: ad tales merito ipse Dominus loquitur, non iudicabo bis in idipsum. Happy is he that euer he was borne, that with spede bewaileth his sinnes, and in tyme dis­chargeth his debtes: that he may so en­deuoure to recouer by the fructes off poenaunce his innocency, whiche by baptisme he can neuer repayre agayne▪ to suche suerly our lorde saith, that he [Page 107] will not call twise to accompte for one faulte.

S. Ambrose sheweth his feare also of Purgatory by this prayer.Praecat prae paratoria 2. ad mis. Quod si etiam in illo adhuc saeculo aliquid in me vindican­dum reseruas, peto ne me potestati daemonum tradas, dum scelus meum Purgatoria poena detergis. O lorde (saith he) if thowe re­serue any whit in me to be reuenged in the next liefe, yet I humbly aske off the, that thowe geue me not vpp to the power of wicked spirits, whiles thowe wypes away my sinnes by the payne of Purgatory. Lo good reader the feare and fayth of oure fathers: lo howe owlde this doctrine is, how auncient the word is. But in an other place the same au­thor expresseth his care and continuall cogitation of this iudgement to be pra­ctised in Purgatory, comparing thus S. Peter his state with his owne. Ille (saith he of S. Peter) examinabitur vt argentum, ego examinabor vt plumbum, In Psal. 118 ser. 20. donec plumbum tabescat ardebo: si nihil argenti in me inuen­tū fuerit, heu me in vltima inferni detrudar, [Page] aut vt stipula totus exurar. si quid in me inuentū fuerit auri vel argenti non per meos actus, sed per gratiā & misericordiā Christi, per ministerium sacerdotij, dicā fortasse ego: Etenim qui sperāt in te, non confundentur. In englishe. He shall be tryed as siluer, but I must be searched and examined as leade: tyll the leade melt away, must I continually burne. And if then there be no siluer matter fownde, wo is me, I shall be throust downe to the nether partes of the deape helle, or wholy wa­ste away as strowe in fire. But yff any goulde or siluer be fownd in me, not through my woorkes, but by grace and Christes mercy, and for my ministery and priesthood sake, I shall allso once say: those that put theire trust in the, shall neuer be confownded. A lasse Ambrose was thowe so careful for wa­sting away in thy purgation? what shal become of vs, where all is drosse, and no fine substance: so continual sinning, and so little sauluyng: where the digni­ty of priesthood, wherby thowe con­ceiued [Page 108] suche comforth is almost worn away? his feare was so harty, and his meditation of purgatory paines was so ernest, that he conceyuith a doubt in respecte of his desertes, of wasting a­way, and further castinge in to damna­tion: though he knewe right wel, that man admitted to the temporall iudge­ment of the next worlde, coulde not euerlastingly perishe, but bicause the paines of the one is so lyke the other, the greefe of theime bothe lightly oc­cupieth mannes mynde at once: especi­ally where mannes case is doubtefull, and often deserueth the worse of the twayne. So S. Augustine lykewise, after that he had vttered his feare of helle in the prophet Dauids person, as I sayde once before, streght he adioynethe his request vnto God, to saue him from Purgatory paines, by the Prophets wor­des allso. I will recyte his mynd in En­glish:In psal. 37. O Lorde amend me not in thy anger, but pourge me in this lyfe, that [Page] I may escape the Amending fire, whi­che is praepared for suche as shall be saued throughe fire. And why? but bicause they buylde vpon the founda­tion woodde, hay, and strawe▪ men might builde goulde, siluer, and prae­ciouse stones, and so escape bothe the fyres, thone off aeternall poo­nishment for the wicked, and the other, whiche shall correct theyme that must be saued through fyre. But nowe bicause we reade that he surely shal be saued, Note here Christian reader, vvhether S. Augu­stin doubted of purgatory, as the lying and vn­lerned aduersaryes vvoulde make the simple people belieue. therfore that fier is not much regarded, And yet let theime be boulde of this, that though they be sa­ued by fier, it shall yet be more fearse and greuous, then any thing that man may susteine in this liefe, thoughe bo­the Martirs and malefactours haue suffered straunge tormentes. Againe in an other place the same holy do­ctoure [Page 109] vttereth the like saing: Whiche I will repeate also, that the worlde may behowld the vniust dealing of the contrary part,De vera & falsae poeniten. Cap. 18. that in the booke of theire excuse why they departed owte of the Churche (they call it theire Apologie) be not ashamed to auouche, that S. Au­gustine sometimes denyed, and some­times doubted of Purgatory. Thus he writeth then ageinst suche deceiuers, and for the defense of him selfe and the Churches faithe. Sed si etiam sic conuer­sus euadat, vitam viuat & non moriatur, non tamen promittimus quod euadet omnem poenam. Nam prius purgandus est igne pur­gationis, qui in aliud saeculum distulit fru­ctum conuersionis. Hic autem ignis etsi ae­ternus non sit, miro tamen modo est grauis, excellit enim omnem poenam quam vnquam passus est aliquis in hac vita. Nunquam e­nim in carne inuenta est tanta poena, licet mirabilia passi sunt martyres, & multi ne­quiter iniqui tanta sustinueruut supplicia. Studeat ergo quilibet sic delicta corrigere, vt post moreem non oporteat talem poenam tole­rare. [Page] Yff a sinner (saith he) by his con­uersion escape death, and obteine liefe, yet for all that I can not promesse him, that he shal escape all paine or poonish­mēt. For he that differred the fructes of repentaunce till the next liefe, must be perfyted in Purgatory fier. And this fi­re, I tell yowe, thoughe it be not euer­lasting, yet it is passing greuous: for it dooth farre excede all paine, that man may suffer in this lyefe. Neuer grefe in this flesh coulde be so greate as it, thou­ghe Martirs haue abiden straunge tor­mentes, and the worst sort of wicked men, exceding greate poonishments. Therfore, let euery man so correcte his owne faultes, that after his deathe he may escape that pityfull payne. So farre S. Augustine: By whom we see not on­ly the trueth of our our Catholike do­ctrine lyuely and vehemently set forth, butt to the greate feare of vs all, the weght of Goddes sentence, and the pa­ine of that vntolerable poonishment, as the Churche of his time taught and [Page 110] beleued, to passe all mortall and transi­tory wo in the worlde.

Wherof,The pai­nes of purgatory hath bene reueled to many ho­ly per­sons. it hathe pleaced allmighty God sometimes, to geue man a taste, by calling summe one or other aboue the common rase of nature oute of this mortall liefe, and speedy restoring him from the state of the departed, to the company of the lyuing againe. Whiche worke thoughe it be straunge in natu­re, thought vnlykely to misbeleuers, and contemned of such as woulde ex­tinguishe the spirite of God,1. Tessal. 5. yet it hath ben the vsuall practise, sence the be­ginning of oure faithe and religion, off the holy Gost, so to trade mannes fra­ylty in faithe and feare of Goddes Iud­gements. Somtimes, the liuing is in tra­unce or sodden chaunge by Goddes omnipotency taken vppe, to the vewe as it weare, of the vnspeakeable treasu­res of the praepared ioyes, or extreme ca­lamities of the world to coom. So was the Apostle S. Paule, he could not tell how him self,2. Cor. 12. called to the behoulding [Page] of Goddes maiesty and mysteries vn­speakeable:Apocal. 20 So was S. Iohn in spirit cau­sed oftē to behould, and praesently in a maner to see, not only the affayires of goddes Church til the worldes end, but also the happy Seate of the lābe, the ae­ternal ioy of thelect, and the euerlasting lake of the damned, with the infinite sorowe of all the forsaken sorte. And so haue many one sith that time, in the same spirite, had a praesent taste of all those iudgements, whiche by any mea­nes through the vnsercheable ordina­unce of God, be praepared for sinners.

Ecclesi. 46 1. Reg. 28.Sometimes also, by the same force of the Spirite, the departed haue appea­red emongest the lieue: as Samuel the prophet to king Saul, vttering thinges to coom. Or if that were not Samuel him self, bicause that practise of vnlaw­full artes may be thought not conue­nient for the procuring of the Pro­phettes owne persons appirition:Matth. 17. yet Moyses was in dede personally praesent with Christ in the Mounte, at his trās­figuration. [Page 111] And as he at Christes cal came frō the dead owte of the bousom of Abrahā, so did Elias at the same time coom frō Paradise (as S. Augustin affir­meth) and wer both conuersant and in talk with Christ, and in the sight of the Apostles at once: frō whense they de­parted att Christes appointement,Inter­course betvvixt the liue and dead, though it be not or­dinary, yet it is not im­possible. to theire seuerall abode and rest againe. Whereuppon, the same holy doctoure confesseth, that these rare and merue­lous workes of god though they folow not the common order of nature, yet they be nether impossible, nor vnpra­ctised in Christes Churche. Alij sunt (saith he) limites humanarum rerum, alia diuinarū signa virtutū: alia sunt quae natu­raliter, alia quae mirabiliter fiunt. De cura pro mor Cap. 16. The cō ­mon course and limites of mānes mat­ters, be of one sorte: and the woonde­rous signes of goddes powre and ver­tue, of an other: the woorkes that natu­rally be wrought, are nothing like su­che thinges, as meruailously and mira­culously be done.

And as Christ in his owne person, made many extraordinary workes to beare testimony of his diuinitye, so he woulde that the glory of god and fai­the in him, shoulde take deape roote and large encrease through owte al na­tions, not onely by preaching and wor­de, but by woorkes also: whiche the sa­me holy goste for the saluation of the beloued flocke, disposeth by the aeternal wisedom, where, when, with whome, and as he listeth.

Mary as these be the most secret waies and vnknowē steppes of goddes spirite, and therefor most humbly to be reuerē ­ced of the faithfull: so bicause they are so farre from the rase of naturall affai­res, and muche ouerreache flesshe and bloodde, they are often of fooles con­temned, and of the vnwise wisdom off worldlinges, as extreme madnesse im­proued. The expresse signes of Goddes spirite,Mat. 12. wrought by the Sauioure of the worlde in his owne person, were with singulare blasphemy, of the prowde Ie­wes [Page 112] referred to Beelzebub, The tokens and wonders wrought by his Apostles,VVicked men haue euer resi­sted the holy Gost were attributed to vnlaufull artes, and misconstrued of most miscreants to false intentes. It was euer a speciall no­te of incredulity, to blaspheme these peculiare steppes of the spirite.

S. Cyprian complainethe of suche misbeleuers in his time: that woulde not agree to the trueth after especiall reuelations had of the same:Lib. 4. epist. 9. Whiche kinde of men, he noteth in the latter ende of an epistle, by these wordes. Quanquam sciam, omnia ridicula, & visio­nes ineptas quibusdam videri, sed vtique illis, qui malunt contra sacerdotes credere, quam sacerdoti: Sed nihil mirum, quando de Ioseph fratres sui dixerunt, ecce somniator ille venit. Allthoughe (saith he) I knowe right well howe litle accompte they make of visions, whiche they aesteme as mere triefles: But yet it is suche one­ly, that had rather beleue ageinst, then with Goddes priestes. And no meruaile that is, seeing good Iosephs owne bre­thern [Page] saide by him in mockage.Genes. 37. Lo yen­der cooms the dreamer. So did they scoffe at him, bicause he had more fami­liarity with the spirite of God, then the other had.

Nowe as the ioyes of heauen and Paradise, with the torment of sinners and other secrettes of the next liefe, ha­ue bene straungely represented to som one or other in all agies, by sundry me­anes most expedient to oure saluation, and most seemely to the wisdom and will of the woorker, so certainly, no article was euer with more force of spi­rite, or more graue authority set fourth sence the beginning of Christian reli­gion, then this one of Purgatory. Ne­uer nation was conuerted to the faithe, but it hadd this trueth not onely taught by worde, but by miracle allso confir­med. And namely in that abundant floodde of faithe, when it pleaced God, allmost at once to spreade his name e­mongest all these contryes, it was thought most necessary to his diuine [Page 113] wisdom, together with the true worship off his name, to plante in all faithfull mennes heartes, the awe and necessary feare of that greuous torment, for the reuenge and iust iudgement of wicked lyefe. This greuous payne was vttered by the very sufferers theime selues, as we may see in the notable historyes off Paschasius and Iustus,Cap. 24. l. 4. dialogorum. reported by S. Gregoryes owne mouth. This greuous poonishment was ageyne declared by Furseus: who, as the reuerent Bede re­porteth,Cap. 13. li. 3. had the behoulding of the ae­ternall blesse, the euerlasting misery, and the temporall payne of the nexte lyfe. Drichelmus allso,Li. 5. c. 13 by the ordina­unce of God taken from emongest mortall men into the state of the nexte worlde, after he had seene lyke wise, the terrible iudgement of God practised e­uen vpon the electe, was restored to lyfe againe in oure owne nation, and was a witnesse worthy of all credet, of this same trueth, not onely by his word (wherof he was so sparing all his lyefe [Page] tyme after, that he woulde not vtter this same mistery but withe singulare care and respect of the persons intent, that asked him therof) but namely by passinge greate poenaunce, and incredi­ble chastising of his body, whiche pro­ceaded of the sensible knowledge that he had of the paynes praepared. And being asked sometime (as holy Bede sa­ithe) why he so tormented him selfe, in the willing toleration of extreme hea­te, or contrary coulde, bothe of froste and snowe, he made answer simply and shortely, Frigidiora ego vidi: austeriora e­go vidi: Ah masters I haue seene cowl­der: I haue seene sharper. Meaning by the vnspeakable paines of Purgatory. The whole history of his visions, with many the like,R. Beda. may be redde in the Ec­clesiastical history of oure owne natiō, writen by as faithfull a witnesse, as euer was borne in oure lande: of suche ver­tue, that he woulde begile no man willingly, of so greate wisdō, that he woul­de report no tale nor triefle rashly: off [Page 114] suche grace and learning, that he was well able to discerne a false fable and superstitious illusion, from a true and diuine reuelation.

For as it were foly and mere vani­ty, to geue credet to euery spirite, so to condemne a spirite, or reuelation, or any woorke of Goddes finger appro­ued by the Churche of God, in which there hathe euer bene the gifte of dis­cerning spirites,1. Cor. 12. it is properly a sinne a­gainst the holy Gost. And bicause eue­ry man hath not that gifte, as I woulde not counsell any man, ouer lightely to geue credet to euery priuat spirite and peculiar vision, bicause they may coom of wicked intentes and sinister motiōs, so I think it were good, in feare, reuerē ­ce and humility, to committ the discer­ninge of suche thinges, to the spirit and iudgement of Goddes Churche.

With the belefe of euery peculiar mannes phantasy, we are not charged: with hūble submission of oure whole­liefe and beliefe, to the Churche of [Page] Christe, ther are we especially charged. And bicause there is nothing reported ether in the woorkes of S. Gregory, or in Bede, or in Damascen, or in any o­ther the like, concerning the paynes ether of the electe or the damned in the nexte life, but as muche hath ben vtte­red before, by all the holy and lerned fathers, in greate agony of mind and fe­are of the saide iudgement, we may be the more boulde to thinke the best, or rather we are bownd to thinke the best of that spirite, whiche so conformably agreeth with the doctrine of the Chur­che, and faithe of all the fathers.

There can no man say more of Pur­gatory nor more plainely, then S. Am­brose,Damasce­nus vocat purgatoriū baptisma ignis. being in a maner a frade him self, of wasting away in that horrible tor­mēt: none more effectually then S. Au­gustine, that confesseth there is no ear­thely paine comparable vnto it,Lib. 4. Ca. 10. de or­tho fid. none more fearefully then Eusebius Emisse­nus, who termeth it skaulding waues off fyre: none more pithely then [Page 115] Paulinus, that calleth those places off iudgements,Ad Amandum epi. [...]. Ardentes tenebras burning darknesse. More peculiarely may the circūstances and cōdicion of that state by god be reueled, but the trueth ther­of, can not be more plainely declared, nor better prooued. These babes feared no bugges I warraunt yovv: nether pic­ked they Purgatory owte of Scipio his dreame, but they had it owte of Goddes holy worde, and tradition of the holy apostles, and by the very suggestion of the spirite of truth. All which if it can not moue the misbeleuer, and stay the rashenesse of the simple deceiued sort, it shall be but lost laboure to bring in any more, for the confirmation of that trueth, whiche all the holy doctoures haue so fully both proued and declared to my hand.

But nowe for vs, that throughe Goddes greate mercy be Catholikes, let vs, for Christes sake, so vse the bene­fite of this oure approued faithe, to the amendement of oure owne lyues, that [Page] where no argument will serue, nor au­thority of Scripture or doctoure can conuerte the deceiued, yet the fructe of this doctrine shewed by good liefe and vertuous conuersation, may by Chri­stes mercy moue theime. Let the priest consider that this heuy iudgment must begī at the howse of God,Epist. 1. ca. 4. Ambros. vbi supra. as S. Peter af­firmeth, and so dooth S. Ambrose pro­ue it must do. In whom, for the dignity of his honourable ministery, as much more holynesse is requisite, so a more straite reckoning must be required. Let the Lay man lerne, for the auoyding of greater daūger in the praesence of the hi­ghe Iudg, willingly to submitt him self to Goddes holy ministers: Who haue in most ample manner, a commission of executing Christes office in earthe, bothe for pardoning and poonishe­ment of sinne: that sufferinge here in his Churche, sentence and iuste iud­gement for his offensies, he may the rather escape oure fathers greuous cha­stisement, in the liefe to coom.

Therefore I woulde exhorte earne­stly the minister of God, that in ge­uing poenaunce, he woulde measure the medecine by the malady: aptly discer­ning the limitation of the poonishe­ment, by the quantity of the faulte: not vsing lyke lenity in closing vp of eue­ry wound. For they shall not be blame­lesse surely, that doo the woorke of Goddes iudgement committed to the­ire discretion, negligently: nor the sim­ple soule that lookes to be set free from further paine, can, by the acceptation of suche vnaequall remedies, auoyde the skourge of iudgement praepared▪ except he him selfe voluntaryly receiue (as I woulde wishe all men should) som for­ther satisfaction, by the fructes of poe­naunce: that of his owne accorde he may helpe the enioyned paenalty, and so by Goddes grace turne away the gre­ate grefe to coom.

Excellently well,Epist. 2. and to oure pupose saide S. Cyprian in the fourthe booke of his epistles, taulking of suche offen­ders [Page] as were not charged with poena­unce sufficyently, or otherwise negli­gently fulfilled the same, by these wor­des. VVe shall not herein any thing be preiudiciall to Goddes iudgmēt that is to coom, that he may not alowe and ratifie oure sentence, if he finde the perfect poenaunce of the party so re­quire. But if the offēder haue deluded vs by fayned accōplishing of his paena­unce, then God who will not be delu­ded bicause he behouldeth the hearte of man, shall geue iudgement of suche thinges as were hidde from vs. And so oure Lorde will amende the senten­ce of his seruauntes. Wher this doctour seemeth to allude to the accustomed name of Pugatory, whiche S. Augustin and other doo often call the amending fyere. Thoughe it may well be, that he here calleth the contrary sentence of iudgement to aeternall damnation vp­pon [Page 117] the impoenitent sinner, whome the prieste, bicause he coulde not discerne the fained hipocrasy of his externall dealing, from the inward sorow of he­arte, pronounced to be absolued of his sinnes, it may stand (I say) that he ter­meth that contrary sentence of God, the correction or the amendement of the priestes iudgement. Howe so euer that be, it is a woorke of singulare grace and discretion, so to deale with the spi­rituall patient, that he haue no nede off the amending fyer.

Cap. 13.

IF any curious head list of me demaunde, where or in what parte of the world this place of poo­nishmēt is, or what nature that fyre is of, that worketh by such [Page] vehement force vppon a spirituall sub­stance: I will not by longe declara­tion thereof, feede his curiosity: bicause he may haue both the example and the like doubt of Hell it selfe, and many o­ther workes of God moe. The lerned may see that quaestion at large debated in the bookes of the City of God,Lib. 20. and in the litterall exposition vpon the Ge­nesis. And yet after all searche that man can make, this must be the conclusion, with the author of those bookes:Libro. 8. cap. 5, Quo­modo intelligenda sit illa flamma inferni, ille sinus Abrahae, illa lingua diuitis, illa sitis tormēti, illa stilla refrigerij, vix fortasse a man­suetè quaerentibus, a contentiose autem cer­tantibus nunquam inuenitur: melius est du­bitare de occultis, quam litigare de incertis. I am sure (saith S. Augustine) the Riche man was in wonderfull feruent payne, and the Lazare in the rest of a pleasa­unt abiding, but howe or of what na­ture that Hell flame and fyre is to be taken, or Abraham his bosom, or the glottens tong, or the intollerable thurst [Page 118] in that torment, or the droppe to quen­che his heat. All these doubtes can scar­sely be dissolued and satisfyed, to the contentation of him that with humili­ty maketh serche thereof, But to con­tentious and curious ianglers, they shal neuer be knowen. Therfore better it is to be in doubt of these secretts, then to stand in contentious reasoning off thinges vncertaine. So must we thinke also of Purgatory: that the paine there­of, of what condicion so euer it be, or where so euer the ordinaunce of God hath placed it, is wonderfull horrible. And by force of operation, represen­teth the nature of oure fyre: and bothe by scriptures and doctours, is most ter­med by the name of fyre, as Hell tor­ment is. It woorketh so vpon the soule of man, as the other did vppon the ri­che mannes soule, and all other that be allready in Helle, before the receiuing of theire bodies into the same misery, at the generall day of Iudgement. And the sensible greefe may be as greate of cer­taine, [Page] as in the other place of euerla­sting damnation, as Cyrillus Cyrill. in vita Hieronimi dothe declare.

The diuersity of the damneds case, and of suche as be temporally poonis­hed in purgatory.But this is the greate misery, and the difference: that suche as be in the iud­gement of Hel paines, haue no hope of mercy, no passage from theire infinite woe, no ende of torment, no release off payne, no expectation of saluation, no comforte by Christe: but endlesse de­speration, hatered of vertue, wearinesse of their creation: sorowe of theire own beeing and persons: and, whiche is most vntollerable, perpetuall blasphemy, and grisely cursing of Goddes holy name. The other being vnder theire mercifull fathers chastisemēt in purgatory, suffer greate payne, but in quiet peace of con­science, in assured expectation and war­raunt of theire saluation, in loue of Goddes iustice and iudgement, euen to­wardes theime selues, in the vnity of the spirite of God, bearing testimony of theime, that they be the children of the howshoulde, in perpetuall experience [Page 119] of mercy and grace, in dayly hope of [...]elease, in perfect loue withe owte all sinne or daunger of sinning, in gladde cōceiuing the benefite of their redēp­tion for the remission of theire offense­s paste, and in worship and confessi­on of Goddes holy name, then and af­ter for euer more.

And this is the company of the in­feriour partes, whiche boweth theire knee,Philip. 2. and reuerenceth the name of Ie­sus, (as the Apostle saith) when the o­ther which bein the deape hel (the pro­phet bearing witnesse) can not prayse nor confesse his blessed name, whiche they bothe detest and blaspheme, to theire vnspeakeable paine. There hathe euer bē, sence the death of the first ver­tuous man till this houre, and so shall be till the day of later iudgment, a com­pany of electe and chosen people, that doo honoure God in the loughers par­tes: as till Christes descending to hell, the fathers resting place in generall, and some that suffered for sinne further pa­ine [Page] beside. And after, cōtinally as befor, the place of Purgatory, to endure for the ponishment of certaine, til the lat­ter day, when all the elect shall reigne without greefe or paine, with Christ for euer more.

Vide Greg. 4. dial. 20 & Isiodor. de ordine creatur.And althoughe, the place of this torment, and the nature thereof, be nott certainly determined, nor knowē to a­ny, but such as God of his wisdom liste reuele it vnto, yet it is with great probability and likelyhood, thought of suche lerned men as deserue singulare credit, that it is in the lower rowmes, as sinus Abrahae, may appear by scripture to haue ben, and separated frō hell as it was: bi­cause al places of ponishemēt after this liefe, be cauled of holy writers, confor­mably to scripture, Inferna. But with curious searche of these thinges, as we be not charged, so to beleue that iustice is there doone vpon sinners, by muche sorowe and torment of theire soules, by the authority of Goddes worde and church, we are of necessity induced. [Page 120] The care an cōsyderation whereof, if it take deape impression in oure myndes, I am sure it shall woorke exceding gre­ate chaunge, in oure whole liefe and maners.

Therefore I shall desire all Catholi­ke readers, as they beleue this graue sen­tence of God to coom, and feare the rodde of our fathers correctiō, that they praeuent the same, by lowly submitting theime selues vnto the chastisement of our kinde moother the Churche. Who with teares in this her contempt, yet besecheth the children of hir owne howshoulde, that they woulde rather willingly submitt theime selues to her meeke wande in this liefe, then ageinst theire willes to the heuy skourge of theire angry and iustly moued father, in the worlde to coom. The paenaunce whiche her ministers doo charge vs with all, is of it selfe not greate, yet ac­cepted with humility and cōpetent do­lour of harte in this time of grace, it maye for the most parte, yf it any thing [Page] be answerable to the faultes, or holpen by oure owne zele, ether wholy dis­charge vs, or muche ease and abbridge the paine to coom. Let vs not sticke to adde vnto the praescribed paine by the priest oure pastour, som such fructes of repētaunce, as may more and more wa­she vs from our sinnes: let vs make frē ­des of wicked Mammō:Luc. 11. Dan. 4. Let vs redeme oure sinnes, by almoose and mercy to­wardes the poore: Lett vs iudge oure selues with earnest fasting, abūdaunce of vnfaided teares, often watching and continual prayinge, and then doubtles we shall not be iudged of oure Lorde. Let vs detest this abominable flatte­ring security, whiche this sinfull schole so earnestly exhorteth vs vnto: It is the deuill no doubte, that woulde haue mā passe his time in pleasure, that he maye be reserued to his euerlasting paine. A small remedy by mannes freedom, in Goddes grace here willingly accepted, may cleare acquitte vs of greate greefe to coom. Loue alone, and ernest zele of [Page 121] Goddes house, in this multitude of for­sakers, I dare say shal couer a numbre of sinnes: and that whiche by nature is but duety, in this time of temptation I take it to be greate merit. Let vs be cir­cumspect therefore, and woorke whi­les the day is here, for in the night off the next worlde, sinners can not helpe theime selues, nor woorke one mo­ment towardes theire owne deliuery or release.

And for the other sorte which haue ben deceiued by the Mearemaides son­ge, I shall humbly in our sauiours bles­sed bloude beseeke theyme, to consi­der with zele and indifferency what hath bene saide, and whereon it stan­deth. And if God him selfe hath in all ages chastised his best beloued people and dearest children, bothe here and in the next lyefe, yf the Churche hathe practised discipline, by his authority, v­pon all obedient persons, if all vertuous haue charged theime selues with pai­ne, if al lerned fathers haue both prea­ched [Page] an done poenaunce, for the auoi­ding of paines hereafter praepared, yf the worde of God expressely make for this, yf all lerned men with oute excep­tion beleued it and feared it, yf it agree with good reason, if it settfourth God­des iustice, if it duely answer to the ha­tered of sinne, yf it rayse the feare of God in mannes harte, yf it be the bane of prowde praesumption, yf it be the moother of mekenesse, of obedience, of deuotion, and of all good Christian condicions, lett it for Goddes loue, I pray the once againe, take place in thy harte, and driue oute that rest and qui­ettnesse of sinne, whiche these dely­cate doctours, for thy praesent pleasure, vnder the coloure off some honeste name, haue deceitfully induced thee vnto.

Aske once of thyne owne maisters: and if they be able to answer to any parte of this whiche I haue proued, but by vnseemely wrasting of the the scrip­ture, shamefull denial of the doctours, [Page 122] or deceitefull colouring of nothing, in vaine wordes, with owte grownd, mat­ter or meaning, thowe maist better be­leue theime, and miscredet me. But yff thowe finde they shall neuer be able to satisfy a reasonable man in this case, then cast not thy sellfe away willing­ly with thime: but betime turne home to vs ageine. I my selfe seeke no further credit at thy hādes, but as a reporter of the antiquity: But the scripture requi­reth thy obedience, the Churche whi­che can not be deceyued clameth thy consent, all the owlde fathers woulde haue the ioyne with theime in theyre constāt belefe. Yf thow did once feele what grace and giftes were, In populo graui & ecclesia magna, in the graue people and greate Churche, (as the Prophett termeth Goddes howse) or coulde con­ceiue the conforte that we poore wret­chies receiue daily, by discipline and perfect remission of oure sinnes, which can no where but in this howse be pro­fitably healed, thowe wouldest forsake [Page] I am sure, all wordely welthe and wan­tons abrode, to ioyne with oure Chur­che ageine. And that the name of the Church, deceiue the not: this is the true Churche (saith Lactantius) In qua est religio, Lib. 4. Cap. 30. de sap. confessio, & poenitentia, quae pec­cata & vulnera, quibus est subiecta inbecillitas carnis, salubriter cu­rat. In whiche, deuotion, confessiō, and poenaūce, wherby the woūdes of mānes frailty a­re profitably cured, be foun­de.

Cap. 1.

ANd first, that sinnes may be pardoned in the next world, that were not in this lyfe forge­uen, oure Sauiours owne wordes do teache vs, writē in the Gospell of S. Matthew thus: Ideò dico vobis: omne peccatum & blasphemia remitte­tur hominibus, spiritus autem blasphemia non remittetur. Et quicunque dixerit ver­bum cōtra filium hominis, remittetur ei: Cap. 12. qui autem dixerit contra spiritum sanctum, non remittetur ei neque in hoc saeculo, neque in futuro. I tell yowe, that al maner of sin­ne and blasphemy shal be forgeuen vn­to men, but the blasphemy of the spirit, shall not be forgeuen. And who so euer shall speake ageinst the sonne of man, it [Page] shall be forgeuen him: But if he speake against the holy Ghoste, it shall nether be pardoned in this worlde, nor in the worlde to coom. The same thing in sense,Cap. 3. Cap. 12. hath Marke and Luke affirming that suche offense shall neuer be forge­uen. The which worde Neuer, S. Mar­ke expresseth thus: in aeternum non habet remissionem, he shall not haue pardon (as you woulde say) in all aeternity, by whi­che he may plainely seeme, to reache further then the limites and borders of this worlde, for the remission of sinne. And this speache hathe as muche pith and propre force in it, as S. Matthewes, who expressely, distinctly, and belike as Christe spake it, vttereth that sense of the aeternity, whiche passeth the measu­re of worldely tyme, by these wordes: Nether in this worlde, nor yet in the worlde to come. And for that cause S. Marke saith, Reus eritaeterni delicti, he shall be gilty of an aeternall faulte, signi­fyng that in som case a man might per­happes [Page 128] not speede of a pardon in this lyfe, and yet may obteyne it in the ne­xte: But for that horrible blasphemy, he in a maner dischargeth thoffender of all hope of remission, ether in this lyfe, or in the next that is to coom. Whiche forme of wordes can nether be fo­unde in scripture, nor in mannes com­mon talke, to haue any place in su­che thinges as extend no further but to the transitory tyme of oure lyfe: for in those matters, it had ben vsually, and truely spoken, it shall neuer happen in this worlde. And therefore instructing vs, that sinnes, or the payne due vnto sinnes, may ether be released in this world, or in the worlde to come, he fo­loweth that phrase and forme of wor­des, in which man might wel cōceyue, the reache of remission and pardonin­ge of sinnes, farre to passe the compasse of our tyme, and lyfe.

But bicause we haue to doo with fic­kle marchauntes, that will not sticke to brast bowldely the bandes of euident [Page] scriptures, as anone yowe shall see, and therefore, will (as I think) little be mo­ued with reasonable and playne gathe­ring oute of the scriptures: nor muche aesteme this lyklyhode, as ouer smaule a proufe in so greate a doubte, therefo­re I will shewe my warraunt for this construction, that thereby the studious reader may see, whome the aduersaryes doo so rashly contemne herin: and whome we haue as authors, in this me­aning of Christes wordes nowe recy­ted: that nether they may be beleued with owte reason and proufe, nor we miscredited, after so good authority of the auncyent wryters, as nether they for shame, nor we of conscience can denye. S. Gregory, whose authority I may bowldly vse against theime, bicau­se they mislyke not his iudgement, when it may appeare to make for thei­me, (as in deede it neuer doothe) he doubted nothing to gether of this oure Sauiours speache, that sinnes might be forgeuen in the next worlde. And thus [Page 129] he writeth for that poynt.Lib. 4. dialog. cap. 19. De quibus­dam leuibus culpis, esse ante iudicium pur­gatorius ignis credendus est, pro eo quod ve­ritas dicit: Si quis in sancto Spiritu blasphemiam dixerit, neque in hoc sae­culo remittetur ei, neque in futuro. In qua sententia datur intelligi, quasdam culpas in hoc saeculo, quasdam in futuro posse relaxari: quod enim de vno negatur, conse­quens intellectus patet, quia de quibusdam conceditur, sed tamen, vt praedixi, hoc de paruis minimisque peccatis, fieri posse credendum est. For certayne smaule sin­nes, that there is a purgatory fyer befo­re the daye of iudgement, we must nea­des beleeue: bicause the trueth it sel­fe, vttered so muche in these wordes, Yf any sinne against the holy Ghost, it shall not be remitted, nether in this worlde, nor in the worlde to coom. By whiche sentence it is geuen vs to vn­derstande, that, as som offensies be rele­ased in this worlde, so there may som other, be remitted in the lyfe folo­wing. [Page] For that whiche is denyed in one sorte, the meaning is plaine, that of som other kind it must neades be graunted. But,Onely small of­fensies be remitted in the next lyfe as is sayde before, this is onely to be taken of lighter offensies, thus farre spake S. Gregory: and proueth lernedly beside, by exāples and sondry scriptures throughe oute the whole worke, oure matter. Yf oure aduersaries would with desire to lerne, as thei commonly do to reprehend, reade but his discourse one­ly, they might quickly see theire owne foly, and amend theire misbeliefe. They call him the last good pope, as he was in dede a blessed man: and by his autho­rity the perfect conuersion of oure na­tion to Christes faithe, was wrought. I woulde his holy woorks deserued but as muche credet nowe, with certaine forsakers, as his legates then did, wyth all the vnfaithfull people of our coon­trye.

But to go forwarde in our matter, we shall finde in S. Bernarde, the same wordes of our sauiour alleaged for oure [Page 130] purpose, thus:Ser. 66. in canti. Non credunt ignem Purga­torium restare post mortem, sed statim ani­mam solutam a corpore, vel ad requiem tran­sire, vel ad damnationem: quaerāt ergo ab eo, qui dixit quoddam peccatum esse, quod neque in hoc saeculo, neque in futuro remittetur: cur hoc dixerit, si nulla manet in futuro remissio purgatioue peccati? They beleue not (sai­the he, by sum haeretiques of his owne time) that there is any purgatory paines remaining after deathe, but they sup­pose that the soule streght vpon depar­ture hense, goeth ether to rest, or dam­nation: let suche felowes aske ther­fore of him, that saide, a certain gre­uous crime coulde nether be forgeuen in this worlde, nor in the worlde to coom, why he so saide, iff there wer no remission nor purgation of sinnes, in the liefe following? thus said Bernard, opening his graue iudgement both vp­pon the text, and our matter: whose au­thority, if any aesteme lesse, bicause off his late writing, let him know, that the aduersaries haue none for theire side so [Page] auncient by CCC. yeare, except they name the heretike Aerius, or suche like, whose antiquity maketh not so muche for them, as his auncient cōdemnation for haeresy in this pointe, maketh a­geinste theime.

But that in the mouth of two or thre witnesses all truethe may appeare, and contrary faulshood vanishe away: S. Au­gustine him selfe, gathered by this place nowe alleaged, euen then when he had no occasion geuen him, by the wran­glyng of any misbeleuer, to wreast any scripture other wise thē the very wor­des imported, the trueth of remission of certaine faultes in the nexte lyfe, in these wordes,Ca. 24. li. 21. de ciuit. Facta resurrectione mortuo­rum, non deerunt, quibus, post paenas quas pa­tiuntur spiritus mortuorum, impertiatur misericordia, vt in ignem non mittantur ae­ternum, neque enim de quibusdam veraciter diceretur, quod nō eis remittetur neque in hoc saeculo neque in futuro, nisi essent, quibus et­si non in isto, tamen remittetur in futuro. There shall be certaine at the time off [Page 131] resurrection allso, who shall obteine mercy, after they haue suffered suche paynes as deade mennes gostes doo abyde, that they be not caste in to the euerlasting fyer: for elles it coulde not in any true sense be spoken, that certaine shoulde nether haue pardon in this worlde, nor in the worlde to com, except ther were summe, that speeding not of pardon in this lyfe, might yett haue remission in the next: so saith he. Being, I warraunt yowe, so sadde witted and so farre from phantasies, that he woulde not grounde any assured do­ctrine, vpon euery light occasion offe­red, or motion made: had not the very wordes and forme of phrase, approued it, and Goddes Churche liked it.

Hauing then these graue fathers with others,Beda in 3. Cap. Mar­ci. for oure warraunt in the exposition of this place, we doo take it for a sure grownde, that the payine off purgatiō in the next worlde may be re­mitted, that is to saie, ether made lesse, or elles wholy released, before the due [Page] execution of Goddes sentence be extre­amly doone.Som ty­mes God­des iustice is an svve­red fully by the paine of the party. For it is not ment, that the freedom which man may haue after ful answer and payment of his sinnes, in that place of poonishement temporal, shoulde be properly termed a remis­sion, or pardon: For that is aunswera­ble to Goddes iustice: and althoughe there were no praiers or other waies of helpe, yet the patient by toleration, in time, might, vnder the protection off Christes merites, make ful satisfaction, and so be discharged: who being a vessel of mercy, can not be damned. But when we say, that sinnes may be forgeuen in the next world, Goddes Church (whi­che is the moother of all beleuers) tea­cheth vs, that sum parte, as well off the rigour end extremity of the paine, as of the time and continuance therof (thou­ghe God him selfe hath appointed that poonishment) may yet be mercyfull re­leased.

Cap. 2.

