HAuing to erecte y^e house of god, wher­to we ought to be fel­low workers, we are bound especially to sée to this: that neyther we builde on an euill ground, therby to lose both cost and trauail: nor set to sale and cō ­mende to other, a rui­nous thing, or anye waye infectious, in steade of a strong defence, or holesome place wherevpon to rest. The Apostle commending his doctrine to the Corin­thians, sayth: Vt sapiens architectus, fundamentum posui. 1. Corin. 3. As a skilfull masterbuilder, I haue layde the foundation: And o­ther foundation can no man laye, than that which is layde, which is Christ Iesus. Christ hath receyued of his father all things: he hath conferred vpon vs no lesse: he by his death hath made entrance into life for vs: he is become our wyse­dome, our righteousnesse, our sanctification and redempti­on. By his name we must onely be saued: by hys doctrine we must only be directed: vpon that rock, that fayth of his, we must substantially be grounded. If any man teach other lessons than of that, we must say with Paul, Si Angelus è celo, Gallath. If an Angel from heauen, teach otherwise than the Apostles haue preached to vs, let him be accursed. And with S. Iohn, Quod audistis ab initio, id in vobis permaneat, Let that abide in you, which you haue heard from the beginning: so shal you [Page] continue both in the sonne and in the father. And this is the promise that he hath promised vs,1. Ioan. euen eternall life. If any man do not bring this doctrine with him, do not so much as salute him,Ioan. 14. Math. 15. neyther receiue him into your houses: For he that loueth God, heareth his voyce, sayth Christ. And they in vayne do worship him, that teach the doctrine and preceptes of men.Men in God his matters not to be beleued vvithout the vvord Men haue their errors and imperfections, & though they be the children of God, yet they be not guided by his good spirit alwayes. Euery man that hath an instrument in his hand, can not play on y^e same: nor euery man that hath learned the science, can please the eare. But if the strings be out of tune, or frets disordered, there wanteth the harmony that should delite: So whensoeuer we swarue neuer so lit­tle, from the right trade of Gods holy word, we are not to be credited, we ought not to please. Wherefore sith the way is daungerous, our féete slippery: that we fall oft, and are sly­ding euer: no maruell if the best of vs sometime do halte. It falleth oft, that such as preach & professe Christ, builde some­time on him, euill, vnsound, and corrupt doctrine. Not that the word of God is occasion of heresies, but that men lacke right vnderstanding and iudgement of the same, which com­meth only by the spirit of God. And this it is that S. Paule sayth,1. Cor. 5. how some do builde vpon Christ y^e foundation, golde, siluer, and precious stones: But some other, timber & hay, and stubble. Yet must we not take the hope of Gods mercy from such euill carpenters, as lay so rotten a couering vpon so sure a building, where as otherwise they offending in tri­fles, be sound inough in greater matters: & sticke to Christ, the only substantiall and true foundation. Yet such their er­rors and imperfections being brought to the fier of gods spi­rit,De doctrin. Christiana li. 2. ca. 9. & sequentibus and tried by the word, shal be consumed. Augustine ther­fore, when he would frame a perfecte preacher, willeth him to conferre the places of Scripture together. He sendes him not to the Doctours distinctions, nor to the censure of the [Page 22] Church, nor canons of the Popes, nor traditions of the fa­thers, but onely to quiet and content himselfe with the word of God. Therfore in the primitiue Church, when as yet the new Testament was not written, al things were examined according to the sermons and wordes of the Apostles. For which cause S. Iohn writeth: Qui ex Deo est, nos audit: 1. Ioan. 4. He that is of of God, heareth vs: and he that heareth vs not, is not of God. So farre therfore as men accorde with the holy Scripture, and shape their writings after the paterne that Christ hath left them, I will not only my self estéeme them, but wish them to be had in most renoune and reuerence. O­therwise, absolutely to trust to mē, which may be deceiued: & gather out of the fathers writings, whatsoeuer was wyt­nesse of their imperfection, is neyther point of wisdome, nor safety. In euery age, God raysed vp some worthy instrumē ­tes in his church: And yet in no age any was so perfect, that a certaine truth was to be builded on him. Which thing by example, as wel vnder the law, as in the time of grace, god hath sufficiently by his worke declared. Among the Iewes who was euer comparable vnto Aaron?Aaron. who fell so shame­fully? he assented for feare vnto the peoples Idolatry. A­mong the ministers of the Gospell, who had so great & rare gifts as Peter? who did offende so fleshely?Peter. for dreade of a girle, he denied his master. Which thing was not done with­out the prouidence of almighty God, thereby to putte men in remembraunce of their frailty, & further to instruct them whence truth in doctrine must only be fetcht. Trust not me,Pro loco. li. 3. de Trinita. To. 3. sayth Augustine, nor credit my writings, as if they were the canonical scripture: But whatsoeuer thou findest in y^e word, although y^u didst not beleue it before, yet groūd thy fayth on it now. And whatsoeuer y^u readest of mine, vnlesse y^u knowest it certainly to be true, giue thou no certaine assent to it.Epist. 48. ad Vincent. de Vi coer. her. And in an other place reprouing suche as will bring forth cauils out of mens writings, therby to confirme an error, he saith: [Page] that a difference should be made betwene the assertions and mindes of men, were they, eyther Hillarie, Ciprian, Agrip­pine, or any other: and canon of the Scripture. Non enim sic leguntur, he sayth, tan (quam) ita ex eis testimonium proferatur, vt contra sentire non liceat, Concio. ad Adolesc. sicubi forte aliter sapuerint, (quam) veritas postulat. In eo quippe numero sumus vt non dedignemur etiā nobis dictū ab Aposto­lo accipere: Et si quid aliter sapitis, id quo (que) deus vobis reuelabit. For they are not so red as if a testimonie might be brought forth of them, which it were not lawefull for any man to gayne­say, if peraduenture they thought otherwise than the truth requireth. For we are in the number of them that disdayne not, to take this saying of the Apostle to vs: If any of you be otherwise minded, God shall reueale the same vnto you. Wherefore with what iudgement the fathers of the church ought to be redde, Basile setteth forth by a propre similitude. Iuxta totum apium similitudinem, orationum participes nos fieri con­uenit. Illae enim ne (que) ad omnes flores consimiliter accedunt, ne (que) etiam eos ad quos volant totos auferre tentant, sed quantū ipsis ad mellis opi­ficiū commodū est accipientes, reliquū valere sinunt: Et nos sanè si sa­piamus, quantum sincerum est, & veritati cognatum ab ipsis adepti, quod reliquum est transiliemus. We must be partakers of other mennes sayings wholly after maner of the Bées: for they flée not alike vnto all flowers: nor where they syt, they crop them quite away: but snatching so much as shall suffise for their hony making, take their leaue of the rest. Euen so we, if we be wise, hauing got of other so much as is sound, and agreable to truth, wil leape ouer the rest. Which rule if we kepe, in reading and alleaging the fathers words, we shall not swarue from our profession, the scripture shall haue the soueraine place, and yet the Doctours of the Church shall lose no parte of their due estimation.None of the Fa­thers but haue er­red. There is not any of them that the world both most wonder at, but haue had their affections, nor I thinke that you (aduersaries to vs and to the truth) will in euery respecte admitte all, that any one of the fathers wrote. My selfe were able from the very first af­ter [Page 23] the Apostles time, to runne them ouer all, and straight­ly examining their words and assertions, finde imperfecti­ons in all. But I would be loth, by discrediting of other, to séeme that I sought some prayse of skil, or else be likened to Cham Noahs sōne, that seing the nakednesse of the fathers,Gen. 21. wil, in contēpt vtter it. But bycause in ceremonies and ob­seruances, (wherein they scant agreing with themselues: e­uery one discording from other, declined all from simplicity of the Gospell) we are onely burdened with the name of fa­thers: giue vs leaue somtime to vse a Regestion, let vs haue the liberty toward other, which Hierome graunteth against himselfe: saying, Certe vbicun (que) Scripturas non interpretor, In Apo. pro lib. contra Iouin. To. 2. & li­berè de meo sensu loquor, arguat me cui lubet. Truely whersoeuer I expound not the scriptures, but freely speak of mine own sense, let any man that lyst reproue me: Not that I wil giue so large raynes to the headdinesse of some, whiche either of affection or of singularity, wil néedes dissent: but that: I wil not exempte any from their iuste defence,Ioan. 4. from triall of the spirits whether they are of God. We must followe the ex­ample of them of Berrhea, which trusted not to Paule him­selfe, but searched the scriptures whether they were so.Tvvo Iudges of cōtrouer­sies, the vvorde and the spirite. But where as this precept is generall, all men to iudge, all men to try, what doctrine they receyue: this iudgement and trial to be had by the word, is somewhat in dede, but yet not all that may be sayde in the matter. I graunt the Scripture to be a good Iudge in deede: But vnlesse the spirite of wise­dome and knoweledge, doe lighten our wyttes and vnder­standing, it shal auayle vs little or nothing, to haue at hand the worde of God, whereof we knowe not the sense and meaning. Golde is tryed by the touchstone, and metalles in the fier, yet onely of suche as are experte in the facultie. For neyther the touchstone, nor yet the fier, can any thing further the ignoraunte and vnskilfull. Wherefore, to be méete and conuenient men, to iudge of a truthe, when we [Page] do reade or heare it by the holy Ghost, we must be directed. In this behalfe, although I knowe that the giftes of God haue their degrées, yet dare I say, that none is vtterly so voide of grace,It is possi­ble to trie a truthe. but hath so much conferred on him, as shal be expedient for his owne behoofe, vnlesse he be vtterly as a rot­ten member cut of from Christ. Vaine it were to commaūd a thing that lies not in vs: and vs to deny the possibillitie, when we haue a promise of a thing that shall be, doth ar­gue our inconstancy and mysbelief. Wherefore syth Christ and his Apostles, saye often times, Videte, Cauete, Probate, which wordes be spoken in the commaunding mode: & byd vs Sée, Beware, and Proue: I must néedes conclude, that we shal not be destitute of the spirit of God, so farre as shal be most néedefull for vs, if we doe aske the same by fayth. And whereas Christ doth affirme that we shal knowe:1. Ioan. 4. And S. Iohn in his epistle, doth assure vs, that [...] doe knowe: Spiritum veritatis, & Spiritum erroris, the Spirit of veritie, and Spirit of error, we must acknowledge and confesse, that the truth is not hidde from vs, further than we lyst to shut it vp from our selues. But here ariseth & doubtfull case. If euery man shall haue authoritie, to giue his verdit vpon a contro­uersie,Tvvo kindes of examination of doc­trine. Priuate. which shall séeme and say, that he hath the spirit, no certain thing shal be decréed: euery man shal haue his own way: no stable opinion and iudgement to be rested on. Here­to I aunswere againe, that there be two kindes of examina­tion of doctrine: one priuate, another publique. Priuate, wherby eche man doth settle his owne fayth, to staye conti­nually vppon one doctrine, which he knoweth stedfastly, to haue procéeded from God. For consciences shall neuer haue any sure porte or refuge to runne vnto, but only God. He, when he is called vpon, will heare our prayers: when he is desired, wil graunt vs his spirit. But he hath prescribed vs a way before hand to attayne the same, if we bring vnder all senses of ours vnto his word.Ioan. 8. Si patrem habetis Deum, quomodo [Page 23] non agnoscitis loquelam meam? If ye haue God to your father, saith Christ, how falleth it out that ye do not vnderstand my talke? Oues mea cognoscunt vocem meam, & non sequuntur alie­num. My shéepe, sayth he, knowe my voyce, and followe no straunger. Nor doubt it is, but by the instinct of the holy Ghost, we be made his shéepe, which will not hearken to er­rors and heresies, (which are the voyces of straungers) but followe the voyce of our master Christ, which in the Scrip­ture is crying to vs. If these reasons and allegations may not preuayle with some, to driue them to a sure and safe an­kerholde in Christ: let them runne, and they lyste,Publique to the o­ther kinde of examination of doctrine: which is the cōmon consent of the Church. For syth it is to be feared greately, least their arise some phrenetike persons, which will bragge and boast, as well as the best, that they be Prophetes, they be endued with the spirt of truth, and yet wil leade men in­to all errors: this remedy is very necessary, the faythfull to assemble themselues together, and seke an vnitie of fayth & godlynesse. But when we haue runne as farre as we can,The scriptures laste refuge. we can goe no further than to the wall: we must reuolte to the former principles, and trye by the Scriptures, which is the Church. Wherfore in controuersies of our Religion, if mennes deuises were lesse estéemed, and the simple order of Gods wisedome followed: lesse daunger, fewer quarrels, should arise amongst vs: more truth, more sinceritie should be retayned of vs. And to this ende I coulde haue wyshed, that you, M. Martiall, should haue learned firste, to frame your owne conscience according to the worde: then haue ascribed suche authoritie thereto, that we néeded not, forsa­king the fountaine, to follow the infected streames: nor, ha­uing the vse of swéete & sufficient corne, féede vpon acornes still. But I would, that, had bene the most fault of yours, to haue attributed much vnto the fathers: & had not otherwise of malice wrested them: and of mere ignoraunce sometime [Page] corrupted them. The Scripture, which in the title of your boke, hath the first place, in y^e rest of the discourse hath very little or no place at al: and vnder name of Fathers and an­tiquitie, fables and follies, of newefangled men, are obtru­ded to vs. To come to the instants.

Folio. 18.First ye bring forth the significations of Crosse in Scrip­ture. Ye muster your men, whose aide ye will vse in this so­ry skirmish. And although they be very fewe, yet ye number one moe than ye haue: and like a couetous captaine, wyll néedes indent for a dead pay. Ye say that the scripture hath preferred to your bande .4. Souldiours:Folio. 24. The Crosse of af­fliction. The passion of Christ. The Crosse that he died on. And the materiall or mysticall signe of the Crosse: Mate­rial, to be erected in the church: Mystical, to be made vvith the finger in some partes of the body. These be not many ye wote, ye might haue kept tale of them: But the first, and the second, as the word of God commendeth in dede, and be most necessary for our saluation, so wil you not deale with­all: they be to cumbersome for your company: the thirde ye confusely speake of: of which notwithstanding small com­mendation in the Scripture is founde: The fourth, which ought to strike the greatest stroke, is not extant at all. For neyther the material, nor mistical Crosse, in that sense that ye take them, to that ende that ye apply them, be once men­cioned in the worde of God. Wherefore ye might blotte out of your boke, Scripture, and take to your selfe some other succours, or fight with a shadowe. I néeded not to trouble my selfe about your third Crosse: which is the piece of wood, wherevppon Christ died: both for bycause we haue it not: and also you your self do not take it incident into your pur­pose to treate of: Yet bicause ye make many gloses theron: and apply to the signe, the vertue propre to the thing it self, it is not amisse to examine your folly. First, ye cite a place of Chrisostome,Folio. 13.2. ex Demonstratione ad Gentiles: and for .3. leaues [Page 26] together (although ye do not tell vs so much) ye write an o­ther mans wordes as your owne, to prayse your pregnante wit. But ye patch them and piece them ilfauoredly: & what­so euer séemes to make against you, ye leaue out fraudulēt­ly. This is no playne or honest dealing. In dede Chrisos­tome stoppeth many a gappe with you. The comfort of your Crosse doth most rest in Chrisostome.Chrisos­tome. But Chrisostome was not without his faultes. His golden mouth, wherein he pas­sed other, sometime had leaden words, which yelded to the error & abuse of other. I am not ignorant that in his dayes, many euill customes were crept into the Church: which in his works he reproueth not. He praiseth such as went to the sepulchres of Sainctes. He maketh mention of prayer,To. 4: ad pop. 66. In. 1. Cor. 16. Hom. 41. for the deade. Monkerie he cōmendeth aboue the Moone. In his tract of Penaunce, beside many other absurdities, (when he had rehearsed many wayes to obtayne remission of sinnes, as Almes, Weping, Fasting, and such other) he maketh no mention at all of fayth. In his cōmentaries vpon Paul, he sayth: that Concupiscence, vnlesse it bring forth the externe worke, is no sinne. Wherefore if he had sayde so much for the Crosse, as ye misconster, and more than accordeth with the glory of Christ, I might lappe it vp with other of his errours, and hauing the Scripture for me, Chrisostome should be no president against me. But I will not goe this way to worke. I admit his authoritie, but marke, M. Mar­tiall, what his meaning is. In the place that ye alleage for the Crosse, he dealt with the Gentiles. The marke that he shot at, was to proue to them, Quod Christus Deus esset, that Christ was God, as in the title appeareth. Now bicause this punishment, to be hanged on the gallowes, was maruellous offensiue vnto the heathen, nor they could thinke him to be a God, y^e was executed with so vile a death: Chrisostome ther­fore goeth as far in the contrary, prouing, that that, which was a token of curse, was now become the signe of saluatiō. [Page] And bycause that they spake so much shame of the Crosse, derogating therfore from him that was crucified: the Chri­stians to testifie by their outward facte, their inward profes­sion, would make in euery place the signe therof. This was the occasion that the mysticall Crosse, crepte into custome. But here is no place to entreate of that, though you, ta­king styll, Non causam pro causa, that which is impertinente for proufe of your matter, confounde the same. Notwith­standing,Things vvel rece­ued, il cō ­tinued. howe thinges receyued to good purpose (as to the iudgement of man séemeth) may afterward growe to abuse, this signe of the Crosse sheweth. That, which was at the first, a testimony of Christianitie, came to be made a Ma­gical enchauntment. That which was a reproufe to the eni­mies of the Crosse, became in the ende, a cause of conquest against the Christians. Nor it is to be thought, that wher­soeuer a signe of a Crosse was, were it eyther in mountaine or in valley, in tauerne or in chambre, in brute bodies or in reasonable, there was by & by a zeale of true deuotion: but as well, or rather an heathenish obseruaunce,The signe of the Crosse an hethenish obseruāce a supersticion of them, that neuer thought on Christ. We reade that the Egiptians great Idoll Serapis, had a Crosse in his breast, and that signe was one of their holy letters.Li. 2. Ca. 29 Sozom. li. 7. Cap. 15, Wherevppon Ruffinus reporteth, that many of the learned among the E­giptians, were the rather contented to embrace Christiani­tie, bycause they sawe the Crosse estéemed: which was be­fore, a great ceremonie of theirs. And we may wel suppose that when they pulled downe the Images of Serapis out of their windowes and walles, and placed in their steade the signe of the Crosse,Act. 17. they imitated y^e fact of the Apostle Paul: who of the Athenians superstition, did take occasiō to preach a truth: So these, to win the Egiptians to the faith, would retayne something of their olde obseruaunce, but applied to another meaning, than they before did vnderstande. So the custome of running about the streates with fyrebrands, in [Page 26] honor of Proserpina, was turned with christians into Can­delmasse day.Candle­mas day. Crosse vveeke. Con. Polō. 12 Sigebertus in Chro. li. 13. Bonifac. 4. Alhallo­vven day. The sacrifice of Ceres done in the fieldes, with howling of women, and crying of children, was made a ge­nerall obseruance with vs, in the Rogation wéeke. The I­mages of Mercury set by the hie way sides, were afterward conuerted to Crosses. And where there was in Rome Tem­plum Pantheon, a temple, wherein all the Gods of the worlde were honored: the deuout fathers to take away this Idola­trie, did consecrate a church in the same place vnto Alhallo­wes: y^e that shuld now be conuerted vnto saincts, that before was attributed vnto false Gods. And yet whatsoeuer pretext of zeale, they had, this was no good chaunge: no sounde re­formation: to take awaye many false Gods: of true saincts to make many Diuels. For so they are, when they be hono­red, I meane, by that honor of Inuocation. So that it is not straight waies allowable, whatsoeuer is brought in, vn­der cloke of good intente: nor whatsoeuer hath bene vpon good occasion receyued once, (as this was neuer) must neces­sarily be retayned stil. Stephanus the Pope hath this decrée. Si non nulli ex praedecessoribus & maioribus nostris fecerunt aliqua, Dist. 63. cap Quia in paragr. verum. quae vllo tempore potuerunt esse sine culpa, et postea vertuntur in erro­rem & superstitionem, sine tarditate aliqua & cum magna authori­tate à posteris destruantur. If any of our predecessors & elders haue done any thing, which at any time could be without of­fence, and afterward be turned into error and superstition, let them without any more delay, and with great authoritie be destroyed of thē that come after. Then, since this crossing hath bred such inconuenience, that the externe action had stil in reuerence, the inward fayth hath bene vntaught: and that vertue attributed to the signe (which only procedeth frō him, which it signified:) the signe it selfe may well be lefte, and the signified Christ be preached simply:Lib. de Past. cap. 8. For as Augustine sayth. Noli putare te iniuriam facere montibus sanctis, quando dixe­ru, auxilium meum non in montibus, sed in domino. Think not that [Page] thou dost any iniurie to the holy hils, when thou sayest, my helpe is not in the hils, but from the Lord: So there is no wrong done to y^e Crosse of Christ, if I say: not y^e Crosse, but y^e crucified, is to be trusted to. Which thing your own author meaneth in the selfe same place which is alleaged, although it please you to suppresse the words. For after he had sayd: Sparsa est in parietibus domorum, in culminibus, in libris, in ciuitati­bus, in vicis, in locis quae habitantur, et quae non habitantur, which place you cite to shewe what vse, what estimation of the Crosse was euery where, y^e very next words that follow, be these. Vellem audire à Pagano, vnde symbolum tam maledicta mortis ac supplicij, omnibus tam desiderabile, nisi magna crucifixi virtus. I would heare of a Pagan, how it commeth to passe, that the signe of so cursed a death and punishment, is so desired of al, if it be not the great power of him that was crucified. This ye leaue out, and yet haue recourse agayne vnto the wordes that followe, whereby ye would proue the signe it self to be a token of much blessing, & a vvall of all kinde of securitie. For so Chrisostome sayth. If agaynst my obiection ye do re­ply and say that the power of him which was hanged on the Crosse, made the Crosse it selfe and the signe thereof, to be of more vertue: that this was not the minde of the Doctor, the cōclusion of his tale conuinceth.Folio. 15. a. Hoc mortem fustulit, saith he, hoc Inferni aereas portas confregit: This toke awaye death, this broke the brasen gates of Hell. &c. But did there any material thing? did the piece of wood? did any signe, worke this effecte? was death and Hell conquered by it? The ar­ticles of our fayth do teach vs otherwise: and the phrase of Scripture is far differente,Mat. 1. Ipse, saluum faciet populum suum, à peccatis suis. It is he, sayth Iohn, it is Christ, & not the Crosse, that shall saue the people from their offences.Mat. 18. Luc. 19. Ioan. 3. Venit filius ho­minis quaerere & seruare quod perierat. The sonne of man came to séeke and saue that which was lost. Misit Deus filium suum in inundum, vt seruetur mundus per ipsum. God sent his sonne in­to [Page 27] the world, that by him, by him, the world might be saued. As Moses lifted vp the Serpent in the wildernesse,Ibidem. so must the sonne of man be exalted, that all that beleue in him, pe­rish not. These titles of honor, this work of mercy: to sanc­tifie vs, to purchase deliueraunce from death and hell, as it is acknowledged of vs: so is it attributed in Gods worde, to Christ himselfe, and not to his Crosse. Et qui loquitur, 1. Peter. 4. loqua­tur tan (quam) eloquia Dei. If any man speake, let him speake as the wordes of God: Yet euident it is, that Chrisostome by a fi­gure of Metonymia, did speake of the Crosse, that whiche was properly to be applyed to the passion.

