I Haue at the length (with much adoo,Not thin­king at the first to make any answer here vnto by what reason I was after induced vnto it. got sight of that, which (by others) before I had heard you had doone against mee. Wherein you haue so far discouered your selfe, that for a time, after that I had pērused your dooings, I thought it needles to make any further answere vnto you: partly be­cause that such a quarrell is more priuate, then that it needeth to bee imparted to others; but es­pecially, for that the matter that you bring, is so weake, as that it needeth none to cast it downe, but doth easily fall of it selfe, without any further impugning of it. But when I had further conside­red withall, howe confidently you are woont to speake on your owne behalfe, when you haue no iote of truth to beare you out; and howe readie some others are to beleeue whatsoeuer you say: in this respect I thought it best to make you answer, that so both your selfe and others also may better perceiue that oftimes you complaine without any [Page 2] cause; and that, when as you make most a doe, there is not alwaies any great matter to occasion the same. And so I must giue you to vnderstand, that although in these your dooings you deepely charge me, yet haue I giuen you so little cause so to do, as that whatsoeuer contempt and reproch you did meane to cast vpon me, and by that occa­sion vpon others also, the same is like all to bee yours, and to redound vnto your selfe the author of it: and that not onely in those things wherein you haue directed your stile against mee, and o­thers; but also in that which in this edition you haue otherwise brought vs.

Of that which he had doone against me. Of the Ti­tle of the booke, wherein he would charge me, to haue bin desirous to haue crept into the credit of it. First, by al­tering the maner of it to his best aduantage.2 Against me you haue directed your stile, first about certaine matters going before: and then a­bout certain others that appertaine to the books themselues. Concerning those things that go be­before, first you take in hand the title: & that you set downe in so cunning manner, to your best aduantage, as that although you do not in plaine speech, charge me with any thing: yet seemeth it therby that you could be content to induce your readers to thinke, that I would gladly haue crept into the credit of it, as though it had beene mine owne doing. Howbeit I did plainly set down the supposed author of it, so far as out of the booke it selfe I was able to gather: & further, then the title it selfe did lead. For wheras I did thus set it down A book of Christian exercise, appertaining to Resoluti­on, that is shewing how that we shuld resolue our selues to become Christians indeed, by R. P. & then a cer­taine [Page 3] space after that, Perused, & accompanied now with a Treatise tending to Pacification, by Ed. Bun­ny, so distinguishing the one from the other, and putting mine owne name to no more than was mine, & setting those two letters vnto the other, that I found in the end of the praeface following: you haue told your gentle Reader, that I haue gi­uen it this title, A booke of Christian exercise, &c. Perused, and accompanied with a Treatise tending to Pacification by Edm. Bunny. Wherin although you durst not be so bold, as plainly to charge me, that I would seeme to take vpon mee more than was mine: yet in couert maner you go very neere it, in suppressing those letters that I put to the former part of the title; and by setting my name in such sort in the end of the latter, as that it might seeme to haue bene set by me to them both. The seely help that you haue for your self, is in your misera­ble, &c. but plain dealing had bene much better. And that you ment to giue the occasion,Then by striking out a word that made against him. that o­thers might think that I had vsed so indirect dea­ling, another thing also doth very much boad, if it do not cleerly proue it: & that is, when you came to recite the latter part of the title, as I had set it, ther, because you saw the maner of it was such, as that it would not take it well, that you should so vse me, therfore did you therwithal cut his toong out of his head, that it might not bewray you. For whereas I had noted in the title, that nowe that book of Resolutiō, was accompanied with that o­ther Treatise of mine tending to Pacification, be­cause [Page 4] that it did plainely import, that that booke of Resolution was before, and none of mine: ther­fore you strooke out that worde Now, that others might the more easily conceiue that opinion of mee, that therein you laboured to cast vpon mee. If in truth you were persuaded, that you had such aduantage against me in those things that follow, as afterward you would seeme that you are, you might well haue spared this kind of dealing: and either you should haue set downe the whole, as I did, so to affoord me my iust defence; or else you should haue suppressed that (togither with the o­ther) which being seuered from that other, might for your sake seem to charge me with that which I did not.How hee hath altered my name, either of grosse neg­ligence, or some foo­lish my­sterie. Now, that herein you doe leaue out one of the letters of my name (and not onely here, but continually after, almost throughout your whole booke) I know not well what to say vnto it. If you haue done it of set purpose, belike you haue some mysterie in it: if it be so, then bring it foorth, and accordingly you shall heare from mee againe, if neede so require. If not, that is, if you haue no my­sterie in it, then is your negligence very apparant, that hauing it set down right vnto you, you haue so very often missed it, when you were to set it downe againe. And wheresoeuer such negligence reigneth; belike the matters are not great, that there we may looke for. But because that this matter was but of small importance, wee will bee perswaded, that you made store of your diligence heere, and would not gladly spende anie part of it [Page 5] now, that so you might haue the more in a readi­nes for that which followeth.

3 After the title you take in hand the sentence of Scripture which I did set vnder the same,Of the sen­tence of scripture. Iesus Christ yesterday, and to day, and the same for euer. Heb. 13.8. and therein you charge me two special wayes: and yet notwithstanding you leaue vnto me greater aduauntage against you therein, then you haue any against me, in any part of the whole whatsoeuer. But belike the sentence it selfe being so pregnant as it is, against the very sinewes and marrow of your profession, did at the first, euen at the verie sight thereof, so offend your eies, that af­terward you could not deale peaceably with it. First, (you say) you see not, to what purpose I should place that sentence there:What fault he findeth in mee a­bout it. you cal it a my­sterie; and you thinke it were hard for other men to coniecture, why I did it. What if you knowe not why it was done? What need that offend you? So that the sentence it selfe be good, what neede you be greeued that you finde it there? Are your gatherings or gleanings of that nature, that such a sentence may not bee allowed such place among them. But because you cannot coniecture, nor o­thers neither, as you suppose, what reason I had there to place it, I will not sticke my selfe to tell you, that which may satisfie you and those others. You must know I had to deale with that, which did not in diuers pointes agree with the truth it selfe in Iesus Christ: which when I laboured to take away, it might be notwithstanding, that I left [Page 6] some vnespied of mee. In which respect, euerie one may plainely see, that it did very fitly ap­pertaine to the purpose: both to be a defence vn­to me, for such corruptions as I tooke from it; and to be a preseruatiue withall, against such corrup­tions as remained (if any such were) shewing ther­by, that I meant not to commend or leaue any o­ther vnto them, but only Iesus Christ our Sauior. And if you had not blind-folded your selfe, be­fore you came to it, with a setled purpose, to catch at whatsoeuer you might get any holde of, your selfe no doubt must needs haue seene it: so fitlie it doth agree with the purpose that I had in hād, and the argument it selfe doth so plainely witnes the same. Then you proceede to a further mat­ter, and deale more hardly, both with mee, and the text it selfe. The text you would haue sup­posed to be, not onely in it selfe harde or obscure; but also one of those Obscure sentences or places, wherewith The holie Fathers noted the ancient he­retikes to delight themselues, and deceiue others: and then, comming to mee, that I haue to that ende brought it in; that is, to delight my selfe, & deceiue o­thers. Wherein that you may preuaile the better, in your margēt you send vs to Epiphanius & Au­gustine, & after a sort to S. Peter too, as thogh we should find the same in them. Who knoweth not, I pray you, that heretiks were wont (as plainly ap­peereth now in your selues) to vse certain senten­ces of scripture, to establish their errours withall? But what is that to this purpose? Haue you anie [Page 7] dowt of any such dealing in this? must Iesus Christ yesterday & to day, & the same for euer, be now so ob­scure, so apt to deceiue, & so ready a tricke for an here­tike? I know what you mean: and, if you durst for shame, you would speak plainlier than you do. If Iesus Christ be the only Sauior, for al the ages al­ready past, for the time present, & for the time to com, you see not well where to cog in those other deuises, & mony-doctrines that you haue of your owne. For this cause therfore needs must this also be an obscure sentence, & apt to deceiue: & to vse the same, the tricke of an heretike? But doe you thinke that Epiphanius or Augustine would sooth you herein: or that S. Peter meant of any such matter? If they would, find it, & set it down: if not, how is it then (marke whence you are falne) that you are not ashamed so fowly to wrest them.What ad­uantage therein he hath left a­gainst him­selfe. The aduan­tage that herein you haue left to me against your self, is (in comparisō) no great matter; & yet such as I saide: & such as it is, needs must you heare of it, because you are so ready to catch at others. It re­steth therfore in these 2. points: one, that you do the sentence some wrong, to set it down so negli­gently & cōfusedly as you do, not distinguishing the members thereof by orderly pointing, as you had it of me, & as it is (witnes your selues) in the text it self;How indi­stinctly (& therfore il­fauoredly) he setteth down that text of scripture. the other, that twise togither you do so resolutely ascribe it to S. Paul. Touching the first it may be but the ouersight of you or your prin­ter: howbeit, both of you ought to haue vsed more diligēce in it. The sentēce is to good purpose, it is [Page 8] weightie, and of great importance: you ought to haue seene better vnto it; both he for his part, and you for yours. But I doubt very much, that your Printer hath doone, but as you your selfe set it downe vnto him: and that you haue doone it of purpose, nothing at all regarding how confusedly, nor how ill-fauoredly you serue vs with the word of God. But we will not so take it at your handes. With ill will you are brought at length to haue some dealing with the written worde of God: and very shame hath woon at your hands, not so far to abandon your selues from the scriptures, as other­wise full gladly you would. And nowe that you must for shame doe somewhat, you would gladly do it as ill-fauouredly as you might, that so wee might find, neither life, nor comfort, nor sense therin. But you shall not so abuse the word of life: you shall not shrinke from it, and yet you shall not sliue it neither. Whereunto if we may be so bolde as to adde, that your selfe is one of these Iesuite-friers (that late ofspring of that ruinous Popedom) as that R. P. that is thought to bee the authour of this booke, is said to be: you haue done well, so to let the world vnderstand (and you may do well to marke it your selfe) what ill accord there is, be­twixt Iesus and Iesuites whensoeuer they meete. You had no sooner espied him to be in place, but by and by your stomake rose against him: and some way or other must you needes shewe your gall, there was no remedie. As touching the latter of them, I denie not, but that it is the iudgement [Page 9] of diuers of the ancient fathers,How reso­lutely hee setteth down, that which the fathers be­fore, nor the learned now, could so fully a­gree on. that it might bee the Apostle Saint Paul that wrote it; and, of some that it was: and so likewise of the writers nowe. But yet you cannot bee ignorant withall, that the matter was then in question among them: & yet is, with the learned now. What ground therefore can you haue to affirme so resolutely, that which the fathers of olde, and the learned now, haue not yet so throughly decided? If you alledge the de­termination of the church of Rome, we hold it for nothing in these matters now: since the time that you are departed away from the faith, in so manie things as you are: and haue banded your selues against the Lord, and his annointed. And if needs you will looke to be allowed this libertie, that you may so determine vpon it, as you thinke good, you had need first to see how those reasons may be an­swered, that are to the contrarie: rather than so seruilely to cleaue to the bare iudgement of those, that set it downe as themselues list (I speake it but of your owne companions nowe) without regar­ding vnto what side the strongest reasons incline. Seeing that we do all agree, that it is Apostolical, and the vndoubted word of God, it can be no de­rogatiue vnto it, soberly to harken further of him that wrote it, neither yet to doubt in such a point of an opinion but so farre receiued, so long as wee see not the reasons cleared, that are to the contrarie. But it may be you wil thinke, that these things are so small in themselues, that the aduan­tage, that therein you haue left vnto mee, was not [Page 10] to be regarded, nor so to be laide to your charge. Whether it be litle or great, it forceth not now: but this may I plainely set downe vnto you, that the lesser of them both is of that importance, that therein (as I said) you haue giuen greater cause or iust reproofe; than I did to you, or any other, not onely for setting downe the sentence it selfe in such sort as I did, but also in all the rest that fol­loweth. When you were so readie to reproue an­other vpon your owne surmise, without any suffi­cient ground for your perswasion therein: you should haue taken such heed to your selfe, as that wherein you condemned another, your selfe were not found more faultie than he.

His idle ca­ueling a­bout the first page, a sufficient pattern of all the rest.4 Being come thus far, your conclusion is, And this for the first Page. Yea verily: your dealing a­bout my first Page onely, may bee sufficient to teach vs all, how ready you are to pick som quar­rel or other; & what indifferencie or plain dealing we may looke for at your hands, in al the rest. And I will assure the Reader, togither with you, that such as this your beginning is, such & none other is that which followeth: in the one you haue gi­uen a tast of the other. For such occasiō as I gaue you (in the disposing of the title, & in prefixing the sentence aforesaid) so to inueigh against me as you do, such haue I giuē you in that which follo­weth: & as you deal in these things against me, as if there were a fault cōmitted, when as notwith­standing you haue found none, & do not, nor can not lay any to my charge, euē so do you in the rest [Page 11] likewise, as (I trust) the indifferent Reader shall soon perceiue. And so you haue done very well, so distinctly to point your finger as you doe, to this your woorthy handling of those matters that you met withall in the first page: & I am content, if so you wil haue it, that it shall stand for a right pat­tern of al the rest. Be it now whatsoeuer it can be: such as this is, such is the other; & any man that will, may in this beginning, see the whole course that you do hold vntill the ending.

5 Which that your self may better declare,A friuolous slander of the keies & crown, vpō the Arch­bishop of Yorke his Armes. as you haue ended with this your first page: so haue you a fresh begū with the next. For there, by pla­cing the arms of the church of York, & the Arch­bishop (that now is) togither, you readily infer (a conclusion no doubt, that followeth on the pre­misses, passing wel) that it is with vs Good doctrine now, & very commendable in my L. g. of York. to claim both keies & crown from Peters seat, which in the bi­shop of Rome, is made so hainous, & so bitterly inueied against daily. But do you in good sadnes beleeue, that now we haue any doctrine of such matters: or if we had, that we account the same to be good? or haue you the face to make this comparison be­twixt the churches of Yorke & Rome: as though it were none other claiming of the keies and crowne from Peters seat, which in the B. of Rome, is (as plea­seth you to terme it) made so hainous &c. but onely such, as by setting down the armes of the church of York, is challenged to the Archbishop there? If you be but in iest, the matter may be more easilie [Page 12] borne: if you bee in earnest, it is too grosse and too plaine an vntruth, for any to oppose them­selues against it. Your owne fellowes will take so ill with it, that your vnshamefastnes neede not to be chastised of any other.As good title there­unto, onely by coupling their armes togither, as they haue any by the word of God. But seing that you haue set the comparison, I will not sticke to put you in mind of one speciall point thereto appertaining. You know how your Bishop of Rome hath clay­med both the keies and the crowne; and that you suppose the same to stand, by very good warrant from the worde of God: on the other side, you know how little the Archbishop of Yorke hath claimed the matters you speake of (the one of them nothing at all; nor the other neither in such sort as you meane) and that your selfe can bee in no wise induced to thinke, that onely by the mar­shaling or setting downe the armes of the church and his togither, hee may iustly make any claime vnto them. And yet are not you able to finde in the holy Scriptures, any one place whatsoeuer, whereon you may better ground that vsurpation of your Bishop of Rome, as peculiar to that Sea of his (the Crowne at all, or the Keies either out of his dioces:) than any bodie els may be able to prooue, that by this title onely, that is, by setting downe of their armes togither, the Archbishop of Yorke may take vppon him those thinges that you talke of. Insomuch that as that can neuer bee prooued, nor hath so much as shew of reason, not anie peece of ground-worke at all: no more hath that of yours in the word of God; howsoeuer that [Page 13] hitherto you haue otherwise borne the world in hand. And, whereas it appeereth in this your new booke,His printers Alphabet: fit for the matter hee hath in hand. that the first letter of the Alphabet that your Printer hath vsed in the printing thereof (I meane for the capitall, or greater letters) is euer deckt with a couple of deuils, shaking out their tailes, and laying their handes on the first letter of those your labours (as appeereth in al those chap­ters that begin with the first letter of the Alpha­bet (six or seuen in all) it shall bee as easie a matter to prooue, that your whole Booke (whatsoeuer thereof is yours) is of the deuill, only because that by your Printers good meanes in the first letter of your Alphabet they doe so often and so readily meet togither to confer on the matter, or else to confirme it, by such imposing of handes, as there they vse, as for you to proue, that, by ioining those arms togither (which is all out of which you haue made that large conclusiō) it is with vs good Doc­trine now, and very commendable in my Lords grace of Yorke, to claime both keies and crowne from Peters seat. The common prouerbe is, that it is but an ill procession, wherein the deuill beareth the crosse: and that would not sticke (as weake as it is) to yeeld a stronger proofe for the one, than is any that you haue for the other.

6 Then comming to my Epistle Dedicatorie,Vpon the Epistle De­dicatorie he associa­teth him­selfe to an there much plainlier you shew forth your selfe in your right and proper colours. And yet in this place I wil say nothing of your so base and home­ly gibing: much lesse of your altering and leauing [Page 14] out, in that which you alledge out of mee; seeing the matters are not of any great importance. But the matter that I charge you withall, is, that there you shew your selfe to be so impudently giuen to reproch, euen such a one also, who in manie good respectes you ought to reuerence (your selfe can easily know whom I meane) that first you seeme cleane to forget how wicked an ymp he was, that did but discouer that great ouersight of his father Noah, & made report thereof to his brethren; and did not seeke himselfe rather in silence and reue­rence to make it vp, before it had beene further knowne: and what a iudgement it pleased God thereupon to thunder foorth against him by the mouth of his father, & against his posteritie also. There was (not far off) a better example in both his brethren for you to haue followed, if you had the grace to haue takē the same: & so much strō ­ger against you, as in this you knowe there was a fault indeed, & in the other you settle your selfe but in the weake report of others, & in your own naughtie surmise. But you make no great recko­ning to say the worst you can of any of vs: our Bi­shops are no Noahs to you; & therfore that exam­ple of Cham crosseth you not. Put case it do not: yet was ther no help with you, but that needs you must ioine your selfe to such a company in so bad an action as that? When (by all likelyhood) you could not bee ignorant, how that same vpon the hearing was found to be a wicked practise, & that by the highest court that we haue, & the parties [Page 15] condemned for it (who afterward also, for the most & chiefest of them, did themselues confes it) was your desire of reproching so great, that yet not­withstāding you must take in hand so bad a mat­ter, & sort your self to such a condemned compa­ny as those? But belike you were loth there shuld be any so bad a matter among vs, and you not to haue a hand in it also: & could not find the worst of thē al so base a people, but that, in such an actiō as that, they were company good inough for your selfe. Howbeit, howsoeuer you can be perswaded of them that in such case they we [...] meet compa­ny for you: yet is it on their partes likely inough that, if they had suspected such an one as you to haue bene so ready to ioine with them, euen that only would haue made the meanest of thē to haue misliked their owne dooings so much the rather. And then had it been good, that you had bin one at the first, that so all the rest might haue bin stai­ed thereby. Yet this one thing I can easily graunt you, that you thought your selfe no babe in this, that beeing disposed so to reproch, you chose out such an one, of whom you might be assured, that, after his cause so well debated, & sentence giuen with him in so high a Court as that, he would lit­tle esteme of the misreport of such fellows as you. But I pray you Sir,The great lewdnes of his own fel­lowes in that kind. could you so farre forget your selues, that you had so much leysure, as to quar­tell at this? With how great vncleannes you are charged on all hands, and long haue been, & how weakely it is answered by the best of you all, is [Page 16] a matter more cleere, than that I need so much as to point the finger vnto it. And in so great, so vn­naturall, & so monstrous iniquitie of yours, could you so soone let passe the beame of your own eie, for to picke out the mote of an others? What say you then, as to many other charges of the like ef­fect, so specially vnto the Treatise of that holy Po­ligamie of yours? Whether is it but smal vnclean­nes that the same discouereth among you? But let old things passe, that you haue before beene char­ged withall: & it also, togither with them, because it treateth of the other parts of Christendome al­so. And because that of a discontented Romish English-man, you are become, as is said, a French­man now, to goe no further than your owne cler­gie there, what say you to that latter collection in Le Cabinet du Roy de France:Le Cabi­net du Roy de France. set foorth but six or seuen yeeres since, and dedicated vnto the king himselfe, where you haue gathered vnto your hands, a note of a strange and wonderfull compa­nie of wiues, yoong women, and others also, abu­sed by the Popish clergie there; such for number, as some man would scantly thinke at the first, would be ouermatched at Doomes-day it selfe? If the vncleannes of that sin had annoied you, there had you a monstrous dunghil of it: if the neernes of it were that which troubled you, there you had it euen at your nose. The number of wiues, that at that time were found (or at least, noted) to bee cor­rupted by you, throughout al the twelue Archbi­shopriks of France, amoūt to the number of eight [Page 17] hundred and fiftie thousand, threescore & eleuen, and threescore and two thousand, and two hun­dred. Of these, where they had fewest, which was in the Archbishoprike of Vienne, and of yoong women, one thousand-thousand, fourescore and one thousand, eight hundred and foure; & where they had least of this kinde, which was in the Archbishoprike of Vienne also, yet not with stan­ding no fewer, that threescore and eight thousand and nine hundred. And yet besides these, you are noted to haue abused fortie and two thousand, six hundred, fourescore and three others, in Sodomi­trie also: and where you abused fewest of al in this kinde, which for this matter was the Archbishop­rike of Burdeaux, yet there you are saide to haue abused no fewer than one thousand and two hun­dred. Besides all which, the purueiors of this their harlotrie, or such as they vsed to bring in this game to their hands, such as we call no better than bawdes, (and so consequently, fowlie also corrup­ted by them, though not in their bodies, yet in their soules) were no lesse than one hundred and threescore thousand, eight hundred, twentie and nine: and the bastardes, and bastards bastards, of this holie Clergie (witnesses inow of their vnclea­nes) seuen hundred, threescore and fifteene thou­sand, one hundred thirtie and eight persons. A­gaine, whereas the Clergie of the Archbishoprike of Vienne had the fewest faultes discouered (for the two former) and the Clergie of Burdeaux, for the other: yet, that neither you, nor any other [Page 18] of their fellowes besides, thinke much with them for comming so farre short of the rest, if it please you to consider the number of themselues, and of those whom they corrupted, and to lay them to­gither, you may easily finde, that they were no Saints neither but in this point like to the rest for the number of them. For wheras themselues (togi­ther with their officers and seruants) were no mo but fiftie and fiue thousand, & on the otherside, the wiues that they polluted, threescore and two thousand, & two hundred; the yong women, thre­score and eight thousand, and nine hundred; their male kind also, one thousand and six hundred: in doth so fal out, that they polluted mo than them selues, by seuen thousand & two hundred maried wiues, & thirtene thousand & nine hundred yong women, & al that thousand & six hundred males besides. So that, though you leaue to euery one of their officers & seruants, one (making thē in num­ber but as two partes of three, in respect of their maisters themselues:) yet you leaue two a piece to themselues, and an ouerplus of foure thousand three hundred and on, either to take as a further bootie to themselues; or, if you thinke good, to be bestowed on such of their officers as they would haue the likest to them. Wherunto if we ad their purueiors (or bawds) which were twelue thousād, & were not only by them corrupted, but also very able men likewise for to witnes this vncleannes of theirs, then also the bastards, & bastards bastardes of this holy Prouince, which were fiftie and seuen [Page 19] thousand & foure hundred: there may you finde witnesses inow (fourtene thousand & foure hun­dred mo than themselues, maister, officer, seruant, & al) to witnes this vncleanes against them. The like might be said of the clergie of Burdeux also: but that one onely example may be sufficient to giue you some reasonable tast of the rest. And as for your bishops (which, a man would think shuld herein be freest of al) although themselues be as it is said (Archbishops, & al) vnder an hundred: yet those also (euen thēselues alone, without the help of others for them: see what reuerend fathers you haue that come masking here) haue polluted 468 married wiues, & 900 single women (& haue a­mong them 540 bastards) & yet notwithstanding haue abused in Sodomitrie, 124 others besides.Aboue half a score a peece (one with ano­ther) had in bodily a­buse by these holy fathers. When the heades of your clergie are such, I pray you, what may a reasonable man think of the rest? What further he saith of that matter, I refer vnto your own perusing of it. Yet thus much by him doth plainly appeere, that this vncleanes is gene­rally spred ouer you al: & that your whole popish clergie is not onely infected, but fowly polluted with it. But these things belike were but triflles with you at home: & that other blunder with vs, a great matter abroad. But by your patience, fie on that forced virginitie of yours: most abhominably it stinketh before God & the world. But of this i­nough: & more than needed, but that needes you must be in these matters so prying abroad, and so blind at home.A wilfull ouersight. That in this place you cōceiue that [Page 20] my Epistle Dedicatorie treateth of mortification, and contempt of the world (which notwithstanding it doth but briefly touch in the ende of it onely; and that but by occasion also) and whereas shortly after you doe wrest my wordes to your owne pur­pose, otherwise than I did meane them, if in sim­plicitie you haue doone it, then because the mat­ters are not great, I will not trouble your conceite therein. Neuertheles if you missed so far of the ar­gument of the one, and sense of the other, for the hast that you made to come the sooner vnto your vaine of reproching: though the matters them­selus be not great, yet therin you deserue som iust reproofe. But it seemeth rather, that of purpose you would so take them, so to make you a readier way to that, which you were desirous thereon to set downe. And then, the more impudently that you were giuen to ioine with so bad a company in so naughtie a matter, the more dooth it argue the fault to raigne in you, and the deepelier you haue offended therein. But if I therein treated of mortification, and contempt of the world, then must you either seperate these things from that deuoti­on, pietie, and contemplation, that after you speake of, or else must you call backe (as well you may, for the number of them) some part of those lauishing speeches that there you vse, or otherwise bee con­trarie to your selfe in this. But the lesse that I directed mine Epistle vnto that ende: the meeter it is, that for my part I take not this aduauntage of you.