BVt nowe what meanes may be fownde, to ease oure brethern departed, of theire paine? or what wayes can be acceptable in the sight of God to procure mercy and grace, where the suf­ferers theyme selues, being owt of the state of deseruing and place of welwor­kyng, can not helpe theyme selues: nor by any motion of mynde, atteyne more mercy, then theyre liefe past did deser­ue? Where shal we then finde ease for theyme? suerly no where elles, but in the vnity and knotte of that holy felows­hip, in wich, the benefite of the heade perteynethe to all the membres: and euery good woorke of any one mēbre, wonderfully redoundeth to all the rest. This socyety is called in oure crede, [Page] communio sanctorum, the communion of Sanctes, that is to say a blessed brother­hood vnder Christe the heade, by loue and religion so wroght and wrapped to gether, that what any one membre off this fast body hath, the other lacketh it not: what one wanteth, the other sup­pliethe: when one smartethe, all feeleth in a maner the lyke sorowe:1. Cor. 12. when one ioyethe, thother reioysethe wythall. This happy socyety,August. ep. 23. is not inpared by any distance of place, by diuersity off goddes giftes, by inequalyty off estates, nor by chaunge of liefe: so farre as the vnity of goddes spirit reacheth, so farr this fellowship extendethe, this city is as large, as the benefite of Christes dea­the takethe place. Yea withein all the compasse of his kingdom, this fellowe­ship is fownde. The soules and sanctes in heauen,Idem tract. 32. in Ioan. the faithful people in earth, the chosen childrē that suffer chastise­ment in Purgatorye, are, by the perfect bond of this vnity, as one abundeth, redy to serue the other, as one lacketh, [Page 133] to craue of the other.The chri­stian com­munion and fe­louship is expressed. The soules hap­pely promoted to the ioye of Christes blessed kyngdom, in this vnitye and knotte of loue, perpetually praye for the doubtfull state, of theyre owne fel­lowes benethe: the carefull condition of the membres belowe, contynually criethe for helpe at theire hādes in hea­uen aboue. Nowe the mēbres of Chri­stes Church here yet trauelling in ear­the, they pray together, they faste to gether, they desire together, they de­serue together. Christe oure heade, in whose bloude this city and socyety standeth, wil haue no woorke nor way of saluation, that is not common to the whole body in generall, and perculierly proffitable, to supply the neede of euery parte thereof. He whiche instituted the blessed sacraments, will haue theyme in this vnity to woork in cōmon, (as farre as thend of eche of theyre institutions requirethe) and owt of it, to haue no force at al: he that maketh al our woor­kes acceptable, thoughe they be doone [Page] of one, will haue theyme perteyn to all: the holy sacrifice of the Churche, by the will of the author, and the liknesse of th'xemplare (as in dede being in ano­ther maner, the very selfe same) is made so common, that it ioyneth the sanctes and Angelles in heauen, to the chosen and elect people, ether in earthe, or vn­der the earthe benethe.The sou­les departed in pie­ty are of oure churche and felovvship. And that this holy cōsent of good woorkes, and mu­tuall agreement of prayer, to the conti­nuall supplying of eche others lackes, doothe also apperteine to the soules de­parted, no man that hathe any sense of this happy community, can denie▪ for being membres of our common body, they must nedes be partakers of the cō ­mon vtilitye.li. 20. de ciuit. Cap. 9. And so saith S. Augustin in these wordes. Neque enim piorum a­nimae mortuorum separantur ab ecclesia, quae & nunc est regnum Christi: alioquin nec ad altare dei fieret eorum memoria, in commu­nione Corporis Christi: for the soules off the faythfull deceased, be not seuered from the Churche, wich is allredy the [Page 134] kingdom of Christe, elles there shulde be no memory kepte for theime at the altare, in the cōmunion of the body of Christe.

By the force of this vnity, what so euer is proffitably practised in this worlde one for a nother, as prayer, all­mose, fasting, Sacrifice, the same thin­ges may and ought, by thexample of the Churche, to be carefully and withe owte ceasing procured for the helpe of our frendes, and Christian brytherne departed. And Athanasius that greate pillar, he by a meruelouse fitt exam­ple setteth furthe, howe the soules in another worlde, may haue the benefites of the Church or Christiā people, deri­ued downe vnto them,Quaest. ad Ant. 34. and what sensi­ble feele of release they haue, when we desire God for theyme. Quemadmodum cum in campo vinea virescit, & vinum in vase occlusum rebullit, ac propemodum fer­uet: ita etiam sentimus, quod peccatorū ani­mae diuinis beneficijs incruentae Hostiae, & gratiarum actionis pro ipsis habitae, gaude­ant: [Page] vt idem solus nouit & ordinat deus noster, The communion expressed betvvixte the lyue and the deade, by the natu­rall agree­ment be­tvvixt the vine in the fielde and the vvyne in the vessel. qui in viuos & mortuos dominium exercet. As when the vyne abrode in the fyelde dothe spring and waxe greene, the wyne salfely kepte in barells at home, doothe allso woorke in it sellfe, and in a maner buyle: euen so, as we iudge, the soules of sinners, throughe the benefite of the vnbloudy hoste, and sacrifice of thankes gyuing doone for theyme, may waxe ioyfull and gladde: as the same Lorde and God only kno­weth howe, and hathe ordeyned: who exercyseth his might, vpon the lyeue and the deade. See I pray you how he by the actiō of goddes Churche in the holy Masse, in which the vnbloudy hoste and oblation is bestowed, hathe founde som way, of cariyng downe the benefite of Christes passion, vpon the membres of his body benethe. And though sum haue wickedly sought, vt­terly to breake the band of peace be­twixt theyme and vs, as they haue cursedly shaken thunytie of the li­uing [Page 135] emongest theimeselues, yet thei­re moother Christes spouse, acknou­ledgeth her owne children stille: she seethe by the spirite of god (whereby she seethe all truthe) the sorowe of her dearest, so farre oute of sight, but ne­uer oute of mynde, she in a maner fee­leth a parte of her owne body in paine. And can not otherwise doo, but by all possible meanes and approued waies, assay Goddes mercy for theire deliue­ry. And this naturall compassion of the Churche, passeth throughe euery mem­bre thereof, and ought to moue euery man, by the lawe of nature, to procure as muche helpe as he may.

And so much the more, do we owe this natural duety vnto theyme, bicause they now cā not help theim selues, being out of the state of deseruing, and place of wel working, onely abiding goddes mercy, in the sore sufferance of paines vntol­lerable. They theime selues, as yet your brethern, and a portion of your body, require to be partakers of your benefi­tes. [Page] They feele ease of euery prayer: your allmose quenshethe theire heate, your fasting releaseth theire paine: your sacrifice wipethe theire sinnes and sores: so strong is the communion of sanctes, that, what so euer yowe doo that is ac­ceptable, it isshuethe abundātly downe to theyme. Onely he that is cutte of from this happy society, hathe no com­passion of theime, nor feelethe not ho­we they are knitt vnto vs, by loue and vnity of one heade, and one body. Yow shal heare his vnnatural, and worse then heathen wordes: Dum mortuos a nostro contubernio subduxit dominus, Cal. inst. nullum no­bis cum illis reliquit commercium, ac ne illis quidem nobiscum. When the Lord hathe taken the deade owte of our company, he hath dispatched vs of al intermedle­yng with theime, or they withe vs. This man was borne to breake the ban­de of vnity, which he hated bothe in the lyue and deade. By whose meanes it is nowe comde to passe, that those which of reason might clame oure aide, [Page 136] are vnnaturally disapointed of al suche remedies, wherby any conforte might to theyme arise. Suche lacke of com­passion is driuen into oure heades, that we feele not the wo of our owne felo­wes, oure kinne, oure brethern, and our owne membres. It is a thowsand yere and more, sith a holy father, not hauing hallfe the cause that wee nowe haue, yet noted the peoples lacke of compas­sion towardes the departed,Ad frat in herem. 44, in these wordes. They that lie in torment vn­tollerable, crie out for succoure, and fe­we there be, that make answer: they wofully caule, but ther is none to com­forte theyme. O Bretherne what a kind of cruellty is this? O howe much inhumanity is this? those that in theire liefe time suffered muche sorowe for our sakes, nowe crie ageyne for our ay­de, and we regard theyme not. Lo ho­we the sicke caules, and the phisitions are att hande: the hogge gronethe, and the whole hearde grontleth with all: the poore asse fallethe, and euery [Page] man helpes him vppe in hast: but the faithfull alone caulethe, in his greuous torments, and there is none that an­swereth. Lo oure vnkindnesse (saithe this doctor) and lo oure lacke of com­passion.

But bicause all this forgetfullnesse, coommethe by the wicked suggestiō of these late deuelishe opinions, which maynteyne that the prayers of the ly­uing, or theire workes, doo not extende to the deade in Christe: therefore, for the destruction of this vnkind haeresy, and planting in oure heartes with the truethe, the feeling of our howsholde felowes sores, I shall proue that in all times, as well of nature, as the lawe and gospell, the faithful men haue euer ioy­ned in all theyre praiers and acceptable workes, the soules departed: as vnto whome, by right of theire communion and felowship in faithe, the reliefe of goddes grace and Christes merites doo apperteine. Therefore, this once decla­red, let vs except theime from no pai­nefull [Page 137] worke of the liuing, nor charita­ble deede, nor good praier, nor sacrifice, nor teares, no nor from the inward do­loure nor loue of mannes hearte. Le­rne to know what it is to be in a com­mon body, and thowe shallte streght perciue, that the least motion of thy mind, sturred by goddes grace, shall be caryed to the releefe of that part which thow pitied, and most intended.

Cap. 3.

BVt emongest so many meanes of helpe,Gregori. in epist. ad Bonifa. these haue bene euer coun­ted most soueraigne: Sacrifice, praiers, almo­se, and by example of scripture most commended. Thoughe fasting added vnto any of theime, ha­the singulare strengthe in this case, and [Page] euer was ioyned in all ernest sute, made to god for our selues or other. We can nott better begin to shewe the practise herof, then at that scripture, which suf­ficiently commendeth at once, al three: writen in the second booke of Macha­bies in these wordes:Cap. 12. Iudas hortabatur populum conseruare se sine peccato, sub oculis videntes quae facta sunt pro peccatis eorum qui postrati sunt. Et facta collatione, duode­cim millia drachmas argenti misit Ierosoli­mam offerri pro peccatis mortuorum sacrifi­cium, bene & religiose de resurrectione cogi­tans: (nisi enim eos qui ceciderant resu­recturos speraret, superfluum videretur & vanum orare pro mortuis) & quia consi­derabat quod hi qui cum pietate dormi­tionem acceperant, optimam haberent repo­sitam gratiam. Sancta ergo & salubris est cogitatio, pro defunctis exorare, vt a pec­catis soluantur. The valiaunt man Iudas, exhorted the people to kepe theime sel­ues from sinne, hauing before theyre eyes, what was faulen for the offensies of theime that were slayne. And a com­mon [Page 138] gathering being made, he sent, xij thousand pieces of siluer to Ierusalem, to offer for the sinnes of those that we­re departed, a Sacrifice: being well and religiously mynded, concerning the re­surrection: for except he had suerly tru­sted, that suche as were slayne should a­rise agayne, it might haue bene counted vaine and superfluouse to praye for the deade. But bicause he did well consider, that such as in piety receiued theire sle­ape, hadde grace and fauoure layde vpp for theim, therfore it is a holy and prof­fitable meaning to praye for the deade, that they may be assoyled of theire sin­nes. So farre the Author of the historie speaketh: setting fourthe most euident­ly, the notable piety of Iudas in exhor­ting theime to releue the departed, the lyke liberall allmose of the people, the prayers there in the campe, and the sa­crifice at Ierusalem celebrated for the same purpose. In all wich dooing, the scripture much praysethe that worthy zele of Iudas, as a thing bothe proffi­table [Page] to the departed towardes the re­mission of theire offensies, and no lesse agreeing to that his especyall hope off the resurrection to coom: counting it a folye to pray for theyme, of whose re­surrection we are not assured. Wherby, I can not tell whether a man may well gether, that such as deny the felowship of the lyue with the deade, or condēne prayers made for theyme, stedfastly be­leue not the resurrection. And in deede if we note well,Take hee­de. we shal fynde that the prayers for the deade haue ben euer ta­ken both as an argument to proue, and as a protestatiō of the faithful, to shewe theire mynd and faith, concerning the resurrectiō. So did Epiphanius that ho­ly father, make confession of the chur­ches faith for the resurrection, and im­mortality of the soule, by the praying for the departed, and ioyning theime to the partaking of the workes of the liue. Hi qui decesserunt viuunt (saith he) & nō sunt nulli, In heresi Aërij. sed sunt, & viuunt apud Deum, & spes est orantibus pro fratribus, velut qui [Page 139] in peregrinatione sint. those wich be dece­ased doo yet lyue, and are not by their departure hense faullen to be nothing, but they haue theire being, and yet doo lyue before God: and ther is great hope to theire orators or beadsmen, praying for theyme: as for such that be in theire pilgramage. So saithe Damasce,In oratione pro defunct that by supplication for the soules, resurrectio­nis spes solidatur, the hope of resurrection is established. And therfor Dionisius the auncyent in his misticall prayer and sa­crifice for the departed,Ecclesiast. Hierrarch Cap. 7. declarethe that there was a minister that did solemnely recyte certeine placyes owte of scrip­ture, for to confirme the hope of resur­rection. So that this practise of the faith full hathe not onely bene euer accōp­ted a playne truethe, but it hathe bene a grownd and a princyple to confirme the article of resurrection and immorta­litye of the soule. And therfor the facte of Iudas, is with suche commendacion mētioned in the scripture. For in those dayes the haeresie of the Saduces deni­ing [Page] the refurrection and the lyefe to coom (as Iosephus writeth) began to take greate houlde emongest the Iews,Antiq. l. 13 Cap. 8. about bishop Ionathas his time: in wich tyme of diuersity, that true beleuer thoght to make plaine protestation of his fayth, by his notable facte.

And nowe I must needes be boulde to tell these enemies of oure commu­nion, that in acknouledging theime se­lues to haue nothing to doo with the soules departed, they are att the nexte doore by, to denie the immortalitie, and to terme theyme deade soules as Vi­gilantius did.Hieron. con. vig. Whome Goddes Chur­che very conformably to Christes cal­ling, and fittly for the protesting the common faith, nameth, Dormientes in signo pacis, Prayers for the departed a­greeith to oure fai­the of the resurrecti­on and immorta­lity. Those that sleape in the signe of peace: and the named scripture, for the same cause, callethe theime men a sleape in piety. Well, iff theire deniall of praiers for the deceased, grow so farre as the vtter impugning of Christiā hope for the life euerlasting, and so with purgatory, [Page 140] take away helle and heauen to­gether, as the Sadduces did, (which God of his might turne from theime) but if they doo, bicause there is suche affinity betwixt both theire teachings: and this of theires, may seeme allwaies to haue bene ioyned to that extreme faulshod of the others, then shall Goddes Churche stille protest the faithe of her children, by praiers and practise for the deade, bothe by the example of the fa­thers in Christes Churche vnder the gospel, and by the facte of worthy Iu­das in the lawe before.

But nowe their answer must be he­re, that this booke by which I haue vr­ged theime so farre, shal be no scripture. And this is the isshue of haeresye lo. These mē that lightely writhe and wre­aste Goddes worde,Heretikes deny scri­ptures. from all true mea­ning to the maintenaunce of theire matter, being forther charged by eui­dence of the wordes, when other con­uenient shifte can not be founde, they are driuen, to refuse vtterly the sacred [Page] canonicall scripture of God: for not­withstanding theire perpetuall bragges of scripture, yet there can no scripture houlde theime, but they will ether find a fonde shifte to lowse it, or elles a shamefull stoutnes vtterly to brast and breake it. They first seeke by suttelty to vnfasten the bonde of Goddes trueth, which is euery waie so enwrapped wi­th the testimonies of holy scripture, thē as they can not woorke by wiles, they bouldely brast the bandes in sonder. Thus when for misconstruing of this plane assertion of the booke of Macha­beis, they can conuey no fit meanin­ge, they are driuen to harde shiftes and vnseemely, to deny the whole booke to be scripture, and therfore in matters of quaestion, of no authoritye. In which pointe, the authoritye of the Iewes mouethe theime more, in denying the bookes to be in the canō of goddes scripture, then the decree of the holy Church for the approuing of the same to be scripture. But S. Hierom, thoughe [Page 141] he confesse the Iewes not to allowe theime,In prol. mach. Though against a Ievve or an hereti­ke they coulde not proue any arti­cle of fai­the nether then nor no­vve, by them. Ca. 48. yet is boulde to recken theyme emongest the bookes of the holy hi­stories: not measuring theyre authority by the canon of the Haebrues, but by the ruele of Christiane councells. The Ca­nons of the Apostles will chaleng the­yme frō the Iewes and haeretikes, to be scripture stille: Innocentius the first, in his rehersall of diuine bookes, noom­brethe these of the histories of the Machabees also: the councell of Car­thage the third, authorisheth theime, S. Augustine in his bookes.Ca. 47. De doctrina Christiana, Li. 2. Cap. numbring all canonicall scri­ptures, with the reste reciteth these al­so. Off which bookes in the xviij,Cap. 36. of the Citie of God, he thus forther testifie­the, Ab hoc tempore apud Iudaeos restituto templo, non reges sed principes fuerunt vsque ad Aristobulum: quorum supputatio tempo­rum, non in scripturis sanctis quae Canonicae appellantur, sed in alijs inuenitur, in quibus sunt & Machabaeorum libri, quos non Iu­daei, sed Ecclesia pro Canonicis habet. From [Page] this time (he meanethe after the histo­ry of Esdras) there was no kinges, butt chiefe gouernours, after the restitution and repaire of the temple, till Aristo [...]u­lus time: of all which time there is no chronikle nor counte, in the scriptures which be Canonicall, but in other that be extant, we finde that supplied: as in the bookes of Machabeis: which boo­kes, allthoughe the Iewes doo not, yet the Churche of God counteth for ca­nonicall scripture.

But what shoulde we stande in this point: the whole Churche of God and euery part or prouince therof, euery ler­ned doctour and vertuouse Christen man, hathe receiued and alowed theime for scripture▪ the which constant and perpetuall iudgement of the Churche of Christe, if any man refuse, lett him be aestemed an Ethnike. Or bicause he defendeth the Iewes authority ageinst the determination of Christes Chur­che, lett him be at this time accomp­ted for a Iewe. And yet I thinke he ouer [Page 142] shooteth theime herein: for they con­fesse the historye to be trewe, allthou­gh not holy scripture: nether haue they founde any suche erroure of doctrine therein conteined, as he doth.

And as for the auncient Christian writers, and famouse doctours, they al­leage euen that place to proue the law­full praier for Christian soules depar­ted, whereby these felowes take occa­sion to saie it is no scripture at all. As godly Damascenus, in these woordes. Scitis enim quid dicat scriptura, quomodo Iudas ille Machabaeus, in Syon, Ciuitate re­gis magni, vt cognouit populum sibi subie­ctum à Palestinis hostibus occisum, & scru­tatione facta, inuenta idola in sinibus eorum, statim pro vnoquoque eorum ad dominum qui ad misericordiam facilis & paratus est, munera propitiatoria obtulit, sane ob sum­mam religionem fraternamque charitatem, In lib. pro defunc. in hoc facinore, vt in omnibus alijs, a diui­nissima scriptura & magnificus & admira­bilis habebatur. Yowe knowe (saithe he) what the scripture reportethe, how that [Page] worthy Iudas Machabaeus of Syon, the City of the great kinge, after he vnder­stode certeine of his subiectes to haue bene slaine of the Palestines his ene­mies, and searche being made, had founde in thyire lappes, idols, streght waies offered to God, who is muche incli­ned to mercy, for euery of his souldiars so slaine, propitiatory oblations▪ who suerly, for that acte, as proceding off wonderfull religiō and brotherly loue, and in all other affaires, is of the holy writte aestemed mighty and merue­lous.

Longe before this writer, did sanct Augustine vse the same booke and text of Machabeis,De eura pro mort. agenda. to proue the praiers and sacrifice, for the departed in peace. In the booke of Machabes (saith he) we re­ade that sacrifice was offered for the de­ade. But yf it were in none of the oul­de scriptures redde at all, yet the autho­rity of the vniuersall Churche, which for this poynt is playne, were af no smaule force, whereby it is prouided, [Page 143] that in the prayers, which be made at the altare by the prest, to our lord god, the commemoration of the deade shall haue theire place. Thus by these aunci­ent authors, bothe the bookes be appro­ued, the text it felfe, for which oure ad­uersaries vnworthely denied the boke, alleaged for the same purpose, and the doctrine so sure, that yf no scripture coulde be fowde, it woulde beare out it self against all faulshod. But this doctor handleth Pelagius the haeretique, de­nyng the booke of wisdom to be scrip­ture, bicause there was a sentence oute of the fourthe chapter therof, broght against his wicked doctrine, euen as he shulde be: and as these wranglers in the like case must be. The place well mar­ked, shall serue our turne when so euer we heare theime so impudently reiecte scriptures, bicause they impugne theire haeresies, which elles shulde be as good scriptures as any booke of the Bible, yf they ether would make with theime or by any crafty colouring not play­nely [Page] make againste theime. Thus he saieth.Augusti­nes an­svver to Pelagius, denying scripture for that it made a­gainst his haeresy. Nec ideo liber sapientiae, qui tanta numerositate annorum legi meruit in ecclesia Christi, pati debet iniuriam, quoniam resistit eis qui pro meritis hominum fallun­tur: & rursus: omnibus hic liber tractatori­bus anteponendus, quoniam sibi eum ante­posuerunt etiā tēporibus apostolorū proximi, egregij tractatores: qui eū testē adhibētes, ni­hil se adhibere nisi diuinum testimonium cre­diderunt: in englishe thus. It is no reason that the boke of wisdom, which so ma­ny worldes together hathe bene wort­hy the reading in the Church of Chri­ste, shoulde nowe receiue suche wron­ge at oure handes, bicause it plainely re­sisteth these felowes, that exalt man­nes merites (aboue goddes grace) And agayne, this booke is of more authori­tye then all thexpositours in the worl­de: for the noble writers hard by the apostles time, did muche preferre this booke before theyme selues, who al­leaging the testimony of that scriptu­re, doubted not, but they vsed thereby, [Page 144] the witnesse of goddes holy worde. Euen so must we tel oure masters, that it were plaine wrong, to discredet the history of the Machabies, which hathe bene in our Bible euer sithe Christes ti­me for holy scripture, bicause it hathe an euident testimonie against their faulse beleefe, concerning the state of the soules departed: which booke, is not onely better to be beleued then all Cal­uins faulse gloses, but of more authori­tye then all holy expositors. Owte of whiche booke, bothe S. Augustine and others many, haue vsed proofe of their matters, as of the testimonie of sacred and holy scripture.

But oure aduersarye learned not this practise of Pelagius onely, for it is an oulder sore, and a common sicknes to al deuisers of deulishe doctrine: as the skyllfull in the Churchies affaires maye acknouledge. For sum there were, that other wise could not vphoulde haeresy, but by the vtter denial of all the oulde Testament: as Carpocrates, Ceuerus, [Page] Manicheus.Augusti. de haeresib. 24. haeres Tertul. de praescrip. Iren. cap. 26. libr. 1. Euseb. ec­cles. histor. libr. 4. De haeresi. ad quod vult deum 30. heresi. But Marcion and Cerdon reiect al together, sauing Lukes gospel. Nowe Cerinthus, and Ebion, make co­unte of none of all the euangelicall hi­stories, but the gospell of Matthewe. Cerinthus againe and Seuerus, woulde haue robbed the churche of the actes of thapostles. A secte called Alogiani, do refuse the gospell of S. Iohn, with tha­pocalipse. Martine, Illiricus, Caluine, and theire companions, that no man, being but an haeretique, shoulde euer oute pricke theime, will shoulder with the proudest, and lifte out of our bibles the bookes of Machabies, with S. Ia­mes Epistle, and more when more nede requirethe. The wich epistle, as allso the epistles of Iohn and Iudas, were once doubted of, not as conteining any matter, wherof, the truethe was vncer­teyne, but as bookes not knowen to be of lyke force as canonicall scripture in the impugning of haeresies, or confir­ming articles of belefe: as al workes be, til goddes Church haue published they­re [Page 145] authoritye,The Churches vse in confi [...]matiō or publi­shing off the cano­nical scri­pture. and declared all thinges in theime conteined to be of the same credet that the spirite of god is, and of gospel like truethe. And by that autho­rity of the churche what booke so euer be allowed, thoughe it was not so ta­ken before, yet nowe we muste needes accept it, sicut vere est verbum dei, as the ve­ry worde of God. And so be these ca­nonicall epistles, and bookes of macha­baeis, as before is declared. Here nowe e­uery man may learne, that it is a very daungerous matter to geue lesse creditt to any of these bookes, or wauer in any point of faithe writen in theime, for su­che felowes iudgements, that nowe e­mongest theime, haue lefte vs nether oulde nor newe Testament. Suche stubborne bowldenesse, hadd these willfull men in manteynaunce of mis­cheuouse doctrine. Whose open impu­dencie, was counted handsom conuey­aunce of theyre scholers and adhe­rents, which were very many, not­withstanding the catholike Christian [Page] men in all agies bothe meruailed, and lamented thiere blyndnes. And yet doubtlesse it is not much to be woonde­red at, to see that man flatly forsake the scripture of God, who is not abas­shed, to refuse and condemne that sen­se and vnderstanding of the scripture, whiche the whole churche with all her lerned mē haue euer alowed, and coun­ted most holye. Well by the strengthe of this pillare we haue chalenged and saued hetherto, for all the barking of bandogges, the scripture of God, with the knoune meaning thereof. And so I trust we shall doo stille, from the newe aduersaries, by the assured promesse of thassistance of Goddes holy spirite, which shall leade vs not onely to the true canonicall scriptures, with the sen­se of the same: but allso gyde vs in all trueth, necessary for oure saluation.

Let euery man therefore here take hede, how he doubtethe of the knowē and certayne sense, that the Church of Christe, by decree of councell or con­sent [Page 146] of doctors, applieth to any scriptu­re: least by mistrusting the sayde sense, he go forward vnaduisedly from open deniall of the commō,A necessa­ry vvar­ning- to fownde a pri­uat meaning of his owne: in the stub­born defense wherof, when he shall a­gaynst the truethe malipertly stande, he goeth vnloockely forwarde, and at thēd blasphemously reiectethe the blessed worde, and sacred scripture of God: as we haue proued the auncyent enimies of truethe, to haue doon: and as in these newe sect maisters we may to our great dolor, see. Yet lo, euē these are they that in all agyes, as Vincentius saith, flye in theyre taulke and teachinge, ouer the lawe, the prophets, the psalmes, the go­spell. That crye oute of pottes and pulpittes, nothing but goddes worde, the booke of the lorde, the testament of Iesus, Christ, Paule, scripture, as it may be supposed, and as in thende it is proued, to dryue owte of doores. Paule, scripture, Testament, and Christ [Page] too: and not to bring in to the peoples heades or hearts, the feare and loue of God, the holsom preceptes of Paules heauenly preachinge, nor the true mea­ning of any scripture. Who being vrged, will rather credet a minstrelles ballat, then the Machabeis, or best booke in the bible.

But nowe yowe may see, that whi­les these mē thought to saue theyr cre­dets, by miscredetting the scripture, thy haue wroght so wiesely, that they haue lost theyr owne credets, bothe in this poynt, and in all other for euer. And as they hoped by deniall of scripture, too cloke theyr erroure, they haue woon to theime selues the property of an hae­retike, by open shewe of theyre owne folye.

Cap. 4.

NOwe therfore, I haue greate hope to trust so muche of all studiouse readers, for that loue whiche they beare vnto truethe, that they wyll geue credet to the manifest wordes off scriptur, which so plainely do set forthe, not onely the benefite that arisethe to the departed by prayers, but allso wit­nesse, that there was practise at Hierusa­lem by oblation and sacrifice for the same purpose, by ordre of their lawe.Iudas fo­lovved the ordre of the Churche and not, praescribed to the Churche, any nevv sacrifice or caeremony. For otherwise, would that good knight so higly commended, neuer haue prae­sumed to bring in, any superstiouse new vsage contrary to the rule of that chur­che: nether woulde the priestes at Hie­rusalem haue offered for the deade with owt contradiction, vnder the gouerne­mēt, of so good a bisshop: nether would the Author of the booke, vpon so light a beginning haue praysed the facte: or otherwise made mention of it, then as of a newe diuise of the same mā. Whom [Page] I doubt not therfor, rather to haue fo­lowed the continuall coostom of the Churche, then to haue inuented any newe vnknowne ordre of his owne.

Wich may wel appeare at this day, by the ceremonyes and sacrificies of the owlde lawe,De vniuersa indeorū fide. recita­tura Grappero in lib. de Euch­arist. yet superstiously obserued emongest the dispersed Iewes: where, emōgest other rites of their lawe, they offer and make solemne supplication for the soules departed: as Antonius Margarita, a Iew that forsooke his pro­fession, and became Christian, witnes­seth in a booke that he made of the fai­the of the Iewes. Where he reportethe owte of theyre sacrifice, this prayer. Deus Animarum fidelium recordetur, & in paradisum cum Abraham, Isaac, & Iacob, alijsque integerrimis sanctis collocet: that is: Lord remembre the faythfull soules, and place theyme in paradise wyth A­braham, Isaac, and Iacob, and other thy perfecte sanctes and holy men. And for that purpose they haue a memoriall booke, as he saith, owte of which the [Page 148] names of the departed are yerely recy­ted. But we muche neede not his report herin: for that may well appeare to haue bene vsed long before Iudas Macha­beus his dayes.

For what other thinge dothe that long mourning, fasting, charitable re­leuing of the poore, and other commō afflictions whiche men tooke vpon theime, at the obites of theire frendes and fathers, as well in the lawe of na­ture, as afterwarde continually in Moy­ses time, what elles can they meane but perpetuall practise for the rest of theire soules?Genes. 23. Looke howe religiously Abra­ham celebrated the rites of his wiues funerall, whiche the scripture calleth Officium funeris, the office of the Burial, which he fullfilled by weeping and la­mentation made ouer the corps.

Nether can I thinke, that the office and iuste funeralls stoude in mourning or sorowing with oute praying, or o­ther remedies of reliefe towardes the departed, seeing especially that office off [Page] mourning, by solemne dirigies, as we nowe tearme theim, had place, time, and ordre, by rule appointed to be execu­ted: yea and were not ended by many daies together, nor at one time nother. As it appeareth that Ioseph and his bre­thern,Gene. 50. executed theire fathers funeralls, first fourty daies in Aegipte, and then in theire owne coontry, celebrabant exe­quias saithe the text, seuen daies toge­ther. So the children of Israell celebra­ted Moyses obsequies,Deut. 34. withe thirty da­ies solēne mourning, in the downes of Moab. Not by that weeping which procedeth of priuate affection towardes a mannes frende, for that can not be li­mited, nor yet prescribed by rule, as all these solemne dirigies wer. But questi­onlesse this office conteined for the re­lieffe of the deceased, almose, prayer, fa­stes, and teares: al which may wel be ter­med mourning songes, or weeping ouer the dead,Ecclesi. 22. for that time most cōuenient. Of which the wise mā geueth this pre­cept, Super mortuū plora, Weepe ouer the [Page 149] departed.

And that thowe maist wel perceiue, these publike rites of solemne dirigies, to perteine properly to the due helpe of those, for whome they be exercised,Super obit Theod. S. Ambrose doubteth not to affirme, that of those burialls in the lawe of na­ture, the necessary obseruation of our Christian daies, monthes, and yeares mindes kepte for the deade, hadde the­ire beginning: saying thus in his fune­rall sermone, made the fourtith daye solemnely kept, for the memory of the noble Emperoure Theodosius, Eius Principis & proxime conclamauimus obi­tum, & nunc quadragesimum celebramus, assistente sacris altaribus Honorio principe, quia sicut sanctus Ioseph, patri suo Iacob quadraginta diebus humationis officia de­tulit, ita & hic Theodosio patri iusta persol­uit: & quia alij tertiū & trigesimū, alij septi­mum & quadragesimum obseruare consue­uerunt, quid doceat lectio consideremus: de­functo inquit Iacob praecepit Ioseph pueris sepultoribus vt sepelirent eum, & repleti sunt [Page] ei quadraginta dies. Haec ergo sequenda so­lemnitas quam praescribit lectio. Bonus itaque Ioseph, qui formam pio muneri dedit, & cae. We kept of late the day of this noble kinges buriall, And nowe againe we ce­lebrate his fourtithe daies minde, the prince Honorius his sonne, assisting vs before the holy altares: for as holy Ioseph bestowed vpon his fathers fu­nerall fourty daies duetie, euen so doth this prince procure his fathers obse­quies. And because sum obserue the thirde day and the thirtithe, other kepe customably the vij. and the fourtith, let vs looke vpon the text: which readeth thus: Iacob being departed, Ioseph commaundeth the prouisours of the sepul­ture, to bury him: and so they did, and made vp full fourty daies in that obite, this solemnely then must we folowe, praescribed by the scripture. Good was this Ioseph, that first gaue vs the forme and fashiō of so holy a function. By the­se wordes we see the antiquity of our Christiā dirigies, and diuersitie of daies, [Page 150] as yet it is vsed in mounthes or twelue-mounthes mindes, to haue isshued dow­ne from S. Ambrose time to oures, from the lawe of nature by the patriarches praescription, to his daies: not by mour­ning and mumchaunse as the buriall of Geneuas booke appointeth,Geneua booke appoin­teth a still buriall but at the holy altares these obites were kepte, as with deuoute praiers, and sacrifice. Whereof in better place, I shall speake more anone. He alludeth there also, to oure dilexi: and other psalmes which we yett singe in Goddes Churche, ouer the de­parted.

But in the second booke of the kin­ges, the example of the holy king Da­uid is a plaine proufe that they fasted also for the deceased.Cap. 1. Apprehendens Da­uid vestimenta sua, scidit: omnesque viri qui cum eo erant: & planxerunt, Fasting for the departed. & ieiunauerunt vsque ad vesperam super Saul & Ionathan filium eius, & super populum, & super do­mum Israel, eo quod corruissent gladio. And Dauid taking hould of his garments to­re theime: and so did the men withe [Page] him, and they houled wepte and fasted vpon Saul and Ionathas his sonne, with the residew of Goddes people, that there were slaine. Now what other thing did Dauid here and his people, but that whiche Iudas Machabeus did afterwarde, for the lyke deathe of his souldiars? I trowe there was no fasting to be found ouer any maner a person, lieue or dead, for thy selue, or other, in the whole co­urse of scripture, but it was to obteine mercy at Goddes hande, towardes the partie for whom thowe didest it.2. Reg. 12. So did this same holy prophet weepe, fast, lye on the grounde, and change apparel, for his childe, which he begat of vrias wife, whē he lay at the point of deathe, stric­ken by Goddes hand for the poonishe­mēt of his fathers faulte. The which he did, as he protesteth him selfe, to turne the angry sentēce of god if it might be, and recouer the childe againe. But as soone as the childe was gone, he brake of his longe faste, geuing his frendes to weete, that he tormented not him selfe [Page 151] so, of only naturall compassion towar­des the childe, or inordinate loue, as they thought, but to obteine his pur­pose by suche bitter teares, and fastin­ge, at Goddes handes, for the childes recouery,

Fasting then ouer any man, and such solemne mourning, is nothing elles, but an effectual asking of mercy, for who­me so euer it be doone. As more play­nely it is yet declared, in the buriall off Saul and Ionathas before saide, celebra­ted by the Galadites and Saules souldi­ars: Where, as the scripture saithe,Prim [...]. Reg. 31. after they had buried theire bodyes and bo­nes, they fasted vij. daies. Et ieiunaue­runt septem diebus. For no other cause, but thereby effectually to aske pardon of their offensies. There can I am sure be no reasonable occasion of theire fasting alleaged of no man, but that. Whiche the honorable Bede testifieth for vs in these wordes. Recte et ad literam pro mortuis vt ad requiem peruenire valeant septem diebus ieiunatur, quia post sex huius [Page] mundi aetates, in quibus in carne laboramus, septima est in illo saeculo aetas requietionis a­nimarum carne exutarum, in qua beatae tempus illud glorificum, quando resurgere mere­antur expectant. Duely and according to the letter, they fasted (saithe he) for the departed, seuen daies together, to obtein­ne rest for theim: bicause after the sixe agies of the worlde, in whiche we tra­uell in fleshe, the seuenth age is looked for in that worlde, when the soules be loosed from theire bodies, when the blessed and happy sort, shall continually be in expectation of the gloriouse time, by receiuing theire bodies in the resur­rection againe.

And that charitable relife of the poor, by opē almose and doles, was also pra­ctised for the welthe of the departed in the obittes of oulde tyme, the scrip­ture it sellfe in the .iiij. chapter of TobieTobiae. 4. maketh mention, by report of that god­ly commandement, that the good ould father gaue is sonne herin: Panem tu­um cum esurientibus comede, & de vestimen­tis [Page 152] tuis nudos tege. Panem tuum & vinum tuū super sepulturam iusti constitue, & noli ex eo manducare & bibere cum peccatoribus. Eate thy breade with the hongry and needy, and couer withe thy clothes the naked. Sett thy breade and wine vpon the sepulture of the vertuous and make not the sinfull partaker the­reof, which wordes off exhortation can haue no other sense, but that, as be­fore in the same place, he gaue his son in charge to bestow vpon al mē accor­ding to his hability, for that ther was hope to all charitable almose gyuers of goddes mercy, so now he warneth him to feede the poore, and breake his brea­de to suche especially, as shuld coom to the iustes and funeralls of the depar­ted. He woulde neuer haue put him in mind to haue releaued the poore at bu­rialles, but for som commodity that might arise to the party deceased. for otherwise his charity might haue prof­feted the needy at other times as wel as vpon mennes departure. Som tooke [Page] foolishe occasion by this place, so sett store of meate vpon the graue it selfe, where theire father or frend was buri­ed,Ser: de cath. sancti Pet. Lir. super hunc locum as thoughe the deade had bene desi­rous of corporall foode. The which su­perstitious error S. Augustine ernestly improueth.

Other som, made great feastes at the day of theire frendes deathe. But the texte is playne, it was the needy and good people that were at those solēne exequies, or other wise by theire praiers might be profitably present in the daies of memories houldē for theime▪ which practise was not prescribed as a newe thing to the yong Tobie, but it was moued and praised vnto him,Tob. 12. as a holy vsa­ge of other burialles in those daies, and alwaies before. Bona est oratio cū ieiunio & eleemosina: Prayer is profytable, saithe the holy Raphel, when it is ioyned with fastinge and almose: and therfore as the fathers in theire prayers for the deade, fasted, as we haue proued, so nowe I doubt not but almose shal crie for mer­cy [Page 153] at goddes hand for the soule depar­ted, vpō whose sepulture these thinges be charitably wroght. We haue a no­table example in the actes of the apost­les, of the force of almose with praiers, which wroght lyfe and procured mer­cye, euen in the next world. For the be­nefit of faithfull workes and holy pra­iers, wil not be limited by the termes of this worlde: it wil haue course doune so farre as the felowship of this Christen societie reacheth: the deuell and all his abettours can not stoppe the rase the­reof. The onely shewe off certeine cotes, with the requeste of the poore wydowes that wore theime, made to Peter thapostle,Acto. 9. turned Tabitha to li­fe agayne after her departure: those gar­ments geuen by her when she was a lie­ [...]e, by the carefull trauell of her allmo­se folkes, procured reliefe in the worlde to coom. They warmed the backes of wydowes in earthe (saithe Emissenus) and the geuer hadd comforthe of they­me being gone from the earthe.Sermon. de initio quadrage. It is [Page] good we shulde all learne here, that ha­ue receiued benefite of any man in this liefe, withe loue and carefullnes, not onely in this present worlde, but most of all when our frend is departed, to re­present vnto god before his altare and holy ministers, with sorowful weeping and hearty prayer, the memory of such thinges as we haue receiued by waye of allmose or loue, at his hande. It shall be a soueraigne remedy for his infirmi­ties, and thapprouedest way to procure goddes mercy that can be.