From Chrisostome, ye clime vp to Martialis, Folio. 15. a. Martialis. whome ye doe make Sapientum octauum, one of the .72. disciples. Eu­sebius sayth, Septuaginta discipulorum catologum nusquam reperiri, Lib. 1. Ca. 12. that the catalogue, the Register of the .72. disciples is founde in no place. But you place them at your pleasure, you are a­ble to point them out with your finger. Hierom, Gennadius, Isidorus, making bokes of purpose, of ecclesiastical writers, neuer doe remember this author of youres, whome you for the names sake do like the better. But if his aunciency had bene such, as you pretende, it had bene a great ouersight of them, to haue so forgotten him. But to his place. The Crosse of our Lorde is our inuincible armoure agaynst Sathan, an helmet vvarding the heade, a coate of fence defending the breast, a targat beating back the darts of the diuel, a svveard not suffering iniquity and ghostly assaults of peruerse po­vver to approch vnto vs. If this may be rightly vnderstode according to the letter, we nede not greatly to stand in dread of Sathan, he is easly vnaquisht, we nede no further armour than the Crosse, let Christ alone, this Mars shall suffise vs. God sayd to Iob,Iob. 40. that Behemoth or Leuiathā are of another maner of force: none dare come nere them, none can resiste them: the sweard shall neuer touch thē: the speare yeldeth to them. They esteme yron as a straw, & brasse, as rotten wood. [Page] But rotten woode, a cancred, wormeaten, ilfauored Crosse, may kepe vs safe ynough from the Diuell. Then is not the Diuell such a Bugge as we talke of: he is (belike) some Ro­bin good fellowe, that onely is méete to make babies afrayd. But if that you, in your most ruffe at Winchester, had bene no more terrible to the boyes, with a rod in your hand, than the parish priest, with confidence in the Crosse, is to the Di­uell: your Schollers should haue had as little learning, as you discretion,Folio. 15. b. or the Diuell dreade. But you are not so to be dalied withall. Damascenus Damasce­nus. sayth further for you, that the Crosse is giuen vs, as a signe vpon our foreheads, lyke as Circumcision vvas to the Israelites: by this, vve Christen men differ, and are discerned from infideles. This is oure shielde, our vveapon, our banner, and victorie agaynst the Diuell. This is our marke, that the destroyer touch vs not. To speak a little of your author, not vtterly to discredit him, but in parte to excuse him, for that he was not in all poynts so sound,Rerum Ro. lib. 21. as otherwise it had bene to be wished: Eutropius writeth, that he liued in the raigne of the Emperour Leo I­sauricus, y^e third of that name. Then was the bloudy bicke­ring for Images. Then Sathan did bestyrre himselfe. Then was it no maruel, if a man learned, & godly otherwise, were caried away with the common error. I am not ignoraunt that Damascene did greatly contende for Images. But out of the Scriptures, he brought no proufe at all. Onely by a miracle he woulde confirme them. We know what illusions are wrought in that behalfe: and therfore against the word, no authoritie of man,2. Reg. 18. no miracle must come in place. Eze­chias destroied the brasen serpent, which had a most strange and holesome miracle to witnesse with it (for all were resto­red to health by it:) And shal forged lies make learned men, and godly Princes, forbeare so great abuse, maintayned by fond opinion, and after no sound precept? But let vs weigh his reason. He compareth the Crosse on the foreheade and [Page 28] circumcision together. If he had shewed as much cōmaun­dement for the one, as is for the other, I could haue liked it it well: nowe, that circumcision was straightly enioyned, and the signe of the Crosse neuer spoken of: Circumcision was a thing done in the flesh: The Crosse in the foreheade is but a signe in the ayre: I sée not howe these things can ioyne together. But if Damascenus (which I rather thinke) doe take the signe in the foreheade, for the passion it selfe printed in our heartes: then, on the other side, there is as greate a square. For circumcision did only serue for a remembrance: but this Crosse is the thing it selfe to be remembred. Lac­tantius Lactantius de vera Sa. Li. 4. Ca. 26. goeth néerer a truthe, and compareth together the bloud of the lambe (wherewithall the dore postes of the He­brues were sprinckled) and the signe of the Crosse, that men in the vttermost partes of their bodies beare. But Lactan­tius sayth. Cruor pecudis tantam in se vim non habuit, vt hominibus faluti esset. The bloud of a beast, had not such power in it, as to saue men. Therefore (say I) the signe of the Crosse, is neyther shielde, nor weapon, nor victory of ours. And this is mine answere to Damascenus. Nor I am herein ashamed of the Crosse, but I am ashamed of your too crosse and ouer­thwart proues. Ye graunt your selfe,Fol. 16. a. b. that the effectes afore­sayd, are to be ascribed to the death of Christ: but yet you sweare (Mary) that they are not to be done, without the signe of the Crosse. Your argumente is this: As men notvvith­standing the merites of Christes passion, must receiue the Sacraments: So sighters against the assaults of Sathan, must not onely haue fayth, but also the outvvarde signe of the Crosse. O cunning comparison. O worthy argument, that all the world may wonder at. Would a man haue thought, that an Vsher of Winchester, could haue become so déepe a Diuine? The sacraments (ye say) must concurre with faith: Ergo, the signe of the Crosse, with Christ. This is as good a reason, as if I shuld say: Notwithstanding Gods power that [Page] giueth the increase, I must eate my meate: Ergo, notwith­standing my laboure, whereby I may sustayne my selfe, I must néedes couet my neyghbours goodes. The respectes be like. In the firste proposition: Gods power, and fayth: the necessitie of Sacramentes, and of noriture, to be compared together. In the second: Christes passion, to aunswere our labour, which both are necessary, & the same sufficient mea­nes for vs: and the lusting after another mannes goods, set agaynst the signe of the Crosse, wherof there is nere nother, commaunded but forbidden. Ye were taught once out of the Topicks, that it is an il argument à consequenti, when in two propositions, things vtterly vnlike, shal be compared toge­ther, and the one by no meane can inferre the other. Sacra­mentes are commaunded by expresse word of Scripture. Ye should haue proued firste, that the signe of the Crosse is so. Sacraments haue a promise annexed to them.Sacra­ments no cause of grace. Folio. 17. a. Where is the promise to the signe of the Crosse? To passe ouer the rocke that in the midst of your course ye runne vpon, that Sacra­ments are the cause of grace: whereas in them, the only pro­mises of God, by Christ, both by word and signe, are exhibi­ted vnto vs: which promises if we apprehend by fayth, then is the grace increased in vs: and the gifte of God, by fayth receyued, is by the Sacrament sealed in vs. So much by the way to teach you true doctrine. But to returne to the other purpose. If there be such necessity of y^e signe of the Crosse to fight against Sathan, what a foole was Paule, when he fur­nished a Christian with his complete armour,Ephes. 6. to forget this chiefe piece of defence, which is able (belike) to do more than all the rest?1. Peter. 5. What a foole was Peter, when he gaue aduise to resist that aduersary, that sayd not as well, Resistite Crucis signo, as otherwise fide solida. He might haue willed vs to haue taken a Crosse in our hand, or made such a signe in our forehead and so resisted him. But he only said, Resist him by stedfast faith. That fayth hath this effect to withstand temp­tations, [Page 29] is plainly to be sene by the word of god. That y^e signe of the Crosse can do the like, I vtterly deny til you be at lea­sure to proue it. But why? doth not Athanasius say?Athanasiꝰ Quaestio. 39 as M. Martiall quotes it Folio. 17. a. The di­uels seing the Crosse, oftentimes tremble, flee avvay, and are miserably tormented? Correct your boke sir: ye quote it a­misse. In dede in his boke of Questions. Quaest. 15. he demaū ­deth why the Asse that Christ rode on, shuld not as much be estemed, as y^e Crosse, that he suffered on. Wherto he aunswe­reth, y^t vpon the Crosse our saluation was wrought & not on the Asse. Wherfore, the Diuels seing that Crosse, are stil a­frayde. But what is this to the signe of the Crosse, since we haue no more that Crosse than we haue y^e Asse. But if we had it, shuld we think the Diuel would be afrayd of it, without any further force or resistance? I wil answere agayn by A­thanasius. He asketh a question, how charmers,Quaest. 32. do cast forth Diuels out of men? Hereto he answereth: That where it is written in the gospel. If Sathan cast out Sathan, his king­dome can not stande, thereby it is manifest that the charmer doth not cast out Sathan, but Sathan of his own accord go­eth out to deceyue men, and to the ende they shall not go to Christ, by this meanes he persuadeth them to go to the Sor­cerers: On like sort the diuel may seme to tremble & quake when he séeth a crosse, but it is for no other purpose but this, that we shuld leaue our cōfidence in Christ, & only repose it in a piece of wood. Wherfore, I suspect, as insufficient,Folio. 17. b. the counsell giuen to the Religious, that when wicked Spirites should set vpon them, then they shuld arme themselues and their houses, with the signe of the Crosse. For to retorte the argument on your owne head,Fol. 10. 18. a Though they feare the ban­ner, in vvhich our sauiour Christ spoyling the povvers of the aire, brought thē forth in open shevve: Yet doth it not fol­low, that the signe of this banner is able to work y^e like effect. The banner that there was spoken of, was the death it self. The banner that we beare, is scant a figure or shadow of it. [Page] I know how in this latter age, much Crossing hath bene v­sed: and how the example thereof, hath come frō elder yea­res.A neces­sary note to be ob­serued in reading of the Fa­thers. But the Fathers in many things haue thought better, than they haue written: Many times they haue borrowed of the common custome, impropre phrases, and such as seme to maintayne an error, the thing it selfe being otherwise defi­ned in them. So Augustine vseth the name of satisfaction, bicause it was a common worde, but the heresie of Satis­faction, he doth plainly reproue. He vseth this proposition: Omne peccatum est voluntarium. Euery sinne is voluntarie: bi­cause it was a common phrase: yet he excludeth not y^e byrth-sinne, which is of necessity. The like could I speake of other. Wherefore, not so much their saying, as their intente and meaning is to be considered. In this case, many of the fa­thers speake of the Crosse in the foreheade. The Scripture mencioneth the signe in the forehead. But to what purpose? Shal we think, that the breaking of the aire with a thūbe, or drawing of a thing after such a forme, is like to that which the Poets call Orci galea, the helmet of Hell: wherewithall, whosoeuer be couered, they can not be séene, nor any shall hurt them? Then were the Crosse worse than the coniu­rers Mace: then were the foreheade accursed for hauing it.The Crosse in the fore­heade vvhat it meaneth. Wherefore there was a further meaning in it, which for your instructiō I wil now tel you. The forehead betokeneth shame. Whervpon y^e prouerb, Perfricuit frontē, he hath rubde his forehead, is spoken of him that is past shame. Wherfore the signe of y^e death of Christ, is willed to be set in the signe of shame, to signifie vnto vs, that of Christs death, we shuld not at any time be ashamed.Tom. 8. in Psal. 141. Nor this is my priuate expositi­on. Augustine confirmeth the same. Quia in fronte erubescitur ille qui dixit, Qui me erubuerit coram hominibus, erubescam eum co­ram patre meo qui in Caelis est: ipsam ignominiam quodammodo, & quam pagani derident, in loco pudoris nostri cōstituit. Audis hominē insultare impudenti, & dicere, frontē non habet. Quid est, frontē non [Page 30] habet? Impudens est. Non habeam nud am frontem, tegat eam crux domini mei. Which is as much to say, as this. Bycause in the foreheade is that, whereby we are ashamed of him that sayde, He that shall be ashamed of me before men, I wyll also be ashamed of him before my father which is in Heauē: the very ignominie and shame as it were, which the Paga­nes doe laugh to scorne, he hath apointed in the place of our shame. Ye heare a man, lay to an impudent persons charge, that he hath no foreheade, what is meant by that? He in im­pudent. Let me not therefore haue a naked foreheade, let the Crosse of my master Christ couer it. Thus may ye well vn­derstande the Fathers, whensoeuer they teach you to make a Crosse in your foreheade: for otherwise, the crossing with out beleuing, is mere enchaunting.Chrisostō. He doth translate Simpliciter in Corpore onely in the fore­head. I gladly doe embrace the testimonie of Chrisostome, which you bring forth for your self, ex Hom. 55. in .16. Mat. Crucem non simpliciter digito in corpore, sed magna profecto fide in mente prius formare oportet. Thou must not with thy finger, simply printe the Crosse in thy body, but fyrst of al, with great fayth in thy minde. This is it, M. Martiall, that marres all your market. This if ye graunt me (which is your owne allegation) we two shal sone agrée. For if this be the Crosse, that ye meane of, let it be had, a Gods name, let it be honored. But this is no mate­riall nor mysticall Crosse, for neyther of them both, can be printed in the heart: Therefore it is the faith in Christs pas­sion: which the finger cannot impresse in the forehead:Folio. 18. b. but grace can engraffe in the minde of man. Haec crux non terribi­les, sed despicabiles hominibus daemones effecit. This Crosse hath made Diuels, not terrible, but contemptible vnto men.M. Mar­tiall a fine translator In translating of which fewe wordes, ye shewe your selfe to be very negligent, or very ignoraunt. For thus ye english thē. This Crosse hath made diuels not onely terrible, but con­temptible to men. Where ye should haue sayd, eyther, not onely not terrible. or else, haue put (onely) in your purse. [Page] For the sense can not stand with it. Nowe where ye gather (but indirectly) out of Chrisostoms words, that two things be requisite: first printing the merits of Christes passion in the minde, afterward the signing of the Crosse in the body: I briefly aunswere. Frustra fit per plura, quod fieri potest per pau­ciora. In vayne it is to doe by the moe, that may be done by the fewer. There is nothing in the worlde that the Crosse can do, but fayth can do without the Crosse. Leaue we ther­fore, that which may tend to superstition and is vncōmaun­ded, and betake our selues to that which is of force ynough, and is the foundation of our fayth.Another note to be obeserued in readīg of the Fa­thers. Here would I stay with you, from recitall of more out of Chrisostome, but that I thought good to warne you, that figures of Hyperbole and Metonymia, be often in the Fathers writings. When they prayse a thing, they ascribe more vnto it than they meane, and many times vnder the name of one thing, applyed fitly to our capacities, they vnderstande another. I remember that Chrisostome hath these wordes.Tom. 4. de laud. Pauli Hom. 4. Non solum crucifixum, sed etiam pro ipso occisorum fauillas Daemones contremiscunt. Not only the Diuels tremble at Christ crucified, but also they quake at the very ashes, of them that were slayne for him. Here is as much attributed to ashes, as was before to the Crosse: And thinke ye therfore that Sathan would be afrayd to tēpt you, if ye had a fewe ashes of deade bones in your bosome? Peraduenture some of you may be so sotted in folly, that ye would gather them vp deuoutly, and kepe them as reliques holily. Such I referre to the place of Chrisostome In opere imperfect. Hom. 44. in Cap. Mat. 23. Wherevpon I shall haue oc­casion hereafter to entreate, when I come to speake of the like absurditie,Folio. 19. b. the little pieces of the Crosse kept. Now let vs heare what ye finde in other. Origen Origen. ye bring, in his ex­position of the Epistle to the Romanes. Lib. 6. And although this father maketh most agaynst you, as afterward shal ap­peare, yet to the ende that such yong schollers as you, may [Page 31] learne with what iudgement ye ought to reade the olde wri­ters, I thinke it expedient, somewhat to speake of him. In sundry poynts his doctrine is sounde: specially concerning the Trinitie, the two natures in Christ, the baptisme of In­fants, original sinne, and vse of Images. But things haue passed vnder his name, where are intermedled many fonde opinions, which both were condemned in his own time, and are not now to be credited of vs. As, that before the creati­on of the worlde, there was an other worlde. That the Di­uels in hell, shall at the last be saued. And if ye scan his other writings, there will appeare, eyther great inconstancie, or very small perfection. In the article of iustification he swar­ueth from himselfe, and in some poyntes from all other too. The spirite he taketh, not for the motion of the holy Ehoste but for the Allegoricall interpretation. Peter, he supposeth to excell the rest, bycause it was sayde to him in the plurall number. Whatsoeuer thou losest in earth shall be losed in the Heauens.Caelis & Caelo. Whereas to other it is spoken in the singu­lar number, It shall be losed in Heauen. These and such other toyes, are not onely in him, but also in other of hys time and age: wherefore they ought to be redde as witnes­ses of things done, not as Presidents of fayth and doctrine. Yet, vnlesse you, M. Martiall, will set Origen to schole a­gayne, and teach him what to say: you can not conster any lesson of his, to picke out a proufe of any other Crosse, than the minde conceyueth, not the hand maketh. For though ye bring a piece of a sentence, wherein the prayse of the Crosse is put, Tanta vis est Crucis, So great is the power of the Crosse, (ꝙ he) Yet if ye remembred the very nexte wor­des that goe before, ye should playnly sée of what Crosse he meant. Discoursing vpon these wordes of the Apostle: [...]et not sinne raigne in your mortal body. He asketh a question, howe it is possible to auoyde it. He aunswereth. Si faciamus illud, quod idem Apostolus dicit: Mortificate membra vest aqua [Page] sunt super terram, et si semper mortem Christi in corpore nostro cir­cumferamus: Certum nam (que) èst, quia vbi mors Christi circum­fertur, non potest regnare peccatum. If we doe that, sayeth he, which the same Apostle willeth vs, Mortifie your members which are vpon the earth, and if we cary about alwayes in our bodies the death of Christ. For it is certayne that where the death of Christ is caried about, there can no sinne raygn. And immediatly he inferreth your wordes. Est enim tanta vis Crucis Christi, For the povver of the Crosse of Christe is so great. Wherby it is euident, that he speaketh of the death of Christ, and that is the Crosse that he commendeth. That Crosse haue you nothing to do withall. But if the picture of a Crosse loked on, be able to daunt (as you deuise) concupis­cence and sensualitie, how hath it fallen out, that your spiri­tuall fathers, all to be crossed about their beddes, haue had their familiars betwene the shéetes? How haue your Nuns (that chast generation) with their beades in their hands, ben blest with great bellies? I will no more offend chast eares. But Origens Crosse, that is to say, the death of Christ, both may and must,Origen o­uerthro­vveth I­magry. Contra Cel­sum. Libr. 8. be set before our eyes, and faythfully kept in the chest of our hearts, though no visible signe be made ther­of: which neyther hand can truely counterfet, nor mannes folly ought falsly to forge. Origen therefore in the behalfe of Christians of his time, sayth: Celsus & aras, & simulachra, & delubra nos ait defugere quominus fundentur, quandoquidem inuisi­bilis nostrae huius & inexplicabilis communionis fidem, & charitatis: factionem esse existimat: cum nihil interea videat, nobis quidem pro arit & delubris iustorum esse mentem, à qua haud dubie emittuntur, sua assimi incensi odores, vota, in (quam) et preces ex conscientia puriore. &c. Bycause his sentence is long in the Latine, I will word for word rehearse it in English. Celsus doth say that we auoid the making of Altares, and Images, and Oratories, bicause he thinketh that the fayth of our inuisible and inexplicable communion and charity, is nothing else but a faction: where as in the meane while, he séeth not that insteade of Altares [Page 32] and Oratories with vs, the mindes of the faithful are, from which no doubt, most swete sauours of incense are cast out, prayers, I meane, and supplications from a pure conscience. Whereof S. Iohn in his Reuelation speaketh on this sort:Apocal. 8. The prayers of the Saincts are incense. And the Psalmist:Psalm. 141 Let my prayer O Lord, be in thy sight as incense. Further­more we haue Images and worthy offerings vnto God, not such as be made by vncleane workemen, but framed and fa­shioned by Gods word in vs: wherby such vertues may rest in vs, which shall imitate and resemble the first begotten of all creatures: in whome examples are, as well of Iustice, continence, and valiantnesse: as otherwise of wisdome, god­linesse, and all vertues. Therefore such Images are in al, as haue by the word of God, gotten them, this temperance, this righteousnesse, this fortitude, this wisedome and piety, with all the frame of other vertues, in which I thinke it méete, the honor be giuen vnto him, which is the paterne of all Images, the Image of God inuisible, & so forth. Where­by it appeareth (as in playne wordes he speaketh after) that all Images should be such, as God himselfe commaunded: such as should be within man, and not without man: such as consisted in the knoweledge of him, after whose Image man himself was made. Also his testimonie serueth for this:No Ima­ges in Origens time but spiri­tuall. that in his time there were no material Images in temples. There was no Roode, no Crosse, no likenesse of any thing, saue onely spirituall, of grace and vertues. Consider, I be­sech you, howe in his fourth boke agaynst Celsus, he com­mendeth the Iewes. Nimirum apud quos praeter eum qui cūctis praesidet rebus, pro Deo nihil vnquam sit habitum: nec quisquam, siue Imaginum fictor, siue statuarum fabricator, in eorum Republica fue­rit, vt quos procul lex ipsa abigeret, vt ne qua hijs esset fabricandorū simulachrorum occasio, quae stultos quosdam mortalium à Deo reuelle­ret, & ad contemplanda terrena animi oculos retorqueret. That is to say. Among whom nothing was euer accompted God, be­side him which ruleth all, nor in their common wealth any [Page] caruer of Idols, or Image maker was, as whom the law it self droue away frō them, to the intēt they shuld haue no oc­casion to make any Images, which might pluck certayn fo­lish persons from God, & turne the eyes of their soules to the contēplation of earthly things. So much for Origen. And if ye read his boke thorow: ye shal see it proued in plain words, a frentike part to worship Images: a madnesse to say, that any knowledge of God can be gottē by them. Only this suf­fiseth here, that your allegatiō maketh not to your purpose: and your author alleaged, maketh most agaynst you. Then what should ye talke that in the primitiue Church, Crosses were set vp in euery place: that euery Church & Chappel had the signe of y^e Crosse erected in it: that sacraments could not be made without it: that men deuoutly kept pieces of it. &c. Whereof Origen. 280. yere after Christ,Folio. 9. a. knew nothing, but rather by the law condēned such obseruances. Wher now is y^e counsel that you haue learned of your elders? Where is y^e aduertisemēt of graue fathers? Where is the medicine, that you cal soueraine, taken frō the best Physitians of y^e church? I wil not compare you to a Tapster, a Tinker, an Osteler, but to a leude Apoticarie, that vnderstandeth not his bil, but giueth Quid pro Quo, or else to Cooke Ruffian that marres good meate in the dressing. But to procéede, & giue somewhat a further taste of your vnsauorie soppes: ye bring forth Cas­siodores Cassiodor Folio. 19. b. authoritie, which may be answered in a word, that he meaneth nothing lesse than you doe ymagine. For what though, the signes of the heauenly Prince be prynted vpon the faythfull, as the Image of the Emperour is in his coyne, vvhereby the Diuell is expulsed from them. &c. What though, the Crosse be the inuincible defēce of the hūble, the ouerthrovve of the proud, the victorie of Christ, the vndo­ing of the Diuel, the destruction of hel, the confirmation of heauenly things, the death of infidels, the life of the iust? Is a Roode, or a Crucifix, or wagging of a finger, able to shew, [Page 33] whose men we are, as the print in y^t mony doth shew, whose the coyne is? Whersoeuer that Image and superscription is stāped, there is it certayne who hath a right to the coyne. But whosoeuer haue the signe or stampe of a Crosse vpon them, shewe not thereby whose seruauntes they are. Your Popes, and your Prelates haue Crosses before them, Cros­ses hanging vpon them, Crosses in their Crownes, Crosses in their garmentes: And yet I feare me, least ye wil not af­firme them, to be the best seruaunts of Christ. You knowe, sometime there be coynes of counterfets. I know, the most crossers, are not the best Christians. The signe of God prin­ted in the faythfull is the beliefe in Christ:The signe of God in the fayth­full. and grace to doe thereafter. The Crosse that is their refuge, their succour & defence, is the death of Christ and merits of his passion. But sée what pieuishnesse is in Papists.Pieuish­nesse of Poperie. Whersoeuer they reade of fier in the Scripture, thence they kindle Purgatorie. Wheresoeuer they heare a body mentioned, there doe they teare it to Transubstantiation. Wheresoeuer they sée, thys word (Crosse) come in place, they lift it vp to the Roodeloft, or at the least, to the forehead. Me thinks, M. Martial, that you might haue remēbred your first diuision, where ye made mē ­tion of .iiij. significations of the Crosse, and so applied (as the troth is) the sayings of your authors vnto the seconde. But your wisdome foresaw this obiection of mine, & therefore ye graunt, that nothing can auayle or profite man, Fol. 20. a. b. vnlesse he hath a stedfast fayth in Christ, & faithful beliefe in the me­rits of his passion. But (Mary) say you (Mary is much behol­ding to you, in dede she stands next to y^e Crosse) as not euery simple, bare, & naked fayth, but such as vvorketh by chari­tie, conquereth the vvorld: so not euery fayth vvorketh to man the foresaid effects, but faith assisted by the signe of the holy Crosse. Then by your reason, the signe of the Crosse is as necessary to concurre with our beliefe, as charity to be with fayth. But fayth without charitie is a Diuels fayth. [Page] Therefore beliefe without a signe of the Crosse is also diue­lish. I am sure that no man endewed with cōmon sense, howsoeuer he be affected in cases of religion, but will condemne herein the lack of discretion in you. For, tell me I pray you, what scripture, what father, what reason euer taught you to cōpare the signe of the Crosse, with charity, with hope, with fasting, & with prayer? None of these, but we haue an hun­dreth places in the word of God, to commend and cōmaund them? But as for the signe of the Crosse, what mention is there,Folio. 21. a. much lesse commendation. Forsoth ye bring autho­rities and experimentes. Authorities of Lactantius Lactantiꝰ and Au­gustine, Experiments of Iuliane. As for Lactantius he tieth two poynts together, The name of Christ, and signe of his passion. Psal. 54. Prouer. 18. The power of the name we reade of: Saue me O God by thy name. The name of the Lord is a strong tower, the righteous runneth vnto it and is exalted. And: Our help is in the name of the Lorde.Psal. 123. And in the newe Testament: Blessed is he that commeth in the name of the Lord.Math. 23. In my name (sayth Christ) they shall cast out Diuels. And the effect thereof was proued in the .70. disciples which returned home with ioy,Marc. 16. Luc. 10. Ioan. 14. Act. 2. Act. 3. Act. 4. and sayd: Diuels are subiect vnto vs in thy name. Whatsoeuer in my name you shall aske my father, you shal obtayne. Whosoeuer shal cal vpon y^e name of the Lord, shal be saued. Examples also, of Peter: In the name of Iesus Christ of Nazareth rise vp and walke. Also: His name hath made this man soūd, whome ye sée, and know through faith in his name. And: There is no other name vnder Heauen wherby we may be saued. In al these places ther is no signe of the Crosse spoken of: yet all these proue a true effecte. Wherefore the name of Christ alone, would haue done as­much, as the name and the signe together. Nor we must im­pute the vertue to the signe, though contrary to the vse, and example of Scripture, it pleased some men to adde it. The like may be sayd of Austins place,Augustin for where he speaketh of [Page 34] the articles of our fayth, called in latine Symbolum, De symb. ad Cathe. 1. which he willed before to be written in the heart, laid vp in store in the boke of memorie, he concluded, that a way, to withstand the enimie, was cum symboli sacramento, with the sacrament of fayth (which you interprete a stedfast fayth) & Crucis vexilio, and ensigne of the Crosse. What meaneth he by that Meta­phore? What is that ensigne of the Crosse? The Banner that is caried about the churchyard in procession? No: But that which in the selfe same sentence before he called Canticū salutis, ioyning it with Symboli remedio, contra antiqui Serpentis venenum, The song of saluation, ioyned with the remedie of the .xij. Articles of our faith, against the poyson of the olde ser­pent. Therefore straight after, when he had rehearsed the two chiefe engins, wherewithall our enimy doth afflict vs: Voluptatem & Timorem, Pleasure & Dreade. He doth not byd vs to make the signe of a crosse in our foreheade, nor run to succour of so weake a shielde: but to fence our selues Timore Domini casto, & fide Orationis. With the chaste feare of God, and fayth of Prayer.

Ye sée by this time that your authorities make nothing for you: The wrong vnderstanding of the name (Crosse) doth make your arguments runne of vncertayne féete, and halte downe right. The ioyntely concurring of fayth, and fruites I know to be necessary: the word of God doth teach me: But the necessary concurrence of the signe of the Crosse with fayth, is more than you can learne, eyther of Gods worde, or else good father, and therfore more than we ought to beleue, vnlesse we wilfully beleue a lye.Mat. 16. Mark. 8. Luc. 9. 2. Cor. 4. Christ was suffi­cient scholemaster to vs: he lefte no precept of his Crosse a­mongst vs. Only he willed Euery man to take vp his own Crosse. The Apostles that gloried in the Crosse, that is to say, y^e death of Christ, that liued vnder the Crosse: that is to say, were subiect to afflictions, carying about with them the death of Christ in their mortall bodies: that did many mi­racles [Page] by him that hanged on the Crosse: neuer vsed (as we reade) the signe of the Crosse, nor gaue any counsell or commaundement for it.Hebr. 4. Shall Christ our hie priest, touched with the feling of our infirmities, be insufficient furnishet of vs, and folish men arme vs at all poynts? Shall the A­postles forget so necessary a piece of defence, and the Pope remembre it? I thinke in déede that the Crosse quarrellers toke all their president of Iulian the Apostata, Papistes take Pre­sident of Iulian the Apostata Folio. 21. a. that whereas they meante to haue as little Religion, they would haue as light a rescue, as he had. But before I come, to recitall of his story: let me cite your comparison. It is not odious, but to ridiculous, The bare signe of the Crosse, ye prefer before naked, sole and only fayth. The signe of the Crosse, of it self what is it? A beating of the ayre: a throwing of a stone a­gainst the winde: in effect nothing. But fayth, make it as naked and bare as you can, yet is it a qualitie of the minde, which at the least wise to the worlde commends vs. For let it be as the scholemen terme it, fides informis, an vnshapen fayth:1. Tim. 1. or as Paul calleth it fides ficta, a fayned fayth: or the worst that ye can make it, Daemonum fides, the Diuels fayth: Yet doth it teach vs somewhat, it taketh away the excuse of ignoraunce, as Paule to the Romanes witnesseth. And for­ceth a sinne vpon vs, as Christ himselfe affirmeth. If I had not come & spoken to them,Ioan. 15. they should haue no sinne. Your naked Crosse, as it can not stande by it selfe, so in it selfe it contayneth nothing, vnlesse perhaps some wormes and spi­ders be crept into a corner of it. All must rest in the conceyt of man and his imagination. I might say with Thomas A­quinas: Quod fides informis & formata fides est idem habitus, quia ad naturam fidei nihil attinet siue charitas ad fit, siue non adsit. Nam hoc per accidens sit: as he sayth. Whose wordes in english be these: Fayth vnshaped and shaped fayth, is all one constant qualitie, bycause it skilleth not for the nature of fayth, whe­ther charitie be there or no. For that is an accidentall thing. [Page 35] Now if this were true: a naked fayth, were far better than a naked Crosse: bycause there should be no difference, be­twene a naked fayth, and a fayth cladde, as well as can be. But if I should stand in defence of this, I should be as fow­ly deceiued as your Sainct was.Lib. 3. Sent. Dist 23. Cap. Vnicū. I wil reason with you out of the master of the Sentence. Let fayth be taken Sine pro eo quo creditur, siue pro eo quod creditur, eyther for that wherby we beleue, or else for that which is beleued: certayne it is, that the simplest of them both, is better than a signe, though it be of the Crosse. For be it the latter fayth, Quam Daemones et falsi Christiani habent, as he saith: which the Diuels & false chri­stians haue, yet by the same, Possunt credere deum, et credere deo. they can beleue that there is a God, they can giue credit vn­to his words. But a bare Crosse can not do this. Take me a man that neuer hearde of Christ, and bring him to a Spa­nyard to beholde all his Crosses, at the Mary Masse, and he shall be as learned when he commeth away, as the Ape is deuout, when he hath eaten the hoste. But if a man neyther did, nor could euer heare at all, this naked fayth were able to teach him, without any further information, that a God there is, which the very Gentiles did vnderstande. Agayne to compare a gifte of God, which is in the minde, to y^e work of man made with the hande, is Canibus catulos coniungere, ma­tribus haedos. To ioyne the whelpes and houndes, the kid­des and goates together. Nowe to your Iulian. Iulians example. Folio. 21. b. Ye say, that when he had consulted with Sorcerers, and they had made the Diuels solemnly to appeare. He vvas stricken in a feare, and forced to make the signe of the Crosse in his foreheade. Then the Diuels loking backe, and seing the figure of the Lordes banner, and remembring their fall and ouerthrovv, sodaynly vanished out of sight. Thus much, or so much as this ye cite out of Theodorete, and Gregory Nazianzene. For the truth of the historie I contende not with you. But what I iudge of the experiment I will tell you. Fyrst of al, [Page] that wicked, reprobate, and godlesse persones, can vse the signe of the Crosse as well as other. Which proposition shal quite cōfute all your ninth Article. For if such as Iulian can crosse themselues: and notwithstanding haue neuer a whit the more fayth, (as your selfe confesse) then how falles it out that the Crosse driueth out heresies. Fol. 22. a. Contra­dictions in Mar­tiall. Fol. 94. b. that the signe of the Crosse conuerteth obstinate sinners. Fol. 114. 115. that the signe of the Crosse maketh vvicked men to think vpon God, that the Crosse is comfortable in desperation. Fol. 116. Secondly, this I note. How sore the Diuel was hurt by the Crosse, when it nothwithstanding, he retayned y^e possession of whole Iulian both in body and soule. Thyrdly, that the di­uell doth fayne himself to be afrayde of that, which with all his heart he would haue men to vse. For this is a generall rule, that the Diuell is a lier, and alwayes will séeme to be as he is not. If there were no other matter in the worlde a­gaynst you, this onely were sufficient to discredite you. For what better reason is there, that Crossing ought not to be v­sed at al, than that the Diuel did séeme to dread it. If that indede he had bene afrayd of it, he would haue doubled a point with you: and not haue played so open play. He runs from the Stéeple to dwell in the people. He counterfets a flight from the holy water bucket, and nestles himselfe in the bo­some of the priest. He séemeth to giue place to the charmers inchantment, & yet that sacrifice doth please him excedingly. Ye confesse, that Iulian had no hope in Christ, no loue to god, no faith: and will ye not confesse, that he was therby a despe­rate person, & a lyin of the Diuell? The Diuell, then, shuld haue done him wrong, if he had put him in any further dan­ger. But one thing I maruell at: how you, M. Martiall, a bacheler of law: sometime Vsher of Winchester: now stu­dent in Diuinitie: making a boke: intitled to the Quéene: perused by the Learned: priuiledged by the King: allowed by Cunner: should fall into manifest contradictions, & scape [Page 36] vncontrolled. I sée it is true, quod mendacem memorem esse oper­tet. a lier had nede haue a good remembrance. Ye sayd in the leafe before.Folio. 21. The signe of the Crosse must concurre vvith fayth, and fayth vvith the signe of the Crosse. Nowe, ye a­lowe the bare signe of the Crosse without any fayth, to haue the force and power aforesayd. If I thought ye were igno­rant of Sathans practises, I would shew you some of them, to make you more circumspect. But you haue bene brought vp in his schole a good while, and therefore I thinke ye prac­tise after him, endeuouring your selfe, of set purpose to de­ceiue. For which, like a Spider ye spinne a subtile webbe. You sucke out of the Fathers the worst ioyce that you can, that you may turne the same into your owne fylthy and in­fected nature. Gregorie did well in abhorring the name of vniuersall Byshop. But Gregories authoritie is not taken in that. Gregorie sayde well, when he tolde vs the tale of Speciosus a deacon that would rather forsake his benefice, than his Wife. But the president of that, persuadeth you not. Onely when Gregorie disgraceth himselfe, wyth olde wiues tales, and tryfling customes of his corrupted tyme, then is he meate for your sawsy mouthes. A Iewe sayth Gregorie, vvithout truste, confidence or fayth, Folio. 22. b. in Christes passion, vvas preserued from Spirites, by the signe of the Crosse. I rehearse not the circumstaunce of the tale, by­cause I haue tolde you more than is true already. For if he had no fayth in Christ, the Scripture is playne that there could no spirite be worse, than himselfe.Heb. 11. Impossible it is to please God without fayth. And shall God by the Crosse preserue them that please him not? Who séeth not what a fable this is, or rather a blasphemie, if it be weyghed aright. But Gregorie hath it: A doctor of the Church. So hath he more vntruthes than this.Lib. Dial. 4. Cap. 55. As that for confirmation of sacrifice for the dead, he bringeth forth a vision, a dreame, or a dotage, such a one as I am ashamed to father vpō him, [Page] or any one of the faythfull: yet proufe good inough for such a matter of naught. His tale, is this. A certayne priest that vsed the bathes, went on a day into them, and found a yong man (whome he knewe not) very obsequious and seruiseable vnto him, he pulled of his shooes, he toke his garmentes, he did whatsoeuer might be comfortable for him. When this he had often done, one day the prieste going thitherwarde thought thus with himselfe: I ought not to séeme vnthank­full vnto him, which hath so deuoutly bene accustomed to serue me, whensoeuer I washe me, but néedes I must cary him somewhat for a reward. Then toke he with him the tops of two loaues which had ben offered at seruice. And as sone as euer he came vnto the place, he founde his man, he vsed his seruise as he was wont in all poynts. Thus when he had washed and put on his clothes, as he was going out, he of­fered (as a blessing) vnto the man that had bene so diligent a­bout him, that which he brought with him, requiring him curteously to accepte that which he offred him, in the way of charitie. But he mourning and afflicted, answered: Father, what meanest thou to giue me these? This breade is holy, this can I not eate. For I whome thou séest, sometime was Lord of this place. But for my sinnes nowe after my death am deputed hither. But if thou wilt doe any thing for me, offer this bread vnto almighty God for me, to be a mediator for my sinnes. And then know that god hath hard thy praier, when thou shalt come hither to bathe thée & finde me not. So the next weke after, the priest cōtinued in mourning for him, euery day did offer the host for him, and afterward when he came to y^e bath, he found him not. Herevpon father Gregory concludeth. Qua ex re quantum prosit animabus immolatio sacrae ob­lationis ostenditur, quando hanc & ipsi mortuorum spiritus à viuen­tibus petunt, & signa indicant quibus per eam absoluti videantur. In english this. By which thing it is shewed how much y^e sa­crifice of the holy oblatiō profiteth y^e soules, when the spirites [Page 37] of the deade require this of the liuing, & shew signes wherby they may appeare to be deliuered by it. And so far Gregory. But is it not a pitiful case, that of so weak a groūd, so wicked a doctrine should be builded, contrary to the manifest worde of God? In the .xviij. of Deuteronomie: Seke not to learne a truth of the deade. And in the .viij. of the Prophete Esay. Should not a people inquire at their God? shal they depart from the liuing to the dead? Howe soeuer the state of men is after this life, no doctrine should be gathered of y^e talking of spirites. And furthermore, that dead men do serue in the bathes vpon the earth: be losed out of the popish Purgatorie which they affirme to be subtus terram, vnder the earth, to be­come as it were Barbers apprentices vpon the earth, may well be a legend for Plato his Purgatorie, ioyned with the tale of Danaus daughters, who poure in water into a bot­tomlesse tubbe. Wherefore, M. Martiall, doubt ye not this, but the wicked spirits, which saw vas vacuum sed signatum, an empty vessell but signed with the Crosse, were bolde not­withstanding, ad euitandum vacuum, to enter into him. As for the words of Lactantius, which you bring forth,Folio. 23. Lib. 4. ca. 27. de vera Sap that vvhen they doe sacrifice to their Idols, if there stande any man by, that hath his forehead signed (for that which you adde (vvith the Crosse) is more than ye finde in the texte) then they offer vp no sacrifice, neither their vvisserd is able to giue ansvver: must rather be vnderstode of the faythfull christened, than of any that were crossed. For by the signed foreheade they signified baptisme, and the fayth of Christ which they profes­sed. Otherwise if it be as you say,Folio. 23. that spirits can not abyde the signe of the Crosse, nor continue in place vvhere any man is that hath the signe of the Crosse. the beste counsell that I can giue men, is to be marked, to burne their fleshe with an hote yron, and make a durable Crosse in their fore­heades, whereby they may be frée, as long as they liue, frō fearing of spirits, without any more a do. But I feare me [Page] least this be no sufficient defence. For Serapis & his priests were all to be Crossed: and yet the Diuels daunced among them. The Pope hath his Crosses, yea double and treble, yet is not the Diuell afrayde to come at him. Siluester the .ij. as Platina reporteth, was a practiser of naughty artes, & there­in addict himselfe altogether vnto the cōmon enimy of man­kinde. And in dede first he gat the Archbyshoprike of Reme, and afterward of Rauenna, by Symony. Last of all, by the Diuels forwarding help, he gat also the occupying of y^e Po­pes sée: howbeit, vnder this condition, that when he depar­ted this life, he shuld be al wholly the Diuels, by whose false deceyts he obtayned so high dignity. Whervpon as thesame Platina, the Popes owne Secretarie doth write. When Sil­uester was not circumspect inough, in being ware of the Di­uels baytes, he was killed, all to pulled, of the promoter of his, the Diuel: Yea, when he was a Massing in the Church. A strange case, M. Martial, that so many crosses as were in the church, so many Crosses as were in the Masse, could not saue the supreme head of the Church, frō tearing in pieces by wicked spirits, yea, when he was at his holy Masse. Where­fore the Crosse in your .iiij. signification,Folio. 23. is not, the heauenly note and immortal signe. It hath not that effect by cōtinual meditation of heauenly things, & the lyfe to come, to make men heauenly and immortal. Stil you do reason à non causa pro causa, attributing that vnto the outward signe, which is in dede the vertue of Christ,Folio. 23. b & beliefe in his passion. Ye say, that the signe of the Crosse is spokē of, by God himself in his Prophet Esay. But it shall appeare by the very Scriptures that you alleage, howe ignorantly and howe falsely you cite your authorities.Esay. 49. God by the mouth of his seruaunt witnes­sed, how he would bring to passe, y^t the Church which had cō ­tinued barren a long while, shuld now be fruitfull, and haue such store of children, that she should wonder at hir owne in­crease, saying: Quis genuit mihi istos, quum egosim sterilis & soli­taria, [Page 38] relegata & vaga? Quis ergo educauit istos? En ego sola relicta sum, isti ergo vndenam sunt? Who hath begotten me these, sée­ing I am barren & desolate, a banisht person, and a wande­rer to & fro? And who hath nourished them? Beholde I was left alone & whence are these? God to answere this case, & to shew that there shuld be a spiritual broode, begottē through grace of adoptiō, not by the cōmon course of nature, but by the secret working of his spirit, sayd: Tollam ad gentes manum meam, et ad populos signū meū erigam. I wil lift vp my hand to y^e gentiles, & set vp my standard vnto the people. Meaning that not only the Iewes, but also the Gentiles, should be brought to Christ, which agreing in vnitie of one fayth together, shuld be gathered as brethren into one mothers lap. Now I besech you turn ouer your histories, cōsult with your elders, & sée what it was that brought the Gentiles to christianite, the Idolatrous nations to true religiō. If it were y^e signe of the Crosse after your .iiij. signification,Folio. 24. a. made of some earth­ly matter to be set vp in Churches, or made vvith mannes hand in the ayre, in form & likenesse of the other, then is it somwhat that you haue sayd. But if it were the preaching of the word (as most certain it is) which did so work in the hear­tes of men, y^e refusing their errors, they became to be fayth­ful: then you, are a falsefier of the word, M. Martial. Learne you of me, that preaching is that hand of God, that standard of his, whereby that merciful effect is wrought, as wel in vs as in al other, to be brought to the truth from blindnesse & ig­norance. And if ye thinke scorne to learne of me, learne of God himselfe, who in y^e text before, sayth: that his mouth is a sharp sweard, and that preaching is a chosen shaft, had in the quiuer of the almighty. For the word in operation is as for­cible as a sweard: it moueth, it rauisheth, it renueth men: it pearceth to the heart, it searcheth the secret places, it entreth through, as S. Paul sayth,Heb. 4, euen vnto the deuiding asūder of the soule and of the spirits, & of the ioynts, & of the marowe: [Page] and is a discerner of the thoughtes, and the intentes of the heart: neyther is there any creature which is not manifeste in his sight, but al things are naked and open vnto his eyes, with whome we haue to do. This two edged sweard which God hath put in the mouth of man, doth trye the force of things set against it. It cutteth the corrupt affections from the heart. It openeth the festered sores, the pestilent impos­tumes of our ill desires. It ouerthroweth the kingdome of Sathan, It slayes his host, sinne, death and hell. And as an arrowe which is past the bowe of a cunning archer, can not be stayed by hand, before it haue his lighting place: so doth the word hold stil his constant course: it maketh way wher­soeuer it goeth: it falleth as he willeth, which is the onely directer of it. But fall where it will, it falleth with effect, nor any man can withstand the blowe that it giueth. If you can iustly ascribe any such piece of operation, to the Crosse in your fourth signification, then will I gladly giue place vn­to you. But whereas it is certayn, that no work of man, can alter the heart, or once regenerate it to true pietie: the stan­dard that Esay the Prophet speaketh of, maketh nothing for your purpose. But S. Hierome ye say, taketh your part, for vpon that place he noteth.Fol. 23. b. Vndoubtedly there is meant the banner or signe of the Crosse. In dede s. Hierome hath these words: Haud dubium quin vexillum crucis, vt impleatur illud quod scriptum est: Laudibus eius plena est terra. Which is as much to say as this. No doubt but it shalbe the ensigne of the Crosse, that it may be fulfilled which is written, The earth is ful of his prayses. Here Hierome doth explicate himself, what he doth meane by the ensigne of the Crosse: the setting forth of the prayse of God, which is not by setting of a Crosse on the altar, but by preaching the crucified Christ vnto people. The place of Ieremy the .iiij. maketh no more for the Crosse, thā it doth for the Candlesticks. For when the Prophet had spo­ken to the inhabitants of Iuda & Ierusalem, to be circumci­sed [Page 39] to the Lorde,Ieremie. 4 and cut of the foreskinnes of their infected heartes, ne egrederetur tan (quam) ignis furor eius, et accēderetur, & nemo extingueret, least his wrath should go forth as fier, and should be kindled, and no man quench it. He commeth further to declare the obstinacy of mennes hearts, that by no meanes can be brought to goodnesse, but seke by al meanes to auoyd the rewarde and plague of wickednesse. Wherefore by an Ironye, he sayth vnto them. Blowe the trumpet in the land: crie and gather together and say: Assemble your selues, and let vs go into strong cities. Set vp the standard in Sion. &c. As if that he had sayde. I knowe what you will doe: when the wrath of God shall fall vpon you, when your ennimies shall oppresse you, you will not consider the cause thereof: but you wil run to your strong holdes, you wil arme your selues, and stand at your defence: you wil set vp your stan­dard in Sion, and thinke that you shall be safe there. But it will not be so, sayth the Lord: Quoniam ego malum accersam ab Aquilone. Bicause I wil bring a plague from the North. And truely there is no cause why Hierome in this place, should runne to his Allegorie, whereas there is so playne and sound a sense in the letter. But if his Allegorie should take place: let all go togither and it maketh agaynst you. For his words be these. Ingrediamur ciuitates munitas. Haereti­corum bella consurgunt, Christi monumenta nos teneant, Leuate sig­num Crucis in sublimitate ecclesiae. Let vs enter into the walled cities, The battayles of the Heretiques doe arise, Let the munitions of Christ holde vs, Lift vp the signe of the Crosse in the height of the Church. Let me nowe aske you this question: whether we must runne agaynst heretiques with a Crosse in our hande: as I remember, a priest of your fa­cultie, beat all his parishe with the Crosse staffe. If this artillerie beate not downe heresies, thinke that S. Hierome meante another thing: that it is to say, The signe of the Crosse in the toppe of the Church. The preaching of the [Page] vvord in the prelates of the Church. Nowe, as for the signe of the sonne of man,Math. 24. vvhich shall before the iudgement ap­peare in heauen: Forsoth there is no certayne proufe that it shall be a Crosse. For Chrisostome in his second expositi­on vpon the .xxiiij. Chapiter of Mathewe,Hom. 49. sayth: Quidam pu­tant Crucem Christi ostendendam esse in caelo, Verius autem est, ipsū Christū, in corpore suo habentē testimonia passionis, id est, vulnera lan­ceae & clauorum, vt impleatur illud quod dictum est. Et videbunt in quem pupugerunt. Some (sayth Chrisostome) thinke that the Crosse of Christ shall be shewed in heauen. But it is truer, that Christ himselfe shall appeare, hauing in his body the testimonies of his passion: that is to say, the wounds, of the speare and nayles, that it may be fulfilled which was sayd: And they shall sée him whome they pearced. Nor onely con­tente with his owne censure, he bringeth after a proufe of Scripture, that the wordes cannot be spoken of the Crosse, but of the body of Christ himselfe: bicause the rest of the E­uangelistes writing of the same matter, doe only say: Vide­bunt filium hominis venientem. They shall sée the sonne of man cōming. Whervpon he concludeth that al the Euangelists do shewe Signum Christi, esse ipsum corpus Christi, qui in signo cor­poris sui cognoscendus est, à quibus crucifixus est: That the signe of Christ, is the body of Christ himself, who in the signe of his body, shalbe knowen of them of whom he was crucified. So that ye challenge more a great deale, than we nede to graūt you. But you shal sée howe curteously I wil deale with you. Admit that the signe of the sonne of man, is the Crosse in déede? What haue ye gayned nowe? Firste, it shall be no materiall Crosse made with mannes hande, nor yet a signe prynted in his foreheade. Therefore ye must runne to a fyfte signification of Crosse in Scripture: for this can not serue for the fourth. The places that ye cite out of the ninth of Ezechiell, and seauenth of the Reuelation, where many be sealed into Gods seruauntes, (out of which order I feare [Page 42] me least a number of my Crossemasters, may cry with the Fryer, Nos sumus exempti, we are exempt) I maruel that you can without blushing vtter. But if ye haue any shame in you, I will make you to blushe. Thinke you that the signe of GOD in the foreheades, was the signe of a Crosse drawen with a finger? Is the spirit of life and liuely fayth, (which only expresse the true printe of God) inspired, as sone as a Crosse is figured? Is the signe of a Crosse sufficient to discerne the good from the bad? the faythfull from the infi­dels? Yet such must the signe of the Crosse be, if it be the­same, that eyther Ezechiel or Sainct Iohn speaketh of. Con­sider this ye grosse Papiste, that he that marked the fore­heades in Ezechiell, was neyther Caruer, Crosser, nor Coniurer. He was clothed in linnen, and had an ynkehorne by his side. He bare the type of a Scribe and a Priest. The marke that he gaue them, was the letter Thau The let­ter Thau. (of which I speake more in the next Article) signifying the law, directi­on, or rule. To note, that the minister of Gods word, must printe the seale. He muste ingraue in the very hearte, the lawe of God, and rule of fayth: and then be they safe and sure from all euill. The bloude of the Lambe in the olde lawe, was not caste behinde the dore, but sprinckeled vp­on the dore postes: The marke of God is not set in the backe, but in the foreheade of all the faythfull: That, as thinges most manifest, be sayde to be written in a mannes foreheade, and the forehead is the place of shame: so should the seruantes of the lyuing God, lightened wyth his worde and holy spirite, neuer dissemble it, or be ashamed of it. A­gayne, the persons sealed, as well in Ezechiell, as in the Reuelation, doe shewe that they had a surer marke, than a sory signe of the Crosse can be. For in Ezechiell we reade. Passe thorowe the Citie of Hierusalem, and sette a marke vpon the foreheades of them that mourne and cry, for all the abhominations that be done in the myddeste thereof. [Page] And in the seauenth of the Reuelation: Tyll we haue sea­led the seruaunts of our God in their foreheads. Therefore such as lamente and be sory for abhominable wickednesse, such as be in dede the seruants of God, they be sealed: But all men indifferentely haue the signe of the Crosse, many moe than be grieued with the sight of sinne, or doe continue in the feare of God: Therefore the seale, that in these pla­ces is spoken of, is not the signe of the Crosse. Iulian was Crossed, Pope Siluester was crossed, and yet, as it is pro­ued afore, neyther of them both did mourne for their sinnes, or serued God. Sée ye not then, howe fondely ye pretende scripture for your crosse? There be only fiue places brought, and euery one of them doth make agaynst you. Wherefore since these be the only ground of the two kindes of Crosses, wherevpon in this treatise ye minde to discourse:Folio. 24. a. and these make nothing for you: what shall we thinke, not of your slender building, but ilfauoured botching, whose foundatiō already is shaken vnto naught? Ye please your selfe well, and thinke ye haue shewed a great piece of wit, when ye cal your aduersaries (me and such other) enimies of the Crosse. Folio. 24. But I thinke there is no man so mad to beleue you, vnlesse ye could tel what the Crosse meaneth.Folio. 24. Ye say, that ye attri­bute nothing to the signe of the Crosse, vvithout special re­lation to the merites of Christes passion. Then why did ye bring in the example of Iulian and the Iewe? Why after­ward alleage ye,Folio. 92. a. that mā vsing only the signe of the Crosse, putteth avvay all the craft and subtiltie of the Diuell? Ye forget your selfe, ye should haue one to wring you by y^e eare. But I will beare with your weakenesse: although to con­firme your better aduisemente, ye close vp your tale in the first Article, with as vaine, a supposal, as in your dreaming deuising, ye conceyued afore, that as God giueth victory in battayle, health in sickenesse, &c. but by the helpe of men, as externall meanes: So Christ vvorketh all the effectes [Page 41] that shal be, but by the holy signe of his Crosse, If I might craue so much of your mastership, I would be a suiter: once to haue you proue that, which so often you confidentely af­firme. I acknowledge you not for any such Pythagoras, that it shall suffise me for mine owne discharge, to say [...] M. Martiall, hath sayd the worde: But I rather thinke you to be some scholler of Anaxagoras, which haue learned to make Quidlibet ex Quolibet. An apple of an oyster. Pardon me therefore, if I trust you no further, than I haue tryall of you.