[Page 21]7 My Praeface to the Reader is the next that commeth vnder your censure:Of the pre­face. and how welcome that is vnto you, it appeareth by the harde enter­tainment that with you it findeth. For heere you shew your selfe to bee much offended, not onelie with me, but with others also. And the cause why you finde your selfe so greeued, is, for that I saide that the Booke of Resolution seemed to me,Of the foū ­tains whēce the booke was taken. to be gathered out of certaine of the Schoole-men (as they are tearmed) that liuing in the corrupter time of the Church did most of all by that occasion treat of refor­mation of life: when as others (of them) were rather occupied about the controuersies that were most in question among them. But what is there here, that so much offendeth? Forsooth that thereby I ende­uored (as you do charge mee) to make the booke more contemptible in the iudgement of others: & that so I might the rather get it vnder my lear­ned censure, to vse at my pleasure. But that I meant not to make it contemptible, may sufficiently ap­peer, both by the report that I gaue it (better than your selfe before deserued, but much lesse now) & by the paines that I tooke about it, to cleanse it from that corruption of yours, wherewith it could not haue come abroad, and which was a blemish to the booke it self, though you cannot see it. Nei­ther should you (especially taking it so much to your selfe as now you do) haue thought that book so far abased, by imputing a good part of it to anie of those whom there I spake of; as also you could not doe it, without a great ouer-weening of your [Page 22] selfe, nor without ouer-much abasing of those. And wheras you tell vs of certaine fathers, out of whose homilies, sermons, commentaries, and other works, the booke was taken (in which man or you might haue attributed some parte thereof to the Scriptures also, but that you glorie much lesse in thē, than in the others, that so your glorie may re­doūd more iustly to your shame) it is nothing at al to the purpose that so you alledge. For thogh the matter therein contained, were first deriued from the Scriptures, and Fathers originally: yet not withstanding that hindereth not, but that it may well be taken out of the monuments and workes of those that wrote long after them, & gathered such matter somewhat neerer togither. Now, as for your selfe, although it may bee that I doo not know you, yet by the light that now you haue gi­uen vs, of the profoundnes that is in you; and if you bee the partie that most commonly is named vnto it, you are (I warrant you) as likely as o­thers to make your choyse rather, where you may haue it neerer gathered togither, then at large in the Scriptures and Fathers themselues. That heerein you charge mee so deepely with ig­norance, and that my studie is lesse than nothing at all in those your Schoolemen, the matter is not great, if therein I suffer you to take your pleasure of mee: and, when you haue made mee as vnlearned in them, as shall like your selfe best, or best may serue to aduance you, it may bee, that I my selfe could wel be contented to spare some­what [Page 23] of that also that you would leaue mee; and yet notwithstanding, am not so little acquainted with them neither, that anie thing I feare your learning in them, or in any others. And (God be thanked) there is much good learning to be had, though a man doo neuer come neere those that you speake of as also there was long before them. But I pray you good Sir, are you able to alledge anie one of them all, from whome a good part of that booke may not bee deriued: either among those that dealt in the controuersies, if you re­spect your pointes or doctrine; or among the o­thers, if you respect the rules of life and conuer­sation? Or to go no further than your selfe hath occasioned, may we thinke that you are perswa­ded indeed, that this booke (which nowe you cal yours) standeth so cleere in all your parables, vn­derstanding of Scriptures, application of them, your diuisions also, and manner of speech, from that sort of Schoolemen that before I spake of, or you nowe speake of, that whosoeuer should con­ceiue that in som good part it descended of them, he must needs be so ignorant in them, as that he knoweth not so much as the verie subiect and argu­ment that they handle, as it pleaseth you, in the depth of that learning of yours to charge mee? Could you warrant mee thus much, that it were as woorthy the labour, as it were possible inough to doo it, it were no hard matter soone to shewe, that a great part of it might well haue beene ta­ken, not onely out of those that before I noted, [Page 24] but, as you had dressed it in such colours as you thought good to bestow vppon it, euen out of those that you also haue named vnto me. When as in the first lines of al (after your title and sentenced that you set vs down, you cannot be content to be our resoluing to serue God, beginning aright, and per­seuering therein to be our dutie, and an acceptable seruice to him,Pag. 2, 3. but needes you will teach vs forth seeke saluation thereby, not by the righteousnes of Christ, but by our owne, when you tell vs, that our forefathers receiued the ground of faith peaceably, and 3 without quarrelling (not from the holy scriptures, or frō their father) but from their mother the Church when as so barely you set vs down the example of Cornelius, as though you would make vs beleeue that hee had works, or a vertuous life acceptable to 4God, before that euer hee had any faith: when as you call it Scripture indifferently, as well what you finde in those bookes that are Apochrypha, as in 5those that are Canonicall: when you tell vs, that 6wilfulnes in Popery, is suffering for righteousnes: when as so odly you take occasion to let vs vnder­stand, whence or from whō we haue those things deliuered vnto vs, that wee are to beleeue, and then make no mētion at all of the word of God, neither of the prophets, nor of the Apostles, neither of the old Testament, nor of the new, nor so much as of 6.7Christ himselfe; but only of the Catholike Church: 7when faith and knowledge are with you, masters of so light importance, in respect of life and monkes: when to this end you tell vs againe, that Christ [...] [Page 25] the Apostles spake much more of thinges to bee doone, than of things to bee knowne: of good liuing, then of right vnderstanding: that few are damned for lucke of knowledge, which commonly all men baptised haue sufficient (except in time of heresies) but many thou­sands for ill life daily, that the parts in man which ap­pertaine to vnderstanding and knowledge, were not so hurt by the fal of Adam as the parts appertaining to action: to know much (of those thinges that apper­taine to Religion, and the seruice of God: for o­therwise you wander from the matter you spake of before) is a pleasure, but to do much is a paine: and 8 that the Scriptures and the ancient holy fathers haue made great and long discourses, ample volumes, and many bookes, about this second part of Christian Di­uinitie, which consisteth in action, but (if wee supply the other part of your meaning heere, out of the former place, wherunto your selfe do refer vs as) haue written little to speake of in comparison of the other, of that which belongeth to faith and knowledge: when talking likewise of the reaping of 9 glorie in the life to come, you come in so odly with this correction; if it bee our good hap to come to it: when comming to the ioy that Angels haue in14 the conuersion of a sinner, you put in a parenthe­sis of your owne that they will not cease to pray for 17 vs while we are reading: when as comming to the storm of Isaaks going foorth to meditate or pray, (what time as Rebecca was comming home vnto him) you do not hold your selfe contented with so much as the Scripture, setteth downe, that at that [Page 26] time so he did, but must needs stretch it further, alledging that place to shew, that he was went al­so to do it: when you so specially tell vs of mortall 19 sin, as though that some other sinnes there were, which in the iudgements of God deserued not the curse of the law:25, 32, 34. 35, 37. when as you so often and so so plainely set downe, that to this end we are sent into this world, to serue God in this life; and, by that (our) seruice, to gaine euerlasting glorie in the life to come, and euer teach vs to gaine heauen by our works, throughout your whole third chapter (and yet but cogd in by your selfe, as the place it selfe bewrayeth,25, 33. as before I noted) when you restraine the time of our redemption vnto the time of Christs death and passion (or rather, as you mean, vnto the time of his harrowing of hell) as though that none (by the vertue of his passion following) were redeemed before: when as you tell vs of the 35foolish Virgins, that they were innocent from sin, and yet shut out, because they lacked but the oyle of 39 good works: when in good sadnes you will seem to make wearing of haire cloth, lying on the ground, & beating of the bodie, to be so necessarie and so forci­ble helpes against sinne, cleane for getting in the meane season, that faithfully to do the woorke of our vocation (euerie one no more but as hee is called) is of such power to bring downe the bo­die against sinne, as that we neede neither those, nor anie such other friuolous meanes, that are not commaunded in the woorde of GOD; but may well passe them ouer, eyther to bee talked [Page 27] of, of such as you are that are farthest from them, or to bee vsed of those that liue idlely, and are not occupyed in their calling: when as you do so boldly sort into the number of such almes-deedes, 41 as are by the worde of God approoued, the set­ting vp of Chaunteries, and of such Abbyes, Nunries; Priories; Hermitages, and such like, as wee had of late amongst vs; when besides you tell vs, or at least insinuate, and would faine haue vs beleeue, that those our late cloisterers and chaunterie priests, were so holie a people, that they left the world. and betooke themselues onely to the contemplation of heauenly thinges; and in this case make no quaestion, Ib. but that when those fore­fathers of ours plucked those thinges from their children and posteritie; and bestowed them on be­cause of their owne soules, yet were they deedes of charitie notwithstanding: when as thereuponIb. you complaine; that now adayes men doo not bestow their goodes to the ease of their soules in the life to come: when as you teach vs to purchase the prayers of others, that by their intercession wee may 42 enioy life euerlasting: when as in so fewe pages (for you see that I haue not chosen them out, but onely taken them as they lie togither) you come in with so much such trumperie as this, and somewhat more than I haue alledged, and holde on that course throughout your whole booke (& euer lightly the farther the worse, so oft as you can find any opportunity, so to smite your [...]er rules of godlines with that infectiō in you) [Page 28] can you haue the face to beare vs in hande, that these things can in no wise descend of thē, whose fauour and speech wee knowe well inough, and whome wee see so fully resembled in this pedlary ware that you haue brought vs? But if you were indeed perswaded, at least if you did certainly knowe (as you would beare vs in hande that you did) that there is no reason why it might bee pro­bably thought, that a good report of it might ve­ry well descend from those Schoolemen, that be­fore I spake of it, what then is the cause, that (ha­uing so cleere aduantage therein) here againe you flee so fast to those accustomed shiftes of yours?. How commeth it to passe, that in no wise you wil vnderstand of whome I speake, and whome mine owne wordes do plainely describe? Or what need had you both to alter my very words: & to change the pointing of them to your aduantage. As tou­ching the former, you know well inough, that di­uiding the ages that haue beene before from the Apostles time to this age of ours, into a couple of principall parts, the Diuines that wrote in the former ages, are generally called the Doctors, or Fathers: and the others that wrote in the times that were since (and yet before this age of ours) are generally called Schoolemen like wife; as those also that haue written since in this our age, the late or newe writers. But whereas, although that name be generally giuen to al the writers of those latter ages (as your selfe dooth know, and can giue them none other, liue that so you could haue had [Page 29] no cause to cauill) yet, because that it is more pro­perly giuen to certaine of them, therefore did I in plaine words so distinguish: first, shewing which sort of them I meant (whom you also do know, & may not denie, to treat very often and much of such matters, and those not a few of them neither) and then sheading out the other sorte of them a­part by themselues, those that were occupied about the controuersies that were most in question among them, which also you know, was not ouer straight a limitation for that sorte, considering the great controuersies, that were in those ages with most of them. How is it therefore, that this beeing so won­ted a thing as it is (and the matter it selfe so plain) and my wordes directly leading from those, that you would haue mee to vnderstand, and plainely pointing vnto others (whome you set by) both by the limitation of these words, certaine of them, and, as they are tearmed (which you strooke out) and by further description also: yet notwithstanding, euen thereupon onely you doe so deepely charge me with ignorance, not or any thing that my self had said, but onely for that which it pleaseth your fatherhood to father vpon mee? As touching the latter, of altering my woordes,He altereth my words, & changeth the poin­ting, to make them square bet­ter to his purpose. and chaunging the pointing or distinguishing of them to make them square better to your purpose, lay but my wordes againe before you, and compare them with these of yours, and soone shall you finde so much as I speake of. For whereas I said, that it seemed to be most of all gathered out of those that I noted, and [Page 30] afterward againe me thought we had in the booke it selfe, that which might lead vs to this coniec­ture: you haue put in, that I well perceiued &c. & wheras I did not affirme so much neither, so abso­lutely of the whole (although for the most of it; very wel I might) but limited the same by two se­ueral speeches (first, that it was most of all gathered &c; and then afterward againe, especially for the in­uention of it:) you perceiuing that these limitation made the matter to come somwhat short, to giue so iust occasiō of quarrell as you would haue had, strike them both forth, & make me to pronounce it absolutely of the whole, making me to say, that I well perceiued that this booke was gathered; &c: So likewise for the pointing, whereas my saying was, that it seemed most of al to bee gathered out of certaine of the schoolmen (as they are tearmed) that liuing in the corrupter time of the church, did most of al by that occasion treat of reformation of life, &c; you part this sentence, which I made entire & one in it selfe, into two members, the one, that it was ga­thered out of schoolemen; the other, that they li­ued in the corrupter time of the church. Which, although you doo but with a semi-colon (which notwithstanding was too much by 2 degrees, be­cause there should haue bene there no distinction at all:) yet by better consideration of your maner of pointing in diuers places (vnlesse the printer hath failed therein) it seemeth that you meant to put the whole power of a colon or midle distinc­tion; & then was your fault so much the greater. [Page 31] For a rich man (they say) it is a shame to be a thief. If therefore you had such aduantage against mee, what need you then so cleane to leaue out, that which made against you: and to alter and force that which remained, so much as you doo? If you had not that aduauntage against mee, by anie thing that my selfe had set downe, till you should haue holpen it, and framed it better to your pur­pose, were you yet so desirous to reproch, that rather you would breake through vnto it by so hard conditions, than let it alone vntill you were iustly occasioned thereto? If this be your maner, howsoeuer we need to care but litle for your pen: yet I see verie well, we must needes looke to your fingers.

8 In this place you doo not content your selfe thus to haue drawne your hand on mee alone:Of the want of learning that he in his vanitie doth charge vs withall. but needes must you ride on others also. And first you labour (vppon your griefe conceyued a­gainst mee, and supposing mee to bee my Lord Archbishops chaplaine) to load manie of vs to­gither with the reproch of ignorance: setting it downe in plaine speech, that much learning is not required to the dignitie of beeing an Archbishops chaplaine. Concerning which matter, there is no great need to make you answer. We are not now to vie our learning: God make vs learned vnto saluation. He hath learning inough, that knoweth Christ, and rightly doth vse the learning he hath. If you haue gotten so much more than your fellowes, that you can charge so manie with [Page 32] ignorance, first, wee would haue you to giue the glorie to God: and then, comming home to your selfe againe, to take good heed that you carefully keepe within the boundes of sobrietie and mode­stie, notwithstanding all that learning of yours. This being done, then doe we thinke that it were very meet that you brought it foorth, to the helpe of vs and others that want: that as heretofore we haue heard of this your learning (of your owne mouth) more than once or twise, as we take it; so at the length we might see it also, and find wherin wee might iustly account our selues behind you. Would you once do that, you should not need, so oft by wordes to put downe vs, and aduance your selfe? We would then giue you the place, without any more busines; you should enioy it without contradiction. Thus much also wee would wish you to remember withall, that Sathan the old eni­mie of mankind, who first vsed the serpent for his wilines to deceiue the woman, to this day also ve­rie much delighteth to make his choise of such serpentine heads, that so he may the beter beguile the people of God. But I pray you Sir, are you (in good sadnes perswaded indeed, that our Bishops chaplaines are so farre inferiour in learning vnto you, and your fellowes? Then I on the other side wold wish you not to rippe ouer far in that mat­ter, least you find it to fall out in the end, that [...] but Bishops chaplaines with vs, are more learned than Bishops themselues with you. But to goe no higher than to your selues, what books or writings [Page 33] what disputations, or other exercises of learning whatsoeuer, in diuinitie, in humanitie, in the tongs or in historie (or whatsoeuer els you can deuise) are you able to shew, wherin there was found anie want in vs, or anie better store in you? Or which of the Artes, or what good learning is better ad­uaunced, or plainlier taught by those that are of your profession, than it is by those that are of ours? On the other side you cannot denie, but that both you lay wallowing in verie grosse ignorance, till you were quickened vp by vs; and that in many things we haue made you giue ground alreadie: as also it is not vnlike, but that, if you would haue stood vnto it, long ere this you had beene cleane chased out of the field of al good learning.How the aduersaries euer haue shunned, & yet doe, the triall of learning. Which of you al (now thinke of the best: you must with­drawe your eies from your selfe, and from such o­thers as you are) was euer able in learning to stand vnto the cause you had in hand. Supposing at the first, that the Scriptures would haue serued your name, were yee not faine to abandon them, and to flee for helpe to the Fathers? And when thence also you were beaten out, were you not fain to run to the Church, and there to entrench your selues in this, that the Church can neuer erre? As nowe likewise, when you see, that in that also you can­not be safe, nor able to stand against the forces that come against you, your onely helpe and last re­fuge is, the perswasion of your owne conscience, that so you haue beene taught, such is your con­science, and so you beleeue. And yet I denie not, [Page 34] but that sometimes you come foorth with some floorish or shewe of learning: but yet to no pur­pose, because that all such furniture of yours, is but as a band of scattered men, oftē foiled & van­quished already, & such as now wil abide or stand no longer togither, but only till the enimie come. When the captaine, being hardly followed on by the enimie retireth his souldiers within their trē ­ches, or to any other strength or place of defen [...]e, is it not a token, that himself & his company is e­uer weake to keep the field: yea, though himselfe and his soldiors too, should vaune neuer so much that they could? To come vnto your selues, it is your manner now-adayes to talke much of lear­ning to aduance your selues aboue the moone, to make others as grashoppers in your sight and yet notwithstanding what one controuersie is there (of anie importance) wherein you will standeth the triall of learning: what other thing doo you with all your confederates, but onely retire them to their trenches? What other learning is it that you teach them whereby to defend themselues in those causes, but onely that so they are perswa­ded and that their conscience already is setled, & may not be mooued? Had you any helpe at all in learning would you not teach it those your adhe­rents? Nay would it not [...]ene as fast among you, from one to another, as other things are woont to doo that make for your purpose? Or are you so readie to helpe one another in other matters of lesse importance, and could you bee so forgetfull [Page 35] or so careles in this? No, no: there is another mat­ter in it. You haue therin a priuie maime: it is not in you, & that is the cause that you do it not. Goe talke of our learning among the ignorant; and of the goodnes of your cause, to those that beleeue all that you say: we knowe well inough, that your cause is naught & that you haue no learning at al that can defend it. What faire offers haue often bene made you, your selues do know, & cānot de­nie, if you would: how weakly you haue behaued your selues in answering of them, though you can not find in your harts to acknowledge, and make your frends beleue you do not see it; yet others do see it, and glorifie God, that now the nakednes of that strumpet of yours is so discouered, that al mē may see that she was nought els, for all her glitte­ring wherwith she hath now so long deceiued vs, but onely an arrant harlot, most odious to God, a [...]etestation to the godly, & yet notwithstanding,Hee is so wearie of being so roundly handled in matters of controuer­sies, that now hee braggeth vs with an o­ther argu­ment, to till vs aside frō dealing any longer in this. (& that in the iust iudgements of God) a snare to you. For it was meet that her illusiō shuld be strōg vpon you, that hardened your harts against the gratious calling of God, & could neuer yet to this day be induced to receiue the loue of the truth.

Hauing so spoiled so many of vs at once, of al our learning belike you are in som need your self, when you scamble so harde with those for it, that haue so litle by your own confessiō) then you put with full sailes & a trim gale of winde, into an o­ther fancie of yours, as mad as this that is gone be­fore; and supposing it to be an hauen, where you [Page 36] might well and safely harbour, needes would yor arriue, and come on shore, but it is but a sand-bed, you are deceiued: it holdeth you of; and will not suffer you there to land. For now with one breath (but it is but a vaine blast) you do both vtterly de­priue all vs, of abilitie and power to make anie books or treatises of deuotion, pietie, and contempla­tion; and challenge that to be a feat belonging to your selues, yea proper and peculiar to you alone. And (but that I am nowe to keepe mee onely to that, which is in this parte of your praeface which you direct against me) it were a sport to see, what rea­sons and Scriptures you gather togither towardes the ende of this your wandring and wrangling praeface, and how you vrge them to make for your purpose in this matter. But are you so perswaded indeed? No, not so: it is an other matter you shoot at. You know, that you had (for your glorie, and for your bellies) very much of late corrupted the truth of Christ, & that in such sort you had setled your errors in the hartes of the ignorant, that they can­not be cleane rooted out yet. And now, because that wee are so busily occupyed, in laying foorth, your manifold errors and corruptions before the people of God, by the Scriptures, by the Fathers, by Councels, and al (which is the thing that in this age of ours, and as you had corrupted religion vn­to vs, was, and yet is most of all others to bee done of vs) this doth go so neere vnto you, and you find your selues so netled withall, and so little able to stand against it, that nowe you crie for bookes of [Page 37] deuotion. And heere it is not vnwoorthy the mar­king, that so soone as you haue abased vs in mat­ters of learning (to aduance your selues) immedi­ately you are so deuout, & cal so hard for books of deuotion: remembring belike, that how vnlearned soeuer then, in your sodain passion you had made vs, yet you found, that wee had alreadie so hardly beset you in matters of learning, in all the contro­uersies that are betwixt vs, that now you thought it best to call vs to bookes of deuotion; that so the follie of Gahal of old might be the more liuely re­presented in you, vnto this present age of ours.Iudges 9. For as he, in the absence of Abimelek, had made light of him, but the next day after, when he was come needed then to be egged on, turned his backe, and was ouerthrowne: so you likewise, that in a little forgetfulnes what foils you had taken in the mat­ters of controuersie that are betwixt vs, so boldlie bereaued vs of all good learning, by and by after, vpon better remembrance of those matters, brag vs so hard with bookes of deuotion, that in the controuersies it seemeth you graunt, that you are not able to go any further, and list not to hold the field any longer. But as Zebul thereon saide vnto Gahal, so might any one of your frends say to you likewise: Where is now thy mouth that saide, who is Abimileck that wee should serue him? Is not this the people that thou hast despised? Go out now I pray thee and fight with him. Againe, what deuotion is it you speake of? For if you do content your selues with such as the written woorde dooth teach vs, it is so [Page 38] vaine a quaestiō for you to demand, & that in sin­ceritie, which of vs haue written of any such mat­ter, that it is not woorth any answer, but rather to stand by it selfe, for a note of your follie when as it cānot be vnknown to you, but that so many of vs as haue written, concerning the institution of a Christia [...]e haue effectually handled that matter. See Caluin theron in his Institutiōs, & Musculus in his Common places (books that cānot be of all others, vnknown to you, & therfore I rather name them) & marke then, whether you find not mat­ter in them, concerning deuotion, pietie & contem­plation, that you will graunt, to haue ouer-reache your selfe therin. The same may be said of many o­thers. Marke againe; whether in the said booke of M. Caluin, you do not finde him specially to treat de vita hominis Christiani: de abnegatione nostru ad crucis tolerantia: de meditatione futurae vitae: & quo­modo vtendum praesenti vita. Are these no treatises of deuotion, pietie, &c? And how effectualy he hath done it; the matter it selfe will testifie. The Scrip­tures you know, do altogither treat of deuotion, pi­etie, &c. & these (you cannot denie) are now much more fully expoūded, & more seriouslly by vs cō ­mended to others; than they are by you without comparisō. Other places doo more specially treat therof; as the Ten Commandements, & much of Deuteronomie, & namely that song of Moses; the whole books of Iob, the Psalms, Prouerbs, Ecclesi­astes, & the song of Salomon; certain places of the Prophets also, but especially of the Euangelists & [Page 39] Apostles, as namely those 3 chapters of S. Matth. of the sermon of Christ on the mountain, & many others. And are not al these as faithfully expoun­ded by vs, as by you? Or do you find, that deuotiō therin is wanting in vs, more thā in you? How say you to M. Caluin again vpon the Psalmes: & in that which he hath done vpon Iob? can you tel vs where to find among your writers, so many good lessōs of deuotion, pietie, &c? Luther also, in this ac­coūt, I am sure, you wil grant to be ours. And how mightily he beateth downe the estimation of all things in the world, euē of the greatest excellen­cies in man: & how notably he raiseth vp the in­ner man to those heauenly & eternal things that are in Christ, as in many other places besids, so es­pecially in those his Cōmentaries on the Epistle to the Galathians, it cannot, or ought not to be so far vnknown to you. The argument of the Epistle to the Hebrews is not of that nature, that it doth so readily yeeld that kind of matter, in the iudge­ment of most men. And yet how notably and fitly doth M. Deering in his Lectures theron, in manie places, so aduance that which is true godlines in­deed, that you cannot finde any of those your late maisters that you named, any where to be prefer­red before him. Erasmus also I thinke, pleased you not so wel, that you wil take him for one of yours. How say you to his Enchiridion militis Christiani: & de praeparatione ad mortem? Are these no treatises of deuotion, pietie, & contemplation? How say you to those that wrote the Centuries? Haue they not a [Page 40] speciall title De moribus Christ i [...]rum [...] And [...] you find nothing therein, that treateth of deuotion, pietie, and contemplation? Chitnei Regula vi [...]e; and De morte & vita aeterna: Ri [...]ius de consolandis ag [...] tantibus: as also De stultititia mortalium in pr [...] stinanda correctione vitae: The Sicke mans salue by Thomas Becon: Psychopharmacon Reibn [...]di [...] ­richii Hadamaris: Bradfords most godly & heuen­lie meditations, and many others of like matter, are (no doubt) very well knowne vnto you, if you be but of halfe the reading, that you would beare vs in hand that you are: but you can find nothing in them, that concerneth deuotion, pietie, and con­templation. But hereby you declare, what kinde of deuotion, pietie, and contemplation it is, that you speake of: such as is either grosse idolatrie, or su­perstition; or at least consisting but onely in such outward exercise as the Apostle setteth aside, and alloweth not to stand for anie part of true deuoti­on.How ar­rogantly he challen­geth to him selfe and his fellows, that which is the farthest of frō them of al others But hauing so denied this facultie to vs, it is an other pastime to see, on whom you bestow it. For on whome do you bestow it, but on your selues? it is a thing peculiar and proper to you alone. A pro­per matter indeed, and a likely thing to bee true, that such as are so grosse idolaters (in whome by good warrant we may looke to find, almost all the iniquity that can be named) so vnshamefast main­tainers of the stewes; so open defenders of so pe­stilent trecheries against their Princes; such as in some cases make no conscience at all of periurie; yea and the meanest and basest sort of these also, [Page 41] and that is more, such as of whome the choise and chiefe of al, euen at their deaths, haue (for the most part, no one sparke of any true deuotion or pietie, nor so much as humilitie neither: yet notwith­standing should now account their copper so ve­rie good siluer, that they can so easily perswade themselues, that they alone, and none others, are the men that can onely treat of deuotion, pietie, and contemplation. Haue you so long abandoned mar­riage, and stained your selues with all polluti­on? Haue you wallowed so long in so abhomina­ble and restles whordoms, with that most shame­lesse strumpet of Babylon, and with all manner of vncleannes and wantonnes with her, that nowe, when the skum of that your vncleannes is gone to the bottome, and setled there (because you would not take it off in time:) yet notwithstanding you can account your selues to be the holy ones of all the world; and that none others can treat of holi­nes, but you alone? Nowe fie on the folly of such presumption: it is a world to see, in what a para­dise you would settle your selues, if others would but let you alone.How pro­perly they themselues are occupy­ed in wri­ting bookes of deuotion pietie, and contempla­tion. But belike your selfe did sure­ly dreame it, or els you could neuer haue had so strong a perswasion therof, as hereby it seemeth you had. But, if I may be so bolde as to awake you a little without offence, may it please you to wipe your eies, to looke vp, and to consider, how you & your fellowes imploy your selues in such kinde of labour: you I meane, that are at this day in wilful banishment for your conscience sake (as yee pre­tend, [Page 42] and boldly beare the world in hande) from this your natiue country of England; sauing one­ly when it pleaseth you to steale in (to your own aduauntage, and to helpe forward some wicked practise. For as for those others that you alledge, of former times, and of the learned of other countries when you come to this praesent time, your portion is little or none in them. In all a­ges and places God is woont to stirre vp some, to rebuke the loosenes of those dayes wherein they liue: especially, when that great loosenes, that popish idolatrie brought in amongst vs, did so mightily praeuaile as it did; and yet dooth at this time also, in all those countries where yet it raigneth. Whereas therefore those that you haue named, doo appertaine either vnto former ages, when popery raigned, or to those countries that yet are in that miserable captiuitie, and so con­sequently to those times and places that abound in all manner of loosenes, and could not then, and cannot yet get the opportunitie, to debate the controuersies of Religion, nor to sift out the corruption thereof, what other thing were the former then, or the latter nowe able to doo to better purpose, than to inueigh so much as they could against that loosenes, that so much ouer-whelmed all godlines amongst them? But now when we come vnto you, our discontented countrymen of England, such of you especially as are the greatest stirrers and sticklers in these our dayes, wee would gladly knowe of you, [Page 43] whither wee might goo, or where wee might seeke, to finde anie of you all so tollerably occu­pyed. To Rhemes? But wee see well inough, (and too much a great deale): what matters you hammer out on your forges there. To Rome? What is it else, but euen the verie nursery it selfe of all these treacheries, whereabout you haue beene so long imployed; against the lawe of na­ture, of man, of God; and what other thing is it that there you doo, but that first you learne those Italian feates; and then, that you vnder­goe the charge, and addresse your selues to put them in practise? Or shall we seeke out where otherwise you are; heere and there lurking (with those that are most like vnto your selues) within the lande? Wee may long seeke you, be­fore wee can finde you: you lie so close, and so much disfigurely your selues besides. But whensoe­uer we find you, we are sure of this, that wee can­not otherwise finde you occupied, than in defa­cing the present state, and the truth it selfe: and lying the platforme of some rebellion or wicked practisse; or putting the same in execution. As for bookes of deuotion, pietie, and contemplation, write them who will, you are not the men that will trouble the world with any such matters. Let others take the paines to doo them: it is ynough for you, when they are doone, to take vnto your selues the glorie of them. Though you bee not of that disposition nor temper, that you can occupie your selues with so honest, and godly [Page 44] and peaceable affaires: yet, when they are done, your temper can beare it well inough, both to make them as pack-horses vnto you, to carie forth your errors withall; and besides that, to shrewd your credits, and couer your practises, vnder the claime and title of them. But that you do so busi­ly take vp (and that in your owne person too, loth to trust your harbinger with it) all the roomes in the Catholike Church, that none may haue place there but your selues alone (who of all others here among vs, are farthest from it) that so it might the rather bee thought, that this min [...] (of coyning bookes of deuotion) goeth onely with you, and that (to that end also) you make the truth of Christ so to participate the very power and force therof, to your most loathsome ridiculous popery, as though it could not stand without it: both these pointes are of such a nature, at that the bold [...]ier you doo auouch them, the lesse doo wee neede to make you answere [...]