Thelders of the Iewes, making ernest supplication to oure sauioure, for the Centurions seruaunt lying in extremi­tie, vsed the memory of that gentil­mans charitable actes in theire churche, as the rediest waie to obteine grace and fauoure at his handes. They cried owte together:Lucae. 7. dignus est vt hoc illi praestes, di­ligit enim gentem nostram: & synago­gam ipse aedificauit nobis. Lorde be gra­tious vnto him, he is worthy that be­nefite: for he louethe oure nation, and [Page 154] hathe him selfe fownded a Sinagoge. And S. Cypriā saith notably, that good workes make a more effectuall inter­cession then good wordes, he speaketh of the same Tabitha as folowethe.Ser. de Eleemos. Cir­cumsteterunt Petrum viduae flentes & ro­gantes, pallia, & tunicas, & omnia illa quae prius sumpserant indumenta monstrantes: nec pro defuncta suis vocibus, sed ipsius operibus deprecantes: the wydowes compassed Petre rownd abowte, weeping and cra­uing, howlding forthe the clokes and cotes, and al theyre wiedes which they hadde gyuen theime before: not reque­sting for the good wooman deceased so muche by theire wordes, as by her owne good workes. I pray god we be not ouer carelesse in offering to all­mighty god in these our doolefull da­yes, the vnestimable benefites whiche we haue receiued of our forefathers, by the buylding of all oure collegies, oure oratoryes, churcheis, and chappelles. They were fownded first, to procure goddes mercy, they were many yeres together [Page] in the mindes and memoryes of theire beadsmen, represented before the face of God at his holy altare: they are nowe forgotten withe most men, and offered to God with teares almost off none. We should be much more diligēt for our frendes offensies doubtelesse, then the poore weemen were, onely for restore of ther benefactors liefe ageine. And the force of prayers and allmose workethe rather mercy in remission of sin, then fauoure for calling to the life of this world any more. Therfor seeing we reade expressely, that prayers and al­mose haue bene proffitable to many, owt of the state of our present liefe, we can not deny but the woorkes of the vertuous passe by goddes prouidence to the soules separated from theire bo­dyes, and worke grace and fauoure as the case and condicion of the party re­quireth.

The soule of Lazarus, whome oure sauioure reuiued, was foure dayes in the place and state of the next worlde [Page 155] when Martha and Mary his sisters pra­yers, procured his restore to the lande of the liuing againe. Whiche weemen I am sure, were as ernest suters for the rest of his sowle,Ioan. 11. as for recouery of his personage: they wisshed Christ had ben present in his sicknes, they were assu­red of his resurrection at the latter day, but being stinking ripe, they thought oure master woulde not presently call him vp at that turne: yet for his rest, we neede not to doubte, but they made sute withe sighes and soroufull teares, euery daye. Who by custō of their con­trye, as I take it, kept solemne prayers for diuerse dayes together, in certayne seasons, at the sepulcher: as the conie­cture of Maries frēdes, which came to comfort her in heuines, may well de­clare vnto vs. For as she soudenly at her sisters cal brake from theime, they, kno­wing the vsage of that solemne wee­ping at the sepulchre of the departed, sayde one to another, quia vadit ad mo­numentum vt ploret ibi. she is surely gone [Page] to his graue, there to weepe. In which weeping, kept as it wer by course, ordre, and tyme, yf our aduersaryes yet denie-to haue bene vsed any prayers or wor­des of requeste, then lett theime make proufe by goddes worde, that they vsed nothing but vnproffitable lamentatiō: which if it be immoderate,1. Tessal. Cap. 4. hath especial mistrust of the resurrection, as S. Paule declarethe, but ioyned with prayers or almose, as before is proued, it hath the liuely hope, of the lyfe of those that sleape in peace.

And that to be the true mourning for the dead, S. Chrisostom witnesseth with me, both often elles, and namely, vpon the epistle to the Philippiās thus: Defleamus istos, Homil. 3. iuuemus eos pro viribus, procuremus illis aliquid auxilij, modici qui­dem, attamen iuuemus eos. quomodo quaue ratione? praecantes pro illis, adhortemur & alios vt orent pro eis, pauperibusque indesi­nenter pro illis eleemosinas demus: 4. Re. 19. habet res ista non nihil consolationis: Audi quippe quid Deus dicat. protegam ciuitatem istam propter [Page 156] me, & propter Dauid seruum meum. si me­moriae duntaxat iusti tantum valuit, quan­do & opera pro tali fiunt, quid nō poterunt? Let vs mourne and weepe (saithe he) ouer the deade, and helpe theime accor­ding to oure habilytie: sumwhat let vs succoure theime thoughe it be neuer so smaule, yett let vs put to, our helping handes. But how and by what meanes? mary both our selues praying for theim, and mouing others to doo the like: yea and with owt ceasing let vs bestowe al­mose for theime. this is sumwhat con­fortable. For see I pray yow what God saithe: I will defend this city for mine owne sake, and for my seruaunt Dauids sake. Truely if the onely remembra­unce of a iust mā might make so much withe God, what may not charitable workes doone for the same intent, ob­teyne at his hand? This was the mour­ning meete for the Christiā burialles, as this noble father teacheth vs, and this and no other, was practised in the fa­thers funeralles in Christes tyme and [Page] before. As in another place, this same doctor ernestly correcteth the vse off vaine mourning, or outragious costely and curiouse couering of the body bu­ried.Homil. 84. in Ca. 20. Ian. Cessemus quaeso ab hac insana diligen­tia, sed eam morientiū curā habeamus, quae & nobis & illis conferat ad gloriā dei. Lar­gas pro his elemosinas faciamus, mittamus eis pulcherrima viatica. Elemosina mortuos sus­citauit, quando circumsteterunt viduae os­tendentes quae fecerat ipsis Dorcas. Cum ergo moriendū sit, quisque funus sibi paret, persua deatque vt indigentibus aliquid relinquat. Nā si reges haeredes scribentes, familiaribus partem relinquunt in puerorū cautionem, cū Christū cohaeredē filijs tuis dimittis, intellige, quantam tibi, & illis concilias beneuolentiam. Haec sunt funera pulcherrima & rema­nentibus, & abeuntibus proficiunt: & caetera. For goddes loue, saith he, let vs leaue this vndiscrite and madde curiositie: and let vs so prouide for the departed, that we may bothe helpe theyme and our selues to the glory of God. Large almo­se must we geue for theime, in so doo­ing [Page 157] we shall send vnto theime, as yowe woulde say, a kinde of necessary foode and sustenaunce for theire soules. This hathe raysed vpp the deade, when the widowes stoode rownd aboute, making shewe of the garmentes that Dorcas made for theime. Therfore, seeing dye we must, it were not amisse, that euery man procured his owne funerall before hand, that is so say, by determination to leaue sumwhat to the poore and needy. For if mighty kinges making theire he ires, doo bequeathe sumwhat to theire familiars, for the salfe prouiso of theire successoures,As praiers doo pro­test the re­surrectiō, so vnor­dinate mour­ning she­vveth the lacke of beliefe therin. thowe may well vnder­stande, when thowe makest Christ the copartener with thy children, thow procurest therby his mercy, bothe to theime, and thy sellfe. And these be the right obittes, these shall be commodious to the lyuing, and proffitable to the de­ceased.

Againe in another place, he arguethe that this vnordinate mourning can not stand with the stedfast beleefe of resur­rection [Page] of the departed, which the pra­iers of Goddes Churche, and the rites of Christian dirigies doo plainely pro­test,Homil. 32 in Cap. 9. Math. and proue: these be his wordes. Cur post mortē tuorū pauperes cōuocas? cur pres­byteros, vt pro eis velint orare obsecras? non ignoro te responsurum, vt defunctus requiem adipiscatur, & vt propitium iudicem inue­niat: his ergo de rebus flendum atque vlulan­dum arbitraris? Non vides quam maximè ipsi repugnas? In his ty­me the priestes vvere de­sired to pray for mennes soules. Why doost thowe gather the poore people, to coom to thy fren­des buriall? Why desirest thow the prie­stes to pray for theire soules? Thy answher I am shure will be, that thowe doost these thinges to prouide for his rest, and to obteyne mercy and fauour at his iudgies handes. Wel then go too, what cause hast thowe to mourne or be waile his case? doost thow not perceiue that thowe arte contrary to thy selfe, in thy owne facte? nowe all studiouse men may see, what force the charity and all­mose of faithfull people euer had, es­pecially towardes the dead: howe litle [Page 158] weeping auaylethe, howe vnlikly it is that the prescribed daies of the oulde funeralles in the lawe of nature or af­terward, were spent in mourning, with owte woordes or workes for the depar­ted: but namely howe this holy fathers sentēce and minde fully setteth fourth the meaning of Tobies praecept, for set­ting his breade and drinke vpon the se­pulchres, to be nothinge elles but a cal­ling together of the poore people, and feeding theime for the benefite of the person departed: that not onely they by earnest praier, but he by charitable wor­kes, might together obteine reste and mercy for his soule. And here, the sim­ple sorte, and suche as be ignoraunt off the force of almose, or oure fathers pra­ctise, for theire yeares, being brought vppe in this sinful age whē vertue is de­faced,A greate decay of vertue in oure ty­me. and the workes of Christianitye scarse to be seene in a whole country: and where they be, muche merueled at, as thinges rare, or contemned as vn­proffitable, or of the wicked condēned [Page] vtterly, as superstitious and vngodly: su­che good younge mē must looke backe a greate waye with me, to lerne theire dueties of the blessed times paste, that were wholy free from the contagion off this pestilent waste in religion: euen to those daies, that our aduersaries con­fesse, to haue bene holy and vndefi­led.

Cap. 5.

ANd we fiend, the wor­kes of mercy and chari­tie, to helpe the soule of man in this life, towar­des remissiō of his sin­nes, or elles in the next worlde, for re­lease of paine due vnto the same sin­nes. Al which may be doone two waies: [Page 159] firste, by thyne owne handes or ap­pointment, liuing in this worlde,Lucae. 11. &. 16. Dan. 4. Ec. 3. Iob. 12. which is the best, perfecteste, and surest meanes that may be: for that pourgeth sinnes, procurethe mercy, maketh fren­des in the day of dreade, cleansethe beforehand, staithe the soule from deathe, and lifteth it vppe allso to liefe euer lasting.

Regarde not here the ianglers, that wil crie oute on the, that mannes wor­kes must not praesume so farre as to winne heauen, or to pourge sinnes, lest they intermeddle with Christes work of redemption, and the office of onely faithe: make no accompt of such corru­pters of Christian conditions, liue wel, and carefully folowe these workes off mercy so expressely commaunded and commended in the scriptures, kepe the within the householde of the faith­full, and thy very good conuersation in operibus bonis, shall refute theyre vaine blastes, and improue theire idle faithe.Iacob. 2. Say but then vnto theime by the wor­des [Page] of S. Iames. Maister Protestaunt, let me haue a sighte of your only faithe, with out good workes: and here lo, be­houlde mine and spare not, by my good workes. What religiō so euer you be of, I know not, but I would be off that religiō, which the apostle calleth, religionem mundam & immaculatam, Iacob. 1. The pure and vnspotted religion: and that is (as he affirmeth) to viset the fatherlesse, and succoure widowes in theire neede. And then tell theyme bouldely, that the Churche of God hathe instructed the, that all woorkes, whereby mā may procure helpe to him selfe or other, be the workes of the faithfull, which haue receiued that force by the grace and fa­uoure of God, and be throughe Chri­stes bloode so wattered, tempered, and qualyfied, that they may deserue hea­uen and remission of sinne.

Doubt not to tel them, that they haue no sight in this darknes of haeresy, in the waies of Goddes wisdō: they haue no feele nor tast of the force of his dea­th: [Page 160] they see not howe grace prepareth mannes workes: they can not reache in theire in fidelitie, how wonderfully his death worketh in the sacraments: they cā not atteine by any gesse, how the de­des of a poore wrech, may be so framed in the childrē of God, that, whereas of theire owne nature they are not hable to procure any mercy, yet they nowe shall be counted of Christ him self sit­ting in iudgemēt, worthy of blesse and lyfe euerlasting. Bid theime coom in, coom in, and they shall feele with the in simplicity and obediēce, that, which thei could not, owte of this society in the pride of contention, euer perceiue. And if they will not so doo, let theim perish alone. Turning then from theim thether where we were, let vs practise mercy (as I saide) in our owne time, in our helthe, when it shal be much meri­torious, as proceding not of necessity, but of freedom and good will. And thē after oure departure, the repraesentation of our charitable deedes, by such as re­ceiued [Page] benefite thereby, shall excedin­gly moue God to mercy: as we see it did sturre vpp the compassion of his apo­stle, in the fullfilling of so straūge a re­quest. Wheruppon S. Cyprian saithe, that almose deliuereth often from bo­th the seconde deathe, whiche is dam­nation:Serm. de Eleemos. and the firste, whiche is of the body.

Yf thow yet chaunce to be negligent in the working of thine owne saluati­on whē thou arte in strenght and hel­the: when ouer muche carefulnesse of worldly welthe hindereth the remem­braunce of thy duety towardes God, for al that, helpe they selfe at the least in thy latter ende: for thoughe it had bene muche better before, yet it is not euill nowe. I speake not for priestes ad­uauntage, (God is my iudge) I am not of that rowme my self, and wil not condemne my soule for other. But I speake for pitye of the deceiued people, for compassion of the soules that lac­ke the reliefe of so soueraigne a remedy, [Page 161] for mine oune helpe, and those that I so dearly loue, against the day of oure ac­compt. I speake it, bicause I beleeue it, and I beleue it,O that vvas a happy time. bicause I finde it practi­sed of those men, and in those daies, when true christianitye was yet feruent in Christes bloud, whē the faith was vndefiled, and whē woorkes and faith rā ­ne together, in the rase of mannes lyfe, ioyntely without cōtentiō. Thē floori­shed this doctrine: and thowe shalte ha­ue further taste of their vsage for mine own discharge: we can not occupy oure pēne better. S. Chrisostō thus instructed his flocke in this case.Citatur a Dam. Si adhuc in hac vita cōstitutus, omnia quibus animae tuae prodesse poteras, bene dispēsare neglexisti, & vel ad cal cē vitae tuae tuis mādasti, vt tua tibi ipsi sub­mittēdo erogent, bonisque operibus te adiuuēt (eleemosinis dico & oblationibus) etiā hac ra­tione saluatorē cōciliaueris: scribein tabulis, & cū filijs cognatisque tuis haeredē nomina & do minū. Nulli autē viuentiū propterea occasio­nē damus ne faciat eleemosinas, differendo vs­que ad mortē. Yf thowe in thyne owne [Page] time was ouer negligent in disposinge thy gooddes for the proffet of thy soule, and yet at the very ende, doost at the last charge thy frēdes or executors, that they wil employ thy proper good­des for the relife of they self: and so hel­pe the with good workes, that is to saie with allmose and oblation: euen that way there is greate hope thowe maiste procure goddes fauour. write in thy will, that our Lorde may be named a felowe haeire with thy children and kinnesfolkes. Neuerthelesse, let no man take occasion herby, to be slack in his life time, or to differr his almose and charitye till deathes approching. This was the preaching of that doctours da­ies, this proceaded oute of his goulden mouthe, and this sounded out of euery pulpit. And surely if yowe knew his liefe and qualities, yow would not take him to be the priestes proctor: of whose dignity as he wrote muche, so where he fownde any vicious, he pounished sore. But he was a true proctor of oure [Page 162] soules. Chrisostom was no crauer per­dye, nor Christe nether, thoughe they warne vs to make frends by mammon for our owne saluation. They aske not muche:Marci. 12. Matt. 10. they thrust owt no inhaere­tours: it was but a myte that wanne the poore wydowe that prayse, a cuppe of coulde water, where more habilitye wanteth, shall winne heauen at thende. This thē is the benefite of almose giuē in the time of mannes lyfe, or otherwi­se by his appointmēt, of his owne gooddes, after his departure: both which, procure mercie as well by the deede it selfe, as by the praiers of those to who­me that charity apperteined.

Nowe there is an other way of relie­fe by almose of other men, which for [...]oue and pitye they bestowe vpon the [...]oore, that the soule hense departed, [...]ay throughe theyre charitye receyue [...]omforte. And this conteineth a dou­ble worke of mercie, principally towar­des the deceased, for whome it was ge­ [...]en: and then towardes the needy that [Page] receiued praesent benefit thereby: and it singularely redoundeth to the spirituall gaine both of the geuer, and the person for whose sake it is geuē. And this kind of almose is it, which good Tobie did cōmēd vnto his sonne, being so muche more meritorious to the person that procureth it, thē the other which we spake of before,The per­fectest kind of almose. bicause it is groūded not only of loue towardes a mānes owne proper person, but reacheth to the benefite of our neghboure, by the singulare gift of cōpassiō, and tēder loue that we beare e­uē towards theim which cā nether help vs, nor thē selues. It is nothing elles but a wing of praier, and a tokē of ernest su­te for the party on whom it is practised, whiche no man will vse for his neigh­bours good, that list not doo it before in his owne behalfe. This effectuall supplication by wordes and workes toge­ther, is as straunge nowe a daies in oure country, ether for the liuing or the de­parted, ether in oure owne lackes, or in other mennes necessities, as it was common [Page 163] in oulde time,Tob. 12. and commended in the scripture. Bona est oratio cum ieiunio & eleemosina: Praier is soueraigne, ioyned with almose and fastinge: the which being doone ether for the liue or dead, is with speede by angelles ministery, ca­ried into into heauen. For I take it (and so the texte excedingly beareth) that the bitter praiers which thaungel so cō ­mended in that good father, and which had such good succcesse, was made in the funerals of the faithefull departed. Quādo orabas cū lachrimis (saith Raphael) & sepeliebas mortuos, & cae. Ego obtuli orati­onē tuā Domino. Toby: whē thowe with teares prayd and buried the deade, I of­fered vpp thy praiers to our Lord God. he seemeth to tearme that, prayers with weeping, which in other placies of scri­pture is called, mourning ouer the dead. And weying the wordes with owt af­fection, it must needes be graunted that the iuste funeralls had and required prayers with weeping, and that the an­gels of God doo speedely offer such ef­fectuall [Page] requeste vppe to the presens of the Maiesty, as wel to the reliefe of the deade, as to the conforte of the procu­rer. But I would be lothe to descant v­pon goddes worde for the beating owt of any newe doctrine or deuised mea­ning, or to auouch a sense not knoune to the time of persect spring in religiō. Therfore to go surely to woorke, I will loke about me for example of this good Tobies almose. and praiers for the poore departed soules, that we may learne withall, not onely to be beneficiall to our selues, but to our neghboures both a liue and deade. All thantiquitye here offer to take my part in so good and so knowne a quarell. I may haue as many as I wil, and whome I wil. such therfore I doo searche for, as be plainest for te­stimonie of open doles, and reliefe off the poore in the burials of Christiā pe­ople. That not only one mannes asser­tion, but allso the plaine practise of the church of God may beare downe thad­uersaries bouldnes: and the more aunci­ent [Page 164] the better. Origen then shall helpe vs to the vsage of his tyme and church.li. 3. in Iob He writeth thus. Celebramus diem mortis, quia non moriuntur hi qui mori videntur. Celebramus nimirum, religiosos cum sacerdo­tibus conuocantes, fideles vná cum clero, in­uitantes adhuc egenos & pauperes, pupillos, & viduas saturantes, vt fiat festiuitas nostrain memoriā requiei defunctis animabus & cae. We solemnely kepe the day of our fren­des departure, bicause they be not deade which appeare vnto vs to dye. And this is oure way of celebrating theire fune­rals. We gather the religiouse men and priestes, the faithfull people withe the cleargye. we inuite allso the poore, the needy, and the fatherlesse with the wi­dowes: and we fille theire bealies, that the memoriall of their rest may be kept solemnely. But Tobies scholare may lerne his duety yet better, of the Apo­stles owne scholare S. Clement:In compēd. & epistolae ad Iacob fratrem domini. who once or twise hathe these wordes in ef­fect: To viset the sick, to bury the dead, to kepe theyre obittes, to pray and giue [Page] almose for theime is commendable: v­pon whose wordes I will not nowe­stande, bicause by and by, other occasion must driue me to repeate, for the wor­thynes of the man and the weight of his testimonie, more playne euidēce of his church and time. Yf thow here yet doubt howe the prayer, work, or sacri­fice, of one man a lieue may helpe a no­ther departed, remembre alwaies what I saide in the beginning, for the knott of our brotherhood and society in one body and vnder one heade: and thowe shalte not wōder howe one membre by compassion may helpe and relieue ano­ther.Iob. 1. & 2. And ther with, for example, consi­der howe the sacrifice of Iob and dayly almose were auayleable for the misde­edes of his children, and appeaced god­des wrathe towardes his importunate frendes. And thoughe his benefite wēt onely then emongest the liuing in this worlde, nether his children nor frendes at that time departed, yet the case of the liuinge emōgest theime selues differeth [Page 165] nothing herin, from the cōmunion and felouship which the departed in Christ, hathe withe the liuinge in earthe. And therfor I bring thexample of Iob emō ­gest many like in scripture, for that S. Chrisostom fitly inducethe the same, to proue the partakyng of good wor­kes to be common as well betwixte the liue and deade, as of the liuinge emon­gest theime selues. These be his wordes in englishe. Lett vs helpe our bretherne departed, keping a memory of theime:In 15. cap. 1. cor. Ho­mil. 14. For if the oblation of Iob pourged his children, why doubtest thow of the so­lace that maye arise by oure offeringes vnto suche as be asleape in Christ? see­ing God is pleased withe som, for other mennes sakes. It was so knowne a true­the in that time, that they neuer putt difference nor doubte, any more of the mutuall helpe of the liue towardes the deade, then they did for that benefite which in Christes Church one man may houlde of a nother.

But that I may serue not only the [Page] turne of trueth, but with plainnes also enstruct the vnlerned, and with store satisfie the godly greedinesse of sum­me, that list see more for the conforte of theire conscience, I will report one notable place for the declaration of charities force euen towardes the deceased,Ex Dama­sceno pro defunctis out of Gregory Nissen of the greeke church, and another oute of Athanasius the greate: bothe directly touching the practise of good Tobie in cōpassion off the deade. Thus saith Gregory. Dicitur bene, quòd si qui hinc non praemissis bonis migrauerint, & postea à familiaribus negle­cta oblatis reliquijs sarciantur, imputari o­pus perinde ac ab eis factum fuerit, est enim & haec voluntas benignissimi Domini, vt cre aturae quae ad salutē petuntur, sic petātur & distribuantur: et vt exoretur non solū quādo quis pro salute propria est anxius, sed & quando pro proximo aliquid operatur: in english. It is very well saide, that if any depart this life, his gooddes by almose being not send to god before him, and yet af­terward the matter by his frendes in the [Page 166] offering vpp the residewe, be amended, that his frendes facte shall stande and be reputed as his owne worke. For so hathe God of his mercy ordeined, that his creatures, by vse wherof life and sal­uation may be obteined, shoulde so be procured, and in this ordre disposed, that man shoulde not onely obteine his request in the carefull study of his oune saluation, butt also when be well wor­keth for his frend or neighbour.

Here may we well perciue,Psal. 24. that al the waies of oure Lorde be mercy and trueth. And that he in a maner relea­uethe of his owne accorde oure miseri­es, bothe here and in the next lyfe, that there may be no damnation to suche as be in Christ Iesus: for whose sakes he turnethe these base creatures of man­nes seruice in this lyfe, to the vse of his pardon and saluation in the lyfe to coom: he acceptethe the good will and trauel of other, for the helpe of theyme which can not relieue theime selues: And, which is the property of a most [Page] mercifull father, where he loueth he he wil raise the hearte of sum good in­tercessor, that by patronage and praiers of sum Iust Iob, his fury may cease by his owne procurement. But howe this mutuall woorke of mercye is currant through the membres of our common body and howe being practised by one, it seruethe before God for a nother, e­ther in this lyefe or the next, oure holy father Athanasius by his authority might well be a proufe sufficiēt: but he is contēt to declare it vnto vs by an ex­ample: and suche an exāple, that beside the matter, may further put vs in remē ­braunce of the deuotiō of our elders in an other point, which the studious rea­der may marke by the waie: thus thē he saith. Quod in pauperes collocatur beneficiū, omnis bonae retributionis est augmentū. Ita­que pro defuncto oblaturus eundem serues scopū, quē qui pro paruulo filio adhuc imbe­cillo & infāte, interim dū puer aegrotat, affert cerā, oleū, & thimiama, in templum Domini magna fide, & accendit pueri nomine, neque [Page 167] enim puer hoc faceret, cū ignoret diuinae rege­nerationis cōstitutiones. Sic cogitet etiā eū, qui in dn̄o mortē obijt, et posse et offerre cerā, oleū, & caetera quae in redemptionem offerri solent. The benefit bestowed vpō the poore is a soueraigne ground of Goddes rewar­ding. And in thy oblatiōs for the depar­ted, haue alwaies the same intēt and sco­pe that a father hathe, practising for the recouery of his sick child, being yonge and tender: Who for his sick sonne bringeth in to the Churche of oure Lorde God, waxe, oyle, incense, and with de­uotion and faith lighteth theime in the boyes behallfe: for that the child hym selfe, being wholy vnskillfull of the or­dinauncies of oure Christianity, would neuer go about any suche thinge: euen so must a man thinke of the deceased persons case, that he may and doothe offer, (as in an other mās person) waxe, oyle and suche like, as commonly for redēption are offered.

Withe proufe of oure matter in hād, here may be noted beside, the vsual ob­lation [Page] of thinges apperteining to the mainteinaunce of Churche light, and lampes:In Atha­nasius his tyme candels vvere lighte in Churchi­es, for theire sakes that vve­re deade, sick, or absent. setting vpp of tapers of singu­lare deuotion for sicke persons, repre­senting of oure gooddes, and Goddes creatures, from prophane vse of dayly occupation, to Goddes honoure in the temple: the vndoubted hope that al fai­thefull people had, as well to procure fououre to theime selues therby, as mer­cy to other, for whose sakes they did it: and especially that in this mannes age, that was so auncient, these tokens off loue and duetye towardes oure Lorde, and shewe of theyre homage by suche externall actes, were taken as peculiare ordinauncies, and solemne constitutiōs of oure Christianitie. These thinges (though the hedge of my cause forceth me to let theime lightly passe) yet as I go by, I must needes beholde, as steppes of ould maners: with sum mourning to say the trueth, and no litle sorow, in the cōtrary comparing of our corrup­te conditions. The reader as he list, may [Page 168] perchaūce with more leasure, or at lea­ste with lesse iniury to other, weye the wōderful waste that sinne and haeresye hath wrought in our daies of darknesse. And when he considereth these thin­ges, that be now of most men counted meere madnesse, to haue bene lyked, alowed, preached, auouched, sent owte in solemne woorkes and writinges to the vewe of the worlde, and the sighte of al posteritie, from the very hearte and spring of the Christian Churche, by AthanasiusAthanas. Authori­ty onely, vvil beare dovvne all haere­tikes in the vvorl­de. the greate, O Lorde what a mighty man in worde and worke doo I nowe name: him doo I name, whose memory is blessed in goddes Churche, in whose lappe oure weeryed mother once before, as she hathe bene often, in amaner leaned to take her rest from the forsaken children: whose onely worde with oute all proufe (thoughe he neuer speaketh but with weight of reason) woulde beare ouer all these pety pro­testantes putt together: so saide Tully cōparing the Epicures with Plato and [Page] Aristotele: muche more bouldly may I payse al haeretiques in the worlde with this mannes onely worde. Him therfo­re suche a man, and so greate a pillor of faithe, when the Catholike shall see proue and alowe, and practise those sa­me thinges, which oure masters of se­ctes can not abide, but most abhorre, and by him take a sure taste of his whole time, shall he not woonder with all wise men, at oure downefaull so deepe? shall he not meruayle vnder one name of Christianitye,The na­me onely of Chri­stianity lefte in many that goethe yet common to oure daies with those hap­py tymes past, to be suche diuersitye of case and conditions, that thone vnder so glorious a name must be nothing el­les but a cloked paganisme? but yet I woulde not he shuld occupye ouermu­che his mynde in this consideration, tyll he see the whole ranke of goddes holy hoste, and all the blessed bande of Martirs and sanctes stande with vs for the full defense of trueth, and the com­mon Church theyr moother and oures.

Cap. 6.

KEping oure selues then from by matters, (if those be by, that are so nere) of relieuing the departed by the almose of the liuing there we lefte, and there must we borowe brefely a word or two more. Bicause I thinke it very necessary to be knowne, that besides the priuate procuring of the deceased soules wel­the, and more then the common doles at the day of burial, there was also ano­ther kinde of almose not muche dif­fering in effect from the other, but in ordre and vsage not all one. Which, bi­cause it was solēnely praesented to God­des minister before the holy altare, in the face of the whole faithful assembly, [...] [Page] and deade, and in euery minde or me­mory for the soules principally procu­red, the offering of sum parte ether off the deceaseds owne gooddes, or his lo­uers, for the vpholding the ministerie, was also made. Of which kind of parti­cipating whith the departed, we reade in the aunciēt coūcel named Bracharēse thus: si quid ex collatione fideliū aut per festi­uitates martyrū aut per cōmemorationem de­functorū offertur, Can. 39. per aliquem clericorum fi­deliter deponatur: & constituto tempore semel aut bis in anno, inter oēs clericos diuidatur. Yf there be any offeringes by the cō ­tribution of the faithfull, made ether in the festiual daies of martyrs, or min­des and memorialls of the deade, lett theime be laide vpp aside, in custody of one of the cleargie, that once or twise in the yere as time shall serue, they may be truely parted emōgest the reste. And bi­cause al times haue had certaine draw­backes in religion, and hinderers of de­uotion, the councel kept at Vase of gre­ate antiquitie, excommunicateth al such [Page 171] as in any wise hinder the oblations for the departed. And in like case the four­the councel holden at Carthage.Cap. 2. Cap. 95. Thus runneth the decrie of theim both. We doo curse and excommunicate al those, that by any meanes withdrawe or elles staye from the churches the oblations of the departed, as murderers of the poore. The decries of bothe these nota­ble assemblies, wer thought worthy to be confirmed by the .vi. generall coun­cel houlden at Cōstantinople▪ then are oure ministers in the ruff of their newe communion, thrust owte of the oulde holy cōmunion of sanctes, if ether vni­uersal or prouincial synod cā take hould of men so desperat, that nether care for mannes curse, nor goddes blessinge. Well murderers and manquillers they must be coūted, their praedecessors not haulfe so euil, deserued no better name. Damascene that blessed man, that suffe­red so much sorowe for truethes de­fense, whose authority I must often vse in this treatise bicause he purposelie [Page] stoode for this quarell ageinst certaine haeretiques of his time. He therfore in the lyfe of Iosaphat excedingly praiseth his passing loue towordes his father de­parted.in vita Io­saphat. Who first with all godly deuo­tion, procured his exequies and dirigies on the day of his burial, then commen­ded his soule to God with seuen dayes solemne praier and supplication at his sepulcher: and with a wonderfull libe­ral almose or oblation for the poore pe­ople, he finished vpp the matter the viij. day. But yf yow can finde in your he­arte to credite this good mannes report, he will assure yow of the vsage of his time. By which yow shall perceiue, that it is a horrible slaunder that the wicked haue raised on goddes Church and mi­nisters, which be not ashamed, to say and auouch in their open sermons and vaine libelles, that these yerely, and so many monthes mindes, haue ben new­ly practised and deuised ageinst goddes worde, and the vsage of the primitiue church. Wherin they shew theim selues [Page 172] exceding ignorant in thaffaires of the Church, or elles passing bould and ma­litiouse, in wilful deceiuinge the simple. For our onely monthes and yeres obla­tions, in Damascens daies, as he often affirmeth, there were customably kept tricesimales, quadragesimales, anniuersariae memoriae: the thirtithe, the .xl. the yeres mindes: and portions apointed owt, as he saith, in testamets for the mainteina­unce therof. And all this commonly, besides the peculiare deuotion of som, towardes theyr singularely beloued. If thow list go yet vppeward, thow shalt find no lesse care for the helpe of the soules deceased: for S. Ambrose repor­teth of his time:Super obit Theodos. that otherwhiles the third and the thirtith, otherwhiles the vij. and the fourtith minde daies were religiously obserued: yea and that (as he saith) by good authoritye, and auncient vsage of the patriarches both in the law of nature and Moyses, Cum frequentibus oblationibus omnibus, with often and sun­dry oblatiōs for the rest of the departed. [Page] This xxx. daies memoriall,Iulio in­terpr. ould holy Ephreem in his testament and last will prouideth for him selfe, after his de­parture. The seuenth day was also euer in the primitiue Churche with greate religiō obserued: bicause, as Beda saith, that hath the representation of the lyfe to coom. And S. Ambrose practised it for his brother, for the like protestation and signe of the resurrection and rest perpetuall.De fide re­sur. Die septimo (saith he) ad sepul­chrum redimus, qui dies symbolum est futurae quietis, the seuenth day we coom toge­ther againe to my brothers sepulchre, bicause that day is a pledge of the rest to coom.

Hould on vpward stilli, and Tertu­lian will witnesse with the, that in that floure of Christes Church, with in les­se then CC. yeres of our masters death, Oblationes fiebant annua die pro defunctis: That oblations and sacrifice were yerly made at the xij. monthes mindes of mo­ste men:De Cor. milit. he meanethe bothe by the sa­crifice of the Churche, and offeringes [Page 173] of the frendes of the departed▪ as there also:In exhort. Castitat. Repete apud Deū pro cuius spiritu po­stules, pro qua oblationes annuas reddas: Cal to thy remembraunce, for whose soule thowe prayes, and in whose behallfe thowe makes yerly offeringes: He spea­keth of a frend of his, that practised thus for his wiues departure. And in another place he wel declareth the duety of maried [...]d persons one towards another,De mono­gamia. if God by death separate them in sonder. Pro a­nima eius orat, et refrigeriū interim postulat. & offert annuis diebus dormitionis eius, She praieth for her husbandes soule, and ob­teineth in the meane space ease: and of­fereth euery yere, at the mind day of his passing hense. And he letteth not to affirme, that the maried coople that pra­ctise not thus, doo not beleue the resur­ [...]ection. Therfore he concludeth thus: Nunquid nihil erimus post mortem secun­dum aliquem Epicurum, & non secundum Christum? quòd si credimus mortuorum resurrectionem, vtique tenebimur, cum qui­bus resurrecturi sumus, rationem de alter u­tro [Page] reddituri: What say yowe, shall we faule to nothing after oure death, as the Epicure thinkethe, and not rise a­geine as Christe teacheth? And if we beleue the resurrection of the deade, then doubtlesse we shall be bounde to make accompte one of an other,This haeresy muche ioyneth vvith the Sadu­ces. as we shall together rise againe. Beware here my masters, once ageine I must tel you, yowe are goinge towardes the deniall of the resurrection, so many as condē ­ne the vsage of the Church in praying or offeringe for the deade. Tertuliane saith yow be Epicures in this poynt, and so yowe be in all others. I say yowe are past priuy muttering in your hear­tes that there is no God:Psal. 13. for yowe are cōme to plaine.Cor. 1. Cap. 15. Manducemus & bibamus: cras enim moriemur, Let vs eate and be mery, we can not not tell howe longe we lieue. I say yow must answer for par­ting the affection of man and wiefe, and thone must be countable at the day of iudgement to an other, that they procured not the dueties of the deade [Page 174] by right of Goddes holy Church, for theire soules departed. Take heede the­refore, yowe are warned. But as neere as we be Christes time by Tertulians helpe, we wil approch yet nyerer, to the very Apostles age, and looke out sum recorde of that time for oblations and distributions, with memorialles for the departed. And the further from yowe of the newe secte we go, the more plai­ne destruction of your doctrine, and more manifest proufe of our ould de­uotion shall we fiend, to your open sha­me and the conforte of Catholikes. S. Clement therfore the Romane, one cō ­uersaunt with the apostles, and instru­ [...]ted by theime in his faithe, a familiare of S. Paule, and promoted by S. Peter, a [...]ue pastor and a holy martyr, thus re­ [...]orteth of the apostles ordinaūce in our [...]atter.Li. 8. Cōst. Cop. 48. Peragatur dies mortuorum in psal­tis, in lectionibus, atque orationibus, pro­ [...]ter eum qui tertia die resurrexit, Item [...]onus in commemorationem superstitum at­ [...]ue defunctorū. Etiā quadragesimus secun­dum [Page] veterem formam, Moysen enim hoc mo­do luxit populus: nec non anniuersarium pro memoria ipsius, deturque de illius facul­tatibus pauperibus, in commemorationem ip­sius. Thus in english. We will that the third day be obserued for the departed, in psalmes, lessons, and praiers, for his sake that rose the third day. And so the ix. day, for the vniting together in one memorie the departed with the liuing. In lyke maner the fourtithe day must be kept according to the ordre vsed of ould: for so did, the people obserue the bewayling of Moyses. And with al the­se, the xij. monthes mind beside. Where for the memory of his departure, lett sumwhat be distributed amongest the poore people. How say yow now my masters, is this popish or apostolike do­ctrine? was it inuented for priestes co­uetousnes, or obserued as Christes or­dinaunce? made we much of late of the litle we fownd before, or of late lost for lacke of deuotion, that which we had so long before? Mercifull God who [Page 175] would thinke this geare were so aun­cient, and so little set by. Who woulde thinke the aduersaries were so impudēt and yet so much regarded. What heart think yow they reade the auncient wri­ters with all? Or with what conscience can they passe by so plaine practise of all the Chistian world? Or with what face can they name ether scripture or doctor? How dare they looke backe att ony one steppe of antiquitie, all which be nothing elles but a testimony off their wickednes, and as yow would say a pointing with finger at their horri­ble spoile of ould doctrine and deuo­tiō? What if one of their own scholares seeing this light in our matter, shoulde aske of his maister: a lasse sir, what if this be true that is proued so ould,The mai­stèr Protestant is posed. and you chaūce to lie that are so late, where are we your scholares then? It is not answered, if yow conforte him with faire wordes, and tell him yow folow the scripture. For he wil charge yow againe streghte, that these men had scripture, [Page] vnderstood scripture, alleaged scripture, both of the new testament and the oulde, and referred theire vsage sum to Moyses and Aaron, other sum to the fathers in the lawe of nature, and all to the Apostles of Christ. Where are yow then? no more but this perdy, we vnderstand scripture perchaunce better then they, we haue the holy Gost per­chaunce and so hadde not the fathers: perchaunce that is no scripture, percha­unce this and this is not that doctors worke, bicause it makes ageinst vs. I thinke he that would beleue your cha­uncing, that may haue such assuraunce of the trueth on the other side, he is worthy to be deceiued. Well, I will close vppe this parte of our talke, for Tobies allmose borde in the obittes of Chri­stian men, withe S. Augustines graue iudgement: who, as he is plaine for the benefite of oblations in the me­morialles of mens departures, in all pla­cies, so here in a maner he ordereth the action thereof, for abusies that might [Page 176] theron arise, in his epistle to Aurelius.64 The offeringes (saith he) obserued for the soules departed, whereof there is no quaestion but profet arisethe to the­ime, let theime not be ouer sumptuouse vpon the mindes of the deceased, nor soulde away, but geuē with owt grud­ge or disdaine to suche as be praesent, and would be partaker thereof: but if moony be offered, it may be distributed out of hande to the poore▪ and thē shall not those daies of theire frendes me­morialles, be to their greate griefe for­saken or destitute of companye. And the ordre w^t honeste coomlynesse shall be kept continually in the church. So S. Clement him selfe teacheth all theime that be called to such daies of praiers for the departed, and to be partakers of those oblations or charitable relieues, which were by sum honest sober refres­shing euen in the Church in those daies [Page] obserued, whether they be of the laity or of the priestes, he geueth thē this les­son. Qui ad memorias eorū vocamini, cū mo­destia & cum dei timore comedite, veluti va­lentes legatione fungi pro mortuis: cum sitis presbyteri & diaconi Christi, sobrij esse debetis & priuatim: & cum alijs, v [...] possitis intempe­rantes coercere: All yow that are called to the funeralles of the departed, refressh your selues in measure and feare of god, that yow may be worthy, to be as it were in commission of intreatie for the dead: and being priestes or deacons of Christ, yow are bownd to be sobre euen at home: but abrode, for others example and discipline.

Cap. 7.