A Foole on a time, came to a Phi­losopher, and asked him, What is ho­nestie? whereto he would make him no aunswere: for, sayd he, thou demaun­dest me a questiō of that, that thou hast nothing to doe withall. And sith your wisedome in the seconde Article, doth proue nothing else, but that, which ye professe ye will haue nothing to do withall, it may séeme folly in me to make you any aunswere to it. In the next side of the leafe before, these wordes ye haue.Folio. 24. a. There be tvvo kindes of signes of the Crosse: The one made of some earthly matter, to be set vp in Churches, and left in the sight of the people: The other expressed or made vvith mannes hand, in the ayre, in form and likenesse of the other, and imprinted in mennes fore­heads, breasts, and other partes of the body: and vsed as further occasion requireth. Of vvhich tvvo signes in this [Page] treatise I minde to discourse. Nowe if eyther of these signes was prefigured in the lawe of nature: foreshewed by the signes of Moses lawe: denounced by the Prophetes, or shewed from heauen in the time of grace: then thinke that you haue sayde something: and I haue done you wrong in reprouing of you. But the passion of Christ, and maner of his death was onely prefigured. What is this, to the signe? And if it were so (which you shall neuer proue) that the signe it selfe: the God of the Roode lofte: the Crosse of the altare were prefigured, what is that to your purpose? What a consecution is this, M. Martiall? The Crucifixe is prefigured in Moses, in the Prophetes, and in the time of Christ. Therefore no remedye but a Crucifixe must be had in the Church: borne in procession: and crept vnto, on good Friday. Then, let me reason with you. The treason of Iudas was foretolde by Prophecie Psal. 108. Fiant dies eius pauci, & Episcopatum eius accipiat alter. Let his dayes be shorte (sayth Dauid:) and let another occupie his rome: which to be vndestode of Iudas, the Actes of the Apostles proue. And in the tyme of grace there was no lesse foreshewed:Ioan. 6. when Christ said, Vnus ex vobis diabolus est: One of you is a Deuil: Ergo, we muste reuerence the trea­son of Iudas, yea some signe therof we must haue amongst vs.In psal. 108. The maner of his death was also prefigured, as Augu­stine affirmeth, howe his belly should burst, and he despe­ratelie, die. Therfore let vs haue one holyday of betraying, another of bursting. For if prefiguring in law of nature, denouncing by the Prophetes, foreshewing from Heauen in tyme of grace, be able to enforce the necessary vse and es­timation of any thing: then why should not this, and many other plagues of God, be honored, aswel as the signe of the Crosse? Wherfore I wyll breiflyrunne ouer your authors, and note by the way, sometime how fondly ye applie them. When men from a certaine reueled truth, will runne to [Page 40] their owne fantasies and deuises, no maruell if sometime they ouer shoote them selues: and when they leaue the histo­ries of the Scripture, and séeke for Allegories more than néede: they bréede oftentymes obscuritie, and bring men in doubte further than before. Yet I denye not, but as Au­gustine sayth,De Ciuitate dei Libro 13. Cap. 21. Gallath. 4 1. Cori. 10. there may be a spirituall vnderstanding be­side a sense litterall. Otherwise the Apostle did not well in figuring the twoo Testamentes by the twoo Children, one of the bonde woman, an other of the frée. Nor we coulde admitte his exposition of Moses Rocke, to be Christ him selfe. But in this case where euery man is lead by his owne sense, his exposition is moste to be alowed, who speaketh moste according to pietie.

Damascene Damas­cene. doth resemble the trée of Lyfe in Paradise,Folio. 25. to the Crosse. And as in one sense I condemne it not, so in ano­ther I like it not: for I sée that you be deceiued by it. He (she­wyng howe Christ as a good Phisitian did cure by contra­ries) made, as it were, oure lyfe to spring out of his death: and therefore compared the tree of lyfe to the passion. But the wordes that are inferred, sauour not of the Scripture. for ye saye. Seing Death came in by the tree, it vvas con­ueniente that Lyfe and Resurrection should be giuen a­gayne by a tree. Paule speaketh otherwise. Per vnum ho­minem intrauit mors, & per hominem resurrectio. 1. Cor. 15. By one man sinne entred in, and by one man resurrection: Not by one trée, though one death vpon a tree, was a meane thereof. Au­gustine in diuers places maketh the trée of life to be the wis­dome of God: as in his seconde booke de Gen. contra Manich. Cap. 9. And in his thyrtenth booke de Ciuitate Dei. Ca. 21. Lyke­wyse, as often he doth resemble it to Christ himselfe. As in hys first boke and fiftenth Chapter contra aduersarios legis & Proph. speaking of Paradise, where Christ and the Théefe should méete, sayth: Esse ibi cū Christo, est ibi esse cum vitae ligno. To be there wyth Christ, is to be there wyth the trée of life. [Page] And whereas Cassiodore, vpon the first Psalme, doth refer the trée planted by the riuer syde, vnto the Crosse that bare Christ: howe much better Augustine on the same place ex­pounds it of Christ himselfe, Qui de aquis decurrentibus, id est, populis peccatoribus trahit eos in radice disciplinae suae, Which of y^e running waters, that is to say, the sinfull people, draweth men vnto him in the roote of his discipline. For whereas Christ is the wisedome of the Father, this exposition is con­sonant vnto Scripture, which of that wisedome sayth, Lignū vitae est, amplectentibus eam, She is the trée of life, to them that lay holde on hir. But if the woode of the Crosse be worthyly called The tree of life, Folio. 25. b. bicause our Lord Christ, vvho is our life vvas hanged there, why should not the Asse be the beast of life, bicause our Lord Christ who is our life, did ride vp­on hir? Ye will say peraduenture that the Asse was no in­strument for his death: but for his kingdome she was. And why not the instrument of his kingdome, as well as of hys priesthode be honored of vs? I say it to this ende: that if ye thinke, the fathers of the Church, speaking of the Crosse, to be vnderstode so grosly as ye take them, many fonde absur­dities shal arise thereof. They meant of the death of Christ, that, which you attribute to the materiall Crosse. They by a figure did ascribe to the signe, that, which is propre to the signified thing. I omit some authorities that you do alleage, bycause they neyther doe make for you, nor agaynste me. Cyrillus sayth.Folio. 26. a. The holy Crosse brought vs vp to heauen: And that the Crosse is that Arke of Noah, by vvhich vve are saued from the floud of the vvater of sinne, ouerflovv­ing vs. &c. I think there is none so senslesse as your selfe, but consters his words otherwise than you. To easy, God wote, is that way to heauen, whereto we may be caried a pickbacke on a Roode. To sone shal we fal from state of our felicitie, if a rotten piece of woode, or cancred metall, must support vs in it. To dreadful shall this drowning in our sin­nes [Page 43] be, if no better arke than of a Crosse material, shal pre­serue vs from it. Let the Doctors dally in figures as they fansy, let vs not depart from the verity of the word. If they speake one thing, and meane another, let vs take their mea­ning, and let their wordes alone. Great difference there is, when a doctrine is playnely taught, and when they descant vpon a texte.Folio. 26. b. Folio. 27. a. Wherfore the standard of Abraham according to Ambrose: The wood of the sacrifice according to Cyrill: The blessing of Iacob atcording to Damascene: The rod of Aaron, according to Origen by which all (is sayd) the Crosse was prefigured, I wittingly omit. For what, if a thousand things else were (as men ymagined) figures of a Crosse (in which case a mannes inuention might haue scope ynough, and finde in the scripture many moe such figures, than they haue spoken of) shall this bring such authority to the Crosse, (which is the thing that you do shoote at) that the signe of the Crosse shall be in all places set vp and honored?Folio. 28. The lyf­ting vp of Moses handes, Exodi. 17. somewhat wil I speake of: thereby to declare that such yong men as you, speaking much of the Crosse, knowe not at all the signe of the Crosse. That the lyfting vp of Moses hand did signifie prayer, is e­uident by consent of all men. Chrisostome de orando ad Deum, lib. 1. sayth: Quomodo Moses Israeliticum populum in bellis seruauit? An non arma quidem cum exercitu discipulo tradidit, ipse vero deprecationem opposuit hostium multitudini? Nos interim docens, preces iustorum plus valere, (quam) arma, (quam) equitatum. &c. In englishe thus. Howe did Moses preserue the people of Israell in the warres? Did he not deliuer vnto his scholler, his armour, and hoste: but he himself set his earnest prayer agaynst the multitude of his ennimies? Thereby teaching vs, that the prayer of the righteous, is more auayleable than armes or horsemen. And in his sermon of Moses. Definit Israel vincere Mose disistente in prece, vt dum diuersa populis exhiberentur, orationis potentia nobis monstraretur. Israel leaues ouercomming (ꝙ he) [Page] when Moses left his praying: that when diuers effects were shewed vnto the people, the power of prayer might be she­wed vnto vs. And truely if we marke the place it self, much better doctrine may be pyked of it, than to prefigurate I wote not what maner of Crosse vnto vs. The lifting vp of Moses hands with the rod therin, is nothing els, but prayer that procedes of fayth, according vnto Gods worde. So Da­uid sayth.Psal. 140. Let the lifting vp of my handes be as an euening sacrifice. The heauy hands, whereof the story speaketh, do signify the sluggishnesse and fainting of our flesh, in al ver­tuous and honeste exercise. But as Moses faynting had a stone put vnder him, so we must haue Christ that spirituall stone, to support our weakenesse: as Aaron and Hur stayed vp Moses handes, so the ministers of the worde, must con­firme the hearts,Obiectiō. of them, that make their prayers, with the mercyfull promises of almighty God. But Augustine sayth that beside al this, the figure of the Crosse vvas foreshevved there. That am I well contented to admit. But your en­glishing of the text, I will not admit. For where as the La­tine hath Manibus in Crucis figuram extensis, you to expound it thus, his handes helde vp a Crosse: is to absurd and foolish. For to stretch out his handes in forme of a Crosse: and to holde his handes a Crosse, is two thinges. The stretching forth is at the armes ende, as Christes was on the Crosse, with the whole distance of body betwixt them. The holding of the hands a Crosse, is with one, ouer the other. Where­fore by your reason, Moses made a Crosse, but it was a Sainct Andrewes Crosse. Or if you will haue the figure of the Church Crosse represented here, then Moses put one of his handes vnder his other elbowe, which the texte beareth not. But O blindenesse of Poperie, that neyther vnderstād the fathers writing, nor can giue a reason of your owne ce­remonies. Moses stretching out his handes, made a figure of the Crosse. But your learning can not reach to knowe [Page 44] what the olde figure of y^e Crosse was. It is like to the Greke Υ which oure countreyman and late Cardinall M. Poole vnderstode well ynough. And therefore in his newe gallery at Lambheth, in y^e glasse windowes, he drew this figure Υ, in token of the Crosse, as is yet to be séene. But what is this figure like to the Roode or Crucifixe? What haue ye gayned by this allegation, but vtterly bewrayed your igno­raunce? And certaynely if Goddes worde woulde suffer vs (which in dede is agaynst it) to haue and occupy the signe of a Crosse, yet the forme that we vse, is agaynst all president of Scripture and antiquitie. Which, when I come anone to the exposition of the letter Thau, shall appeare more playnly.Folio. 28. b. But your fresh argument inferred of the place a­fore, moueth me to laughter with an indignation. For it sauoures nothing of the schoole, saue that it hath, Ergo, be­fore the conclusion, which euery alewife can doe as well as you. It hath neyther mode nor figure, witte, nor common sense. For this is your reason. The Diuell is discomfited by ihe Crosse of our Lord, vvhich vvas prefigured by the handes of Moses: But by Moses handes the signe of the Crosse vvas prefigured, Ergo by the signe of the Crosse Diuels are ouercommed. I néede not to shewe the errour of your argument, for it is to manifeste, and hath nothing else but errour in it. If thus ye had sayde, Diuels are dis­comfited by that vvhich Moses handes prefigured, But Moses handes prefigured the signe of the Crosse, Ergo by the signe of the Crosse, Diuels are discomfited, I would haue better allowed your argument, & denied your Minor, which is the second proposition: for Moses hands prefigured not the signe of the Crosse, but the Crosse it self, which is the death of Christ. Loke on the words of your author. But one fault is to familiar with you, that what soeuer is spoken of effect of the passion, you doe attribute to the instrumente and signe. So the woode of Marah, prefigured the glory and [Page] grace of the Crosse: not of the signe, but of the thing it self. For the bitternesse of death is not taken away, by a materi­all Crosse or signe in the foreheade, but death by death is swallowed.1. Cor. 15. Hitherto of your Crosse figures vnder the law. Nowe that the same was denounced by the Prophetes, ye runne to the places of Ezechiell & Ieremy: which although I haue aunswered at the full in the latter ende of the first Article, yet somewhat must I adde for your further lear­ning. The letter ת Thau to be a kinde of Crosse (as you out of Tertullian alleage) I graunt.Folio. 30. a. But how it can be applyed to the signe of our Crosse I sée not. For the figure which you make, somewhat like vnto our common Crosse, is the Gréeke [...] or the Latine T. But the Prophets spake He­brewe, & the Hebrewe charactar is a very paire of gallowes ת. Your crosse is Figura duarum linearum in se inuicem ductarum, ninurum vnius perpēdicularis, sub altera dia­metrali: The proportion of two lines drawen together, one directly downward and another Crosse ouerthwart. Wher­of if ye will haue any figure of olde time before you, goe to the Egiptians Idoll Serapis, which had it, iust pictured in his breast, as Suidas and Orus Apollo testifie. But that the Latine T or Gréeke Tau, and Hebrewe Thau, be all alike, none wil say, but such a great cleark as you. For in dede as the Hebrewe letter is different in fashion from the Gréeke, so in signification they were quite contrary. The Hebrewes by their ת Thau did figure death, the Gréekes by their [...] did signifie life. Therfore Isidorus writeth, that in olde time when they would note in their registers such, as were slaine in the warres, they would mark them with the letter ☉, as thrust thorow with a dart, or els of [...] which is death. But when they would note any one aliue, they woulde put their letter [...] this Crosse mark T vpon him. Also Asco­nius Paedianus sayth, that when a Iewry gaue vp their ver­dite of gilty or not gylty, such as were condemned to death, [Page 45] were marked wyth ☉, but such as were quit, were marked with the T. Wherfore there is no reason, why your Roode or Crucifixe, can by any meane be applyed to y^e mark which Ezechiel speaketh of. Fyrst, bycause none haue y^e Prophets marke but such as be godly & lament wickednesse. But ma­ny of the diuels children, grinagods and such other, be cros­sed, and cursed to. Then also the proportion is so farre diffe­rent, that there is no likenesse betwixt them. But for the likenesse of the effect, they may be well compared together. For as they only were saued which were so signed with the letter Thau ת, so none be saued now, nor yet euer were, but such as haue the print of Christes Crosse within them, merits of his passion, and fayth in his bloud. Wel doth Hie­rome shew,In Ezech. Cap. 9. the causes why the signe Thau ת shuld be made in the foreheads of the elect: fyrst, vt perfectam in viris gemen­tibus et dolētibus scientiam demonstraret, quia extrema apud Hebraeos est Viginti & duarum litterarum: that is to say. To shew a per­fect knowledge in them that mourne, and be sory: bycause it is the laste letter of .xxij. among the Hebritians. That as that letter doth end the Alphabete, So when Christ died on the Crosse (which that letter signified) all things were ended necessary for our saluation,Ioan. 19. according to the worde Consū ­matum est. It is finished. The worke of oure saluation was then fully wrought. Agayne sayth Hierome, bycause this letter is the first in the word, which signifieth Lawe, a­mong the Hebrewes. Illi hoc accipere signaculum, qui legis precep­ta compleuerant. They receyued this marke, which had fulfil­led the preceptes of the lawe. So that the fashion of y^e letter is not so much as the mysterie: which accordeth well to that which I sayde before. Yet neither the fashion, nor the my­sterie, maketh ought for your purpose, M. Martiall. Nowe I maruell what toy came into your ydle heade, when for a proufe of the vndoubted signe of the Crosse, ye bring forth y^e words of the Psal. O Lord the light of thy countenaunce is [Page] sealed on vs. Do ye think that the light of gods coūtenance, is a piece of wood in the Roodeloft, or a Crucifixe on y^e altare? Or else do ye think that y^e light of Gods countenance, can be fixed with a finger in y^e fleshy foreheade? If none of these be true, what shall I say to you. You haue made a whip, your self shalbe beaten with it. Hieroms wordes be these. Praecipi­tur sex viris, vt praeter eos qui possunt dicere, Signatū est super nos, lu­men vultus tui Domine, cunctos interficiāt. Cōmaūdement is giuē to the six men (of whom Ezechiell speaketh) that they kil all, but them that can say. O Lord the light of thy countenance is sealed on vs. The light of Gods coūtenance is his fauour toward vs. Thē is it signed in vs, when y^e sense therof doth come vnto vs, & bréede a confidence & sure hope within vs. If the light of Gods coūtenance be the self same with the letter ת Thau, & the letter Thau no other but the signe of y^e crosse, thē whosoeuer haue the signe of the Crosse, haue hope, haue cōfidence, haue fayth in God. But this is vtterly false, as ex­periēce it self doth teach vs. Therfore y^e letter Thau, though in a mysterie, it betokened the death of Christ, yet hath it no relation to the signe of the Crosse. For answere to the other places of Esay & Ieremy, I referre you to y^e which I said be­fore. Nowe to come to y^e time of grace, I had nede to beware of you.Folio. 31. Ye come in with that, which ye haue good testimony to be true in dede, that a Crosse in the fourth signification, such a crosse as ye speak of, was shewed frō heauen to Con­stantine y^e great, with these Angels words, In hoc vince, In this ouercom.Obiectiō. Nor the good Emperor savv this only, but as Eusebius vvriteth, vvas comaūded to make a signe of it, ca­ried it in his stādard, & aftervvard did cause his mē in their armour to graue it. Solution. But whatsoeuer it hath pleased God for his glories sake at any time to doe, must not be drawen for example vnto vs. Priuileges extend no further, than to the persons cōprised in them. Signes & miracles were shewed to some, which neyther be graūted to other, nor ought to be [Page 46] asked of al. Moses had a signe to confirme him in his enter­prise agaynst Pharao: But Iosue had not so. He onely had a bare cōmaūdement, when he entred vpon y^e land of Chanaā. Gideon was confirmed by miracle to fight against the Ma­dianites: So neither Iephte, nor Sampson were. Paul was by a signe frō heauen called: So was not Peter nor any of his successors after. Wherfore if thus it pleased God to en­bolden y^e heart of Constantine to fight agaynst Maxentius the tirant, that he would shew him such a signe from heauē: not to confirme his fayth, which by the word was to be esta­blished, but to put him in assurance of a thing beside y^e word, that is to say, victory against his enimies: what president is this to preiudice my cause? He newly was conuerted to the fayth: be was weake therein: & therefore he doubted of such successe in his affayres, as, for his Church cause God apoin­ted to graūt him. For which cause an extraordinary meane was vsed. And God applied himself to the capacity of them y^t he dealt withal, giuing such a token to thē, as might wel as­sure thē of conquest in his name. In hoc signo vince, sayd God, In this signe, y^t is to say, in his name, whom this figure re­presenteth, ouerthrow thine enimies. It was not the signe y^t gaue the victorie, Constantine neuer thought it. He taught his people otherwise to say, as it apeareth in y^e solemn praier which he willed thē, with lifting vp of eyes & hearts to hea­uen, daily to make. For assone as euer he had vanquisht the tirant, he returned vnto Rome, and first of al,Eusebius de vita Const. lib. 1. Victoria authorigratiarū actionem persoluit, he gaue his thanks to the author of victory: then afterward he set vp his crosse in y^e market place, to the end it might there remayne a testimony of the power of God, y^t whosoeuer did behold the same, might by & by con­ceiue of whose religion this Emperor was, & in whose name he ouercam his foes. Which visible signe at y^e first gathering of the Church together: newly come frō the Gētiles (amōg whom the crosse, & therfore Christ crucified, was vtterly cō ­tēned) was thought very necessary, y^t by this outward meane [Page] he might drawe them by a little and a little, to think better of Christ, & so to serue him. But what is this to the Crosse in Churches? Yea, what is it at all to vs? God spake thys to Constantine. He did well to follow him. God hath not spoken thus to vs. Wherefore should we imitate it? Shall we that haue had the Gospell preached so long amongst vs, we, and our forefathers, stande in néede of such extraordina­ry aydes as they, that neuer knew God, nor heard of him? Whatsoeuer our néede is through our owne defaulte, sure­ly we ought not to haue them: God is not pleased with them.In .23. Math Hom. 44. For as Chrisostome saide concerning the lyke super­stitions, as you doe nowe maintaine (carying aboute of S. Iohn Gospels, keping little péeces of the Crosse of Christ, and esteming of such other reliques) I may as iustly saye to you: that it is a madnesse to séeke after suche things, as heretofore haue bene: and an impietie nowe to vse them. Chrisostome maketh this obiection to himselfe. Did not the handekercher of Peter and shadowe of his body passing by, preserue them that were sick? Thereto he replies himselfe and saith: Etiam ante (que) dei notitia in hominibus esset, ratio erat vt per sanctitatē hominū dei potētia cognosceretur: nunc autē insania est. Yea before y^e knowledge of God was in men, it was reason, that the power of God should be knowen, by the holinesse of men. But now it is madnesse. Euen so saye I to you, that although in the time of Constantinus, the signe of y^e Crosse, as he did vse it, was not onely tollerable, but also necessary: So nowe it is not onely superfluous: but (in respect of our abuse) impious. Thus muche for Constantines apparition But whereas ye applie his example vnto vs saying, that as he, Folio. 32. so long as he serued God, and honored his Crosse, euer had good successe: so euen had vve in all conflictes, as long as vve serued God truely, and contemned not hys Crosse. I say that your comparison is not pleadeable: eche part conteyneth some péece of vntruth. Lyke a hasty hound [Page] ye runne at ryot, and in making of likenesses, ye be to ly­centious. Constantine was commaunded to haue the signe of the Crosse: no maruell then, so long as he obeyed, if hée also preuayled. But still ye put Non causam pro causa. Ye im­pute his victories aswell to the honoring of the Crosse, as to the seruice of God: whereas of honor done to the Crosse, no word was before spokē. He caryed it: he reuerently spake of it: therby to testify his fayth in Christ: but he crowched not to it, he put of no Cap to it. Now for our victories, which (you say) we atchieued, as long as vve serued God truely, & vvith horrible blasphemies contemned not his Crosse. Alas ye take the matter all amisse. For as long as we so estéemed y^e material Crosse (as you think good we shoulde) so long we cōmitted most horrible blasphemies, & serued not God at al. Notw^tstanding we had successes graūted vs, such as in mat­ters y^t concerne this life, be not denyed to y^e very infidels: for as Augustine saith: Qui dat foelecitatē in regno caelorū, De Ciuit. Dei. Li. 5. non nisi solis pijs: regnū hoc terrenū & pijs & impijs confert sicut ei placet, cui nihil iniustè placet. He y^t giueth blessednesse in y^e kingdome of Hea­uen, not but to y^e godly: conferres this earthly rayne, both vpō the Godly, & vpon the Godlesse: euen as pleaseth him, to whom nothing is vniustly pleasing. He that gaue empire & rule vnto the Hebrewes, that worshipped but one God: gaue dominion & kingdome also to y^e Persians, y^e worshipped moe Gods. He y^t gaue increase of Corne & Graine, to y^e worship­pers of him, gaue plentie also to the honorers of the Idoll Ceres. He that prospered Marius, auaunced Caesar: He that furthered Nero, did good to August. On y^e other side, he that gaue empire vnto Vespasian, brought in Domitian: He that maintained Constantine, did suffer Iulian. So that on both sides, good successe in this worlde is graunted, and we cannot gather, a liking or mislyking of God, by it. Yet if a man shoulde call you to accompt, and iudge according to Chronicles recorde, you shuld be condemned in your opiniō. [Page] For when the Crosse was most magnified, we had Crosse luck among. How came it to passe that the prouerb hath bene, Bustum Anglorum Gallia, Gallorum Italia: Fraunce hath bene the buriall of Englishe men, and Italy of the French­men? How prosperde, I praye you, the Catholiques in the North, when euery priest and parishe clark came out with a Crosse: euery poore souldiour that followed the campe, was al to be crost: and the onely cause of their Insurrection was altogether masking and crossing? I coulde rehearse, times more then one, when our countreymen haue had smal cause of triumph, and yet the Crosse was estemed to. When the Normans did inuade the lande, not all the Bishops, and popeholy clergye with all their Crosses, coulde once with­stand them. When ciuill discords arose within the realm, on both sides were Crosses, & both sides went to wrack. Nor you haue cause to condemne this age, as cast out of fauour with Almighty God, if good successe in externall things, be signe of fauour.Note. If plagues of God, had ben frequent a­mong vs, and all things had gone backwarde with vs (as thanks be to God, they haue not) if God, & man, both earth, and ayre, had fought against vs (as we by proofe doe sée they haue not) yet coulde I with better cause haue imputed it, to your wilfulnesse and tirranny (ye Papistes) which brought men continually to the Crosse of fire, then to the foregoing of a Crosse in the coate. For why shuld not both heauen and earth, crye vengeance on vs, since the earth is embrewed with the bloudshed of saincts, murthered by you: and ayre, is infected, with breath of you liuing. But God hath hither­to for hys childrens cause, differde the punishement, dewe for your mischiefes. Looke for it one daye, when neyther Crosse nor Masse shall deliuer you. But why doe you falsly abase, the goodnesse of our God towarde vs? Why doe you spitefully empaire y^e glory of our Quéene, & hir prosperous raigne? What honor she gat at Leith w^tout effusiō of bloud, [Page 48] how can you be so impudent as to dissemble? What quiet peace, what godly frēdship, is betwene the realms of Eng­lande and Scotlande purchased now: now that your Reli­gion is in both places abolished: whereas in the time of po­pery, there was neuer but hatred and mortall warre, all the worlde doth sée and iustly may saye, that in the time of the Gospell, God hath more abundantly blessed vs, then euer he did since the land was inhabited. And of the doings at New-hauen, what an honorable peace insewed (contrary to y^e wish and will of the enimies of God and of their countrey, the Papistes) we doe nowe féele, thankes be to God: and you can not denie. But in the Catholique time (as you call it) what successe had you, when Calleis and Guines, so hardly wonne, so long kept, with such glory and gaine to the Eng­lish name defended, was easely in one .iij. dayes, with shame lost? More will I not rehearse of our desperate losses, in that tyrannous interraigne. I retourne to your visions. Iulian, Folie. 33. a. (as you cyte oute of Sozomenus) had a shovvre of rayne that ouertooke him, and euery drop that fell eyther vpon hys coate, or any other that accompanyed him, made a signe of the Crosse. Agayne, When the saide Iulian counsayled the Ievves to repaire the Temple of Ierusalem, destroyed by the Romaines, God to make them desist from that vvic­ked purpose of theirs, caused the ground vvhere they had digged a great trench, for the foundation, to be filled vvith earth rising out of a valley. And vvhen this notvvithstan­ding, they continued their vvorke, God raysed a great tem­pest of vvinde: and skattred all the lime and sande vvhich they had gathered, and caused a great earthquake, and kil­led al that vvere not baptised: and sent a great fyre out of the foundation, and burned many of the laborers. And vvhen all this, nothing discouraged them, a bright glitte­ring signe of the healthfull Crosse appered in the element, and the Ievves apparell vvas filled vvith the signe of the [Page] Crosse. The application of these two histories (which for this purpose I set out at large that they may the better be consi­dered) will make you glad to scrape them out of your booke. For ye fare as a foole, that walks in a net, or as y^e children whose head being hidde, they thinke their bodies can not be séene. Although ye cast some shadowes ouer you, and think that your head is hidde in an hole, yet your eares be so long, that they do bewray you. When thus ye haue heaped vp as many mysticall figures of the Crosse, as you and your lear­ned Counsell can, ye gather a fine conclusion of them, that God vvilleth all hys, Folio. 34. highly to esteeme the thing, vvhich those figures signified: and to beleue, that as those figures vvrought temporall benifites to the Israelites, so the truthe (that is the Crosse it selfe) shall vvorke vnto his electe and chosen Children, beleuing in hys Sonne Iesus Christ, and hauing his signe printed in our foreheads, the lyke benifits, effectes & vertues, spiritually, and much more greater. First who tolde you, that the truth of these figures, was y^e Crosse it selfe, vnlesse by a figure ye take the Crosse for the cruci­fied? Then that those figures wrought temporall benifites, how can you proue? Sure if they were causes of any good that came, they were Causae stolidae as Tully calleth them, meane and instrumentall causes, as the Axe is cause of the wood cleauing, and not efficient. Thirdely if ye would haue concluded well, Distinguenda fuissent ambigua, those wordes that diuerslye may be taken, should haue bene seuered into their diuers significations, that we might haue knowne how to haue vnderstoode your mastership. When ye ioyne the truth and the Crosse togither, what Crosse can I tell, you speake of? If it be according to your promise afore, y^e Crosse in the fourth signification (for thereof ye saide, you woulde onely entreate then is not your Crosse the truth it selfe, but [Page 49] a figure still: wheras ye couple the belief in Christ, and hys signe printed in our foreheads togither, what signe is that? the Crosse with a finger? If ye meane it so, ye make an vn­méete comparison, the one being necessarye, the other ydle and vnlawfull too. This am I sure, your meaning is by couert spéech to deceiue the simple, and cause them to deriue the glory from the truthe, and transferre it to the figure: to haue in reuerence your idle signe, and let the thing signified be forgotten. As for the figures of the olde law, marke what Tertullian sayth, and thereby shall you learne a better mea­ning of them, than your meane skill considereth:Aduersus Martio li. 3. for thus he sayth. Sacramentum mortis figurari in praedicatione oportebat, quan­to incredibile, tanto magis scandalo futurum, si nudè praedicaretur: quanto (que) magnificum, tanto magis adumbrandum, vt difficultas intel­lectus gratiam dei quareret. It behoued the Sacrament of the death of Christ, to be sigured in preaching. For how much more it is incredible: so much more offensiue should it be, if nakedly it had bene preached: and by howe much it was more glorious, so muche, the more it was to be shadowed, that the hardnesse of vnderstanding, myght séeke for the grace of God. So farre Tertullian. But how little grace of God you haue, in sticking still to the easie letter, and neuer seking the glory of the death, is to wel séene by your doings. The signe of the Crosse was shewed to Constantine, he was not yet become a Christian: It was expedient to haue a miracle. We doe professe great skill and knowledge, and shall we not beleue without a signe? That which was once done shall it be asked euer? That which was commaun­ded to one alone, shall it be drawne a president for all?Folio. 34. The signe of the Crosse vvas shevved to Cōstantine in his great anxietie (ye saye) to instructe vs, that in all anxietie of minde, and pensiuenesse of heart, the Crosse of Christe shall be our comforte.