Of the faults that he findeth in the Re­solution. How iniustly he char­geth mee with cor­rupting, falsifiyng, &c.10 And now that you com to the bookes them­selues, first you begin with the Resolution: and therein first you charge mee with very ill dealing throughout the whole; and then you come vnto certaine particulars. The ill dealing that you lay to my charge throughout the whole, is no lesse than corrupting, falsifiyng, and mangling of this your booke, and of the Fathers and Scriptures alledged therein: as appeereth in this place of your prae­face; and in the title, annotations, and table it selfe of this your new booke. But are you so liberall, to [Page 45] charge me so deep [...]ly, vpon so small occasion as this? Had you any thing at all elected your selfe,Being takē in the ma­ner himself he thinketh best with opē mouth to lay it on others. of the selfe-same kinde of dealing which hee that [...]et out your former Resolution, vsed towardes the originall copie, as before I noted by verie good proofe in my praeface to the Reader, and out of the third, and beginning of the fourth chapters of the first part thereof; or but your fellow to whom I pointed in mine Epistle; then, both I could haue [...]orne it better; and others might haue thought that you had proceeded more orderly vnto it. But you were taken with the manner: and finding no way to helpe your selfe, you thought best to passe [...] ouer with silence; and with open mouth to lay that fault to the charge of others so much as you might. But to let you alone with your owne doo­ings, and to deale no further with you, but onelie so far as is needfull to answer your wrongful char­ging of me, did I offer anie other discurtesie vnto you, but only that in quietnes I left out that which I saw could not wel stand? Did I it with any con­ [...]umelie, or bitternes towards you? And did I not plainly professe vnto all, what it was that therein I had done? Did those few things that I added, or any parentheses (as you call them) put anie thing in that was contrarie to your profession, or disa­greeing from the argument that you had in hand? If you found any of those things in mee, how is it that you haue not brought them to light? If not, what colour of reason had you therein, to exercise the bitternes of your stile against me? Are you so [Page 46] farre priuiledged, that you may set downe what­soeuer you lift, without controlment? When you are disposed to set foorth error, thay no bodie [...] maintaine the truth? Must you haue that libertie and freedome, to sende vs in whatsoeuer you [...] and must we bee tied to accept of all? When you haue taken the Fathers and Scriptures captiue [...] and abuse them at your pleasure, and very disho­norably hale them after you, may no bodie stir to cut asunder their bands of captiuitie, and to set them free from such slauerie of yours? When wi [...] find you to haue dealt so verie iniuriously with the godly Fathers, and with the Scriptures them­selues, must it needes bee corrupting, falsifiying, and mangling, to redresse the same? But, that you [...] so desirous to make your case all one with [...] you are to know, that you are but a scholle [...] you are no Father. If it were ill doone, so to deale with the Fathers: is it therefore ill doone so to deale with you? If their writings were authentike, and such as could not bee amended, must yours need [...] haue that priuiledge also? You are too hastie you should first win it, before that you weare it. But that you thinke is substantially doone, And how?Vpon how weake a ground­worke he buildeth this gree­uous charge Forsooth diuers of you haue charged vs with such matters: and some others besides of our owne companie, (as you doo charge them) haue affirmed the like the one of the other. How­beit for this matter, you shewe your selfe, and so much to desire for [...] to haue the thing it selfe to come vnto triall; as to holde your selfe ful­lie [Page 47] contented and satisfied, if you may bee allow­ed so to haunch at our credite, and yet to bee suf­fered quietly to passe away therewith: you do so saintly grow to the matter; and keepe your selfe so farre off, from that which concerneth the triall of it. For although you would seeme to say some­what that might bee of force so to charge vs: yet do you finely giue it the slip, & take vnto you an­other course. You alledge no place by vs corrup­ted: you tell vs not what Father, what Councell, what Scripture it is, that we haue so abused. Had you named any (such as are not answered alrea­die) you knewe that the matter had come to try­all: but that, you loue not. You know the weak­nes of your side so well in these causes, that you thought not good anie further to prouoke the triall of it. And what is it then whereon you relie, and which you haue chosen to giue some credite to this your slaunder? What is it els, but onelie the bare report of certaine others? Some, your owne fellowes, whose mouths are found to be no slaun­der, who long since nowe, and verie often haue shewed thēselues to be more readie so to charge vs, than able to prooue the least parte that they speake, whensoeuer their sayings are brought vn­to the triall: some others againe that are nee­rer to vs in their profession, and yet at vari­ance among themselues, and so in heate of con­tention (it may bee) haue reproched each o­ther much like as you doo charge them. But you knowe well inough, that neither the whole [Page 48] company, nor euery particular person of any pro­fession, is to be charged with whatsoeuer any one, or some few of that profession shall take in hand: and that among the best that euer were, all were not sound; or at least, either spake not, or wrote not so circumspectly as they ought to haue done. So falleth it out, that whereas you had to [...] the thing i [...]selfe (seeing that needes you would take vpon you in such sort to say it) yet being you no more, but onely that some others haue said [...]: and those also either at variance amongst them­selues, and so not yeelding in any such speeches sufficient ground-worke wheron to build an (vn­doubted assurance that so it is; or els (which is more) our mortall, and sworne, and knowne ene­mies, and therefore such as make no conscience at all to say the woorst that they can of vs without any euidence or colour of truth, and the best that they can of themselues, as directly as can bee deui­sed against the truth. For this matter therefore, I need not to giue you any other answer, than onely that same that your selfe bringeth with you Dead payes, you know well inough will do little sonn [...] in time of need. You bring but a vaine floorish, & shew: and when you would rather haue noted somewhat your selfe; you are faine notwithstan­ding to go to heare-say, and there to take vp your lodging for this. But if wee bee disposed to cha [...]ge you with the like, we neede not run to that poore helpe of heare-say for it: but we can turne you to the places themselues, and those very [...] [Page 49] both heretofore, and now also.

11 But two speciall pointes there are,The places that he spe­cially tou­cheth, doe readily turn to his owne re­proch. which if I should but generally lap vp with the other, it may be, that therein you would account your self to go away with some aduantage: whereas on the other side, the matters are such, as that therein al­so the aduantage that is, is against your selfe. For first, as touching those sentences of Scripture that you bring in, (the one of the seared, and yron-bur­ned conscience: the other of those that sin wilfully and damnably in their owne knowledge and consci­ence, both which you would haue to serue your turne against vs so far as you could) I must do you to vnderstand, that they are for the truth, and so make nothing at al for you, but altogither against you. For concerning the seared and yron-burned conscience, Of the sea­red con­science. whereas we read of two vses of the sea­ring-yron (the one to seare vp and staunch the bloud, when some part is new cut away; the other to set on a marke, or a burne, especially vpon no­torious offendors, that others may know them) as the former of them, in all respects, and to all pur­poses, agreeth as fitly to you as to anie, for that nowe you haue giuen vp your selues to a repro­bate minde, and solde your selues to all iniquitie, without anie sense or feeling at all, but altogither hardened in your wilfull resisting of the truth, and frosen vp in the dregs of your sins: so the latter of them commeth neerest to you of all others, and cannot so fitly be applyed to anie other, as it may vnto you. For in you do we finde, and in your for­heades, [Page 50] both those burnes or markes of reproch, which in that place the Apostle dooth speake of, and in the verie next wordes that follow: I meane the forbidding of mariage, and meats which God hath created to be vsed, with giuing of thankes of those that are faithfull, and knowe the truth. See­ing then the Apostle told vs before, in what sort they should be marked, & now we find the same so euidently and plainly in you: there is no way for you to shift it off, but that needes you must be of that disfamed & stigmaticall company that the Apostle there describeth. I know that heere­tofore there were others also: for that is euer the nature of the world, in all sortes of corrupt religi­on, to haue a great peece of their deuotion in those matters. But what is that to you, to helpe out your selues from that account? You may well get others vnto you: but you can neuer get out your selues. And although there haue beene some others, that in some measure haue doone the like: yet are you able to name none, that haue doone it so much as you. So like wise in the other, of sinning wilfully and damnably in their owne conscience and iudgement, Of sinning wilfully in their owne conscience. as it also euen of it selfe, and at the first sight did neuer agree more fitly to anie, than it dooth to your selues: so might your selues verie plainely perceiue it (if you would examine the matter sincerely and truely) by the great contrarietie and contra­diction that so plainely appeereth in your pro­fession. For whereas you professe your selues [Page 51] to holde all the whole Scriptures, the olde Testa­ment, and the new, although it may seeme that you doo it, not so much for anie good heart that you beare to the woorde of God, as to auoide the outcrie & shame that otherwise you must needes sustaine among men: yet seeing that you doo so professe the written word, & it againe so directly goeth against many points of your professiō, what do you els, but wilfully & damnably sin euen in your own conscience & iudgment. Insomuch that it is not onely granted by diuers of you, that in your pro­fession diuers things might wel be amended: but also it hath bin by certain of your selues affirmed, [...]s touching ours,Acts and monumēts, out of Hen. Pantal. lib. 19. an 1543. in the storie of Mollius, one of the Italian Martyrs. Athanasius abused and falsified. that it is the truth that we affirme, & yet neuertheles haue said withall, that the same was not meete for this present time, for that it could not bee taught or published without the detriment of the Apostolike sea. Then as touching Athanasius, whom you bring in to make a greeuous cōplaint against the Arrians, for corrupting the first Nicene councell, we know indeede that you made him to complaine, that the Arrians burnt vp the canons of that councell, and destroied the copies therof: and this would you gladly let in to the perswasi­on of others, by this your smooth allegation ther­of. But the truth is, that after that once you had forged the Councell of Nice to speake to your purpose, and were taken in the manner by the Bishops of Affrike: then to salue vp this mat­ter againe, you put an other forgerie thereun­to, that such canons as you alleadged, might [Page 52] well inough haue appeared, had not the [...] burnt vp the copies, of which you make Ath [...] ­sius himselfe to complaine vnto you. But this for­gerie is so palpable, that many waies it be [...] it selfe: and by diuers of vs it hath beene [...] so fully prooued vnto you, that I neede not [...] againe to stand vppon it. So heere may you see the iust iudgements of God against you, and [...] how palpable blindnes nowe you are falne, [...] whereas you might haue brought many other Scriptures and Fathers to that purpose that you intended, that is, to shew that some are obst [...]sate, and statly refuse the manifest truth, and that here­tikes haue corrupted diuers of the Fathers: yet notwithstanding must you light on these (and none others) that were so fit to bee applyed a­gainst your selues, and to bewray your owne [...] dealing in matters of forgerie, which so gladly you would fasten on vs.

That he is made to speake like a good Mi­nister of the Church of England.12 The particulars that you lay to my charge, are some of them the same in effect, that alreadie you haue doone in the generall charge going be­fore, charging me with corrupting, mang [...]ing, and leauing out such things as stand to your humour but some others of them do varie therefro, & take an other course vnto them. Of those that are to the same effect with the other, some of them doe but concerne your selfe: others the cause that you haue in hand. Concerning your selfe, you are gree­ued at this, that I make you to speake (as you say) after the phrase of Protestants, like a good Minister of [Page 53] England, and as one that had beene trained vp in Iohn Caluins schools. But as for your speech I med­dle not with it as it is yours: you may speake as you list for mee. But if wee shall heare you in that which is good, you may not looke to be allowed such a maner of speech, as may depraue the thing it selfe, and bee offensiue to those that heare you. We know your meaning well inough, and the in­tent of him that raigneth in you, the prince of darken [...]e. By your good will, you would giue no credite nor estimation to any thing at all that is good but because that such a course were too o­pe [...], therefore you can easily content your selues, sometimes to commend that which is good, so that you may do it in your corrupt manner, there­by to abolish the power of it. And in the processe of your booke we may indeed very well perceiue, that you care not howe you speake, so that you speake not like a good Minister of England: & ther­vpon belike you come in with your Hobdomndes, Dopositum, Pressures, Confide, and such like choo­sing rather, therby to seem to walke in the clowds than to go on the ground as they doe. But needes must there be a verie great desire to varie from o­thers, where so harde opportunities are rather ta­ken, than none at all. But what are those places wherein you find your selfe most greeued on this behalfe? Are they anie other but such, as wherein you would haue holpen out the credite of some corruption or errour of yours, vnder the name or title of others? Which if in this I haue not allow­ed [Page 54] you to do; haue I therfore made you to [...] as a Protestant, or one that was [...] Iohn Caluins schoole? Haue I at anie time forced [...] impugnanie one point of your own professione to affirmely of ours: You haue made your [...] but what haue you found? In what one [...] you alledged haue I offened that [...] My self did acknowlege what I had done, & [...] far I had gone for that matter & though I would not suffer you to speake here among vs, [...] [...] you would; yet on the other side, neither did I vrge you to determine with [...] in these controuersies that were betwee [...]. And therfore you haue not truly said that in al place [...] conueniently I might I haue made you speak like a good Minister of England neither had. [...] a­nie time anie cause to hope that so good a worke might be wroght vpon you. I onlie mended cer­tain of your grossest phrases, wherin of [...] (but of purpose withall) you carrie foorth some [...] also but I would you knew it; that we shuld hold him for a ye [...]i [...] had Minister, in the Church of England, that hauing such [...]cc [...]siō to treat of [...] godlines as here you haue taken, should so much relie on bodily exercise, & wander so far fro [...]ble substance of that which you take in hande, and so weakely a [...]ow the truth as heere is doone. A­gaine, diuers of the matters that you handle, are so impertinently confirmed by the Scriptures, that you alledge (as partlie I noted before vnto you) that wee should not holde him for a good [Page 55] Minister in our Church, that should apply them no better than so. One of your profession it might verie well become, but it were a shame for one of ours, to make no better account of the woorde of God, than to build such matter there­on as it neuer meant. And whereas you make so light account of Maister Caluin, that reuerend, and godlie, and learned Father, it is no newe thing vnto vs: wee knowe well inough, that be­cause he beareth you downe so cleane as he doth, [...] none of you al, nor altogither, are able to resist the power & spirit that is in him, therfore do you guash your teeth vpon him, & ease your stomaks with such reprochful & disdainful speeches, seing that learning & truth do both faile you to incoū ­ter with him. The examples that heereof you al­ledge are. The first was, that wheras you talked (as you say) of Catholike priests that heare confessione, I made you to say, men that be skilful to giue counsell. And true indeed, that whereas you had so framed your speech, as best might serue you to restraine the wife & comfortable handling, & right mana­ging of a christian soule, only to those whom you vntruly cal catholike priests, & withall to establish that lewd deuise of your auricular confession, & to make it a sacramēt too: I on the other side (leauing those your contentious brablings) quietly exprest the matter you had in hand in such other tearms, as might sufficiently expresse the thing it selfe, & not leane to any of those corruptions neither. But as I forbare to name you; so may you see, that I [Page 56] tooke not the place to our selues. Though I [...] out that vnruly and disorderly companie of yours whome you would so faine commend vnto vs vn­der the name of Catholike Priests (then the which they are nothing lesse:) yet did I not so fra [...] it, as that it might seeme to import none but our selues, by putting in the Ministers of the Gos­pell into their roomes; but left the description [...] indifferent to you (if so you could imploy your­selues) as I did vnto vs. This is the partialitie that heere I vsed: and the like might bee saide of both the others.

How little cause hee hath to cō ­plaine of those few parentheses that I had added.13 Concerning the cause that you haue in hand the matter that you chiefly charge me withall, is, partly for that I haue put thereto somewhat of mine owne: but especially for that I haue taken so much out of yours. That which I put to [...] mine owne, was so little in it selfe, and so indiffe­rently and sparingly done, that as you haue taken it nothing so greeuously as the other: so in much you needed to haue found no fault at all. And yet notwithstanding I will not denie, but that in this point you had the aduantage against mee, if there were anie thing materiall therein: because that the mention thereof was omitted in my pr [...]face to the Reader, and the additions themselues (in som few places) no better distinguished. But now that your selfe haue made the search, let vs see what it is that thereby you haue found. The places that your selfe haue gotten, and wherein you find your selfe most greeued in this kind, are in al but three. [Page 57] and those of no speciall importance, but that well they might haue beene omitted by me, sauing on­lie that thereby you might better perceiue howe little cause you had to bee offended in this also. First you charge mee, that whereas you had set downe, that our Sauiour beeing demaunded by a cer­taine Prince, how he might be saued, would giue him none other hope, but onely by keeping the Com­mandements, saying; If thou wilt enter into life keep the Commandements; there doo I helpe the matter with a parenthesis, saying, he would giue him none o­ther hope (so long as he sought saluation by his works) but keepe the Commandements. The next is, that whereas you alledged out of Saint Paul, and out of the Reuelations, that men shall be crowned in heauen ac­cording to their fight in his life: I bodged in (as you say) this parenthesis (in some good measure) thereby to limit the Holy Ghost in his meaning. The third, and last is, that whereas you alledged plainly the words of Scripture, No man knoweth whether he be woorthie of loue or hatred in Gods sight: I added this parenthe­sis (by outward thinges.) These are all the places that you charge me withall: I likewise do willing­ly acknowledge that for the first, & last, it is true; but as touching the second, I say that there you haue somewhat depraued my wordes, from the sense that I had giuē them. And now as touching my dooings herein, it was meet, that seeing you la­bour so much to establish your owne righteous­nes as to make a way to saluation thereby; and to keepe men alwaies in doubt of the fauour of God [Page 58] towardes them, so to make your owne wares more saleable to all (and to that end peruerted these places of Scripture, the better to shrowd those naughtie errours, but gainefull [...]to you, vnder the cloake and shewe of truth) I on the other side, should bee as carefull, that no [...] tooke occasion of error by either of them. Which how could I, on your behalfe, more easily haue doone, than by giuing so briefe an interpretati­on vppon those places? especially, when as my interpretation is such, as is not mine, but borro­wed of others greater than I (as your selfe doeth, or may knowe) and verie agreeable vnto the truth of the places themselues. But as touching this place of Ecclesiastes (which also you haue not rightlie quoted) whereas it pleaseth you to say, that you plainely alledged the woordes of that place, as plainely as you haue doone it, yet notwithstanding, if you will take the paines to consider of your dooinges againe, you may plainely perceiue, first that you haue added three woordes in the ende, more than the text it selfe dooth yeelde, by anie translation whatsoeuer, (though yet notwithstanding it stand well y­nough with the sense of the place) then also, these woordes, hee bee woorthie (whereon the chiefe strength of your sense consisteth) are not found in the Hebrew it selfe, nor in Saint Ierome, when of set purpose hee interpreteth the place; although I denie not, but that in your common vulgar translation (which glad­lie [Page 59] you would father vppon him) it bee there (for this point) as corruptly interpreted, as it is heere alledged by you. So likewise, more specially to consider of that other place of yours, where you say that I bodged in that pa­renthesis (in some good measure) if you marke the place better, you shall finde, that I did not adde these woordes vnto the affirmatiue, as you haue framed them (to your better aduauntage) which indeed had beene more obscurely spoken: and that you haue corruptly cited both my woordes; and yours also. For you saide before, that none should bee crowned there (in the life to come) but according to the measure of his fight in [...] and thereunto cited those places of Scripture, which yeeld no such matter vnto you, but onely that such as striue heere, shall ouer­come, and bee crowned there; without anie apportioning of it according to their measure of striuing, as you had framed it. Whereas therefore you had further gone than those pla­ces did warrant, and would gladly abuse that also to the mainteinance of some of your er­rours; not eating in the meane season howe you tormented a weake conscience: which way could I in fewer wordes, and with lesse alteration of those that you had giuen mee, both haue an­swered those places you cited, and prouided for the broken heart against such discomfortable doctrine, as you would gladlie haue forced vppon it out of the same? Weigh then the [Page 60] matter a little better, and you shall see the bodging that you speake of, to be so bound with the ba [...] ­bias that you put on it, that needes it must holde the contrarie course, to that which at first you meant vnto it.

Of those follies and errors of his that I left out.14 But to come to those things that I haue ta­ken out of yours, (which is the greatest cause of your griefe against me) those I grant are verie [...] ­nie, and such as cannot bee particularly handle [...]ly but that needes it must grow to a large discourses. But to take a neerer course, what one thing at all haue I stroken out of yours (of this kind that now you charge mee with) but onely that which [...] manifest popery; or at leastwise tended thereun­to, in such sort as you had placed it? Whereas therefore such vanities of yours are already (in these daies of the Gospell) so manifestly discoue­red, and manie of our profession haue in their wri­tings declared the same, such as are not answered by you as yet, nor euer can bee (as nowe it [...] plainly appeere, by such weake endeuours as you haue made, in whatsoeuer you haue taken in h [...]) what reason was there, to leaue so grosse corrupti­ons therein: especially when those are matters of doctrine; and this booke of yours (if so I may call it) professeth no other, but only to labour amend­ment of life? Must it needs be so greeuous to you that of these things that were of diuers argumēts, we might not take to our selues the one, but that needs we must take the other also? Need we your heathenish fable of Purgatorie,Purgatorie. to perswade vnto [Page 61] good life? Are not those infinite, and altogither vndeserued fauours of God the Father in Iesus Christ, sufficient to mooue those that are alreadie come in, to the knowledge, and feare, and loue of him, and the torments of hell (which are no fable but [...] indeed) sufficient to bring into the feare of him, those that are without as yet? Or, if those cannot, can your fained Purgatorie doo it? May we in no wise thinke it sufficient to confesse our sins vnto God,Auriculat confession. and that with a true and godly sor­row, but that needs wee must reckon vp all to one of you (that so busily prie into all mens dooinges, and into the secret intents of alll for the better ac­complishment of your owne vnclean, and naugh­tie endeuours) and bee content to vndergo, what you shall thinke good to lay vpon vs? When wee cleerely holde, that wherein wee haue offended our neighbour, wee are, in that case, to acknow­ledge our faultes vnto him, and to reconcile our selues againe: must wee yet haue anie other than God, to whome of necessitie we are further to re­sort, and to make our confession vnto? And as for your Satisfaction,Satisfactiō. when as wee make no question at all, but that we are euer to satisfie to our neigh­bours, for such hurts or wrongs as we haue doone vnto them; and otherwise also do readily graunt, that the more we haue liued in sin, the more care­full should we be to imploy the rest of our time in the feare and seruice of God: is there no remedie but that needes we must goe so farre with you, as to make that slender account of sinne, that, when [Page 62] one way wee haue sinned; wee may an other [...] make amends into God for the same?Moonks. Is it how sufficient for vs to haue in reuerence those [...] men of old, that either to be safe from persecutiō, or to auoid the generall corruption of the world, withdrew themselues aside to som godly exercise amōg themselues; & those that since in any other [...] age haue done the like: but that needes we must haue in the like estimation those belly gods of yours, that of purpose forsooke al honest labor; [...] inioy their ease, & the pleasures of sin without con­trolment? Or are you able to name any thing at al, wherein those late Moonks of yours, were [...] to those godly fathers before, vnder whose name you would so gladly cloake the most filthie pollution of these? Virginity & chastitie,Virginitie. such as is [...] indeed, we acknowledge to be the good giftes of God, & a part of that seruice; that, in their kind [...] very acceptable & welcom: chastitie alwaies, & of all sorts whatsoeuer, virginitie also in such as [...] the gift, & are called vnto it. And may not this lie inough for vs, vnles we make it a ni [...]r with you [...] both to iustle marriage clean but of credit for the holier sort [...] & to couer th [...]se [...]oul pollutiōs, which your forced forbearing of we [...] to tel you. As for wilfull pouertie,Wilful po­uertie. what talke you of it. Who knoweth not, that, [...] which is wilfull po­uertie with you, is so full & peace [...] al the welth, & pleasure of the world the sides [...] not found (where these houses stand as the, [...] wont) in any other estate or sort of [...] ­uer? [Page 63] And why should you take it so ill, that we ac­cent not of such Apparitions as you speak of?Apparitiōs. As if we knew not, both that we haue whatsoeuer we need, in the written woorde, & that you haue be­wraied, aswel your infidelity, in that you haue thē in such estimation; as your folly in crediting of thē. As for your chastising of the body,Chastising of the body sackcloth, hairecloth, & lying on the ground, first you neede not be so much offended with me, for leauing thē somtimes out of your booke, when as your selues do altogither leaue them out of the whole course of your life & doings. But delicate wantons must needs be talking of such great matters: if not of a certain humor they haue, so to content and flatter themselues; yet (at the least) to make others beleue that they haue such thinges in some admiration. But seeing they are allowed to you when you do not abuse them, may you iustly complain, if they he withdrawn from you, when you wrest them to some abuse? When you put holines it self in those things, that are but bodily exercise only, or when you would haue such things to be of force to doo away sin: is it not time looke to your fingers, & to take heede that we leaue not so perilous wea­pons in their hands, that either cannot tel how to vse them, or are disposed therwith, to hurt them­selues or others? When you bring them in, not as things that are godly in thēselues, but as excercises tending to it nor allow thē the power of satisfiing for your former sinnes, are you able to name any place where they are put out? So likewise, who [Page 64] is there but wil acknowledge,Watching, weeping, abstinence, fasting. that watching, wee­ping, abstinence, and fasting, beeing rightly vsed, are verie good exercises of true godlines? that is, when our watching is, to bee aduised of our estate in the way of godlines: our weeping on the be­halfe of our sins, or exile heere in this mortall life: our abstinence, to forbeare such thinges as may hinder our seruice to God: and our fasting either a speciall endeuour, to doo some peece of seruice to God; or a set mourning, either for sin, or other calamity. In this sense if you commend them, who is it that findeth fault with you? but if you set thē to doo away sinne, and attribute that vertue vnto them, or any otherwise abuse them to your owne fancie, was it not meet that they should be deliue­red from such ill dealing?Merit. Your workes of merite hire, labouring for reward, gaining of heauen, and the facilitie that you suppose therein, doo [...] remaine: which also you complaine to bee stroo­ken out. So are they indeed. For what reason was there, to let them stande? Is it not inough for you to haue heauen offered vnto you, but that you must haue it by your owne purchase also? Or be­ing your selfe so vainely perswaded of the righte­ousnes that is in man, must we needs let the same stand, to the dishonour of God, and ouerthrow of others? If needs you will thinke so well of your selues, & of your owne three-halfepeny works, yet there let it die, and go no further: let not others be troubled with it, nor haue the infection of so dan­gerous, & vaine an opinion brought before them. [Page 65] Works are good, when they are doone for the ser­uice of God; to glorifie him, or to benefit others: but if you doo them, to gaine heauen, you haue made them odious to God; and your selfe is an hireling also.