THus farre we now are broght, I trust withe proufe and euidence e­noughe, with reasona­ble cleare light for the good simple peoples instruction, and withe full safety, from all the force ou­re aduersaries can make against vs. The patriarches exāple, the wordes of scripture, the practise of the Churche, the natural society betwixt the partes of Christes misticall body in this world, and his membres in the next, and all our fathers faithe haue woon so muche, that allmose and offeringes in sundry memorialls and diuerse obseruations of mindes and obittes, be singulare and soueraigne, to procure goddes mercye for the pardon of the soules deceased. And nowe, lest any man take occasion of goddes mercie, which he seethe to be so redy that it may be woon by other mennes workes, to liue in contempt of vertuous exercise, and to passe the time of his owne lyfe in carelesse negli­gēce, [Page] praesuming to purchesse fauoure at goddes hande so mercyfull, by other mennes merittes, with oute his owne deede or deserte, let that man be aduer­tised, quòd non habet partem in sermone isto, that he shall in that case haue no bene­fite by our tallke: the mercy which we speake of, perteineth not vnto him: su­che idle drone beyes can take no fructe of other mēnes laboures, nether quicke nor deade. For that membre which in this body was so vnprofitable to him sellfe, it is no right nor reason he shuld haue any gaynes by other mens trauell. Therfore all these liberall promissies of fauour and grace, to be procured by the workes of the lyue towardes, the de­parted, reache nether to the vnfaithfull out of this howse, nor to the impaenitēt who was but an vnprofitable bourden of the house. These thinges saithe Clement we meane of the godlie:Lib. 8. constit. 49. for yf thowe gaue al the welthe of the worl­de to the poore for the wickeds sake, thowe couldest not proffitte theime a [Page 178] heare. For he that dyed in goddes dis­pleasure, can not looke for more mercy then he deserued. Therfore S. Iohn tha­postle seemethe to abbridge oure pra­yers,1. Epist. Cap. 5. and the obteining of oure petiti­ons, by borderinge theime as withe in certaine bondes after this sort. We kno­we that God doothe here vs what so e­uer we require, we be sure he will accō ­pleshe oure requestes which we make vnto him. Therfore he that knoweth his brother to sinne being not a sinne to death, let him pray and lyfe shal be geuē to him that sinneth not to death: there is a sinne to deathe, for suche I doo not wil any man to praie. This place of tha­postle, seemethe to declare the wonder­full force that the praiers of the faithful haue, in procuring grace and remission for others, so that they be brethern, and passe hense with out the bonde of mor­tall sinne. And the letter well weied, shall make exceding much to proue the praiers for departed in piety: as it in a maner forbiddeth all intercession for [Page] suche, as be knowen to passe in continuance of mortall sinne. There is no crime so greuous that man may com­mit in the course of this lyfe, but the churche vseth praiers customably ther­fore, and for her reuerēce is oftē hearde. Therfor it may wel be thought that the party must be deceased of whome such diuersity of desertes doothe arise: for all that be a lyue with out exceptiō,The churche may pray for any sin­ner in this lyfe, vvith ho­pe of mercy. if they be bretherne of oure familie, must be prayde for. And so longe as they be in this worlde, and may repent, theire sin is not so vnto deathe, but lyfe by praiers may be, and is cōmenly at goddes hand obteined. Then it may wel be deduced, that thapostle meaneth to incourage the faithfull to pray for such theire bre­therne departed, as died withowte bon­de of deadly sin to their sight, in a ma­ner warning theime that for such theire praiers shall be acceptably heard. But for others cōtinuing in sin to death, he wil­lethe not theim to praye, nor can assure theime they shal be hearde. So doth Di­onysius, [Page 179] a man not very aunciēt,Carth. but of a full spirite and good grace, expound this text. Whether he meaneth (saith this father) by finall impaenitence, or by any mortall sinne cōtynued vnto dea­the, it is sure and plaine a man must not pray for him that diethe in it. Then yf we be admonished not to pray for one sorte of departed, the case is cleare that we may, and are bownd, and shall be he­arde for the other sorte that sinneth not vnto death. To this place also S. Augu­stine, disputing in his booke de ciuitate dei that praiers proffiteth not all mē de­parted, alludeth,Lib. 21. Cap. 24. or rather leanethe vnto [...]t as a sure grounde against the Orgi­nistes, that would haue goddes mercy by mannes praiers obteined for the wic­ked soules deceased, after this sort. Si [...]ui autem vsque ad mortem habebunt cor im [...]anitens, nec ex inimicis conuertuntur in fi­lios, numquid iam pro eis, id est pro talium lefunctorū spiritibus orat ecclesia? cur ita ni­ [...]i quia iam in parte diaboli computantur, qui lum essent in corpore, non sunt translati in [Page] [...] [Page 179] [...] [Page] Christum? Yf there be any that till death conntinue in stubburne impaenitency of hearte, and of enimies to goddes Churche will not be made children, doethe the Churche make intercession for suche, that is to say for the soules of theime being departed in that state? and why praieth she not for theyme, but bi­cause they be nowe reckoned for the deuilles lote being deade, that would not moue to Christes part when they were in theire bodies? And this is the cause, that for suche as in desperation destroy theyme selues: by any kind of wilful or violent death, or in the stubborne ma­yntenance of haeresye, offer theime sel­ues to be extirpate: as well owte of the society of mannes lyfe, as oute of the communion of the Christiane compa­ny, our holy moother the Church, who by her practise is the best construer off goddes worde, neuer vseth any meanes for theire quiet rest.Bracarens. Cap. 34. Wheron there is a holy decrie of councell in this sense▪ qui sibi ipsis quolihet modo culpabili inferu [...] [Page 180] mortem nulla pro illis fiat commemoratio, ne­que cum psalmis sepeliantur. All those that by any vnlawful way procure their own deathe,Vide Ti­moth. Alexand. respons. 14 let no commemoration be had of theime, nor be broght home with psalmes. The which hath bene both di­ligently obserued euer emongest Chri­stiās, and for terrour of the wicked of­ten by holy canons renewed. Wherof there is no other cause but this: that such persons being at thend cutt of the common bodie, can receyue no vtility of that, where vnto they are not, nor now can not be ioyned. And as in that case where goddes church hathe plaine presumption of any persons euerlasting perishing, ether by cōtinuance in infide­lytie owte of her happy family, or by haeresie, and separation of him selfe till the last ende, leaping owte of her holy lappe where he once was before, or being and continuing, with sum o­pen euidence therof, an vnprofitable membre, and a deade branche: as, I saye, in any plaine proufe of these thinges, [Page] the Churche neuer practiseth for his rest, bicause she nether hathe hope of getting any grace, nor meanes to con­uey any benefite vnto suche as be not in the lymmes of lyefe, so if our sayde careful moother doo bestow of her cu­stomable kyndnesse, al her godly meanes vpon those whome she knowethe not otherwise but in finall piety and paeni­tence to haue passed this lyefe, and yett in deede before god (to whome onely all secrets of mannes hearte be perfectly open) dyed as abiectes, and owtecastes in sinne and impaenitencye, she can not for all that, any whit helpe theyre ae­state so miserable, nor appeace Goddes wrathe towardes theyme being nowe owte of the tyme of deseruing, oute of the churchies lappe, effectually and fi­nally separated from the chosen people, and oute of the cōpase of grace and mer­cye. Muche lesse any priuate mānes pra­yer cā be any thing at al beneficial to his frend, or other that dyed not in Goddes fauoure: whose payne can nether be fi­nished, [Page 181] nor by any of these ordynary meanes, one moment released or lesse­ned. Yet euery good faythfull person must imitate the diligence of Goddes churche herein, that ceaseth not bothe to offer and pray for all sortes wythe in her lymittes, that be hēse in any likely­hood of repētance departed: who hadde rather they shulde abūde to the neede­lesse, thē at any tyme lacke for the reliefe of suche, that might wante theyme.

Therfore let no man withdrawe his almose, charity, or praiers, from any of the houshoulde of faithe, vpon any light praesumption yea or strong conie­cture of any mannes finall continuance in sin or wickednes: vpon whom in the laste spirite of breathe, as God may ha­ue mercy, so mannes praiers then shall be bothe needefull, and exceding bene­ficiall vnto him. Only with conscience thow may, and must cease with Goddes Churche to practise the waies of mercy vpon such as be not baptised, or other­wise after theire baptisme, haue by lea­uing [Page] this holy communion of the fai­thefull, iudged theim selues vnworthy, and made theyre case vnapte by conti­nuaunce therin, to receiue any benefite ether of the Churche, which of theire owne accorde they haue forsaken, or of any membre thereof, whervnto by fai­the and loue they are not ioyned. And so al haeretikes shal be voyde of this mercy and grace after theire death, which did in their lyfe so ernestly abhorre the same. Vpon all other where any hope may be hadd, if thowe pray or procure the meanes of mercy, it shal at least be to thy selfe a singulare helpe and gayne, thoughe the partye for whome thowe doost it, ether neede it not, being allrea­dy receiued into blesse,Homil. 21. in Cap. 9. Actuum. or elles in perpe­tuall damnation of helle, be helples for euer. Si praeces pro mortuis facimus (saith S. Chrisostom) si eleemosinas damus, et si ille indignus sit, nobis Deus placatior erit: If we pray for the deade, and bestowe all­mose for their sakes, if he be fownd vn­worthy, yet God wil the rather be mer­cyfull [Page 182] to our selues. And sure it is, that who so euer be fownde so gracious, as with much compassiō of the deceaseds misery, to procure with study and care Goddes merciful pardon towardes the­yme, that such a one especially shall find grace and fauour at the time of neede, and be meruailous apte to receaiue bene fite by others procurement ageine.VVho be most apte to receiue benefite by the praiers of the lyuing. For as it is certaine, that no man can receiue benefite after his departure by any wor­ke or will of the liuing, sauing suche as in theire lyfe deserued the same, so must it needes be, that where these remedyes be needefull and profitable, that yet more or lesse they shal worke vpon the party for his relyefe, according to the more or lesse deuotion and deseruing in this lyfe. Therfore this truth of mu­tuall participation of the deade withe the lyue, geueth no man occasion of idle rest or carelesse affection in his ow­ne time and cause, when he may be as­sured to lacke the reliefe of others, to whome in his liefe by well woorkinge [Page] he woulde not ioyne before.

Enchir. Cap. 110.But I had rather ye hearde S. Augu­stine vttering expressely this meaning of mine, in his owne wordes. It can not be denied (saith he) but that the soules of the deceased be relieued, when the sacrifice of oure redemer is offered for theime, or almose bestowed in theyre behaulfe in the Churche. But in dee­de these are proffitable to none, but to such as in theyr lyfe deserued y^t tho­se things after theire departure might doo theim good. For there is a state of life that is nether so perfect but it may well haue neede of these helpes after deathe, nor yet so very euill, but suche thinges may well succour theime after theire departure. Mary there is a kind of conuersation so vertuous, that it re­quirethe no suche ayed, and an other kind so wicked, that those which pas­sed [Page 183] theire former lyfe therin, can haue after theire passage no reliefe by suche meanes: for by our merites in this lyfe we doo obteine, that after oure deaths we may ether atteine to remedy, or el­les be voyde of al helpes, For it is a ve­ry vayne hope, that any man shoulde praesume to winne that at Goddes hā ­de after he be passed out of this world which when he was in the worlde, he neuer sought nor deserued. And a little after thus he makethe all playne: VVhen the sacrifice of the altare, or elles any kind of almose be offered for all men departed being baptised, for the very good they are thankes geuin­ge, for the indifferent that be not very euill, they are a mercyfull deliueraun­ce. For the wicked and very euill, although they be no succoure for theim which be departed and deade, yet they [Page] are cōfortable for those that be aliue. And to suche as receiue benefite ther­bie, ether cōmeth ful forgiunesse, or el­les theyr iudgemēt and damnation is made therby sumwhat more tolerable. The which sentence, allmost in lyke wordes, for that it merueilously opened this matter, this author repetethe in the fourth question ad Dulcitium, and elles very often. Wherby the faithfull man may learne bothe howe much, and whom these remedies doo relieue. And then that the Church in his daies offe­red sacrifice for all those that were bap­tised, and in the faithe therof departed: bothe for that it was vncertaine who had neede therof, and allso, because e­uen then when the parties were not, nor could not be partakers therof, that goddes glory notwithstanding was ex­cedingly sett forth, and man comforted therbye. Therfore goddes Church in a true sense may be faide to offer sacrifice euen for the holy and blessed martyrs, [Page 184] who no doubt by sheedinge of theyre bloude for Christes name, and defense of vnitie, be fully purged in this theyre deathe, and so perfectly released of all sinne and paine that might otherwise haue deserued punishment, and sum expectation of goddes mercy in the lyfe to com. For so S. Cyprian and other of his Church offered sacrifice,Li. 4. epi. 5. for Celer­ne, Laurēce and Ignatius as he testifieth him self: Sacrificia pro eis semper vt memi­nistis offerimus, quoties martyrū passiones & dies anniuersaria cōmemoratione celebramus: For them we offer sacrifice, as oftē as we cerebrate the yerly memoryes of mar­tyres. For wich kind of perfect men, sa­crifice is thankes geuing vnto God for theire glory and giftes of grace,Tractat. 84. in Io­annem. and a kind of intercessiō to theim in our ne­cessities. For which cause S. Augustine affirmeth, Quôd pro martyribus nō oramus sed ipsi orant pro nobis: We pray not for martyrs, but they pray for vs. Nowe the sacrifice often celebrated for the wicked also, that be not knowē to the Churche [Page] so to be, is not beneficiall to theyme ne­ther, bicause theire noghty lyfe and de­athe makes theime vnapte to receiue cōforth therby: yet these holy apointed remedies are bothe cōfortable and me­ritorious to the geuers and procures, as blessinges which are not lost,Hovv praier vvhich taketh no effect in the departed, is profitable to the pro­curer. but turne ageine to the bestowers. For the profit of other, or the only wil to relie­ue other, is a singulare deserte and me­anes of meritte to a mannes sellfe. Full truely saide Damascene, that this care­full helpe and seruing of other mennes lackes, is much like to the paine which one takethe in anoynting with a preci­ous baulme an other mannes body, which as he temperethe in his hande to bestowe vpon an other, it firste redo­undethe in verdure and vertue to him sellfe, and then passethe by him, to the vse of his neghboure, for whome prin­cipally it was praepared. But notwith­standing this free procurement and li­berall graunt of common helpes in the departeds case, euen there where it is [Page 185] vncertayne whether they take effect or no, the Church yet doth not onely ab­steine from sacrifice and request for su­che as doo openly appeare to sin vnto deathe, as thapostle saith, but som times for poonishment of certeyne contemp­tes and disobedience in sum persons, she forbeareth these meanes, euen the­re wher she might proffet the departed, and peraduēture cleane discharge him of sinne and paine with all. Which she do­the by merueilouse graue authoritie, to the greate terrour of offenders. That by the greuous poonishmēt of certaine, many might learne to be careful and wise.

Greate is the authority of goddes mi­nisters suerly, and heuy is theire hande often vpon sinners,Actu. 5. allwaies to edifie and neuer to destroie. What a straunge force had Peters wordes, that droue down to death for dissimulation man and wiefe allmost bothe at a clappe? what a horrible and dreadfull iudge­mēt practised Paule,1. ad Tim. 1 1. Cor. 5. in geuing vpp sum to satan him selfe, for sinne? howe shar­plie [Page] did the primitiue churche execute iudgement vpon greuouse offenders, whome sum times after many yeres se­paration from the coomfortable recei­uing the sacramentes, they woulde ha­rdely admit at theire last ende to the fellowship therof. But nowher coulde the maiesty of goddes church appeare with more terroure, then in this case: when she dischargeth certaine for their punishment, of all common helpe by praiers, oblation, and sacrifice after their departure: though they otherwise died in the fauoure of God, as I take it, and might be of the chosen company that shal be saued. And that punishment was nothing elles but a keping of theim in longer correction and paine for theire sinnes vnder goddes scourge in the next worlde, for the admonishmēt of others in that case to beware, whiles she would not vse her ordinary meanes for theire release. A notable example we haue the­reof,Concilium aphricanū. oute of a councell houlden in af­frick: the decrie of which assemblie, S. [Page 186] Ciprian him sellfe with a practise in the excution therof,Epist. 9. reportethe in the first booke of his epistles. Where he willeth that one Victor, who had made Ge­minus Faustinus being a priest ageynst the ordre taken in the councell of A­phrik, thexecutor of his testament, shoulde therfore haue no prayers of the clergye, nor facrifice after his departure sayde or doone for him. For in that ty­me of greate persecution, suche instant prayers, so often sacrifice, the scarsity of ministers, the peoples necessity requi­red, that the priestes shoulde perpetual­ly, with oute all exception of worldly affayers, serue the altare. But you shall heare this blessed Martyrs, or rather his wordes together with the councelles ordinaunce. Victor cum contra formam nuper in consilio a sacerdotibus datā, Gemi­num Faustinum presbyterum ausus sit acto­rem constituere, non est quò pro dormitione eius apud vos fiat oblatio, aut depraecatio no­mine eius in ecclesia frequentetur, vt sacerdo­tū decretū, religiose & necessariò factū, serue­tur [Page] a nobis: simul & caeteris fratribus detur exemplum, ne quis sacerdotes & ministros dei altari eius & ecclesiae vacantes, ad seculares molestias deuocet. In englishe thus: Seeing victor ageinst the ordre taken of late in a holy synod of priestes, hathe made Geminus Faustinus the chefe dooer in thexecution of his will and testament, lett it be prouided that there be no ob­lation ther wyth yowe for his rest, nor yet any prayers in his behaulfe in the churche: that the decrye of the priestes before sayde, may be religiously obser­ued and executed by vs. That therby all other oure bretherne may beware by his example, how they wythdrawe su­che as should serue the author, to entan­gle theim selues with worldely affayres.

And here nowe oure aduersaryes must be called vpon, and asked howe they can a way with this geare,The haeretikes cal­led vpon to ansvver whe­ther this light of truethe be not ouer vehement for theyre bleared eyes? owle light or mooneshyne I trowe, or mirke midnight were more fit for theyre dar­ke [Page 187] workes and doctryne, oure way is o­uer muche trodden for theues. All this course of oure cause,The vvhole matter ordered to oure hands. so agreethe with it selfe: so standethe wythe reason: so vphoulden by scripture, so ordered in all poyntes, that Momus him selfe coulde practise no arte, nor picke no quarelles here. For such we must pray: for those we must not praye: in this case the sa­crifice of goddes churche relieueth the departed, in that case it is comfortable onely to the liuynge: sum men neede helpe aster their death, others helpe we neede, and not they oures: for open infidelles and haeretikes praiers are not v­sed, for all secrette offendres, bicause their case is not knowne to the church, of charity towardes her childrē, she opē ­ly prayethe: sum she poonishethe, sum she pardonethe, for al she merueilous tē ­derly carethe. This doctrine of truethe is purposely ordered by our elders, eue­ry point is touched and tried to our handes. What time of the day was it in goddes church, say trueth, and shame the [Page] deuill, when holy Cyprian wrote these thinges? when the councell of aphrick decried these thinges? when victor was punished by lack of sacrifice and prayers at his departure? doeth your time of ignorance which yowe haue lymited for your waulke, reache vp so highe in goddes howse? but I will spare yow to anone, your answer is not redie.

Cap. 8.

ANd now we must faule in hand with the good Christiā Catholike, for the searche of this so of­tē named sacrifice, so cō ­fortable to the liue, so profitable to the dead: and what that oblatiō is, which the holy catholike and apostolike Church [Page 188] hath euer vsed through oute the world for the sinnes of the departed, in place of the offeringes of the lawe, and that sacrifice which Iudas Machabaeus made and procured at Hierusalem, for the of­fensies of his people that perished in battle. Surely it is no other but the sacri­fice of our mediatour, as S. Augustine termeth it, and the offering vppon the altare. It is no other then that obltation which so fully and liuely expressethe the death and passion of Christ Iesus: Who being once offered by the shee­ding of his blessed bloude for the re­demption of man kind, hath wrought such a vertuous effect, not onely in the holy sacraments for the giuing of grace and remission of sinnes, but allso hath lefte in a merueilous mistery his owne holy and blessed body and bloode, as wel to feede vpō for the especial strēght and comforth of our soules, as to offer vppe the same for the remembrance of his death, and cleāsing of our sinnes. Not in that wise as it was doone vpon [Page] the crosse by the painefull sheeding of his bloude, but as it was instituted first in the last supper: Where Christ oure God and redemer according to the or­der of Melchisedech, gaue to his apo­stles, and offered to God the father that body which afterwarde was betraide, and the same bloudde which was shed after also for the remission of sin, bein­ge with all tearmed by him, the bloude of the newe and aeternall testament: as that which in the newe lawe shoulde succeade the bloddy offeringes of the owlde testament. Whereof, God all­mighty being (as a man woulld say) lo­thesom or full, hathe instituted this by his onely sonne, as a most pure and praecious oblation and sacrifice, to be continued in the Church through out the costes and corners of the roun­de worlde: Whiche being celebrated in the blessed memory of his sonnes pas­sion, and hauing no other hoste nor oblation then that whiche then was offe­red, can be no other sacrifice then that [Page 189] whiche there was made for the forgiue­nesse of sinne, and redemption of the worlde. The which woorthy action of Christes Churche, so fructefully ap­plieth vnto vs the benefite of oure mai­sters death, that thereby we may haue comfortable hope of remission of all such misdeedes, as most iustly deserued Goddes wrathe, and terrible indigna­tion ageinst vs.

Now this is that blessed sacrifice, which S. Augustin with feare and reue­rence termeth in a thousand places of his works, the sacrifice of the Altare, the sacrifice of our Mediatour, the sacrifice of oure price, the sacrifice of the body and bloude of Christ, the holsom and proffitable sacrifice, the sacrifice of Mel­chisedech,The common na­mes of honoure ge­uen to the holy masse in olde time. the new sacrifice. S. Chriso­stom the Reuerent sacrifice, the hono­ [...]able Mysteries, the Fearefull sacrifice, Athanasius the propitiatory sacrifice, the vnbloudy Hoste. S. Cyprian the sa­crifice of the Churche, the perpetuall sacrifice, the meate offering, the medi­cine [Page] for our infirmities. Iraeneus the pu­re sacrifice, the new sacrifice of the new testament. Clement ageine, the vnbloudy sacrifice, the rationable sacrifice: and so doothe the holy councel of Ephesus caull it. Dionisius the sacrifice most excellent of all sacrificies, and the hoste of hostes. The latines altogether after­ward named it the holy Masse, so did S. Augustine call it,S. li epist. 33. epist et praecat. prima praepa­rante ad missam. super vndec. pro­uer. Ambrose:Histor. tripa [...]tit 24. cap. li. 10. Hierom,  Epiph scholastic, with al the posteritie both in Latin, and other barbarous lan­guagies. Besides many other excellent high and peculiare caullinges, whiche can agree to no other common worship of God internall nor externall, but only to this most worthy and hono­rable sacrifice: which by the vertue that it hathe receiued by the first examplare thereof, and by the might and mercy of the lambe of God, which vnder the co­uer of breade and wine is there the ap­pointed hoste and oblation, is proffita­ble bothe to the quicke and the deade. And therfore is and hathe bene vsed e­uer [Page 190] sithe the apostles age, and by Chri­stes owne praescriptiō and theirs, cōmaū ded to be religiously obserued, and of all faithfull people honoured as the princi­pal protestatiō of our religiō, as the grownde of al true worship, as the badge of Christiā peace, as the bōde of holy society betwixt the heade and the membres, as the loue knot betwixt Christ and his spouse,The force and insti­tution of the holy Masse. as the vniting of the liue with the deade, the holy sanctes with vs poo­re sinners, angelles withe men, heuenly thinges with earthely, and the creatour of all with his owne creatures beneth, as the plentifull condethe to deriue the grace of Christes death and merites off his passion, to the continuall conforthe of our soules, as the onely practise of his aeternall priesthod according to the ordre of Melchisedech, and as the only effectuall memoriall and comfortable memory, of the sheeding of his blessed bloude, and sufferance of so deare and [...]ainefull deathe for our redemption.

What altare so euer be erected against [Page] this altare, it is nothing elles but a waste of goddes woorship, a canker of religiō, a token of dissension, a separation of the holy society of the Christiane cō ­munion,The ne­vve com­munion is here de­scribed. a larom towardes schisme, a de­parture frō Christe, an open badge of heresy, a saulsy shoulderinge with Chri­stes Church and ordinaunce, an open robbry of his honour and priesthodde, a plaine stoppe of the passage of his giftes and grace in his louing howse, thonly way to paganisme and aeternall obliuion of his deathe and passion.

The deuil which is the oulde serpēt, knowing by long experience and often proufe, that the holy masse is the chiefe bane of sinne and his wicked kingdom, hather euer from the begymyng shot at this marke by all the cursed indeuoures of wicked haeretiques, to roote owte that stronge garde of vertue, and pillou­re of deuotion and religion. Howe so euer they dissemble at theyre firste en­teraunce, the diuill hathe that fetche in his faulse heade in all tymes of such to­yle [Page 191] and perturbation of religion. To which horrible indeuour thoughe he hathe for our sinnes and deseruing put greater force, and wroght with more aduantage then euer before, yet tyll the latter day and son of perditions appea­ring, which is vnknowe to him, he shal not bring it to passe. The lawe, the sacrifice, the priesthod, the altare of the ne­we and aeternal testamēt praefigured by Melchisadech, and perfited by Christe, shall stand with and in the holy Chur­che, tyl the worldes end.Haeresy vvith her disordered ministers, shall not out face Goddes, Churche and Christes aeter­nall pristhod. It is not your bare breade and borde, not your Mini­sters, nor your Seniours, nor Elders, nor your Nuper intendēts, nor what so euer yowe list be caulled, that shall owt face goddes Churche. she hathe by the spirite of God beaten downe your proudders, the Arrians: the Macedoni­ans: the Anabaptistes, and all your pre­decessoures. And nowe I tell yowe, and be bowlde of it, as owld oure moo­ther waxethe, as contemptible as yowe make her, so little as yowe regarde her, [Page] she will once yet in hir owlde daies gy­ue the Zwingliās, the Lutherans, or of what other straunge souldier so euer your campe standethe, an open ouer­trowe.Psa. 100. Mat. 61. For yff hell were broken louse, and the gates open, it cowlde not pre­uaile. We haue oure Presthod confir­med by a faire othe, we haue our mo­thers right by an oppen promesse esta­blished.

And yet neuer the lesse, good Ca­tholike Christian, lett vs thus persua­de oure selues,The holy masse ta­kē a vvay for oure sinnes. that we haue so longe lost the vnestimable treasure of this holy sacrifice, for oure greuous sinnes: it is oure sinnes I say (woo is vs therfo­re) which haue deserued this plage, which haue sett vs at variaunce with God and our mercifull redemer, which haue taken from vs, as vnworthy of so greate a treasure, the dayly sacrifice, the helpe of those which are a lyue, the cō ­forte of those which are departed, the only grounde of al religiō and accepta­ble woorship of god. And our misery is [Page 192] the greater because fewe feele the sore.

The lacke of this sacrifice for the de­parted only with the godly praiers the­rin,Men tha vvere gre­uous of­fenders in oulde time pu­nished by lacke of the sacri­fice. was counted when goddes truethe and Church floorished, the greatest and extremest punishmēt that could be de­uised, and euer enioyned for sum nota­ble crime to the terroure of other, as for horrible desparation, for willful he­resye, for contempte of the decries of of goddes holy ministers, as by the late alleaged place out of S. Cyprian may be very profitably noted. A lasse we haue nowe in amaner lost that wholy, which then was denied only to such for thei­re greuouse poonishemnts, as were hey­nous offenders. Otherwise in earnest consideratiō of our case can not I thin­ke, but that this blessed iuel is nowe de­nied vs of allmighty god generally for our greuous offensies, which then was denied by his ministers to som one of­fender, for the due poonishment of sin and wickednes. O good reader what woulde that holy martyr haue saide if [Page] he had liued in our daies, when to haue that oblation ether for the quicke or deade, which once was estemed so ne­cessary that no Christian man nether could in his lyfe nor after his death lac­ke it, is nowe of it sellfe odious to most men, and (which abhorrethe me to spe­ake) poonishable by the lawes of the spiritualty, and condemned well nere of all men? what weene yowe this bles­sed bisshop woulde haue sayde, if he had seene the holy hoste and offerin­ge to haue bene taken awaie,De Coenā domini. which he once affirmed to be so necessary, that if it were takē awaie or wasted, there were no religion nor worship of god at all? would not he thinke yow, with feruēt zele of goddes house haue cried out vpō the sinnes of the people, the blindnesse of the preachers and pastours, the vn­worthinesse of these our dooleful da­ies? and bewailed his own misery as we shoulde doo oures,Ita Poli­carp. ex Iren. crying owt with an oulde blessed father? O Deus bone in quae me seruasti tēpora, vt ista blasphema sustineā, [Page 193] O Lorde that I shoulde be reserued for these times, to abide suche blasphemie.victor de persecut. vandal. Victor reporteth in his history of the persecution of the vandalles that were Arians, that the Gouernour of that cur­sed company of cruel haeretikes, would not suffer the christian men whome he had slaine, to be broght home withe seruice, and sacrifice: but then the good people woonderfully bewailed theire case, seeing theim practise cruelty vpon theire soules allso: in that they would not suffer theime to enioye at their de­parture and buriall, the rites of goddes church. Thus saithe that Author. Quis vero sustineat atque possit sine lachrimis re­cordari, dum praeciperet nostrorum corpora defunctorum, sine solemnitatehimnorū cum silentio ad sepulchra perduci? O Lord who coulde haue fownd in his heart to be houlde then, or could yet once thinke of it withe owte teares, how he gaue in charge, that the bodies of our brethern departed, should be broght to the graue and buried with owte all solemnity of [Page] himnes in silence and sorowe?Ecclesi. Cap. 7. It was euer giuen to wicked hard harted hae­retiques, to prohibere gratiam mortuis: to be vnmercifull, and to staie the fa­uoure of good men from the departed.epist. 8. li. 2. Nouatus as S. Cyprian chargeth him, noluit patrem fame defunctū sepelire: would not bury his owne father deade of hon­ger bane.

But to let suche men passe withe the praesent bewayling of our vnhappy da­yes, let vs with more conforte behould the steppes of good men past: how kin­dely and brotherlyke they haue princi­pally procured the holy sacrifice for theyre frendes and felowes gone befo­re. For seeing the onely prayers of good men haue bene proued so profitable, and the repraesentation of som holy wor­kes of almose, hath often moued God to pity (as we haue proued) towards the release of the departed his payne, what may we not hope to obteyne for oure britherne deceased, when we shal ioyne in prayers withe the holy angelles, [Page 194] with the blessed sanctes, with Goddes holy ministers in the representation of Christes most blessed body and bloude before the face of his father? when the whole churche of god in that honora­ble action prayethe, and Christe him selfe is both the sacrifice and the priest, both the asker and the geuer of pardon, when the maiesty of God the blessed trinitye, is passingly pleaced by the me­rites of Christes deathe so liuely set out in these honorable, but vnspeakable mysteries, what may we not here pro­cure for the soule of the churchies childe? what shal be denied to so humble askers in the praesence of goddes own son and begging mercy for his deathes sake? And so doth S. Chrisostom assure the faithfull, in these goulden wordes Non frustra ab apostolis sancitum est, vt in celebratione vener andorū mysteriorum, me­moria fiat eorum, qui hinc discesserunt: Homil. 3. in epistolā ad philipp. no­uerunt quippe illis multum hinc emolumenti fieri, multū vtilitatis. stante siquidem vni­uerso populo, manus in coelos extendente coetu [Page] item sacerdotali, verendoque proposito sacri­ficio, quomodo deum non placaremus pro istis orantes? Yt was not for noght that the apostles decried and ordeined, that in the celebratiō of the honorable myste­ries there should be an especiall memo­riall of the departed: for they right well knewe greate commodity and benefite to arise ther vpon. For the whole mul­titude houlding vp theire handes to­wards heauen, together with the com­pany and quiere of priestes, and the dre­adfull sacrifice set furth before all men, howe is it possible but we shoulde ap­peace goddes wrath praying for theim? loke ye what this mannes iudgement was, and see from whense he had it, euē of the holy apostles I warraunt yowe, and no worse nor latter fownders. But of that pointe, for the full deriuing of our christian vsage frō the first fathers of our faith, more cōuenient place shal be geuen herafter. Nowe I wil serue the cause and the readers desire, first withe certaine peculiare examples of most le­arned [Page 195] and godly fathers worthy of all credet, in the godly prouision for cer­teine of theire dearest frendes by sacri­fice and praier, both made by theim sel­ues and procured by others. That we may haue here not onely whom to be­leeue teaching the truethe, but whome to folowe practising the same with de­uotion, which they preached withe cō ­stancye before.

Cap. 9.

ANd I take the open pra­ctise of any point, to be a more pithy protestation of a mānes faithe, thē by words cā be made. Ther­fore if a mā were doubtful ether of the trueth of any article, or of the meaning of sum doctours wordes, looke the same [Page] mannes practise, and it shall put him owt of doubt thereof streght wayes as for an example: seeme sum wordes of S. Augustin to make for the sacramen­taries haeresie, that Christe is in the ho­nourable sacrament but by a figure? or Theodoretus, or any other auncient fa­thers declaratiō? are their wordes doubt­ful to the reader? leaue the wordes thē, if thowe syncerely seeke for truethe with owte contention, and seeke owte if thowe can, sum practise of those same men, and that Churche where they li­ued, for the same point. But what way of worke in this matter consisting in doctrine, may assure vs of theire beliefe, of whose wordes we doubted before?Theodor. dial. 2. August. super psal. 98. Dio­nis. eccle­siast. hi­erarch. Cap. 3. Basil de spiritu sanct. Cap. 27. Mary sir this: looke howe they beha­ued theime selues in the receiuing of it, in the ministering of it, in the carefull keping of it, whether they did adore it with godly honoure, whether they so­lemnely shewed it to the people to be worshipped, whether they praide by so­lemne and formall wordes vnto it, whether [Page 196] they taughte theire children to caulle it God and Christe:Lib. 3. de Trin. c.. 10 yea so farre that Augustine affirmeth that the children in his daies till they were after in­structed, thought that God appeared in the shappe of breade: as all these yon­gers, seeing the honour and reuerence of theire elders, and theime selues nur­tered to houlde vppe theire handes and knocke theire brestes, must yet needes meruaile how these owtwarde formes came to so holy an vse. further whe­ther the Christiā people were not scla­undered for worshipping and doing sa­crifice to Ceres and Bacchus,Lib. 20. cō tra Faustū Cap. 13. when the wicked infidelles sawe theire behaui­our towardes the holy Hoste: whether it was not vsed in woorking of mira­cles, in driuing away deuilles, in daun­gerouse times of tempests, of traueling, of sicknesse, and in other necessities. Well these be plaines practises, no haere­tike can denie but they haue bene so v­sed of the whole Church of God, with many suche other lyke in that holy a­ction: [Page] which can not in any case stand with bare breade, or any other way of praesence, but onely the proper, true, and bodily praesence of Christes owne per­son. A doctors words may be miscōstrued, may be picked owte of place: may be writhen and wastred by faulse teachers, but a mannes example can not lightly be misconstrued. And therfore haereti­kes, whose purpose is allwaies by suttel­tie to deceiue the simple, wil neuer ma­ke discourse by the practise of the chur­che, or exercise and example of the auncient lerned men throughe oute the Churche of Christ: hauing enough for theire meaning, to racke a place or two oute of the fathers whole workes, that may seeme to the ignoraunte to settforthe theire erroure. So if thowe woulde knowe whether that place that our aduersaries impudently doo allea­ge oute of Gregory the greate, ageinst the soueraignty of the see of Roome, was in deede written for theire sediti­ous purpose, behoulde the practise of [Page 197] the same father, and thowe shalte finde him selfe exercise iurisdiction, at the ve­ry same time when he wrote it, in all prouincies Christianed throughe owte the worlde: both by excommunication of bisshoppes that gouerned not well, by often citation of persons in extre­me prouincies, by many appeales ma­de vnto him, by continuall legacies to other nations, sent ether to conuerte theime to the faithe, or to gouerne in theire doubtfull affaires, and by al other exercise of spirituall iurisdiction. Is itt not nowe a very faulse suggestion to the poore people, that this blessed man in so plaine vtteraūce of his meaning by workes and not by woordes, should yet be brought as a witnesse to condemne him selfe? thoughe the wordes being well vnderstand make for no such mea­ning in deede, as by others it hath bene sufficientlye declared. The like impu­dencie it is, to alleage S. Bernarde aga­inst the Masse or the praesence of Christ in the blessed Sacrament. Good man I [Page] dare say for him, he sayde Masse euery daye, if he were well at ease: For other busines, did not commonly let theyme in those daies, frō that work of al other most necessarie. So the reciting oute of S. Ambrose for the improuinge of inuocation of holy Sanctes, is no more but an abuse of the simples ignorance: knowing well, that he and all other of that time did practise praiers both often to all holy martyrs, and sumtimes pecu­liarly to such, whom for patronage they did especially chuese of deuotion emongest the rest. I speake not this, that any might hereby iudge the doctors wordes to stande ageinst theire owne deedes: but that euery man may perceiue, that where the works and practise of al men he so plaine, theire wordes in sum one place fownd darke, can not by any mea­nes be praeiudicial to that trueth which in all other placies they planely set for­the by wordes, and by the euident te­stimonie of theire owne practise, to the worlde proteste the same. Therefore I [Page 198] would exhorte all men in Christes na­me, for their own saluatiōs sake, to take heede howe they giue credet to these li­belles cōteining certain wrasted places owte of the doctours workes, ageinst a­ny truth, which by the further discour­se of vsage and practise, they are not hable before the learned to iustifye. And therfore that al mistrust of vntrue dealing may be farre from vs, I will, as I saide, let thē haue the feeling and han­deling of oure cause throughlye. They shall behould in examples of most no­ble personagies, bothe for theire name, vertue, and lerninge, the peculiare pra­ctises in praying and masse saing for the deade bothe in the auncient Gree­ke and Latine Churchies. And where may we better begin, then with this famouse Chrisostom? he bare the last wittnesse with vs for the reliefe of the departed by the praiers and holy obla­tiō, therfore the practise of that excellēt benefite shall first be shewed vpon him sellfe. This blessed man therfor being [Page] banished, by the meanes of thempresse Eudoxia, for the defense of the ecclesia­stical discipline, and there in exile departing out of this world, was after her de­athe by the happy and gracious childe Theodosius the yonger, trāslated from his obscure resting place to Constanti­nople which was is owne seate,Lib. 10. Histo. trip. Cap, 18. & 26. there with meete honoure to be buried, whe­re with grace and wōderful dignity he ruled the Churche before. The Histo­ry reportethe, that the people of that citie, as thick as men euer went on gro­wnd, passed the watters of Bosphorus, and couered that coste wholye with light and lampe, withe tapers and tor­cheis to bring that blessed bisshoppes body that was theyre owne deare pa­stor, home ageyne. The which passing treasure, being with all reuerence lai­de vppe in the sayde Citye, then lothe gracious good Emperoure,Theodosius Iun. ernestly behoulding the graue of S. Chrisosto­me, made most humble praiers to all­mighty god, for his father and moo­thers [Page 199] soule, the late Emperour and Em­presse: beseching him of pardon and forgyuenesse for banishing that good Ca­tholike bishop, bicause they did it of ignorance: and so the wordes may well be taken, that he askethe Chrisostom him sellfe mercy allso, for his parents offense vniustly committed against him: and withall full kindly prayethe for theire deceased soules. And so being buried in his owne Church, he was thē by Atticus a worthy mā his second suc­cessoure, writtē in the roule of Catho­like bisshoppes to be praide for at the altare euery day by name. Cum Ioanni­tae (saith Cassiodorus out of Socrates) se­orsim apud seipsos sacra solemnia celebrarēt, 12. Lib. tri partit. Cap. 2. iussit vt in orationibus memoria Ioannis ha­beretur, sicut aliorum dormientium episcopo­rum fieri consueuit. When Chriso [...]toms partakers saide masse by theyme selues aside, Atticus gaue in commaundement that a memory should be had in the prayers of the Churche for him, as the cu­stom was that all bisshoppes after thei­re [Page] deathe shoulde haue. Here is nowe o­pen practise of that which by wordes we proued before, here is an euident te­stimonie of the vsage of the greeke Churche for the buriall of bisshoppes, and generall custom of kepinge theire memorial in the publike praiers and ser­uice of the churche. It were not neede­full to recite out of Eusebius the forme of Constantinus his funeralls,Euseb. in vita Con­stantini. kept in the same Churche with solemnitye of sacrifice, singinge, lightes and prayers. Nor the buriall of themperour Constā ­tius:2. Orat in Iulian. who as Nazianzenus writeth, was broght forthe with common prayses of al mē, with singing, lightes, and lam­pes, all the night longe very honorably: with which thinges, saith he, we Chri­stian men thinke it a blessed thinge to honoure the memories of oure frendes departed. And if thaduersaries woulde here cōtentiously reason that these so­lemne rites of Christiane burialls be nothing proffitable, or if the simple as­ke why they be proffitable, S. Chrisostō [Page 200] may enstruct such as list learne, and correct the other that list reprehēde in these wordes.In 2. Cap. ad Hebr. hom. 4. Tel me saith he what al the­se festiuall lights in the buriall of the deceased meane? what all this singing of himnes and psalmes signifiethe? to what end be so many priestes and musicians called to gether? to which in fi­ne he thus answerethe: doo we not all these thinges to geue thankes to God and euerlasting glorye, that he hath de­liuered the departed from the troubles of this mortall lyfe? doo we not this to our cōforte, and honoure of the depar­ted? And in the buriall of the Noble matrone Paula howe the priestes did sing, howe the bisshoppes of Hierusa­lem, and of all Palestine and Syria for the most part caried torches,Hierom. Epitaph. Paulae. howe the religiouse bothe mē and weemē, did the rites of the dirigies, howe her allmose folkes shewed theire cotes to procure mercy, euen as they did at dorcas depar­ture in the actes of the apostles, howe they continued theire singing and saing [Page] vij. daies together at the Churche in Bethlem where she was buried, S. Hie­rom him sellfe a true record therof bea­rethe witnesse in the lyke wordes as I haue recited, and many moe which the feare of weereing the reader causethe me full sore against my wil, to omitte. They so settforth not onely the substā ­ce of the thinge, which standethe in prayer and sacrifice, but allso doo proue ageinst thenimies of good ordre, that the smaulest ceremonies that oure churchies of late haue vsed, were not lately takē vp by our couetousnesse and superstition, but with more abundance, and numbre, and continuance, and so­lēnytie, practised in the floure of Chri­stes churche, in diuerse principal partes of the world: as at Hierusalem and Cō ­stantinople: by the praising and appro­uing of the grauest fathers of our faith. And now S. Augustin being of Aphrick, so farre from the other in distance of place, yet ronnethe ioyntly with theim in religion. He purposely writing of [Page 201] the solemne rites of Christiane fune­rals, in that goulden treatise De cura pro mortuis agenda, De cura pro mortuis agenda. thus after longe consi­deration of the whole cause determi­neth: that the pompe of burial, with al suche solemnyties as there vnto be in goddes churche ioyned, is very seemely for that body which was the vessell of a Christian soule, and an instrument or companion in well woorking: wher­vnto it shall be also vnited in the resur­rection, for to receiue together the in­haeritance of the euerlasting kingdom. But the lack of these, where they be not arrogantly contemned, or can not be had, is nothing hurteful to the good, nor the hauing any thinge proffitable to the wicked, as the exāples of Lazarus and the riche man may well proue. Therefore, it is the sacrifice and prayers which properly doo helpe or relieue the departed.De ciuit. 1. Lib. ca. 12. & .13. Curatio funeris (saith he) conditio sepulturae, pompa exequiarum, ma­gis sunt viuorum solatia quàm subsidia mor­tuorum. Non tamen ideo contemnenda & [Page] abijcienda sunt corpora defunctorum, maxi­meque iustorum & fidelium, quibus tanquā organis & vasis ad omnia bona opera sanctus vsus est spiritus. Curiouse prouision for the burial, and the pompe of the solēne obites, be rather doone for the solace of the lieue, then for helpe of the deade: neuerthelesse the bodies of the depar­ted, namely of faithfull folkes, may not be contemned or cast furthe, the which the holy Gost vsed, as vessels and in­struments of well working.