So farre I graunt. And the signe (you say) to be a meane to ouerthrovv our enimies. Where finde ye that? God hath moe meanes of comforte then one: he deliuereth his that are in daunger by diuers wayes. We reade that when A­lexander the great,Iosephus li. 11. Ca. 8. for deniall of Tribute to be paid vnto him, was vtterly in minde to destroy Hierusalem: and was marching thither with an huge army, which no power of theirs was able to resist: Iaddus which was the chief bishop then, put all his pontifical attire vpon him, and caused y^e rest of his cleargy to doe the like, and went forthe to méete the tyraunt so. Alexander no soner saw him, but he lighted frō his horse, fell flat on the ground before him. The lusty roy­sters that were about him, meruailing at this so sodaine chaunge, from wrath to worshipping, from force of armes to submission and praier, specially to a Priest, wheras the Prince vainly supposed himself to be a God, and where he minded before in heat of his displeasure vtterly to haue de­stroyed them, nowe to become contrary to his nature, an humble suppliant to them: Alexander made answer thus. When I lodged in Dio a Citie of Macedon, such a perso­nage as this, of like stature, like apparell in all poynts ap­pered to me, and willed me to set vpon Asia, promising that he would guide me in the voyage, and in the enterprise al­wayes assist me. Wherfore I can not but greatly be moued at the sight of him, to whome I owe my duetye and seruice. Thus God deliuered his people then. Thus God appeared to Alexander the great, in a priests attire. Now if it be law­full to vse your ordre, and of euery particular and priuate case, to gather a generall and like rule: I may as well con­clude, that the vision of Alexander, instructeth vs in all our troubles and distresses, to haue the signe of a Priest in hys masking garments: as the vision of Constantine to haue the signe of a Crosse. For God vsed the one meane, aswell as the other: and no more cōmaundemēt is of the one, then [Page 50] of the other. Gregory reporteth a notable history,Dialog. Li. 3 cap. 1. how God somtime deliuered a sort of poore prisoners, out of the hands of barbarous aliens: not by the signe of a Crosse, nor yet by secret vision as before, but by a straunger fact of his proui­dence. When the Vandales had spoyled Italie, and caried from thence many captiues into Africk with them, Paulinus a godly man, and Byshoppe in those parties, gaue the pore soules whatsoeuer he had, for their reliefe. And when he could extende his charity no further, but al was gone: a wy­dowe on a day came to him, lamenting hir estate, that hir sonne was caried away prisoner, and by the kings sonne in lawe: wherfore she besought him, to giue hir somewhat for his raunsome, if happely his Lord and taker would accept it. But the good man deuising with him selfe what he might gyue for hir comfort: founde nothing but his owne person, and therefore he saide, good wife, I haue nothing for thée, saue onely my selfe: Take me: say I am thy seruaunt, and giue me vp for a bondman in thy sonnes stéede. The woman hearing this of so great a personage, thought rather that he mockt hir, then pitied hir. But he perswaded hir to do after his aduise, forward they went, the wydowe as the misteris, the Byshop as the bond man. To Affrick they came: They mette wiih the kings sonne in law: The wydow makes hir humble sute, to haue hir sōne restored to hir. But he doth not onely refuse to assent, but disdaine to here such a caytiffe as she was. At length she besought him, so much to tender hir, as to accept for her sonnes exchaunge, a seruaunt that she had brought him, presenting the byshop. When the gentle­man had beheld his swéete face and fatherly countenaunce, he asked him of what occupation he was No occupation, ꝙ he, but I can kepe your garden wel: whervpon he was wel contented to accept the seruaunt, and the onely sonne was giuen vp vnto the mother. Thus was the pityfull wydowe gladded. The reuerende Father became a gardiner. Nowe [Page] when the kings sonne in lawe shoulde vse to resort into hys garden, he questioned often with him, and finding him ve­rye prudent in his aunsweres, forsooke the company of o­thers his familiers, and rather chose to talke with his gar­diner. Paulinus then, accustomed euery day to bring sallads to his Lordes table, and hauing hys dinner with him, go to his worke againe. When thus he had continued a certaine season, it fell out on a day, that as his Maister was in secret talke with him, he saide on this sort: Sée what ye doe, make good prouision, how the kingdome of the Vandales, may be disposed and gouerned. For the King (sooner than ye are ware, and very shortly) shall dye. When this he heard, by­cause he was beloued of the king more than the rest, he con­celed it not, but vttered all that he vnderstoode by his gar­diner, whom he reputed to be very wyse. When the king heard it, he aunswered. I would fayne sée the man that you talke of. Then saide hys sonne in lawe, Paulinus Maister: He vseth to prepare mée, sallades for my dynner, and to the ende ye may know him, I will take order, that hée shal bring them vnto the table, where your highnesse shall sitte. And euen so he did: whom as sone, as euer the king had espyed he began to tremble, and calling aside his sonne in law, reuea­led hys secret vnto him, saying: True it is, that thou haste heard. For this night in my dreame, I saw certaine iudges sitting in the place of iudgement against mée, among whom, this man was also one: and they awarded the scourge from me, which I sometime tooke in hande againste other. But aske what he is, for I think him not to be any common per­son, as he semeth, but rather a man of great worthinesse and estimation. Then secretely, the kings sonne in lawe did call Paulinus to him, and enquired earnestly what he was. To whom the good man aunswered: I am thy seruaunt, whome thou diddest take a substitute, for the wydowes sonne. But when more instantly he lay vpon him, to vtter, not who he [Page 51] nowe was, but what condition and estate he was of, in his owne countrey: at length with much a do, he confessed that he was a Byshop. When his master and Lord heard it, he was stricken in a great feare: and aske (ꝙ he) what soeuer thou wilt, that thou mayst retourne into thine owne coun­trey, bountifully rewarded of me. To whome Paulinus an­swered. One benefite there is, whereby thou mayste moste gratifie me: if thou release all the prisoners of my citie. Which thing was accomplished: and the captiues sought throughout all the countrey, were sente home agayne, and ships full of grayne with them. Thus God for deliuery of his seruants, vsed the ministery of a captiue Byshop: And shall we gather of this, that in like extremities, we muste haue a byshop to become a gardiner, and with sallets in hys hande, wayte at his masters table? Yet as good reason for this, as for the vse of the Crosse, grounded on Constantines apparition. A wise man, of this and such lyke examples, would haue gathered an other maner of rule generall, and sayd: that by this we learne, how God neuer forsaketh his, but by secret meanes vnknowen to the world, worketh their comforte and deliuery. The Crosse was commaunded to Constantine to be set vp and vsed in his warres. Therefore (say you) his pleasure is at this present day, Folio. 34. b. to haue the signe of the crosse made, & set vp in open places, vsed in vvarres. &c. How proue ye this M. Martiall? Forsoth, ye say, Quia Iesus Christus heri et hodie & vs (que) in secula. Bicause Iesus Christ is yesterday, to day, and he for euer. By the same reason I proue, that we néede not at this day the signe of the Crosse: for Christ is able otherwise to defend vs: his power is not a­bated: he is thesame that he was before, & a thousand wayes he hath beside, to helpe vs. But I gladly conclude with you, that the signe was shewed from heauen at Hierusalem, to declare that the fayth and doctrine of the Christians, was both preached by men, and shewed from heauen, and that it [Page] consisteth not in the persuasible words of humaine wisdome, but in the shewing of the spirite and power. The droppes of rayne that fell vpon Iulian, made a printe of the Crosse in his garment, and the rests. Therefore (say you) it is neces­sary for euery man to be signed & marked vvith the crosse. But the Crosse noted them to be persecutors, Ergo it is ne­cessary for vs to be noted as persecutors. Ye sée howe your owne examples kill you: there is nothing that ye bring but maketh against you.Ecclesi. hist lib. 5. Oap. 1. In dede Sozomenus writeth, that some did interprete the Crosses on that sorte, Christianorum doctri­nam esse caelestem, & oportere omnes Cruce signari. That the doc­trine of christians was heauenly: and that all men ought to be signed with the Crosse: But God forbyd we should haue such occasion to be so marked. For none were marked, but such as had reueged their fayth. So that the Crosse doth not alwayes portende goodnesse, nor is the signe peculiar vnto Christians. If the signe had bene of such force as ye make it, Iulian the Apostata would not haue gone forwarde with his attempted mischiefe. But forwarde he went, though the Crosse continued on his coate styll. Wherefore the Crosse is no proufe of vertue.Folio. 35. The same may be confirmed, by the story that followeth. For the glittering signe of the Crosse in the element, the crossing of the Iewes coates when they would haue reedified their Hierusalem, was but a token of Gods wrath and vengeaunce: and although it was Signum salutaris Crucis, the signe of the healthfull Crosse: yet was it not healthfull to them that ware it: but rather a testimonie of Gods iust iudgement agaynst them. Wherfore, as God miraculously did worke, and vsed this signe to contrary ef­fectes: sometime for comforte, sometime to dispeire: some­time for the godly, sometime to the wicked: So muste we not, contrary to reason, gather an vniuersall, onely of the one side: and contrary to his will, abuse it at our pleasure. If it had bene alwayes graunted to the godly, and to none [Page 52] but them: If it had bene alwayes a signe of succour, and not of destruction: your argumente then should haue had some apparance of troth or likelyhode. Nowe by your owne ex­amples, where the wicked onely be signed with the Crosse, where the Crosse doth worke nothing but confusion: the groundwork of your cause is miserably shaken, and you be turned ouer in your owne trip. Of all your examples, ye in­ferre your owne fansy: what you do thinke Gods meaning was, to shew such signes of the Crosse, both vnder the law, and in the time of grace: but of your meaning ye bring no proufe at all, eyther out of Scripture or Doctours, that ye bragge of. Onely for vs, your ydle supposall (as you thinke) may serue. Louain hath licenciate you,Goddes vvord the ground of religion. to make what lies ye lust. The substantiall groūd that I spake of before, wher­vpon we ought to builde our religion, is the worde of God: without the which, no facte of man, no particular example, can proue any thing. Then, if ye would haue the signe of the Crosse receyued into Gods seruice: ye should as well proue Gods will therein, and bring his direct authoritie to vs. It suffiseth not to say. This vvas once so: but rather to shewe, This vvas vvel so: nor any one example can binde vs now, without expresse cōmaundement in Gods boke for it, exten­ding to vs: & during for euer. But you deale with gods boke as Epiphanius reporteth of heretiques: Qui multos decipiunt, Contra Her Lib. 1. To. 2. per malè compositam dominicorum verborum adaptatorum sapientiā, Which deceiue many, by the wisedome of the Lords words ilfauouredly applied. As if a man should take an Image of some notable personage: liuely set forth and adorned wyth pearle & stone, and afterward shuld deface the counterfet of a man in it, & make a dog or a fox of it. Then if he should re­moue the iewels and garnishing of the one, to the picture of the other, and say to them that loke vppon it: This is the picture of suche a man or suche, and for proufe thereof would bring the pearle and stone so cunningly cowched: [Page] would ye not think him to be a crafty fellowe, and yet be­leue him neuer a whitte the soner? Euen so fare you: For in steade of the texte, ye bring forth a contrary misseshapen glose: and then ye apparell it with a fewe pearles of Scrip­ture, applyed as wel, as a precious Diamond, to the picture of a grinning dogge. And yet a dogge is but a dogge, al­though he had a byshops beste Myter on his heade: no more are you, but leude liars, for all the patch of truth sowed on your cloke of fables. Bleare not therefore the peoples eyes: deceiue not your selues: learne the true seruice of God, out of his worde, and goe no further. The Crosse of Christ is necessary for vs: his death and passion is onely our ioy and comforte: our life and our redemption: but the materiall or mysticall signe thereof, is more than nedeth: to daunge­rous to be vsed. We haue the worde, the ordinary meane, to leade vs into all truth: we must not beside the word séeke signes & tokens. We haue the bodies, what grope we after shadowes?The ende of Cere­monies. Ceremonies were giuen vnto the Iewes, to be a mound (as it were) betwene the Gentiles and them: to seuer the people of God from other, not onely by inward things, but also by outward: that the people of God should be with in that inclosure, the other without: and these outward ry­tes and obseruaunces, were an assurance vnto the Iewes: that they were lawefull heires of the promise, and not the Gentiles. But Christ came into the worlde, to gather one Church of both peoples: and therefore pulled downe the wall that was betwene them: Decretae ceremonialia. The De­crées of Ceremonies. Christ followed herein the pollicy of Princes: which, if they will gather into societie of one kingdome, as it were, diuers peoples: they will take away the thinges that made the difference before: diuersities of coynes and lawes: So Christ minding to make one people of the Iewes and Gentiles, vtterly did abolish all legall ce­remonies. And Paul compareth them to a hande writing, [Page 53] whereby we be bounde to God, that we can not stand in ar­gument agaynst him, and deny our debt. But by Christ this debte is so remitted, that the obligation is cancelled, y^t hand­writing is put out as the Apostle sayth: now whē the instru­mentes are cut in pieces, the obligations cancelled,Colos. 2. the deb­ter is set frée, which we haue purchased by Christes death. Wherefore we reade, that the vayle of the temple tare: to the ende the people might vnderstand therby, that their sin­nes were remitted, and they discharged from burden of the lawe. But when the wicked and faythles nation continued after Christes death, to exercise in the temple ceremonies, which had their ende before, and would thrust them vnto men as percell of religion, and worshipping of God, Christ vsing the ministerie of the Romaines, so destroyed the tem­ple, that for these fiftene hundreth yeares, they haue had no place, no respite to repaire it. And when they did attempt the matter, they were (as you alleaged) by diuers meanes destroyed and disappoynted: namely, by the dreadfull appa­rition of a Crosse. Whereof ye might haue gathered, that God so misliked the superstitious ceremonies of the temple, that he would not suffer the stones of it to stande. The lyke plague shall ensue to all, that hauing light, wil follow dark­nesse: that being frée, will bring a slauery vpon them: that being deliuered by Christ from these outwarde things, and hauing Christ, yet will be wedded to these outward things, as if that God were pleased with them. Wherefore remem­ber Saul, let no disguised cloke of a good intente, couer an ill acte, contrary to the worde.Leuit. 10. Nadab and Abiu brought in straunge fyre, not commaunded of the Lorde. The fyre of the Lorde therefore consumed them.2. Sam. 6. Vzah when the Oxen did shake the Arke, of a good intent did put his hand vnto it: and was stricken deade for his offence. Melior est obedientia, quam Victimae, sayde Samuell: Better is obedience, than sacrifice. Better is a naked seruice, with the worde, than a [Page] a gorgeous solemnitie, not cōmaunded by the worde. Quic­quid ego praecipio vobis, Deut. 12. hoc tātum facite. Whatsoeuer I do com­maunde you, (sayth the Lorde) doe that, and that onely: Non addes quicq̄ nec minues. Thou shalt not adde any thing to it, nor take away any thing from it. When Christ shall appeare in brightnesse of his glory: when he shall sytte as a iust iudge, at his seconde comming, to aske a straight ac­compt of all your life, fayth and religion: what can ye an­swere? what wil ye say vnto him? We haue garnished thy temple with golde and syluer, we haue set vp candels vp­on thine altares, we haue sainsed thy saincts, we haue erec­ted, estemed, honored thy Crosse: What shal he then reply to this?Esay. 1. Leuit. 26. Esay. 52. 1. Cor. 6. 2. Cor. 6. The worde of his Prophete Esay, Quis requisiuit ista, de manibus vestris? Who did require these thinges at your handes? My temple ought your own heartes to be: as I my selfe pronounced, and my Apostle Paule bare wit­nesse with me. This should haue bene adorned with cha­stitie, simplicitie, feare of my name, loue of my mercies, in­nocencie of lyfe, integritie of fayth. Such resting place, and such ornaments therof, haue I required, but you haue them reiected. No altare of squared stone haue I appointed: my selfe on the altare of the Crosse abolished it. I only ought to be the altare nowe, wherevpon your sacrifice of prayse and thankesgiuing, should be layd: and light of your good wor­kes shining to the world be set vpon. But me and my death ye haue adnihilated, to magnifie your owne imaginations: my sainctes should haue bene paternes of holy lyfe and true fayth vnto you: not haue vsurped my rowme and office to become mediators, and be called vpon. The swéete perfume of prayer, shuld haue arisen from the saynsure of your heart to me: and no flinging of coales about the Church to other. But you haue sticked onely to the Iewish and hipocriticall obseruaunce: The truth exhibited in time of grace, ye haue not receyued. The memory of my death by preaching of [Page 54] the worde, and due administration of Sacramentes in the Church, should haue bene continued according to my wyl: The members of my body, the liuely counterfets of myne owne person, the poore, the naked, the comfortlesse christi­ans, should haue bene relieued, clothed, encouraged: but by your Imagry you haue excluded my word: by your Roo­des, Crosses and crucifixes, vtterly (as much as in you lieth) defaced the glory of my death: departe ye therefore away from me, ye workers of iniquitie: let nowe the God that you haue serued, saue you: Entre into euerlasting fier pre­pared for the Diuell and for you his Angels. Thys when God shall lay vnto your charge, this fine shall followe of it: and when in the terrible conflict with Sathan, ye shall call your consciences to accompte: and sée those ydle toyes that you haue trusted to, to be voyde of comforte: what shall ye then doe, but be dryuen to dispeire, and say to the mountai­nes: fall downe vpon vs.Luke. 22. Wherefore if yet there be any place of repentaunce left for you: if malice and obstinacy haue not vtterly secluded Gods grace from you: take vp by times: Séeke Christ in his worde: forsake your will wor­shippings: Set not your follies in the seruice of God, agaynst the wysedome of the Almighty reuealed in his worde. You thinke, your holde is good: God knowes it abydes no stresse: Ye say, ye séeke the Shep­herd: I proue, ye finde the Foxe.