15 Those that varie from the nature of these others going before,Of my An­notations. and take vnto them an other course (not charging me now, with corrupting, fal­sifiyng, and such like, but onely with want of wit, discretion, or grace) are such as you gather out of my Annotations: of which you say, some are fond; others absurd; and a third sort wicked. Howbeit as fond as I am, yet thus much haue I marked with­all, that althogh you do reply to certaine of them, where you thinke that they haue some matter for you: yet on the other side, where you are able to say nothing against that which I haue noted, (which we may find in manie of them) you do not there acknowledge your ouersight, but only passe it ouer with silence, and still holde on your won­ted course: loath to amend it, though you see that you cannot defend it. But to consider of those wherein you thinke that you haue the aduantage, and first as touching those that are fond, Of those that he cal­leth fond. whereas I haue giuen a note of a point, wherin Philosophers were long since deceiued,A note of Philoso­phers, taken to himselfe and his fel­lowes. and out of which cer­taine of our deuines had taken occasion of errour also: you crie out a-maine, that I charge you and your fellowes to hold that errour. Whereas not­withstanding I neuer meant, neither you, nor your fellowes neither, and my words are cleere inough [Page 66] in themselues: because I spake of Philosophers, and not of you; and of the diuines of a time past, and not of the time that now is present. And see­ing you cannot but know, as I do take it (propter summam & doctoris authoritatem & vrbis) but that most of the ancient Philosophers do holde, that anima sequitur temperaturam corporis, and that not onely diuers of our Phisitians in times past, that stucke so much to natural reason doubted of the soules immortalitie, but certain of our diuines also, that were woont to take their light so much from Philosophie, were somwhat likewise decei­ued hereby: how commeth it to passe, that none of these considerations, nor altogither could help you to vnderstand, that I meant neither you, nor your fellows? For notwithstanding these conside­rations, and the euidencie of the place it selfe (see now how far the desire of contentiō hath blinded your eies) & that it could not with any indifferen­cie, be wrested to this supposed sense of yours: yet as though the matter were cleere, & could not be otherwise, you therupon take it maruelous hotly, & call it patching, cobling, lying, & fondnes. But the lesse that you finde any such thing, in that which is there set down by me; the more must it rest on that which thereon is so vnaduisedly gathered by you: and considering how wide you were in this matter, what letteth now, but that ye might well take home again some of those your toyish spee­ches, aduising your self a litle better, who now it is that hath affirmed, that which is neither so, nor so, & [Page 67] whether it bee you or I, that is that good man, that vnderstandeth not what he dooth say, or his aduerse-part doth hold, albeit (if yee beleeue him) he hath stu­died the schoolmen. And but that you are possessed alredy with so inordinate affectiōs, as many waies you shew your selfe to bee, you could neuer so far mistake this as you did; vnles you haue som priuy gal in your profession that belike was a litle rubd therby. As in this you haue mistakē me, so bicause in another place you haue mistooke your self, se­ing no reason in the death of Christ, and I tooke you with it, alledging there was great reason in it that Christ should die:Whether there be a­ny reason or not why Christ should die, if we shuld be saued. here you can in no wise take it in another sense, but that I would make the mystery of our redemption, no matter of faith, but onlie of reason. So that whereas before by declaring that you saw no reason in it, you made it knowne, that you litle vnderstood the mystery of our saluation in him (& so cōsequently could minister but cold cōfort to others for that matter in time of need:) so, by this your interpretation of my admonition theron, you shew your self not desirous to learn a­ny better; nor in good part to take it, being offered

16 Then concerning those that you cal absurd, Of those that he cal­leth absurd first you come to my note of the knowledge that we shal haue one of another,Of the ma­ner of our knowledge one of an­other in the world to come. after our resurrectiō in the kingdome of God, which you holde to bee such, as shal cōsist of that earthly knowledge that we now haue in this life; and altogither omitting the reasons that I alledged, you content your selfe with the ods of the persōs that you wold seem to [Page 68] haue conceiued, and there you rest. Howbeit you were to haue knowne, both that Cyprian in that his sermon by occasion of the pestilence that then so raged in those partes, endeuoring himselfe to imbolden the people to bee willing to die if God should cal them, might verie wel vtter (in the way of perswasion) many thinges, whereon it were not good to build any generall doctrine: and that all the opinions of the learned, either of him or anie other, are not alwaies to be receiued. Then also, that you would seeme to set so much by Cyprian, it is no more but your wonted vanitie: as, vppon disdaine, you do in like sort make light of others. You would gladly shrowd your selues vnder the credit, and reuerend estimation of the godlie Fa­thers: but in truth you esteeme of none of them all, but so farre as you hope to wrest them to your owne naughtie purpose. So that although Cypri­an were indeed as fully on your side, as you face vs out that he is: yet notwithstanding there is no iust cause for you to make it so cleere a matter, as that there may be no question of it.The place of Cyprian a­bused. But nowe in truth, there is no such matter as you pretend. For whereas you did speake of our naturall parentes, kinsfolke, and freendes (as by the course of your words appeered before; and because that now in that respect you haue reiected my Annotation thereon, which otherwise graunted the selfe-same matter, as we are members of one bodie; and, be­sides these, by that wise note of yours, which you haue set in the margent of the booke it selfe) it is [Page 69] most certaine and verie plaine, that no man can gather, that S. Cyprian ment it of those, but rather that he meant it onely of such, as before I had al­lowed vnto you in that annotation. And there he vseth an argument of the desire that all men com­monly haue, when they are abroad in other coun­tries, to returne home againe to see their frendes. Herevpon he inferreth as followeth. ‘Patriam no­stram paradisum computamus: parentes nostros pa­triarchas habere iam coepimus: quid non properamus & currimus, vt patriam nostram videre, & parentes salutare possimus. Magnus illic nos chaerorum numerus expectat, parentum, fratrum, filiorum, frequens nos & & copiosa turba desiderat, &c.’ that is, wee account that paradise is our countrie; we haue now begun to haue the Patriarks to be our Fathers: why doo we not make hast and run, that we may be able to see our country, and salute or parents? A great number of frends do there await vs, of parents, of brethren, of children, a great and mightie compa­nie doth (there) desire vs, &c. Wherby we may see, that whereas it is the common nature of all, to co­uer and desire to be with their frends, hee dooth giue them to vnderstand, that there they haue a great number of frends, of al sorts, that wil be glad of their comming. Insomuch that howsoeuer a mans desire is, either to his father, or to his brother, or to his sonne, or howsoeuer els (as all, we knowe are not alike delighted with euerie one; but one with his parents, another with his brethren, a third with his children, and so forth with the rest) [Page 70] there shall he haue in that holy and blessed com­pany his own desires fully satisfied, and be sure to find (to his full contentation) either parentes, or brethren, or children, or wife, or neighbor, or frend or whomsoeuer els the linke of Christian vnitie and loue can make delightfull or deare vnto vs. That this is the sense of the place (and not that, which you haue so grossely gathered) it app [...]ee­reth in this, both for that he alludeth to those that are in forraine countries, and desirous to see their owne country and naturall frendes (and so conse­quently, ariseth from the consideration of these, & returneth not vnto them againe, but to others) and because that himselfe setteth downe, who are those parents that he meaneth, that is, the Patri­arks, or holie Fathers, and not as you did grossely suppose, our naturall parents. And the better to confirme, that hee meant not anie such earthlie knowledge to remaine, within almost as much of the beginning, as this place of yours was towards the ending, hee plainly saith, that, when wee do: part hence thither, terrenis coelestia, & magna paruis & caducis aeterna fuccedunt: that is, that vn­to earthlie things do heauenly succeed; and that in place of small things, and brittle, we shall there enioy (such, as are both great and aeternall [...] Wher­as therefore, the knowledge of father, mother, wife, or children, and such like heere in this life such I meane, as you did speake of) is but earthly, small, and brittle, therefore we may see that this holie Father meant not, that such knowledge [Page 71] as this, should haue such a place in the kingdome of God, or with those immeasurable and vnspea­ [...]le ioies, that there the Saints of God should in­ioy. Heerein may your selfe sufficiently perceiue at the least, you haue made it plain vnto others) how vntruly you deale with the Fathers that you alledge: and vpon how sure a groundworke they stand; that thinke they may safely beleeue you, in these your vaine brags of the Fathers. And as for your ten couple of Bunnies, that, as you gibe, weigh not so much in affaires of the soule, as one Cypri­an, first you see that Cyprian now, vnder whom you would faine haue shrowded your follie, hath so [...]at left you, that if you knew where to get ten couple of Cyprians mo, you would not sticke (as now it seemeth) to falsifie all, to make good your answere vnto this and halfe couple of Bunnies, that you haue chosen to wrangle withall: then al­so, as Cyprian here doth plainly refuse to be so far abused by you, so I trust, that as for this one couple of Bunnies (of whom it seemeth you take occasion to make your couples) by the goodnes of God we shalbe [...] (the weaker of vs) in this cause to with [...] the worst you can do, & so to discouer your shift [...] withall, that fewer shalbe deceiued by you. Secondly, cōming to the rule of S. August.S. Augu­stines rule. which you would gladly that men shuld haue thoght to [...] bene such a thing, as since was taken vp by your vnclean cloisterers, you are ther offēded with [...], first for that I say that it was [...]i [...] a more care­full [...] in the way of godlines: then, for that I [Page 72] added further (as you say) that it was but such as we are all bound vnto. Against which you alledge S. Augustine himselfe and Possidonius,Augustine & Possido­nius both abused to­gither. as though they tolde vs of other matters, such as I denied [...] you in my Annotation: and you set so good a sa [...] on the matter, that such as knowe not your quali­ties,What Saint Augustines rule was generally. may easily be deceiued with you. But what do you find in either of them, but (as before I said) that which tendeth but onely to a more carefull endeuour in the way of godlines; and nothing at all helpeth to countenance the superstition or loosenes of those orders of yours? You called for them, and lo they are come: but what can you get them to say for you, in that which nowe wee haue in hand? You made as though they were altogi­ther yours, and that so fully as might be wished [...] but when they are come, they haue nothing at all to say for you, nor for any of those your orders.What it was more speci­ally as tou­ching wi­uing. But whereas in the latter of those my Annotations I said, that we are all bound to that same that there I speake of, by occasion of that word bound, you bu­sily seeke to him in some poore aduauntage vnto your selfe: that is, that, especially as touching wiuing [...] you thinke that Saint Augustines rule conteineth somewhat more, than I and my fellowes at this day do practise. It is not to bee denied, but that nowe [...] his conuersion he gaue ouer the desire of marriage and would not haue women cohabit with him.Good rea­son why S. Augustine should re­fuse to co­habite with women, & yet that to be no rule vnto others that are not in the like case with him. But when as he had liued so loosely before, and kept a concubine, onely for his pleasure, without regard of procreation, could such inordinate af­fections [Page 73] of his, haue any place in sound conuersi­on? And when hee had so large experience of his former infirmitie, was it not wisedome for him, now to take heed of their companie also: or when hee had falne before, might hee not easily haue growne into suspition againe, vnlesse he had vsed some such preuention? Could not he that desired no children (and therefore desired not the vse of a woman, but onely to content his inordinate lust) thinke marriage to bee no needfull estate for him: but that such as ioy in that blessing of God must needs abandon marriage also, and haue it thought vnseemly for them? Or if hee, vppon his owne speciall disposition (by course of nature) found it needfull for himselfe to liue apart from them, did he therefore prescribe the self same rule to all others besides, or must it be as needfull for others as (in that case) it was for him? Or was this anie more, than (as the case then stood with him) a more carefull endeuor in the way of godlines (as be­fore I said) sauing that he did more specially frame it to his own proper vse? But now to come to your selues,Forgetting how farre themselues are polluted with all vn­cleanes, hee condem­neth lawful marriage in vs. could you so far forget howe abhominably you defiled your selues and others, for want of marriage (which wilfully, and with great reproch you abandoned from you) that now you can haue the face to find any fault with vs for lawfull mar­riage? Where such vnshamefastnes is so readilie found, it auaileth little there to bestow any sound aduise. But what cause had you so to depraue that latter annotatiou of mine (as you had placed it?)My Anno­tation de­praued. [Page 74] Did I say, as you haue made me to say, that Saint Augustines rule was but such as wee all are bound vnto? I said it not: but comparing Saint Augu­stines conuersion, with that other of Anthomes before, I saide that it might well bee doubted, whether Saint Anthonie had on that place suffi­cient ground-worke of those his dooings, vnlesse he had some speciall motion besides: but that it was otherwise with Saint Augustine, whose con­uersion was not but to such things as wee all are bound vnto, & vpon such a place as speaketh to all. So it is verie cleere, that I spake of his conuersion ge­nerally, as he was become a Christian, and not of his Rule, as you ouer-ruled my wordes at your pleasure. If you thinke indeede, that you haue such aduantage as you praetend, what need you then so eagerlie to follow vppon so pettite helps as these? Lastly,Of the as­surāce that we haue in God. you are againe offended that I will not suffer you quietly to runne away with that gainefull point of your doctrine, the vncon­taintie of the fauour of God towardes vs: and because you haue nothing else to saie agaynst that which I alledged out of the Apostle, there­fore both you carpe at it by the poore helpe of an aequiuocation, and whereas I spake but of that assurance, that the faithfull may [...] of themselues, you make faire towardes it, to inlarge my woordes to a further meaning, as though I had meant, that they might haue bene iudges of others also: I long to see, when you will take anie one thing in hande, wherein you [Page 75] will speake any thing at all to the purpose, and yet seeke no other aduauntage; than the place it selfe will giue you.

17. So these you say are fond, and absurd: but these are nothing to those that follow; for they are wicked. Of those that he cal­leth wicked Ill halting beliked before a criple. But now let vs see, what that wickednes is, that these Annotations are charged withall. This you lay foorth by these three places: the first, about the conuersion of Saint Anthonie; the next, about the conuersion of Saint Augustine; the third, a­bout the silence of the blessed Virgin, whē Christ in her hearing; was so much blasphemed. In the conuersion of Saint Anthonie you charge mee with this,The con­uersion of S. Anthony that whereas hee, hearing the sentence of the Gospell, Goe, and sell all that thou hast, &c. and taking it as spoken vnto him in particular, therevpon went, and solde all that hee had, and gaue it away to the poore: I thereupon no­ted, that it might well bee doubted, whether hee had in that place sufficient ground-woorke for those his dooings, vnlesse hee had some (other, say you) speciall motion besides. This is one of those great pointes of wickednes that you charge me withall; and this note you say, is scornefull and irreligious. Answere me therefore, is that sentence, Go and sell all that thou hast, and giue to the poore, &c. spoken in differēth to all, or not: or, which is the same, are al Christians boūd therby, to go & sel al that they haue; and to giue it to the poore? If you say they are, th [...] do you indeed say somwhat to the defence [Page 76] of this your wrangling censure: but then on the other side you run your selfe so farre on the shore, that you will neuer be able to recouer it againe. If you graunt that all are not, and that men may bee good Christians, though they sell not al that they haue, and giue it away: then are you driuen (will you, nill you) to allowe of mine Annotation there­on, though now in a toy you haue cast it off with great reproch. In the conuersion of S. Augustine,The con­uersion of S. Augu­stine. your griefe against me is, for that when you did so much commend the manner of his conuersion, without exception of anie thing at all thereunto apperteining, I, considering that certaine thinges therein might giue ouer much credite to certaine distempered humours of flesh and blood (as, for a man to leaue his function and calling belonging to the affaires of this life, and to betake himself, as they say, to continuall prayer, and contemplation those also that are married, thereupon to part the one from the other, and that sometimes without consent of the other part first had, which are to be seene in the storie of a couple, of whome he ma­keth mention in the eight booke of his Confessi­ons, and sixt chapter) gaue this note on it, that some pointes of the storie are large are such, as that a man may as wel doubt the readines of Sathan to illude and deceiue: as behold to our comfort the goodnes of God in his conuersion. And this you say I did, to bring in quaestion that excellent mans conuersion. But why then haue you so much gelded my note,My Anno­tation dis­membred. as you did? Why haue you so cleane left out the lat­ter [Page 77] part of it, which would verie cleerely haue dis­charged me of that suspition, when as I saide that we might behold to our comfort, the goodnes of God in his conuersion? You saw wel inough what it was that I bent my stile against. Which because you were not able with anie credite to defend, and yet were desirous to make your selfe a way to finde some fault, therefore both you turned it an other way, and purposely left out those wordes of mine that made against you. And yet (forsooth) needes must you haue this note of mine to bee most ridi­culous, and yet blasphemous. About the B. Virgin you storme exceedingly,The silence of the bles­sed Virgin. as though you went a­bout to make the world beleeue, that she had no frends on earth, but onely your selues. And what is the matter wherein I haue so much offended? That which I said, did I restraine vnto the blessed Virgin alone: or, to her & to those other women, that there I spake of? Had not your selfe, or your former Author, first set downe (by occasion of the like discourse out of Augustine) that the confessi­on of the thiefe was therein more welcome, be­cause that Christ was not acknowledged of other at that instant? Did not your selfe, or your former Author, therevpon set downe, first in this place, that all the world forsooke Christ, and euen the Apo­stles themselues, either doubted or lost the faith of his Godhead: and in the next section following, out of Augustine, that therein the perfection of the iust did stagger? When you had thus laid downe their sin in grosse: might not I shewe the particulars? [Page 78] But I noted the B. Virgin (but other godly wom [...] withal) to be of that company. I did so indeed, and why not? Doth it not make the reason (you bring) so much the stronger? Doth it not follow, that the more he was forsaken, the more welcome must be the theeues confession? when you had gathered to that accoūt al the world, & the Apostles themselues; do you take it so ill, that I should glean after you, & bring in those fewe? Or would you haue vs to thinke, that already you haue bestowed all your goodwil so fully vpō the B. Virgin, that you haue left none at all for the Apostles, for those godlie women, nor for al the world besides? You may tell vs so, if you list, but you can neuer make any be­leeue you. Would you plainely tell vs, what com­mandements were broken by those others, your selfe should ease mee in the same, which so hotely you lay to my charge. But that recoūting the sins of the faithful (not to their dishonor; but to Gods glory, & our edifieng) should be to bring them as a pray into the clawes of the deuil, when as notwith­standing the speech is not but of those, that with­out question are sound beleeuers, is such a proper­dish of diuinitie, as that it is pittie, but that you Iesuites should euer keepe it in, to your selues, and neuer drawe foorth anie part thereof vnto o­thers. Wee knowe that our Iesus is the Sauiour of none, but of sinners onely. But if I, for so ea­sie and needfull recounting of some few sinnes of certaine of the faithfull, deserue such a fee at his handes that you speake of, what may we thinke [Page 79] that hee will holde such a Proctor as your selfe worthie of, that so smoothly can lull men asleepe in opinion of their owne so absolute cleannes: to so manifest a contradiction of the worde of God; and to the ouerthrowing of soules vnto perditi­on? But the matter that galleth you, is this-Seeing that it is in so fresh remembrance with you, how fowlie and shamefully with much a­doo at length you obtained, to haue it set downe for a tolerable opinion, and not to be gainsayed by anie, that the Virgin Marie was altogither without sinne, you are now so very loth to heare of any thing that may call it in quaestion, as that (the rather to proppe vp your great idolatrie to her committed) you would haue all accounted as fond, that are not therein as haereticall and blas­phemous as you. But the lesse maruell it is that you deale so with mee, when as some of you haue not bene ashamed in much like sort to deale with Saint Ierome himselfe in that very matter that now is betwixt vs. For whereas hee (in his an­swere to the eight question of Algasia) by occasi­on had plainely set downe, that there was none without sinne, but Christ alone (and yet with great circumspection, that he did not thereby impeach the dignitie of anie of the godlie, of which he rec­koneth Iob, Zacharie, and Elizabeth) some of you notwithstanding in the ende of that his Treatise haue added this Antidotus (in his works printed at Paris, anno 1534.) that solum Christum eximit a peccato, qu [...]niam de his nondum definer at Ecclesia: [Page 80] that Saint Ierome (therefore) exempted Christ onely from sin, because the Church had not yet determined those matters. If therefore in this matter you deale so with him, I may take it so much the better, that therein you so deale with mee. Neuertheles when as you make such a woonder at it, and count it to be so absurd a matter, and so impossible to bee de­clared, you declare your selfe to be either maruel­lous ignorant in the sense & meaning of the com­mandements; or els to beare so ill an heart to the truth it selfe, that you will not acknowledge it, when you see it. Otherwise howe could you but see, and acknowledge withall, that to suffer Christ so to be reproched, and in the mean season (thogh it were but for feare) to say nothing in his defence must needes be a breach of the first Commande­ment as hee was God, and had not his honour by them giuen vnto him: of the fift, as hee was their Messias, their Annointed Priest, Prophet & King, and yet was not so auouched by them: of the sixt, as this their silence was, or might bee offensiue to others (offenses being spirituall murther:) and of the ninth, though hee were not but a man, in that he had not his good name by them defended? But in the meane season you haue made this point cleere, that they are maruellous happie men that haue you for their teachers: that either do not vn­derstand the principles of Religion; or cannot in anie wise bee content to confesse an open truth, when as you see that it doth reprooue your won­ted errors. As for the wordes of contempt and re­proch, [Page 81] that here you do interlace, and in your An­notation of the place it selfe, that heerein I am ri­diculous, and blasphemous, and that woorthie praier of yours, God helpe the fond man, I doubt that I may not be so bolde as to take them from you, be­cause they are the chiefest weight of all that you bring for that matter: at least for my part for this present time, I do returne them to your selfe again from whence they came, vntill you shall bring o­thers more worthie some answere.

18 But that vpon the praemises you take on so in the ende,Of his vain and friuo­lous illati­on, vpon the premi­ses. that we haue no honest meaning, no fidelitie, no conscience, no respect of God or man, that deale in this order: that it is not hard, to found any new religion, or to defend it, nor to auouch what follie or falshood soeuer by this manner of proceeding: that if we had abilitie to our wil, our consciences would permit vs to make, I wote not what alteration, subuersion, and metamorphosis in all matters of antiquitie: that if wee had to our selues the setting foorth of the holie Fathers and Doctors works, wee would lop them, and circum­cise them, and set them foorth in their ierkins, yea, bare hose and doublets: and that, if wee had the keeping of all antiquities, fathers, councels, and scriptures alone to our selues, as you had, we wold make them currant and absolute for our professi­on, and frame them to speake euen as Iohn Cal­uin speaketh in all matters of controuersie, or ra­ther, as that good man for the time would haue them speake, vnto whose hands the last edition of [Page 82] such works should bee committed: all this is, so much as concerneth vs, but a vain & causles out-crie; and, so much as concerneth you, a false, and a foolish Tesuiticall out facing of that which you know to be nothing so. For what cause haue I gi­uen you, either in this sort to charge me; or (for my sake) so impotently to run vpō others, & to poure forth vpon them so plentifully, what the distem­perature of your vnquiet braine can imagine, or the volubilitie of your slanderous tong can vtter [...] Haue you herein any cause to complaine, that we haue no honest meaning, no fidelitie, no conscience, no regard of God or man? Are not these very greeuous accusations? And must it of necessitie follow, that either you haue in this dealing of mine, some spe­cial cause so far to complain: or els, that you make no conscience at all, falsly to accuse; and to beare [...] shew as though you had much matter against vs, wherein notwithstanding you knowe you haue none? And so, because it is euidently seene, that heerein you haue no such cause to complaine, as you would seem by such an out-crie to haue (eu [...] in the iudgement of your owne adhaerents) there­fore haue you now euen in this onely (though we had no other proofe at all against you, as indeede we haue very much) sufficiently declared, both that such complaintes of yours doo not euer im­port any fault in vs: and that this heauie charge of yours, of no honest meaning, no fidelitie, no con­science, no regard of God or man, finding no place to light vpon vs, returneth home to your selfe a­gaine, [Page 83] as to the proper owner of it.

19 To say somewhat particularly,How little cause was giuen by me that so he should charge vs. both of my faultines in this matter, & especially of the inno­cencie that you claim to your selues, haue I here­in so much as attempted, to make the booke, that I did publish to seeme to be yours, in such sorte as I had published the same? Did I not both in the Title briefly, and in the Praeface more at large plainly praemonish and acknowledge, what I had doone for that matter? Did I not perswade my selfe, thinke you, that if therein I had left you anie aduantage against me, you wold haue bene readie to take hold of it: & haue not your selfe verified that coniecture of mine, that so mightily storme for nothing at all? And though I had not regar­ded you, yet for mine own credits sake, I might in no wise haue set it forth in such sort as I did, and withal beare the world in hande, that so it was set out by you. For who would haue beleeued, that one of the adhaerents of the Church of Rome, a wilful exile from his country for that forrain pre­ [...]ates sake, and of (blinde zeale, or vaine hope, or for impunitie) a professed Frier (as it is thought) would euer publish anie such booke so litle infec­ted with their owne vnsauerie opinions? All men know wel inough in what maner you speake, and what ye write: nothing at al, when you are in your proper vaine, but contentious brablings, or traite­rous libels, or, when you come foorth vnder a vi­ [...]ard, borrowing for a purpose the shewe of some godlines, to make it a packe-horse to carrie foorth [Page 84] your poperie by it. If I therefore should haue gi­uen foorth the same as yours, I had not onely gi­uen forth an vntruth of you, but also I had discre­dited my selfe, for that no bodie would haue bele­ued, that so corrupt branches as you, and your fel­lowes are knowne to bee, could euer bring foorth any fruit that is so little corrupted. And as for your selfe, you need not to feare, that it would bee alto­gither accounted yours: vnles you were sure that there be none, that can set downe such a petigree of it, as that they leaue a verie small portion there­of to be yours (but those brabling points of pope­ry onely.) I haue heard long since, and not, sought out by mee, by one that hath trauailed in those parts, that your selfe did but translate the Booke that nowe you call yours, and added vnto it most of those points of popery, and not much besides: & that the Booke was before in the Italian toong, and in Italy commonly solde, and by the reporter read there. But whether it be so or not I cannot say, nor will not ground vpon report. If it bee so, your self best knoweth: and then there is the lesse cause why you should take this matter so hotely. Sure I was when first I read it, that a latter had busilie added vnto the doings of the former: and that chiefly in matters of popery, as in my preface before I noted. And since I saw your latter booke I was therby much more strengthened to thinke that whose soeuer the better part of the forine booke was, without all quaestion it was none o [...] yours. But to returne to my selfe againe, seing that [Page 85] I had sufficiently acknowledged and published to all, that it was not doone by you in such sorte as it was set foorth by me, you haue no cause hereby to gather, that we are so voide of honest dealing, fi­delitie, conscience, and regard of God and man, that if wee had the keeping and setting out of the Fa­thers, as you haue had, we would lop them, and cir­cumcise them, and make them to speake as our selues would. I haue doone no more yet, but onlie that I would not suffer you to traile them in, a­gainst their wils, and to make them speake as you would haue them: I haue not laboured to make them speake as we would haue them.