By al which thinges it may wel be no­ted, that sum thinges haue ben vsually practised in funerals for thākes geuing to almighty God, as hymnes and psal­mes: other sum, for decent coomlynes and solace of the liuinge, as the place of the buriall, the lightes, the ringing and such lyke: althoughe euen these thin­ges proceding of loue and deuotion, be after a sorte meritorious to the dooers, and a helpe to theyme for whome they be procured, and good motiōs and me­mories of mannes duetye. For which [Page 202] causies those and the lyke haue bene v­niformelie vsed throughe owte the whole Catholike churche from the be­ginnyng. But the princypal thinges per­teyning to the iustes of the departed, be praiers and sacrifice, and other such like, wherby they are assuredly much prof­fited, by release of theyr paines. So saith S. Augustine in these wordes.Cap. 18. de cura pro mort. Non exi­stimemus, ad mortuos pro quibus curam ge­rimus, peruenire, nisi quod pro eis, siue altaris siue eleemosinarum sacrificijs, solemniter ce­lebramus. Let vs neuer thinke that any other thinge properly apperteineth to the reliefe of the departed, sauing the solemne sacrifices of the altare, almose and prayer. And therfore as the said ho­ly doctour confesseth, the worthinesse of the place where man is buried of it selfe profiteth not at all,The san­ctes pray for the soules in purgato­ry, and vve pray vnto san­ctes for them. but in respecte of the holy prayers whiche be there ra­ther made then elles where, and the pa­tronage of holy martyrs and sanctes, to whome he nothing doubteth but in­tercession may profitably be made for [Page] the deceased: for whiche cause, as it may appeare by Paulinus,Cap. 4 de cura pro mort. men were very de­sirous euer in the primitiue Church to be buried by som blessed martyrs body. And so must we thinke allso of buriall by the reuerent holy sacrament, that it wonderfully helpeth man, not for the placeis sake (allthough the deuotion of the desirer is therin commendable) but bicause the lyuing may there effectual­ly commende the departed to God in the time of the holy sacrifice, and may be put in remembraunce to call vpon Christes blessed person there praesent, for the soule of that man, whiche with care and study laide his body ī the hope of resurrection, by the soueraigne holy body that is alredy risen againe. And this was the cause that oure forefathers from Christes tyme till our dayes haue had respecte and desire, as occasion ser­ued, to be buried there, where by ordre, praiers and sacrifice were daily had, and where the patronage of holy sanctes might best be procured. It is a highe [Page 203] point of wisdom surely (good reader) onely to see what godly wisdom oure fathers vsed, in shew of their zele, faith, and Christianity. As it is an vntollera­ble arrogancy and a singulare signe of infidelity to laugh at, and blaspheme those thinges, wherof, not the prow­dest haeretike that liueth, hathe any in­telligēce at al: Obcoecauit enim eos malitia eorum. For theire owne malice hathe blinded theime.

But leauing the thinges not princi­pally intended, as sufficiently by vse of the Church approued, let vs turne to the practise of the oblation and praiers, in the dirigies of the auncient: that see­inge theime bothe praie and say Masse for theire dearest frendes soules, thowe may be bould to vse the same for thine. That doo I call Masse, whiche they call sacrifice: Bicause S. Hierō vseth it in the same sense, in these wordes:Super 11. cap prouer. Sunt qui de leuioribus peccatis cum quibus obligati de­functi sunt post mortem possunt absolui: vel poenis videlicet castigati, vel suorum praecibus [Page] & eleemosinis, missarumque celebrationibus, & caet. There be sum, which after the­ire deathe may haue absolution of the­ire lighter offensies, in the debt whereof they passed owte of this liefe: ether after iust punishement for the same suffered, or elles through the praiers and allmo­se of theire frendes, with the celebration of Masses. So saith S. Hierom, or elles as sum thinke, the reuerent Beda. ether of theire graue iudgements weieth more with me, then any one mans alyeue. Well therfore, Masse, oblation, or sacri­fice,Masse all­vvaie said for the departed. call it as you will, all is one for ou­re purpose, and lyke hated of heretikes: howe so euer it be named, it was practi­sed with prayers for the rest of the de­parted throughe owte the Christian worlde. S. Ambrose exhorteth other men to doo it for theyre frendes, he did it for his owne. Writing therfor a lettre of cōforte to one Faustinus that ouer much bewailed the deathe of his sister, thus with comforte he geueth counsel:Ambros. epist. 8. l. 2 Non tam deplorandam quàm prosequendam [Page 204] orationibus reor, nec maestificandam lachri­mis tuis, sed magis oblationibus animam eius Domino commendandam arbitror. I sup­pose thy sisters case should not so much be lamented, as she by thy praiers ought to be relieued: Thowe must not sadden her soule by teares, but by oblations commende her to oure Lorde. Howe many bishoppes nowe in England of the new gise, would folow this kinde of consolation by letters?If the ne­vve bis­hoppes vvere like S. Ambro. their teaching vvoulde not be cō trary to his. Howe many would exhorte theire frendes to gotte Masse saide, or praiers for theyre louers reste? So many as be like good Ambrose surely woulde so doo: that is neuer a one: make theire accompte as neare as they can. But will yow see howe he practised vpon his owne prince the Em­perour Theodosius?Super obit. Theo­dosij Impe­ratoris. Da requiem perfecto seruo tuo Theodosio, requiem quam praepara­sti sanctis tuis. Illò conuertatur anima eius vnde descendit: dilexi, & ideo prosequar eum vsque ad regionem viuorum, nec deseram, do­nec fletu, praecibus, inducam virum quô sua merita vocant, in montem Domini sanctum. [Page] Giue rest good Lord vnto thy good seruaunt Theodosius euen that reste whiche thow hast praepared for the ho­ly Sanctes. Let his soule ascende from whense it came. I loued him, and ther­fore I will prosecute him vnto the land of the liuing, I will neuer leaue him, till withe teares and praiers I bringe that man according to his deseruinge, to the holy hille of Godde. This man knewe his duety towardes his prince, whome he loued a lieue, and forsooke not being deade.Super obi­tu Valenti­niani. So did he pray and offer for Gra­tianus and Valentinianus: so did he vse the same for his owne deare brother the worthy Satyrus, in these wordes muche to be noted. Now Lord almigh­tye to the doo I commende the good soule of my brother Satyrus now lately departed,In oratione funebr. su­per Satyr. to the O Lord doo I make my oblation, accepte I besiche the this due office of a broother, and mercifully loo­ke vpon the sacrifice of a prieste. See lo, this good father vsed of brotherhood praiers, and bicause he was a prieste he [Page 205] did sacrifice, in that respecte, and sayde Masse for his brothers soules rest. Who­me in his funerall oration he setteth forthe with many singulare praises and commendations, especially that he was bothe Christianed and buried in the v­nity of the Romane Churche, that is to saye (as him selfe expoundethe it) of the Catholike faithe. Paulinus one off the same time and Bishop of Nola, de­clareth him self to be of the same faith, by the like practise. He prayethe bit­terly him selfe for a brother departed, and besecheth Amandus, a holy man of his acquaintaunce, to ioyne withe him for the helpe of the departed sou­le. By his wordes the paine of Purga­tory is noted, and the benefite of oure praiers is proued: thus he saithe.Epist. 1. ad Amandū. Imper­se rogamus, vt quaesi frater vnanimos fratres iuuans, & hanc meritis fidei tuae mercedē ac cumules, vt pro eo infirmitati nostrae compa­tiaris, & orandi ab ore conspires, vt miseri­cors & miserator Deus, qui facit omnia in coelo & in terra, & in mari & abyssis, refri­geret [Page] [...] [Page 207] [...] [Page] animam stillicidijs misericordiae suae per orationes vestras, quia sicut ignis accensus ab eo ardebit vsque ad inferni nouissima, ita proculdubiò etiā ros indulgentiae inferna pe­netrabit, vt roscido pietatis eius lumine, in tenebris ardentibus aestuantes refrigeremur. I hartely beseke ye, that as one brother helping an other, you woulde increase the desertes of your holy faithe, by ta­king compassion with me, and ioyning prayers with me for the departed sou­le: that the God of pity and compas­sion, who woorkethe all thinges in heauen and earthe, in the sea and the depthe, would at the contemplation of your prayers, refreshe and coole his sou­le with sum droppe of his mercy. For as the fyre kyndled by him will burne to the bottom of hell benethe, so doub­lesse the dewe of his grace and mercie, shall passe downe to the nether partes, that by the comfortable louely lighte of his piety, the soules broyling in bur­nig darknes may be refreshed. And wri­ting allso to Delphinus,Epist. 3. he alludethe [Page 206] to the feruent heate that the riche man suffered in hell when he craued for La­zarus helpe. And praiethe him to refres­she the mānes soule deceased, with sum droppe of pyty, and his holy prayers. This man was very deare to Paulinus in his lyfe time, for whome he was so carefull after his death. he doubted not of his saluatiō, thoughe (as he saith) he went owte of this worlde a debter, and therfore feared him to be in great paine. So certaine was the doctrine of pur­gatory in the primitiue churche, and so profitable were the praiers counted, for the deceased in Christe.

But if yowe will haue, an exampla­re, and a full waraūt of youre duety and deuotion, with vnderstanding the vsa­ge of the auncient Churche, in suche abundance of many the like, yowe shall (I thinke) be fully satisfied for this parte by S. Augustine,Ex li. 9. Confess. Ca. 11.13. & vlt. in the goodly historye of his mothers deathe, a blessed woo­man and worthy of suche a sonne. Her name was Monica, wel knowne in god­des [Page] Churche, and numbred emongest the sanctes. This good matrone proui­ded especially, by her testament that she might not be forgotten at the altare of God, when the names of the faithfull departed were in the sacrifice remem­bred. For that was cōmon in all Chur­chies, as partly is, and yet shall be better declared anone. The which her worthy wll, her sonne Augustine so allowethe, that he setteth it forthe in the ninth of his confessiōs to her aeternal memorie, in these wordes. My mother (saieth he) when the day of her passing hense was nowe at hande, much regarded not ho­we her body might curiously be coue­red, or with costly spiceis powdered: nether did she counte vpō any gorgious tumbe or sepulchre: Note the vvhole History, and feare not to fo­lovv it. these thinges she charged vs not will all. But her whole and onely desire was, that a memory might be kept for her, at thy holy al­tare good Lorde, at which she missed [Page 207] no day to serue the: where she knewe the holy hoste was bestowed, by which the bonde obligatory that was ageinst vs, was cancelled. Marke good reader as we go by the waie, what that is which in the blessed sacrifice of thaultare is offered, howe cleare a confession this man and his moother doo make of theire faithe and the Churchies belife, concerning the blessed host of our dai­ly oblation: behoulde that weemen in those daies knewe by the grounde of theire constante faith, that which our superintendents in theire incredulity nowe a daies can not confesse. Cōsider howe carefull all vertuous people were in the primityue Church, bothe lerned and simple, as to be present at the altare in theyre lyfe time, so after theire death to be remembred at the same. Whose woorthy indeuours as often as I consi­der (and often truely I doo consider theyme) I can not but lament our con­trary affection, which can nether abyde [Page] the sacrifice, the hoste, nor the altare in oure daies, and therfore can looke for no benefite therby after the day of oure deathe once coom vpon vs, as oure fore fathers bothe looked for, and oute of doubt had. But leauing the pecu­liare consideration of suche thinges to the good and well disposed, let vs go forwarde in the fathers pathes, and see whether this so well lerned a clerk co­unted this zele of his oulde moother, blinde deuotion, as we brutes thinke of oure fathers holynesse now a daies. For which matter we shall find,The cur­sed Chā hathe many children in oure daies. that first e­uē as she desired, the sacrifice of the mas­se was offered for her, not onely for thaccomplishent of her godly request, but bicause the Church of god did that office for al that was departed in Chri­ste, as we reade in sundry placies of this mānes workes, and as in the same boo­ke of confessions he thus declareth and testifieth: (I leaue the Latine, because the treatise growes to greater lengthe then I was aware of, at the beginning, [Page 208] yf I corrupte the meaning or intent of the writer, let my aduersaries take it for an aduauntage) thus he saith therfore. Nether did I weepe in the tyme of the praiers, whē the sacrifice of our price was offered for her: nor yet after­warde when we weere at oure praiers lykewise, the corps standing at the graue side, &c. Cap. 13. Lib. 9. & vltimo. Wherby euery reasona­ble man must needes acknouledge that bothe praiers and sacrifice was made for her, as her meanig and godly request was before her passage. she being thus therfore broght home with supplicati­on and sacrifice solemnely,Maister Grindall looke in youre grammer vvhat fi­gure S. Augusti­ne vsed here. was not yet forgotten of her happy childe. But af­terwarde he thus very deuoutly ma­keth intercession for her quiett reste: Nowe I call vpon the, gratious Lorde, for my deare moothers offensies, geue eare vnto me for his sake that was the sallue for oure sinnes, and was hanged vpon the crosse: who sittethe on [Page] the right hād of God, and makethe in­tercession for vs. I knowe she wroght mercyfully, and forgaue those that did offend her: and nowe good God pardō her of her offensies, which she by any meanes after her baptisme committed, forgeue her mercifull god, forgeue her, I humbly for Christes sake pray the, and entre not into iudgemēt with her, but let thy mercy passe thy iustice, bicause thy wordes are true, and hast promised mercy to the mercifull. And in the same chapter a little afterwarde, he thus bothe praieth him selfe for her, and ernestly inuitethe other men to do the same, in these wordes: Inspire my lord God, inspire thy seruantes my bretherne, thy children and my ma­sters, whome withe will, worde, and penne I serue, that as many as shall re­ade these, may remembre at thyne [Page 209] altare thy hand mayden Monica. And her laite husband Patricius, throughe whose bodies, thowe broght me into this liefe and worlde. Thus was that holy matrone by her good childe made partaker after her deathe, of the thing which she most desired in her liefe. And him selfe afterwarde in his owne see of Hippo in Aphrick, had sacrifice saide for him at his departure, though the day of his deathe fell at the pityfull hauocke, which the Vandalles k [...]pt being Arians in those parties, cōmaunding the chri­stian Catholikes to be buried with owt seruice as I saide before. This blessed Bishop departing owt of this liefe in the besiege of his owne Citye, had notwithstanding, oblation for his rest, as Possidonius writing his life,Possido­nius in vi­ta August. and prae­sent at his passage, dooth testifie. Augu­stinus, mēbris omnibus sui corporis incolumis, integro aspectu atque auditu, nobis astan­tibus & videntibus, ac cum eo pariter oranti­bus, obdormiuit in pace cū patribus suis, enu­tritus [Page] in bona senectute: & nobis coràm posi­tis, pro eius commendanda corporis deposi­tione sacrificium deo oblatum est, & sepultus est. Augustine (saith he) being sownde in his limmes, nether his sight nor hea­ring failing him, I being then praesent and in his sight, and praying together with him, departed this worlde in pea [...]e vnto his elders, being continued till a fare age. And so, we being praesent, the sacrifice for the commendacion of his rest was offered vnto God first, and streght vpon that was he buried. Thus lo all these fathers taughte: thus they practised, thus they liued, and thus they died: none was saued then but in this faithe, lett no man looke to be saued in any other nowe.

Cap. 10.

MAny moe examples of these matters might be broght oute of S. Gre­gorye, diuerse owte of Damascene, enowe out of what writer so euer yowe lyke best: such choise we haue in so good a cause, wherof euery mannes workes are full. But I wil passe ouer the rest, that I may onely reporte one history owte of our own Church, in the pure spring wherof, the apostolick faith abundantly isshued downe from the principall pastors of goddes Churche, withe greate spreade of religion, which sithe that time hathe bewtified our cōtry in al goddes giftes with the best. And emongest many eui­dent testimonies of this truethe, with the practise therof, both to be fownd in Gildas and in holy Beda, there is a stra­unge and a very rare example, not only for the plaine declaration of the vsage of oure Church in the first fowndation [Page] of oure faithe, but for an open shewe by miracle in this liefe, how God releaseth of his mercye, by the holy oblation at the altare, the paines of the departed in the worlde to coom. It shall be com­fortable to the Catholikes, to consider this parte of oure beliefe to be confir­med by the miraculouse working of God, as all other lightely be, in placies where the faithe is first taught. And that oure whole faithe which oure na­tiō receiued of S. Augustin the monke, was so cōfirmed by the powre of God, not onely oure owne histories doo declare, but S. Gregory him sellfe affir­meth it, writyng his letters to Augustin in this sense: that he shoulde not arro­gate any suche woonderous workes to his owne powre or vertue:Beda li. 1. cap. 31. which then God wroght by him, not for his owne holinesse, but for the planting of Chri­stes faithe in the nation where those signes were shewde.

Li. 4. hist. Cap. 21.Beda therfore, writeth this notable history of a miracle doone not many [Page 211] yeares after oure people was conuerted, in the beginning of his owne daies: that in a foghten field betwixte Egfride and Edeldred, two princies of our land, it fortuned that a [...] yonge gentleman off Egfrides armie, shoulde be so greuous­lye wounded, that fauling downe both him selfe with owte sense, and in al mē ­nes sightes starke deade, he was letten lye of the enemies, and his body soghte with care to be buried of his frendes. A brother of his, a good priest and Abbate, with diligens making searche for his body, emongest many happed on one that was excedinge like him (as a man may easely be deceiued in the alteration that streght falleth vpon the soules depar­ture, to the whole forme and fashion of the bodye) and bestowed of his loue, the duety of obsequies, with solēne memorials for the rest of him, whome he tooke to be his brother deceased: bur­iyng him in his owne monasterie, and causing Masse to be done dayly for his pardō, and soules release. But so it fortu­ned, [Page] that his brother Huma (for so was he caulled) being not all owt dead, with in foure and twēty houres came reasonably to hī self againe: and gathering with all sum strēght, rose vp, washte him self, and made meanes to com to sum frend or acquaintaūce, where he might sallue his sores, and close his woūdes againe: But by lacke of strēgthe to make shifte, and by misfortune, he fel into his enemies handes: and ther by the Capitaine examined of his estate, he denied him self to be of name or degrie in his coontry. Yet by the lykelyhoods that they ga­thered of his coomly demeanure, and gentleman lyke taulke, which he could hardly dissemble, they mistruste (as it was in deede) that he was a man of ar­mes, and more then a commō souldiar. Therfore in hope of good gaine by his raunson, they thought good after he was ful recouered, for feare of his escape to lay yrons vpon him, and so to make sure worke. But so God wrought, that no fetters coulde howld him: for euery [Page 212] day once at a certaine houre, the ban­des bracke lowse with owte force, and the man made free. The gentlemā mar­uailed at the case him selfe, but his ke­pers and the capitaine were much more astoyned thereat, and straitely exami­ned him by what cooning or crafte he could with suche ease set him selfe at libertie: and bare him in hand, that he vsed characters or letters of sum sorce­ry and which crafte, with the practise of vnlawfull artes. But he answered in sadnesse, that he was alltogether vnskil­full in suche thinges. Mary (quod he) I haue a brother in my coontry that is a priest, and I knowe certainely that he saithe often Masse for my soule, suppo­sing me to be departed and slaine in ba­tayle, And if I were in an other lyfe, I perceiue my soule by his intercession shoulde be so lowsed owt of paines, as my body is now from bondes: The ca­pitaine perceiuing so much, and belyke in sum awe of religion, seeinge the worke of God to be so straunge, sould him [Page] to a Londoner: with whome the same thinges happened in his bondes low­sing euery daie. By which occasion he was licensed to go home to his frends, and procure his ranson, for chargeing him with diuers sortes of surest ban­des, none coulde sallfely howlde him. And so vpon promesse of his returne or payment of his appointed price, he went his wayes, and afterwarde truely discharged his credet. Which doone by frendship that he fownd in the same coontry, afterward returned to his ow­ne parties, and to his brothers howse: to whome when he hadde vttered all the history of his straunge fortune, bothe of his misery and miraculous relieuing, he enquired diligentlye the whole cir­cumstance, with the howre and time of his daily lowsinge: and by conferring together, they fownde that his bondes brake lowse especially, at the very iuste time of his celebration for his soule. At which times he confessed, that he was otherwise in his great aduersities often [Page 213] released also, Thus hath that holy wri­ter allmost word for word, and at then­de he addeth this: Multi haec a praefato viro audientes, accensi sunt in fide ac deuotio­ne pietatis, ad orandum, vel eleemosinas faci­endas, vel ad offerendas Domino victimas sa­crae oblationis, pro ereptione suorum qui de saeculo migrauerant. Intellexerunt enim quod Sacrificium salutare, ad redemptionem val [...] ret, & animae & corporis sempiternam. H [...]nc mihi historiam, etiam hi qui ab ips [...] [...]iro in quo facta est audiere, narrarunt [...]nde eam, qui aliquando comperi, ind [...]tanter histo­riae nostrae Ecclesiasticae i [...]rendam credidi. Many hearing thus suche of the party him selfe, were [...]onderfully inflamed with faith a [...] zele, to pray, to geue al­mose, an [...]o offer sacrifice of the holy oblatio [...], for the deliuery of theire wel­beloued frendes departed owte of this l [...]e. For they [...]nderstoode that the he­althfull sacr [...]fice, was auaileable for the redempt [...]on of both body and soule euerlasting [...]. And this storie, did they that heard of the parties owne mou­the, [Page] reported vnto me. Where vpon ha­uing so good proufe, I dare be bowlde to write it in my ecclesiasticall history. And thus muche saithe Beda abowte eghte hundred yeares ago, when oure nation being but yonge in Christiani­ty, was fedde in the true beliefe, by sun­dry wonderous workes of god.That fai­th is the true faith into vvhiche oure natiō vvas first con­uerted frō infidelity

We must here stay alitle, and ponder in o [...] mindes, how our forefathers and people [...]f our owne lande were taught in this art [...], when they were first de­liuered owte [...] Sathans bondage, and conuerted to th [...] [...]elowship of Christes Church. and let vs [...] thing doubt, but that which oure owne [...]postles bothe by worde and worke, by m [...]acle and by martyrdom first proued vnto [...]s, is the very true and vnfallible faithe o [...] oure Christianitie. For if that were not [...]ue which at oure first conue [...]sion was pre­ached vnto vs, then we [...]eceiued nott the faithe, but faulshoode a [...] theire han­des: thē the histories doo rake a lowdelye, in testifiing we were t [...]ned to the [Page 214] Christiane faith bothe at that time and by such men, then it wer no conuersion frō heathē Idolatrie to the woorship of Christ, but it were a chaunge from one superstition to an other: and this latter so much worse then the other, bicause vnder the name of Christe there were practise perpetual of execrable sacrilege, in instituting of a sacrifice to the defa­sing of our redemption, in adoring bare breade as the hoste of our saluation, in offering it vppe to God for the sinnes bothe of the quick and dead, in practise of vnproffitable praiers for the soules deceased, with the like faulse worship of God in all pointes. Then theire prea­ching was highly to Goddes dishono­ure, pernicious to the people, and dam­nalbe to theime selues. Then haue all that euer ranne the rase of that faithe and doctrine, till this daie, whiche they taught, perished withe theime: then are they fownd false witnesseis, whom we haue accompted as oure vndoubted, true and lawfull pastors: then God ha­th [Page] purposely deceiued vs with fained miracles full many, with numbers off vaine visions, then al our labour is lost till this day. The holynesse of so many, good princies and priestes is praised in vaine, the bloude of Martyres shed in vaine, the exercise of al sacramēts in va­ine: and bicause all deuotion consisted in our fathers dayes in the earnest zele of so faulse a religiō, as they thinke this to be, then the more deuotion the far­ther from Christ, the lesse religion, mo­re nere to saluation: then happy was he that was the worst, and cursed was he that was counted the best: then is oure case most carefull, then are we worse thē all other natiōs, that neuer receiued the name of Christ: then are we worse thē we were befor our conuersion, then (to be shorte) thereis no religion, no Christ, no God, no hope of saluation.

All which thinges if they repugne to common sense and reason, and to the comfortable hope of oure saluation, which we haue receiued from god by [Page 215] Christe Iesus, and the assured testimo­ny of the spirite of God, that we be a parte of his chosen Churche, and san­ctified in his holy name by the worde of truethe and lyfe, which we by the or­dinary ministery of man haue receiued (signes and woonders cōfirming theire calling and doctrine) then this religion which they planted first in our contrie, must needes be in al pointes bothe ho­ly, true, and acceptable vnto God. Then as by that religion our fathers were in­graffed first in to Christes body misti­call, which is the Churche, in which till this day they haue kepte the highe way to saluation, so who so euer forsa­keth this, or any principall article or braunche therof, and so leauethe that Churche into which we first entered at oure conuersion,Note and take heed betime. he leaueth assured­ly lyfe and saluation, and withe out all doubt euerlastingly perisheth. Amōgest which pointes of doctrine, oure aduer­saries can not denie, but the saing masse and offering for the deade, the allmose [Page] and praiers for the departed, was taught withe the firste, and proued by mira­cles withe the rest. The which ether to denie were ouer muche discredit of the antiquitye, and plaine impudencie: or elles to attribute theyme to the diuells woorking, were oppen vntollerable blasphemie.

Yea this doctrine hathe brought the Churche to this bewtifull ordre in all degries as we haue seene. All the noble monuments, not onely in oure com­mōwelthe, but through Christes chur­che do beare sufficient testimonie of, oure first faithe herin. This doctrine (as the whole worlde knoweth) foūded all Bisshoprikes, buylded al Churchies, ray­sed al Oratories,Yf pra­ing for the deade vvere ta­kē avvay there shoulde no steppe of religi­gion re­maine. instituted al Collegies, indued all Schooles, maintened all hos­pitalles, set forwarde al woorkes of cha­rirye and religiō, of what sorte so euer they bee. Take a way the praiers and practise for the deade, ether al these mo­numēts must fall, or elles they must stād agaynste the first founders will and [Page 216] meaninge. Looke in the statutes of all noble foundacions, and of all charita­ble woorkes, euer sithe the first daie of oure happy calling to Christes faithe, whether they doo not expressely testi­fie, that theire worke of almose and de­uotion, was for this one especiall res­pect, to be prayde and songe for, as they call it, after theire deathes. Looke whe­ther your Vniuersites protest not this faithe by many a solemne othe, bothe priuatly and openlye. Looke whether all preachers that euer tooke degrie in the Vniuersity before these yeres, are not bounde by the holy euangelistes, to pray for certaine noble princies and praelates of this realme,All oure superin­tendents are deep­ly and daily periured. in euery of their sermons at Paules, or other placies of name. And so often as these preachers doo omit it, so often are they periured: so often as they ether eate or drinke of theire benefactors cost, so often beare they testimony of theyre owne dam­nation. Answer me but one question I aske yowe: Whether the firste authors [Page] of suche benefites as yowe enioye in the Churche at this day,A harde question proposed to the Protestāt. ether of bis­shopricke, or colledge, or any other spirituall liuelyhoodde, say yowre min­des vnfeinedly, whether they euer mēt that suche men, of suche a religion, of suche lyfe, of suche doctrine, should en­ioye that allmose which they especially ordeined for other men, and for con­trary purpose? say truethe and shame the deuill, thoughte they euer to make roume in Collegies for your wiues, mēt they euer to mainteine preachinge a­gainst the masse, against praiers for thei­re owne soules? when they purposely vpon that grounde began so godlye a woorke? if they in deede neuer ment it, as I knowe theye did not, and as your oune consciencies beare witnesse with theim, and against your selues that they did not, howe cā yowe thē for feare of goddes highe displeasure, against theire owne willes, vsurpe those commodities whiche they neuer ment to suche as yow be. A lasse good men, thei thought [Page 217] to make frendes of wicked mammon, and full dearly, with bothe landes and gooddes, haue they procured enimies to theire owne soules. But if there be any sense in those good fathers and foūders (as there is) and if they be in heauen, as theyre good deseruing I trust hathe broght theime, then surely they accuse yow most iustly of wicked vniustice before the face of God, for deluding the people, for breaking theire willes, for vsurping theire commodities, against theire professed mindes and meanin­ges. Or if they be in hell (which God forfende, and yet yowe must needes so suppose, for raysing the monuments of suche superstition) then blotte oute theire memorie and names, that haue not onely in theire lyfe mainteyned horrible abusies, but allso after theire deathe haue lefte suche open steppes of superstition, to all posteritye. Suppose I pray yowe, which yet I would be lothe shoulde coom to proufe or passe, but suppose for all that, that with the ta­king [Page] a way of this oulde faithe of pray­ing and offering for the deade, all the workes of the same faithe which isshued downe from that fountaine, might shrinke with al, or returne to the fown­ders againe, bicause there is no rowme to fullfill theyre willes, howe many Churchies and chappelles, what Col­legies or hospitalles, woulde oure newe no faithe bring forth? Would not euery bisshoppes wyfe buylde a Chur­che thinke yowe, or founde a College in such a necessitye, lest theire husban­des should be driuē to serue in a refor­med frensh barne?Super Aggaeum. One of these mock bishoppes complaines very so [...]e in a book of his, that men be not now bent with suche zele and deuotion to prae­ferre goddes honour, in maintenaunce of his Ministers, as they were in owlde time, and as Cōstantinus, with the like christiā Princies in the primitiue chur­che, were. But the good man marked not wherupon this could deuotion ari­sethe: he considerethe not, that this is [Page 218] the fructlesse effecte of so idle a faulse faithe, as his owne lordship preacheth: he woulde not see that the maintena­unce of goddes honoure, bothe by liefe landes and gooddes, is the peculiare fru­cte of that charitable louing faith, which the Catholikes doo professe: he weyed not well, that the greate grauntes of Constantinus, were made to Syluester Bishop of Rome, and not to the maried Bishope of Duresme. He remembred not, that the like holy workes of the noble kinges of oure owne coontrie, were practised vpon suche as woulde professe the trueth, and serue the altare, and not vpon faulse pastors, that were destroyers of all altars. Such honorable portions were parted oute for goddes lote, and not taken from the world, to go to the worldely ageine. Thinke you any man wer so minded, to take frō his own wiefe and children, ether landes or gooddes, to bestow on priestes bab­bes or bedfellowes? No no God kno­wethe: it was separated from theim sel­ues [Page] to the sacrifice, to the priesthoodde, to the honoure of goddes Church and ministerye. The which thinges by your owne preaching (my lordes) decaide, would you haue the Prince or peoples deuotion towardes yowe, as is was, and would be still, if you wer like your prae­decessors, and serued the altare as they did? I wisse if the owlde S. Cuthbert, Wilfride, and William, whome they cō ­pare in holinesse to horsies (so good is their opinion of their holy auncieters) had bene of the same religion that the occupiers of theire roumes nowe be, all the praelates in Englād might haue put theire rentes in a halpeny purse. Coom in ageyne, coom in for Christes sake, com in to the churche ageyne, serue the altare, and then yow be worthy to lyue of the altare: folowe oure fathers, and yow shall beloued as oure fathers wer, confesse that religion which oure own Apostles first taught, and we all haue beleued, and all the workes of goddes Churche protest to be true, and then [Page 219] yowe shall be blessed of God, and ho­noured of men.

But let theime thinke on these mat­ters theime selues. I will turne ageine to my purpose, allthoughe I can not go farre from my matter, so longe as I am in the behouldinge of that faithe which oure first preachers broght vnto vs at our first cōuersion, or in any stepp of thantiquitye: which we wel perceiue to be the fructe onely of that doctrine which we haue declared, and an euidēt testimony off so vndoubted a true­the. I thinke there is no way so certai­ne for the contentation of a mannes selfe, in this tyme of doubting and di­uersitye in doctryne, as in all maters to haue an eye towardes the faythe whiche we receiued, when we were first conuerted. And for that point, I woulde wisshe that S. Bedes historye were familiare vnto all men that hathe vnderstanding of the Latine tonge, and to all other if it wer possible: for there shall they plainely see, the first [Page] beginning, the increase, the contin­uance, the practise, the woorkes pro­ceding owt of the catholike faithe: fe­are not that is the truethe, for that was the first, and that was grownded by goddes worde, and openly confirmed by miracule. And that pointe must be considered not onely for oure owne contrye, but for all others that be, or hathe bene Christianed. For in to the selfe same faithe were they first ingraf­fed allso▪ as by the peculiare practising of euery good man towardes his frend and louer, I haue alredye declared, and nowe for the generall vsage of goddes Church the reader shall at large per­ceiue, that nothing may wante to oure cause, whereby any trueth or light may be had.

Cap. 11.

THerfore let vs see howe the churche oure moo­ther, of her piety vsethe generall supplication in all seruice, and solemne administration of the blessed sacramēt, euen for those whole frendes haue for­gotten theyme: whose paines and tra­uell worldely mē remembre not: whose obscure condicion of life or pouerty, woulde not suffer theime to procure prayers, by theire knowne deedes of charity or almose. Those men I say, that doo lacke singulare patronage of theire frendes, those hathe she remembred in the rites of celebration, vsed in all con­tries, and in euery age sithens the apo­stles daies. Which ordres of diuine ser­uice, as they haue bene diuerse in forme of wordes, so they perfectly and wholy agreed in the substance of the sacrifice, in praying and offering for the deade, and supplication to sanctes, as thowe shalt streght waies by theire vsed ordre of wordes perceiue.