FOr declaration and proufe of your thirde Article:Folio. 36. b. which is, that euery Church, Chappell, and Oratory, erected to the honor and seruise of God, should haue the signe of the Crosse: ye bring foure reasons: whereof the two first be too vnreasonable, grounded vpon folish fables. The third is insufficient to confirme a doctrine. The fourth is a custome of error not consonant to truth. For the first ye alleage one of Abdias tales, whome you affirme, to haue sene Christ in the flesh: Folio. 38. b. to haue follovved Simon and Iude into Persia: and to haue bene made Byshop of Babi­lon by the Apostles. Abdias. To speake somewhat of your famous father, that he sawe Christ in the fleshe, what maruell was it, if he were one of the .72. disciples, as you and Lazius (that foūd the lying legend, in his proface vpon Abdias) witnesse. Concerning his auncienty, no maruel if ye cite him. For if ye make accompt of his yeares, by probable coniecture out of his boke, ye shall finde him almost as olde as Mathusale. He liued long after S. Iohns time: for he citeth authorities out of his Gospell,Ii. 5. in fine. diuers. And speaking of a miracle done at S. Iohn his tombe, how Manna sprang out of it, he sayth Quam vs (que) hodie gignit locus iste, that is to say: Which Man­na this place bringeth forth to this day. Then if it were so strange a matter as he would haue it séeme: many yeares were runne, betwene the death of the Apostle, and writing of his booke. But Iohn himself was an hundreth yeare olde lacking two, when he dyed. For as your Abdias sayth: Cum esset annorum nonaginta septem. &c. When he was foure [Page 51] score and seuentéene yeare olde Christ appeared to him: and so forthe. And Abdias, if he were one of the .72. Disciples, was called to hys ministery the selfe same yeare, that Iohn was to his Apostleship. So that by all likelyhoode, hée was then as olde as Iohn, and liuing long after Iohn: How old was hée, say you? But a man of those yeares being broken so much in trauaile, as he was, to doe as he did, was a mira­cle of it selfe. For if ye credit his owne writings he was at saint Andrewes death in Achaia. For in his life he saythe,Lib. 3. circa finem. Diutissimè dominum clarificans & gaudens, nobis flētibus reddidit spiritum: He long gloriefyng the Lorde and reioycing, while we were wéeping, gaue vp the ghost. Wherevpon the mar­ginall note hath. Ex hoc apparet, Abdiam huius historiae authorē, passioni interfuisse. It appereth by thys, y^t Abdias the author of this history, was present at the passion. Likewyse he was with Thomas in India, where he was a witnesse of all hys doings. For speaking of a miracle shewed in prison, he saith: Serui dei dormire non poterant, quos sic Christus excitabat, Lib. 9. ne (que) patie­batur nos somno dimergi. The seruants of God could not sléepe, whome Christ had raysed so, nor suffred vs, to be drowned in slepe. Then, if y^t Nominatiue case plurall (vs) includeth him that tolde the tale, Abdias then was also there. Beside this, he was at the death of sainct Iohn in Ephesus, for he sayth:Lib. 5. Gaudebamus quod tantam cernebamus gratiā: dolebamus quod tanti viri aspectu & presentiae spetie defraudebamur. We reioyced for that we sawe so great grace, we sorrowed, that we were be­reued of the sight and presence of so great a personage. And there is noted in the margent. Et hoc argumentum est, Abdiam interfuisse morti Iohannis: And this is a proofe, that Abdias was at the death of Iohn. Notwithstanding all this, he went out of Iewry, wyth Simon and Iude into Persia: Lib. 6. There (as he witnesseth of himself.) He was present at al their doings, & was made Bishop of Babilon by them. For thus he writeth Ordinauere autem Apostoli in ciuitate Babylonis episcopum, nomine [Page] Abdiam, qui cum ipsis venerat à Iudaea. The Apostles apointed byshop in the city of Babilon, one whose name was Abdy­as, which came from Iewry with them. Now I besech you howe is it possible, that he whiche immediatly came oute of Iewry, & had hys charge in Babilon, should be at one tyme (as it were) in so dyuers, and so farre distante partes of the world? In Achaia, in India, in Ephesus, in Persia, and if we gyue credit to historiographers, also in Scythia. For as tou­ching Andrevv, Lib. 3. cap. 1. at whose martirdom, he affirmes he was: Eusebius out of Origen, and Sophronius, as we rede in Pto­lome, Lib. 2. ca. 39. &. li. 3. ca. 1. Ennead. 7. lib. 4. and Nicephorus, do al wytnesse that he went into the coast of Scythia, farre distante from Grecia. And as for hys death, Sabellicus doth say: that he suffered in Scythia. Then eyther was your author a lyer, or a leude byshop: to forsake hys charge, and be such a lādleaper. But a lyer he was. For comparing the times of the Apostles deathes, and distaunce of places where they were resident, it is impossible hys say­inges to be true. Furthermore, that the antiquitie of thys Abdias should be such as ye talke of, is more than a miracle to me: since neyther Irene, nor Eusebius, nor Hierom, nor a­ny one of the receiued fathers, (being nerest to y^e same tyme and writing of the same matter) do once mention hym: Yea to say the trueth, both Scripture and Fathers, be directe a­gaynst hym.Lib. 5. For wher he maketh S. Iohn to say, virtutū opes habere non posse, qui voluerit diuitias habere terrenas. That he can not haue the substance of vertues, that wil haue the substāce of the earth: it accordeth not with the doctrine of Christ. For we reade in hys word, of many that were rich, and yet were vertuous notwithstanding. That Iohn should alow y^e fact of Drusiana, Math. 19, 1. Cor. 7. Colos. 3. Math. 18. which beyng a maryed wyfe, withdrewe her selfe from her husbandes company without hys consent, is con­trary to the rule of Christ, and hys Apostle Paul. That he doth attribute to the same Apostle, the prescription of thirtie dayes, for sufficient repentaunce, is otherwise than Christe [Page 52] hath taught vs. For he wyll haue vs to forgiue Septuagies Septies seuenty tymes seuen tymes. That S. Iohn shoulde vse so fond miracles, as to make whole again brokē iewels, to turne trees and stones into golde, hath no apparaunce of truthe in it. That in hys life tyme a Church was builded at Ephesus, dedicated to hym, and called by hys name, may be proued false by a thousande testimonies. For beside that it was derogation to Gods honor, it was cōtrary to the vse of the primitiue Church. And al men agrée, that vntyl y^e raigne of Constantinus, there were no chapels, or oratories erected in honor of any sainct. Augustine plainly affirmeth: y^t in the Church of Christ, martyrs haue the hyghest rowme.De ciui dei lib. 8 cap. 27 Nec ta­men nos (sayeth he) eisdem martyribus templa sacerdotia, sacra, & sa­crificia constituimus: quoniam non ipsi, sed deus eorum, nobis est deus. Yet we builde not vp temples, appoynt officers, seruice, & sa­crifice for the sayd martirs: bicause not they, but their God, is our God. Againe in an other place, somwhat more plainly Nonne si templum alicui sancto Angelo excellentissimo de lignis & la­pidibus faceremus, anathematizaremur a veritate Christi: Contra. Max. Arr Episc. lib. 1. & ab Ec­clesia dei: quoniam creaturae exhiberemus, eam seruitutē, quae vni tan­tum debetur deo? Si ergo sacrilegi essemus, faciendo templum cuicum (que) creaturae, quomodo non est deus verus, cui nō templum sacimus, sed nos ipsi templum sumus? If we shoulde make a temple of wood and stone, for any holy Angel, yea though he were the most excel­lent of all, should we not be accursed frō the truth of Christe and from the Church of God: bicause we exhibited y^e seruice to a creature, whiche is dew to God alone? Therefore if we shoulde offende in sacrileage, by building a Churche to any creature, howe can it be, but he is the true God, to whō, we make no temple, but our selues are temples? By which pla­ces we proue, that in hys tyme there was no Church or cha­pel builded for any Sainct: y^t it was reputed a cursed thing, contrary to truthe & the Church of God: that they commyt Sacrileage, which doe builde any. Finally, y^t Churches and oratories are not erected for God himself, but to y^e vse of mā. [Page] Wherfore in the tale of saint Iohn his Church, your doctor doted. Now what say you to this y^t Chrisostome affirmeth? Petri quidē & Pauli & Ioannis & Thomae manifesta sunt sepulchra. To. 4. in. cap. ad Heb. 11. In Ho. 26. Aliorum verò cum tanti sint, minimè cognitum est vbi sunt. The se­pulchres of Peter and Paul, Iohn and Thomas, be well knowe, but of the reast, as great as they were, it is not knowne where they were. But your Abdias setteth forth the matter plainely, where euery one of them was laide in­to the grounde. Wherefore ye must eyther condemne Chri­sostome, or him. And yet in these, the doctors agrée not. For to go no further than to S. Iohn, of whome I spake laste, Abdias sayth, that he dyed not, but was put quicke in hys graue, & there he commaunded mould to be cast vpon him. Omnes benedicens ac valefaciens, Lib 5. in fine deposuit se viuētem in sepulchro suo, & iussit se operire. Blessing them all and taking his leaue of them, he layde himself downe quick in his graue, and bade them couer him.In Cattal. Scrip Eccle But Hierome saith: Sexagesimo octauo post passionem domini anno, mortuus Ephesi, iuxta eandem vrbem sepul­tus est. the thrée score and eyght yeare after the passion of our Lorde, he dyed at Ephesus, and was buryed harde by the sayde citie. What shall we nowe thinke of your Abdias? Whome you know, to haue bene one of the 72. Disciples? but Eusebius saith,Lib. 1. ca. 12. that no such matter is knowne: whome you affirme out of his owne bookes, to haue bene made by­shop of Babylon: But I haue proued out of the same, that he coulde not be in so many places and so farre distant: whome you do thinke to be worthy credite: but euident it is that he speaketh nought, but repugnancy to the Scriptures: and more than any father beside himselfe aloweth. For further proofe whereof, examine your dedication, of which ye make so great atcompt: and it shall be no leuite (as you would haue it appeare) if a man stayde by the grace of God,The true maner of dedicatiō. refuse to leane to so weake a staffe. A church is consecrated, or made an holy place, not by superstitious wordes of ma­gicall [Page 53] enchantement, not by making of signes & characters in stones: but by the will of God, and the godly vse. His wil is set forth in his worde vnto vs, wherein he hath commaū ­ded his people to assemble themselues togither, and hath an­nexed a promise to it, that he will be there in the middest of them. The vse that maketh a place holy, is to haue the word purely set forth in it: the Sacraments duely to be receiued: and prayers humbly to be made therein. Take awaye the commaundement, take away the right vse, the place remai­neth prophane still: yea, though a thousande Angels should be saide to Crosse it. Shall we thinke that any place, any creature of God, is of it self vncleane? Shall we thinke that Diuels lye in stone walles, that once be sprinckled with a little holy water, will be packing straight? When God had made al y^e creatures of his: Vidit quod essent omnia valde bona, Genesis. 1. He saw that all things were very good. And Augustine, in his cōfessiōs. Singula bona sunt, & omnia valdè bona quae tu fecisti, Lib. 7. ca. 12. Euery thing by it selfe, and all things are exceding good, (he sayth) which thou haste made O Lorde. And as for the place, it is prepared for men & not for God. For God dwel­leth not in Temples made with hande.Act. 17. lib. Periste­phanon. But as the Martir saith in Prudentius. Aedem sibi ipse mente in hominis condidit, vi­uam, serenam, &c. He made a temple to himselfe within the minde of man, liuing and cleare. Then is not any earth­ly place, holy of it selfe: but in asmuch as holy things are done therein, it is called holy. S. Paul speaking of meates, saith: that they are sanctified. Per verbum dei & orationem, 1. Timo. 4 by the worde of God and prayer. But y^t a sanctification, should come to a creature, by making of y^e signe of a Crosse, is more than Abdias himselfe, or you, can out of Scripture, or good authorite auouche. Salomon made a temple to the Lord: and no Angell of God came downe to halowe it: nor any priest was called to coniure spirites out of it. Halowed it was, when according to Gods will & ordinance it was vsed. [Page] Constantyne built diuerse Churches, and yet thys example he neuer folowed. Nor although he had the Crosse in admi­ration, as which was from heauen reueled to him, yet did he euer bryng the Crosse into the Church. Wherefore your Bartholomeus dedication. I haue in as good credite, as y^e rest of the tales that Abdias tels concerning S. Bartholomewe. For thys he affirmeth: that the deuil giuing markes of him to his frendes, said among the rest. Viginti sex anni sunt, ex quo nun (quam) sordidantur vestimenta eius, similiter & sandalia eius per viginti quin (que) annos nun (quam) veterascūt. In Vita. Barth. lib. 8 Now are ther xxvi yeares, since that hys garmentes neuer filed, nor hys shooes, for these xxv. yeares euer waxed old. We reade that the lyke miracle was shewed to the children of Israell, when as they were in wyldernesse, and had no ordinary meane to come by neces­saries. But that S. Bartholomewe, a kyng hys nephewe: a trim felow: with precious stones in euery corner of his cote, in such credit with a Prince, as he was with Polymius: in such a populous contrey as India was, (whiche thinges al, Abdias doth write of hym) should haue hys garmentes kept frō wearing: was more than neded, more than with reason may be beleued. Agayne Abdias witnesseth, that S. Bartho­lomew came in to the kyng Polymius, whē the dores were shut: which neuer was heard tell of but onely of Christ. And now by hys doctrine, we may fall a reasoning of the dimen­sions of S. Bartholomewes body. Then in y^e same legende he reporteth also: that Mary the mother of Christ, dyd make a vow of chastity: with many other pointes most strāge and dissonant from all Godly learning. But sée how these lying losels do detect themselues. Abdias sayth, that Astyages, bro­ther to Polymius caused S. Bartholomew sustibuscoedi, Lib. 8. circa. finem. Lib. 8. āno a Christo. 80. coesū (que) decollari: to be al to be batted, and afterward to be beheaded: but he shewes not where, saue onely in some piece of India. Nicephorus an other of your authors, sayth. Hierapoli in crucē actum. that he was hāged at Hierapolis. But he that makes [Page 54] Supplemētū Chronicorū writeth. In Albana maioris Armēiae vrbe, primo coesū, dein excoriatū: y^t in Albana, a citie of greater Arme­nie, first he was slain, and afterward was flayed. So by this meanes, the poore Sainct shuld first be beheaded, I wot not where in India: thē afterward lose hys lyfe, on y^e gallowes at Hierapolis: And last of al, haue his skin pulled ouer his eares in Armenia, a good while after y^t hys head was gone. It is a sport & yet a spyte to sée, how mē of your profession (Master Martial) y^t vaunt your selues to be friendes to the Crosse of Christ, cā do nothing almost but lie. Wherfore these things cōdēning vtterly your authors credit, I nede to wade no further in cōfutatiō of his Church halowing. It cōfuteth it self, with shame inough to you. Only I maruell,Folio 38. a. y^t as the Angel (as you say) ingraued vvith his finger in the square stones, the signe of the Crosse: & further, frō God cōmaunded thē to make such a signe in their foreheades, cōmaunded not as­wel (which had ben more to purpose) to make y^e like signes in other stones, in dedicatiō of other Churches. I would wishe in y^e next print it might be put in, y^t your popish Church halowing (wherof I wyl speake anone) myght séeme to haue som presidēt for it. But for S. Bartholomew, I haue said inough. And y^e same answer may suffise for S. Philip, as hys exāple is out of y^e said Abdias brought. For as S. Hierom sayth,Super. 23. Math. (touching y^e name of Zachary, of whō mētiō is made, Math. 23. that some would haue him to haue ben y^e .xj. of the Prophets: But some other to haue ben y^e father of S. Ihon baptist.) hoc quia de scripturis nō habet authoritatē, eadē facilitate cōtēnitur, qua probatur. This bicause it hath not authority of y^e Scripture, is as easily contemned, as proued. So may I say, for y^e wordes which ye father vpon S. Philip:Folio. 39. In the place vvhere Mars semeth to stād fast, set vp the Crosse of my Lord Iesus Christ, and adore the same: bicause it is cōtrary to y^e Scripture, & is but y^e report of a lying legend, I may, w^t good cause, reiect y^e authoritie. For neither was y^e chāge alowable, to destroy one [Page] Idoll, to make an other, (as in the first article I proued) nor to adore it, was in any wyse tollerable, as afterwarde more at large appeareth. Wherfore your reason, being (as it is) absurde and foolishe, we be not driuen to any such shifte, as ye talke of, to say that fayth should be fixt in a wall. Wée know no such melodie, to moue as you say, harde stones, or make brasen pillers to vnderstande: though your magicall minstrelsie hath bene such, that rotten stockes haue spoke at your pleasure, spoken good reason (as you haue estemed it.) Remember ye not the Roode of Winchester, that cunningly decised a controuersie, betwéene the Monkes and maryed priestes, pronouncing in latine (for he was better taught then hys masters the Monkes,) Non bene sentiunt qui fauent presbyteris. They thinke not well that fauour the priestes? Who was that Orpheus, that wrought that vnderstanding there? Dunstane, or y^e Diuell, or both? It hath bene alwayes a Popishe practise, to make Roodes & Images to rolle their eyes, to sweate, and to speake, (wherof infinite examples might be brought.) But that of men, professing the Gospell, of protestants (as ye call them) there hath bene any such de­lusion, is not in any writing of any age to be founde. Wher­fore ye doe vs wrong, in burdening vs with such vntruthes, vnlesse by remembrance of your owne follyes, ye will force vs (as it were) to open and disclose your shame. But let mee come to your counsels. The first ye fetch from the recorde of Iuo, & Gratian, alleaging a Synode kept at Orleance in Fraunce. Ye doe right well to cite your authors: other­wise I might haue suspected the authoritie. For in all the Canons of the councell it selfe, we reade not the words that make for your purpose. But you do wysely, not to passe the compasse of your owne profession, and therfore say no more than the popishe decrées do teache you. But if a man may be so bolde in your owne faculty to appose you: how doe the woords of this your counsell proue, that euery Church must [Page 57] haue the signe of the Crosse?Folio. 40. Forsoth (say you) bycause it is decreed, that no man builde a Church, before the By­shop of that diocesse come and set vp a Crosse. By the same reason, the ring of the church dore is a piece of Gods seruice too. For as the fixing of a Crosse, the pitching of a stake (as it were) in the grounde, doth shewe that the By­shop hath limitted out the compasse of the Church: so the other is a proufe of Induction of the Priest. Yet, as thys signe of possession taken, is no parte of duety within the Church discharged: so the other signe of authoritie to builde, giuen: is no parte of seruice within the building to be done. And this is the poynte which in this article ye go about to proue, that euery Church and Chappel, must haue a Crosse erected in it, to the honor and seruice of al­mighty God. But this Crosse serueth an other turne, to a ciuill pollicy, & no poynt of religion: For least that men should presume to builde Churches without authoritie ec­clesiasticall, it was decréed, that the byshop of the diocesse, should viewe the place, appoynte where the body of the Church should be, & leaue his mark behinde him. Which marke, might as wel haue bene his crosier, as his Crosse: but that the one was lesse chargeable than the other. If ye credite not me, turne ouer your Decree. There shall ye finde, that ordre is taken for thinges necessary, before the Church be builded. But we doe inquire what is necessary seruice in a Church hallowed? Wherefore I sée not, how that Councell prouinciall, triginta trium Episcoporum, of thrée and thyrty byshops, as the boke doth tell vs, can make any thing for you. But if there were most playne determination, for the Crosse, in that or any other such like Councell: I am no more bound to the authority ther­of, than you will be to the English Synodes, held in king Edwardes dayes, and in the Quéenes Maiesties raygne that nowe is. Yet the duety of a subiect (if ye were honest) [Page] might driue you to this: wheras there is no cause, y^t might enforce my consent to the other. Nowe for your second at Tovvres, whose Canon is this: Vt corpus dn̄i in altari, non in armario, sed sub Crucis titulo, cōponatur. Which you do english after this sort:Foli. 40. b. That the body of our lord, consecrated vp­on the altar, be not reposed & set in the reuestry, but vn­der the Roode. Where we may learne, two schole poynts of you. Fyrst that armariū is latine for a Reuestry. Then that titulus Crucis, is latine for a Roode. But if your schol­lers haue bene taught heretofore to translate no better, a rod, a rod, had bene more méete for the vsher. For armariū may wel be taken for a librarie: for a closet, or almerie: but no more for the reuestry, than for the belfry. Yet wil I not greatly in that word cōtend with you. Be it y^t their fo­lish meaning, was for a reuestry: yet doubtlesse they were not so mad, as to put titulꝰ Crucis for a Roode. Titulus cru­cis is y^e title of the crosse. And I maruel, that you wold not rather expound it for a Pixe, than a Roode: being driuen by this, to cary gods body sacred, from the altar, into y^e Roode loft. We haue not heard afore this time, that the sacramēt was reuerently kept vnder the Roode, that the altar refu­sed, the Roode loft shuld be reuerenced. Now as cōcerning the sixt general Coūcel kept at Constantinople in Trullo vvhereby (ye say) it may be gathered, that the signe of the Crosse vvas kept & had in Churches: I pray you alleage the canon of that Councel, out of which ye gather it. I am not ignorant, that in the Popes law it is cited so. But I am not yet persuaded, that it is so. Belike the patchers of those ragged reliques, missetoke the name of the .vj. for the .vij. For as it is certayne that in the syxt Coūcel of Constan­tinople, there was a long discourse contra Monothelitas, agaynst them which affirmed, there was but one will in Christ: so in all the actions that are come abrode to y^e sight of the world, there is not so much as mention of the crosse. [Page 58] It is an easy matter to say: Such a Councel defined so the case, & bring no proufe at al, nor so much as a word, to rule the case ouer. This is to slight dealing, in so great a cause, as you wil haue the Crosse to be. But on the other side, as you haue brought but the bare name of thre Councels for you: wherof there is none that confirmeth your error: so if I bring thrée councels in dede, as famous as they; which in playne words, by publique & frée assent, shal ouerthrow it: wil ye be then content to giue ouer? How soeuer your frowardnesse in this behalf shal leade you: yet, that other may vnderstand, how men of soūder iudgement haue assē ­bled themselues also together, & alway resisted the herosie of Imagry, I wil onely rehearse thrée other to you.Eutropius Rer. Rom. Lib. 22. Con­stantine the fyft, sonne to Leo surnamed Isauricus (other­wyse by a nickname of Iconolatrae called Iconomachus, of Image worshippers an Image enimie) in the yeare of our Lord .746. called a Councel, at his princely palace of Con­stantinople: where Eutropiꝰ reporteth, that the byshop of Ephesus, the byshop of Perga, the byshop of Constantino­ple with other moe to the number of .338. Prelats were (as apeareth by y^e subscriptions, or as Sigebertꝰ Sigebertus in Chro. reporteth) 330. There they sate, deliberating vpō the matter, from the .x. of February til the .viij. of August. In the ende they cōcluded as touching the Image of Christ, thus: Si quis diuinā Dei verbi secundū incarnationē figurā. &c. The acts of which coun­cell I will therefore insert at more large into my writing: bicause they cōtayne very learned reasons against the pic­ture of Christ, to be made: or Image of any other, in place of Gods seruice vsed. Sanctorum patrum & vniuersaliū Synodorum, puram & inuiolatā & à Deo traditam fidem nostram, & cōfessionem obseruantes, dicimus: non debere quen (quam) diuisionem aut confusionē vltra verum sensum & voluntatem inexprimibilem; & incognoscibilē illam vni­onē duarum secundū Hypostasim vnum, naturarū cōmi­nisci. [Page] Quae nam est haec insana opinio pictorum, vt lucri turpis & miseri causa, ea quae effici nequeant, studeant cō ­ficere: vt & ea quae ore & corde sunt tantummodo confes­sa, impijs manibus figurare intendant? Arbitratus autem sic est, ipsam Imaginem Christum vocando. Est autem Christus hoc nomine, Deus & homo: Sequitur, vt Imago Dei sit & hominis. Et consequens est, vt aut iuxta opini­onem vanitatis suae, deitatem, quae circūscriptione creatae carnis circumscribi non potest, circumscripserit: aut in­confusam illam vnitionem, impietatis confusione con­fuderit: & geminas blasphemias in deitatem, & per de­scriptionem & confusionem intulerit. Iisdem ergo blas­phemijs earum adorator inuoluitur, & ve illud vtriusque praemium, quod scilicet & cum Ario, Dioscoro, Eutyche, & Acephalorum haeresi errauerint. Damnati autem à cor­datis viris in eo, quod incomprehensibilem & incircum­scriptibilem diuinam Christi naturam ipsi depingere stu­duerunt, ad aliam aliquam praua inuentione apologiam confugiunt, quod solius carnis quam vidimus & palpa­uimus, & cum qua vérsati sumus, illius inquam Imaginē exhibemus, quod sane impium est, & Nestoriana diaboli­ca inuentio. Considerandum est & hoc: Quod si iuxta orthodoxos patres simul caro, simul dei verbi caro, nun (quam) partitionis notitiam suscepisset, sed totaliter tota na­tura diuina assumpta, & totaliter & perfectè deitate arrepta fuisset: quomodo in duas diducetur, & ab impijs illis qui istud facere conantur, priuatim separabitur? Có­similiter vero & de sacra eius anima se habet. Post (quam) enim assumsisset deitas filij, in propria hypostasi carnis naturā, inter deitatem & carnis crassitudinem, anima mediam se interposuit: & quemadmodum simul caro, simul verbi Dei caro: sic simul anima, simul verbi Dei anima. Et am­babus simul conspectis, videlicet anima & corpore, inse­parabilis ab ipsis deitas extitit, & in ipsa etiam disiunctio­ne [Page 59] animae à corpore, in voluntaria passione. Vbi enim anima Christi, illic etiam deitas: & vbi corpus Christi, & illic quoque deitas consistit. Siquidem igitur in passio­ne inseparabilis ab ijs mansit deitas, quomodo insam isti & quauis imprudentia irrationaliores, carnem deitate coniūctā, & deificatam, diuidunt: & hanc vt nudi hominis imaginem pingere conantur? Et ex hoc in aliud impie­tatis barathrum labuntur. Nam carnem a deitate sepa­rantes, & per se subsistentē eam inducentes, aliamque per­sonam in carne constituentes, quam in Imagine represen­tari dicunt, quartam personam Trinitati adijciunt, & di­uinam assertionem praedicant impiam. Itaque fiet illis qui Christum depingere nituntur, vt aut deitatem circum­scriptibilem, & cum carne confusam dicant: aut corpus Christi expers deitatis & diuisum: praeterea personā per se subsistentem in carne asserant: & ita Nestorianae Deo repugnanti haeresi similes existunt. In talē igitur blasphe­miam, & impietatem cadentes, pudore suffundantur, a­uersentur se ipsos, & talia facere desinant: nec hij solum qui faciunt, verum etiam qui falso nomine factam & dic­tam ab ipsis Christi imaginem venerantur. Absit a no­bis ex aequo & Nestorij diuisio: & Arij, Dioscori, Euty­chis & Seueri confusio, male sibi ipsa repugnantia, & quae vtraque ex aequo impietatem procurant.

Which wordes in English be these.

We, following therein, the pure and inuiolable faith, deliuered from God, receyued of holy fathers and gene­rall Councels, do say: that no man ought to ymagine, a diuision or confusion, contrary to the true sense and wyll not able to be expressed: and the same vnion being aboue reach of knowlege, of two natures agreable to one persō. For what a mad opinion is this of paynters, who for fyl­thy lucres sake, endeuour to make those thinges that can not be made: and go about wyth their wicked handes, to [Page] expresse counterfets of those things, which are onely wyth heart and mouth acknowleged? Vndoubtedly such was the iudgement of him, that called the Image it self, Christ: But Christ is by this name both God and man: it follo­weth then, that it is the Image of God and man. And that also followeth: that either according to their vayne opini­on, he hath circumscribed the deitie (shut vp the Godhead vvithin a compasse) the which can not be circumscribed (or limitted his rovvme) as is the nature created: or that he hath confounded, by confusion most wicked, that vni­ting and knitting together of the two natures, which are inconfusible, (and in themselues distinct) and so by his de­scription and confusion, hath committed agaynst the god­head a double blasphemy. Such therfore as worship them, are enwrapped in the same blasphemies, and the curse is rewarde to eyther of them: in that they haue erred wyth Arrius, Dioscorus, and Eutiches: and such also as are in­fected wyth the heresie of the Acephali. Notwithstanding they being condēned of men of vnderstāding, in that they haue attēpted to paynt the diuine nature of Christ, which is not only not to be measured & bounded in, but also not to be comprehended (or by vvit comprysed) do flée through their vngracious inuentiō, to some other defence. That we do set forth alone the Image of that nature onely, of that (I say) which we haue séene, handled, and bene conuersant with. And that is very wicked and a diuelish deuise of Ne­storius. This also is further to be considered: that if so be according to the minde of y^e right beleuing fathers, y^e flesh, which is not onely flesh, but the flesh of the sonne of God, did neuer learne the way to be deuided, but the whole na­ture of the diuinitie receyued, and perfect deitie therevnto was taken: How shall it of these wicked ones, which ende­uour this thing, be deuided into two: and eche by it self be separated? Like is the state & condition of his sacred soule. [Page 60] For after such time as the Godhead of the sonne, had as­sumpted in proper person, the nature of flesh, the soule placed hir selfe a meane, betwene the deitie and the grosse­nesse of the flesh: & as that flesh was not only meare flesh, but also the flesh of God the worde: euen so the soule, not onely an humaine soule, but also the soule of God y^e word. And both together being seene (that is to say, the soule and the body) the godhead remayned as inseparable frō them, yea & that euen in the separation it selfe of the soule from the body, in that passion, which willingly he suffered. For wheresoeuer the soule of Christ is, there is also the God­head. And where the body of Christ is, there is also y^e God­head. If that therefore the Godhead could not be separate from these in the passion, how do these mad men (as rash, & altogether vnreasonable) make a diuision of flesh, ioyned with the diuinitie, & deified? and attempt to paint thesame as y^e Image of a naturall man only, & no more? And forth of this, they slip into another bottomlesse pit of impietie. For in that they do separate the humaine nature from the diuinity, & do bring in the same subsisting by it self, & ther­by do make another person in the flesh, the which they say to be represented in the ymage: they do ioyne a fourth per­son to the Trinitie, & giue sentence that the word of God is wicked. Therefore it must néedes follow of them which attempt to paynt Christ, that eyther they must say that the godhead is circūscriptible (such as may be cōtayned vvith­in a certayne compasse) & so confounded w^t the flesh: or els affirm, that the body of Christ is void of y^e godhead, & diui­ded, & moreouer a person by it self subsisting in the flesh: & so ioyne with y^e heresie of Nestoriꝰ, impugning gods truth. Forasmuch then, as they fal into such blasphemy & impie­tie, let them be ashamed, let them abhorre themselues, let them cease to practise such things: neyther they only which doe make them, but those likewise which doe worship that [Page] which they make and vntruly name, the Image of Christ. Let therefore be farre from vs, (as reason requireth) as­well the diuision of Nestorius, as also the confusion of A­rius, Dioscorus, Eutiches, & Seuerus, wickedly disagreing one with another, and on eyther syde causing an impiety.

And a little after the sayd Councell hath:

Imaginum falsi nominis praua appellatio, neque ex Christi, neque Apostolorū, neque patrū traditione caepit: neque precationē sacram vllam, qua sāctificari possit, ha­bet: sed manet communis inhonorata, quemadmodum ab artifice pictore absoluta est. Quod si autem quidam ex eo errore existentes dixerint, rectè ac piè à nobis dictum esse, in subuersione imaginis Christi a nobis facta, propter indisseparatam & inconfusam essentiam duarum natura­rum in vna hypostasi conuenientium: tamen iterum du­bitare oportet, propter Imagines ter inculpatae & super­gloriosae dominae deiparae, Prophetarum, Apostolorum, & Martyrū, cū sint meri nudique homines: neque ex du­abus naturis, diuina scilicet & humana, in vna hypostasi consistant, quemadmodum in folius Christi imaginibus fieri renuntiauimus. Dubitare autem oportet, propter I­magines ter inculpatae & supergloriosae Deiparae dominae, Prophetarum, Apostolorum, & Martyrum, cum fuerint nudi homines, & non ex duabus naturis constituti, quid nam conueniens, aut cōmodum ad has dicere potuerint, subuerso priore argumento. Profecto nihil est quod hic habet. Sed quid dicimus de subuersione? Quandoquidem catholica nostra Ecclesia, media existens inter Iudaismum & Gentilitatem, neutram illis consuetam sacrificationem accepit: verum nouam pietatis & mysticae constitutionis à Deo datae, formam & viam ingreditur. Nam cruenta Iudaeorum sacrificia & holocaustomata non admittit, & Gentilitatis in sacrificando omnem Idololatria & statua­rum copiam auersatur. Haec caput & inuentrix abhomi­nabilis [Page 61] istius artis fuit. Nam cum spem resurrectionis non haberet, dignum sibi ludierum excogitauit, vt per eū lusū absentes tan (que) adhuc praesentes exhiberet. Siquidem igitur nihil noui sapit haec res, profectò tan (que) alienum daemonia­corum hominum inuentum, ab Ecclesia Christi longissi­mè abijciatur. Cessent itaque ora omnium, quae loquuntur impia, & contumeliosa, contra hanc nostram Deo gratam sententiā, & decretū. Sancti enim qui Deo placuerunt, & qui ab eo dignitate sāctitatis honorati sūt, etiāsi hinc trās­migrauerint, non tamen eos odiosa mortua ars vn (que) faciet rediuiuos. Sed quicunquè ex Gentiliū errore illis statuas aut Imagines erigere fuerit conatus, blasphemus iudica­bitur. Quomodo autem & valdè laudatam Dei matrem, quam obumbrauit plenitudo deitatis, per quam nobis e­luxit lumen quod adiri nequit, matrem inquam ipsis coe­lis altiorem, Sanctiorem Cherubin, vulgaris Gentiliū ars pingere audet? Rursus, quomodo eos qui cū Christo reg­naturi sunt, & in sedibus cum eo sedebunt iudicaturi orbē terrarum, conformes eius gloriae, quibus non erat dignus mundus, vt diuina miracula asserunt: quomodo inquam eos non timent per artem Gentiū exhibere? Profectò non fas est Christianis, qui spem resurrectionis habent, Dae­monū culturae consuetudinibus vti. Et eos qui in tanta & tali gloria resplendebunt, non decebat ignominiosa & mortua materia, ignominia afficere. Nos autem ab alienis, nostrae fidei domonstationes non recipimus, & in Dae­monibus testimonia non requirimus. Ad haec exquisita & exputata nostra sententia, tum ex Scriptura diuinitus afflata, tum ex patrū electorū testimonijs efficacibus, cō ­uenientibus nobis & asserentibus piam nostrā intentionē, exhibebimus nostrā definitionem, quibus non contradix­erit is, qui conatur haec in dubium vocare: qui vero ignorat, discat is, & erudiatur, quod scilicet à Deo sunt. Princi­pio verbum diuinae vocis, sic dicentis, praemittimus: Deus [Page] est spiritus: Quicunque Deum adorauerit, in spiritu & veritate adoret. Et iterum: Deum nemo vidit vn­quam, neque vocem eius audiuistis, neque formam eius vidistis. Beati sunt qui non viderunt, & crediderunt. Et in veteri testamento, ait ad Moysen & populū: Non facies tibi idolum, neque omnem similitudinem, quaecunque sunt in coelo suprà & in terra infrà. Quam ob causam in mōte, in medio ignis, vocem verborum vos audiuistis: similitudinem autem non vidistis, sed tantummodo vocē. Et mutauerunt gloriam immortalis Dei, per Imaginem, non solum ad mortalis hominis similitudinem effictam: & venerati sunt, & coluerunt ea quae condita sunt, suprà eū qui condidit. Et rursum: Si enim cognouimus Christū secundum carnem, iam non cognoscimus: per fidem enim ambulamus, non per speciem. Et hoc quod ab Apostolo apertè dictum est: igitur fides ex auditu, auditus autem per verbum Dei. Si enim cognouimus Christum secun­dum carnem, iam non cognoscimus. Per fidē enim ambu­lamus: non per speciem. Eadem etiam & Apostolorum discipuli & successores diuini patres nostri tradunt. Epi­phariꝰ enim Cyprius, inter antesignanos praeclarus, sic in­quit. Attendite vobis, vt seruetis traditiones, quas acce­pistis. Ne declinetis, neque ad dexteram, neque ad sinistrā. Quibus infert haec: Estote memores, dilecti filij, ne in ec­clesiam imagines inferatis, neque in sanctorum coemite­rijs eas statuatis, sed perpetuò circumferte Deum in cordi­bus vestris. Quinetiam neque in domo communil tole­rentur. Non enim fas est, Christianum per oculos suspen­sum teneri, sed per occupationem mentis. Idem in alijs quoque sermonibus suis, de imaginum subuersione multa dixit, quae studiosi quaerentes facilè inuenient. Similiter & Gregoriꝰ theologus in versibus suis dicit: Flagitiū est, fidē habere in coloribus, & non in corde. Ea enim quae in colo­ribus existit, faciliter eluitur: quae vero in profundo men­tis, [Page 62] illa mihi amica. Ioannes autē Chrysostomus sic docet: Nos per scripta sanctorum fruimur praesentia, non sanè corporum ipsorum, sed animarum imagines habentes. Nam quae ab ipsis dicta sunt, animarum illorum Imagines sunt. Maxima verò ad recti inuestigationē, inquit Ma­gnus Basilius, meditatio scripturarū diuino afflatu nobis datarum. In his enim & rerum argumenta inueniuntur, & vitae beatorum virorum perscriptae, veluti imagines quaedam animatae secundum Deum politica imitatione operum exhibentur. Et Alexandriae lumen Athanasius, dixit: Quomodo non miseratione prosequendi sunt, qui creaturas adorant: quod illi qui vident non vidētibus cul­tum exhibent: & audientes, non audientes orant, precan­turque? Creatura enim a creatura nun (quam) seruabitur. Simi­liter Amphilochius Iconij episcopus sic inquit. Non enim nobis sanctorum corporales vultus in tabulis coloribus effigiare curae est, quoniam his opus non habemus, sed politiae illorum virtutum memores esse debemus. Con­sentanea his etiam Theodorus Ancyrae episcopus sic do­cet. Sanctorum formas & species ex materialibus colori­bus formari, minimè decorum putamus: horum autem virtutes, quae per scripta traditae sunt, veluti viuas quas­dam imagines reficere subinde oportet. Ex his enim ad si­miliū imitationem & zelum peruenire possumus. Dicant enim nobis, qui illas erigunt statuas, quaenā vtilitas ex illis ad se redit? An quod qualiscūque recordatio eos habet ex tali speciali cōtēplatione? Sed manifestū est, quod vana sit eiusmodi cogitatio, & diabolicae deceptionis inuētū. Simi­liter & Eusebiꝰ Pāphili ad constantiā Augustam, petentē Christi imaginē ad se ab illo mitti, talia dicit. Quoniā aūt de Christi imagine ad me scripsisti, vt tibi initterē: velim mihi significes, quam nam putes Christi imaginem? v­trum illam veram & incommutabilem natura illius cha­racteres ferentem, aut hanc quam propter nos assumpsit, [Page] seruilem formam pro nobis induens? Sed sanè de diuina forma non arbitror etiam ipse ego te esse solicitam, cum fueris ab illo edocta neminem patrem cognouisse, praeter filium, nequè ipsum filiū condigne quempiā cognouisse, nisi qui illū genuit pater. Et post alia: Sed oīo serui requi­ris imaginem formae, & carnem quam propter nos induit: sed & hāc gloria deitatis suae commixtam esse didicimus, & passam, mortuāquè. Et post pauca: Quis igitur gloriae eiuscemodi & dignitatis splendores lucentes & fulgurā ­tes, effigiare mortuis & inanimatis coloribus, & vmbra­tili pictura posset? Cum neque diuini illius discipuli, in monte illum contemplari quiuerint: qui cadentes in fa­ciem suam, non posse se eiuscemodi spectaculū inspicere confessi sunt. Igitur si carnis illius figura tantam ab in­habitante in ea diuinitate accepit potentiam, quid opor­tet dicere tunc, cum mortalitatem exuit, & corruptionem abluens, formam serui in domini & Dei gloriam transtu­lit, post mortis scilicet victoriam, post ascensum in caelos, post cum patre regio in throno a dexteris confessum, post requiem inineffabilibus & in nominandis sinibus patris, in quam ascendentem & desidentem caelestes potestates illi benedicti vocibus acclamabant, dicentes: Principes tollite portas vestras, aperiamini portae caelestes, introiuit rex gloriae? Haec igitur ex multis pauca Scripturae patrū ­que testimonia, in hac definitione nostra, parcentes sanè copiae, ne in longum res protraheretur, collocauimus. Re­liquis enim quae infinita sunt, volētes supersedimus, vt qui velint ipsi requirant. Ex his igitur a Deo in spiratis scrip­turis & beatorum patrum sententijs stabiliti, & super pe­tram cultus diuini in spiritu pedes confirmantes, in nomi­ne sanctae & supersubstātialis viuificantis Trinitatis, vna­nimes, & eiusdem sententiae nos, qui sacerdotij dignitate succincti sumus, simul existentes, vna voce definimus, om­nem imaginem, ex quacunque materia improba Pictorū [Page 63] arte factam, ab Ecclesia Christianorū reijciendam, veluti alienā & abominabilē. Nemo hominū qualiscunque tandē fuerit, tale institutum, & impiū & impurum posthac sec­tetur. Qui vero ab hoc die Imaginem ausus fuerit sibi parare, aut adorare, aut in Ecclesia, aut in priuata domo constituere, aut clam habere, si Episcopus fuerit, aut Dia­conus, deponitor: si vero solitarius, aut laicus, anathe­mate percellitor, imperialibúsque constitutionibus subij­citor, vt qui diuinis decretis impugnet, & dogmata non obseruet.

The English of which words is this:

The wicked calling of Images, by a false name, neither had his beginning by tradition from Christ, nor of his A­postles, or yet the auncient fathers, neither had it any ho­lye prayer, where through to be sanctified: but it remay­neth prophane, euen as it is wrought and finished of the Paynter. But if certaine (deliuered of that errour) affirme, that we haue Godlily and vprightly said, in thro­wing downe the Image of Christ, bicause of the insepara­ble and inconfusible substaunce of two natures ioyned in one person: Yet notwithstanding some occasion of doubt remayneth in them, as touching the Images of the virgin most glorious and vndefiled, the mother of God, of the Prophetes, Apostles and Martirs, seing that they be on­ly men, and no more: neyther doe consist of two natures: that is to say, the diuine and humaine ioyned in one per­son, as before we haue signified to be in Christ, and the contrary therof practised in his Images: There groweth in déede some matter of doubt, as touching the Images of the most glorious and vndefiled mother of God, of the Prophets, Apostles & Martirs, seing that they were only men, and not framed of two natures: what they be able to say to any purpose with reason vnto these. The former argumēt ouerthrowen, certaynly they haue nothing at all [Page] in this case to say. But what say we to ouerthrowing I­mages? For as much as oure catholike Church, being a meane betwene the Iudaisme and Gentilitie, hath recey­ued neyther of the maner of sacrifices accustomed to thē: but hath entred into a newe way and order of Godlinesse, and mysticall constitution giuen and deliuered of God: for it doth in no wise admit the bloudy sacrifice and burnt offrings of the Iewes, & it doth vtterly abhorre, not only al Idolatry in sacrificing, but also multitude of ymages of Gentility, (for this was the head & first most abhominable deuiser of this arte: which (hauing no hope of resurrection) inuented a toy, worthy it self: wherby alwayes the absent might be shewed as present) therefore synce this practise smelleth not of any noueltie, doubtlesse let it be remoued most farre of from the Church of Christ, as a strange and forren deuise of men, possessed with the Diuell. Let the tongs then of al such, surcesse, which spewe forth wicked & blasphemous things to the derogation of this our iudge­ment & decrée, most acceptable to god. As for the holy men who pleased God, & which were honored by him, with the dignity of holynesse, although that they be departed hence, yet that deade and hatefull practise, shal neuer make them agayne alyue. But whosoeuer (poysoned with the error of the heathen) shall attempt to sette vp Images to them, he shall be adiudged as one that hath committed blasphemie. And how dare the rascall occupation of Gentiles, presume to paynt that most prayseworthy mother of God, whome the fulnesse of the Godheade hath ouershadowed, through whome hath shone vpon vs that lighte, which can not be come vnto: that mother, (I say) higher than the Heauens, holier than the Cherubins? Againe why feare they not (I say) according to the arte of Ethnicks to counterfet them, which shall raygne with Christ, & shall syt on seates wyth him to iudge the world: conformed vnto him in glory, of [Page 64] whome the world was vnworthy, as the Godly miracles affirme? Verily it is not lawful for Christians (which be­lieue the resurrectiō) to vse the order of worshipping of di­uels. Neyther yet doth it beseme, by vile and deade kinde of matter to reproch them, the which shal shine in so great & passing glory. As for vs, we vse not to receyue of stran­gers demonstrations of our fayth, neyther yet in Diuels to require testimony. Furthermore (our sentence searched and discussed both out of the scripture enspired frō aboue, & out of y^e effectuall testimonies of piked fathers, agreing w^t vs, and affirming our good intent) we wyl exhibite in thys case our resolute determination: which he shall not be able to gaynesay, which laboreth to call these things in questi­on. As for him that is ignorant, let him learne and be in­structed, that these things are takē out of the word of God. Fyrst we place before the rest, this sentence of gods voice, saying: God is a spirite: whosoeuer wil worship God, in spirite and truth, let him worship. And agayne. No man at any time saw God: neyther haue ye heard his voyce or séene his shape. Blessed are those which haue not sene, and yet belieued. And in the olde Testament, he sayd to Moses and the people: Thou shalt not make to thy self any gra­uen Image, neyther the likenesse of any thing in Heauen aboue, or in the earth beneath. For the which cause, you hearde the voyce of his wordes in the mountayne, in the middest of fyre, but his shape ye saw not: but onely heard his voyce. And: They haue chaunged the glory of the im­mortall God, by an Image framed after the shape of a mortall man, and they haue honored and worshipped the things which are created, aboue him which hath created. And againe. For yf we haue knowen Christ according to the fleshe: now we knowe hym not. For we walke by faith, and not by the outward appearance. And this also which is moste plainlie spoken of the Apostle: Therefore fayth [Page] commeth of hearing: but hearing commeth by the worde of God. For if we haue knowen Christ according to the fleshe, nowe we knowe him not. For we walke by fayth, and not by outwarde appearaunce. The very selfe same things our Godly Fathers, (the schollers and successours of the Apostles) doe teache vs. For Epiphanius of Cypres, (most famous amongst the foremost) thus sayth: Take héede vnto your selues, that ye kéepe the traditions, which ye haue receyued: Sée ye leane not, neyther to the ryght hand, nor to the left. Vnto which, he addeth these words: Remembre deare children, that ye bring no Images into the Church: neyther place them, in the sléeping places of the sainctes: but sée that continually ye earye aboute in your heart, the Lorde. Neyther yet let them be suffered in a common house. For it is not lawefull for a Christian, to be holden in suspense by his eyes, but by the contem­plation of his minde. The same father also in many other of hys sermons, hath declared many things touching the ouerthrow of Images: which y^e studious séeking for, shall easely finde. Likewyse also Gregorie the diuine, saith in his verses: It is a thing most abhominable, to beleue in colours, and not in heart: For that which is in colours is easyly washed away: but suche thinges as are in the depth of the minde, those lyke I well. Iohn Chrisostome also teacheth thus: we through writing, enioye the pre­sence of the Sainctes, although that we haue not the Images of their bodyes, but of their soules, for those things which are spoken by them, are Images of theire soules. Basilius also the great saith: that y^e chiefest thing seruing to the outfinding of truthe, is the meditation of the Scriptures, giuen vnto vs by diuine inspiration. For in these, not onely arguments of things are founde: but also the written liues of holy men are printed vnto vs, as certaine liuely Images, and that through the polityke [Page 65] imitation of their workes, according to God. Also Atha­nasius the light of Alexandria, sayde: howe are they not to be lamented, which worship creatures? that those that sée, yeld seruice to those which are blind? those that heare, do pray and besech those, which are altogether deafe? For the creature, shall neuer be saued of a creature. Lykewise Amphilochius byshop of Iconium, thus sayth: We ac­compt it a matter of no estimation, to counterfet in tables wyth colours, the bodyly countenaunces of the Sainctes, bycause that of these we haue no nede: But we ought ra­ther to be mindefull of the pollicy of their vertues. Agrea­ble also herevnto, doth Theodorꝰ bishop of Ancyra, teach, in these wordes: We iudge it nothing séemely at all, to make the formes and shapes of holy men wyth materiall coloures: but it is requisit, that we often repayre & make fresh their vertues, which by writings are deliuered vnto vs, euen as though it were certayne lyuely Images. For by these, we may come to the zelous following of the like. Let those tell vs, which set vp the same. Images, what profyte they haue by them? whether they haue any kinde of remembrance, by such special kinde of beholding them? But it is most apparāt, that euery such thought is vayne, and an inuention of diuelish deceyt. Likewise also Euse­bius Pamphili, signified after this sort, to Constantia the Empresse, crauing of him to sende the Image of Christ vnto hir: For as much as ye haue wrytten to me of the Image of Christ, that I should send it vnto you: I would you shoulde shewe me, what thing you thinke the I­mage of Christ to be? whether that same true and vn­chaungeable creature, bearing the markes of the deitie: or that, which he assumpted for oure sakes, taking on him the shape of a seruaunte? But as touching the picture of the deitie, I iudge ye be not very carefull: [Page] in asmuch as ye haue bene taught of him, that none hath knowen the Father, but the Sonne: and that none hath worthyly knowen the Sonne, but the Father which begatte him. And after other thinges: but ye altogether desire the Image of the seruauntes shape, and of the flesh which he toke on him for our sake: but we haue learned that this is coupled with the glory of the Godheade, and that the same suffred & dyed. And a little after: Who can therfore counterfet by dead & insensible colours, by vayne shadowing Paynters arte, the bright & shining glistering of such hys glory? whereas his holy disciples were not a­ble to beholde the same in the mountayne? Who there­fore falling on their faces, acknowledged they were not able to beholde such a syght. If therefore the shape of fleshe, receyued suche power of the Godhead, dwelling within the same: what shall we then say, when as it hath now putte of mortalitie, washing away corruption: and hath chaunged the shape of a seruaunt, into the glory of the Lorde and God? What shall we say now, after hys victorie ouer death? after his ascending into heauen? af­ter his sytting in the kingly throne on the right hande of his Father? after reste, in the not vtterable secretes of the Father, into the which he ascending and sytting, the heauenly powers, those blessed ones, wyth voyces toge­ther do crye: Ye Princes lyft vp your gates, ye heauenly gates be ye opened, and the King of glorie shall enter in? These fewe testimonies therefore of Scriptures and Fa­thers, out of many, we haue placed here in this our de­termination: auoyding in déede multitude, least the mat­ter should be too prolixe: and abstayning of purpose from the residue (which be infinite) that those which luste may themselues séeke them. Being therefore throughly per­suaded, by these Scriptures (inspired from God, and by [Page 65] the iudgementes of the blessed Fathers, staying our féete vpon the rocke) of the worshippe of God in spirite: we which are girded wyth the dignitie of the priesthode, be­ing of one minde and iudgement, assembled together in one place, doe wyth one voyce determine in the name of the holy, supersubstantiall and quickning Trinitie, that e­uery Image made by Paynters wicked arte, of any kinde of matter, is to be remoued forth of the Church of Christi­ans, as that which is straunge and abhominable. Let no man frō this time forward, (of what state soeuer he be) fol­lowe any such kinde of wicked & vncleane custome. Who­soeuer therfore frō this day forward, shall presume, to pre­pare for himself any image, or to worship it, either to set it in a Church, or in any priuate house, or else to kepe it se­cretely: if he be a Byshoppe or a Deacon, let him be de­posed: but if he be a priuate person, or of the laye fée, lette him be accursed, and subiecte to the Emperiall decrées, as one which withstandeth the commaundementes of God, and kepeth not his doctrine.