20 And so nowe to come to your selues, that haue had those monuments of antiquitie so long in your keeping,How faith­fully the later church of Rome hath kept the monu­ments of antiquitie. and haue (as you would fayne haue the world perswaded) so truly kept them, & so faithfully set them foorth to others, heerein you discouer your vnshamefast and graceles nature so far, that no bodie needeth to lay you more open than you do your selfe. For what man, that hath a­nie honest shame, can so confidently beare the world in hand, in that which himselfe doth know to be most vntrue? and that, not onely for the time that is past, but also for this time that now is pre­sent. For, as touching the time that is past, howe can you be ignorant (would you neuer so faine) of the great corruptions and forgeries, that your Church of Rome hath euer vsed? Immediately after that persecution was ceased, and that you had gotten a litle rest, beginning to deuise for your [Page 86] owne aduauncement, did you not labour to haue corrupted the Nicene councell,The Nicene Councell. and that so grosly that you were manifestly taken withall, by the whole councell of Carthage, S. Augustine himself beeing one of the Fathers that tooke you with it: And when you were taken with the manner, did you then acknowledge your fault, and aske for­giuenes, that we might conceiue hope of grace, & that you would vse it no more? No, but hauing the forhead of an harlot that shameth with no­thing, you added an other forgerie vnto it to saue your credit withall; bringing in Athanasius com­plaining, that the Arrians had burnt al the copies of most of those canons of the Nicene Councell: so to make some shew to the world, that those bi­shops of Affrike did not iustly giue you the re­pulse in that your ambitious attempt; but that all they did want the full copies of that councell, which notwithstanding you then had, and there­by made the claime that you did. Afterward, whē you had gotten on cock-horse, and were desirous to make the world beleeue, that it was not of new vsurpation, but from reuerend antiquitie most certainely descended, howe did you then altogither followe vppon that naughtie practise, forging manie decretall Epistles vnder the names of most of the Fathers,Decretall Epistles. exceedingly aduaun­cing your praerogatiue, and commending your ceremonies, and, besides that, making a faire deede of gift in the name of Constantine the Emperour,Constan­tines gift. vnto Siluester the Pope of all the [Page 87] West parte of the Empire, after that to remaine vnto the Pope alone? And had not the iust iudgementes of GOD ouer-taken you with your ignorance and follie, or (as wee common­lie say) had your skill beene to your will, howe had the Church of God beene vnto this day de­ceiued with those pamphlets? How loath should wee haue beene to haue doubted of anie of these your grosse corruptions, so long as they should shrowd them-selues vnder the names of so reue­rend Fathers? But (God bee thanked for it) your forgeries doo hang so properlie togither, that they doo no sooner come to the light, but that by and by they showe themselues what they are: insomuch that nowe diuers of your selues haue written against them; and some others besides (though loath to beholde the weakenes of this their cause, but so little as may bee) yet notwithstanding are verie ill ashamed of them.

21 If wee come to the Fathers,The Fa­thers. S. Ierome. in some fewe of them it may bee seene, what wee may looke for in the rest. In the woorkes of Saint Ierome, as you haue set them foorth vnto vs (as the bookes them selues will witnesse) the whole fourth Tome you knowe is none of his: nor in the seauenth anie thing but his Commentarie vp­pon Ecclesiastes; in the eight, but his transla­tion according to the Hebrew, nor that verie certainely neyther; in the last but onelie his Commentaries on Mathew, on foure of S. Paules [Page 88] epistles, and his translation of the booke of Didi­mus of the holy Ghost. But many others (you know well ynough) are ioined vnto them, and go vnder the name of his works generally. In which case if a man should aske, who are the likeliest to haue shufled in these, among the true woorkers of that Father, and to put them out in his name; it were easily answered, that in reason it were like to be those, that haue had the keeping of them, and to whose purpose they are fitliest framed: which, as you knowe, commeth neere vnto you, and that in such sort, as that in no wise you are able for to cleere your selues of great fault therein. Of Augu­stine likewise you knowe it is set downe,S. August. that in such matters men haue made as bolde with him, as with anie other of the Fathers besides. As for example, in the ninth Tome of his works, where there are about seuen and fortie seuerall woorkes vnder his name generally, yet notwithstanding there are not past seuen (or thereabout) that are knowne to bee his; and all the other fortie flatlie reiected, sauing a verie fewe of them that are but doubted. In the last tome likewise of his fiftie ho­milies he hath about halfe: of his sermons de tem­pore, not fully out a tenth (for hee hath but about 43. of 256:) of his sermons de sanctis, hee hath a do­zen, of one and fiftie: and of his sermons ad fra­tres in eremo, of threescore and sixteene, hee hath but six, and your Abbat Tritthemius himselfe, in his recitall of the Ecclesiasticall writers, when hee commeth to this Father, hee dooth not onely put [Page 89] out by name certain of those (as none of his) which you notwithstanding commend vnto vs among the rest: but also doth adde generally, that So ma­nie Treatises & Sermons are falsly ascribed vnto that Father, that the reckoning of them vp, would require a volume by it selfe. You were the keepers of these bookes also; you had the writing of them out; & your cause it is that those additions giue credite vnto: we haue receiued them so of you; and our cause is no where holpen by any of those bastard works whatsoeuer, but on the other side as much discredited as they are able. If therefore the quae­stion bee betwixt you and vs, whether part it is that hath so corrupted the Fathers, there is no quaestion, but that needs it must fall to bee yours: or, at least, that it commeth much neerer vnto you, than it doth vnto vs.

22 But yet to make it somewhat cleerer, by some example,Particular examples. M. R. in his confer. cap. 5. diuis. 2. first I trust you know well inough howe far you are of late charged, as with diuers o­thers, so namely with Thomas Aquinas, for his ill dealing with Cyril, and with the whole Councell of Chalcedon. My selfe at this present will goe no further, but onely to put you a little in mind, both how truly you can finde in your hartes to alledge, and how you alter the place it selfe, when it ma­keth for your purpose so to doo. For the former, whereas Augustine teacheth to iudge of Scrip­tures, which were most to bee esteemed,De doctrin. Christ. lib. 2. cap, 8. setteth downe this rule, that therein we are to followe the authoritie of the most part of the Catholike chur­ches, [Page 90] and especially of those that haue Aposto­like Seas, & haue beene vouchsafed to receiue the Epistles from the Apostles sent vnto them:Dist. 19. In canonicis. you tell vs that he saith, that those also are Scripture, that the Apostolike Sea hath (meaning Rome [...]) and such as it hath vouchsafed to sende vnto o­thers. And this for the aduauncement of your Church of Rome, and to make all such things au­thentike Scripture, that either it bringeth foorth out of your own libraries there: or els at any time it is disposed to send vnto others. For the other; whereas in like maner the same Saint Augustine said at the first, that that bodie of Christ wherein hee rose from death to life, must needes be in one place: you haue now of late made him to say, that it may be in one place: and this because you saw it made so directly against your fonde and blast­phemous error of Transubstantiation, which now you haue taken vpon you to defend, and thereup­on haue endeuored to help your selues with such poore helples shifts as these. That you haue made Augustine so to speake now, the books do witnes that you haue printed: that hee did not say so be­fore, your own late Doctors do plainly testifie,li. 4. dist. 10. the master of Sentences,de consecr. dist 2. Prima quidem. Gratian,parte. 3. Quest. 75. Art. 1. Th. Aqui­nas, super can. missae. lect. 39. A. Gabriel Biel, & others. What others of this kind might be alledged, your selues do knowe so wel already (both because your selues be the doers, & are daily taken with this kind of dealing) that it is about needles to bring in any mo examples of it. I wold you could as readily acknowledge your [Page 91] ill dealing herein, to your amendment: as wee are able to charge you with it, to the vtter discredite of the naughtie cause that you haue in hand.

23 As touching this time that nowe is prae­sent (I mean, since the time that God of his good­nes hath bestowed this light of the Gospell vp­on vs) first it is good for you heere to remember, that alreadie I named one such companion of yours in mine Epistle, Iohannes Baptista Fickler: such a companion in this kind of dealing, as anie where I beleeue you were hardly able to finde. And therefore you did wisely, to say nothing of him. Then also I trust your selfe can likewise tell, how deepely you are charged alreadie, that euer since this light of the Gospell hath set you so streight, and put you so much to your shifts as it hath, you haue done your endeuour the best that you could, to frame the Fathers and other writers to your best aduantage. And namely, how to that purpose you haue dealt with Ludouicus Viues, Iohannes Molanus, and Carolus Sigonius, whose books yet extant,M. Reinolds in his prae­face of the Confer. to the Semi­naries. pag. 23.26. as they were imprinted before, doo plainely shewe in their latter impressions by you, howe fowly you haue abused them since. So likewise, when you got Manutius to Rome, to re­print the Fathers for you, vnder the ouersight of foure Cardinals, howe corruptly you began with Cyprian first: and that Manutius himselfe confes­sed resonable plainly, how il he was there imploi­ed by you. But to come somwhat neerer vnto you what say you to that wherwith Franciscus Iunius [Page 92] doth charge you, that himselfe did see (at Lyons, in the shoppe of Frelonius) of your dealing with Ambrose:In praef. ad lect. in In­dicem Expurg. when as there he tooke you in the ma­ner, crossing out of the works of that father, which before had beene set foorth according to the anci­ent copies) sometimes but certaine sentences one­ly, but sometimes againe whole pages togither? Or how are you able in any good sense to defend that which you haue already doone these many yeres, and daily yet doo, by that your Index expurgatori­us? Haue you not thereby put out at your plea­sure, whatsoeuer yet you had left of the Fathers that made against you? And not onely that, but whatsoeuer Arguments, Annotations, Scholies, & such like, the learned men of late (& some of them euen of your owne side also) had put thereunto, whereby your former dealing with those Fathers was the rather called in question, by the light that they gaue to the woorkes themselues, out of their obseruation, and diligent reading? And haue you not nowe printed them againe after your fashion: dismembred themselues nowe more by you, than by your predecessors before; and spoiled likewise of those learned helps that gaue light vnto them, and to your former il dealing with them? Or could you holde your selues contented to stay there? Haue you not reached foorth those self-same fin­gers of yours to many other good woorks besides, of diuinitie, humanitie, historie, philosophie, lawe, physike, and all: and in them also sometimes put in what you thought good, but for the most part [Page 93] dasht out (at your pleasure) whatsoeuer touched anie of your errors, or no more but your pride and loosenes of life? And yet notwithstanding, haue you not in such sort set them forth, as though they were those Fathers and Authors themselues, no­thing at all gelded by you? For, doo you professe the thing you haue doone, or could you finde in your harts that men should be priuie to your dea­lings herein? Why then did you all things in hug­ger-mugger? Why did you so sercretly amōg your selues (and none but the chiefest & surest of you) gather that Expurgatorie table of yours? Why did you print no mo copies of it, but onely for certain chiefe and speciall persons? Why was it, that not one of those copies might come abroad? Why was there taken so strict an order, that those that had them should keepe them close, and neuer to bee known of them? For haue you not expresly proui­ded, ‘ne quis praeter Prototypographum Regium hune Indicem imprimat, neue ille aut quis alius publice vel priuate vendat, aut citra ordinariorum facultatem, out permissionem habeat.’ And speaking of those sure-bies of yours, vnto whome you dare commit these copies, do you not there againe commaund, that ‘ipsi priuatim nullis (que) consciis apud se Indicem Expurgatorium habeant, quem eundem neque aliis communicabant, neque eius exemplum vlli dabunt: sed tantum id curabunt diligentissime, vt loca praedic­ta inquirant, expungant, &c.’ Are not these your owne words, and many others to the same effect, in that your Table? So your Correctors and Prin­ters [Page 94] must so doo: but they must not be acknown why they do it, or what direction it was that they followed. Insomuch that you may safely beare your nouices & prosylites in hand now, that there is no Doctor, nor almost any other approued wri­ter, that in any thing speaketh against you. For whom you could not correct to your minde, him haue you boldly strooken out cleane: so verie pe­remptory now haue you bene. And those misera­ble prosylites of yours must needes be perswaded now, that all is with them, and nothing at all anie where against them. For they may in no wise sus­pect anie such dealing in you: and your selues wit make sure inough, that you will not tell thē. That so it may be fulfilled in them, that Christ himself noted in others such like, that they shuld be two-fould the children of hell, more than your selues. For your selues do know, what legerdemaine you haue vsed in these matters to deceiue them with­all, and so may esteeme of your cause accordingly (but only of policie for to hold vp, so long as may be, your earthly estate:) but they doo not know it, and so may bee in good sadnes indeed, and neuer espie how they were beguiled. But God be than­ked, that would not suffer you so to abuse the world still: but hath nowe brought foorth into the open light of the sunne, that mysterie of ini­quitie, that you haue beene woorking so long in your secret corners. God bee thanked also, that before hee would so fullie bring your dooinges a­broad, hee suffered you to runne so farre as might [Page 95] be sufficient to shew vnto all, how you haue deale with the Fathers and Councels, and all other an­tiquities before: and how farre past shame you are nowe, to sticke at nothing whatsoeuer it be, wher­by you may hope to holde mens eies in blindnes still, and to entangle the truth it selfe. As for your selfe, I doo not charge you as one of the dooers: it was some-what before you came to haue anie place among them; and yet not much. Neither doo. I thinke, that yet you are of that credite with them, as it was then thought meet for those, that should bee the dealers in that matter. But I trust that you will not denie, but that since that time it is come vnto your know­ledge, that so they haue doone. If it be so, what face haue you then, that could so boldly lay that to my charge, and to the charge of others besides, that neyther in mee, nor in anie of vs, you are able to finde: and that which you knewe might bee found in your selues in the highest de­gree? Were you perswaded, that by crying out so lowd against such dealing, you could haue vs to beleeue, that your selues did so much detest it, that wee might doubt no such thing in you? Indeede we doo not doubt it now: for our selues doo plainely see it. If you did not know so much before, then by all likelyhood you wil soone leaue them now, when as you find that same in them in so plentiful maner, that supposing to be in vs you haue shewed your selfe so much to mislike: vnles you had rather that in your self it should appeere [Page 96] by this one example in steed of the rest, that ney­ther your profession, nor your other dooings ther­vnto appertaining, are in truth any other, but such as your selues beeing better aduised do euer mis­like, and of your selues graunt to be naught.

Of the treatise of Pacificatiō.24 Then comming to my Treatise of Pacifi­cation, although you catch heere and there at [...] yet whosoeuer it is, that considereth howe little fault you were able to finde, after that once you had giuen your selfe to doo what you could, may soone espie, that, in effect, you haue iustified all. And indeede there is nothing at all, that for this matter you haue laid to my charge, but only that, which is either of no importāce, but very trifling: or els if the matter bee in it selfe of some weight, then is the place first by you depraued, and after that obiected to me as mine. Insomuch that there is no point at all that you charge mee with, but may easily bee sorted to one of those two: that is, either trifling;Of those that are trifling. or els depraued. Of the former sort are these two, that first you charge me to haue of­fered you so great iniurie in that your booke, that I thereby haue cut off all hope of agreement; the other, that you carpe at my method, and say that all things there run in couples: of the latter, are al the rest.Of the in­iurie that he saith I haue offe­red vnto him, to the ouerthrowe of al agree­ment. That you charge mee to haue offered so great iniurie vnto you, that thereby the way to a­greement is praeuented, it lieth vppon a matter of controuersie that is betwixt vs. If you had set downe no more (in the booke that nowe you call yours) then that which standeth with the truth, [Page 97] then might you iustly complaine that I had done you wrong therein: but if you haue put in more, and wickedly mingled the truth of God, with your lies, as it is certaine that you haue done, and I doo charge you, where then is this wrong that you do complaine of. As for my methode,Of my me­thode. what cause haue you at all to complaine, but onely that you thinke that you are wrong, if you carpe not at all? Haue you neuer read tables ere now? And do you not knowe that the fewer members that anie thing is reduced vnto, the better it is thereby di­uided? If I haue laboured to reduce all to fewer members, and therby gotten the method so much the better, both for the plainnes and certaintie of it, must this needes bee so offensiue vnto you, that you could not passe by, before you had snatched at it also? Was it not inough for you to go vntou­ched, for the loose and negligent diuisions that you haue made (if so bee I may trulie call them yours (but that you must be finding fault with an other, in that which your owne doings do iustifie? Or haue you the face to say, that it confoundeth memorie to haue all reduced vnto a couple of principall heads, and the subdiuisions to the same belonging to be sorted withal to their proper pla­ces: and yet that it confoundeth no memorie in yours to leaue thē at large, to foure, fiue, six, seuen, eight, and mo, and to take them hand-ouer-head: that first, that should bee last; and that last, that should be first? But such is the vanitie of our Ie­suits now (and belike, a peece of their order) that [Page 98] they must find fault with al others, and neuer like of any but themselues: and euer they are to mislike the manifestation of the truth, not onelie as touching the thing it selfe; but also, whensoe­uer any do labour to set it downe more distinctly, or in plainer maner, that so it might bee so much the better perceiued by others.

Of those that are by him depra­ued, in that which I had set downe to persuade others.25 Those that you haue first depraued, & after that obiected vnto me, are very manie: & yet to so little purpose withal, that it is in a maner but lost labour to go against them, they do so easily fall of themselues. But that you may see your vanitie the better, I will not sticke a little to holde the glasse vnto you, so that you also wil looke better into it, and bee content to acknowledge those spots that so you may find. And first (concerning Religion),Cōcerning Religion. That I shuld seem to vaunt of our owne proper ler­ning, aboue all others. whereas I say, that it hath pleased God to blesse this age of ours, with so cleere and singular a light of the truth, as (to our knowledge) hee neuer yet bestowed on others, heere doo you full wiselie charge me, that I exclude all your companie, and claime to haue that light alone among our selues. And yet it is as cleere as the sunne, that I spake it onely of this Age generally, and not of the parties that are diuided: not of our selues, more than of you; but indifferently, of both togither, and all o­thers besides. But otherwise you could not tell, how to bodge in those impertinent complaintes, that therupon you infer, to ease your stomake of the boyling of them.He gibeth at the con­sequence, after that first he hath taken away one halse of that where­on it depē ­deth. Immediatly after, taking vpō you to recite the chiefe & principal points of that [Page 99] my Treatise, you begin so ilfauoredly, that therby only you put vs out of hope, after-ward to finde good dealing with you. Whereas therefore I said, that you ought to ioine in profession with vs, for that it becommeth and behoueth the Church of God (in many respects) to bee at vnitie in it selfe: and yet the case so standeth in this matter, that wee are not able in our profession to yeelde vnto you, but you verie wel may, and of dutie ought to accord vnto vs: heere come you in and say, that to prooue that you should ioine with vs, I alledge that the Church should bee at vnitie in it selfe. Which reason, say you, how farre it prooueth his pur­pose, let the Reader consider. Yea verily, the Reader may very well consider, that your cause is verie weake, whē as you can get out no greater matters to cauill at: and yet are faine in them also, to leane so much to vntruth besides. Afterward againe, whereas I denie not, but that diuers there may bee, that doo not care for anie Religion,That I shuld seem to graunt, that there is no cause why men should ioin with vs in respect of Religion: but in res­pect of Po­licie onely. who yet notwithstanding would be loth to ioyne with the Pope, for manie good causes in respect of their ciuil estate: heere come you in againe after your wonted maner, charging mee to say, that this onely reason of State, holdeth many on our side froe frō com­ming to you, who otherwise in conscience would haue no scruple at all; and therewithal you won­der that euer my Lord Archbishop would let such a confession to passe in print. As though I had eyther plainelie professed, or couertlie insinuated thereby, that such as doo imbrace [Page 100] this religion especially, doo it not in respect of re­ligion it selfe, but in some wordly respect onelie. Which how foolish a cauill it is, it selfe alone suf­ficiently declareth.

The I de­uise bugs on the Ec­clesiastical authoritie of the B. of Rome.But then, that you leese no time, while your hande is in, you go further, and are bolde to say, that though this poore Minister, to terrifie the com­mon people (say you, but these bugs terrifie your pa­pacie more) deuiseth bugs vppon the Ecclesiasticall authoritie of the Bishop of Rome: yet (your conclu­sion is) that it is verie plaine and palpable, that there is no such inconuenience. But soft I pray you. Did this poore Minister (thinke you indeede) deuise these bugs? Were they neuer heard of before. Are there no histories that you haue read, or can be­leeue, that make mention of them? Would you so faine, so slily passe ouer the great complaints, that the countries here-abouts, as England, France, and Germanie continually haue made, at home, and a­broad, of this matter? As for the examples of pri­uate men, although they be infinite, and, of al sorts and degrees verie manie: yet beeing but priuate, and of seuerall persons, it is not vnlikely, but that such an one as professeth such blindnes as you do, would readily say he saw none of them all. But Fraunce and Germanie (if you looke abroad) are great States: and England likewise, if you can con­tent your selfe at home. And as for the two former of these three, neither of them is so farre off, nor in these your wilfull and graceles wandrings so vn­known vnto you, but that you might easily know [Page 101] (could you as readily acknowledge it when you do see it) that in Fraunce Lewis the ninth, Philip the faire, Charles the fift, sixt, and seuenth, did all prouide by publike authoritie, against the coue­tousnes, extortion, ambition, and pride of the Sea of Rome: and that although Lewis the eleuenth (in latter time) was content at the Popes request, to abolish the Pragmaticall sanction, and other lawes that they had made to that purpose; yet di­uers Bishops, the students of Paris, and Iohannes Romanus the Kings Atturney, a wise, a learned, & an eloquent man, would in no wise consent to the abolishing of them. In Germany likewise the no­bles and commons did earnestly sollicite Frede­rike of Austrich the Emperour, both before his coronation, and after, for the redresse of those mat­ters (in such manner as Fraunce before had done:) and beeing at that time defeated by the wicked counsel of Aneas Siluius, did neuertheles, stil hold on the same endeuour whensoeuer opportunitie serued, and to that ende put vp a supplication to Maximilian, of ten speciall greeuances, and an o­ther of an hundred (in the session of Noremberg) to the Pope himselfe. And for the other, being an English-man (though but a bad one in the quarrel that now you sustain) neuer heard you what great stickling and busines about these matters there was, betwixt William Rufus, and Anselme Arch­bishop of Canterbury: betweene Henry the first, and not onely Anselme, but Thurstan also the Archbishop of Yorke: and betweene Henry the [Page 102] second, and Thomas Becket that proud, and ar­rogant, and head-strong traitor? Nor how Edward the third, did to that end not onely reuiue the sta­tute of Praemunire, made before by Edward the first: but also would in no wise abrogate the same, though hee were much sollicited vnto it by Gre­gorie the eleuenth: nor how Richard the second by publike authoritie likewise both reconfirmed, and further strengthened the same: nor howe, though it was againe attempted to bee abolished in the raigne of Henry the sixt by the earnest in­treatie of Martin the fift, yet was it not obtained, but still stood in force, euen to this praesent age of ours? If these thinges were straunge, or but seldome heard of, I would with good will haue noted vnto you the stories them-selues more at large, and the places whence they are taken: but being so euident and knowne as they are, in is but lost labour to deale any further, but onely to put you in mind of them. How is it then that you goe about to perswade your reader, that these are but bugs by mee deuised to terrifie the common people? Haue you the face so to dissemble the weakenes of your cause: & to lay off the same, you care not how, vppon anie others? Then are they vnwise, that knowing this, will heereafter be deceiued by you. But to proceed, is it the Ecclesiasticall authori­tie of the Bishop of Rome, whereon these bugs, (as you say) are deuised? Is that Ecclesiasticall au­thoritie of his of that nature, that it can meddle with ciuill causes, so manie, so great, and so ve­rie [Page 103] much? And are you sure that neither the Em­pire, nor the kingdoms of Spaine, Fraunce, Polo­ [...]an, nor others; nor the auncient Princes of this realme of England, euer found the inconuenience that now we speake of: that the Princes of Eng­land were for so manie ages togither more potent and glorious, than they haue beene since the suppression thereof: and that the matter you speake of, is in it selfe so plaine and palpable? Certainely, whosoeuer it is that can so boldlie affirme these, wee haue no great occasion to hope that hee wil make con­science of anie thing else: and there is an other Note-this for you to put in your margent, be­cause you are faine to fetch them so farre, for want that you haue them not so neere as you would. After this you come to an other, as proper a shift, as most of those that are gone before. For whereas I had saide before, that it was the sa­fest way to rest in Christ alone for the whole woorke of our redemption;That, be­cause I teach, that we ought to rest in Christ a­lone, for the whole worke of our redemption, there­fore I abo­lish works: and that we all are little occupied in any good woorks. and that in such sort, as that wee sought no helpe of Angell or of Saint, of our owne or other folkes merits: heere come you in with a fonde collection and childish cauill, that, by this reason, such as should neuer pray, nor desire others to pray for him, hee that should neuer fast, nor doo other good deede, but should rather defie the same, and lay all vpon the passion of Christ, should be the neerest to that ad­uauntage. But can you in good sadnes no better perceiue how these two may stand togither: both for to rest in Christ alone, for the whole woorke [Page 104] of our redemption; and yet to be occupyed ther­withall in such woorks, as God hath prepared for vs to walke in? Or if needes you would carpe here at, might you not by the like reason haue car­ped at many places of the Apostles, and Christ himselfe? For that you charge vs to doo so little, it is no maruell, nor matter neither: your selues must bee able to giue a better account of your owne life, before that you shall bee allowed with vs, to take the account of any others. But you Ie­suits, Seminarie priestes, and all that company of vnnaturall impes, that so wilfully abandon your owne countrie to practise against it, and to deuote your selues to that forraine priest, haue faces of brasse: that although your selues do knowe, that you are defiled (almost) with all manner of euill, i­dolatrie, whoredome, seditious practisings, & trea­sonable attempts in the highest degree; yet is your modestie such, that you can bee prying at other folks liues, and flatly condemne them, before that you find them (any thing like) so ill as your owne. Would you giue vs but this sparing, that you would not so hardly charge vs, vntill we were but halfe so bad as your selues, wee might then more easily come vnto agreement for this matter. But when the loosest of all others that this age of ours hath, and those that haue solde themselues to so much iniquitie, take vpon them to be control­lers & condemners of others, howsoeuer you may please your owne selues therein, and hope therby to get your owne liues to scape vnespied: yet may [Page 105] you not thinke, that with those that stand indiffe­rent, it can be taken for sufficient, whether it be to charge vs, or els no more but to discharge your selues.