And as we go forward herein, euer let vs beare this rule in minde. Quòd legē credendi, lex statuit supplicandi, in that sense speaketh S. AugustineSo saith S. Au­gustin of­tē against the Pela­gians. often a­gainst haeretikes: the ordre of the churches praier, is euer a plaine prae­scription for all the faithefull what to belieue. And the motherlye affection that the Churche bearethe towardes al her children departed, the saide doctor thus expresseth:De cura pro mort. Non sunt praetermitten­dae supplicationes pro spiritibus mortuorum, quas faciendas pro omnibus in Christiana & Catholica societate defunctis, etiam tacitis no­minibus quorumcunque, sub generali com­memoratione suscepit ecclesia: vt quibus ad i­sta desunt parentes, aut filij, aut quicunque cognati, vel amici, ab vna eis exhibeantur pia matre communi. That is to say in oure tonge. Prayer must not be omitted for the soules departed, which the churche hathe customablye taken in hand for al men passed in the Christian Catholike society, by the way of a generall com­memoration, theire names not particu­larely [Page 221] expressed: that suche thinges may be prouided by oure common kinde moother, to all those which doo lacke parents, children, kinsfolke or fren­des, for the due prouision of suche ne­cessary dueties. By this holy mannes wordes we may see the difference be­twixte oure owne tender natural moo­ther, and the cursed cruell steppe dame. The one folowethe her children withe loue and affectiō in to the next world, with ful sorowful sighes, many deuout praiers, and al holy workes: whiche she vseth to theire needeful helpe: the other being but an vnnaturall steppemoo­ther, and all the children of that adoul­terouse seede, hath theim no longer in mind thē they be in sight: whether they sinke or swhim she maketh no accom­pte: she hathe no blessinge of her ow­ne, she hinderethe the mercy of other. But lette vs vewe all the orders, that we finde extant or vsed throughe the Christian worlde, for the celebration of the blessed Sacrament and sacri­fice, [Page] whiche nowe commonly in oure vulgare speache we caull the Masse, and see whether as Augustin said, there hathe not bene in all agies an especiall supplication of the prieste and people, for the dead as wel as for the lieue. First S. Clement,Cōstitut. l. 8. cap. 47. the Apostles owne schola­re, reportethe howe they prescribed this solemne praier in theire holy ministery for the departed: Pro quiescentibus in Christo, fratres nostri rogemus. &c. Let vs pray (saith the deacon) brethern, for all tho­se that rest in peace, that oure merci­full Lorde, that hath taken theire sou­les in to his hande, would forgiue them al theire offensies, whether they were willinglye or negligently committed: and so hauing compassion vpon theim, would bringe theime to the land off the holy ones, and happy rest with A­braham, Isaac and Iacob: and all other that pleaced him from the beginning▪ [Page 222] where there is nether sighing, sorowe, nor sadnesse. And a litle after in the sa­me holy action, the Bishop praieth him selfe, in this forme. O Lorde looke dow­ne vpon this thy seruaunt, whome tho­we hast receiued in to another lyfe: and pitefully pardon him yf ether willing­ly or vnweetingly he hathe offended. Let him be guarded by peaceable An­gells, and broght to the Patriarches, Prophettes, and Apostles, and the rest of all theime that haue pleaced the sith the worlde began. Thus reporteth Clement, being one of the apostles compa­nie, and continually praesent in the ce­lebration of theire mysteries. Againe,Eccles. hie­rarch. Cap. 17. Dyonisius Ariopagita of whome men­tion is mayde in the actes (so auncient be the recordes of our faith) hathe not onely left in writinge what he thou­ghte in this matter, whiche had ben e­noughe, but allso what the Church A­postolike [Page] in that spring of religion and pure deuotion, taught and ordeyned to be vsed, and that by the Apostles pre­scription: whom he there termeth the heauēly gides and capitaines of trueth. For in the laste chapter of his booke, titled of the Ecclesiasticall soueraintye, he telleth in ordre, howe first the body is placed before the holy altare, howe the solempne misteries withe heuenly psalmes and sonets be songe and saide ouer the corps, howe the holy Bis­shop geueth thankes to god, makethe comfortable exhortation to the assem­bly, to continue in assured hope off the resurrection: howe he anoyntethe the bodye withe holy oyle, and laste of all makethe praiyers for him, and so committethe hym to God. The whiche whole ordre off the sacri­fice, ceremonies, and misticall praiers, exercised as well in burialls, as at other times in the reuerent misteries, this au­thor would not fully sett owte in wri­ting, for theire sakes that coulde not [Page 223] for the weaknesse of faith atteine to the worthy holynesse of so highe matters, as he him sellfe professethe, in these wordes: Praecationes quae in misterijs adhi­bentur nephas est scripto interpretari, & mi­sticam eorum intelligentiam aut vim, quae in eis, deo authore, efficacitatatem habent, ex adyto in publicum efferre: sed quemadmodū a maioribus nostris traditum accepimus &c: The prayers which be vsed in the misteries, may not in anywyes be sett out to the worlde in writinge, nether may the singulare efficacie and grace of theime be made common to all men: but euen as we haue receiued by than­des of oure eldres. And as longe as this ordre was religiously kept in goddes Churche, the solempne secretes of the blessed sacraments, were not so contēp­tible as oure newe oppen communion hathe of late made theime, where there is nothing so holy but it may abyde the sighte and handeling, of whoso euer is the worst. The holy and heuenly mi­steries of Christ his spouse, were not [Page] thē prophaned by the praesumptiouse babling of euery idle heade: Thē were not the soueraigne weghty matters hande­led in alehowses, but vsed at the holy altares. Then the idle, contentious, vn­godly, and vnproffitable quirkes and quaestions, had no other solution but sharpe discipline, and worthy correctiō: then were not the Gydes of goddes people countrowled by euery restlesse felowe,In homil contra Sa­bellian. Athan: ad Epictetum. that coulde cracke of goddes worde: but it was enoghe for a faithfull mannes contentatiō to say with Basil the greate: Dominus ita docuit, apostoli predicauerūt, patres obseruauerūt cōfirma­uerūt martyres, sufficiat dicere ita doctus sum. Our Lord taught so, the apostles so preched, our fathers obserued the same, the holy martyrs haue sealed it, It is suf­ficient for me to say: so was I taught. O Lord, that this simple sincere fidelitie might once take place againe in oure daies, for the coomforte of the poore faithfull flocke, that are nowe so burde­ned with questions of infidelitye, that [Page 224] the sely simples soules cā not tell howe to turne theime selues, nor finde mea­nes to kepe theire faithe inuiolated, in such a multitude of misbeleuers. Which I surely hope the earnest and pitiful praiers of so many good men that doo be­waile this miserie, shall at lengthe af­ter due poonishment of oure sinnes ob­teyne at goddes gratiouse handes. But what shifte doo the aduersaries here ma­ke, with this euidēt testimonie of this so auncient a writer? mary sir they inde­uoure with all theire mighte, to robbe this excellent auncient and diuine wri­ter of all his workes, which haue borne the title of his name euer sithe theye were writē:Ita Suidas testatur which chalēge theire own author by that graue stile that no other man, as the skilfull in that languange doo testifie, coulde euer lightly atteyne vnto: which so sauore of the antiquity, and the apostolike spirit, that thowe woulde deeme theyme to be indited by sum of the cōtinuall hearers of Christe Iesus. But it were vaine to stand in con­tention [Page] for this matter, for we shoulde neuer haue ende, if we should be put to proue that euery man made the bookes which be extant in his name: it weere to muche miscredit of antiquitie, and vncertainty of all thinges. Allthoughe this mannes workes haue bene bothe named,Origen Athan. Damascen. Nicenum. 2 and certeyne sentēcies alleaged oute of theyme, by most auncient do­ctors and councelles. With whome, the aduersaries yf they list be busie, shall wrestle, for I will seeke oute as my pur­pose was, whether in other times and vsageis of celebration, this kind memo­riall of the deade, hathe not bene kept. S. Cipriane shal not be called to recorde for the Church of Aphrike or Cartha­ge, bicause we hearde his iudgement before: who plainely cōmaunding the priestes vnder his iurisdiction not to ce­lebrate for certeyne notoriouse offen­ders,Epi. 9. li. 1 geueth vs to witte, that of right and custom it belonged in his prouince to others that, passed hense in obedien­ce and pietye. The which was contin­ued [Page 225] in that parte of the worlde till Au­gustines time,De cura pro mortuis. et alibi saepè. being about .cc. yeares after him. Thus breffely he telleth yow the practise of his Church. In praecibus sacerdotis quae domino deo ad eius altare funduntur, locum suum habet etiam cōmendatio animarum. In the prayers of the priest, which are made to oure Lorde God at his altare, the commendation of the departed hathe a place. Nowe for the greeke Churchies and the easte, S. Chrisostom and Basill in theire Mas­sies (for so nowe the worde lyturgia is vsed of all the diuine writers, and so Erasmus translateth it, and so it muste needes be taken) beare sufficiēt witnesse of the Apostolike traditiō in this point. For in S. Chrisostoms seruice thus the prayer is made for the deade:Lyturgia Chrisosto. Remē ­bre good Lorde oure spirituall father and all the brotherhoodde in Christe, and all those that are departed hense in faithe, oure fathers and oure bre­therne &cae. And agayne in the same [Page] Masse after warde, thus he praythe: Remembre all those, good Lorde, which haue taken theire slepe in the hope of resurrection, and liefe euerla­stinge: Cause theim to take rest, wher the lighte of thy cowntenaunce is she­wed. Lyturgia Basilia. In S. Basilles Masse which the Sy­rians vse, ther is also prayers for the de­parted: in which the minister desirethe God to remembre all theime which be passed oute of this worlde: and that he woulde refresshe theim in his holy ta­bernacle, saffely leade theime through the horrible and fearefull dwellinges, and place theime in quiet and ioyfull abydinge: that he would deliuer theim from the lande of darkenesse, troble, and sorowe: that he entre not in to iudgement with theime, finallye that he woulde mercifully remitte and par­don, what so euer they committed [Page 226] throughe the vesture of the flesshe, that was woorthye punishment. This prayer was pithie, and toucheth the placies of poonishment and purgation in the next liefe,

So there is extant an other ordre of diuine seruice and Celebration of the communion, called the general Canon,vniuersalis Canon. vsed in Aethiopia: which lately with the rest was set forthe in latine: in that so generall an vsage, there is supplication made to God for the soules also. Re­membre Lord (saith the minister) all those which are a slepe, and rest in the faithe of Christe, place theire soules, we besiche the, in the bosom of oure fathers Abraham, Isaac, and Iacob. So likewise in the seruice of the Arme­nians,Lyturgia Amentorū. consonant for the most parte to the greeke vsage, after supplication in the time of the holy oblation for the lyuinge, streght way praiers be deuout­ly made for the deade. First the deacon [Page] saithe. Rogate dominum pro animabus quae requiescunt in pace, inprimis episcoporum hic quiescentium. That is to say: pray vnto oure Lorde for the soules which rest in peace, namely and before al other, for the Bishoppes resting in this place. And thē he prayeth thus: Remembre Lord and haue mercy, and shewe thy fauou­rable grace to all the soules deceased, pacifie and illuminate theime, adioyne theime to the company of holy sanctes in heauē, and make theime woorthy of thy loue. But S. Ambrose in his prae­paratory prayer towardes the holy oblation,In prima prece prae­paratoria ad missam. geuethe vs an excellent token of his churchies faith, and a singulare exā ­ple to folowe in the time of the dread­full misteries, when we remembre oure frindes departed: thus he saithe. Roga­mus te sancte pater, pro spiritibus fideliū de­functorū, vt sit illis salus aeterna ac perpetua sanitas, gaudium & refrigerium sempiter­num, hoc magnum pietatis sacramentum. domine Deus meus sit illis hodie magnum & [Page 227] plenum gaudium de te pane viuo & vero qui de coelo descendisti, & das vitam mundo: A notable solemne prayer of S. Ambro­se for the soules de­parted. de carne sancta & benedicta, agni videlicet im­maculati, qui tollis peccatū mundi: & potare de fonte pietatis tuae, qui per lanceam militis de latere emanauit crucifixi Christi, domini no­stri, vt consolati exultent in laude & gloria tua sancta. This in englishe: we beseche the most holy father for the soules of al faithefull departed, that this highe and greate sacrament of piety, may be vnto theime helthe and salfty for euer, ioye, release, and perpetuall refresshinge: O my Lorde God geue theime this daye greate and perfect comforte of thee, which arte the bread that came downe from heauen, and geuest liefe to the worlde. Let theim take ioye of thy ho­ly and blessed flessh, that is to say of the lambe that takethe a waie the sinnes of the world. Geue theim to drinke of the springe of thy piety, which by the prick of the souldiers speare, did abundantly isshue out of the side of oure sauiour Christe and lorde crucified, that they [Page] being so comforted, may reioyse in thy lande and glory euerlastinglie. To be briefe, al the Christian world agreeing, as Isiodorus saithe, vpon one waie for the celebratiō of diuine mysteries, mak­ethe intercessiō for the faithfull depar­ted,De ecclesi. officijs li. 1 Cap. 15. that by the blessed sacrifice, they may obteine pardon and remission of theire sinnes.

For I assure the good reader, that all realmes which nowe by Goddes grace are in true faithe, and theire Christiani­ty continuing, or elles before haue be­ne, and nowe by schisme do forsake the same, that all those nations as they re­ceiued one faithe, so in substance they haue euer agreede vniformely in ordre of seruice, which they receiued at theire first conuersion from the waie of gen­tilitie, by the good prouision of suche, as wrought vnder God in theire happy turne to the Christian faithe, and reli­gion. The same men that brought in the faith of Iesus, with all brought in, this way of worshipping Christe in the [Page 228] same faithe, take away then this ordre of worship, and solempne supplication which they planted, thowe must needes ouerthrowe the faithe whiche they taught also. This I say was euer fownd, in the celebration of the fearefull my­sterie of Christes body an bloode, besi­des the oblatiō of that holy host for the quick and dead, both namely for certai­ne, and generally for all departed in Christe, a solemne praier and supplica­tion. Which no doubt Christ instituted at his last supper, which the holy goste afterward secretly suggested to the Apostles, whiche they againe faithfully deliuered to the nations conuerted by their preaching, and to diuerse of theire ow­ne disciples: by whom the same was de­riued downe to our daies, taught in all natiōs, and carefully practised of al peo­ple. Whereof we haue worthy witnessi­es for all contries allmost. For so the godly doctors Tertuliā, Cypriā, Augu­stin, both taught and worshipped in Africke, the same doothe Hierō and Dama­scene [Page] in Syria, Origen and Athanasius in Egypte. Denyse the auncient, and Bernarde in Fraunce, Chrisostome in in Thrase, Basil and his bretherne in Cappadocia, Ambrose and Gregory the greate in Italy, Augustine oure Apostle and Bede in oure contrie of England: with the rest of all nations baptized, whome I named before, and might doo yet a numbre: what shoulde I say a numbre? all that euer were cownted Catho­likes since the beginning, were of the same sense in that cause. And to name the residew where these do not serue, it were lost labour. For whome they can not moue, I can not tell what may per­swade him in any matter. Or if he dare not bestowe his credet on these mens doinges, whome may he salfely trust? Yff the communion and faithefull fe­lowship, of so many godly and gracious men so vniformely consentinge bothe in the teaching and practising of this matter, can not sattell and quiet a man­nes conscience, who can appeace his [Page 229] disquieted vnstedfast minde and cogi­tation? If in the construing of Goddes worde and scriptures, so many of suche graue idgement, of so approued wise­dom, of so passing learning, of such ear­nest studyie in triall of the truethe, of so vertuous a liefe, of so heauenly a gifte and grace in the expounding of God­des worde, may not be salfely folowed in this oure searche, whome should we folowe, or to whome shoulde the sim­ple addicte theime selues, in so greate a turmoyle of learned men: one sort cra­king so fast of scripture, and the other sort, when the matter commes to triall, alleaging so many, with so auncient and graue testimony for the true meaninge of the same? to which I say, is it wisdom to geue cōsent and credet? yf not to su­che as faithfully bothe folowe and recite the scripture withe the agreement of the worlde for the true sense thereof. S. Augustine writing against Parmenia­nus the Donatiste, much wonderethe in that cleare light of truethe and the [Page] Churchies doctrine, the heretikes coul­de be blinde, or not see the euidence of that, whiche all tbe worlde but theime selues sawe. And in many placies he reakeneth the most horrible poonishment in the world,Lib. 2. cap. 3. contra e­pistolam Parmenia­ni. to be the caecity and blind­nesse which God stricketh the stubbor­ne mannes hearte with all, in forsaking the feloweship of the Churcheis chil­drē. But he that cōsidereth the processe of oure cause, may a thowsand times more maruaile and feare Goddes heuy iudgemēt, in the blinding of the disobe­diēt mennes heartes and sensies for sin­ne. If they theyme selues were of their consciencyes examined, what elles they would wisshe for the triall of any doub­te, I am sure they coulde name no one pointe, nor any meanes in the worlde, which our cause woulde not suffer and admitte. For by what waye so euer, any truethe in Goddes Churche was seue­rally in the auncient times auouched against the aduersary haeretike, I am sure we haue the same with the aduauntage. [Page 230] And for this last point of prayers in the Massies of all nations, it is so euident, that no man can gaine saye it: and so ge­nerally pactised, that the vsage of pray­ing coulde in no matter euer so clearely set owte the certaintie of oure beliefe, as in this.

Cap. 12.

THe chiefe argument, that the Churche of god vsed in oulde tyme against Pelagius theni­my of goddes grace, was this: that at the holy altare the Priest praied to god, for to conuert heretikes and infidiles to the faithe, and euell li­uers [Page] wicked conuersation to vertue and honesty: the which prayers had bene to no purpose, if the grace of God had not borne the principall stroke in the chaunging of mānes harte. But being assured of this as a groūde, that the pra­yer of the Prieste in the whole Chur­chies name at the altare, can not but be­are singulare strenghte and truethe, it is necessarily cōcluded, that seeing the pu­blike minister so praieth, that we must needes beleeue, that God hathe man­nes hearte in his hand, and may turne it to the beliefe of his worde, or loue of his will, as he liketh and listethe: not withstanding the perfect freedom of mānes wil, which by goddes grace is ne­uer perished, but alwaied perfected. And in this assured foundation of the publ­ke praiers, S. Augustine who then was the souldier of grace, so triumphed a­gainst one Vitalis a Pelagiā, that he rin­geth him this peale. Exerce contra oratio nes ecclesiae disputationes tuas, & quando audis sacerdotem dei ad altare exhortantem [Page 231] populum dei orare pro incredulis, subsanna pias voces ecclesiae, & dic te non facere quod hortatur: Epist. 107. contra Vi­tal. & homo in Carthgaiensi cruditius ecclesia, etiam beatissimi Cypriani librum de oratione dominica condemna. Holde on felowe, exercise thy contentious taulke against the vsuall praiers of god­des Churche, and when thowe hearest the Priest of God at is altare exhort the people to pray for the misbeleuers, scoffe at the holie wordes, and make him an­swer, thow willte not pray as he biddes the: And being broght vppe in the Churche of Carthage, condemne with all, S. Cyprians worke vpon oure Lor­des praier, wherin he teacheth the same. I tary nowe the longer on this point, that thowe maist learne to kepe an hae­retike at the bay: and to fasten thy stro­ke so surely vpon him, that which way so euer he shift, he shall beare thy blo­we vpō his neck and shoulders. It is not for oure cause taken in hand, that I no­we so muche trauell, for that is longe sith made sure enoghe, for all the diuels [Page] in hell, or theire folowers in earthe. But I would in this one example of praying for the deade, geue the studious a taste of all suche waies, as the truethe of all other pointes in controuersy, may be bothe surely defended, and so planely proued and vpholden, that the aduersa­ry shall not be able to say baff vnto any one of the leaste of all the groundes, whrereupon Goddes truethe stande­the. Handeling then oure good men as S. Augustine did the lyke, say to they­me bouldely: that the same Churche which exhortethe the people to pray sor the misbeleeuers, doothe geue vs ex­ample to pray for the soules departed: Vitalis and Pelagius were haeretikes for withstanding the one, they must nee­des be as very haeretikes for refusing the other. It was the greatest extremitie that Pelagius could be driuen to by force of Augustines argument, to mocke at the priestes prayer made at goddes altare, and that which then was so foule an ab­surditye for those faulse teachers, can it-be [Page 232] borne out of oures withe honestie? Vitalis the Pelagian had a foule foyle by S. Augustine, when he charged him with the contēpt of S. Cyprians autho­ritye Bisshoppe of Carthage, being him sellfe a chyeld of the same Church: And shall they go away so smouthly nowe adaies, not only with contempt of thei­re own Englishe patrons and Apostles, but with impudent deniall of al the do­ctors at once, that euer were gydes of goddes Churche sith Christes faithe was taught? It was of Augustine coūted a singulare arrogācy not to praie in that forme as goddes church and ministers at the altare both praie theim selues, and exhorte other to pray: and shal it be such praise for our preachers to erecte a newe seruice to be checke mate with the oul­de, to cōtroele the rites and vsage of so­lempne supplication in all coontryes Christianed, and withe the true woor­ship to banishe together our fathers fai­the? I would learne by what Churchies example they haue letfe oute of theire [Page] newe fangled phantasticall seruice, the offering and praying for the departed. One of theyme was so inpudent, to say in an open booke that the lyturgies of the fathers made all against the Catho­likes, and for the proufe of theire faulse assertions. Where in sir I pray yow tel-me? I would call yowe by your name, if I knewe who you were▪ there you were ashamed of yowr own name,I gesse it vvas M. Pilkington of Duresm. therfor ye shal lacke the glory of your assertiō. But who so euer yow be, I pray yowe what affinitie betwixt their office of celebra­tiō and yours, doo yow finde? they offer the holy hoste, they worship it, they shewe it, they pray vnto it, which of all these doo yowe? they blesse it withe the signe of the holy crosse, they pra­ctise the action vpon an altare, how wel folowe yowe these? they pray for the deade, they make inuocatiō solempne­ly to sanctes, they ioyne with all catholike churcheis in the worlde, where is your cause here amēded, or oures not plainely proued? If theire seruice like [Page 233] yowe so well, or at least better then S. Gregories Masse, yowe might withe more honestie haue cosed for any one of theim, then haue forged a newe one of your owne: which in deede is direct­ly repugnaunt to all other rites in the Christian worlde. Which yow may wel terme the seruice of contradiction and damnation, as one that nether commu­nicateth with the sanctes in heauen, with the soules in purgatory, nor with the faithfull a liue. And being ashamed of the Latine Church, yow chalenge an other origine of faith owt of the Easte parte: as thoughe your matter wer wel amended, if yowe might shake of that faithe and worship which oure contrie in her conuersion first receiued, and in which till this day she hathe happely lyued, and make the heade of oure ho­ly tradition vncertaine, by referring vs vnto an vnknowen origine. Euery mā in the primitiue churche counted the spring of his faith more pure, and agre­ate deal more cleare, if he could ageinst [Page] an haeretike declare by good testimony that his beliefe did at lengthe by iust counte, faule into the Romane church. So dothe Irenaeus ageinst the Valenti­nians, so doothe Cyprian ageinst the Nouatiās, so doth Tertulian and Vin­centius ageinst all haeretikes, so doothe Augustin and Optatus ageinst the Do­natistes, so dothe Hierom and all the reste, ageinst the Arians. All these thought they had a greate vauntage, if they cowld by plaine accompt proue ageinst an haeretike that theire doctrine isshued from the bishop of Rome. Go whether thowe wilt (saithe Tertulian) and thow shalt finde sum apostolik seat to instruct thy conscience:De prescri. aduers. haereti. thowe hast harde by the Philippos, or Ephesus, or Rome, and there lo fetche we the au­thority of oure faithe. S. Augustine that knewe best howe to fetche an haeterike ouer the coles,Epist. 165 vrgethe him euer to re­duce his doctrine to sum bishop of Ro­me: whē he had him once at that strait, then lo, he goethe throughe the whole [Page 234] ranke of holy Bishoppes by name, to the nōber of xlty wel neare. Bring me once an euident declaration that your faithe isshued from any one bishoppe of that sea, and then yowe may passe throwe the longe lyne of that succession with owte bracke, or any rupture in the world. I could make accompt (saith Ire­naeus) of many successions of Apostolik churches: but that were to longe, onely Rome shal serue, that is the greatest, the auncientst, and best knowne,Lib. 3. ca. 3 and by the tradition of that churche confundimus omnes eos, we vtterly confownde all hae­retikes. It is a straunge thing, that the fathers hauing store of Apostolike suc­cessions, did euer chuese owte for the warrant of theire faithe from emongest the rest, the Roman seate: And nowe when ther is no apostolike churche le­fte in the whole world but it, that they will seeke to churchies wherof there is nether certaynty,Note. nor successi­on: when by plaine open dealing we may reduce, and most needes referre our [Page] faithe to that, which was euer of all o­ther most farre from faulshood. Bring my faithe once to S. Gregory, and the very streame shall driue me to S. Peter and Paule, maugre al theire beardes. In which ordre of Bishops, finde me one that setforthe by decrie any practise of contrary doctrine, to that which is next praedecessor did before him mayteine, and I will go seeke with the stray, a new moother Churche to fownde my faith vpon. Yf all be in this succession salfe and sownde, what a folly wer it to for­sake oure owne mother, and springe of our beliefe, to seeke other which haue often erred when they stoode, and now be almost wholy decaide. But yet it is wisdō for fallse teachers with all force to flie from so greate light, as may arise to the trueth by the recognising of that sownd succession, and going the iuste contrarye way from the oulde doctors faithe, it is not to be thought straunge, that they directly seeke to ouer throwe that bulwarck, which they euer leaned [Page 235] vnto in the stormes of schisme and hae­resie. The shrewes doo knowe full wel the might of truethe in that seate and succession, to haue beaten downe all theire forefathers, the haeretikes of all agies. They feare theire faule, whose steppes they follow. They vtter muche malice, and tormēt theim selfe in euery sermō in vaine: that Church feeleth no sore, but in sorow of cōpassion towards her forsakers: she hath bidden greater stormes thē this, first by tyrauntes, then by haeretikes, last and most by the euill liefe of her own Bishoppes. In al which she yet standethe, and euer riseth to ho­nour, as she is most impugned. Their own preaching hath singularely opened the might of god in the defense of that seate of vnity. When they first began to touche and taunte the Pope in euery sermon, in euery playe, in booke and balate, men that before liuing in faithe­full simplicitie much medled not withe his matters, nor often hearde of his name, began streghte vppon theyre [Page] busy ralinge, to conceiue by reasonable discretion, that there lay sum greate grownde of matter and weght of trueth vpon that point which they cowld not digest in so many yeres bawling and barking at his name: thei saw the Pope euer in their way, neuer owt of their mouth, and they doubted not but that singular hatred grew vpō sum greate importāce: and so admoneshed luckely by the ad­uersaries, they sought the bottō of that perfecte and deepe hatered, and fownde that it was the owld sore of the Arians, and disease of the Donatistes, and com­mon to all haeretikes: they perceiued by S. Cyprian that the first attempte of suche men,De simpli­cit. praelato­rum. was to driue away the pa­store, that they might with owte resi­stance deuoure and destroie the flock. And which was the pricke of all theire endeuoures, to take frō vs the acknow­leging of the greate and singulare be­nefite of oure conuersion to the faithe: that in stopping the heade of that con­dethe, and plentifull well of our faithe, [Page 236] they might in heate of contention and haeresi,By haeretikes preaching many are become catholi­kes. easely drie vpp the whole isshue therof. And this earnest cōsideratiō cau­seth many at this daie to forsake theire haeresies: and to be agreate deale moe at this time, which know the trueth of this matter, then when they began first to preache therof. But I wil not presse thē ouer sore: suppose I graunte theim that which they woulde so gladly winne: that we hadde not oure faithe first frō Rome, thoughe it be as false, as God is true. But suppose it were not so, and I geue yowe leaue to father your faithe where yow will. Yf it be not vpon La­timer (whome a foulishe felowe, in the booke of conference betwixte La­tymer and Ridley, termeth thenglishe Apostle: as one more worthye of that name (as he saith) then Augustine, but elles where yowe wil: and when yowe haue doone, proue me that your moo­ther Churche prayeth not for the de­parted in her masse and solempne ser­uice, and yowe shall be exalted vpp for­euer. [Page] And at your next chaunge frame your newe communion after that ould vsage on goddes blessinge: If yow can find any forme of celebration farre e­noughe from oures, followe it and spa­re not

But I am sure, yowe shall neuer be hable to fynde any oulde seruice in the worlde fit for your newe diet. They be all to muche lyke oure Masse for your purpose,Oure Masse is al one vvith the Masses of all other coontries and times as in deede alone in euery poin­te of importaunce with oures. As the Churchies to whome they belonged, perfectly before theire decay, in faithe and vnity agreed with oures. I am sure whē yow can not like your own com­munion, ye would not be pleaced with one of an others making. But another yowe muste needes haue, and further yowe must go from vs, walke forward yow will to the extreme ende off hae­resie, and vtter denyinge of Christia­nitye. All the worlde can not stoppe yowe faulling from the hill of God­des Churche, tyll yowe coome in the [Page 237] bottomlesse pit of hell. I would be lo­the to sclaunder theime withe the bru­te of the worlde, whiche thoughe it be in euery mās mouth, that they like not this communion, yet vpon that rumour I would not haue sayd so farre, but that they haue vttered their owne meaning, in a treatise of theire owne making, in these wordes:Ageynste the Che­ster man. In mariage as in all oher thinges beside, we are but to muche like vnto theim: that is our fault generally that we differ not more from theime in all oure mini­sterie. These wordes vtter theyre greefe that they can got no forther from vs in theyre seruice: and that yowe be not deceiued, the author of this booke whe­re this complainte is made, knowethe well the meaning of his felowes herin, and howe gladde they woulde be shif­tinge forwarde. They sit on thornes til they be dooing wythe a newe gise. It is no worse man then the B. of Duresme that taketh coulde in so longe a stand of theire communion. My simple head could not deuise how they might pos­sibly [Page] go forward, and kepe theime with in any bond of Cbristianity. What they caste in theire braine for theire forther proceding I can not tell, the serpent is suttel, and oure sinnes be greate.

I muche maruaill not nowe, to see the temporall Magistrates of their wi­sedoms, to hedge these mens wanton­nesse in all theire ordre of lyfe: for they are so dronken and drowned in haeresie, that they haue no sense of common re­ason. What a doo had the magistrates to make these wylde men go in priestely­ke apparell, to kepe theire Rotchettes, to obserue sum steppe of antiquitye in theire maners? Howe they were driuen to tempre theire lustes in prouision for sum ordrely choise of theire wyeues: that seeing theyme haue no respe­cte on what woomen they light,Looke the Iniunctiō for the mariage of priestes and other thinges. that by Iusticies of peace yet, they might be bestowed, iff not well, yet with theire lesse dishonestie, vpon persons not o­penly infamous. Suche felowes are more fit to be gouerned, then to beare rule [Page 238] ouer other: in whome withe owte con­straint youe shall nether finde coom­lynesse in maners, ordre in liefe, nor cō ­stancy in religion. God of his mercye geue theime sum light to see their own misery, and the spirite of humilitie to subiect theime selues in time to goddes Church, that is so careful ouer theym, thoughe to theire owne great harme, they so deadly hate her. They cā showe no cause in the worlde, why they nede in any one pointe of al those whiche at this day be in cōtrouersie betwixt they­me and theire owne moother, rather to credet theire owne phantasies, then her graue authoritye: which onely with out farther quaestioning, with obediēt chil­dren makethe more, then all argument or eloquence of man, in the earthe. And for suche as may for theire simpli­cite be sone deceiued by folowinge o­ther mens errours,The yon­gers▪ must thus pose theire maisters. with whom the na­mes of doctors, or the onely bare brag­ge of scrptures, are as good as the allega­tion of placies: Let theim aske of theire [Page] teachers howe they can shifte theime selfe when they see the practise of god­des churche generally so plaine for all Catholike assertions, as for the article of praying for the dead, emongst many other the like, is nowe before proued. Call vpō theim, and aske theim in ear­nest, because it lieth vpon thy saluation, whether thowe muste geue any credet to the perpetuall agreement and con­sent of all auncient doctors? If they saye yea: desire theime to answer first to all these placies, so euidently confirming oure purpose, that they can not abyde any clowde or couer of mannes suttel­tye, for theire shifting to any forged sense. If they can not, yet let theime al­leage sum place of any auncient writer theime selues, whiche doo expressely denye purgatory or praiers for the deade: as we for they confirming thereof ha­ue doone in plaine termes with owte crafte or colour many. If they be not ab­le to doo so much, yet go further withe theime: aske theyme whether they haue [Page 239] any expresse wordes in scripture that denie praiers to be proffitable for the dead, not by a fonde gesse of theire own heades, corrupt cōsciencies, or praeiudi­cate mindes, expoūded to that prupose, but I say by expresse wordes: or at least (which is liberty enoughe) expounded for that meaning by any one man of all the antiquitie. If they can alleage thee but one worde of scripture construed of any one, I say in all agies, to confir­me theire vnderstanding to be currant, and not framed for theire phantasy, to serue the necessity of theire cause, be bould to folow theim. I would not put theime to the paines to make discour­se throughowte all agies, churches, ty­mes, and doctors, as we haue doone: but onely let theime to kepe theire credet and scholars, and to saue theire hone­sties, bring but one or two of all that euer wrote in the compasse of Goddes Churche, and thowe maiste with lesse daunger, and better reason, folowe theire doctrine. But there is no one su­che [Page] place, I assure the good reader, nei­ther in scripture, doctour, nor councell, nor contrye, nor age sith the world be­gā. I wil go so farre in this point: where ther was euer stepp of any true worship of God, there was praier fownd for the dead also. They can not shewe me any forme of ministration in the Christian worlde, that was approued, whiche hath it not expressely: if it be knowne that it was in deede the seruice of any auncient Churche, not corrupted by theime selues. The same I dare be boul­de to auouche for the lawe of nature, and Moises, bicause it is proued already. All theire bragging of thexample of the primitiue Church, the massies of other contryes, of the doctors, of the scrip­tures, of the councelles, is but an vntol­lerable delusiō and abuse of the simpli­city of such, as be not skilfull in the au­thors whome they name. For when the matter comes to an isshue, when they be harde houlden, ether in this or in any other matter: thē the doctors (who­me [Page 40] they chalenged before the simple for theire partakers) were but men, then they might erre, then they haue lear­ned onely to credit the holy scriptures, then there is nothing but goddes wor­de and booke with theime: which elles full faine would haue the doctors con­sent, out of whome it were but a meane place which they would not alleage for theire purpose, if it might be fownde. Then if deniall of all the doctors iudge­ments serue not theire turne, In accusa­tionem ipsarum scripturarū conuertuntur: they will not stick bowldely to condē ­ne the holy scriptures with all.Irenaeus Lib. 3. Ca. 2. But if yowe thinke that I feane of theyme, yowe shall see what shameful shiftes the maisters and captaines of the contrary assertion haue deuised for the defense of theime selues: I dare say if the studi­ous be but any whit indifferēt, he will leaue their schoole for euer. The chiefe Capitane of all these contentious hea­des, lyke an vnshamefast childe, affir­methe that the doctors praised and fo­lowed [Page] the common errours of the ig­norant people, in allmose and praiers for the departed.

Brentius answerethe, that Tertuli­an making mentiō of yearly oblations for the deceased,In confes­sione VVit­tenber. tooke his error of the hethen vsage of the gentility. And Au­gustin (he saithe) affirmed purgatory, praiers, and almose for theime, for thaf­fiance that he had in mennes merites towardes the remission of sinnes.In Apolo­gia. Me­lancthon (as thoughe he were no man that might erre him selfe) saithe the do­ctors were mē, and discented emongest theime selues. As for the vsage of any celebratiō in the world, what roume cā it haue with these champians,Instit. de Coena. when Caluin cōfesseth in plaine termes, that the celebration of the Sacrament hathe bene contaminated euen in a maner sithe the apostles tyme, and first plan­ting of our religion? and to reduce it to the puritie againe, the man frames a ne­we one of his owne: so farre from su­perstitiō, that it hath no steppe of reli­gion [Page 241] or true woorship of God. But well, the worde of God it yet safe with theyme, there a man may houlde they­me. No surely: they are as saulsy with the very scripture it selfe, when so euer it makethe against theime. Brentius be­fore named, is not ashamed to saye that he pardoneth the author of the Ma­chabeis of his errour and ignorāce. And that thowe may see the perfect image of a prowde haeretike, Caluine saithe thus: as for the booke of the Machabeis I will not vouchsalfe to make answer to it. Mercifull God what faithfull he­arte or eare coulde abide these blasphe­mous tonges? who of vntolerable ar­rogancy doo so deface the examples and doctrine, not onely of the pil­lours of the whole Christian Chur­che, whome they impudently for lac­ke of a more reasonable answere, con­demne not onely of simple ignoraun­ce and errour in this point, with the re­sidew of the whole faythfull people, which surely is ouer muche to say of [Page] suche lerned and godly men as they were, but allso of wilfull errour and super­stition, in bearing and maintenaunce of the common ignoration, and ethni­ke persuation of the worlde in theire daies: and following the heathen vsage of the gentilitie. And yet not content therwith, these lying maisters of theire meere mercy be cōtent to offer a pardō to the author of that booke for his er­ror, which booke the whole catholike Churche of God throughe oute Chri­stiandom taketh for canonicall scriptu­ture. Which arrogancy and passing bowldnesse, allthough I persuade my sellfe no vertuous man will in theyme alowe, sith they nowe being put to the­yre shiftes, vtterly doo condemne those fathers, whose names with great often­tation they often to the simple repeate to make theyme suppose they be not with oute scripture or doctors for the proufe of theire wilfull heresies, yet e­uē the very answer it sellfe which they imagine her in to disgrace the doctors: [Page 242] and delude the ignoraunt, is contrary to it sellfe in sundry points. For they o­ne while affirme that S. Augustine and others allowed that erroure which the people by their superstious deuotion hadde before theyre tyme broght in to the prayers of the Churche: and [...]n other while, that Iudas Machabaeus did institute it, who was before these [...]uthors diuers hundereths of yeares: [...]nd sumwhile that they borowed it of [...]he gentilitye, all which pointes be re­ [...]ugnant eche to other. For nether [...]ould that begin in oure Christian do­ [...]tours dayes, which was vsed before Christes birthe: nether neede they to [...]orowe it of the heathen which was in [...]stimation and praysed emongest the [...]ewes.

Cap. 13.