Wherevpon the Councels determination so farre as concerneth this case, ensueth thus:

Si quis non confessus fuerit Dominum nostrum Ie­sum Christum, post assumptionem animatae rationalis & intellectualis carnis, simul sedere cum Deo & patre, atque ita quoque rursus venturum cum paterna maiestate, iu­dicaturum viuos & mortuos, non amplius quidem car­nem, neque in corporeum tamen, vt videatur ab ijs à qui­bus compunctus est, & maneat Deus extra crassitudinem carnis, anathema.

Si quis diuinam Dei verbi secundum incarnationem figuram: materialibus coloribus studuerit effigiare, & non ex toto corde oculis intellectualibus, ipsum sedentem [Page] à dextris patris, super solis splendorem lucentem in thro­no gloriae adorare, anathema.

Si quis incircūscriptilem verbi Dei essentiam, & Hy­postasin, propterea quod incarnatus est, naturalibus colo­ribus in Imaginibus, ad formam hominis depinxerit, & qui non theologicè sensit eam post carnem non minus in­circumscriptibilem remansisse, anathema.

Si quis indiuisam Dei verbi naturae & carnis secundū hypostasin vnitionem, videlicet ex vtrisque vnam incon­fusā & impartibilem perfectionē factam, in Imagine de­pingere conatur, vocatque eum Christum (Christus enim nomine vno & Deum & hominem significat) & ex ea reconfusionem duarum naturarum monstrosè asserit, ana­thema.

Si quis carnem hypostasi verbi Dei vnitam diuiserit, & in nuda excogitatione mentis eam habens, ex eo cona­tus fuerit illam in Imagine depingere, anathema.

Si quis vnicum Christum in duas hypostases diuise­rit, ab vna parte Dei silium, & ab altera parte Mariae si­lium collocans, neque continuam vnitionem factam con­fitens, & ob id in imagine tan (quam) per se subsistentem Mariae filium depinxerit, anathema.

Si quis ex vnitione ad diuinum verbum deificatam carnem in Imagine pinxerit, veluti diuidens eam ex as­sumpta & deificata deitate, & indeificatam ex hoc eam conficiens, anathema.

Si quis in forma Dei existentem Deum verbum, serui formam in propria hypostasi assumentem, & per omnia nobis similem factum sine peccato, conatus fuerit, materi­alibus coloribus figurare, veluti si nudus homo fuisset, & hoc modo ab inseparabili & incommutabili deitate seiū ­gere, veluti quaternitatem inducturus in sanctam & vi­uificantem Trinitatem, anathema.

If any person shall not acknowledge our Lorde Ie­sus Christ, after the taking of lyuing, reasonable and vn­derstanding flesh, to sytte together with God and his Fa­ther, and that he shall so retourne agayne, with y^e maiesty of his Father, to iudge both quicke and deade, not any more fleshe, and yet notwythstanding hauing a body, that he may be séene of those of whome he was pricked, and that he doth remayne God wythout y^e grossenesse of fleshe, Let him be holden accursed.

If any person shall attempt to counterfet the diuine figure of God, the worde, as he became man, wyth ma­teriall coloures, and doth not worship wyth all his heart, w^t eyes of vnderstāding, him, sitting on the right hand of his Father, glistering aboue the brightnesse of the sunne, in the throne of hys glory, Let him be holden as accursed.

If any person do paynt,Incircum­scriptible is that vvhich cā not be measured or cōpas­sed vvith­in any certaine boundes. the incircumscriptible nature and substance of God the worde, and his person, with na­turall coloures, in Images after the fashion of a man: bycause that he toke fleshe, and doth not also thinke, after the doctrine of true Diuinity, the same diuine nature, af­ter the assumpting of fleshe, to remaine notwithstanding incircumscriptible, Let him be holden as accursed.

If any person doe enterprise, to paint and set forth in an ymage, the indiuisible vniting in one person, of the na­tures of God the word and fleshe, that is to say the perfec­tion made of both twaine, which neither is to be confoū ­ded of eyther, nor one from the other to be seuered, and doth call the same Christ (for Christ in one name doth sig­nifie both God and man) and by that meanes most mon­struously doth affirme, the confusion of the two natures, Let him be holden as accursed.

If any person shall diuide the humaine nature, vnited to the person of God the worde, and hauing it onely in the ymagination of his minde, shal therfore attempt to paynt [Page] the same in an Image, Let him he holden as accursed.

If any person shall diuide Christ, being but one, in­to two persons, placing on the one syde, the sonne of God, and on the other syde the sonne of Mary, neyther doth cō ­fesse the continuall vnion that is made, and by that rea­son doth paynt in an Image the sonne of Mary, as subsis­ting by himselfe, Let him be acccursed.

If any person shall paynt in an Image, the humayne nature, being deified, by the vniting thereof to God the worde, separating the same as it were from the Godhead assumpted and deified, making the same as though it were deified, Let him be holden as accursed.

If any person shall presume to counterfet in material colours, God the word, being in the shape of God, & taking on him in his propre person the forme of a seruant, & by al things made like vnto vs (yet wythout sinne) as though y^t he were but onely bare naturall man, & by this meanes to diuide him from the inseparable & vnchangeable godhead, as though he would bring in a quaternity, into the holy and quickening Trinitie, Let him be holden as accursed.

And so farre the Councell of Constantinople, concer­ning this case: whose authoritie if you admit not, yet let their reasons take place, or be aunswered: let the word of God, which they faythfully alleaged: the testimony of fa­thers, which they roundely br [...]ht out, take away thys wicked and abhominable worsh [...]ping of God with an I­mage. Let not the natures of Christ be confounded. Let not the one from the other be seuered. Christ on the Crosse was both God and man: That on our Crosse, is but an Image only of a mā. Christ on y^e crosse was y^t sōne of God: that on our crosse, is but the ymage of the sonne of Mary. Christ hath an inseparable and vnchangeable Godheade: that on our Crosse maketh .ij. persons of one .iiij. persons [Page 68] in Trinitie. Therefore accursed be that Crosse to the Di­uell. And thus much for the first Councell.

Nowe about the same tyme,Concilium Elibertinū. when the controuersie was hote in Gréece, they began also to styrre in Spayne: and there at a City called nowe Granata, was a Councel helde of nynetene Byshops, and syx and thyrty Elders. The chiefe among them, was Foelix byshop of Aquitane. When they maturely had weyghed the matter, with one assente they agréed on this poynt: Placuit, Can. 36. picturas in Eccle­sia esse non debere, ne quod colitur aut adoratur in parietibus depin­gatur. Which wordes in english are these: Our pleasure is that there should be no pictures in the Church, that the thing be not paynted on the walles which is serued or worshipped. The like also is repeated after, Can. 41. Folio. 40. b, But these (ye say) vvere condemned by the seauenth generall Councell kepte at Nice, vvhere three hundreth and fifty Byshoppes (men of great vertue, profound knovvledge, and depe sight in diuinitie) vvere. But that was also con­demned after, by another Councel, assembled at Frank­forde in the yeare of our Lorde. 7 9 4. where all the lear­ned of Charles his dominions, of Fraunce, Italie, and Germanie, were present: whyther Adrian the Pope sent also his Embassadoures, Theophilacte and Stephan. Where Charles himself was in propre person, vpon occa­sion of the sayd Councel of Nice, which the Pope had sent him to be approued. But he doth call it, Stolidam & arro­gantem Synodum, A doltish and a proude Synode: And the decrée there made touching the adoratiō of Images (which you M. Martiall, do teach so stoutly) Impudentissimam tra­ditionem. A most impudent and shamelesse tradition. I re­fer you to the foure bokes of Carolus, in which at large is set forth, not only the vanity of those reuerend Asses, which went about to establish Images, but also the effect of the [Page] Councel of Frankford, not vtterly abolishing (which was their imperfection) but playnly condemning the adoration and worship of them. But in this case, where Councell is agaynst Councell, and necessary it is, that one of them be deceyued: which must we trust to? I knowe that the latter age, hath receyued the worse: the seauenth of Nice. But we must not follow the authoritie of men, were they neuer so many: but y^e directiō of God his spirit, & truth re­uealed in his holy word. What moued the faythfull to re­fuse the second of Ephesus, & willingly embrace the Coun­cell of Chalcedon: but that examining their decrées by Scripture, they founde Eutiches heresie confirmed in the one, which the other condemned? So when the manifeste worde of God, shall try where the spirite of God doth rest, there must the credite, & there onely, be giuen. And to the ende that al readers hereof may vnderstand and sée, what vanity there was in the Prelats of Nicene Coūcell, what more than vanity is in the magnifiers of so mad a cōpany: I wil set forth the allegations of the Image worshippers, and the confutation which the seruantes of God made: y^t euery man thereby may iudge so, as the spirit of God shall leade him,Car. Mag. Li. 1. Cap. 20. & To. 2. Cō. Concil. Nice. 2. and as himself shal sée good cause? Fyrst of al, their generall position was: That the Images of Christ, the virgin Mary, & other Saincts, were sacred and holy: therfore to be worshipped. Hereto the Synode answered: That the Antecedent, the former proposition, was false: in as much as they are neyther holy in respecte of the matter wherof they be made, nor of the colours that be layd vpon them, nor yet for any imposition of hands, nor by any ca­nonical consecratiō: Therfore they be not at al holy, much lesse therfore to be worshipped. Thē noble Iohn the legate of y^e Esterlings, brought forth, another reason: God made man after his owne Image & likenesse: therfore Images are to be worshipped. Hereto y^e catholikes iustly replied: y^t [Page 69] he made a false argument Abignoratione Elenchi: by ap­plying that, to Imageworshipping, which made nothing at all to purpose: For both out of Ambrose & Augustine, they proued, that man is called the Image of God, not for his externe shape, which Images wel ynough may repre­sent: but for the inwarde man, the minde, the reason, the vnderstanding, & vertues consonant to the wyll of God. For Ambrose sayth: Quod secundum Imaginem est, In Psal. 118. Ser. 10. non est in corpore, nec in materia, sed in anima rationabili. That which is according to the Image of God, is not in the body, nor in the matter, but in the reasonable soule. Likewise Augu­stine. Accedit vtcun (que) anima humana interior, In Psal. 99. homò recreatus ad Imaginem Dei, qui creatus est ad Imaginem Dei. The inwarde soule of man, the newe borne man, which is made after the Image of God, commeth after a sorte néere vnto God his Image. But that wheresoeuer a similitude and lyke­nesse is spoken of, there is also an Image to be meant,Octog. triū quest. ca. 74 Au­gustine disproueth; Vbi similitudo, non continuo Imago, non continuo aequalitas. &c. Where a similitude or lyknesse is, not by and by an Image, not by and by equalitie. So that the folly of him was great, to abuse the scripture to so im­pertinent a purpose. But the Nice masters procéede and say. That as Abraham worshipped the sonnes of Heth,Gen. 25. Exod. 18. & Moses Iethro the priest of Madian: so must Images be worshipped of men. Hereto the Councell (as Charles the president thereof affirmeth) answered: Dementissimū est, Lib. 1. Cap. 9. & ab omni ratione seclusum, hoc ad astruendā Imaginā adoratione in exemplū trabere, quod Abrahā populum terre & Moses Iethro sacerdotē Madiā leguntur adorasse. It is a thing of most madnesse and vtterly seuered from all reason, to bring for example, to confirmation of Imageworshipping, that Abraham is red to haue worshipped the people of the earth, and Moses Iethro the priest of Madian.

The Sainctes of God in token of their obedience and hu­militie, sometime haue bowed themselues, haue shewed some piece of curtesie to such as pleased them, and had au­thoritie in the earth: But what is this for the honour done to a deade stocke? Why is this example made to be ge­neral, extending to all, both quicke and deade, both good and badde, where as the Sainctes themselues sometyme abhorred this worshippe to be gyuen them: sometime re­fused to giue it vnto other? Imagines verò, nusquam nec tenu­iter quidem adorare conati sunt. But as for Images, they ne­uer attēpted in any place, or in any so slender wise to wor­shippe them.De Doctri. Christ. Li. 1. Cap. 1. Let them learne of Augustine, that Abra­ham and Moses doing as they did, were examples of hu­militie, not paternes of impietie. Let them learne that there is no lesse diuersity betwene the worshipping of an Image, and worshipping of a man, than is betwene a ly­uing man, and a man paynted vpon the wall. Let them learne, howe loue, reuerence and charitie towardes men, is in the Scripture commaunded ofte: The bowing, the knéeling, the seruice to an Image, is in euery place for­bydden and accursed.The Pa­pistes fi­gure to make the Scripture serue their purpose. But a familiar figure the Papists haue to make the Scripture to serue their faustes: Acy­rologiam, which you may call Abusion. Impropre speaches. As, where so euer in the Hebrewe texte, they reade any worde that betokeneth Bowing, Saluting, Blessing, they doe full wisely tourne it (vvorshipping.) And is this honeste and vpright dealing? Yet howe they dally on this sorte both with the worlde, and with the worde of God: the nexte allegation of theirs, declareth, Iacob suscipiens à filijs suis vestem talarem Ioseph, Carol. Mag. de Ima. li. 1. ca. 12. osculatus est eam & cum lachrimis im­posuit oculis suis. Ergo. &c. Which wordes in english accor­ding to their translation, be these. Iacob receyuing of his sonnes, Ioseph his long garmente, he kyssed it, and [Page 70] wyth teares layde it vpon his eyes: And therefore Ima­ges are to be worshipped. And is not this a reason, that might haue bene fette out of a Christmas pye? Wil any man hereafter finde fault wyth Papists deprauing of the Scripture, since they take thē leaue to make what Scrip­ture they lyst? Where finde they this texte in all the Bi­ble, that Iacob kyssed his sonnes garmente, and layde it vpon his eyes? The place is the .xxxvij. of Genesis, where only we read, that the sonnes of Iacob brought vnto their father, Ioseph his party coloured coate, & sayd: this haue we founde: sée nowe whether it be thy sonnes coate or no. Then he knewe it, and sayde: It is my sonnes coate. A wicked beast hath deuoured him. Ioseph is surely torne in pieces. And Iacob, rent his clothes and put sacke cloth about his loynes, and sorrowed for his sonne a long seasō. Where is the kissing of the coate, & laying it on his eyes? But if kyssing had bene there, what is that to worship­ping? But to kysse and to worship is all one with them. They worshippe where they kysse: let them kysse where they worshippe not. Another worthy father of that sacred assemblie, bycause he would haue a freshe deuise, coyned out of hande another piece of Scripture, saying:Car. Mag. de Imag. Li. 1. ca. 13. Iacob summitatem virgae Ioseph adorauit. Iacob worshipped the top of Iosephs rod. Therefore we may worshippe the picture of Christ. Let me aske of his fatherhode, where he fyn­deth the place? Let him put on his spectacles: and poare on his Portasse. If this be lawful, that euery noddy that commeth to a Synode, may chop and chaunge the word of God as he will: what nede we to care for Moses writing, or Esdras, restoring or Septuagints translating, or the A­postles handeling of the Scripture? The great vertue & profound knowledge of those Synodicall men may serue and suffise vs. And to prosecute y^e cause of Iacob, another ryseth vp and puts in his verdite, saying: Benedixit Iacob [Page] Pharaonem, Car. Mag. Li. 1. Cap. 14. sed non vt Deum benedixit: adoramus nos Imaginem, sed non vt Deum adoramus. Iacob blessed Pharao, but he blessed him not as God: We worship an Image, but we worship it not as God. This man had wit without al rea­son: he compared the blessing that the holy Patriark gaue vnto the king: the bounden man, to the well doseruer: the subiect to the superior: vnto the worshippe of a senslesse I­mage, that standeth in the wall, & doth no more good. But another brought in a sounder proufe, and framed his ar­gument after this sorte:Cap. 15. Impitiatorium, & duos Cherubin au­reos, & ariam testamenti iussi. Dei Moses secit: Ergo licet sacere et adorare Imagine. Moses by y^e cōmaundement of God made the propitiatorie, & the two golden Cherubins, and y^e arke of wytnesse: Therefore it is lawfull to make and worship Images. This fellowe began in good diuinitie, but ended in foolish sophistry. For in the conclusion, he put more than was in the premisses. Moses made this and that: There­fore we may both make & worship. Where doth he reade that they were worshipped? Yea, how can those examples be applied vnto Images, since they be set in the face of the people, only to this ende, to be gazed on: but y^e arke of wit­nesse with y^e furniture therof, was in y^e oracle of the house, in the most holy place, couered, that it might not be séene without:Num. 4. 2. Par. 5. Agayne, the Cherubins were but a peculier or­dinance of God, and therefore could not preiudice an vni­uersall lawe. But to procéede, it is written in the law (say they) Ecce vocaui ex nomine Beseleel filij Vr, filij Hor de tribu Iuda, & repleui eum spiritu sapientiae, Car. Mag. Lib. 1. Ca. 16. Exod. 31. & intelligentiae, ad perficiendū opus ex auro & argento: Ergo, licet adorare Imagines. I haue called by name Bezaliell the sonne of Vri, the sonne of Hur, of the tribe of Iuda, whome I haue fylled wyth the spirit of God, in wisedome, & in vnderstanding, and in knowledge, and in al workmāship, to finde out curious works to make in gold & siluer: therfore it is lawfull to worship Images. [Page 71] A reason as if it had bene of your making, M. Martiall. Ab ignoratione Elenchi. Therefore the Synode aunswered, that it was not onely an extreme folly, but a mere madnesse, to ap­ply the figures of the olde lawe, which onely were made as God deuised, and had a secrete meaning in them: to the I­mages of our time, which euery caruer, goldsmyth, & pain­ter make, as their fansy leadeth them, to an ill example, and to no good vse in the world. But what shuld I stand in exag­gerating of their folly: I will truely reporte the reasons of the one parte, and abridge what I can the aunsweres of the other.

Sicut Israeliticus populus, serpentis aenei inspectione seruatus est, Iconolatra. Car. Mag. Lib. 1. Ca. 18. Sic nos sanctorum effigies inspicientes, saluabimur. As the people of Israel was preserued by the loking on the brasen serpent, So we shall be saued by loking on the Images of Sainctes, ꝙ the Image worshippers.

They that repose their hope in Images,Iconomachi Rom. 8. are condemned by the Apostle, (ꝙ the fathers of Franckforde Councel) Spes quae videtur, non est spes. That hope which is séene, is no hope. Furthermore, the brasen serpent was not commaunded to be worshipped: therefore the worshipping of an Image is falsly inferred of it. Thirdely, the brasen serpent was com­maūded of God: But no piece of Scripture doth beare with Images.

Si secundum Mosis traditionem praecipitur populo, Iconolatrae. Car. Mag. Lib. 1. Ca. 17. purpura hyacin­thina in fimbrijs, in extremis vestimentis poni, ad memoriā & custo­diam praeceptorum: multo magis nobis est, per adsimulatam picturam sanctorum virorum, videre exitum conuersationis eorum: & eorum i­mitari fidem: secundum Apostolicam traditionem. Which, worde for worde in english, is thus. If according to Moses tradi­tion, a purple violet be commaūded to the people, to be put in their purfles and skirtes of their garments, for a memory [Page] and keping of the commaundements: much more must we by the counterfet picture of holy men, sée the ende of their conuersation, and imitate their fayth according to the tradi­on Apostolique.

Iconomachi.Eche part of this argument consists of vntruthes. First, by corrupting the Scripture, in calling it a purple violet, whereas purple is one colour, and violet another. Then, by comparing things vnlike together, wearing of a garment, and worshipping of an Image. Thirdely, in alleaging a most vntruth of al, that the conuersation of holy men is sene in an Image. For fayth, hope, and charitie, (which be the chiefe vertues of Sainctes) are thinges inuisible: But Ima­ges and pictures are visible. As for imitation, what it ought to be,1. Cor. 4. the Apostle sheweth vs, saying: Imitatores mei estote, si­cut filij charissimi. Be ye followers of me as most deare chil­dren,1. Cor. 11. And in another place. Imitator:s mei estote, sicut & ego Christi. Be ye followers of me, euen as I am of Christ. Whereby it appeareth, that the tradition of the Apostles is, to behold the godly conuersation of the Saincts: not in pic­tures, but in vertues: to imitate their fayth, not in fayned Imagrie, but in sincere good workes.

Iconolatrae. Car. Mag. Lib. 1. Ca. 21. Iesus naue duodecim lapides statuit, in Dei memoriam. Ergo, licet adorare statuas. Iosue did set vp .xij. stones for a remembrance of God. Therefore it is lawful to worship stocks and stones.

Iconomachi.Iosue meant nothing lesse than to teach the Israelites to worship stones: but to put them in minde, that they were the stones of the riuer, that was dried for them.

Iconolatrae. Car. Mag. Lib. 1. Ca. 22. Nathan adorauit Dauidem. Ergo, nos Imagines. Nathan did worship Dauid, therefore we may Images.

Nathan did not worshippe Dauid set forth in coloures or painted on a wall, but a liuing creature,Iconomachi set in the throne of Iustice, supplying the rowme of God: Wherefore there is no comparison betwixt them.

Signatum est super nos lumen vultus tui Domine. Item. Iconolatrae. Car. Mag. Lib. 1. Ca. 23. Psal. 4. Vultum tuum requiram. Ergo, Imagines sunt adorandae. Thy coūtenance O Lord is signed vpon vs. And. Thy countenance I wyll séeke after. Therefore Images are to be worshipped.

If these words of Dauid did any thing appertayne to I­mages,Iconomachi we might iustely enquire what countenaunce they haue, & how this countenaunce may be signed in vs. The countenance of God, is Christ his sonne, to the knowledge of whome, we must aspire by scripture, and not by picture. Wherefore sith the countenance of God, can not be séene in material Images, which haue no eyes: it is to fonde, to ap­ply it to Images. In the same Psalme, the Prophete hath: He that desireth life, & will sée good dayes, what shall he do? Pore vpon pictures? seke after Images? No. Declinet a malo et faciat bonū. Let him refrayne from euil, & do the thing that is good.

Vultum tuum deprecabuntur omnes diuites plebis. Ergo, Iconolatrae. Psal. 44. Car. Mag. Lib. 1. ca. 24. Imagines sunt adorande. Al y^e rich of the people shal make their homage before thy face: Therefore Images are to be worshipped.

Homage is done before the face of such,Iconomachi as can both heare & haue vnderstāding. Since neither of these is in an Image, it can not be that by the face of God, is meant an Image.

Dilexi decorem domus tuae. Sed Imagines pertinent ad decorem tem­plorum. Ergo Imagines sunt diligendae. Iconolatrae. Psal. 26. Car. Mag. Lib. 1. Ca. 28. I haue loued (sayth Da­uid) the beauty of thy house. But Images pertayne to the beauty of Churches: Therefore Images are to be loued.

IconomachiThe house of God, is not y^e materiall church, of lime and stone: but the congregation of faythfull people, in whose hearts he dwelleth: nor the beauty hereof consisteth in out­ward garnishing, but spiritual vertues: not in Imagry, but in pietie. They which renounced the world, and withdrewe themselues from the sight of euill, had no Images to decke their houses. They dwelt in simple and vile cotages: And yet they loued the beauty of Gods house: wherefore the beauty thereof doth not consist in Images.

Iconolatrae. Car. Mag. Lib. 1. ca. 30. Psal. 48. Sicut audiuimus ita vidimus. Ergo Imagines sunt adorandae. As we haue heard, so haue we séene, (sayth Dauid.) Therefore Images are to be worshipped.

IconomachiThe promises of God, to them that feare him, to be their refuge, helpe, and deliuerance, were the thinges that they had heard foretolde by the Prophetes, and séene in themsel­ues. And if they had not felt a stronger effecte of Gods pow­er, than a sory picture could haue brought vnto them, they should haue continued all the dayes of their life, in body, sla­ues: in soule, ignorant.

Iconolatrae. Psal. 74. Car. Mag. Lib. 2. Cap. 1. Damnantur inimici qui malignantur in sanctis Dei. Ergo, Ima­gines contemnentes damnantur. Those enimies that doe worke euill to the sainctes of God, are condemned: Therefore such as despise Images, are condemned.

Iconomachi.To omit the phrase of Malignantur, for Malum inferunt. What a grosse ignoraunce was this, to put the Sainctes of God, for the Sanctuarie it selfe? Wherefore the Synode aunswered: The Psalme entreateth of such as had spoyled the temple of Hierusalem: had taken away the furniture thereof, which God had commaunded: What is that to I­mages? [Page 73] He neyther speaketh of the Sainctes of God: nor Images are the Sainctes of God.

In ciuitate tua, Imagines ipsorum ad nihilum rediges: Ergo, Iconolatrae. Psal. 72. Car. Mag. Lib. 2. Ca. 3. Ima­gines sunt adorandae. Thou shalt bring their Images in thy City to naught: Therefore Images are to be worshipped

The city of God, sometime is taken for the soule of man,Iconomachi. inhabited of God: Sometime for his congregation vppon earth. Sometime also for the heauenly Hierusalem:Augustinꝰ Tom. 8. in Psal. 72. As in this place: That as they haue defiled the Image of God vp­on earth: So their owne Images shall not appeare in hea­uen, but be reserued in euerlasting payne.

Scriptum est: Exaltate dominum deum nostrum, Iconolatrae. Psal. 99. Car. Mag. Lib. 2. Ca. 5. & adorate sca­bellum pedū eius, quoniam sanctus est: Ergo, Imagines sunt adorādae. It is written: Exalt the Lorde our god, and fall downe be­fore his fotestole, for he is holy: Therfore we must fal downe to Images.

It is no proufe that Images should be worshipped,Iconomachi. by­cause it is written, that we should fal downe before the fote­stole of God. For we must not esteme his fotestole accor­ding to the vse of men: nor déeme that God is circumscript with quantity, or nedeth a thing to beare vp his féete withal. We must not think that any thing is to be worshipped but onely God: the same God that telleth what his fotestole is, saying: Caelum mihi sedes, terra autem scabellum, Psal. 66. Act. 7. Heauen is my seate, and the earth my fotestole. But shall we worship the earth which is the creature of God? No, but as Ambrose sayth: by the earth is y^e flesh of Christ signified, which he toke frō the earth. It is therfore leudly applied to Images, which appertayneth to the mystical seruice of our Lord Christ.

Iconolatrae. Psal. 98. Car. Mag. Lib. 2. Ca. 6. Scriptum est: Adorate in monte sancto eius: Ergo, Imagines ado­rande. It is written. Worship him in his holy hill: There­fore Images are to be worshipped.

IconomachiThe Prophet sayth not, The hill is to be worshipped but God to be worshipped in his holy hyll. And if he had sayde, worship y^e hill, yet wise men wold haue constred it for God, and not for Images. For the Church it self, the congrega­tion of faithful people, is that hill of his, that Sion wherein he dwelleth: Then in that hill we must not superstitiously worship Images, but Christ himselfe the captayne of that hill: who to purchas that hill vnto him, vouchsaued not on­ly to take our shape, but in our shape to suffer death.

Iconolatrae. Car. Mag. Lib. 2. Ca. 10. Scribitur in Canticis: Ostende mihi faciem tuam: Ergo, Imagi­nes ostendendae. It is written in the Canticles: Shewe me thy face: Therefore Images are to be shewed.

IconomachiThe Church it is, whome Christ there speaketh to: whome sometime he calleth a doue, sometime his faire one, sometyme his loue. The Church (that is to say) his elect and chosen, he willeth there to ryse, that is to say, beleue: to hasten to him, to fructifie in good works: to come, that is to say, receyue an euerlasting reward. The face of this church is not corporall, but spirituall: not by proportion of Ima­gry, but by properties of vertue to be discerned. Then is it an impudent application, of the face of this church to Ima­ges, vnlesse what soeuer is there spoken mystically, must be taken carnally.

Iconolatrae. Esay. 19. Car. Mag. Li. 2. Ca. 11. Erit altare in medio Aegypti: Ergo, Imagines in medio templi. There shall be an altare (sayth the Prophete) in the midst of Egipt: Therfore Images in the midst of the Church.

This prophecy was perfourmed in Christ:Iconomachi. who in y^e mid­dest of Egipt, that is to say, the world, hath erected his al­tare, his fayth and beliefe, by which we may make oure prayers to him. Stolidum estergo, say they, It is a doltishe parte to apply it to Images.

Nemo accendit lucernam, & ponit eam sub modio: Ergo, Iconolatrae. Math. 5. Car. Mag. Li. 2. Ca. 12. Imagines habendae sunt & colendae luminibus. No man lighteth a candle, & putteth it vnder a bushell: Therfore Images must be had and worshipped with candels.

Ores inconsequens et risu digna. O matter impertinent,Iconomachi. and worthy to be laughed at.

Ecce virgo concipiet & pariet filium: Iconolatrae. Esay, 7. Car. Mag. Li. 4. Ca. 21. Hanc autem Prophetiam in Imagine nos videntes, videlicet virginem ferentem in vinis quem ge­nuit, quomodo sustinebimus non adorare & osculari? Beholde sayth the Prophete, a virgin shal conceyue and bring forth a sonne: And whereas we behold this prophecy in a picture, seing a virgin carying hir sonne in hir armes, howe can we forbeare but worship it and kysse it?

The perfourmance of this prophecy,Iconomachi must not be sene in vncertayne Images of mannes hand, but fastly be fixed in the heart of man. Nor the mysteries thereof to be sought in pictures, but in holy scriptures. And as for worshipping or kyssing a senslesse thing, who wil presume so to do (say they) Quis tale faciunt perpetrare audebit? Who shall dare commyt such an heynous facte?

Imaginis honor in primā formā transit: Ergo, Imagines honorandae. Iconolatrae. Car. Mag. Lib. 3. Ca. 16. The honor done to an Image, passeth into y^e first shape af­ter which it was made. Therfore images are to be honored.