26 And so hauing in this manner glaunced at such matters as I set downe concerning religion,Concer­ning our ciuil estate. then you addresse your selfe in like sorte to deale with certaine others that do appertaine to our ci­uill estate. Where first it greeneth you that I say, that (as you report it) the blessednes of England is greater at this time, than euer it was since the lande was first inhabited: That I shuld seeme to exempt our profes­sion from temporall calamities: and that our superi­ors conuey our treasure out of the land to for­raine vses. or, as my selfe had set it down, that (to those that professe the Gospell, and labor to reforme their wandrings thereby) this country of ours hath nowe enioyed these manie yeeres, the most peaceable, and the most blessed time, that euer it can be found to haue had, since that the land was first in­habited. And so proceeding, you first depraued two other places besides, and then come in with your floorish vpon them after your manner. For whereas first extolling the goodnes of God, vnto those that seeke the aduancement of his glorie, I said, that, howsoeuer it be with others, yet shall it sure­lie go well with those; and then after, commending the gouernement that nowe wee haue vnder our owne Princes at home, therein I noted, that our treasure is not now carried out of our Realme, to the maintenance of forraine power (as heretofore it hath beene) and imploied against our selues, but that it is imployed now to the honor and defence of our selues at home: for the former you make [Page 106] me to say, that Protestants in these temporall affairs are alwaies prosperous, and for the latter you say, it seemeth that this good man talketh rather by medita­tion or fiction, than by anie great intelligence he hath in such affaires. A goodlie catch: and God bee thanked, that you are able to find no greater mat­ters; but that you are faine to sit downe with these? But is it so grieuous a thing to you, to heare of the peace and welfare of England?Of the peace of the church. Or are you able any of you all, to name such a time of peace and blessednes, as now wee haue had? Or if wee cōmend the goodnes of God towardes those that are his, cā it no otherwise soūd with you, but that we must seeme to say, that in these temporall affairs we are alwaies prosperous, in that sense that you doe giue it? If in the way of thankfulnes we gladly ac­knowledge the goodnes of God, towards our na­tiue country & vs, had you no better note to put in the margent of your recital of it, but Imollerable lying f [...]aterie? And if there was no remedie, but that needs that note must in, must you needs bee so eagerly set vpō it, that you would put in (to the first woord of it) an l more than needed, and more than true orthographie beareth, to make it [...]le better in the mouth of your reader? Then I per­ceiue, it is needfull for those that haue to deale with you, to holde their feet so wel as they can: if once they bee downe, you care not how pitifully you stamp them vnder your feet. If in like maner we acknowledge him to be very gratious towards those that professe the gospel, insomuch that whē [Page 107] others are troubled, yet are these more safely pre­serued & more comfortably gouerned: was there no remedy, but that immediatly you must aske vs again out of your margent, How those that profes the Gospel, do prosper at this day, in France & Flan­ders. But, God be thanked, they prosper well, and much better than you wold haue them: & in Eng­land also much better now, than at that time you hoped, that by this time it should. But to keepe only to those, it was not long since the Gospel had (in a manner) no foot among them: now you see it hath gotten such hold, that the worst you can do, cannot expulse it again. You are fain to tolerate it in the one, & of necessitie you must let it alone in the other. But what if it shuld please the wisdom of God to steepe it a little longer in blood, before it shuld find the daies of peace? Would you ther­upon so readily infer, that it were declining: or would you so quickly prepare your triumph, as if it were now quite ouerthrown? you were no dout a wise company, if there were amōg you al, no wi­ser than you. Be it therfore known to you, that the more that God for the time leaueth his childrē in your hands, to do with them as you thinke good, & the more that he doth purge them in the fierie furnace of your cruelties, the cleaner & holier are they made to him, and surer are they in his good time to be aduaunced. And whether it prooue so with thē or not, yet was it no better thā plain folly in you, in such particulars so far to triumph, on so vnsure euent in the end. But pardoning this point [Page 108] of follie vnto you, what a malitious slaunder is it to charge those that nowe sit at the sterne of go­uernment with vs, to let go our treasure abroad,Of carying out our treasure. to the mainteinance of forraine powers against our selues. Is it not needful, that Princes be at charged abroad, for to mainteine their peace at home? If the same be found among vs, is that so ill a matter in it selfe, as you can bee perswaded, that therein you haue sufficient ground-woorke, to bluster a­broad so vile a slander? Can you see no difference betwixt our former (slauish and immeasurable, but forced) suffering of that proud praelate of Rome, to gather togither and carrie away the wealth of the land as pleased him, and to imploy the same against vs when occasion serued: and the volun­tarie and needful imploying of certaine moderate sums or pencions now, that are bestowed abroad, both to our profit and honour at home? Are you so blind, that betwixt these you were able to espie no difference at all? No surely, it was not that: I will not charge you with ignorāce of it, but that of malice you would not see it: & for that cause you transposed my wordes, or did alter the placing of them to your aduauntage. For whereas I said, that our treasure doth not now goe out of the Realme to the mainteinance of forraine power, but is imployed to the honour & defence of our selues at home: you haue set mee downe to say, that it is not sent out of the Realme to the mainteinance of forraine power, but is imployed at home, to our honour and defence. Where­by we may verie well perceiue, that your stomake [Page 109] (in these matters) is not so daintie, but that for want of a cleaner diet, you would bee content to feed more homely rather than sterue?

27 And hauing so taken your pleasure of all these thinges that I set downe for the better per­swasion of those that yet are out of the way,Other pla­ces by him depraued in that which I brought for the re­mouing of certain im­pedimentes that hinder others. to ioine with vs in the truth of Religion: now come you to see what you can find in that which I haue added thereto, to remoue such lets as hinder, that so the perswasion may take the better place with them. And first reckoning vp certain of the mea­nest of those impedimentes that I saide to hinder diuers of you, there,He, first de­praueth, & then deri­deth. because you would be loth to be thought to be staied by them, although indeed those be the chiefe that do hinder most of you all (that is the feare of your discredit, and the losse of priuate commoditie) you do nothing els but one­ly scoffe at the matter, first calling them certaine graue impediments, and then shortly after adding, Thus discourseth this wise man in verie great sadnes. Which in truth is one of the best parts in you, to your purpose, because that therein, as before of old, so nowe wee see that yet also, you easily passe many: but when otherwise you trie your cunning against the truth, therein you make it known vn­to all, that you haue nothing at all to say, that is a­ble to abide the triall. Whereof although we haue had examples inow already: yet, that you may the better see, that whatsoeuer you deale in, or where­soeuer any would take the assay of you, he should euer finde you like to your selfe, heere must I in [Page 110] like plainnes tell you, that there is nothing at all that followeth, wherein your selfe doo not most plainelie confirme the same vnto vs. As for ex­ample, when as I had demaunded of you, why you should stand so much vpon certaine contro­uersies, and among others recited the manner of Christ descending into hell,Christs des­cending in­to hell. that you haue con­ceiued (the manner I say, not the thing it selfe) there you, to bring vs and our profession into some discredite thereby, will in no wise bee ac­knowne that I spake but of the manner of his descending into hell, and not of the thing it selfe (which notwithstanding I did verie plainely set downe) and tell your readers, that I demaund of you in verie good earnest, why you should stande so much on Christes descending into hell. But did I so indeede? Did I speake of the thing it selfe, or of the manner of it onelie? Did I not verie plainly set downe, that in such sort he descended in­to hell, as it fully sufficient in the iustice of God to acquite vs: and that the same is fully beleeued of vs all. But belike you account your selfe as much priuiledged to say what you will, as all that feare God acknowledge themselues to be limited only to say the truth. Yet on the other side, thus much libertie must you graunt vnto others againe, that heereafter they beleeue you no further, than such dealing of yours deserueth. Furthermore, be­cause that I there, and before had declared, that put-case your late Translation at Rhemes were true, yet the pointes that you had gained there­by [Page 111] were verie fewe, and withall of no great im­portance: heere-vpon,That I should grant, that their faith and ours is all one. as I doo take it, you charge mee (for otherwise I cannot see whereon you can gather it) that I doo graunt, that our faith and yours is all one in substance. Which notwithstan­ding is cleane contrarie vnto that which I haue there set downe, as may sufficiently and fully ap­peere, both in the second section before, & in the eighteenth that after followeth: and yet neuer­theles, heere do you charge mee in your idle mar­gent with Atheisme also. So great a greefe is it vnto you, to haue it disclosed or vttered by anie that you haue gained so little by that long craued Translation of yours, by which you would glad­ly haue it thought, that you had borne downe all before you. If this therefore be the matter where­on you ground that charge, then haue you taught vs, that Atheisme is; not only, as before we tooke it, to beleue no God, no heauen, no hell, and to make no account of Religion, but to take it as a policie onely: but also, to hold, declare, or vtter, that those pointes of Religion wherein you discent from vs, are verie trifles, and nothing woorthie such stan­ding in, as you affoord them. Whereby it see­meth notwithstanding, that your selues haue thē in some admiration (how trifling soeuer that wee account them) or at least that you would beare the world in hand, that you are so highly perswa­ded of them.

28 At length you come vnto that part of my Treatise that concerneth the Church,About my treatise of the church. wherein I [Page 112] shew, what the Church is, and what it is to depart from it. Wherein it seemeth you were very loth to bee found any other at the finishing of this your vnquiet and wandring discourse, then at the be­ginning, and euer since, you haue declared your selfe to be? And first you bring in somewhat, that tendeth to the matter that you haue in hand; then other things also that do nothing belong vnto it: both sorts so coupled and couched togither, as that howe diuers soeuer they are in nature, it see­meth that your purpose was, that both sortes not­withstanding should dwel togither vnder a roofe Concerning those that belong to the matter you haue in hand, first you set downe the estate of the matter betwixt vs, as best agreeth to your pur­pose: and then you dally vpon it at your pleasure The state of the matter that is betwixt vs that you might better frame to your best aduauntage,Taking in hand that which I set downe, first some part of it he dis­membreth, & some he falfifieth. one part of it you do dismember, and another you flatly falsifie. As touching that which you haue dismembred, whereas I graunted, that seeing you haue the outward professiō of the Christian faith; therefore in that respect you also may be accoun­ted to bee of the Church generally: because you thought that this word generally was not for your purpose, therefore haue you cleane put it cut, and yet notwithstanding taken the rest as allowed by me; which without this limitation I neuer gran­ted, and is in no wise to be allowed. As touching the other, with what face could you say it, that [...] do charge my fellow Ministers and brethren, first to [Page 113] haue vrged this separation &e? Whereas in truth I doo no where so charge them, but verie plainelie impure that to our aduersaries, and especially to those that are the most cunning, and most learned of them: adding further in plaine tearmes, both that they doo busily vrge that point, and would haue neither vs nor others, to make at all any quaestion of it, is plainely appeereth in the beginning of the fif­teenth section. But belike the time is nowe come, that God would haue it knowne vnto the world, that the deeper you are rooted in those your Ro­mish conceits, and the more sway that you beare among your selues that are of that sort, the more assured may we also bee, that you haue the more pi [...] off not onely al conscience, and feare of God, o [...] all honestie too, and shame among men, so [...] to auouch so plaine vntruths-

29 Your dalliance tendeth to this ende,After he dallieth thereupon. That I shuld seem in such sort to graunt them to be of the church, as that it were no great matter, of whether re­ligion a man were, of theirs, or ours. that now at the length I, against al custom of my brethren, do offer vnto you this so great and sodaine courtesie: [...]hen, that you take vppon you, to shewe, what the cause is, why so I haue doone. This great and so­daine cortesie that now I offer vnto you, is, that I doo not denie you to bee members of the same church with vs generally: and therewithal grant, that the church wherof I speak, is the true church Catholike and Apostolike. I cannot denie you to be of one and the self-same church with vs gene­rally, because that being demaunded of your faith, you say that you beleue in Christ, and withal wit­nes that your profession by receiuing (after a sort) [Page 114] both the old Testament, & the new, & those two Sacraments that are therein to vs commended: as we also on the other side beleue in Christ; receiue those scriptures; & haue those Sacraments in daily vse. But this curtesie, as you tearme it, doth not in truth so much please you, as it doth inwardly vex & fret you, that therby you see your wōted course so crossed with the truth it selfe, that you are out of hope so farre to abuse the facilitie of diuers, as heretofore ful oft you haue done to your own ad­uauntage: bearing them in hand, and facing them downe, that if they like not of your errors, but im­brace the truth of Christ as it is in it selfe, without your corrupt or needles additiōs, they are no more of the Church as they were before; but now must go seeke a new habitation, & so conuey their des­cent frō other auncestors, as that alwaies they find thēselues to be a distinct people frō you, not only since your corrupt estate, but also before.How they are of the Church. That you account this a new & a sodain curtesie, that I now at the length, against all custom of my brethren [...] as you say, do offer to you, that it is a meere fiction of yours, & a manifest vntruth: & yet notwithstā ­ding it is true too, that hitherto we haue accoun­ted you (as your self alledgeth) & yet do the Syna­gogue of Sathan. For we all accoūt you in som sense to bee of the church, as the Scribes and Pharisies were; as that mā of sin is said to sit in the Temple of God; as abhomination was said to stand in the holy place; as Ismael was for a time with Isaac, in the house of Abraham; as Esau was for a time with [Page 115] Iacob, in the womb of Rebecca; as those wer buil­ders, that euer refused the head stone of the cor­ner, as those were his owne, that neuertheles did refuse him, & knew him not when he came amōg them; & many such like: & I dare aduenture, that you are able to alledge none, that in such sēse de­nieth you to be of the church. As for example, M. Caluin is one that most of al excludeth you from al sound interest in the church of God, & colour of it: as plainly appeereth, as in many other places of his godly, profoūd, & learned works, so namelie in the second chap. of the fourth booke of his In­stitutions. And yet he so concludeth his Treatise, as that in such sense as I haue set down, he leaueth you some interest in the church. His woordes are plaine; in the beginning of the last section of that chap. ‘Quum ergo ecclesiae tit ulum non simpliciter vo­ [...]umus concedere Papistis, non idro Ecclesias apud cos esse infician [...]er sed tantum litigamus de vera & legiti­ [...]ima ecclesiae institutione, quae in communione cum sa­crorum, quae signa sunt professionis, tum vero potissi­mum doctrinae requiritur. Antichrist ū in temple Dei sessurum praedixerunt Dan. & Paul: illius scelerati et abominandi regni ducem & antesignanum apud nos facimus Rom. Pont. Quod sedes eius in templo Dei collocatur, it a innuitur, tale fore eius regnum, quod nec Christi nec ecclesiae nomen aboleat. Hinc igittur patet, nos minime negare, quin sub eius quo (que) tyrannide Ec­clesiae maneāt: sed quas sacrilegia impietate profanarit, &c.’ That is, when as we do not simply (or without al maner of limitatiō) grant to the papists the title of the [Page 116] Church, we do not (altogither) denie that they haue a­ny churches, but only we striue about the true & law­full institution of the Church, which is sought in the felowship (or partaking) partly of holy thinges which are signs of our profession, but chiefly of doctrine. That Antichrist should sit in the temple of God, Daniel and Paul haue for shewed of that wicked & abhominable kingdome, we doo holde that with vs the captaine and chiefe leader is the B of Rome. That his seal is placed in the Temple of God, thereby wee are giuen to vnder­stand that such shalbe the maner of his kingdome, that shall not abolish the name of Christ, or of the Church. Hence therfore it appeareth, that we doubt denie, but that vnder his tyrannie Churches remaine: but such as he with sacrilegious impietie hath prophaned: &c. And on 2. Thes. 2.4. he thus cōcludeth his treatise thereon. Templumerge Dei esse fateor in quo domi­natur Papa, sed innumeris sacrilegiis prophanatum. That is: I graunt therefore that to bee the Temple of God, in the which the Pope beareth the sway, but with innumerable sacrilegies prophaned. Luther also (you know wel inough) dealeth roundly with you, & maketh you no better (in respect of our Apo­stacle and vsurpation) than the Synagogue of Sa­than, and the Kingdome of the Beast: and yet; in respect of the worde and Sacraments after a som remaining among you, he dooth freely leaue you altogither as much as I haue giuen you. For wri­ting against the Anabaptists hee graunteth that there is plurimum bom Christiani sub Papatu: and then reckoneth vp the holy Scriptures, both the Sa­craments, [Page 117] and the Catechisme, of the Lords Prayer, the ten Commandements, & the Articles of the faith; graunting withall, not onely that these things are after a sort to be found among you: but that the verie truth of them indeede is there to bee had; though by most of you they are all verie much corrupted. These are I trust sufficient for this matter:Rob. Bel­lar. tom. 1. com. 3. lib. 3. cap. 13. & cō. 4. lib. 4. cap. 16. and these haue I the rather alledged, be­cause, that they are acknowledged also by one of the chiefe among your selues. In which respect it where not amisse that you went vnto him againe, and there learned, how, with his better aduise, you might make these two to agree togither: that he, your master, doth acknowledge such things to be graunted by others before; and you, his scholler, should thus boldly set downe, that it is first gran­ted by me against all custome of my brethren. How­beit, in this case also I may holde my selfe the bet­ter contented with this your dealing, when as I consider that now-adaies you deale euen so, both with Ierome, & Augustine also.Quest. 11. ad Algasiū. De Ciu. Dei lib. 20. ca. 19 For whereas they both had so interpreted that place of the Apostle, 2. Thes. 2.4. (Ierome very plainely, but Augustine somewhat doubtfully at the first, yet afterward plainely inough also, for that he would haue it to be not in templo Dei, but in templum Dei: tanquam ipse sit templum Dei, quod est Ecclesia) that Anti­christ should sit, not in the temple of Ierusalem, as you would haue it, but in the Church of God: be­cause you see, that so the place maketh much stronger against you, therefore make you light of [Page 118] their authoritie, as plainly appeereth both in Bel­larmine your champion, and in your note in the Rhemes Testament on that place. For whereas in this case you take it so ill at their hands, that they, should interprete that to be the Church of God, because therby you find your selues to be tied, for to seeke out your Antichrist there: it is lesse mar­uel that now when Antichrist hath shewed him­selfe so much as he hath, you can so il bear, that we shuld take any such course, as auowing your state to be no better, than the power of Antichrist, ne­uertheles we shuld grant you to be of the church generally. And yet notwithstanding Ierome, in an other place also, whē, out of the end of the 2 chap, of Sophony, he fore-sheweth, that in time then to come, maruelous grieuous things should befal the church in the time of Antichrists raigne, althogh they be such, as at the first sight may seeme blasphe­mous (for any man to say, that such thinges at any time should befal the Church of God, as himselfe doth there confesse) yet neuertheles hee saith, there in the raigne of Antichrist, it shalbe turned into a wil­dernes, & deliuered to (sauage) beasts, & that it shall suffer whatsoeuer the prophet there describeth. Wher you may see that notwithstanding that it bee the Church; yet doth he not stick to say, that it should notably be eclipsed & that by the power of Anti­christ also: & that althogh Antichrist should so o­uerlay it, & that it should become as a wildernes, & be so much pestered with all noisome beastes; yet dooth hee name it, and account it the Church [Page 119] notwithstanding. But you think you haue sped ve­ry wel, & made a good market, in that I haue ter­med that Church to be the true,How they are of that Church, that is true, Catholike & Aposto­like: & yet themselues nothing at all the bet­ter thereby. Catholike, & A­postolike church, wherof I allow you to be mem­bers by outward profession generally. But you need not boast so much of your peny-woorths, as you would gladly seem that you might. For those titles of true, Catholike, & Apostolike, do but ap­pertain to the church in grosse or generally, in re­spect of the name or faith of Christ, that there is professed: & are not communicable, or to be im­parted to all the members therof indifferently, or to all those sorts that (after their maner) are vnder the same, but onely to one sort of professors ther­in, such as togither with the outward name, are of that profession indeede, that outwardly they doo pretend. From which because you are so farre departed as you are, therefore haue you no part at all in anie of those titles in respect of your selues, although they doo belong vnto that Church (in respect of the faith that it professeth) whereof you are such rotten members as you are. And though your selues are corrupt, and in truth goe directlie against (in manie great and speciall matters, that are of the substance of it) the selfe-fame faith that in tearmes you professe generallie: yet neuerthelesse the faith it selfe that so you professe, beeing considered, not as you holde it, but as it is in it selfe, and as it is holden of vs, and all others, that rectifie our pro­fession by the written woorde, is of that nature, [Page 120] as to which those titles of true, Catholike, and A­postolike do of right appertaine. Which once be­ing so fully and truly inuested in them, what hin­dereth, but that, though not corrupt members yet the whole may rightly take that denomination: both in respect of the faith it selfe, and in respect of the professors of it, one sort truly holding the same, & the others also professing none other but onely the same generally? Doth not a land rightly take his denomination of that graine wherewith it is sowne, though afterward both it selfe be thin, and not onely certaine other graine besides (that came in with it, or else the ground it selfe hath yeelded) is nowe spread among it, but is full of weeds likewise? If you can be content to allow vs the one, you shall find no reason left you, why you should denie vs the other. Much lesse if you call to remembrance that the same Church, whereun­to Christ, and his Apostles, and all his Disciples adioined themselues, and from which Christ did neuer seperate himselfe (notwithstanding the great corruption and contempt of the woorde of God, and of Christ himselfe that raigned among them) was notwithstanding a true church, groun­ded on the election of God, and of the doctrine of the lawe, and of the Prophets generally, or in re­spect of the whole. As for my selfe, if I had not in as plaine speeches, and in as full and resolute ma­ner, denied you to bee anie true members of the Church of Christ, and so consequently, had not therewithall, opened mine owne meaning, and [Page 121] cleane shut you out from the enioying of anie good roome therein: then might you with some better colour haue made such vauntes of those your peny-woorths. But when I did as fully con­demne you for rotten members, as I did allow you in that other sense to bee of the Church, it was I warrant you, but Sardonicus risus, and a poore see­lie ioy that you had thereby. As therefore in re­spect of the faith that in grosse you holde, and for the reuerence that I beare thereunto (as it is in it selfe, but not as you holde it) I allowe you in such sense to be of the Church: so bee you sure, and, if need be, I confirme it vnto you againe, and againe, that in respect of your fowle and great Apostacie, I also, as well as my brethren, account you bee as had members, as euer were anie, and as farre from saluation, and al other priuiledges of the true, Ca­tholike, and Apostolike Church (in the course that yet you are in) as euer were the Iewes them­selues that put Christ to death, or any others, if you can find anie worse than they.

30 Nowe as touching the cause why I haue of­fered you,Vpon what cause hee would haue it to seeme that I did grant them this curtesie as you tearme it, so great and sodaine curtesie, whereas here you take vpon you to shew what cause my selfe do alledge for the same, and would make your Reader beleeue, that my selfe alledged none other than as you haue heere reci­ted, heerein also you haue abused me much, like as in the rest you haue doone: for that it is cleere (& you cannot denie it) that I alledged diuers other reasons besides for that matter, and all of more im­portance [Page 122] than this (or at least, not one of them all inferiour vnto it) and spent the better halfe of that section onely in it, as in the fifteenth section morefully appeereth. But herein belike you wold againe giue some warning to al, to see to your fin­gers; & teach thē how you are wont to deale, in all your brablings against the truth: that is, to cutt out some od point by it self, that you thinke your selfe most able to deale withall, or to giue most colour vnto you; and, setting downe that in steed of the whole, to tell your Readers, that that is the thing that we do rest on. Then also in reciting the words themselues, whereas the consenting that I did speake of, and which I misliked, was, to suffer you to make such an absolute diuision betwixt vs, as my wordes doo there plainly declare: you, percei­uing that those words did not sound full inough to your aduantage, altered them quite, and tooke such as you thoght would serue you better (espe­cially, standing so barely, as you haue there made them to do) & in steed of thē you haue made mee to say, to graunt that wee are not both of one Church, But stil I say, God bee thanked that your cause is no better (euen with your selues) but that you think needful so gredily to hunt after so poore & seely helps as these. It is bad inough of it selfe: and yet by such dealing you might easily knowe, that needs must you make it so much the worse. But if you will deale plainly, and are desirous a little to proue what you can do in the matter it selfe that most doth gal you, this is the thing that you haue [Page 123] to do. You are to shew what authoritie you haue in the word of God, why you should so resolutely condemne all those to bee none of the Church of Christ, that agree not with you in those pointes that now are in cōtrouersie betwixt vs.Not so careful to keepe them in: as that they should not thrust out others. This is the thing, you know well inough, that I did beat on: not caring so much to keep you in; as not to suffer you to exclude others so much as you do. For see­ing you are such rotten members as you are, & yet take vpō you to be the iudges of al others besides, to thrust out, & take in at your pleasures (euer cō ­demning those that are right, & wickedly iustifi­ing those that are wrōg) it was not so needful now to bee so carefull to holde you in vnder that title, though it were no more but generally, as it was, to let you vnderstand, both howe far your selues are f [...]n frō the truth it self, & how manifest and open wrong you do to those that so you shut out, as not apperteining to the Church of Christ. And seing that by this only sleight you do so much preuaile with many, who dare in nothing dissent frō you: so long as they feare that in so doing they forthwith should leefe the interest they had in the Church, nor somuch as inquire of any thing you teach, on what ground or warrant you do it, vpō the persua­siō that they haue of you, that you alone are of the church, & that in you it cannot er [...]hēce is it that it was needful for me also (hauing in hand to answer those doubts that chiefly hindred the weaker sort and such as of conscience cleaue vnto you) so to discouer your subtiltie therein, as that so manie as [Page 124] would looke about them, & not esteeme of things as they are accounted, but as they are indeede, might the better perceiue,What it is that for this matter they are to do. that with such toyes, they need not any more to be stayed. You on the other side, if you wil say anie thing to the purpose in this matter, must be able to shew, that notwith­standing that wee receiue Christian Religion so much as we do, yet can we be none of the Church of Christ in anie respect: either because of some thing that we hold besides, that is of that force as to exclude vs from all interest there; or els (which is the thing wherewithall you will rather charge vs) for that some of those opinions of yours, wher­in we dissent from you, are of that importance, as that no bodie can in anie sense bee of the Church of God (not so much as generally, which is the thing that wee doo not denie vnto you, notwith­standing that you are falne so farre as you are) vn­lesse he hold them all, and euerie one, without ex­ceptiō. Or to speak more plainly, you must proue your propitiatorie sacrafice, transubstantiation, popedome, righteousnes of works, intercession of Saints, prayer to them, praier for the dead, purga­torie, image-woorshipping, pilgrimage-gadding, and such like, to be so needfull points of Christi­an Religion, as that whosoeuer holdeth not them, or any of them, hee cannot bee of the Church of Christ, though neuer so much hee holde all, that Christ or his Apostles haue left to vs in the writ­ten word. This is the onely thing that must helpe you, for this matter: this if you do not, whatsoeuer [Page 125] els it is that you bring, neither doth it hurt vs, nei­ther can it comfort you, whatsoeuer ioy you wold seeme to conceiue, vpon this new and sodaine cur­tesie offered vnto you.