BVt that this falshood may better appeare in these men, we will by good testimony trye owte, when and by whome, the oblation and sacrifice with other ordinarie relie­fes of the departed were so vniformely vsed throughe the Christian world: as like wise it shall be profitable to consi­der, who were the first authors of the contrary opinions. And that the holy­gost by the apostles owne preaching and praescription, was the first author of this solempne supplication in massies of all vsagies for the departed, I might first proue by this general rule of S. Au­gustine:Epistol. ad Ianuar. et de Baptis. contra donatist. Lib. 4. Cap. 24. Quod vniuersa tenet ecclesia, nec concilijs institutū sed semper retentum est, nō nisi authoritate apostolica traditū rectissime credimus▪ that which the whole Church obserueth, and hathe allwaies so bene kept, being not instituted by any coun­cell, it can not otherwise be had, but by thapostles authoritie and traditiō. And [Page 243] so by the like saing of Leo the greate. Dubitandum non est, quicquid in ecclesia in consuetudinem est deuotionis retentum, Sermone. 2. de ieiu­nio. de traditione apostolica, & de S. spiritus pro­dire doctrina. It can not be doubted, but that what so euer is in the Churche by generall custom of deuotion kept and mainteined, it came out of the Apostles tradition, and doctrine of the holygost. But I will seeke with theim by certaine demonstration, and plaine ordre of rea­son that it must needes so be. Prayinge for the deade was inuented by no man sithe the apostles dayes:A sure vvay to try the beginning of any doctrine. there can no one be named by the aduersary, before whome I can not name an other that praide for the deade. Let him fay wher he list: this man or that man was the first that euer praide for the deade in Christes churche: if I can not shewe an other before him so named, to haue praide allso, we will take him for the first author, and then he fully stoppeth oure course that we can not bring this obseruation so highe as the Apostles [Page] dayes. But if the aduersary can apoint me owte no time nor person that began this vsage, before which I am not hable to proue it was practised, then they can not let vs but we must needes driue it vpward, to the apostles and Christes owne institution. Yf they answer me, that this vsage is crept in to the church sith the Apostles time, thoughe the fir­ste author can not be knowne: I wil al­so prouide, that there no shift shall serue theim. Therfore I aske theime whether that man which first preached it, was re­sisted by the rest of Goddes churche which before his preaching belieued the contrarie, or no? That is it say, this doctrine of prayng for the deade when it first came in to the churche, did any of the true pastors free from the same error, barke like a good sheperd against the beginner of that, which they cownt so greate a corruption of trueth? Or all the Church was corrupted with it on one daye? say what yowe thinke likest in this case, answer with any probability [Page 244] or reason if yow can say plainely, was oure doctrine euer preached ageinste, or neuer? if it neuer wer preached againste, then it neuer began as any noueltye or newe doctrine? For it coulde not be that the Church being free from that doctrine, shoulde streght withe owte contradiction alowe that, whiche they lyked not before. Howe can any man arise in the commonwelth, and bring the vtter decay of all the oulde ordres whiche he findethe, and erecte vppe a newe deuise of his owne, and neuer man speake a worde against him, but al in one moment allowe and lyke the same, and that with owte all recorde by memory or monument of any chaung? But this thinge is most farre from the Churchies and Goddes pastors dili­gence, that neuer receiued faulse doctri­ne withoute oppen contradiction, and plaine noting the party that first be­gan it, as we shall plucke our gentlemē by the slieue a none. All those that haue any skyl in the antiquitie, wil beare me [Page] recorde, that the pastors did neuer houl­de theire peace when any wolfe did but once oppen his mouthe ageinste the sheepe. They can tell, that she did neuer beare the preaching or practise of any faulse and erronious doctrine for one day together▪ then it must needes con­sequently folowe, that the doctrine off purgatory and oblation for the depar­ted with still consent of all nations re­ceiued in the Catholyke Churche, had no beginning after the firste instituti­tion of our faith and woorship of god, but hathe ioyned from the firste gro­wnde of oure Christian institution in Christes faithe, with that sacrifice and due honour off God which the apost­les by the sugestion of the holy gost plāted in al nations with the same faith. Thus I make my argumēt:Note. euery faulse­hood was preached against, and with­standed when it is firste entered, but this doctrine of purgatory and praying for the deade being alwaies vsed, was neuer controwled, nor gainsaide in goddes [Page 245] churche therfore it is no faulshood, nor euer hadd any later institution then the Apostles owne prescription. But what needes all this a doo? by their owne consent we shall drieue this do­ctrine thirtene c. yeres vpwarde. For so neare was Tertulian the Apostles da­yes, whome they confesse to haue pra­ctised that pointe of oblations for the deade. And aske him where he had it (for surely he inuented it not him selfe) and he appointeth vs to his forfathers:De corona militis. he namethe the Apostles for the au­thors and fownders therof, as of many other thinges, which he there reakene­the beside, that were generally receiued, and nowe be of haeretikes likewise con­temned. We might yet steppe ij.c. yeare forwarde, and finde emongest the Apo­stles oun hearers, the same doctrine bo­the allowed and practised, but that they will make exception of Dyonisius and Clements woorkes (suche shiftes men must finde that will defend faulshood) Other I wil name, that be owte of thei­re [Page] exceptions. Who I thinke as wel for theire time, knouledge, and credit, as theyre excellent vertue, bothe can and wil better tel the origin of that thing, the authors whereof were more nigh theyre tyme then oures. If they woulde beleue S. August, as they often professe they will, the matter might soone be ended: but bicause I feare they stand so muche in the corrupt conceite of their owne singularitie, that they wil be bold to reiect him, I shall both lay him to theire charges and diuerse other of greater antiquitye that shall in expresse words affirme this vsage to coom from the Apostles owne schoole. That ther­by they may ether acknouledg their er­rours, or elles by such graue and vncor­rupt iudgies, be condemned of willfull malitious blindnesse.Ser. 32. de ver. Apost. Thus S. Augustin writeth. By the praiers of the holy churche, the profitable sacrifice, and almose bestowen for the soules departed, oute of all doubt the deceased be releued, so that thereby allmighty God may deale [Page 246] more mercifully with theime then their sinnes required. For this practise deliue­red vnto vs by oure fathers, is obserued vniuersally in Christes Churche, that for suche as be departed in the communion of Christes body and bloude, when at the sacrifice they be orderly named, praiers shoulde be made, and the same sacrifice mentyoned to be done for theime. Here, by his wordes thowe vnderstandes, that the profit rising by the prayers or facrifice to the departed hath no doubte in it. They wer throu­ghe the worlde vsed, not in the church which they say hathe bene for ix.c. ye­res corrupted by supersticious ignoran­ce, but in that Churche, which oure ad­uersaryes doo confesse, maugre theyre heades, to haue bene holy, Catholyke, and Apostolike. And it was not thē be­gon, but receiued by the prouision of goddes holy spirite, of thapostles: who­me he calleth the fathers of our faith. A­thanasius (me thinke the aduersary part should quake when I name him) who [Page] was in his daies terrible to the wicked, odible to haeretikes, and to all vertuous mē an especial stay in the troblesom ti­mes of the Church, whose grace was so great that he abbrigeth our whole faith in to a briefe psalme called the Crede of Athanasius: which is beleued of al chri­stiā mē no lesse then the holy scriptures of the new testament. Who as he right well knewe howe to defend him selfe against the wicked Arrians by the do­ctrine of the Catholike Churche, so he hath left vs in writing howe to arme oure selues against the like aduersaries of truethe, with his minde in suche o­ther points of weighte, as in his dayies were not doubted of, whiche yet might faul in question, by the contentious wittes of many, that can not quiet they­me selues in the holsom doctryne of christes church. Emongest other thin­ges, what this holy mannes mynde was concerning the vtility and vsage of pra­yers and sacrifice for the dead, and who were the institutors thereof, thow shalt [Page 247] nowe heare. I will recite but a parte of his heauenly taulke, thoughe the whole make wholy for our purpose. Allthoughe (saith this holy doctour) he that Christianly is hense in faithe de­parted be hanged in the ayer, and his body vnburied, yet after thy prayiers made to God, sticke not to light lam­pe and taper at his sepulchre: for these thinges be not only acceptable to God, but are rewarded. For the oyle and waxe be to him as an holocaust or a sacrifice to be consumed by fyere, but that vnblouddy hoste is a propitiation and remission to the partye.

It may seeme by his wordes, that whē by occasiō of punishmēt, or othewise a­ny person was vn buried, yet there was made sim hearse or monument where is frendes lighted tapers, as they doo at this daie, and procured the holy Masse,Hostia in­cruenia. which Athanasius callethe the Vn­bloudy host or sacrifice, to be celebra­ted [Page] in his behallfe, for so I take that when he saiethe that a man being hong in the ayer may haue tapers and Masse at his sepulchre: though sum seeke ano­ther meaning, wich may wel stand too, and it skillethe not for our purpose: for so much is plane, that in Athanasius his daies, the sacrifice was called and coun­ted propitiatory euen for the deade. But nowe a litle afterward in the same ora­tion, he instructeth vs for the first au­thors and institutours of this vsage in the vnbloddy sacrifice,The Apostles be the orde­rers of oure sa­crifice. and in the buri­alles of Christian men. All these holy thinges (saith he) thapostles of Chri­ste, those heuēly preachers and scholars of oure Lorde, the firste orderers of ou­re sacrifice, charged to be obserued in the memories and anniuersaries of the departed: &c. he callethe the Apostles, Curatores Sacrificiorum, as yowe woulde saye, men apointed to take ordre for all thinges perteyning to the solempne ministerie of the greate and highe mi­sterie.Psal. 49. As in the Psalme, the spiritual go­uernoures [Page 248] are named. Ordinatores testamē ti Dei super sacrificia: The prouisours of goddes testament touching the sacrifi­cies. The residewe of his holy wordes thowe may finde in Damascens orati­on of the departed, where he recyteth bothe the Gregories of the Greeke church, S. Denise and S. Chrisostō too: which writers doo rather serue my tur­ne nowe then the Latines, bicause they may put vs out of doubt for the vsage of the Greke, and other Churchies, whiche afterwarde by schisme fell together from the true woorship of God into diuerse errors.The end of schis­me. That we may knowe, those same contryes vnder the gouernement of these excellent blessed men, to haue obserued the same thinges, which to theire owne aeternall miserye, and decaye of theyre Churche and contries, they afterwarde contemned. For theire dissension and diuision bothe in this point and others of no lesse importaunce, hath procu­red goddes vengeaunce so muche, that [Page] nowe they haue allmost no churche at all: as we may haue right good cause to feare what will becom of vs, that folo­we theire steppes in such pointes, as in theime haue duely deserued goddes gre­uous plages. Amongest other, for that Chrisostoms authority is exceding graue, I will lett yowe see his opinion for the institution of these beneficial relie­uinges of the departeds payn. These be his wordes: Let vs sieke out al meanes whereby we may best helpe our bre­thern departed, let vs for theire sakes bestowe the most present remedie, that is to say almose and oblatiō: for therby to theyme ensueth greate cōmodtie, gaine and profett: for it was not rashly nor withoute greate cause prouided, and to goddes Churche by his disciples full of wisdom deliuered, and decried, that in the dreadfull misteries there should be especial prayers made by the priest for all those the slepe in faithe. [Page 249] For it is a singulare benefite to theim. These wer Chrisostōs wordes, wherby not only the truth of the cause and first authors of the practise be oppened, but that there is wonderfull benefite to the parties for whome praiers be so made in the holy sacrifice. The which thing our forefathers well knewe, when they were so ernest after theyre departure to haue a memory at the holy altare. Now adaies haeresy hathe cākered euē the ve­ry deuotiō of catholykes, who allthou­ghe they thinke it to be true that god­des Church teacheth herin, yet the zele of procuring these meanes is nothing so greate as thimportaunce of the cause requireth. But if they note well those carefull admonitions of all these blessed fathers, they shall perceiue that euery ti­me that Christes holy bloude is repre­sented vnto God in the Masse for the departed, they feele a present benefite and release of theire paines:Quaest. 34. ad An­tioch. they doo reioyse (saithe holy Athanasius) when the vnbloudy host is offered for theim. [Page] The owlde fathers to put a difference betwixt the sacrificing of Christes own body vpon the crosse, and the same vp­pon the altare in the Churche, doo lightly terme this way of offering, the vnbloudy sacrifice: and the thinge offe­red, which is Christes oune blessed bo­dy, they call lykewise the host vnblou­die. And Chrisostō neuer putting any doubt of the firste authors of offering for the deade, prouethe that it is exce­ding beneficiall to the deceased, bicause the apostles full of goddes spirite and wisdom, woulde elles neuer withe su­che care haue commaunded this holy action to be doone for theime. Alasse a lasse for oure deare frendes departed, that they must lacke this comforte: But wo euerlasting to theyme that are the cause of so muche misery. But heare I pray yowe what notable wor­des S. Damascen hathe for the vtility and institution of these thinges.Ibidem. The holy Apostles and disciples (saith he) [Page 250] of oure sauiour Christe haue decried, that in the dread soueraigne, vndefi­led, and lyuely Sacraments (so he cau­leth the Masse) there shoulde be kept a memoriall of those that haue taken theire slepe in faithe: the which ordi­naunce, vntyll this day withowt gain­sayng or controwlyng, the Apostolike and Catholike Churche of God, from one cost of the wyde worlde to ano­ther, hathe obserued, and shall religi­ously kepe til the worlde haue an end. For doubtlesse, these thinges that the Christiā religiō which is with owt er­ror, and free frō faulshod, hath so ma­ny agies and worldes continued vnuio­lably not with oute vrgent cause, those thinges (I say) are not vaine, but profi­table to man, acceptable to God, and very necessarye for our saluation. Thus farre spake the doctor, settyng furthe not onely his owne mynd, but [Page] the faithe of a numbre of the peeres of goddes Churche: wherin to proue this doctrine to be catholike, he fitly, follo­weth the same way which Vincentius Lyrinensis gaue vs once for a ruele to trye truethe by.The ru­le of trueth. Prouing that it hathe antiquitie, as a thing that came and ha­the continued euen from the begin­nyng of the Christian religion: decla­ring that it hathe the consent of all na­tiōs, bicause it is and hath bene practised throughe owt al the costes and corners of the wyde world: and last, that it hath the approbatiō of the wiseist and holi­est mē that euer were in the Church of Christ. And more thē all this, that it shal so cōtinue till thend (though it be for a time in sum peculiare natiōs omitted) bicause it is receiued into a parte of that woorship of God, which in the Church cā not perishe. And this praescription of trueth our aduersaries can not auoyde, but with suche vnseemely dealing as I trust they theim selues now be asha­med of, as all other reasonable men are. [Page 251] For now let theim coom with brasen facies and blasphemous tonges, and say that praiers for the deade be vnprofita­ble, that the rites of the burial be super­stitious, that to say the masse and sacrifice to be propitiatory for the soules departed, is iniurious to Christes death, that the doctors praised the errours of the ignorāt people of their daies, that they all erred and were deceiued, that the church of Christe hathe bene ledde in darke ig­norance till these oure daies: let theime bestowe these vayne presumptious wordes where they may take place, for nowe all wise men doo perceiue that all these haue theire holy institution by Christe and his Apostles, practised vni­uersally in the primitiue Churche, em­brased of all godly people, and appro­ued to be wholy consonant to goddes worde by the pillors of Christes chur­che: who so cōsonantly agree together in this point, as well for the practise and proufe, as for the beginning therof, that to dissent from theime and trust [Page] in these reedes of oure daies were mere madnesse, that are pufte to and fro with euery blast of doctrine, that care not what they say, so that they say not as other theire forefathers sayed, that had rather then they woulde geue ouer a singulare opinion of theire owne ima­gination, refuse and denie the authori­tye of so many notable, wise, auncient, godly, and well learned fathers, whome we haue named. Although we haue left owt many of no woorse iudgement, planely auouching these thinges to coom in to Christes Churche, and woorship, by the ordinaunce of his ho­ly Apostles. All which thinges if oure aduersaries haue redde, then they are in a most miserable and heuy taking, that doo withstand an open knowne tru­the,Heretikes doo agaynst theire ovvne cōsciences and as I feare against theire owne consciencies too. Or if they haue not redde these plaine assertions of all ler­ned men sithe Christes tyme, then they are most impudēt that so vainely bragge in a matter whereof they are not skil­ful. [Page 252] But I trust God wil opē their eyes, and breake theire prowde hartes to the obedience of his holy Churche. Yf the authors be past hope, yet their folo­wers shall take goodly occasion to for­sake suche wicked maisters, and be asha­med of all theire vndecent dealyng, if they note and consider with me, that the firste preachers of this peruerse opinion, were suche, that none of all thei­re scholares durst euer for shame for the profe of theire assertion, name theire owne doctors.Note And truely a man might well meruel why haeretikes hauing sum that did plainely professe theire opini­ons, had yet rather picke owte sum darke sentence of any one of oure holy fathers, whome they knowe to be di­rectly against theime, then oute of tho­se same doctors of their own, which in expresse wordes make for theime. Yow shall not lightly heare an haeretike that deniethe prayng to sanctes, or houlde­th with open breache of holy vowes, alleage Iouinianus, or Vigilātius. Nor a [Page] Sacramentarie, seeke for the autoritye of Berengarius, or Wicleffe, thoughe they be of sum antiquitie, and with out colour plainely doo mainteyne the do­ctrine that so well lyketh theime. But they will trauell to writhe with plaine iniurie to the author,Note the gile of an heretike. sum sentence owt of Augustine, or Ambrose, or sum o­ther that by theire whole lyfe and pra­ctise open theime selues to the worlde to beleue the cōtrary: and al this by sum shewe of wordes for the bearing of their faulse assertions. Marke it well (I saye) in heretikes that they can not for shame of theime selues,Note. euer name any of the plaine auouchers of theire owne opini­nions. The cause is, that the onely vp­holding of their opinions made thei­me infamous to the whole posterity: And if any honoure grewe vnto thei­me emongest the simple, bicause they lacked not the waies to procure the peoples consent, with admiration of theire eloquence, or other plausible and populare qualities in theire daies, yet [Page 253] truethe folowing tyme, theire fame rai­sed vpon so light causies easely decayd, and the grownde of perpetuall infa­mie sattled in wise mens heartes by the wickednesse of theire attemptes, remai­ned for a testimony to all posteritye of theire shame and ignominye. And this I speake not onely of the authors of oure common sectes, for they neuer atteined to any shade of famous report in theire daies, bicause they coulde de­ceiue none but simple weemen, but I meane by Arius him selfe, and Pelagius with the lyke, who in theire owne time being of greate aesteme emōgest many whom they deceiued, yet after their de­ath more and more they grew to shame and infamie: so farre, that who so euer were of theire opiniōs afterward, durste not yet for shame vse their name or au­thority for proufe of their own doctri­ne. See yow not in our daies how freshe the name of Luther, Caluin, Buser with that rable, was emongest the rude peo­ple, whome they had woonne ether wi­th [Page] speache, or pleasure of licentious doctrine: and lo nowe it decayeth in a maner or their bones be coulde. The peoples sensies raueshed with the prae­sent pleasure of suche as they heard last, lyke theyme so longe as they heare theime, afterwarde theire memory re­maineth onely to malediction. Vidi im pium superexaltatum & eleuatum sicut Ce­dros Libani, Psal. 36. transiui & ecce non est: quaesiui & non est inuentus locus eius. I haue seene the wicked exalted and set vppe as the cedre treese of libanus, I passed by, and loe owt of hand he is no body: I sought him, and his abyding can not be fown­de. Who so euer shall seeke for our glo­rious preachers with in this C. yeare, he shall find theime in suche estimation then, as theire forefathers be nowe: that is to say, to be vnworthy the naming of theire owne adherents, if any of that secte liue and last so longe. For let thei­me neuer look to com to the infamous fame of Arrius, the best of all these se­cte maisters not worthy to be scholare [Page 254] to a hundreth of his folowers. Thus loe is the case of haeretikes, liked of foo­les when they be alieue, contemned of all men whē they are deade. Now in the doctors of Goddes Churche it is cleane contrarie, and no lesse worthy to be noted for oure purpose: for theire ho­noure and estimation rising vpon the sure vnfallible grownde of Goddes truethe, by yeares and time gathereth suche force, that not onely theire me­morie is in perpetuall benediction be­fore God, but theire woorkes folowe theyme in the mindes of theire poste­rity, to theire owne aeternall praise, and benefite of all theire folowers. And which is muche more to be wondered at, they haue so passed enuy and malice of man, that euen those whiche deadly hate theyme, dare not but praise they­me. And suche as mislike theire do­ctrine, and knowe of theire owne con­science that they be directly ageinste theim, yet dare not openly charge thei­me withe faulshoode, as they doo vs [Page] theire scholars, but rather (as I sayde) seeke sum sentence owte of theime to helpe theire owne cause, then with theire plaine condemnation of faul­shode to refuse their authoritie. S. Au­gustine busyed much with the Pela­gians:, and charged by theime in dispu­tation that he defended the Manicheis doctrine concerning originall sin, for his defense and warraunt, proueth vnto theime that Sancte Ambrose taught the same doctrine that he did, and yet they durste not be so bowlde to call him a Manichie. Dic huic Ambrosio si audes, quae mihi tam petulanter obiectas: Thow hae­retike (saith he) say the same by S. Am­brose, if thow dare for shame whiche thowe so saulsely and wantonly obie­ctes to me.Lib. 2. cō ­tra Iulian. Looke I pray yowe, Ambro­se was but newe deade when his onely name did feare the heretike, when other alyue of as good lerning, was contem­ned of him, and by wordes of reproche charged with the Manichaeis sect, who was a wyked man of horrible sectes not [Page 255] long before those dayes. Pelagius owte of doubt thought no better of Ambrose and Cyprian deade, thē he did of Augu­stine and Innocentius a liue, bicause theyre doctrine was all one: but yet the men departed wer of more authority in goddes churche, then the liuing: of whose continuance to the ende men were vncertayne before the proufe the­reof: and theyre wordes being deade might easely be wrasted to sum shew of theyre purpose, when the authority off the lyuing coulde not admitte any su­che faulse dealinge, theime selues bea­ring witnesse of the meaning of theire owne wordes. Well then oure doctou­res of goddes Churche, being all of ho­ly aestimation and blessed memory, doo so dase the eyes euen of theire owne aduersaries, that being of the very same doctrine that we (who by Goddes grace be membres of the Catholike Church) be of, yet they are past the malice of those which like not theire dooing and doctrine. For the heretikes well kno­wing [Page] theim to be the authors, or at the least especiall mainteiners of this oure assertion of the valewe of praiers and the holy sacrifice for the departed, yet they dare not but clokedly reprehen­de theyme, when they flowe ageinst the poore Catholikes nowe alyue, withe wordes off infinite blasphe­mye, and sclaunderous reproche.

Therfore I now will call vpon theime with S. Augustines wordes. Coom on all the packe of yow, who so euer is the prowdest protestant vpō the earth, call if he dare S. Denise, Sanct Clement, Athanas. Chrisostom, Ambrose Grego­ry, Bede, we are not ashamed of theire names as yowe be of your Maisters, Call these papistes for praying for thei­re frendes, call theime Idolaters, call theime superstitious, call theime enimi­es of Christes passion: say they be iniu­rious to his death by prouiding a newe sacrifice for sin: tell theime they inuen­ted Anniuersaries, monthes mindes, and yearly offeringes, for theire own gayne: [Page 256] call theime masse mungers, call theime blynde gydes. No yowe dare not for your eares, yowe dare not disprayse ou­re heuenly gydes: yowe dare not once name your owne. Suche force hath the truethe, and such feare there is in fauls­hood: and yet these doctors must needes be in a thousande times worse case then wee be, if the doctrine of purgatory and prayers be not true. We may be saued or at least reasonably excused, by folo­wing: they in leading vs in faulshod, cā haue no excuse of theire impietye. But howe gladde may all we Catholikes be in oure heartes, that haue the full con­sent of all theime in the proufe of oure belyfe, oute of whose workes the ad­uersaries woulde be gladde of one lyk­lye sentence. And whose lyfe and do­ctrine are so glorious in goddes Chur­che, that theire oune aduersaries raling at vs alyue, yet dare not but with gre­ate feare once blemish theire names de­parted: Thoughe sumtimes it brastithe oute in sum one of theime to their ow­ne [Page] miscredit. So beutifull is the light of trueth. And on the other side, howe miserable is theire carefull case that fo­lowe and defend that doctrine, the au­thors wherof they dare nether acknou­ledge nor name: whome all good men with open mouthe bouldely doo repre­hend, and theire owne scholares dare not defende. Such a glorious maiesty this doctrine of theires beareth, that pricketh vppe with pryde those that be alyue, and blottethe out of honest memorie, her doctours that be deade.

Cap. 14.

BVt yet, bicause they ha­ue diffamed oure practi­se in praing and offe­ring for the deade, by referring it to a latter o­rigin then the apostolike authority and tradition, seeing we haue fathered oure vsage vpon suche as the aduersa­ries dare not blame, we will helpe thei­me to seeke owte the fathers of theyre faithles persuasion, lest by the feare and bashfullnesse of theire owne scholares, they be vnkindly forgotten. Mary to find owte these obscure loyterers it wil be sumwhat painefull, bicause as thee­ues doo, they kepe by wayes: and light­ly treade not in honest mennes pathes. For the finding owte of recordes for the testimony of our truethe, we kepte the day light, the highe waye of God­des Churche. All the knowne notable personagies, in the holy Citye of God offered theyme selues bothe to witnes­se, and proue with vs. We droue this truethe from oure daies throughe the [Page] middest of that holy communitie whi­che S. Augustine callethe the Citye of God: and oure aduersaries will not saye otherwise but they were the liuely mē ­bres of that happy and heauenly felo­wship.The high vvay of trueth. We brought the practise of it to the holy Apostles by plaine accompte, we went with the truethe of our cause to the lawe of Moyses, from thense by like light to the lawe of nature. But now for the other sorte, we must leaue the cyty of God and the feloweship of these noble personagies, of doctors, A­postles, Prophets, and Patriarches, and seeke on the lyfte hand in the other ci­tie, whiche is of Augustine named the cyty or commonwelthe, as a man migh call it of the deuil: in whiche body, all practise of mischiefe and origin of er­roure, isshuing from that vnhappy hea­de to the corrupt and deadly limmes therof, is to be fownde. We shall heare of the aduersary persuasion then,The by vvay of haeresy. in the company of Anabaptistes, of Arrians, of Saduceis, of Epicures: where so euer [Page 258] the weedes of the common enemies corrupte seede growethe, there shal we finde amongest breares and brembles, this choking weede with all. For as the true preachers, the Apostles of Christe Iesu, did sowe in the beginninge of the Christian church, which was the sprin­ge of the worde of lyfe and truethe, a­mongest other heauenly seedes of true doctrine, that profitable practise for the reliefe of suche, as were hense departed in the slepe of peace, with the decent ordre which euer sithens the Catho­lyck churche hathe obedyently folo­wed, euen so,Math. 13. Inimicus homo supersemi­nauit zizania: the common enemy came afterwarde and ouersewe darnell, and cockle, ether for the vtter choking, or elles for the especiall lette of that good seede, which the Maister of this field by his houshoulde seruauntes had plenti­fully sowen before. This common ad­uersarye, as our maister him sellfe expo­undeth it, is the Deuil: who, as he in all other thinges beneficiall to mankinde [Page] is a greate stay, so Christian mennes commoditye in this point he notably hindereth by his wicked suggestions and deuilishe diuise, wherby he prouo­kethe many vnder the shewe of Goddes worde or bare name thereof (for that is the lābes cote which this wyely woolfe boroweth to maske in) to be vnkīd, vn­natural, and with owt all godly affectiō towards their departed frēdes. The whi­che cōtrary corrupt sede of false doctri­ne we right wel know came of the sayd aduersary, bicause it was lōge after ouer­sowen:Tert. de prescrip. lerning further of Tertulian, Id verū esse quodcū (que) primū, id adulterinū quod posterius. That to be true that was first taught, and that to be faulse and forged, which came latter. And yet besydes that generall and moste certeine instructiō, lerned Damascen, helpeth vs to the trial of this peculiare case. Doubting not to affirme, that al such cogitatiōs as do en­tre into mānes head against the praiers or charitable woorkes for the departed, be the deuilles enuious and subtill sug­gestions, [Page 259] for the hinderaunce off oure brethern departed from the heauenly ioyes. For thus he writeth in a sermon for the same purpose. That oulde ser­pent (saith he) whose endeuoure is to corrupt and deface the good and accep­table woorkes of God, and to lay sna­res for the entrapping of mennes sou­les, who is muche perced through bro­therly loue, and brasteth in sunder for the enuy that he beareth towardes our faithe, and finially is madded by oure naturall compassion one towardes an other, as one that is the vtter renoun­cer of all good lawes, he enspireth to som, a fayned and faulse imagination cleane contrary to the holy constitu­tions: that is to say, that al good and ac­ceptable workes, before God, shoulde no whit proffet the departed soules.Our pro­testantes be inspi­red by Damas­cens iud­gement. Yf this writers iudgement be good, as it is sure most sounde, then must al our vnnaturall and vnkynd preachers haue an especiall inspiration of the deuill him selfe, so often as they hinder fa­uoure [Page] and grace from the deade. For as he reduced oure origin to the Apostles, so he doubteth not to auouche, the contrary persuation to be euidently moued by the oulde serpent, of especi­all enuie towardes mannes saluation. And nowe if thowe list knowe in who­me this subtill suggestion tooke first place and roote,Of the author of this nevv sect. after the longe vsage of the other, according to the Apostles planting: we shall make the for thy es­pecial comfort partaker therof also. We will not vse the aduersaries, as they doo vs: charging vs with later preaching or doctrine then the Apostles plāted, and yet can nether tell, where, nor by who­me it began. But we shall by open eui­dence call the wolfe by his name. Let an heretike but set owte fout, and once open mouthe, thoughe he doo no har­me at all, yet the watcheman of Israell hath him by the backe streght. The dogges were neuer so doom in goddes Churche, but they woulde barke at the first apparance of any straunge cattell. [Page 260] For that, the notation of his arising and name, was not onely a warning to the present time to take heede to theire faithe, but an admonition to all the po­steritye to beware of the lyke. And it was euer counted a refutation of an hae­resye to the full, to reduce it to a latter infamous author, by the certaine recor­de of the churchies historie. The which kind of reason bothe emongest the ler­ned hathe singulare strenghte, and is sensible for the people, and of the ad­uersarie vtterly inuincible. Irenaeus vse­th it against the haeresyes of his tyme, as a demonstration of muche force. What, saith he, before Valentinus there was none of that his faulse secte,Li. 3. Ca. 4 and he came in with his seede, after the first preaching of oure faithe a good while. I can tell when he began, howe he in­creased, howe long he continued. Both he and that other Cerdon entered first vnder the gouernement of Hyginius,The trial of false prea­chers. grewe vpwarde vnder Pius, and con­tinued tyll Anicetus tyme: and so ma­king [Page] the lyke accompte of other arche­heretikes, at lenght thus he conclude­th: all these rose vppe in theire aposta­cie longe after that the Church was or­dered in faith and doctrine. In this sen­se spake Irenaeus. But the ruele is com­mon and certaine as any can be in the worlde, and I woulde stand vpon the grounde therof against all faulse doctri­ne in the worlde,A general rule to knovve haeresi by. and thus it is: Any opinion, that may be truely fathered vpon any priuate man, that was longe after the trueth was first preached by the apostles, if it be vpon a point of our faithe, and contentiously mainteyned, it is an haeresye. And thus againe: who so euer was withstand in his first ari­sing and preaching, by suche as were in the vnitye of the Churche, he was a faulse teacher, and his abettours be heretikes. And the force of this conclu­sion is so greate, that the heretikes thei­me selues if they can get any likly shew of raysing of any doctrine, or practi­se of goddes Churche in these latter [Page 261] daies, they thinke they haue a good ar­gument against the Catholikes. There­fore they would father transubstantia­tion vpō this Councel, the adoratiō of the Sacrament vpon that Pope, indul­gencies vpon that bisshop, &c. For they be as saulcie with goddes Church, Co­uncells, and chefe gouernors, as we be with the Iacke strawes of Geneua. And yet when they haue traueled to theire heartes ake, they can find no one thing first inuented by any of theim, whome they faulsely name to be the authors therof. But well seeing it is so stronge an argument of haeresye, to haue the of­spring of a later author, with plane pro­uisò of goddes Churche for his mar­kinge, let vs adde so muche strēgthe to oure cause, to haue the father of the cō ­trary faulshodde knowen, and noted of thantiquity, by his name.Cap. 75. Lib. 3. In Anace­phal.

Epiphanius that notable man in his book that he wrote for the confutatiō of all the haeresies that were before his time, and in other of his woorkes too, [Page] nameth an obscure felowe one Aërius to be the first author of this haeresie, that prayers and sacrifice profitethe not the departed in Christe. But what maner a felowe he was, and howe lickly to be the foūder of such a schoole, thow shal­te perceiue best by the writers wordes. VVhen Aërius coulde not obteyne the bisshoprick of Eustathius deposed, after that he was once perfectly well skilled in Arius doctrine, he inuented newe sectes of his owne: affirming that there shoulde be no offering for the departed. and of him lo the schola­res were called Aërians. Lett not the simple (whome I woulde helpe in this cause) be deceiued by the lyknes of these two names, Arius: and Aërius:Arius. Aërius. for this later was the author of their secte, and was a folower of the first called Arius in his doctrine beside. And of the same sect and sectmaster, S. Augustine thus saithe, folowinge Epiphanius: [Page 262] The Aérians were so named by one Aérius, In li. de haeres. ad Quod vult. who taking snoffe that he could not get a bisshoprike, fell in to the haeresy of Arius first: and then ad­ded therevnto, other haeresies of his owne makinge: saing that we should not offer sacrifice for the dead, nor ob­serue the solempne apointed fastes of the Church, but that euery mā should absteane when he liste. And there bo­the he and Epiphanius do recken moe of his holy opinions, which I omitte. For it is enoughe for oure purpose, and to confownde all the haeretikes of oure dayes, that this opinion was noted as it spronge vp in the primitiue Church for heresie,One that hathe for saken the Churche is indif­ferent to vvhat haeresy yovv vvill. and the authors not onely condemned as heretikes in that point, but in many other thinges beside. For I neuer readde of, nor yet knew any he­retike, but if he once mistrusted the ca­tholike Church, the Deuil was hable to perswade withe him as well in a num­bre [Page] of matters as in one. And that is the cause that any man seduced,And ther­fore they call theire doinges, Proce­ding. falleth from one faulshood to an other, till he wholy be drowned in the waues of tē ­pesteous doctrine. And when he com­meth once at the bottom, then (God knoweth) he settith light by the matt­er, contemneth it, and is often past re­couery,Prouer. 18. as it is sayde: Peccator cum in pro­fundum venerit, contemnit. Euen so did this Aërius, first throughe ambitious pride faule to the Arians secte, but bi­cause he counted it nothing glorious to be a scholare, he would be a master, and that of a misheuous matter, and a matter repugnant to the sense of all Christes churche, which before his pre­aching, generally as after, receiued and faithfully vsed prayers and oblation for the dead. Of which consent of the vni­uersall worlde, and the heretikes folye in withstanding the same, the sayde Epiphanius saith thus:Vbi sup. 13 I will report his wordes in latine, bicause they sownde very well, thoughe him selfe wrote not [Page 263] in that language: Assumpsit ecclesia in to­to mundo, assensus est factus antequàm esset Aerius, & qui ab ipso appellantur Aeriani: quis autem magis de his nouit, hic neseductus homo qui etiam superest nunc, an qui ante nos testes fuerunt? & cae. Thus in English. The Churche hath receiued this trueth through the wide worlde, it was sattled in all mens mindes before Aërius was borne, or any of his sect that be nowe called Aërians. And who I pray yowe is most like to knowe the truethe of these thinges, this faulse wretche yet li­uing at this daye, or elles the faithfull witnessies that were before oure time? Behoulde here your woorshipfull ma­ster, yowe may suerly take greate cause of conforte in his lyuely worde: mary sir he might haue bene an Archebisshop in our daies, for he loued nether fasting nor praying. He was fayne to be an hae­retike for anger, bicause he coulde not be made a bisshoppe then, who now if he were in this happy age, when the light is more plentifully powred vpon [Page] the people, mighte haue bene promo­ted at Caluins decease to the ouerloo­king of Geneua. But his opinion was so notorious fallse, that it grewe to no greate heade at that time, or elles it was not so much regarded bicause it was ioyned to that horrible faulshod of Ar­rius, against the blessed Godhood of Christe Iesus oure sauioure.Note vvel Euery gre­ate waste of religion hathe many faul­se opinions knitte together, emongest which one being as principall grounde, shadoweth the other lesser branchyes: as nowe the blasphemy of the holy Sa­crificie and Sacrament, being the foun­tayne of theire haeresies, in a maner co­uerethe the meaner puddelles of theire stinking doctrine. And emōgest other, this vnnaturall affection of forbiddin­ge the relyfe of the parted, seeme­the euer to be ioyned as an appendix to other faulshooddes. For in holy Da­mascenes daies this secte appeared a­gaine with other faulse doctrine, as a companion of all mischiefe. And to [Page 264] proue it to be an haeresie, he seeketh ou­te the first founder thereof,Damascen. in oratione pro defun­ctis & de haeres. and findeth euē as before, that vnder the deuill this Aerius was the father of that faythlesse assertion. Whome he bayteth wellfa­uourdly in a whole oration and so dri­ues the woolfe in to the wodde againe. Then for many a day together this do­ctrine was dashte til the time of holy S. Bernard and Petrus the reuerent Abba­te of Cluny, by whiche two notable howsekeping dogges, that were neuer doume in the Churchies neede, this woolfe appearing once ageine was both noted and oppenly vanquished.Note vvel hovv this faulshood euer ioy­neth it selfe to other horrible sectes. And in theire dayes, this faulsehod that before was a companion of the Arrians (mar­ke well the course of thinges good rea­der) was nowe matched with the Ana­baptistes: who in that time, as the saide writers doo recorde, did call theime sel­ues Apostolici, that is to say apostolike or folowers of the apostles, so they would be termed to delude the ignorant by the bewty of that glorious name, as [Page] nowe theire ofspring cal theime selues, Euangelici: that is to say, gospellers, and the pure preachers of the worde, and ghospell. S. Bernarde touched theim to the quick in a sermon, by these wordes, Lo (saith he) these miscreants, lo these dogges, Sermone. 66 super [...]antic. they laughe vs to skorne that we baptise infāts, that we pray far the dead, that we require the helpe of ho­ly sanctes, they exclude Christes grace in all sortes and euery kinde, in oulde and yong, in the liue and in the deade. Looke yowe nowe, with theire gospell lyke name they were counted no bet­ter then prophane dogges of this holy father, that laught so skornefullye at Christes church for praying for the de­ade and inuocation of sanctes: and shall we make suche Iuels of theire scholars nowe a dayes? In all agyes since this wielde seede was first sowne, the true preachers, the woorkmen of goddes haruest, haue euer plucked it vpp, as it [Page 265] first appeared: The which wede was better knowne from the corne, bicause it euer grewe emongest the bundels of briers and brembles, and was of that waisting nature, that it could not be tolerated with owte the vtter choking of the wheate. This doctrine (I say) being of it self very perniciouse, yet it is euer in cō ­pany of other mischiefe. For the prin­cipall author of this secte was an Arian, then the folowers as Bernard witnessi­th, were Anabaptistes or worse. To whome all men muche meruell that God shulde rather reueale suche miste­ryes of truethe, then to other that were sownde in faithe. And in dede I would gladly meete withe sum one good fel­lowe or other of that secte, that weere lerned with al, that he might resolue me in this doubt, why this conclusion of not offering or praying for the deade, of not keping thordinarie fastes, of con­temning the Sanctes helpe in heauen, and the residewe of your newe Creede, why God (seeing al light of truethe cō ­methe [Page] of his grace) openethe these mi­steries alwaies and onely, to suche as yowe your selues can not deny to be haeretikes.I trovve no prote­stant can ansvver vvith rea­son to this point Why did he reueale in the primitiue Churche that doctrine to an Arian, being an open enymie of his ho­ly name, and not to Athanasius or E­piphanius or som other blessed men of that time? I stand the longer vpon this point, that the worlde and who so euer is the simplest, may behoulde your mi­serie and shame: for I knowe yowe can say nothing in this case for your defen­se, but euen beare with black blotted cō ­sciencies the infamy of wilfull blynd­nesse. Howe say yow, did not your do­ctrine afterwarde appeare againe emon­gest wicked Anabaptistes, that deny e­mongest other thinges, the baptisinge of infantes? it was nether reueled to Bede nor Bernard I warrant yowe.Here this secte ioy­neth vvih the sacra­mentaries a [...]d the rest of miscreauntes But com lower yet to oure owne time: yow knowe full well we haue store of Ana­baptistes, of Arians, of Saduceys, of Epi­cures, and of al other sectes that the de­uill [Page 266] euer deuised (suche light of truethe hath our happy age by your praeaching) tell me trueth nowe, be not all these whome yowe cownte haeretikes as wel as we doo, be they not all I say of your opinion in this matter and not one of theime of oures? Nay I will pose yowe further, is not your preachinge the ve­ry redy waye to all suche extreeme bla­sphemies, as they bowldely mainteyne? did euer man fawle from the Catholike Churche to those further haeresies then yowe yet openly professe, but he tooke youres by the way, as a plane passage to extreme infidelitye? yea your opinions doo so well stande with the other, that they neede not afterward to refuse any one pointe of al your doctrine to main­teyne theire owne. There is no article of Catholike doctrine, but it is as much hated of theim, as of your selues. Helpe your selues here my maisters,Marke vvell. or elles all the worlde will take yowe to be in your heartes, of the same sectes where­vnto your faithe is allwaies so dearely [Page] ioyned. Put your heades together, and tell vs whie your doctrine is so deare to the Arians, and all wicked men, and so hated of the holy fathers of Christes Church? Yf you frame not your answer wel, yow liese your credites, your schola­res, and your honesties. Wel, thus haue I pointed owt your author, his name was Aërius: yowe must be cauled Aërians: yow may kepe the name of protestaun­tes or Euangelistes besyde. For a holy newe calling is lightly ioyned to suche men. Wherby though sum simple be de­ceyued, yet wise men be warned. Or if the owlde authors of this sect be not so glorious as these newe reuiuers, if they list and like so, they may cal theime sel­ues Lutherans, or Caluinistes, or what they will, but Catholikes. Althoughe Martyn Luther graunted purgatorye and praiers, whith this error: that suche as were there, might yet by theire di­uers deseruings, win or lose lyfe euer­lastinge, as men of doubtefull state, as they were before in the worlde: playne [Page 267] agaynst oure sauiours admonition,Vide Hie­ronimum sup. 3. ad galathas. Ioan. 9. and carefull warninge, veniet nox quando iam nullus operari potest. Woorke whiele the day lasteth, for the night shall coom when no man can labour. But I neede not to stand vpon this point, which of nether parte is muche regarded. Nether will I spend any more time in gettinge theyme an author of theire secte, seeing they haue choise of diuers. Let theime go owt of the Citye of God, frō emon­gest the holy cōpany, and turne on the lifte hand, and look emongest the owt­castes of al agies, and they shal haue frē ­des and fellowes enowe.