Iconomachi Math. 25.A straunge case, neuer hearde tell of before, neuer to be proued hereafter. Christ sayde not: That which you haue done to Images, you haue done to me: but whatsoeuer you haue done to one of these little ones, ye haue done to me. Nor thus he said: He that receiueth an Image receiueth me: but he that receiueth you (mine Apostles) receiueth me.Math. 10. 1. Ioan. 3. Nor, Christ his Apostle sayd: Let vs loue Images: but loue one another. Wherefore it is a vayne dreame, contrary to all scripture and reason too, that honor done to a senslesse thing, shall passe to him, that neyther peraduenture hath the lyke shape, nor euer is present with it. But if it were possible (as they falsly affirme) that honor and reuerence done to an I­mage, redoundeth to the glory of the first sampler: Howe can we ymagine that Sainctes are so ambitious, that they will haue such honor done to them? If in the fleshe they did abhorre it: In the spirite shall they accept it?

Iconolatrae. Car. Mag. Lib. 3. Ca. 17. Suscipio et āplector honorabiliter sanctas et venerādas Imagines, se­cūdum seruitiū adorationis quod consubstantiali & viuificatrici tri­nitati emitto; & qui sic non sentiunt ne (que) glorificant, à sancta, catho­lica, & Apostolica ecclesia segrego: & anathemati submitto, & parti, qui abnegauerunt incarnatam & saluabilem dispensationem Christi veri Dei nostri, emitto. I do receiue (ꝙ Constantinus byshop of Constance in Cypres) and honorably embrace, the holy and reuerende Images, according to that seruice of adoration & worship which I giue to y^e Trinity of one substāce together, of one quickening power: And those that thinke not so, nor glorify them so, I seperate from the holy catholique, & Apos­tolique Church. I pronounce them accursed, as such as take parte with them that denied the incarnate and saluable dis­pensation of Christ our true God.

IconomachiO horrible blasphemy, What man in his right wittes, [Page 75] would euer say such a thing, or consent to the saying? that a vile Image, or a blinde picture should be honored, as the e­ternall and almighty Trinitie? That an earthly creature should haue the seruice, that is only due to the heauenly cre­ator? Who coulde abide him, Nauscantem potius (quam) loquentem, Spuing rather than speaking? What honest eares would not rather detest, than delite in the hearing of him? It only suffised his fatherhode to affirme the damnable and shame­lesse heresie. It onely suffiseth to rehearse his absurdities, to make all christians, mislyke with him and maintainers of such lies and diuelish deuises. For, suppose that it were good to haue Images: and to honor them. Shal it therefore be made equiualent with a matter of oure fayth, without the which we can not be saued? Shal we be accursed for that which Scripture neuer taught vs? but is directe contrary a­gaynst the Scripture? Dominum Deum tuum adorabis, & illi soli seruies. Thou shalt honor the Lorde thy God,Deut. 6. and him onely shalt thou serue.

Qui deum timet, honorat omnino, adorat & veneratur, Iconolatre. Car. Mag. Lib. 3. Ca. 28 sicut filiū dei, Christum deum nostrum et signum Crucis eius, et figuram sancto­rum eius. He that feareth God, doth honor, worship and re­uerence the signe of the Crosse of Christ, and figure of hys saincts, no otherwise than the sonne of God, euen Christ our God.

This is a different phrase,Iconomachi. a cōtrary opiniō to al y^e Scrip­ture. The holy men of God did euer teach the feare of God, and neuer taught the seruice of an Image.Psal. 111. Dauid sayth not: He that feareth God, worshippeth Images: but, he that feareth God, greatly delighteth in his cōmaundemen­tes. So that the feare of God consisteth not in worshipping of Images, but in obseruaunce of the lawe of God. And if none feare God, but the same worship Images, what is be­come [Page] of the Saincts afore time, which neuer had them?

Iconolatrae. Car. Mag. Lib. 3 cap. 15. Imago Imperatoris est adoranda: Ergo, etiam Christi et sanctorū. The Image of the Emperour is to be worshipped: There­fore the Image of Christ and his sainctes.

Iconomachi.By that which is of it selfe vnlawfull, they go about to confirme a thing more vnlawful. For it is not to be proued that the Image of mā is to be worshipped, yet if that were graunted, great oddes there is in the comparison. The Em­perour is locall: and being in one place, can not be in ano­ther: But God is euery where. And to comprise him with­in the compasse of a stone wall, or a little table, which is all in all: and whole euery where: whome the earth contay­neth not, nor heauens comprehende, is too prophane a case: cousyn to infidelitie.

Iconolatrae. Car. Mag. Lib. 4. cap. 1. Qui adorat Imaginem, & dicit hoc est Christus, non peccat: Ergo Imagines adorandae. He that worshippeth an Image, & sayth: This is Christ, sinneth not: Therefore Images are to be worshipped.

Iconomachi.He that maketh a lie, sinneth: But he that affirmeth so vile a thing as an Image is, to be Christ himselfe, maketh an impudent lye: Therefore he that so sayeth, sinneth.

Iconolatrae. Car. Mag. Li. 2. cap. 29. Cap. 28. & Cap. 30. Imagines, sacris vasis, Cruci dominicae, & libris Scripture diuine, aequiparantur. Ergo adorandae. Images are comparable with the holy vessels, with the Crosse of Christ, & bokes of holy Scripture, therefore to be worshipped.

Iconomachi.A sorte of leude comparisons. For as for holy vessels, they were commaunded: So are not Images. And yet not the vessels commaunded to be worshipped. Therefore [Page 76] to gather a worshipping of Images by them, is folly. Then also the Crosse hath wrought miraculous and mercifull ef­fectes to our saluation: So can Images do none. And yet by the way, they playnly declare: per Crucem, Car. Mag. Li. 2. cap. 28. non lignum illud significari, sed totum opus Christi, & afflictiones piorum: that by the Crosse, there is not signified the piece of wood, but y^e whole worke of Christ, and afflictions of the Godly. The Scrip­ture also (by the inspiration of the holy ghost) was deliuered to men, and bringeth a most certayne commoditie with it. Images, as they sprong from error of Gentilitie, so haue they no profite but peruerting in them.

Iacob erexit lapidem in titulum: Ergo, Imagines adorandae. Iconolatrae. Car. Mag. Li. 1. cap. 10. Gen. 31. Ia­cob toke a stone and set it vp as a piller. Therefore Ima­ges are to be worshipped.

Although this be a lubberly reason,Iconomachi. (to vse the terme of Charles the great, who playnly called it Rem non mediocris so­cordiae,) yet somewhat will I say according to mine author, to shew the difference betwene Iacobs fact & their affection.

One thing it is, the holy Patriarkes by some notable mark to foreshew things that were to come: And another, to haue an idle workman, to make an image in remēbrance of things past. One thing it is, to be inspired wyth the holy Ghost: and a farre other, to haue the arte of caruing or gra­uing. One thing it is, to trust to Gods working: and ano­ther, to put an occupation in practise. One thing it is, that Iacob set vp a piller: another that a workeman shall set vp an Image

Iesus ad Abgarum Imaginem suam misit: Ergo, Iconolatrae Car Mag. Li. 4. cap. 10. Imagines ado­randae. Iesus sent his Image vnto Abgar: Therfore Ima­ges are to be worshipped.

It is no gospell, that Iesus sent his picture vnto Abgar.Iconomachi. [Page] And Gelasius himselfe sometime Pope of Rome, numbreth both the Epistle, that Christ is sayd to haue sente vnto him, and also the reporte of the picture, inter Apocripha, among the writings not receiued to be red publikely in the church, nor seruing to proue any poynt of religion: Wherefore the reason is insufficient.

Iconolatrae. Car Mag. Lib 3. Ca. 25.Images did miracles, and are comparable to the hem of Christes garment, by the touching whereof, the woman was healed of hir issue of bloud: Therefore to be worshipped.

IconomachiThat Images did any miracles, is a very lye. Yet if mi­racles they had done, it is not ynough to proue them to be worshipped.

Iconolatrae. Car. Mag. Lib. 3. ca. 21. & Cap. 26. et li. 4. ca. 12.That they did miracles is proued by examples. The I­mage of Polemon preserued one from the act of Adultery. The dreame of an Archdeacon whome an Angel in his slepe commaunded to worship an Image. A Monke lighted a can­dell before the Image of our Lady, and .v. or .vj. monethes after he found it burning.

IconomachiFor the first, there is no reason to induce vs, that the tale is true: yet if it were true, there is no lesse difference be­twene the miracles of Christe, and miracles of Polemon, than is betwene the person of Christ, & person of Polemon. For the seconde. It is an vnwise and vnwonted thing, to confirm by a dreame, a doubtful case. Whether he dreamed it or deuised it, there is no proufe at all, no witnesses of the matter. And yet if he so dreamed in dede: our doubt by good reason, may be no lesse. But it is wel inough: a dronken de­uise to be confirmed, with a drowsy dreame. As for the third. The circumstance of the fact it self, the person, the place, the time considered: we may iustly derogate all credite from it. [Page 77] For neyther we are assured of the honesty of him that tolde the tale: nor it is reported where, or when, or after what sort it was done. Wherfore it soūds so like a lye, that a true man ought not to beleue it. Yet if it were a moste certayne truth, that a candell burned .v. or .vj. monethes together, we ought not to ground thereof an adoration of a thing vnrea­sonable. Balaams Asse,Num. 22. opened his mouth to reproue his ma­ster, preserued the children of God from cursing: Shal then the tong of the Asse, or his tayle be honored?

Thus haue ye heard howe the Nice Councell confirmed as they could, by Scripture and by miracles, not onely the hauing, but worshipping of Images. Ye haue hearde in it, howe the learned fathers, assembled at Franckforde, aun­swered their ydle and impudent allegations. But leaste I should séeme to suppresse any thing, that in apparaunce ma­keth for our aduersarie, I will shewe what fathers and doc­tors of the Church Hireneis chaplens brought forth for thē. First of all Augustine. Who sayth. Quid est Imago Dei, Iconolatrae. nisi vultus Dei, in quo signatus est populus Dei? What is the Image of God, but the countenance of God, in which the people of God is sealed? Therefore Images are to be worshipped.

The Image of God is Christ his sōne,Iconomachi according to Paul Qui est Imago Dei inuisibilis. Which is the Image of the inui­sible God. And to apply that, to a stocke or a stone, which is peculiar vnto Christ, is horrible. Nor Augustines meaning was so: but as it is euidente by his owne wordes:Car. Mag. Lib. 2. Ca. 16 he spea­king of Christ, whome he calleth the Image and counte­nance of the father, sayth, that in him we be sealed, Qui de­dit pignus spiritus in cordibus nostris. Which gaue the pledge of his spirite in our heartes, whereby we are sealed into the right of his children, against the day of redemption.

Then brought they forth an authoritie out of Gregorius Nyssenus: to which the Synode answered:Car. Mag. Lib. 2. Ca. 17 that in asmuch [Page] as his life and doctrine was vnknowen to them,Car. Mag. Li. 2. cap. 17. they could not admitte his testimony, for approuing of a thing in con­trouersie.

Car. Mag. Li. 2. cap. 20.They alleaged also Cyrill vppon Iohn, but corrupting his sentence, deprauing his sense, that as the wordes were brought vnto them, it was as hard to pick out construction, as to finde a pynnes head in a cart loade of hey.

Car. Mag. Li. 3. cap. 20.Lykewise they dealt with Chrisostome, alleaging that he shoulde say, Vidi Angelum in Imagine. I sawe an Angell in an Image. Wherto was aunswered, that it was nothing likely, bycause Angels are inuisible.

Car. Mag. Li. 2. cap. 15.Nor otherwise with Ambrose: Nam & ipsius sententiam, or­dine, sensu, verbis (que), turbarunt. For they troubled his sentēce, both in the order, the sense, and the words. Nor this is my priuate opinion: The whole Counsell affirmed it so. And the actes are euident to proue no lesse.

Car. Mag. Li. 2. cap. 13.As for the example that they brought of Siluester, how he presented the Images of the Apostles to Constantinus, it maketh nothing for them: He shewed him peraduenture pictures to loke vpon, no Images to adore.

Car. Mag. Li. 3. cap 31.But I must not forget how they brought an example of a certayne Abbot, which made an othe to the Diuel, that he would not worship the picture of Christ, or of his mother. But afterwarde he brake his othe, saying, that it was bet­ter for him to haunt all the Brothel houses in the city, than to abstayne from worshipping of Images. I nede not to rehearse the Counsels answere to it. There is no such babe, but seeth their heastlinesse. Only their greatest reason, that doth remayne is this.

Iconolatrae. Car. Mag. Li. 4. cap. 25. Epiphanius discoursing vpon all the sectes of heretiques, doth not accoumpte them for any, that worshippe Images. Therfore it is no heresie to worship Images.

Epiphanius discoursing vpon al the sectes of heretiques, doth not accoumpte them for any that condemne Images. Therfore it is no heresie to condemne Images. But that y^e same Epiphanius, did not only mislike with worshipping of Images, but also with the hauing of thē, shal appeare here­after. It suffiseth now that I haue set forth to you the best part of the actes of the noble Coūsel, ye sée the learned rea­sons that they made: the depe and profoūd iudgements: the pyth, the strength, the marowbones of their matter, wher­wyth they dyd so begrease themselues, that now they shine so glorious in your eyes. If men had deuised matter to mocke them wythall, I suppose they could not haue found any, so absurde as they brought with them. Yet these be they, that represented the state of y^e vniuersal Church. These be they that could not erre. These be they that you onely depend on. These be the thrée hundreth and fyfty byshops, that condemned the thrée hundreth and eyght and thyrty that were before assembled at Constantinople. These be the Iudges, that gaue sentence agaynst the Counsell gathered in Spayne. These be the worthy pillers, that beare vp the Crosse & Images. And if a man considered by what spirite they were led, when they came to Nice, he neded not to mar­uel at y^e strange & horrible successe of their doings. For who then bare the sway? Who did assēble them, but that Athalia that Iesabel Irene: which was so bewitched with superstiti­on, that al order, al honesty, al law of nature brokē, she ca­red not what she did, so she might haue hir Mawmots. She burned hir fathers bones. She murthered hir owne sonne. She peruerted by violence al order of lawful Counsel, that she might goe a whoring with hir Idols styll. When Con­stantine the fift, father to hir husbande Leo, (by mariage of whome, she moste vnworthy came to hir estate) had lien dead & buried a good while in his graue, she digged him vp: [Page] she shewed hir crueltie on his carcase, she cast his bones into the fier, & caused his ashes to be throwen into the sea: This did the good daughter, the defender of Images, bycause hir father, when as yet he liued, had broken them in pieces, af­firming, simplicity rather than sumpteousnesse, to be moste sitting for the Church of Christ. Thus raged she during the none age of Constantine hir sonne, and made the palace of Constantinople, a sinke of sectaries: a follower of deformed Rome. But when the Emperor himselfe (hir sonne) grew to discretion, he trode in his fathers and grandfathers steps: and did so much mislyke with his mothers Mawmetry, that he began to brydle hir insolent affection: he toke the sweard out of hir mad handes, and threwe downe the monumentes of superstition, which she (with such diligence and coste) had erected. Wherevpon, the malice of hir wicked breast was so incensed, that she spared not to set on fier hir owne house: to conspire the death of hir owne childe: only to maintaine hir Images in the Church. Therefore she not onely forgate hir duety to hir Prince, hir loue to hir sonne, but she ioyned with a sorte of cut throtes: she vtterly cast of the nature and condition of a woman: she became more sauage than a wild beast. For beside that she craftely betrayed the Emperour, she trayterously bereued him of his inheritance the crowne: she most vnwomanly scratched out the eyes of the same hir owne sonne: she most abhominably caste him into pryson: most detestably at length she murthered him. Thus was the liuing for the deade, the Prince for a puppet: the natu­rall childe destroyed for the naked vnnaturall vse of Ima­gry. And to declare the wrath of God iustly deserued for this execrable facte, Eutropius reporteth thus: Obtenebratus est sol per dies septemdecim, & non dedit radios suos, ita vt errarent naues maris, omnes (que) dicerent, quod propter excaecationem Imperatoris, sol obcaecatus, radios suos retraxerit. The sunne was darkened for xvij. dayes, and gaue not forth his light: so that the ships of [Page 79] the sea wandred, and all men affirmed, that for the putting out of the Emperors eyes, the sonne beyng blynded, wyth­drew hys beames. The cause of which terrible and strange effect: the only practiser of al the forsayd outrages, was on­ly that Irene, that president of Nicene councel: for that only cause, for which she gathered that conspiracy together. And when she saw, that without extorcion and violence, she was not able to compasse her wicked enterprise, she fel to tiran­ny: she stopped the mouthes of her aduersary parte: and ey­ther banisht them out of the way, or kept them in such hold, that they should not hurt her. And was not thys a goodly coū cell then? The cause so vnlawfull? The caller so horrible? The parties so beastly? The order so vnconscionable? Brag,Folio. 41. b. as ye please, of your Nice councell. Vndoubtedly they gaue vnwyse counsell. Nor it rested in them, to bynde or loose in heauen what they would. They dyd not answere y^e poyntes of their commission, therfore they had not y^e effect of power. Which thing considered, I trust you wyl detest their simple­ty: who for a picture, haue defaced Scripture: who for a fansy of their own brain, haue fallē into a frēsy of to much super­stition: apparelling their Idols with garmētes of Gods ser­uice, and cloking their Idolatry with a face of true worshipping. Now that I haue battered about your eares this your Aiax shield, whiche ye thoughte to vse as a speciall defence the name of coūcels, general, and prouincial, of which, some do make nothing for you, the rest ought not to haue authority with any: let me now, I say, descende vnto your doctors. Ambrose affirmeth that a Church can not stande, Serm. 56. Folio. 42. a. Ambrose. vvith­out a Crosse. And therupon ye inferr, that a Crosse must ne­des be in the Church. I graunt ye, Master Martiall: & yet haue ye gained nothing. For though he speke, of the signe of a Crosse, yet it restes to be proued y^t he ment of your Crosse: he maketh many mysteries of the Crosse: as y^e hoysed sayle, the earyng plow, the blowing windes from eche quarter of [Page] the earth, the lifted vp hands of y^e faithful people: and euery one of these, according to Ambrose hys allegation is a verye Crosse. Then may ye haue any one of these, & haue a Crosse: yea impossible it is almost to do any thing, but that ye shall haue the signe of a Crosse.Hiero. in. 15. Marci. Aues quando volant ad aethera, formā crucis assumūt: homo natans per aquas, velorans, forma crucis vehitur: Nauis per maria antenna, cruci assimilata sufflatur. As Hierome sayth: when the byrdes flie into the ayre, they take the forme of a Crosse. A man when he swymmeth in the water, or prayeth, is caryed after y^e maner of a Crosse. The ship in the sea, is blowen forwarde with the sayleyard, hanging Crosse wyse at the mast. Also Arnobius, answering the heathen, that in despyte layd vnto the Christians charge,Libro. 8. that they honored Crosses, sayd playnly: Cruces nec colimus, nec opta­mus. Crosses we neyther worship, nor wysh for. But on the contrary side, he proued, y^t they had as many Crosses, as the Christiās. For, their banners and ensignes, what wer they but gilded and adorned Crosses: Their spoyles of enemyes caryed on the speares poynte, the noble signes of their vali­ant victory, represented not onely the fashion of a Crosse, but also the Image of a man nayled on it. So that the signe of a Crosse is naturally sene in the ship sayling: the ploughe earing: the man praying. And among the rest, I thinke (as you saye) that there is no Church can stande without it. For vnlesse ye haue the Crosse beames and the Crosse pyllers, with one pece of timber shut into an other, (which is the ve­ry signe of a Crosse) I can not tell, howe the building can a­byde. But what is thys to your Roode and Crucifix, or to a signe drawen with a finger? If a Crosse be so necessary, thē loke on the roofes and walles of your houses, and there shal ye fynde as substantiall a Crosse, as in the Roode loft or vp­on the altare. If the signe of a Crosse must nedes be wor­shipped (as you in euery place do teach) then by Ambrose hys reason, we are aswell bounde to adore and worship the saile [Page 80] of the ship: the plough of the field: the windes of the aire, and the armes of a man. For in the same place alleaged by you, where the Crosse is extolled, these signes are mentioned: Hoc dominico signo scinditur mare, terra colitur, caelum regitur, homi­nes couseruātur. By thys signe of our Lord, the sea is cut: y^e lād is plowed: the skye is ruled: and men be preserued. Yea the very effectes that you do attribute to the Church Crosse, S. Ambrose ascribeth to the mast of a ship: and yet no man dyd euer crouch vnto it, vnlesse it were to kepe hym frō the we­ther. Wherfore your ignorāce or vnfaythfulnesse, is too ap­parant, in that ye father the wordes of Ambrose: If a Church lacke a Crosse, by and by the deuill doth disquiet it, and the vvynd doth squat it (for hys vvordes be these) Cū à nautis scin­ditur mare, prius ab ipsis arbor erigitur, velū distenditur, vt cruce do­mini facta, aquarū fluenta rumpantur: & hoc dominico securi signo portum salutis petunt, periculū mortis euadunt. Figura enim sacramē ­tiquaedam est, velum suspensū in arbore, quasi Christus sit exaltatus in cruce, at (que) ideo confidentia de mysterio veniente, Folio. 42. homines ventorum pro cellas negligunt, peregrinationis vota suscipiūt. Sicut autē Ecclesia sine cruce stare non potest, ità & sine arbore, nauis infirma est. Statim enim diabolus inquietat, & illā ventus allidit. At vbi signum crucis erigitur statim & diaboli iniquitas repellitur, & ventorum procella sopitur. The Englishe is thys: vvhen the sea is forovved of the mariners, first they hoise vp the mast, and spred abrode the saile, that the Lorde hys Crosse beyng made, the vvaues of the vvater may be broken: and they (secure vvith the signe of our Lorde) rech vnto the hauen of health, and scape the daunger of death. For the sayle hanging vpon the mast, is a certaine figure of an holy signe. As if that Christe vvere exalted on the Crosse: and therefore through confidence of the mystery, conning men do not care for the stormes of vvyndes, they vndertake their appoynted pylgry­mage. And as a Churche can not stande vvithout a Crosse: [Page] So is a ship vveake vvithout a mast. For strayght the deuill doth disquiet it, and the vvinde squat it: but vvhere the signe of the Crosse is hoysed vp, the iniquitie of the deuil is dryuē backe, & tēpest of vvinde is calmed. Wherupon I be­sech you doth he inferre, (the deuil doth disquiet & vvinde squat it?) not vpon y^e mention of a ship, w^tout a mast? wher­vpon dyd he talke? of the Church Crosse, or y^e ship Crosse? If the mast of the ship dyd no more preserue and saue the ves­sel, than the Crucifix on the altar, or Crosse in the roodlofte can do the Church: neyther should the ship, be preserued in y^e water, nor the Church at any tyme be consumed with the fyer. We neded not to feare (if your opinion were true) the burning any more of Paules. Make a Crosse on the steple, and so it shalbe safe. But within these fewe yeares it had a Crosse, and reliques in the bowle, to boote: yet they preuailed not: yea the Crosse it self was fyred fyrst. Wherfore S. Am­brose hys rule (as you most fondly do take hym) holdeth not. If ye say y^t hys rule doth holde notw^tstanding, bicause Pau­les was burned in the tyme of schisme: I answere, y^t in your most catholike tyme, y^e lyke plague happened, twise within the compasse of .l. yeares: and therfore S. Ambrose was not so foolysh, to meane as you imagine. As for Lactātius Lactātius. (whose verses ye bryng to confirm the vse of a Roode in the Church) I myght say wyth Hierom. Vtinam tam nostra potuisset cōfirma­re, Ep ad Pau­linum. In Hiere­miā. 10. (quam) facile aliena destruxit. I would to God he had ben able as­wel to haue confirmed our doctrine and religion, as he dyd easely ouerthrow the contrary. For many errors and here­sies he had, among the which, I myght reken thys: flecte genu lignum (que) crucis venerabile adora, bow down thy knée, and do ho­nor to the worshipfull wood of the Crosse. For vpō the word of y^e Prophet Hieremy Lignum de saltu pracidit He hath cut a trée out of the forrest, S. Hierom taketh occasiō to speake of the Gentils Idols, adorned with golde and siluer, of whō it is said:Psal. 113. A mouth they haue, and speake not: eares they haue [Page 81] and heare not. And least it myght be thought, that the ma­king & honoring of such, appertayned peculiarly vnto y^e heathen, he sayd: Qui quidem error, ad nos vs (que) transiuit. Which er­ror in dede, hath come ouer vnto our age. And thē inferreth thys. Quicquid de Idolis diximus, ad oīa dogmata quae sunt cōtraria veritati referri potest. Et ipsi enim ingentia pollicētur, & simulachrū vani cultus de suo corde cōfingunt. Imperitorum obstringunt actē & à suis inuentoribus sublimantur. In quibus nulla est vtilitas, & quorū cultura propriè gentium est, & eorum qui ignorant deum. Whyche wordes are in English these. Whatsoeuer we haue spoken of Idols, may be referred vnto al doctrines contrary to the truth. For they also do promise great thynges, and deuise an Image of vayne worship, out of their own hart. They blind the eye of the ignoraunt, and by the inuenters of them, are set a loft. In which there is no profyt, and the worshipping of which, is an heathenish obseruaunce, & a maner of suche, as know not God. Wherfore the wordes alleaged by you (as out of Lactantius) suffised to discredit him, bicause he wil haue a pece of wood to be worshipped. Omitting al his other errors, and that Gelasius the Pope in consideration of many hys imperfections rekeneth his bokes inter Apocripha, such as may be read, & no doctrine be groūded on. But I wyl an­swere to you otherwyse: disproue it, if you can. I veryly sup­pose, that those verses were neuer written by Lactantius. The causes that induce me to this, are these:In catalogo. S. Hierom ma­kyng mention of al hys wrytinges, (yea of many moe than are come vnto our handes) maketh no mention of thys. A­gayn, Churches in hys time were scarcely builded: for he li­ued in the raigne of Dioclesian: by whom he was called into Nicomedia as Hierom wryteth. Afterwarde when he was very old, he was scholemaster to Crispus, Cōstantinus sōn, and taught hym in Fraunce. Now in the raigne of Diocle­sian, the poore Christiās had in no countrey any place at al, whether they myght quietly resort, and stande still a vvhile [Page] loking on the Roode, Folio. 43. vvith his armes stretched, handes nay­led, feete fastened. They had neither leisure nor liberty, to be at such ydle cost. They cōtented thēselues w^t poore cabanes, wherto they secretly resorted, & yet notw^tstanding had them pulled on their heades. Eusebiꝰ writing of y^e persecutiō vnder Dioclesiā, Lib. 8. ca. 2. sayth: Oratoria à culmine ad pauimētū vs (que), vnà cum ipsis fūdamētis deijci, diuinás (que) & sacras scripturas in medio foro igni tra­di, ipsis oculis vidimus. We saw w^t our eyes, y^t the oratories, (he calleth thē not tēples, for so thei wer not) wer vtterly thrown down, frō y^t top, to y^e groūd: yea w^t the very foūdatiōs of thē: and y^t the sacred & holy Scriptures, in y^e mydst of the market place, wer cōmitted to y^e fier. Thē was it no tyme for them, to make Images of Christ, whose fayth (without perill) they could not professe: nor solemnly to set vp Roodes, where pri­uatly they had no place therto. And this was in the most flo­rishing tyme of Lactātiꝰ Yea afterward, in y^e beginning of Cōstātinꝰ raigne, Maximinꝰ gaue licēce first, y^e Christians might build Dominica oratoria. The Lordes places of praier And y^e first tēple y^t Cōstātinus built, was at Hierusalē y^e .xxx. yeare of hys raigne: wherfore me thinketh impossible it is, that Lactantius should wryte:Eus. lib. 9. cap. 10. Sozom. li. 2. cap. 26. Quisquis ades medij (que) subis in limi na templi w^t the rest of y^e verses rehersed by you. Then howe different y^e doctrine is, both frō that which himselfe teacheth, and generally was receaued in his daies, y^e leud verse. (Flecte genu lignū (que) crucis venerabile adora) sheweth: for in hys boks he playnly affirmeth,Diui. Insti. li. 2. ca. 1. cap. 9. Diui. Inst. lib. 2 ca 19. y^t no mā ought to worship any thynge on the earth. And further he sayth, y^t whosoeuer wyll retaine the nature and condition of a man, must seke God aloft: in heauē not in earth: in hart, not in workmāship of hand. His argumēt is this. Si religio ex diuinis rebus est, diuini autē nihil est, nisi in celestibus, rebui, carēt ergo religione simulachra: quia nihil potest esse caeleste in ea re, quae fit ex terra. If religiō cōsist of holy things and there be nothing holy but in heauenly thynges, then I­mages are voyde of religion, bicause in that thyng, which is [Page 82] made of y^e earth, ther cā be nothing heauenly. You wil graūt me now, y^t a Roode is made of some earthly matter, of stone, or tymber. Thē doth Lactātiꝰ repute it vnholy, & to haue no religiō at al in it. And wil he haue vs to bow y^e knée to adore and worship an vnholy thyng, a thing of no religiō? Eusebiꝰ Eusebius. lyuing in y^e same age, and somewhat after hym, thought it a straūge case, to sée an Image stand in Caesarea, Folio. 8. which image notw^tstanding, was not yet crept into y^e Church: as in y^e pre­face I haue approued. Furthermore Arnobiꝰ Arnobiꝰ. scholemaster to Lactātiꝰ, hath a nūber of places to disproue this assertion. For he telleth, how y^e Infidels layd to y^e Christians charge,Aduersus gentes. li. 8. that they hyd hym, whō they honored, bicause they had ney­ther tēples nor altars. But he sheweth what tēples they had erected then, in nostra ipsorū dedicādū mēte, in nostro imo cōsecrandū pectore. To be dedicate to him in our own mind, consecrate to hym in y^e bottom of our breast. Whervpō he inferreth. Quem colimus Deū, nec ostendimus nec videmus: imo ex hoc Deum credimus, quod eum sentire possumus, videre non possumus. The God that we worship, we neyther shew nor see, but rather by this, we be­leue hym to be God, bicause we can fele hym, but we cā not see hī. Yea to go no further, thā to y^e crosse it selfe, to y^e Roode that ye talke of. Arnobiꝰ affirmeth plainly. Cruces neo colimus, nec optamus: vos plane qui ligneos deos consecratis, cruces ligneas, vt deorū vestrorū partes forsitan adoratis. We neyther worship nor wysh for Crosses: you y^t cosecrate wodden Gods, peraduen­ture worship the wodden Crosses, as partes of your Gods. Wherby is euidēt, aswel by y^e vndouted words of Lactātius himself, as otherwise by y^e testimony of. S. Hierom, & witnes of Eusebiꝰ, & doctrine of Arnobiꝰ: first y^t the verses shuld not séeme to be hys. Thē y^t by al likelyhode there were no Chur­ches in Lactātiꝰ his time, & therfore no Roodes in Churches. Thirdly, y^t no holinesse, no religiō is in any earthly matter, & therfore in no Roode. Lastly, y^t neither crosses nor crucifixes, wer eyther worshipped, or wished for: but y^t it was thought a mere gētility, to bow down vnto thē. As for S. Augustine. [Page] Ser. 19. de sanctis, Augus­stine. Folio. 43. he speaketh nothing els, but of the mystery of the Crosse, as you your selfe alleage: Crucis mysterio, basilicae dedicantur: By the mystery of the Crosse (and not by the signe of the Crosse, as you do ignorauntly translate it) Churches are dedicated. Now you be to learne, what is a mystery: learne it of Chrisostome,Chrisostomꝰ. in. 1 ad. cor. ca. 2. Ho. 7. b who sayth: Mysteriū appellatur, quoniā non id quod credimus intuemur, sed quod alia videmus, alia credimus. It is called a mystery, bicause we sée not, that which we be­leue, but that we sée one thing, and beleue another. Then is it not the signe (which you do take for the material thing) but the mystery, that maketh the dedication: not the thyng that we sée, but y^t which we beleue: the death of Christ, which in the congregation he wyll haue shewed, vntill hys com­myng.1. Cor. 11. As for the lifting vp of a coople of fingers which you do cal a benediction, or the materiall Crosse set vp at dedica­tion, they be nothyng profitable, w^tout the mystery: but with the mystery, they be very perillous: nor we do reade, y^t euer Augustine (although he mentioneth the Crosse often) doth e­uer speake of a mans Image on it, w^t side woūded, and bo­dy bludded. Crucē nobis in memoriā suae passionis reliquit, he saith, he hath left vs the Crosse in remembraunce of hys passion. But so immediatly in the same sētēce vpō the same wordes, he inferreth also. Crucē reliquit, ad sanitatē: he hath lefte vs a Crosse, for our health. But as the signe of y^e Crosse, is no or­dinary meane wherby God vseth to confer health vpon the sicke: so hath he not ordayned it to remayne in the Church, for any remembraunce of hys death and passion. His worde he left vs, to put vs in mynde hereof: & to the ende oure eyes myght haue somewhat styll to fede vpon, that Christ myght neuer be forgotten of vs, he hath lefte among vs the lyuely members of hys own body: the poore, the naked, the comfort­lesse Christians, who being alwayes subiect to the Crosse, myght both excite our thankfulnesse toward hym, & prepare our selues the better for the Crosse. As for the roode, & Cru­cifixe [Page 83] on the altare, which haue handes nayled, armes stret­ched out, fete pearced, with a great woūde in the side, and a bloudy streame issuing out, they may wel be cōpared to the Gētiles Idols: Which haue mouthes, & speake not: eyes, and see not. You wyl answere (I dare say) that ye know wel inough, the Crosse is nothing, but a piece of metal: And he that hangeth in the Roode loft, is not Christ in dede, but a signe of hym: So dyd the heathen know, that al their Idols were siluer and golde, the worke of mens handes: yet y^e ho­ly ghost dyd often tel them of it, as if they had forgotten it: bicause that the lyuelyer the counterfet is, the greater er­ror is ingendred. Some of the Gentiles would excuse their Idolatry, by alleaging: that they dyd not honor the matter visible, but y^e power inuisible, as Augustin in y^e person of the Idolater doth say: Nō hoc visibile colo, sed numē quod illic inuisibiliter habitat, I worship not the thyng that I sée,In psa. 113. but the power that I see not and dwelleth therein. So among the Christians, some haue bene so fond, through makyng of I­mages, and applying the shape of man or woman to them, that they haue thought greater vertue to rest in one, thā in another: and therefore from one, would resort to another. But by the censure of S. Augustine, the Apostle condem­neth them al, saying: Non quod Idolū sit aliquid, 1. Cor. 10. sed quoniā quae immolant gentes, demonijs immolant, & nō deo: & nolo vos socios fieri demoniorum. Not that the Idoll is any thyng: but that these thinges which the Gētiles sacrifice, they sacrifice to diuels, and not vnto God: And I would not that ye shuld haue fe­lowship with the diuels. Therefore in the Christian I may iustly say, that the opinion it selfe of holinesse in an Image, is very diuelish. But you, M. Martiall, haue a better eua­sion: ye ascribe not so much to the substance it selfe,Fol. 41. a. and matter of an Image, but with the Nice masters ye vse it to thys ende: that ye may come to the remembrance, and de­sire of the first sampler and paterne vvhich it resembleth [Page] and withall, you exhibite some courtesy and reuerend ho­nor to it, bicause honor and reuerence done to an Image, redoundeth to the glory of the first sampler: and he that adoreth and honoreth an Image, doth adore and honor that, vvhiche is resembled by the Image. So dyd the Gen­tiles cloke their Idolatry, as Augustyne playnly repor­teth. Yet were they nothing the lesse Idolatrers. For thys he sayth of them.In psa. 113. Videntur autem sibi purgatioris esse religionis, qui dicunt nec Simulachrum, nec daemonium colo, sed per effigiē cor­poralem, eius rei signum intueor, quam coiere debro. They séeme to be of more pure religion, which say: I neyther wor­ship the Image, nor the power thereof, but by the cor­porall lykenesse, I beholde the signe of the thyng, which I ought to worship. Yet notwithstanding, bicause they cal­led their Idols by the names of Vulcanus and Venus, as we our Images, by the name of Christ, and of our La­dy: bicause they dyd, some outwarde reuerence to their Idols, as we vnto our Images: both for them and vs, as Augustyne sayth: Apostoli vna sententia poenam damna­tionem (que) testatur. One sentence of the Apostle, witnesseth our punishmente and condemnation. And what sentence is that? Qui transmutauerunt veritatem Dei in mendatium, & colürunt & seruierunt creaturae potius (quam) creatori, qui est benedictus Deus in secula. Which turned the trueth of God into a lye, and worshipped and serued the creature, forsakyng the creator, which is the blessed God for euermore. But how is the truth turned to a lye, and the creature rather ser­ued than the creator? It foloweth in the place alleaged: Effigus à fabro factas, appellando nominibus earum rerum quas fa­bricauit deus, transmutāt veritatem Dei in mēdatium res autem ip­sas pro dijs habēdo & venerando, seruiunt creaturae, potius (quam) creatori. By calling the pictures made of the workeman, by the name of those thinges which God hath made, they change the truth of God into a lye: And when they repute and [Page 84] worship the thynges themselues, as Gods, they serue the creature, rather than the creator: Wherefore Augustine noted very well, that Paul (priore parte sententiae simulachra dānauit, posteriori autem interpretationes simulachrorum) in the firste parte of hys sentence condemned Images, and in the latter, the interpretation and meaning of them. So that if your cause be all one with the Gentiles, and excuse one: and yet both of them condemned by the Scripture and conuinced by authoritie: It foloweth that no Roode, nor Crucifixe in the Church, oughte to be suffered: for it is Idolatrye. Of the same metall that the Crosse is made, we haue the candlestickes, we haue the censors: yet they which most do thinke y^t God is serued with candlestickes & censors, attribute not y^t honor vnto them, y^t they do to the Crosse. What is y^e cause? S. Augustine declareth. Illa causa est maxima impietatis insanae, quod plus valet in affectibus miserorū, similis viuēti forma, quae sibi efficit supplicari, (quam) quod eam manifestū est nō esse uiuentem, vt debeat à viuente contemni. Plus enim valent si­mulachra ad curuādā in foelicē animā, quod os habēt, oculos habent, aures habent, nares habēt, manus habēt, pedes habent, (quam) ad corrigendā quod non loquentur, nón videhunt, non audient, nō odorabāt, nō cōtre­ctabuut, non ambulabunt. Thys is the greatest cause, sayeth he, of thys mad impietie, that the lyuely shape preuayleth more wyth the affections of miserable men, to cause reue­rence to be done vnto it: than the playne sight, that it is not liuing is able to worke, that it be contemned of the ly­uyng. For Images are more of force to crooke an vnhap­py soule, in that they haue mouthes, eyes, eares, nos­threls, handes and feete: Then otherwyse to strayghten, and amende it, in that they shall not speake, they shall not sée, they shall not heare, they shall not smell, they shall not handell, they shall not walke. And so farre Au­gustine. Which wordes myght vtterly dehorte vs from Imagery: and dryue both the Roode and the Crosse out of [Page] the Church,Psa. 134. if we were not such as the Prophete speaketh of, become in most respect lyke them. For with open and fe­ling eyes: but with closed and dead myndes, we worship, neither séeing, nor liuing Images. More could I cite, aswel out of hym, as out of the rest before alleaged, for confirma­tion of thys trueth of myne. I could sende you to the .4. boke of Aug. de ciuit. Dei. ca. 31. Where he commendeth the opi­nion of Varro, that affirmed, God myght be better serued wythout an Image than wyth one. I coulde alleage hys boke de haeres. ad Quod yult deū. Where he mētioneth one Marcellina, whose heresy he accompteth to be thys: y^t she honored y^e pictures of Christ, and other. I could referre you to hys boke. de Con. Euan. Li. 1. Ca. 10. where he sayeth. Om­nino errare meruerūt, qui Christū nō in sāctis codicibus, sed in pictis parietibus, quaesicrūt. They haue béen worthy to be deceiued, y^t haue sought Christ, not in holy bokes, but in paīted walles. These I say, with diuerse other, I could bring forth, but y^t I thinke that thys suffiseth, to proue that y^e fathers wer not so fōdly in thys case affected, as you would haue it appeare to other.Folio. 4 4. Concerning Paulinus, I wyll not greatly contende wyth you: but that in his dayes, which was .448. yeare after Christ, there was in some Churches the signe of the Crosse erected.Epi. 3. ad. Aprium. But as I sayd before, it suffiseth not to say: Thys vvas once so. But proued it must be, that Thys was wel so; Paulinꝰ cōmendeth y^e woman, y^t separated her selfe frō her own husbande, without consent, vnder cloke of religiō. And hath the word of God the lesse force therefore, which sayth: Whom God hath coupled together,Mat. 19. Ad Cithe. rium. let no mā put a sūder? Paulinus affirmeth; that the boke of the Epistles which the Apostles wrote, layd vnto diseases headeth them: and shall we thynke that in vayne it is, that the Lord hath created medicines of the earth?Eccle. 38. He that is wyse wil not abhorre thē. He that wyll folow whatsoeuer hath bene, is a very foole. I know that Iustiniā taketh order (which is yet but politique) [Page 85] that no man build a Church or monastery, but (as reasō is) by consent of the bishop: and that the byshop shall set hys marke, which (by hys pleasure) shoulde be a Crosse. But what is thys say I, to the Roode or Crucifix, in places conse­crate, where God is serued? The same answer that I made before to the Synod which was kept at Orleance, may serue to thys Emperoures constitutiō: although it be not preiu­diciall to truthe, if he that lyued, by your wise computatiō a thousand yeare after Christ, in dede fyue hundreth & thir­tie, at the least in tyme of great ignoraunce and barbaritie,In catalogo post prefati­onē. Folio. 45. should enact a thyng contrary to a truthe: Yet to say the truth, I sée no cause why I should not admyt his graue au­thorite, since he neyther speaketh of Roode, nor Crucifix, nor yet of mysticall signe on the forehead: which are the onely matters, that you take in hande to proue. Loth woulde we be to cite hym for our part (inasmuch as we depēde not vpō mens iudgementes) vnlesse he spake consonant vnto the Scriptures: and brought better reason for other matters wyth hym, than you or any other alleage for y^e Crosse. For the trueth of an history, we admyt him as a witnesse for vs: for establishing of an error, we wyl not admyt hym or any other, to be a iudge agaynst vs. It suffiseth you to vse the name of Iustinian, how small soeuer the matter be to pur­pose. But I wyll bryng you for one, two, that (not in dout­ful speach, but in playne termes and vnder greuous paine) haue decréed in all their seigniories and coūtreis, a direct cō ­trary order vnto yours. Not, that there was no Crosse thē vsed (which might wel answere Iustinians case) but y^t there should not be vsed any. Petrꝰ Crinitꝰ ex libris Augustalibꝰ. De honesta disc. lib. 9. cap. 9. Doth make mētion of the law: the same which Valens and Theodosius concluded on. His wordes be these: Valens & Theodosius Imperatores, praefecto Praetorio, ad hunc modum scripsere: Cum sit nobis cura diligens in rebus omnibus superni numinis religio­nem tueri, signam saluatoris Christi, nemini quidem concedimus colo­ribus, [Page] [...] [Page 85] [...] [Page] lapide, aliáue materia fingere, insculpere, aut pingere, sed quocū ­que loco reperitur, tolli tubemus grauissima poena eos mulctādo, qui cō trarium decretis nostris & imperio, quic (quam) tentauerint. Valens and Theodosius Emperors, wrote on thys sorte to their liefte­nant: Wheras in al things, we haue a diligēt care to maintaine y^e religiō of God aboue: we graūt libertie to none, to coūterfet, engraue, or paint, y^e signe of our Sauiour Christ, in colors, stone or any other matter: but wheresoeuer any such be founde, we cōmaūde it to be taken away: most gre­uously punishing such, as shal attēpt any thyng, cōtrary to these our decrées & cōmaūdemēt. Here is another maner of order taken, than out of any wryting of receaued author, cā iustly be alleaged for your part.In Cathech. suo. So y^t with Erasmus I may iustly say, y^t not so much as mans constitution doth bynde, y^e Images should be in Churches. Ye sée (M. Martiall) I haue not cōceled any one of your authorities. I haue omitted no piece of proufe of yours, & yet authoritie being rightly scā ­ned, doth make so much against you, y^t your proufes be to no purpose at al.Folio. 46. a, As for y^e vse of y^t, which you cal, the Church & is in dede y^e Sinagoge of Satan, I néede as little to cumber the readers with refuting of, as you do meddle with ap­prouing of it. Only this wil I say, that euer synce Siluesters tyme, such filth of Idolatry and superstitiō hath flowed in­to y^e most partes of al Christendom, out of y^e sinke of Rome, that he neded in dede as many eyes as Argus, that should haue espyed any piece of sinceritie: vntyl y^e tyme, y^t such (as your worship & wisdom according to your catholike custom when y^e scalding spirite of scolding comes vpon you cal he­retikes & nuscreātes) began to reforme the decaied state,Folio. 46. b, and bryng things to y^e order of y^e Church primitiue & Apostolike.Decr. 1. parte dist. 3. parag veritate. Wherfore if ye sticke vpon a custom, consider your decree, Nemo consuetudinem rationi & veritati praeponat, quia cōsuetudinē, ratio & veritas semper excludit. Let no man prefer custome be­fore reason & truth: bicause reasō & truth alwaies excludeth [Page 86] custome.Parag. qui contempta. And in y^e same distinctiō out of Augustine is allea­ged thys: Qui cōtēpta veritate, praesumit cōsuetudinē sequi, aut circa fratres inuidus est & malignꝰ, quibus veritas reuelatur: aut circa de­um ingratꝰ est, inspiratione cuius ecclesia eius instruitur. Nā dominus in Euangelio: Ego sum inquit veritas: nō dixit, Ego sum cōsuetudo. Ita (que) veritate manifestata, cedat consuetudo veritati: quia & petrus qui circūcidebat, cessit Paulo veritatem praedicanti, igitur cū Chri­stus veritas sit, magis veritatem (quam) consuetudinē sequi dedemus: quia consuetudinem ratio & veritas semper excludit. He that presum [...] (sayth Augustine) to folowe custome, the truth contemned, either is enuious & hatefull agaynst hys brethren,De baptis. paruulorum to whom the truth is reueled: or vnthankfull vnto God, by whose in­spiration hys Church is instructed. For our Lord in y^e gos­pell sayd: I am y^e truth. He fayd not: I am custome. Ther­fore, whē y^e truth is opened, let custome geue place to truth: for euen Peter that circumcised, gaue place to Paul when he preached a truth. Wherfore since Christ is the truth, we ought rather to folow truth, than custome: bicause reasō and truth alwayes excludeth custome. Then be not offēded good sir, I pray you, if folowing better reason, than you haue grace to cōsider: more truth, thā is yet reueled to you, we refuse your catholike scisme & impietie. Be not spitefull to thē, y^t know more than your self. Be not ingrate to God, y^t in these latter dayes to knowleage of hys word, hath sent more aboundāce of hys holy spirite: dwel not vpon your cu­stome. Bring truth, & I wil thanke you. Speake reason, & I wyl credite you. Nō annorū canities est laudanda sed morū, Ambros. in epi. ad Theo. & valent. Folio. 64. b In orat. fu­nebri de chi­tu. Theodo. Lib. 5. ca. 20, nullus pudor est ad milior a transire. Not y^e auciēty of yeres but of ma­ners is cōmēdable, no shame it is to passe to better. The tale of y^e superstitious (whom you call vertuous lady) Helena, I shal speake more of, in y^e eyght Article. Certain it is, y^e superstitious she was, as is proued afterward in y^e eight Article, who would gad on pilgrimage to visit sepulchres &c. Like­wise Cōstantinus her sonne, was not throughly reformed. [Page] For as Theodorete Theodoretꝰ. Lib. 5 ca. 20. reporteth: after he came to Christianity fana non subuertit: he ouerthrew not y^e places of Idol wor­shippinges. Wherfore it is no meruaile, if they building Churches, should haue some piece of Gētilitie obserued, a Crosse or a Roode loft. Yet where mention is made, that Helena dyd fynde the Crosse, we fynde not at all, that she worshipped the Crosse,Ambros. de obitu. Theodosij. but rather the contrary. For Am­brose sayth. Inuenit titulum, regem adorauit, nō lignum vti (que), quia hic Gētilis est error, & vanitas impiorum. She founde the title: she worshipped the king: not the wood pardie: for thys is an error of Gētilite, and vanitie of the wycked. And where we reade,Euse de vita Const. lib. 4. that Constantinus the great, for hys miraculous ap­parition and good successe, did greatly estéeme y^e Crosse, gra­ued it in hys mens armures, and erected it in the market place: yet we neuer reade, that he made a Roodeloft, or pla­ced the Crosse vpon the altar. And thynke ye that Eusebiꝰ would haue forgottē thys, which did remember far smal­ler matters, if any such thyng, of a truth had bene? Wher­fore, whatsoeuer you déeme of other, or whatsoeuer youre owne wisdome be, your supposal in thys case, is neither true nor lykely to be true. Peraduēture ye suppose, y^t your hote interrogations of Shal vve thynke? Folio. 47. and constant asseuera­tions of No man of vvisdome can thinke, wyll make vs by and by yelde vnto a lye. But we are no children: we are not to be feared with rattels: ye must bryng better matter than your own thinking, and soūder proufes than Siluester hys wryting, or els your Crosse shalbe little cared for. We know what idle tales and impudent lyes, of Constan­tines donation, Peter and Paules apparition, wyth suche other lyke, are in the decrées, ascribed to Siluester. And thence ye fetche your authoritie, that Constantine made a Church, in honor of. S. Paul, and set a Crosse of gold vpon hys cophyne, Folio. 47. vvayghing an hundreth and fifty pounde vveyght. O what an ouersight was thys in Eusebius, that [Page 87] writing hys lyfe, auauncing his actes, suppressed such a no­table and famous piece of worke? O what a scape was this of Sozomenus, that making mention of hys lyttle chappel, forgat the great Church? But as the Prophet sayth:Hiere. 10, an I­mage is a teacher of lyes: so must your Imagery be defen­ded with lyes, or els they wyll fall to nought. I perceiue ye be driuen to very narow shiftes, when ye bryng the autho­ritie of a bishop of Orleance, to auouche the auncientie of y^e signe of a Crosse. Swete floures be rare where nettels be so made of. But alas what hath he, that furthereth youre cause? Take away the terme of Legitimꝰ, whereby he cal­leth it a lawful custome, & I wyl not contende for any piece of hys assertion. I know that it crept not into the Churche first in the tyme of Charles, to haue the signe of the Crosse vsed. I know the custome receaued in some places, was thrée hundreth yeare elder than he. Yet not wythout con­tradiction at any tyme. Wherfore in this and suche other cases, wher eyther against y^e vniuersal Scripture, a custome generall is pretended, or a priuate custome, without the worde established: let the rule of S. Augustine take place rather. Omnis talia que ne (que) sanctarū scripturarū authoritatibus continentur, nec in concilijs episcoporum statuta inueniuntur, Epist. 119. nec con­suetudine vniuerse ecclesie rob [...]atu sunt, sed diuersorum locorum di­uersis moribus innumerabiliter variantur ita, vt vix aut omnino nun­quam inueniri possint cause, quas in eis instituendis homines secuti sunt, vbi facultas tribuitur, sine vlla dubitatione resecanda existimo. As such thinges as neyther are cōtayned in the authorities of holy Scriptures, nor are founde enacted in counsels of y^e bishops, nor are cōfirmed by custom of y^e vniuersal Church, but according to the dyuers orders of diuers places, innu­merably do vary, so that the causes, may scant; or not at all be founde, whereby men wer induced to ordayne them & I thynke y^t they ought without all controuersie be cut away. Then sith the signe of the Crosse of Christ, is not commaū ­ded [Page] in holy Scripture: sith no more councels haue cōfirmed the vse of it, then haue condemned it: finally sith the vni­uersall Church neuer hath receaued it, but only some pri­uate places where the great Antichrist of Rome preuailed: nor they themselues able to alleage a iust and lawful cause of thys their ordinance and wyll worship: I conclude & say, that the signe of y^e Crosse, out of al Churches, chapels, and oratories, out of all places, deputed peculiarly to God hys seruice, ought to be remoued.