31 Those others that nothing belong to this matter,Two other matters of another kind. and yet are lodged vnder a roofe, are two: one, that you take vpon you to shewe, why I tooke in hand to write this Treatise of Pacification; the o­ther, that you do before-hād giue vs hope of a cer­taine new woorke, which perhaps heereafter may be taken in hande. As touching the former of these two;Why I shuld write this Pacifi­cation. what meane you, againe to take in hande to find out the cause in mine owne words, and again so far to leaue the plaine way, as before you did? Had you so good successe in the former, that now you haue so good a courage to attempt it againe? But it is your lot (in the bad cause that you haue in hande) euer to bee sure to fall, whensoeuer you striue to arise. The cause why I wrote this treatise of Pacification, I had my selfe downe in twoo places: in my Epistie Dedicatorie, the second leafe, and first page; and in the beginning of the Treatise it selfe, in the first leafe, and second page. In the place that you alledge, out of the third sec­tion, and either out of the foureteenth or fifteenth page, there do I giue no cause at all, why I wrote this Treatise: neither yet do I directly set downe, But by way of supposall, that which so greedilie you catch for your purpose to cheare you withall. For my wordes are plaine, that we also will bee con­tent to set by Religion for a season &c, and now consi­der [Page 126] of those things alone that do concerne our ciuille-state: & againe. Be it therfore, that whatsoeuer their profession be, yet shal they haue many of those that now are with vs to ioine with them, if in this point there be found no lawfull impediment or matter to stay them. And now Sir I pray you, if you would needs haue taken vpō you out of mine own words to declare vnto others, what moued me to write this treatise, ought you not rather to haue taken it out of one of those places before recited, where I dealt in the selfe-same matter: then out of this other alledged by you, where I speake nothing at all of anie such thing? And, if you had ment honest & plain dea­ling, would you not haue taken the course that I speake of? But put-case, that that also were some part of the cause, could you yet haue the face, al­togither to set by Religion, and matters of faith, (which I set by but for a time, whilst that I reaso­ned of the other) & then tel your reader, that the consideratiō of our ciuil estate was the only mat­ter; & that, by mine own confessiō: & that my selfe confessed, that indeed now I perceiued, that me held with vs rather for respect of state & ciuil cōmodities, than of conscience & beleefe. Did I any where con­fesse this? Haue you no shame to charge me with so manifest an vntruth? Dooth your religion giue you that libertie? Haue you so throughly digested that new lesson of yours (to keep no faith to those that professe the gospel) that now you regard not what you say of them, nor how you charge them. But the qualitie of your cause being better consi­dered, [Page 127] the matter is lesse, that by you it is accor­dingly handled. But you ad hereunto,That re­gard of temporal com­modities is all that we haue to mooue o­thers to our profession, as he wold haue it. that regard of temporal commoditie in verie truth is the only rea­son, or bait that wee can lay before you at this time, wherby to moue you to come to our part: and withall, that our Lord knoweth how bare & brickle a thing it is, & how long or litle while it may indure. In the for­mer, wherof you seem now to discouer the reason to vs, why you would before haue made your rea­der beleeue, that I made this Pacification for no cause els, but for that now I perceiued, that mē held with vs, rather for respect of ciuil commodities, than of conscience and beleefe. For if there were on our parts no other groundwork of persuasion, but on­lie the regard of temporall cōmoditie: then without questiō I could haue had to this purpose no other matter at al to write of; & so consequently needes must I haue made the treatise only for it. Therfore do but proue that to your gentle reader: & the o­ther wil follow vpō it, hard at the heels. In the lat­ter of thē, wherin you talk of the bricklenes of it, & how litle it may endure, althogh you cast in certain other speches besides, to shadow the matter so far as to your purpose shuld be needful for the time: yet considering your attempts since, against the person of her Ma. & the State it self, it may wel be both that your self were priuy to thē; & that, if so they had falne out, you had laide thereby a pretie foundatiō to win the credit of a Prophet among you, as one of your fellowes lately did in England. We know (as wel as you) that al erthly prosperitie [Page 128] subiect to mutabilitie: and that no man knoweth the time or season, howe long, or how little it is to continue. And if it shall please God to enter into anie such triall of vs, as you would fainest see, we [...] trust that we shal be in a readines to obey his wil: and that it also shall be, both to our great benefit, and good of the Church; and to the further ouer­throw, both of your selues, and of your profession, now in this declining estate of your wicked pope-dome. I also graunt, as touching these speeches of yours, if otherwise the cause be good, and the per­sons be not suspitious, such speeches as these may well be vttered without offence. But I ad withall, both that it is a false slaunder of you, to charge vs, that we relie vpon it (and yet neuertheles are wee of dutie verie much bound heerein to acknow­ledge the goodnes of God towards vs; and that so much the rather, as wee see the same so much to greeue you, and so firmly to be continued hither­to vnto vs, notwithstanding so many vile attempts of yours, to the contrary:) and that it is likely, con­sidering the qualitie that you are of, that in these verie wordes you shewed your selfe (to some pur­poses in couert manner, but otherwise plainely y­nough) not onely how to lay in wait for the same, but also that you had already conceiued an vn­doubted hope to preuaile, wherein notwithstan­ding hitherto (God bee thanked) you are cleerely defeated. And our trust further is, that seeing you are now so farre past, not only religion, but all ho­nestie too, as witnes these your vile and naughtie [Page 129] practises, continually iterated one after an other: both that God will still bee against you; and that the most of your wonted adhaerents, considering into howe reprobate waies they may easily finde you hereby to bee giuen, will nowe begin euerie where, to see how much you haue abused them, & daily forsake you more and more. That Strumpet, you know, that sometimes hath beene in that ho­nour and estimation, with the Princes and people of the earth, and with whome they haue liued in fornication, being by her inchantments deceiued, is at length to bee forsaken and hated of them, to be stript naked and burned also. And it may bee, that GOD will vse this extreame wickednes of yours, to make others both better to know you, & the more to detest you also: so to make the readi­er way to those his iudgements, which we besech him to hasten to his good pleasure, for his names [...]; and for the comfort of all his people, that soone should haue a readier way to their saluatiō, if that great stumbling blocke were once remoo­ued out of the way.

32 As touching the hope that before hand you giue vs of that new Booke,Of the hope that he gi­ueth vs, of a certaine new worke to be taken in hande: which none of them all, nor altogi­ther, can e­uer perform that perhaps heereafter may be taken in hande, you haue in such sorte set downe the argument therof already, that, althogh it may be that some of you could giue the aduen­ture of such an attempt: yet, to deale plainly with you, I must needes giue you to vnderstand, that it is such a matter, as that none of you all, nor alto­gither, are able to performe; no, nor to come anie [Page 130] thing neere. For therein perhaps must be declared, and that more largely, that, the regard of temporall commodities set aside, all other respects, reasons, al­lurements, motiues, and considerations, which hea­uen and earth can yeeld, whereby to stirre a Christians man to imbrace any religion, are all for you, and none for vs. But auaunt Sathan? Hast thou not yet left thy woonted bragging? Art thou not yet perswaded, but that thou maiest bee able so farre to aduaunce, so notorious falshood of thine which is so plainely discouered alreadie? Wert thou not sufficiently foyled before, when as thou didst but vaunt of the kingdomes of the world and the glorie of them, as if all were thine, and at thy dis­position: but that nowe thou hast so farre pos­sessed the mindes of some, as that in them hauing gotten the place, thou art not ashamed now to say that whatsoeuer argumentes of perswasion there are, in heauen, or in earth, they are all for that cor­ruption that thou hast scattered into the church, and none at all for the truth it selfe? As for thy selfe, it is but thy kind: thou art a lier from the be­ginning; and the father of all falshood and lies. And as for those that thou hast so far bewitched, it is the iust iudgement of God, that they illusion should bee so forcible and strong against them, because they would in no wise receyue the loue of the truth. But for the matter that is in hande, neither thou, nor thine, shall euer be able to come anie thing neere, vnto that which thou wouldst seeme that thou could. It is not in thee: the tou [...]e [...] [Page 131] that thou hast taken in hande, thou art in no wise able to finish. In boasting thy selfe so immeasura­bly thou hast more plainly discouered thy shame. For either must thou with shame giue ouer this proud vaunt of thine: or els so farre discouer thy weaknes, whensoeuer thou shalt attempt to do it, that thereby thy shame shall be the greater. How­soeuer it be, this glorying of thine must needes be confusion & shame to thee: it is too late to auoid it now. But (to leaue your prince that ruleth in you [...] to come to your self again) I pray you good Sir, haue you already so clean forgotten, how litle able to performe that enterprise your late champion was, that hauing gotten half a score reasons on be­half of your profession, such as hee thought none could answere, with great confidence did publish the same, & challenging all men to make him an­swere, quickly found, that neither hee, nor his fel­lowes were in any wise able to stand vnto it? Was this Icarus of yours so lately ouertaken, & that so plainly, in that presumptuous follie of his: & yet must you needes bee renewing the same point of folly again to the ouerthrow of your self likewise? Neuertheles by mine aduise it were not amis, that as your bel-foūders were wont to desire their stā ­ders-by to say a sort of pater-nosters, & auees while the mettal was rūning; or as when your great ma­sters wold haue faced vs down, that a late Princes of ours was with child, they ordained processions, & made publicke praiers, that it might be a man-child, & a proper one too: so you likewise, seeing [Page 132] perhaps it must needs be done, and none of vs may say to the contrarie, would now aduise you of such necessary helps before hand, that they be not wan­ting when you should need them. Againe, must the regard of temporall commoditie bee set aside in this account,He forgat himselfe when hee laid this vnto vs. as a matter that is onely for vs, & not for you? If you meane, that the profession of faith that we do hold, must needs be more welcome to others, because it deliuereth them from power of darknes, and miserable seruitude, wherinto of late you had brought them, in this case I graunt, you said very truely, but nothing at all to your owne purpose; and consequently, we cannot bee per­swaded yet, that you had so honest meaning in you. But if you meane that we which are the tea­chers of it, teach it but for our owne aduauntage, and not for the truth it self, (which lieth fairest for your meaning, and most agreeth to your disposi­tion) then must I tel you, that herein also you [...]lat­lie pronounce against the knowne and manifest truth. For who seeth not, or howe can your selue? denie, but that, in regard of temporall commoditie, [...] had beene much better for vs to haue taken parte with you, than so far to haue sundered our selues form you: if so be that we could so haue held out the woord of god; or beeing once come in, haue suppressed it againe? Is it not a readier way vnto temporall commoditie, to keepe men so ignorant of the sufficiency of their saluation in Christ, that we may thereby haue them euer to hang more vpon vs, and to make no ende of endowing vs with the [Page 133] best things they had, for their soules health: then to teach our saluation in him to be so absolute, and in himselfe so fully accomplished to all beleeuers, that the people of God need not to seeke for such by-helps to any other whatsoeuer? Is it not a rea­dier way to temporall commoditie, to make kings & princes beleeue, that they must hold their crowns and kingdoms at our plesure: then plainy to ac­knowledge the fulnes of their right and power; and that wee therein haue in no wise to meddle with them? But the reasons are manie, that turne this backe to your owne bosoms. What dealing then is this in you, to lay that on vs, which is yours and so boldly to set vs downe so great vntruthes? Or, what one part is there of your profession (euen in the cleerest of all, as you do vse it) that one way or other doot not specially respect this temporall commoditie (that you would faine haue so far from you, and so neere vnto vs) that is, either your pro­fit, or els your pleasure, or ease; or at least, your credit or estimation with others: or yours at least, much more than ours, to all intents and purposes whatsoeuer? But hauing once brought your fauo­rites to this, that they shall but heare you, and read such thinges as you set them downe; and vtterly refuse and despise all others besides, wee graunt it is for you to set a good face on the mat­ter, how bad soeuer the cause be that you defend: that so those miserable adherents of yours, may gather the better hope they are right, when they see that you do so boldly defend them; and neuer [Page 134] be able to find how farre you doe abuse them, be­cause they reiect or abandon from them al such as should bring them to the knowledge of it. In the meane season you are no babes, that can so cun­ningly handle your matters. And thus much as touching that part of your dooings, where in you haue directed your stile chiefly against mee, but yet against others withall.

Of the resi­due that he hath other­wise broght vs.33 As for the residue, that (in this your second edition) you haue otherwise brought vs, my selfe doo not meane (as before I saide) to go against is, nor to discouer your weakenes therein (but to hold my selfe contented with mine own defence) both because that for the most parte it rested now the controuersies that are betwixt vs; and your selfe is yet so little disposed to bee further aduised in the others. For the controuersies are so handled alredy, that it is not so needful now to take in [...] againe so stale and miserable remnantes as those: howsoeuer that you can with such countenance obtrued vnto vs such washe, and clipt, and coun­terfeit coines for good & lawfull; as though yes the Church of God did not knowe the vanitie of them. And seeing that your selfe hath herein al­readie sufficiently declared, how hardly you take it to be otherwise aduised than standeth with your present humour, I shall bee as readie for my part to passe you ouer for those matters, and not to trouble your humour therein: sauing onelie that I will not sticke to put you in minde of some fewe thinges, which I thinke were good for you [Page 135] to consider of, both in respect of the truth it self; & that you also may grow to some better temper, and not so highly esteeme of your selfe; as hath so great contempt of others ioined withall. And first as touching the whole,Of the whole booke ge­nerally. the title you knowe you haue altered now, and that in such fort, that here­by onely we might easily charge you,Of the Ti­tle of it. that so much as in you lieth, you haue marred it all, euen what­soeuer therin doth tend to the rule of a godly life: & yet not denieng, but that the scriptures therein are good, the Fathers also that there are alledged, & other rules of godlines that are ther prescribed, so far as either of them doth agree with the writ­ten word. But my meaning is (as before in the pre­face I noted) that seing you haue turned now the matters you speak of, fiō a Christiā exercise, to be a directorie guiding men vnto saluation, if therby you meane to teach your adherents, to seeke their sal­uation by their good woorks or godlines of life (as the common opinion of you all, and this nowe booke of yours in manie places doth sufficiently witnesse, that so you meane:) then it is certaine, that because such woorks, bee they otherwise ne­uer so good, yet to such end doone, are vtterlie lost, and therein become odious to God, therefore when as in this your newe booke you teach men so to bee occupied in these matters, you haue made your selfe a false prophet thereby, and this booke of yours an accursed pamphlet in the day of the Lorde. Whereby also you haue made it nowe more plainely to appeere, why you [Page 136] set in hand togither out of others those lessons of godlines, and to commend the same to the peo­ple: not for any care you had to make them more godlie, but to vse that occasion to nourish in them that pestilent error, of ascribing their saluation (for a good part of it) to their owne proper woorkes; and withall to let in your other errors (wherof this new booke of yours is full) which otherwise you knew well inough, that by anie learning you were neuer able to commend vnto them. Wherein it may be, that you were perswaded, that at the least you should be likened to the Graecians of old, that when they could not by maine force get within the walles of Troy,The Tro­ian horse. afterward by seeming to break vp their siege, and to leaue a sacred horse behind them, to the great benefit of the Citie, if it were taken in vnto them, by that meanes obtained, that certaine bandes of their owne soldiours were vn­wares taken in, and all the rest immediately after brought in besids, to the vtter ouerthrow of those that receiued so goodly a praesent, so craftily pro­uided, and left vnto them. It may be I say, that you might liken your self vnto these. For you also, fin­ding that now by learning you are not able to set­tle your errors in the harts of others, as heretofore you were wont to do while you were not resisted; would seeme now to leaue off dealing in matters of controuersie, and heerein to treat of deuotion only: and yet throughout your whole booke you so interlace the controuersies also, and make de­uotion so to hang vppon them, that none can re­ceiue [Page 137] your rules of godlines, but that if they mark not well, they must needes receiue your errours withall. And so vnder pretence of teaching god­lines, your meaning is, therby to let in your errors into them, as they by leauing that horse vnto them, did seeke to gaine the Cittie thereby. But these thinges are in summo genere: The monks hood. of famous warriors, twoo mightie peoples, a noble Cittie, a strange policie, and to the one side vtter destruc­tion. A baser kinde will bee meeter for you.Acts and mon. 1209. You might therfore liken your selfe rather to Bartrams boy, in that busie, but causles, and therfore ridicu­lous stir at Oxford, when on the sodain, in a spe­ciall pagent of their popish deuotion, they were all perswaded the Church was on fire ouer their heads, and thereupon hasted foorth so fast, that they cloyed the doores, and hindred themselues. At which time the boy to auoide the presse, cli­med vpon the doore, and then espying a shifting Moonke, getting out ouer the heads of those that stucke fast in the doores, thought it a fit opportu­nitie to him, to leape into his cowle behind him, that so he might get out of the daunger that then was feared. For so you likewise haue thought this moonkish hood of your popish deuotion to be so fine a way for you, to get out your popish errors withall, that you could not hold, but in they must, and abide the aduenture: seeing well inough, that now they wax stale and out of credite, and there­fore like quickly to perish, vnlesse by such means you could happily raise their credite againe, or at [Page 138] least praeserue them (some what longer yet) from that consuming fire of the woorde of God, that (not in supposall, as in the other, but in verie truth) so mightily hath begun to consume them alreadie. Howbeit as that Moonke did soone af­ter find fault with his burthen, and rid himselfe of it: euen so you had stuffed those your precepts of godly life so full of your popery, that you may not maruell though they tooke so ill with so vnna­turall and needles a burthen, and did seeke to bee disburdened of it. In your newe booke (I graunt) you haue taken a better order. For there you haue made the burthen so strong, and the bearer so weake, that it can neuer deliuer it selfe: but must be content to bee vnder it stil. Then also whereas how you haue inlarged it,Of the matter of it. in volume or quantitie, double to that it was before, or at least neere thereunto, yet are these your additions such (ey­ther so little appertaining vnto the former argu­ment, when the matter it selfe is good: or [...] ­so vaine and weake, when otherwise they an­swer the argument that was before propounded) as that howsoeuer you are offended with mee, for taking out (but little to speake of) from your former bookes yet, if anie frend of yours, at whose handes your would better take it, would now take out the most of that which in this your second e­dition you haue put vnto it, my opinion (by your patience) is, that hee should make your booke so much the better aesteemed (but onelie for the names sake) with most of your frends that would [Page 139] read it for godlines sake, or to stir vp their minde therunto. Not denying hereby, but that some part of the matter (in it selfe) is good: as, that there is a God, which rewardeth good and euill, and of the certaintie of Christian Religion (which two mat­ters are prosecuted at large in two seuerall chap­ters, and are the greatest part of your additi­ons) and some other besides. But those thinges you knowe were at large handled before by the Fathers of olde against the Gentiles and Iewes: and of late likewise; as by diuers others in some parte or other, as occasion serued, so verie ful­lie by Monsieur du Plessis, in that notable booke of his of the truth of Christian Religion. You knowe likewise, that such thinges as are of di­uers argumentes, are not euer so welcome vnto those that (for the time) desire to heare but of the one: though in their kinde the one bee as good as the other, and in time and place as welcome. But yet as touching those reuerend Catholike Priestes that you speake of, that sup­pose so manie among vs to bee falne vnto A­thersine by beating out the pointes of Religion, first it may bee that they doo thinke, that so ma­nie as abandon their woonted errours of pope­rie, doo vtterlie cast of all true Religion likewise. And yet notwithstanding I will not denie, but that if by them-selues they measure others, they may very well thinke (if they can haue the grace to consider, how far they are falne) that it is need­full now to lay againe those first principles of all [Page 140] Religion, that there is a God, and that the faith of Christ is (without question the onely truth. But yet are they not able in this lande to finde anie o­thers, of what estate or calling soeuer, by whome they may take so true a skantling for these mat­ters, as by themselues: as their trecherous practi­ses long since haue witnessed, and daily yet doo, to the shame of you all. And this of the whole.

Of a few particulars.34 To come to particulars, my purpose is no more but this, a little to vnfould vnto you these two points: how loth you are to be admonished, or to amend, any thing that already you haue set downe, be it neuer so wrong; and yet that there is verie good cause why you shuld not trust to your selfe so much as you do. That you are loath to be admonished,That he is loath to a­mend that hee hath done amis. or to amend, that which once you haue doone amisse, appeereth sufficiently in this, for that you doo so greeuously take this little a­mendment that herein I haue tendered vnto you, though in neuer so quiet and gentle manner. In­somuch that whereas I neuer vsed any contume­lie of speech against you, for anie thing that you had so corruptly put in; and besides that, abstei­ned also from iust reproofe, and neuer did anie more, but either left them out, or amended them in quiet manner: you on the other side, by all such occasions haue stirred vp your selfe, to lay on load in reprochfull and taunting speeches. But whereas it seemeth your selfe doth account them as deadly instrumentes against whome they are throwne: yet the truth is, they are but the shuttle-cocks [Page 141] of your owne vanitie, and carrie with them no force at all against the truth and vpright dea­ling. Then also I thinke your selfe may not well denie, but that I admonished you of, or my selfe a­mended certaine things, wherin you were wrong: which notwithstanding you haue not corrected in this your new booke, but haue come forth with them againe as corruptly now, as you did before. Whereof although I were able to alledge verie manie examples: yet I will content my selfe with few. And first when you haue occasion (whether orderly giuen, or purposely taken) to alledge anie thing out of those bookes that are not Canonical: yet you still call them the Scripture,Apothry­pha, & Ca­nonicall, like Scrip­ture with him: and why. and the H. Scripture, as well as those books that are Canoni­call, or vndoubted Scripture indeed. And this you do both against the vse & custom of the primitiue Church (respecting the whole generally) and of an euill heart to the holie, and vndoubted woorde of God: that by aduauncing other bookes also to the same degree, you may so the more easily take downe the better estimation of it, and make it no better than those that are of your own allowance. In like manner whereas before I put you in mind of many places corruptly translated,Corrupt translations stil conti­nued a­gainst the Fathers. or wrong ap­plied, yet neuertheles you hold on still your head-strong course: as, propter dolos, for in lubrico posuisti­cot. Psal. 73. against Ierome; and aboue, for vpon all his woorks. Psal. 144. against Saint Ierome, and a­gainst Saint Augustine both; and manie others like vnto these. Wherein you doo not onelie go a­gainst [Page 142] the Fathers, but also against the truth it selfe: and all to continue your former course, and a little therby to helpe out a few od points of your profession, not woorth three halfe-pence the best of them all. So likewise howe you did some-what ouer-slippe your selfe beyond the warrant of the woorde of God, to ascribe that as a custome to Isaac, that the text reporteth but of one speciall time, I noted vnto you towards the beginning. That, you may see, howe I had amended, onely by leauing your errour out, and nothing at all laying it vnto your charge, not be­wraying it vnto others. Which notwithstanding now you haue taken it in againe, and more dis­couered your weakenes therein, than you did be­fore. But it may be you will say that that part of your booke was printed before. What if it were? yet was not the vsuall helpe of corrections in the end of your booke denied vnto you. But for this cause to leaue all the fore-part of the booke, and (to bee sure) to leaue you out three partes to your selfe, and to take in hand but the fourth part onely, the hindmost of all (by which time though the print went on, yet might you haue good time of aduisement) & there to picke out but some few things also, wheras I (pag. 271.) holpe to rectify the number of quarters, that you (pag. 297.) had set down for a Corus in Salomons prouisiō,Corus. far aboue. Ierom beiond al mesure, & much aboue Iosephus also: you neuertheles do still hold on your former course, & in your new booke haue set it down al­togither [Page 143] as corruptly as you did before. A little af­ter (pag. 300.) you had set down, that on thursday &c friday the Iews cried crucifige against Christ, & pre­fored the life of Barrabas before his. And yet I trust you know well inough, that thogh they bare him il harts before, & likly inough that they on thurs­day were practising against him: yet neither of those two things that you speake of were doone but onely on friday. Wheras therfore I (pag. 281.) left out your thursday, & set them on the head of friday only: yet you in your headstrōg course haue put in thursday againe as it was before. After that again, handling the vanitie of worldly pleasures, you bring in (pag. 322.) a text of Scripture (wrōg quo­ted also, both for the booke & chapter) that the li­nage of king Baasa was destroied, for that they pro­uoked god in their vanities. In which place by those their vanities, hee meaneth their idolatries: as by the place it selfe is apparant; and by the best interpreters thereon, olde and newe. And Iohan­nes Benedictus, a Diuine of Paris, and one of your owne companie (taking his direction, as himselfe professeth, out of Ierome, Augustine, Ambrose, Gregorie, Hilary, Chrysostom, and all the best ap­prooued writers that antiquitie yeelded, as ap­peereth in his Epistle Dedicatorie) in his Concor­dance, vpon the word vanitas, doth plainely so in­terprete that verie place. Wheras therfore I left it out, as not appertaining to the matter you had in hande: you notwithstanding haue put it in a­gain, and as wrong quoted as it was before. Belike [Page 144] at the first you followed some table, and whatsoe­uer place you found to talke of vanitie, that did you think to be for your purpose, and in that per­swasion persist as yet. But whether that were in you a vanitie, or not, you may at leisure resolue, if it please you. So likewise (euen with the common sort) do you plainly mistake that place of the He­brews, concerning Esau, saying, that God would not forgiue him, though he demanded it with teares, [...]. Wherein, although I will not denie, but that you may haue some other that dooth so expoundit: yet is the stone it selfe a sufficient interpreter of that place against all. And your owne fellowes of Rhemes, in their note on that place, doo plainelie say, that it is not meant that Esau could not finde re­mission of his sins at Gods hands (which is the sense that you haue gathered) but that hauing once folde and yeelded vp the right of his first-birth vnto his yonger brother, it was too late to be sorie for his vi [...] ­uised bargaine. In which latter part of their note, although if they had better heeded the storie whence it was taken, they might haue interpre­ted the same somewhat better, of the blessing that was past to an other: yet is the former very sound, and crosseth you as directly as may be. And wher­as I had so mended it to your handes; you neuer­thelesse come in with it againe as you did before: so well seene belike in the woord of God (in those matters that are of deeper iudgement, or fore-stal­led with som vnaduisednes; or ignorant preiudice) that as you can readily erre with the ignorant and [Page 145] common sort; so likewise can you as little per­ceiue it, when as you are gently admonished of it. The like might be said of manie others: but these I trust may be sufficient for this matter. And yet I will acknowledge withall, that some few of them you haue some-what amended much, like as you had direction from mee. As for example, whereas before your woordes were, that Christ complained greeuously by the Prophet that sinners built vpon his backe, and prolonged their iniquitie, 348, which in­deed doth not stand with the sense of the place, as I had noted 330, and therewithall holpe the place by saying that Christ might so complaine) you, per­ceiuing some-what your former mistaking, haue thus far holpen it, that our Sauiour seemeth to com­plaine &c. Againe, whereas you said before, that Christ went foorth into the streets twise in one day to reprehend those that were idle, and I, perceiuing t [...]o faultes therein, amended them both, say­ing; that Christ in his parable still reprehended gree­uously those that stood idle &c. you, perceiuing now that it was not Christ himselfe that went forth to reprehend the idle, but that he put the parable of another that did, haue nowe thus farre mended it, that you say that Christ in his parable went forth into the streetes twise in one day &c. But as for that other slip of yours that you talke so praecisely of twise in one day, that haue you mended nothing at all: and it may be not perceiued it neither. And yet the text it self (that you do speake of Mat. 20. 17.) doth plainly say, that first he went forth ear­lie [Page 146] in the morning, then afterwards againe at the third, sixt, ninth, & eleuenth houres of the day. In somuch that it is the more maruell, that finding him still (as you say, which notwithstanding wee read but of once) to rebuke those that were idle you neuer foūd him notwithstanding at any time to rebuke this your idle reading and regarding of his holy worde. The sense also of diuers places of Scripture, which you (out of others sometimes) had corruptly set down, alledging it for the sense of the place, which was either but an alluding vn­to it, or els not so good I had one way or other either amended, or made more tollerable: which you notwithstanding haue broght in again, as far wide as they were before. I am not ignorant, but that by one of those foure waies, which you take vpon you so cōmonly to vse (& wherof sometime there is some vse in deede) in the expounding of holy scripture, there may be some colour preten­ded, for such wanton & wandring expositions [...] & that diuers there be, of reuerend accoūt otherwise that therein haue not a little offended. But in this light of the Gospell, those that so dally with the word of God, are worthy rather to bee hissed out; than to bee repressed by admonition. Last of all wheras you had oftē vsed those profane speeches of hap, chance, & fortune, perhaps & perchance, and I had not onely left them out, & put others in their place (such as gaue no such way to offence, & yet serued the place as well as the other) but also did bring in Augustine against them: you neuerthe­les [Page 147] haue taken them freely in again, as one that is [...]oth ouermuch to amend, or litle regardeth what offence by his speech he may giue vnto others.