Cap. 15.

ANd for oure parte it is suffici­ent, good reader, that we kno­we the first founder thereof, and that we be now right well assured, that he in his time, and his scholares in theres, haue ben noted, called, and con­demned for haeretikes, in this as in other fonde peruerse opinions beside, not o­nely by the singulare iudgements of di­uers lerned mē, but by the commō sense and consent of the worlde, and by aun­cient councells bothe general and par­ticulare, as we may reade in the Coūcels of Carthage the iiij. of Bracharense, and Vase.Cap. 79. Cap. 34. Cap. 2. the decrees of which, by occasion we rehersed once before. They are bothe auncient and of greate authori­tye, and honoured with the presence of many notable fathers, as Augustine and other. But especially for the appro­uing of our faith, and condemnation of the aduersaries part, the whole processe of the greate councell of Florence must be noted. for there the question of pur­gatory and praiers for the deade, was [Page 268] fullye handeled, by the most learned of both the Latine and Greke church, the Patriarche of Constantinople him self, with the legates of Armenia and other nations of that parte, being present: and fully condescending with the Romane church vpō the truth of purgatory, and other graue mysteries: in to the doubt of which, that part of the churche by schisme and miscredet of theire forefa­thers, had faullen into, not long before: and so made perfect protestation of the­yre faithe,Note with thabiuring of the con­trary, as haeresie. But omittting that lon­ge processe and large treatie of the mat­ter, for the establishing of euery mannes conscience, I will conclude vp all the matter with the councell and the holy gostes determination of all the whole cause, in these words: Si verè poenitentes in Dei charitate decesserint, antequam dignis poenitentiae fructibus de commissis satisfece­rint, et omissis, eorum animas poenis purgato­rijs purgari, & vt à poenis huiusmodi rele­uentur p [...]odesse eis viuorum fidelium suffra­gia, [Page] missarum scilicet sacrificia, orationes, & eleemosynas, & alia pietatis officia, quae a fi­delibus pro alijs fidelibus fieri consueuerunt, In initio Concilij Florentini. secundum ecclesiae instituta, We define and determine,The holy Councell of Trent hath allso determi­ned the same againste the haeretikes of oure ty­mes. that true poenitents depar­ting in the fauoure of God, before they satisfied for theire negligencies or faul­tes committed by worthy fructes of poenaunce, shal be clensed by purgatory paines: and lykewise for the release the­reof, the praiers of the faithfull, the sa­crifice of the blessed masse and allmose, withe other thinges customably practi­sed by the faithful for theire frendes de­cessed, according to the ordinaunce of Goddes churche, to be profitable. The which graue determination if any man be so willfull to contemne, Let him knowe, that he dispicethe, being but a mortall fraile man, the grauest iudge­ment that God hath left in earthe for the determination of any matter. Let him be ashamed that he being but one man, taketh vpon him to controule di­uers hundrethes of the most chosen [Page 269] for vertue, for lerning, for experience in the whole Churche of God: yea let him if he haue any affection of grace, tremble and feare to deface the dealing of that honourable and vniuersall par­lament, that repraesentith vnto vs God­des holy whole churche, hauing the assured promise of the holy gostes as­sistance for theire giding in all truethe. Yet I see before hād the aduersaries wil not admitte the iudgement of these or any other Councelles: nether in suche men doo I much meruell to finde so litle humility, and so muche impuden­cie. For all haeretikes condemned by councelles did euer condemne, as they coulde, the same councelles againe. So were the first iiij. councelles whiche all Christian men with S. Gregory accepte as the holy gospelles of God,All haere­tikes doo condem­ne coun­cels. vtterly re­fused by the parties in theim condēned: The Arians by greate force of worldely princies and many assemblies, deuilishly withstood the Councell of Nice, the Macedonians reiected the councell of [Page] Constantinople the first, the Nestori­ans nothing aestemed the councell of Ephese, Eutiches and Dioscorus litle regarded the councell of Chalcedon: in which they and theire folowers we­re condemned of haeresy for sondry pointes, which nowe were ouerlonge, and not for oure purpouse to reherse. Then by refusing the heauenly senten­ce of the churches iudgement, they win nothing elles but the assured marke of an haeretike. They declare theime sel­ues, that as they be in haeresy as deepe as the beste, so they in pride and boul­denesse,The humble obe­dience of Catholi­kes to the gouernoures of Goddes Churche be not behinde the worste. But all Catholikes and faithfull belee­uers, as soone as they knowe the deter­mination of suche a numbre of so well learned fathers gathered in the vnitye of goddes Churche and spirite, streght way they receiue it, and submit theime selues, as to the iudgement and reuelati­on of the holy gost. For so the Christi­an bretherne that were molested by the contentious clamors of certeine trou­blesome [Page 270] heades at Antioche, being on­ [...]e certified by the letters of that first Christian councell, what was decried [...]nd enacted concerning the matters [...]lled in quaestion, they then regarded [...]o more what the aduersaries thought [...]herin, but owt of hand Ganisi sunt su­ [...]r Consolatione, they reioysed in that [...]omforte of theire agrement. And [...]uffinus writeth, that whē Constan­ [...]nus the greate vnderstoode the deter­mination of the doubtes proposed in [...]he greate councell of Nire, he receiued it as the oracle of God:Ruff [...]n. Defertur ad Con­stantinum sacerdotalis concilij sententia, ille [...]aquam a Deo prolatam veneratur: the de­cree (saith he) of the priestes was shewed to Constantine, and he streght wi­the al reuerence accepted it, as goddes owne sentence. And if oure aduersa­ [...]ies coulde learne a little humilitye, they might quickly be dispatched of [...] greate deale of haeresie. The which as [...]t first began with the conceite of sin­gularitie and contempt of other, so it [Page] procedith with maliperte bouldnesse, and endeth in plaine disobedience of of the Churche, of the councelles, of the scriptures, and goddes own spirite. Whom with owt moe wordes I would nowe geue ouer vnto God, hauing (as I trust) alredy geuen theime sufficient occasion by the euident proufe of my matter, to remembre theire misery and heuy condition, but that I must remoue oute of the simples waie, suche stoom­bling stockes, as perhappes might sum­what trouble the vnlerned, who for lacke of deepe iudgement, be moste subiecte to the aduersaries deceites.

Hovve they pra­ctise vvith the sim­ple.And with suche thus they lightely practise: first by lofty lookes and highe chalēgies, they crake and boste with passing bowldnes, that the learned mē of the world, the sage fathers of the aunciēt times, al the graue coūcelles, the whole vsage of the primitiue Church,Great impudency in haereti­kes. with plaine scripture, to be on theire parte. And as for the contrary teaching, that it came in of late with the decay of ler­ning [Page 271] and light of truethe, in these bar­barous tymes when superstition and darke ignorance had wasted the doctri­ne of the yeares past. And in this brag­ge they stand, till som Catholike man encounter with theime. By whome whē they see theim selues so driuē from the standinge which they kept with greate glory before, that they must be wholy naked and destitute in the face of the worlde of al such helpes, as they accompted to haue for the owtewarde shewe of theire deceitful doctrine, then in plaine wordes they confesse theire teachig not to hange on the antiqui­tye, not on councelles, not on Doctors, nor on any man, but on Goddes holy spirite and worde, which can not decei­ue theime. And so at thende, the owlde vse of the primitiue churche, the fa­thers, and the generall councelles arro­gantly contemned, or rather vnwor­thely condemned (marke well theire prety conceites) they make then a mat­che betwene theime selues with goddes [Page] worde on the one partye, and the do­ctors and fathers withe owte Godde [...] worde,The so­phistry of haeretikes. on the other partye. Affirming that they be not bound to beleue thei­me but where they agree with the scrip­tures of God. And then turning theire taulke to the simple, thus they preache vnto theime by a captious and foolishe demaunde, whether they thinke it mo­re reason or conuenient to beleeue the scriptures, or doctors: the determinatiō of the true and liuelye worde of God, or elles the decrie of a generall councel: which deceitfull wreasting of the state of our quaestion, somwhat troobles the vnlearned, which can not perceiue her­by that they betray theime selues, and deface theire own dooinges, in so rude a defense. For who seethe not nowe, that they renoūce all that helpe of Co­uncelles and Doctors which with vaū ­tes they clamed before, whiles they im­pudently make a diuision or contrarie­tie betwixte theime and the holy scrip­ture? And we take it at theire hand as [Page 272] an open acknouleging of theire lacke, [...]her wher they praetēdid greatest store. The whiche thinge if they likewise woulde confesse openly in pulpit and [...]n plaine wordes, as they meane no­thing lesse whē they shewe the people that they were but mē, that they might [...]rre, that they folowed the custom of the common people in their time, that they are not to be receiued but where they agree with scripture, and that thēi selues must trie whether they be cōso­nant to the worde of God or no: if they woulde, I say, with owt suche cloked wordes bouldely pronounce as Luther theyr Master did, that they cared not for a hūdreth Augustines or Hieroms, that they aestemed not the consent of all nations, that they would be tried by the iudgement of no councel, that they woulde purposely ronne Contrarye to the Councels decrye in al causies, that they would take that for thonely true­th which is cōteined in the holy scri­ptures, and that for scripture which [Page] theime selues thought good, and last of all, that for the true meaninge which agreed best to the vphoulding of errour and haeresye, then woulde the people leaue these lewde masters on the plaine field, which now they kepe with them, one while by the praysies of the do­ctors and antiquitye, and sumwhiles by thabasing of theime ageine, and deceyt full referring all to the onely scriptu­res, to which they saye credet may sal­fely be gyuen, where the docters with owt daunger can not be forther follo­wed, then as they benot fownde to dis­agree with goddes worde. So that the cause seemethe nowe to be driuen to this isshue in the eyes of thignorant, whether men shoulde rather beleue the scripture or the doctors, the worde of God that can not be faulse, or the fa­thers that weere but men, and therfore might erre, deceiue, and be deceiued.

But this is not the state of oure con­trouersie, nor of any question betwixte the Catholikes and theime. And that [Page 273] they knowe full well, thoughe they craftelie cloke it with chaunge of wor­des▪ for we acknowledge most gladly, that if any Doctor, Prophet, Apostle or Angell (if it were possible) preache vnto vs any thing against the word and true­th of goddes scripture, that he is accur­sed of God, and to be reiected of men. But here is the stand, and the point of al oure doubtes in generall (note it well master protestaunt) whether the aun­cient fathers, sum of theime being in Christes time, diuers of theime scholars to his apostles,here lieth the doubt and diuer siti betvvixte haere­tikes and Catholi­kes. many within one hun­drethe or two of yeres afterward, most of theime more then a thowsand yeres since (I speake of suche as we haue na­med in oure cause) and all wonderful­ly learned as well in the knouledge of the secrets of goddes mysteries, as the tonges: all mercifully indued withe greate giftes and gracyes, all exceding studious in the scriptures, all hauing the same testament and written worde of god that we nowe haue, all vsing [Page] meruelous diligence in the cōference of diuers placies, for the true meaning and vnderstanding of the same, all hauing feruent zele in teaching the christian people, al at times appoynted resortinge together frō diuers partes of the world to sum one generall search, in wich, by humble conferens together and praier, thei doubted not to obteine the spirite of truth, as it was by our maister pro­mised: the question is nowe then, I saie, whether those holy men, thus hol­pen by nature, diligens, tyme, and grace, be not more lyke to vnderstand the scripture thē these men, wich ether lac­ke all these helpes, or moste of theyme. Secondly it foloweth there vpon, whe­ther we shoulde rather geue credit to theim, affirminge purgatory and praiers for the deade to be not onely consonāt, but planely proued by the scriptures, or elles to oure newe aduersaries, auou­ching these thinges to be agaynst the scripture. Wherbye yow see, we must not nowe reason, whether we ought [Page 274] to beleue the doctors or the seriptures better, but whether for the true sense, we must not beleue the owlde fathers, better then these newe fooles.

Cap. 16.

THerfore to stoppe their waye at euery turne, and bicause they taulke so fast of scripture, full fayne woulde I heare what scriptures they haue, that make e­ther expressely agaynst purgatory and praiers for the deade, or elles by any one lerned mā in all the world, was euer ex­pounded for any such sense. And lo now (good reader) what scriptures they alle­age that can abide nothinge but scripture. Firste owte of Ecclesiastes.Cap. 11. The tree [Page] whether it faule to the southe or the north, it lyeth ever wher it lighteth. Then they alleage owt of S. Matthews ghospell,Cap. 7. that there be two waies, one to bring to heauen, and thother leading streght to helle. And then owte of the seconde to the Corinthians, they bring in;Cap. 5. howe we must all stande before the iudgement seat of Christe: there to re­ceiue eche of vs according to our wor­kes and life: and that by other mennes labour, oure state can not be amended. Again they alleage this sentence of the Apocalipse.Cap. 14. Beati mortui &c. blessed be the deade that dye in our Lorde, for af­ter that, the spirite saithe, that they shall rest from trauelles. All which textes, and the lyke of that sorte, make no mo­re ageinst purgatory, then they doo a­geinst hell or heauen: excepte, that a [...] Anaxagoras the philosopher saide,Phisic. 1. l. all thinges were in euery thinge, so these diuines can finde euery texte of scrip­ture to make for what purpose they li­ste: and yet if the Catholikes alleage a [Page 275] number of scriptures, and theime with the mind and iudgement of the whole worlde, that doubteth not but they proue that, for whiche they be recited, yet they set light by theime, and impudent­ly with clamors beare men in hand, that they haue no scriptures at all. Which thinges as they smelle of muche arro­gancie in al men, so in these foulke that so malepertly controwle others, where theyme selues haue no scripture at all, it is vntolerable.

And for these, which they here or elleswhere alleage, I aske theyme sin­cerely, and desire theime to tell me fai­thefully, what doctour or wise learned man of the whole antiquity, euer ex­pounded these textes recited, or any one of theyme, or any other whiche yowe bring in elles when, ageinst Purgatory or practise for the deade? Yff they did not, howe can yowe for sinne and shame dissent from the whole Churche off Christe, vpon so light grounds? Or ho­we dare yowe be so boulde, that seeke [Page] in euery controuersy expresse scripture, to alleage these placies, whiche wyse mē, nor I think your selues take for any suche purpose? Or howe may yow for shame reiecte the euident word of God, by vs truely reported for the triall of oure matter, your selues hauing almost nothing, that can be wraasted to youre sense?

An an­svver to the first place.If yow stande to the triall of youre alleaged testimonies, yowe will be mu­che abasshed I knowe. For howe can yowe imagine, that the place recited out of Ecclesiastes, should further you­re intent any thing at all? Seeing, that euen then when the wyseman spake those wordes, the soule of man streght after her departure, and the faule of the bodye, continued not where it first fell: for the iuste had a place of abidinge and rest in the inferiour partes, whiche was called of Ezechias the gate of hel­le.Isai. 38. In the ghospel Sinus Abrahae, the bo­som of Abraham, and nowe Lymbus Patrum: in whiche they all abode till [Page 276] they were deliuered by the bloude and trauell of oure sauioure Iesus.Bern. ser. 4 de fest om­nium sanct Amb. su­per 5. ad Romanos. Withe whome, they after were translated to the aeternal ioyes of heauen. Whiche thinge if it be true, as it can not but be true and certaine, whiche the whole course of scripture, the article of oure faithe in Christes descension in to hel, and al the auncient fathers doo con­stantly setforth, what blindnes be they in then, that bring this place againste Purgatorie, which as it is a stay of cer­taine for a time from heauen, so the o­ther before Christe, was the staye off all. And therefore, it is plaine, that this faulynge of the tree meanithe no­thinge lesse, then that euery man shoul­de streght vpon his departure be con­ueyde ether to hell or heauen.

Or if any wedded to Caluines blas­phemous and vnfaithefull paradoxies, doo with Purgatory deny the fathers place of abode, before the cooming of Christe, and impugne the beleefe of Goddes churche so muche, that he wi­thstand [Page] the article of oure Crede, for Christes descendinge in to hell, or tur­ne the cause of his going into hel, to sum other purpose then the lowsing of theire captiuity that there were in ex­pectation of his ioyfull apparance,Caluins absurde doctrin is refuted. yet I woulde demaunde so much of Caluins successor or scholare, seeing he wil of this figuratiue speach of the trees faulīg gether so grounded and generall a rule, that with owt delay euery man must to heauē or hel streght after his death, there to remaine in perpetuall state of his faule in the nexte life, ether good or badde, I woulde aske of him (I saye) what he thinketh by all those, that were by the Prophets, Apostles, or Christe him selfe, raysed vppe againe from deathe to lyfe. Who receiuing by death that faule, by theire accompt must nee­des abide where they first fell: and so not in case to be reuoked, by this theire faulse conclusion they diminishe the powre of the spirite in woorking their raisinge againe. Or elles they must im­pute [Page 277] deceite to the holy men, and oure master Christe (whiche abhorreth me [...]o speake) for that they raysed theyme not beinge perfectely deade, but in sum deadlye traunce, or apparance of dea­the.

But bicause the soule of Lazarus, was nowe iiij daies owte of his bodye before Christe wroght vpon him,The state of such in the next vvorlde as by goddes omnipo­tency vvere raised to lyfe againe. it is sure and most certaine, that it had sum place of abyding after the separation from the fleshe. I can not thinke that his soule was in heauen: nor it is not li­ke, that oure sauioure woulde so muche abase the happy condicion of him whome he loued so well, as to reduce him to the vncertaine state of this lyfe. I will define, in this my ignorance, no­thing touching the secrettes of goddes wisdom herin. But very like it is, that the parties raysed from theire faule and deathe, were not in the ioyes of hea­uen. As before Christes death, I am su­re they were not, but I speake of Tabi­tha also or other reuoked by thapostles [Page] handes, that then after Christes passion might full well, diyng in perfect state of lyfe, go streght to heauen, of suche I say it is very reasonable, that they we­re not in the ioyes of thelect. For el­les Tabitha shoulde not haue had suche a benefite by her almose, as the fathers doo witnesse she hadde. And they vse her for an exāple, of the benefite which may rise to one after departure, by cha­ritable woorkes doone in this lyfe. It had bene a smaule pleasure to haue plucked her from hauen to this morta­litye againe, and misery of oure com­mon lyfe: and I trowe no man may a­uouche withe salfety of his belefe, that she or any other raysed againe miracu­lously, was reuoked from the despera­te estate of the damned soules, then she muste necessarily be called from so­me meane condicion of her present a­bode, and perhappes from paine too, to this former state of lyfe againe. But as in this secrett of god, no man with ow­te iust reprehension may deeply wa­de, [Page 278] so it may reasonably be gathered [...]hat the faule of the tree before menti­ [...]ned, can not induce withe any proba­ [...]ilitie, the necessity of the soules abi­ [...]ing in all respectes, where it first ligh­ [...]e. Marye we freely graunt with diuers of the auncient fathers, that the faule of the tree into the southe parte, may [...]ignifie vnto vs the departure of mā in the happy state of grace, and the nor­ [...]he side lykewise, the cursed and dam­nable state of the wicked: and that he which passethe hense in ether of these estates and condicions (as euery lyuing man doothe) can not procure by other, nether deserue by him sellfe, the cha­unge of his happy lote, or his vnluc­ky happe, otherwise then in his lyfe ti­me he deserued. That is to say, if he passe this worlde an electe person, in the loue and grace of God, he is oute of doubt of all damnation, or rather oute of possibilitye to be reiected: and so the case of the forsakē is vtterly re­medilesse. And further by that figura­tiue [Page] speache yowe had not best on your owne heade be ouer boulde, least som Saduceie of your secte, gather the per­petuall reste of the body, with owte all hope of resurrection. I can not tell ho­we it faulethe, but yet so it doothe, that your doctrine and arguments minister ouer muche occasion of erroure, and that, to the deceiued in the depest mat­ters of our faithe. But I will rubbe yow no more on thatsore. I warned yowe before, to take heede to the resurre­ction.An An­svver to the secōd text.

Nowe for the other text recited ou­te of S. Matthewes gospell of the dou­ble waie, thone to perdicion, an the o­ther to saluation: there is allmost no­ne so simple, but he seeth that it maketh no more for your purpose, then the o­ther. For there, as oure aduersary can not but knowe (though to deceiue he liste dissemble) mentiō is made, and the meaning is onelye of these ij waies in this worlde and lyfe, in one of which, being full of ease and libertye, the wic­ked [Page 279] waulkethe towardes hell or dam­nation: In the which way, the riche mā and vnmercifull tooke his tyme: of whome Abraham saide, that he had re­ceiued good in his dayes. In the other, being bothe straite and harde, the smal numbre of the chosen take their iour­ney towardes heauen. And yet if yowe thinke good, yowe may ioyne the pla­ce of temporall punishment for sinne in the worlde to coom, to the straite and painefull passage of the electe, though perhappes all they entre not therby. And so shall yowe find this pla­ce not onely nothing to forther theire cause, but sumwhat to helpe oures. And so for the other taken oute of the fyft to the Corinth: S. Augustine shal answer yowe, and beare me witnesse,An An­svver to the third [...] argumēt. it makethe nothing for yowe, his wor­des be these in his Encheridion:

This practise that Goddes Churche vseth in the commendations of the deade, Cn. is nothing repugnāt to the sen­tence [Page] of the Apostle, where he saithe that we all shall stand before the iud­gement seate of Christe, that euery o­ne may receiue according to his de­sertes in the bodye, ether good or euill: for this in his lyfe and before deathe he deserued, that these woorkes after his death might be profitable vnto him, for in deede they be not profita­ble for allmen, and why so? but bi­cause of the difference and diuersitye of mens liues, whilest they were in this flesh, &c. And this same sentence the Doctor often repeteth, allmost in the same forme of wordes in diuers placies, bothe to correcte theire igno­rance that might take a way praiers for the dead, bicause they finde the sen­tence of goddes iudgement to be exe­cuted on man according to the deser­uing of this lyefe: and no lesse to geue monition to the carelesse, that they omitte not to doo well in this lyfe, vp­pō [Page 280] hope or presumtiō of other mennes works after their decease: which as they be exceding beneficial to many, so they helpe none suche, as in their owne lyfe woulde not helpe theime selues. The lyke declaration of this pointe hathe S. Denyse in the 7. chapter of his Eccle­siastical soueraignty: whiche I omitte, lest in this point, by S. Augustine suffi­ciently auouched, I weerye the reader without cause.

The last obiection,An an­svver to the last scripture. of the angelles words in the Apocalipse, affirming the state of all those that dye in our Lorde to be happy, to be past trauel, and in rest and peace: they be properly spoken the­re, of holy men that sheede theire blou­de in the times of persecution for Chri­stes sake: to geue theime assured com­forte, after a litle toleration and pa­tience in the rage of Antichrist, of bles­sed and aeternal rest, and so the circum­stance of the letter plainely geueth, and so dooth S. Augustin expounde it.Cap. 9. lib. 20. de ciui. And for suche holy martyrs it is needlesse [Page] to pray, as to pray vnto theime is most profitable. Albeit the wordes are true, and may be wel verified of all that passe hense in the happy state of grace, being past the cares of this troblesom world, and which is the greatest trauell of all other, vtterly dispatched of the toile that sinners take in theire waies of wic­kednesse: with freedō frō sin, and al feare of sinne and damnation, for euermore. So that this rest frō laboure, is no more but a happy ioy of conscience, with se­curitye of saluatiō and peace in Christe Iesu. For which cause in the holy Ca­non of the Masse, it is saide, Christianos dormire in somno pacis, & in Christo quies­cere, That Christian folkes doo sleepe in the sleape of peace, and rest in Christ, thoughe for all that, in the same place, we aske Requiem & refrigerium, rest and refreshing for theyme. And this holy peace from all toyle of the worlde, and woorme of tormented conscience, the electe children of God in theire fathers correction, being assured of his aeternall [Page 281] loue do blessedly enioye. But the wic­ked be in contrary case, of whome it is saide, non est pax impijs, there is no rest or quietnesse to the wicked: no not in theire daies of ioye, much lesse in their infinite miserie of their euerlasting tor­ments in the world to coom. Of whose vnhappy state,Isai. 57. the prophet warneth vs thus againe. Impij quasi mare feruens quod quiescere non potest: The wicked be right like vnto the toomblinge and tos­singe sea, that neuer restethe. The place of S. Iohn then, being namely spoken of holy martyrs that streght with owte all paine after this lyfe passe to heauen, may yet very fitly stand with the happy case of all those that dye in the fauoure of God, and assurance of their saluatiō: thoughe they abyde sharpe, but swhete paine of fatherly discipline, for theire better qualifiyng to the ioyes prepared for theime and all other the elect. So that nowe, the mouing of these doub­tes hathe so little aduauntaged our ad­uersaries, that it hathe sumwhat geuen [Page] occasion of forther declaration of oure matter, then otherwise perchaunce we shoulde haue hadde.

Cap. 17.

BVt yett one common engine they haue, as well for the impugna­tion of the truethe in this point, as for the so­re shakinge of the weake waules of the simples faithe, all most in all their fight that they kepe against the Catholikes. Which, thoughe it be not stronge, yet it is a merueilous fit reasoning for so fond a faithe. For if thowe caste an ear­nest eye vpon theire whole doctrine, thowe shallte finde that it principally, and in amaner wholy constithe, in ta­king a waye or waasting an other faithe that it fownde before [...]:Theire nevve no faithe is vphoul­den by a negatiue argument so that the pre­achers thereof, must euer be destroyers, pluckers downe, and rooters vp of the truethe grownded before.

Will yowe see then, what a prote­stants faithe and doctrine is? deny only and make a negation of som one article of oure beliefe, and that is a forme of his faithe, which is lightelye negatiue. There is no free will, ther is no woor­kes needefull to saluation,A prote­stantes Crede. there is no Churche knowne, there is no chiefe gouernour therof, there be not. 7. sacra­ments, they do not conferre gratiam, geue grace. Baptisme is not necessary to sal­uation, Christe is not present on the aultare, there is no sacrifice, there is no preesthood, there is no altare, there is no profit in prayers to sanctes, or for the dead, there is no purgatory, Christe went not downe to hel, there is no lim­bus, finallye yf yow liste go forwarde in your negatiue faithe, there is no hell there is no heauen, there is no God. Do yow not see here a trim faith and a sub­stantiall? looke in Caluins institutions and yowe shall find the whole frame of this waasting faithe. There is nothing in that blasphemous boke, nor in their [Page] apologies, but a gathered bodie of this no faithe. For so it must needes be that teacheth no truthe, but pluckethe vppe a that truth wiche before was planted. Is it not a prety doctrine that Calui­ne makes of the sacraments, when he tellethe not the force of any of theime all, but onely standethe like a fearce monstruous swhine, rootyng vppe oure fathers faithe therin?

This negatiue faith hath no grownd nor confidence of thinges to be hoped for, nor any certayntye of suche thinges as doo not yet appeare, but it is an eui­dent ouerthrowe of all our hope, and a very canker of thexpectation of thin­ges to coom. This faith therfor of these pluckers downe, must needes vse a con­venient instrumēt to destroye, and not to builde: to plucke vp and not to plāte, to improue and not to make profe. But what way is that?Like faith like argu­ment. mary by way of nega­tiue profe, they cōfirme theire negatiue and no faith. Purgatory, say they, nor prayers for the dead be not so much as once [Page 283] named in all the scripture, ergo there is nether of theime to be beleued. Which forme of argument serued the Arians against the consubstantiall vnitye of God the father, and his son our sauiour. It helped the Anabaptistes against the baptisme of infantes, it was proffitable to Heluidius against the perpetual vir­ginitie of goddes moother: and it hel­peth all pluckers downe, but it neuer seruith a buylder. The vanity wherof is so wel knowne, that I will not stand to talke therof: namely, seeing it hathe no place in our cause, for which we ha­ue broughte diuerse scriptures, all con­strued by most learned fathers for that sense: and som so euident, that they dro­ue our aduersaries to the open deniall of the holy canonicall scripture.

But yet one of these ouerthrowers frameth (as he supposethe) his negatiue argument,Maister Grindall in his fu­nerall ser­mon. to the more sure shake of oure faithe herein, after this sorte. In the owlde lawe, all sacrificies and expia­tions bothe appointed and reakoned [Page] euen for the smaulest offensies that mā coulde committ, yet there was neuer no sacrifice for the purgation of the deade. How Lorde lyke Master Grin­dall made his Argument here? Where he shoulde plainely haue inferred the contrarye after this sorte. There was no sin so smaule vnpardoned, but there was sum sacrifice of release or expiation the­reof in the owlde lawe, ergo if any man weere bounde with sin, weere it neuer so smaule, whether he were alyue or deade, there was sum appointed purga­tion therefore. For there is no conse­quence nor any apparance of right de­duction, to inferre vpon the naming or rehersall of all sinnes, the peculiare mentioning or plaine rehersal of suche persons as may be burdened with tho­se sinnes. There were sacrificies then in the owlde law for weemen as well as men, for the Princies no lesse then for the poore, for the priest and for the people, for the dead as well for the lyue. And where there was no difference nor [Page 284] respecte of persons, in that pointe there was no peculiare mention to be ma­de, for the distiction of states. The peculiare rehersall therefore, was onely made for the diuersity of offensies, and not allwaies for the difference of per­sons. And nowe the departed in faithe being but distincted by state of lyfe, and not by bonde of sin from those that be alyue, must needes in the case of lyke sinne, for the vnitye whiche he is in, haue the lyke remedy as the lyeue hath for the same sinne.Note And therefore to help your ignorance sum thing, thus yowe must learne: that there was no peculiare sacrifice for the dead, as thou­ghe they were not of the common bo­dy with the liuinge, but they had the same sacrifice doone for theime that the liuing in this worlde in the like ca­se of sin, or pounishement for offensies, had. Do yowe not see Goddes Chur­che, Master Grindall, sacrifice for the deade?One sacrifice for the lyue and the deade. but not for theyme by a peculia­re meanes of offeringe, but the very self [Page] same oblation she euer vsethe for her Children departed, that she practisethe for her faithfull flocke a lyue. And in all other practises, there is a perfecte com­munitye of all benefites betwixte the deceased and theire bretherne remay­ning yet in this worlde. And therefore when yow seeke for sacrifice in the oul­de law, looke not for any distincte wa­ye of handeling theire offensies, which is not common with the lyuing. But consider what there was practised for the release of the smaller trespassies, and that was vsed for bothth liue and dead, withoute distinction. Marke what sacrifice was for the abating of any pain due for great offensies, and the same shal be well vnderstande, to be with owte dif­ference practised, for the liue and deade together. That therby we may by good reason conclude, seeing sacrifice was then offered for purgation of euery light offense, that it was doone for all states of persons that were ether in this lyfe, or after theire death to be perfe­ctelie [Page 285] clensed from the same. Although the facte of Iudas Machabeus be a play­ne proufe that there was a common knowne ordre of sacrifice: for elles ho­we coulde he haue conceyued any such sacrifice neuer hearde of before? howe could he lymite the valewe of procure­ment thereof, by a certaine summe for euery soule deceased? howe coulde he gather in pretence of a thinge neuer v­sed before, the peoples almose withe owte theire murmoure or motion the­rein? Why would he haue sent mony to Hierusalem to procure that whiche had no example in the lawe, or vse in the church? was he so ignorāt that he kne­we not theire ordre herein, or so vnwi­se to haue sent his monie for nothing? S. Augustine Answering an haeretike,Lib. 2. de Orig. Animae Cap. 11. that by thauthoritye of the facte of Iu­das, woulde haue prooued, that by sa­crifice men might be saued thoughe they died vnbaptized, or in deadly sin­ne, saithe vnto him: that he is not ha­ble to prooue, that Iudas or any other [Page] in the lawe, offered for his frend, or a­ny man elles being vncircuncised, no more then the Church nowe practise­the for any man not baptised. Wherby he plainely confessethe, that the lawe had a sacrifice for the deade: which, be­yng vrged by that heretike, he might haue denied withe good helpe of his cause, and answer to the aduersary: but that the contrary case was so cleare, not onely by that booke which he tooke for Canonicall scripture, as before is proued, but also by the fulle consent of all the Churche of God, which bothe by plaine practise, and most graue ordi­naunce, had from Christes time set for­the and approued the vndoubted tru­ethe therof.

The con­clusion of the vnho­le booke, vvith an admoni­tion to the reader.But here will I nowe make an ende, desiring thee (gentle reader) with suche indifferency to weighe the dooing and dealing of bothe parties, as the impor­taunce of the cause, the loue of trueth, the necessary care of thyn owē saluati­on, [Page 286] and thy duety towardes God and his Churche requireth. There is none of al those pointes, which the vnfaith­ful cōtention of our miserable age hath made doubtefull, in which thow maiste better beholde howe vprighte the wa­ies of truethe and vertue be, and howe pernicious, double, and deceitfull, the dealing of haeresy is. The one is vp­holden by the euidēt testimony of ho­ly scripture, the other mainteyneth her trayne by bowlde deniall of scriptures: the one seketh with humility the me­ning at their mouthes, whom God ha­the vndoubtedly blessed with the gifte of vnderstanding and interpretatiō, the other by singulare pride fowndethe her vnfaithfulnesse, vpon the phantasies of lighte and lewde persons, that are pufte too and fro with euery blaste of doctri­ne. The one resteth vpon the practise of al nations, the vsage of all agies, and the holy woorkes both of God and mā, thother holdethe wholy by contempte of oure elders, flatery of the present da­ies [Page] and vphappy waaste of all woorkes of vertue, religion, and deuotion: thone foloweth the gouernours and appoin­ted pastours of oure soules, whose na­mes be blessed in heauen and earthe, thother ioyneth to suche, as for other horrible haeresies and wicked lyfe, are condemned bothe a lyue and deade, of the vertuous, and can not for shame be named of theire owne scholars. The one hath the warraunt of Goddes who le Church, the other standeth on cur­se and excommunication by the grauest authority that euer was vnder God in earthe. To be shorte, trueth: is the Churchis dearlinge, haeresy must haue her mainteinaūce abrode. This one, ho­ly, Catholike, and Apostolike Chur­che is it, wherunto we owe all duety and obedience both by Goddes com­maundement, and by the bonde of ou­re first faith and profession. There is no force of argument, no probability of reason, no subtelty of wit, no depe compase of worldely wisdom, no elo­quence [Page 287] of man, nor Angell, nor any o­ther motion that can be wrought in the world, that shoulde make a man doubte of any article approued by her authority. And if thow yet feare to ge­ue ouer thy whole sense, and thyne owne sellfe to so carefull a moother, in whom thow wast begotten in thy bet­ter birthe, compare oure Churche with theires, compare her authority and the­res, her maiesty and theires.

Oures is that Church, that hath bor­ne downe hethen Princies, that hathe destroyed Idolatrie, that hath cōuerted all nations to Christes faith, that hath waded in bloude, that hath liued in welth, that hath bene assalted by hel, by euil lyfe, by haeresy, and yet she stādeth. Take a way all this, compare her con­stancy in doctrine, with theire incon­stant mutability: compare the noble army of Martyrs, the holy company of Cōfessours, the glorious trayne of so many blessed, wise, and learned Do­ctoures, of many thowsand saintes that [Page] euer accompany her maiesty: compare (I say) all these with the raskall soul diars of the contrary campe: Vbicunqu [...] fuerit corpus, Mat. 24. illic cōgregabuntur & aquila. I warraunt the, gentle reader, feare no­thing, for wher so euer so honorable a personage is, there is the kingly com­pany of egles. Beholde her grace of miracles, her workes, and her wonders, her authority in discipline, her wisdom in gouerment, her acquability in al esta­tes: and I am sure thow shallt confesse Quod dominus est in loco isto, Gene. 28. & ego nescie­bā. Our Lord suerly is in this place, and I was not aware therof. For Christes loue, if thowe hast folowed, or yet ha­ue any phantasy to the seuered compa­ny, grope with owte flatery of thy sellfe, the depthe of thyne owne con­science: feele whether God hath not suffered the to faule for som sin. Coom into this Church, and at the same time thowe shalt be healed to thy aeternal re­ioysing. Touche once the hemme of Christes garment, adore his foutstoo­le, [Page 288] cleaue vnto the alltare, and if thowe [...]nde not comfort of conscience, ease [...]f harte, and light of trueth, neuer cre­ [...]et me more. Proue once what is In [...]orto concluso, & fonte signato, in the gar­ [...]en enclosed, and the wellspring so su­ [...]ely sealed vp.Cantic. 4. Ioyne withe the sanctes [...]n heauē, with the soules in Purgatory, with the fathers of thy faithe in earthe, with al holy mē both alyue and deade. And thow shalt thinke thy self all rea­dy in heauen, to match with that hap­py and blessed felowship, owte of whi­che, there is nether light, lyfe, nor any hope of saluation.

Merueile not, that the maisters of dissension will not returne: whome, throughe pride of harte, disobedience to Goddes Church, and willfull with­standing the knowne trueth, by the he­uy hande of Goddes vnsercheable iud­gement, we see to be stricken withe blindnesse of minde, and exceding dar­kenesse of vnderstandinge. Learne to feare God betyme, that haste before [Page] thyne eyes in these forsakers, an image and a perfect platte of damnable despe­ration. Mightily hathe God executed this sentēce of iudgemēt, vpon al sortes of mē that hath withstand the trueth. The Iewes feeling it till this day, the folowers of Mahomet, the Arians, and all other haeretikes that haue forsaken the felowship of the faithfull,The lamē table case of haereti­kes. and haue left the fowntaine of lyfe, cowld neuer be reduced to the truethe, coulde neuer see theyre owne misery, bicause God hath giuen theime ouer for their with­standing. And let not the forsakers wō ­der that I shoulde compare theire case to the misery of the Iewes,August. in psal. 30, seeing S. Au­gustine confesseth, that all haeretikes be much more blinded then they, bicause the Prophets speake more plainely of the Churche, which properly all haere­tikes doo impugne, then they doo of Christe him self, whome the prowde Iewes doo contemne. And therefore let vs that be Catholikes, blesse Goddes name for euer: that he hath not taken [Page 289] his mercye from vs: that he hathe not dealte with vs according to oure sinnes. We haue offended surely, and haue de­serued this plage: our Priestes haue of­fended, our Princies haue offended, and oure People haue offended: yet for his own name sake he hath loked vpon vs, and hathe kept vs withe in the howse­hould of saluation. Glory and honoure be to his holy name for euer more.

Amen.