35. That there is good cause why you should not trust to your self so much as you do,That fowly he erreth in manie things. might ea­ [...]y be gathered throughout your whole book. But first, as touching all such matters as belong to the controuersies, with those (as I said) I will not med­dle, because that whatsoeuer slip you make there­in, yet it is hard for you to perceiue it, much more to acknowledge it: so long as you are perswaded, that you are in the truth, or doo but retaine the mind that you do, so wilfully winking at the ma­nifest light, & so hardning your harts against this gratious calling of God. Then also certaine other thinges there are, that are no controuersies them selues, and yet notwithstanding so neere allied to them, that therin also I may not deale with much better hope than in the other. For therin also you shew your self to be so impudently giuen to maintaine your wonted fancies, that you care not how far you aduance whatsoeuer you thinke may anie way serue your purpose therein, nor howe far you abaje whatsoeuer it is that crosseth the same: nor howe farre you eclipse or darken the truth that goeth against you; nor yet howe farre you ad­uaunce anie manner of errour that maketh for you.In the ods that he con­ceiueth be­twixt faith and works. Pref. 7. & in the book it selfe. 315. Hence is it, that the more to discredite the reading and hearing of the woorde of God, and to keepe the people in ignorance still, and the better to aduance that vnsauery and lothsome [Page 148] righteousnes of your owne good woorkes against that righteousnes of faith, that resteth onely in the death and merits of Christ: you slily & smoothly beare vs in hande (but with how wicked an heart, and how vnshamefast a forehead let others iudge) that knowledge and faith are no matters to speake of; and of light importance in respect of workes the one to bee ofttimes dispatcht in the space of one weekes learning; the other mough for all our life: Hence is it againe,In defining of a true Christian. Part. 1. c. 5. that when you come to define a Christian man, you shun the leuel that you haue in the word of God, and so handsomly bring the matter about, that when you haue saide, whosoe­uer considereth what you haue set downe, and layeth one part thereof to the other, he may easilie see, that you make him a maruelous proper man; for al the world such as your selfe, and none other. Insomuch that whosoeuer were disposed to exa­mine your dealing herein, he might easily it taken knowne vnto all, either that you know not which way to begin, rightly to define a Christian man: or els (which is the likelier, and yet not altogither praeiudicing the other neither) that you could not finde in your heart truly to doo it, because it cros­seth you so much as it doth) nor to draw so neere towards it, as otherwise it is possible inough that you could. Hence is it likewise, that when you take vpon you to comfort a man against despair;In comfor­ting sinners against dis­paire. Part. [...]. cap. 1. although you bring diuers thinges well after your manner (that is, corruptly, mingling the truth of God with your lies) of the loue & mercie of God, [Page 149] not onely towards man generally, but also toward sinners; of the assurance therof likewise, and how the penitent may apply the same to them-selues: yet, neither haue you sufficiently declared, who, & what kinde of men they are, vnto whome these mercies of God appertaine, and who may of right take hold thereof, by the vndoubted warrant of the worde of God, but onely by the way, and ge­nerally (a thing notwithstanding that proportio­nably needeth as large handling, as dooth the o­ther) nor howe the iustice of God is so answered, that he may affoord vs those mercies, without im­peachment of his owne glorie on that behalfe. Both which points are of such importance to the raising vp of the troubled soul, vnto the assurance of Gods mercie, as that, vnlesse the soule of a man be throughly satisfied for those things also, it can neuer take holde of the assurance of that speciall fauour towardes it, that may sufficiently streng­then it against despaire, thogh otherwise the mer­cies of God, in that course thay you haue taken, were much more fullie displayed before it, and that without anie kinde of corruption mingled withall. Whereas therefore you professe your selfe in that chapter to haue it your purpose to mini­ster comfort vnto the sinner, that otherwise in des­paire of Gods mercie might be in daunger, altogi­ther to turne aside from the way of his seruice, and yet notwithstanding leaue out so principall mat­ters, as without the which the other can minister no sound comfort, heereby also it may indifferent [Page 150] plainly appeere, how rightly it may be applied to you, that Iob did lay to the charge of his frendes, that wheras they tooke themselues to be wise, yet were they, in such case, but as physitians of no va­lue, and miserable comforters all the sort of them.Miserable comforters all the sort of them. But this you haue, because you are loth to affoord vnto Christ, the honor that to him appertaineth. Otherwise you must needes haue seene, and set downe accordingly, that although the mercies of God were exceeding great, as indeede they are infinite, and much greater than they are, if greater could bee: yet might no man looke to bee parta­ker thereof, but in Iesus Christ, and by faith in him. By occasion whereof you should more ful­lie haue opened vnto vs the pointes of the Coue­nant that is established in him; and who they are with whome it is made: and not so negli­gently (or slily rather) haue lapped vp so great matter and so necessarie vnto the purpose that you had in hande, with the tearmes of repen­tance generally. For though it may stand (being largely taken and rightly withall) for the effect of the whole, and is taken oftentimes both in the Fa­thers and Scriptures also: yet (to such a purpose) as, in it self oftimes it doth need a larger discourse for the opening of it, especially to those that doo not sufficiently vnderstand the power thereof; so was it any wise to haue bene in that place perfor­med of you, if you ment to minister any sound cō ­fort; & not rather to settle a sinner in your accu­stomed popish presumption, than rightly to raise [Page 151] raise him vp to a Christian faith. Hauing so large­ly intreated of those things, that, in that case, lie on the parte of God towardes vs: you should not so slightly haue put off the others that lie on our parts towards him againe, being so large in them­selues as they are, & in that case requiring as large a discourse. So likewise for the other, that is, howe the iustice of God is in such sort answered, that without impeachment of his owne glorie, he may vouchsafe vs those mercies of his, it was a point that went so neere vnto the sufficiencie of our redemption in Christ, that eyther you saw not what belonged vnto it: or else could in no wise finde in your heart to meddle therewith, least so you ouerthrow the verie foundations of the gain­fullest partes of your profession. These, and such like others there bee, so neere of kin vnto the con­trouersies that you maintaine, that I meane not to deale with you therein: though otherwise you haue left aduantage inough therein against your selfe, for those that would. For beeing of so cor­rupt mindes as you are, so long as you doo holde those opinions that you doo, it may be no maruel, though you perswade your selues that therein you haue some colour of defence: howsoeuer that o­thers do plainly see, that therein you are as plain­lie deceiued as can be.

36 Therfore to omit those that are of this kind,In certaine others that do nothing belong to anie con­trouersie. and but to put you a little in mind of a few others wherein there lieth no such colour of defence for you, first, what time as Isaac went foorth to [Page 152] meditate, as you alledge, you make him then to bee but a childe:Isaac was but a child with him, when he was fortie yeeres old. Pag. 16. and if wee ioine your woordes togither, that there stande but a little a sunder, a little childe. And this (we are sure) was no bodies els but onely your owne: because it is not in the former Booke, but onely in this latter, of your owne trimming vp. But I feare it is you that was the child, and not he: because the Scripture (in the next chapter after) doth plainely witnesse, that he was at that time vpon fortie yeeres olde. Whence you shuld haue this conceit of yours, I cannot tell. Howbeit hereby you make me to call to remem­brance a much like matter that was saide to bee doone in Oxfoord, about the same time that you were there (if you bee the same that I heare that you are:) or at least not so long before, but that a fresh report thereof might very well reach vnto you. A certaine company of country plaiers came thither to play: they made it knowne what they did meane; and, as the maner is, drew in a compa­nie soone vnto them. Among other thinges they had to deale with the storie of Isaac: both of his sacrificing, when he was but a childe; and of his marriage, when after he came to riper age. They were not so wel stored of persons to furnish their partes, but that one boy must play Isaac, both in his childhood, and manhood also: but as the boies own face serued their turne for Isaacs childhood; so had they for him a faire long beard, to resemble his manhood. But all the cunning was to hit the time when he should haue his beard on, and when [Page 153] he should not. What will you? there was no more but right and wrong. When therefore hee came foorth as a childe to bee sacrificed, hee had on his, beard: and when after he was to be married, then as a child he had it off, and onely his owne boyes face to shut vp the matter. But I hope you were neuer so mad, as to take it thence. That which you speake of your fiftie Gentlemen consumed by fire,Fiftie gen­tlemen for two hun­dred and fiftie. pa. 70. might with some colour bee laid on the Prin­ter, but that the number is written at large: and especially for that you haue so many slips of this kinde, that it is a great deale more likely, that you aimed thereat (after your manner) blindly inough, but so well as you could. Howbeit the storie is (both in the Bible, and in Iosephus too) that they were no lesse than two hundred and fiftie. But it may bee those two hundred were wearie of their entertainment, because you did looke no better vnto them: and so being disposed to play the gen­tlemen with you, got them out of sight, when you should haue taken the view of them. For the sa­crificing of Iephthes daughter,Iephthes sacrificing of his daughter. Pag. 78. whom you say her father did put to death, you haue (I grant) in that matter, many great authors for you, both olde and newe. But if it had pleased you better to haue opened your eyes, to the light that in these daies God hath giuen vs, it may bee, you might haue espied an other opinion, likely to haue the stronger warrant in the worde of God. Your rec­koning likewise that Abraham liued verie neere two thousand yeeres after Adam, Of the time when A­braham li­ued pa. 143. must (vnlesse you [Page 154] followe, as knowing no better, the Graecian ac­count) improperly spoken, or els false: because the truth is, that it was but a little more betwixt the first creation of the world; and the birth of Abra­ham; & otherwise, from the death of Adam, vnto Abrahams calling (which seemeth to lie neerest to your purpose, & therin to the best aduauntage for you) there wants aboue 800. of those that you haue gathered. But whereas you make 400 yeeres (after the death of Iacob) of the people of Israels bondage in AEgypt, Of the time of their bondage in Aegypt. Pag. 144. you shewe your selfe nothing neere to vnderstand, howe to reckon those 400. yeeres that are mentioned Gen. 15.13. & Act. 7.6 (as in the 13. chap. likewise, & 20 verse, sauing that others are there put vnto them) nor those 400. & 30. in the 12. of Exodus the 14. verse, and in the [...] to the Galathians, and 17. verse. Wherin althogh the iudgement of diuers doth some-thing varies yet is there no such varying in them, as vnder which you may be able to couer the ignorāce that here hath slipt you. For seing that you shew your selfe to speake of that part of the time, whereof there is little recorded in Scripture of their dooings, & the same to be after the death of Iacob (for both these limitations are your owne) you haue made it euident thereby, that you meane that very time in which the persecution was raised against them, and afterward in cruel maner was executed vpon them: and not the whole time from the first cal­ling of Abraham; nor from the promisse renewed vnto him. For, from the first calling of Abraham, [Page 155] vntil their comming downe into AEegypt, and likewise of their first entertainment there for a time, there is in Scripture so much recorded, as (excepting the first and the last yere of their be­ing in the wildernes onely) there is not more of anie historie, of that quantitie of time, in all the Bible: &, besides that, it all went before the death of Iacob. But now, whereas from the calling of A­braham, or from the promisse renewed vnto him, vntill their deliuerance out of AEgypt, there are reckoned but those foure hundred & thirty yeres in all, & the time of their wandring in Canaan, & the coasts thereabout, is verie cleerely found to be two hundred and fiftene yeeres, before that Iacob (by Iosephs means) came to soiourn in AEgypt; & the residue of Iosephs life after that his father was come, was about threscore & eleuen (al which are parcel of those foure hundred & thirtie yeres, and past before that bondage of theirs began:) it appe­reth most plainly, that herein you wer maruelous wide, & are in no wise able to excuse your igno­rance in it. So that howsoeuer your fellowes may vse you to som other purpose, that wil serue their turn as wel: yet by your patience it seemeth to me that they neede some other to make their recko­nings. But of these inough, & more than needed, but that needes you must be the onely men of the world for learning, & praunce vp & down on the face of the earth, and fling here, and there, like the goodliest, and the most seruiceable coursers that are: & yet in the plainest ground that is, are euer [Page 156] tripping, and stumbling too, and ofttimes falling flat downe on all foure. Insomuch that wheresoe­uer els your learning lieth, yet in the word of God we find that you are but as other men are, & those not of the greatest account. You make so light of it, that it also maketh as light of you; and therfore sendeth you emptie away: that so you may bee, both to your selues, and to those that chuse you to be their leaders (& that of the iust iudgements of God) an heauie, and an vnprofitable burthen, lamps without light, and wandring guides, euer shocking on to & fro, in the glimmering of your own light, and by the sparks that your selues haue kindled; and yet notwithstanding neuer being a­ble to auoide the reward of this your infidelitie, that of course befalleth vnto you from the hande of the Lord, that when you haue doone, you shall lie downe and sleepe in sorrow.

The first part of the conclusion, beginning with a brief recitall of the whole. First gene­rally, that he dealeth herein, as Laban som time dealt with Iacob. Gen. 31.37 And so hauing now thus farre examined those things that you haue laid to my charge, and trusting that I haue sufficiently satisfied, if no [...] your selfe, yet the indifferent reader therein, nowe (to draw to an end for these matters) I wold wish you to consider, how like to Laban you haue delt with mee: and so take it in better part, if I vse for: my self, the same defence that Iacob did. For now that you haue so hotely followed vpon mee, as it were with hue and crie, or rather in most hostile manner, when you haue charged mee (with open mouth (with so great iniurie doone vnto you, vnto the Fathers, and Scriptures themselues; when you [Page 157] haue made the best search that you can, and tur­ned all thinges vp-side-downe, that nothing at all might escape vnespied: what is there nowe that for all this you haue found, where-with you may be able to charge me: or wherin haue I made any such fault against the Scriptures, the Fathers, or your self, that deserueth so much as the tenth part one halfe of those out-cries, and outragious spee­ches that you haue blustered foorth against mee? What I had doone, I haue fully acknowledged: how greeuously you haue taken it, that haue I al­so in some part declared, but not so fully. And now, as Iacob said vnto him, so doo I say vnto you likewise: let it here be laid in the sight of al men, and abide the triall; both of your brethren, and mine. He charged Iacob, that he stale away with­out his knowledge: and tooke away his daugh­ters with him. But were not his daughters the wiues of Iacob, and might not Iacob lawfully take them? And had hee first made Laban priuie vnto it, may wee thinke that Iacob might haue had his consent, so to haue done? He charged him also, to haue taken away his idols with him: and indeede they were gone, but Iacob was wrongfully char­ged withall: and could not tell, which way to helpe him vnto them againe. Your idols likewise, I graunt, are gone: but why should you be so an­grie with mee. The truth it selfe hath made them to hide their faces for shame: and I am not able (would I neuer so faine) to shewe you how to get them againe. So that although Labans idols in­deede [Page 158] were gone; yet was there nothing that hee was able iustly to lay to the charge of Iacob: in­somuch that at length he: thought he had stirred too much alreadie, and there-vpon drew into a­mitie with him. And although that the latter of them bee a greater matter than you are able to reach vnto, of any man els expecteth of you: yet would it not bee amisse, that at your leisure you should consider indifferently, whether you haue not stirred herein a great deale more, than either the cause it selfe required, or els was wisedom (on your owne behalfe) for you to do. For first as tou­ching the ill dealing and great iniurie that your complaine of,Then more specially in the particu­lars. it is such, as either chiefly respec­teth your selfe in these your labours: or else the cause that you haue in hande. Concerning your selfe, you charge me with altering the title so, as if you would perswade your Reader, that my selfe would haue had the glorie of it: and yet you are faine to set downe the same to your owne aduan­tage, otherwise than you had it of mee; and quite to leaue out that which you sawe discharged mee of it. You complaine of great corruption, mang­ling, falsifiyng: and what not? And yet you bring foorth nothing at all to any purpose, to discharge your credite therein. When I charged Philo­sophers, and some Diuines of olde, to haue had their errours about the immortalitie of the soule, that tooke you as meant of your selfe and your fellowes, and there-vppon are passing angrie for it: and yet was it but your owne ouer­sight, [Page 159] that so did take it; and in no wise can bee ascribed to mee. Yet these are the iniuries (and a few others of lesse importance) that are so great, as that there is nothing, but open hostilitie may rise vppon them. Concerning the cause that you haue in hande, you are highlie offended, that I haue left out your Purgatorie, Auri­cular confession; Satisfaction, idle Munkerie, forced Virginitie, wilfull Pouertie, Appariti­ous, friuolous Chastening of the bodie, watch­ing, weeping, abstinence, and fasting after your manner, and merits: and yet neither haue [...]taken them from you, but refused our selues so to take them; neyther is it in mee to allowe so honest a place vnto anie such matters, as the truth hath nowe so plainelie declared (the best of them all, as you doo vse them) to bee so wic­ked, or at least but vaine. That the blessed Vir­gin is altogither without sinne, is a late errour of yours: and because that vnder it faine you would shrowd your woonted idolatrie to her committed, you cannot abide that it bee cros­sed neuer so little. Because I cannot allowe that, a speciall commaundement, that was particu­larly giuen vnto some, should stande as a ge­nerall rule vnto all, nor, that men may at any time leaue their calling, nor married folkes parte a­sunder without consent: therefore do I both dis­credite Saint Anthonies calling; and call in que­stion S. Augustines conuersion, and yet must may Annotation theron bee dismembred also, to helpe [Page 160] out that conceit of yours. Not so content (I meane to complaine so much as you doo without ar [...] cause, & to make so great outcries, for such thing [...] as you might much better haue passed with si­lence) that yet you may much better shewe your selfe what you are, is it not a proper dalliance that you make, of the armes of the Archbishop, and Church of Yorke, ioined togither? Doo you not thinke that you were full grauely occupyed, in so serious matters as these? But that was no sufficient way for you to shewe what you are, and what is in you, but that needes you must make your selfe [...] partie likwise in that late wicked practise against him: as though it were of some great importance, what part you tooke in that action; or your par­taking could giue some credit, either to the cause it selfe, or vnto those that helpe it forward. But in the meane season you haue made it a likely mat­ter in reason, that you would bee loath, that anie should haue such a matter in hand, and not allow you to make one among them: and seeing you haue made such choise of your companions, wee are nowe so much the rather to acknowledge the old prouerbe true, that like will to like, whensoe­uer wee see (you knowe whome) and the Frier so met togither. For as for other thinges that belong vnto vs, whrewith you would so gladly find fault, they goe so skant with you, that you are faine to carp at the assurance that the Scriptures do teach vs to haue in God, because it hindreth your mar­ke [...] with vs: and that marriage is not restrained [Page 161] further among vs, than the woorde of God allow­eth it to be. Which latter point was in no wise to be reprooued by you: considering how fowly you are polluted because you doo so far abandon that holie ordinance of God from you. And yet are you so eagerly set thereon, that to force that ad­uauntage on your side, you haue depraued both my Annotation, and Saint Augustines rule be­sides, which faine you would haue strengthened against vs therin. With like wisedome and hone­stie is it, that when wee aduaunce the blessed­nes of these daies to the glorie of God; and ioy that our monie dooth not nowe goe foorth to the mainteinance of forraine power abroad: you call the one intolerable lying flatterie; the other you [...]; is but a fiction. As touching my selfe, there [...]ede bee no question, but that you are througly [...]gred with me: you do so vnquietly take what­soeuer I doo, whatsoeuer I say. When I bring in that sentence of Scripture, Iesus Christ yesterday & today, and the same for euer, you cannot tell what I should meane thereby; and besides you abuse (for my sake, I feare) the sentence it selfe. When I am so bold as to gesse that a good part of your booke might be taken out of certain of the Schoolmen: thereupon I must bee so ignorant in them, that I do not so much as knowe what they treat on; and yet, both you know that so it might; and your self are faine, both to shut vp your eies, that you might in no wise see whom I speake of, and there also to alter my words againe to your aduauntage. After­ward, [Page 162] in the Pacification, not onely the methode misliketh you, when as notwithstanding you doe finde no fault with it: but also whatsoeuer I say, that do you euer almost take in a contrarie sense, when as notwithstanding the woordes bee cleere inough in themselues, as before is declared. But then comming to your owne sweet selues, the co­pie of your countenance is by and by altered, and there you put on more amiable lookes. For you (forsooth) are the onely men that can make books of deuotion, pretie, & contemplation: & you per­haps (it is wel, that this commeth in with perhaps) will one day declare, that our profession is such, as hath nothing at all (in heauen, nor in earthy to mooue men vnto it, but onely respect of temporal commoditie; but yours hath all. So that now for deuotion, and the controuersies also, all the lear­ning that thereunto belongeth, lieth altogither with you, and none with vs. And yet are you no sooner entered into the remembrance of the lear­ning you haue found in manie of vs, and name [...] in the controuersies that are betwixt vs, but that by and by you call hard vpon vs for bookes of de­uotion: when you were desirous to say somewhat against vs by the authoritie and force of some spe­ciall places, in all your store you found none o­ther but such as did most readily turne against your selues: when you thought you had Cyprian to accord vnto you in your perswasion of our glo­rified estate, it appeereth you did not vnder­stand your owne author: when you heard that [Page 163] the silence of the blessed Virgin, and of other Disciples of Christ (leauing him vnto the reproch of all men, and nothing at all defending his inno­cencie against them) was a breach of diuers of Gods commaundements, you could not tell how to begin, to find it the breach of anie one. To which end also may bee referred, that knowledge and faith is (with you) but of one weeks learning: your grosse and rude definition of a Christian man: your imperfect discourse against despaire: & your so vnskilfull reckoning of those yeres that I haue admonished you of so distinctly and plain­ly set downe in the text it selfe. But the more you denie learning to those, that so readilie finde such ignorances in you, in so small a roome so manie togither, in a woorke that was laboured, and car­ [...]ing with it great vaunts of learning: the strong­ger you conclude against your selfe, the more haue you brought your selfe in question; and the lesse are you able nowe to cast off the selfe-same reproch, that you were so desirous to cast vpon vs. All which if nowe you had rather to haue in lesse roome, it is no more (in effect) but this, that you haue boldly borne vs in hand of much; you haue mistaken, depraued, and falsified more; and free­lie haue you taken your libertie and pleasure to carpe at all; but otherwise, against me, or for your selfe, that is woorth the writing, or woorth the rea­ding, you haue brought as little as may bee; and that is nothing.

38 This is (in a manner) the effect of all your [Page 164] labours heerein:The second part of the conclusion, ending with a short ad­monition of the iudgements of God. these are the causes you had to complaine; and this is the busines you haue made thereupon. And now haue I no more at this time to say vnto you, because I see no such temper in you as may put mee in anie hope, to doo you anie good by sound admonition. For seeing that you haue so manie waies so ill a cause, not onelie in your religion now, but also in your naughtie dea­lings against princes and states themselues, & yet notwithstanding, are in no wise able your selues to find it, nor can be made to perceiue it, by those that do most plainly point you vnto it: how many we thinke otherwise of you, but that either you are starke blind, and can see nothing at all; or els haue hardened your hartes so much against the mercifull calling of God, that though you see it yet you cannot beleeue it nor yeeld your selue in obedience vnto it? If it be so, then is it cleere, that in that case there can bee no dealing with you [...] your conuersion, so long as the iustice of GOD doth leaue you therein to your selues. Yet others may see, and acknowledge in you, the feareful, but righteous iudgements of God, that hauing follo­wed idols so much as you haue, nowe are you be­come idols your selues: hauing eies, and yet not a­ble to see; eares, and yet not able to heare; faire no­strels to see too, and yet hauing in them of this kind of life) no breath at all. Insomuch that nowe we haue in you experience againe, of that which hath beene taught vs before, that as the wares of God are plaine and right vnto the iust, so are they [Page 165] stumbling-blockes to the wicked: and that Christ himselfe, in the wisedome of the Father, is in so wonderfull maner giuen vnto vs, as that although he be in Sion a chiefe corner-stone, ebect, and pretious to them that beleeue: yet is hee likewise a stone to stumble at, & a rocke of offence to them which stum­ble at the woord, and are disobedient. Go your waies therefore, yee shrinking children, that haue forsa­ken the Lord of life, and counted your selues vn­woorthie of him; that haue had the Gospell deli­uered vnto you by Christ himselfe, and haue not kept it; that all this while bearing the world in hande, that you are the onelie builders, can neuer bee induced to haue anie liking of that which is the head-stone of the corner. And, if there bee no remedie, but that needes you will holde on the course you are in, walking in darknes, in the midst of light, abiding in bondage, when you may bee free, and disposed to perish, when saluation is of­fered: what can we doo better, than (as Christ in the like case did) fully content & settle our selues in such iudgements of God, the causes whereof are euer iust, howe secret soeuer they bee vnto vs. His name therefore be euer blessed, and glorified of all those that are his, that to the glorie of his holie name, and to the further manifestation of his great, and vnspeakable mercies to his chosen peo­ple, it hath pleased him, to hide those things from the wise and learned, and to open the same vnto babes. Euen so bee it: for so it standeth with his good pleasure. Among you all we trust there are [Page 166] some, that doo appertaine to the secret election: and are to be called in their time. Now is the time when they may as plainly perceiue howe far they are falling (if they should go on still with you) as euer they or anie others might, since the world began. God giue them grace so to perceiue it, and so to with-draw themselues from your naughtie waies (and that, while they haue this acceptable time, before that euer it be too late) that with you they be not partakers of those heauie iudgements that are already prepared for you: and of which (in the course that now you are in) you shall one day tast, and cannot escape, would you neuer so faine.