ANd wheras ye be now, beaten from the walles of your greatest forte, and runne into the castell: ye leaue of meddeling with Roode or Crucifix, and fall to defence of the signe mysticall: I must lay some battery to thys holde of yours, and I feare me not, but I shall fier you out. That ceremonies wer of olde receaued in the Church, and among the rest, the signe of the Crosse drawē with a finger, I deny not, I do confesse. When men were newly cōuerted frō Paganisme, and ech man was hote in hys profession: the Christian would not only w^t hys harte belief, and tong cōfessiō, shew what he was, but also in des­pyte of hys masters enimies, declare by som outward signe and by Crossing of hymselfe, testifie to the world, y^t he was not ashamed of Christ crucified. Hereof haue I wytnesse Tertullian in Apologetico, and in hys boke de corona mi­litis. [Page 88] Wherevpon the fathers of a zeale and deuotion, admitted (almost in all thyngs) this signe of the Crosse: re­ceyued it into God hys seruice, as a laudable ceremony, and wyshed al men to vse it. Hieronymus ad Eustochium & De­metriadem. Prudentius in Hymnis. Yet cā it not be denied, but some were to superstitious in thys case: ascribing more to y^e outward signe, thā to y^e vertue signified: & so they made of a well meaning custome, a magicall inchaūtment. Nor only the simple dyd in thys case abuse themselues: but such as had more learning than the rest, and ought to haue ben good scholemasters to other, taught superstitious and vn­founde doctrine. I report me to Ambrose, if he be y^e author of the funeral oration for Theodosius: and also to Ephrem. de poenit. Cap. 3. Et de armatura Spirituali. Cap. 2. which effect, if we had not séen by experience in our dayes folowe, we would not for the ceremony contende so much. But wheras we sée the people so prone to superstition, that of euery ceremony they make a necessitie, that they bende not their hartes, to the consideration of the heauenly mysterye, but defix their eyes, and repose their affiaunce in y^e earthly signe, we are forced to refuse the same. For doctrine in this case wyll not preuaile, if the thyng y^t they trusted to, be not taken from them. So that the thyng, which the aunciente fathers (in a better age, with lesse abuse) wer concented to admitte: must not so strayghtly be enforced vpon vs, in a woorse tyme, to mayntayne a wycked error. For as Augu­styne sayth. Non verū est quod dicitur: Semel recte factū, Ad Mar­cellinum. Epist. 5. nullatenus esse mutandum. Mutata quippe temporis causa, quod recte ante factū fuerat, ita mutari vera ratio plerum (que) flagitat, vt cum ipsi dicant rec­te nō fierisi mutetur, cōtra veritas clamet, recte non fieri nisi mutetur, quia vtrum (que) tunc erit rectū, si erit pro temporum varietate diuersum Quod enim in diuersitate personarum vno tempore accidere potest, vt huic liceat aliquid impun? facere, quod illi non liceat, non quod dis­similis sit res, sed is qui facit: Ita ab vna eadem (que) persona diuersis tēpo­ribus [Page] tunc opartet aliquid fieri, tunc non oportet non quod sui dissimi­lis sit qui facit, sed quando facit. It is not true y^t is sayd. A thing that was once well done, must in no wyse be altered. For when the cause of the tyme is changed, good reason doth re­quire, the wel done thyng afore, so to be changed now: That where they say, it can not be wel, if it be changed: the truth on the other syde cryeth out, that it can not be well if it be not changed. For that which may chaunce at one tyme in diuersity of persons, that one may do a thing without offēce which an other may not, not that the matter is of it self vn­lyke, but y^e party that doth it: so in respect of diuerse tymes, of the selfe same person now may a thyng be done, and now may it not be done: not that he is differēt frō hymselfe that doth it, but the tyme, when he doth it. Wherfore I like wel that counsell of Gregory, which he gaue to Augustine the Monke, whō he sent into Englande to plante a Religion. Nouit fraternitas tua, Dist 12 cap. Nouit. (saith he) Romanae ecclesiae consuetudinem, in qua se meminit esse nutrita sed mihi placet, vt siue in Romana, siue in Gallicorum, siue in qualibet ecclesia inuenisti, quod plus omnipotenti Deo possit placere, sollicite eligas, & in Anglorum ecclesia quae adhuc in fide noua est, & in constitutione precipita quae de multis ecclesijs col ligere poteris, infundas Non enim pro locis res, sed pro rebus loca amā ­da sunt: Ex singulis ergo quibus cūque ecclesijs, quae pia, quae religiosa, quae recta sunt elige & hac quasi in sasciculum collecta, apud Anglo­rum mētes in consuetudinē depone. Your brotherhode knoweth the custome of the Romish Church, wherin ye remember ye haue bene brought vp. But my pleasure is, that what­soeuer ye haue founde, be it eyther in the Church of Rome, or Frenche Church, or any other, that more may please al­mighty God, ye carefully choose the same: and the best con­stitutiōs that you can gather out of many Churches, poure into the Church of Englande, which is as yet raw in the fayth. For the customes are not to be embraced for the countrey sake: but rather the countrey for the custom sake. [Page 89] Chose ye therfore out of al Churches whatsoeuer they are, the thynges that are Godly, religious and good, and these beyng gathered into one bundel, repose them as customes in the English mennes hartes. So that of y^e wyse, it hath bene alwayes reputed folly, to sticke to prescriptiō of tyme or place. Only the lawfulnesse of the vse, hath brought more or lesse authoritie to the thing. Wherfore ye haue no ad­uauntage of me, in that I graunted the vse of Crossing, to be auncient in the Church. For if it had bene well in oure forefathers, yet by Augustines rule, it might be ill in vs: and therfore to be altered. And stifly to defende one certain cu­stome, without apparant commodity to the Church, is by Pope Gregory hymselfe disproued. Only I am sory, that imperfections of wise men haue gyuen such president of er­ror to the wilfull. I am loth to saye that the fathers them­selues, were not so wel affected as they ought. But ye driue me to lay my finger on thys sore, and continually to scratch it. The tale of Probianus, which ye cyte out of Sozomene in the Tripartite history,Folio. 48. hath small apparance of truth in it. For if he adored not the materiall Crosse, he was y^e bet­ter Christian for y^t: but if he beleued not the death of Christ, then was he not conuerted vnto y^e fayth at al. For without Christ, and the same crucified, our fayth is all in vayne. Wherfore whē it is sayd, that he vvould not vvorship the cause of our saluation, either the writer of this hystory, doth il apply thys to the worde materiall: or you do ill apply it to your purpose. It shuld seme to be a tale, framed out of Constantinus apparition: when folish worshippers of the Crosse would styl haue moe miracles, to cōfirme their Ido­latry. But as theues that haue robbed, do leaue alway some marke behynde them, wherby they may be knowen, eyther what they were, or which way they be gone: so thys author of yours, leaping ouer the pale, hath left a piece of hys cloke behynde hym, and ye may tracke hym by y^e foote. [Page] For if he ment (as your deuise) that euer since the death of Christ, vvhatsoeuer good hath ben vvrought to mankinde, either by good men, or holy Angels, the same hath bene vvrought, by the signe of the Crosse: then Angels by lyke haue bodyes to beare it, haue hādes to make it. But Angels beyng ministring spirites,Heb. 7. haue from y^e beginning wrought many vertues for mans behoufe: haue bene by Gods proui­dence, a defence of the faythful, and ouerthrowe of the wic­ked: yet can they not make any materiall Crosse, such as is set vp in Churches: nor yet mysticall, such as men vse to print in their foreheades: wherfore, eyther y^e collector of this tale was a lyer, or you a fonde applyer. Howsoeuer it falles out in ryme, yet the reason is good. But rather of the twoo I would excuse the author, who by the Crosse, ment Christ hys passion: and lay you in the fault, which vnderstode him not. For doutlesse if there were such an apparitiō to Pro­bianus (as I am not yet persuaded of) yet that the meaning of it, should be such as you say, to driue him to the vvorship of a Crosse in earth, hath neyther religion, nor reason in it. Constantine hymselfe, which was as newly cōuerted to the fayth, neyther was commaunded to do the lyke, nor euer dyd it. Cyprian, Augustine, and Chrisostome, intreating al of the passion of Christ, do vse the terme of y^e Crosse, as the Apostle hymselfe doth.Folio. 50. b 1. ad. Cor. 1. & ad. Gal. 5. Vt cruxsit praedi­catio de crucifixo. That when they name the Crosse, by a fi­gure they meane the Crucified. Notwithstanding I graūt that in ministration of sacramentes, and some tyme other­wyse, they séemed all to vse a certayne signe of Crosse: not signe material,Folio. 49. but such as mē do prynt in their foreheades: shall we therfore be restrayned to that, whereof there is no precept in Scripture, nor they thēselues yeld lawful cause? But admit their authoritie. Thynke you, they dyd attribute so great vertue, to the wagging of a finger? That the holye ghost could be called downe, & the diuel dryuen away by it? [Page 90] Thynke you, they would haue neglected Churches? refused Sacramentes? doubted of their health? if a priest had not broken the ayre first, and wyth hys holy hande made an ouerthwart signe? Learne more good (ye Puiné) than so fondly to thynke, and falsely reporte of the holy fathers. Reade their learned writinges wyth riper iudgemente. Examine duely the very wordes, whiche ye do alleage, as makyng for you: and ye shall sée (good yong scholer) that ye haue not learned your lesson well. Cyprian ye saye wryteth. Whatsoeuer the handes be, De cardionalibus operibus Christi sus­pectū opus. vvhich dyp those that come to baptisme, vvhatsoeuer the breast is, out of vvhich the holy vvordes do procede, Operationis authoritas in figura crucis omnibus sacramentis largitur effectum. The authori­tie of operatiō, geueth effect to all sacramētes, in the figure of the Crosse. I acknowleage the place. It is in hys work de cardinalibꝰ operibꝰ Christi: quod inter suspecta & notha est. But weighe y^e reason: first he excludeth (as touching any merite) not only y^e hand, but the hart of the priest. He careth not what he be: so that he do the thyng that he cometh for. The institution of Christ retayned, God worketh inwardly that, which no outwarde fact can giue. If the hande be euil can the worke of the hand be good? In no wyse: vnlesse the worke be commaunded. Then shew the commaundement for the signe of the Crosse, if ye wyll haue Cypriā to meane of it. Experience in part we haue of more witchcraft and sorcery, wrought by y^e signe of the Crosse, thā by any thing in the world beside. Wherfore it is neyther the Priest hym­selfe, nor any thyng that he doth, no not y^e signe of y^e Crosse made, that giueth effect vnto the Sacramentes.De Baptis­mo Christi. Cyprian in playne wordes affirmeth thys: Veniebat Christus as Baptismū non egens lauacro, in quo peccatum non erat, sed vt sacramēto perennis daretur authoritas, & tanti virtutem operis nulla personarum acceptio commendaret: quoniam remissio peccatorum, siue per baptismum, siue per alia sacramenta donetur, proprie spiritus sācti est, & ipsi soli, huius [Page] efficientiae priuilegium manet. Verborum solemnitas, & sacri inuocatio nominis, & signa institutionibus Apostolicis, sacerdotum ministerijs attributa, visibile celebrant sacramentum, rem vero ipsam spiritus sanctus format & efficit, & consecrationibus visibilibus inuisibiliter manū totius bonitatis author apponit. Marke well the wordes, in English, they be these: Christ came to baptisme: not wā ­ting a washing, in whom there was no synne: but to y^e end that a continuall authoritie mighte be giuen to the Sacra­ment, and no accepting of persons, commende the vertue of so great a worke. For remission of synnes, be it eyther gi­uen by baptisme, or by other Sacramentes, properly apper­tayneth to the holy ghost, and the priuileage of thys effecte remayneth vnto hym alone. As for y^e solemnitie of wordes and calling vpon the name of God, and signes attributed to the Apostolicall institutions, through the mynistery of the priestes, they make a visible Sacrament: but the thyng it selfe, the holy ghost doth frame and make: and to the visi­ble consecrations, the author of all goodnesse, inuisibly doth put hys hande. Here do ye sée that the effect is gyuen to the holy ghost, and only to the holy ghost, which you do at­tribute either to y^e priest, or to the signe of the Crosse. But let me deale with you as you deserue a whyle. Let me for­get, that you are a bachelor of law: let me forget, that you were. M. vsher. Let me go to worke, as w^t a scholer of Win­chester. C. What is the saying of S. Cyprian syrra? M. The authoritie of operation geueth effect to al Sacramētes in the figure of the Crosse. Folio. 49. C. What is the principal verbe Iohn? M. geueth. C. What is the nominatiue case? M. Au­thorite. C. Well then, it is authoritie that gyueth effect. But what authoritie Iohn? M. Authoritie of operation. C. To whom referre you thys operation? M. Forsoth to the priest, that makes the Crosse vvith his thombe. C. Downe wyth hym.De sacram lib. 1. Ca. 5. Gyue me the rodde here. Haue ye forgot that ye learned out of Ambrose? Aliud est elementum, aliud conse­cratio: [Page 91] aliud opus, aliud operatio. The element is one thing, and consecration another: The worke is one thing, and opera­tion an other. The worke is done by the priest, but the ope­ration by God. So Ambrose sayth also, that the consecrati­on is. Non sanat aqua nisi spiritus sanctus descenderit, Ibidem. & aquam illam consecrauerit. The water healeth not, vnlesse y^e holy ghost descende, and consecrate that water. And is thy wytte so short, that thou remembrest not, the text of Cyprian, that I tolde thée euen nowe? One expoundeth the other. As there he sayde, The effect of Sacraments properly appertayneth to the holy Ghost, and that priuiledge is his alone: So here he sayth, the authority of operation, giueth effect to Sacra­mentes. Well: goe forwarde. In figura Crucis, English me that Iohn. M. In the figure of the Crosse. C. What is that? M. Forsothe the red marke that I see in my masters Masse­boke. C. Downe againe. Is your wit so good? must ye be beaten twise for one sentence? Cōster it. M. Autoritas opera­tionis, the authority of operation, largitur effectum, giueth ef­fect, omnibus Sacramentis, to all Sacraments, in figura Crucis, in the figure of the Crosse. C. Why yong man do ye bring in the signe of the Crosse there? Shall I take you in hande a­gayne? The Crosse must go before in procession, I tel you, conster it by the poynts as the wordes do lye. M. Operationis authoritas, the authoritie of operation, in figura Crucis, in the figure of the Crosse, largitur effectum, gyueth effect. &c. C. That is another matter. Wel now. The authoritie of ope­ration, (that is to say, the power of the holy Ghost) in the fi­gure of the Crosse, giueth effecte to Sacramentes. But is the power of the holy Ghost, in y^e red mark of your masters Masseboke? No, but it is in the figure of the Crosse: that which y^e Crosse figureth, euen Christ himselfe. So ye haue learned a true doctrine now: That the povver of the holy Ghost in Christ, giueth effect to Sacramentes. Beare it a­way, least ye beare me a blow. But nowe I remember my [Page] selfe you shall not tary long for it, Hem tibi. Do ye vse to make a downe point before ye come to y^e end of a sentence? Do you not sée a comma, a Coniuction copulatiue, and a chiefe piece of the matter follow? and wyl you falsly leaue it out all? Take the boke in your hand and reade. M. Auto­ritas operationis in figura Crucis, omnibus sacramētis largitur effectū et cūcta peragit nomen, quod omnibus nominibus eminet, à sacramē ­torum vicarijs inuocatum. The authoritie of operation, in the figure of the Crosse, giueth effecte to all sacramentes: and the name aboue all names being called vpō of the deputes of the sacramentes, goeth through withall. C. If ye had re­membred your self (sir boy) and taken this latter clause with you, you would not haue attributed, operation to y^e priest, nor effect of sacraments to the signe of the Crosse: nor haue bene layd ouer the forme for it. But ye féele not the stripes: I am very sory for that: verely verely, ye haue well deser­ued them. For if S. Cyprian, would not ascribe so much vertue to the name of God, that it should be able to do all: (otherwise than called vpon, which respecteth the fayth of the receyuer) shall we thinke that he had a sory breaking of the ayre, wherby the Crosse is made, in such hie reuerence and admiration? On a time the same father was demaun­ded his iudgement, whether such as were baptised bedred, were Christians,Cyprianus Magno Epist. 64. or no? wherto he answered: Aestimamus in nullo mutilari & debilitari posse beneficia diuina, nec minus ali­quid illic posse contingere, vbi plena & tota fide, & dantis & sumē ­tis accipitur, quod de diuinis muneribus hauritur. We thinke that the benefits of God, can not in any thing be mangled and made y^e weaker: nor any thing lesse can happē there, where the grace that is drawē from the spring of Gods goodnesse, is apprehended with ful and perfect fayth, as wel on the gi­uers behalfe as on the receyuers. If such as were baptized in their beds, hauing but a little water sprinckled vpon thē, wanting a great number of ceremonies, which Cyprian [Page 92] thought Apostolique and necessary: were in as good case as the rest: Quia stant & consummantur omnia, (as he sayth) maie­state Domini & fidei veritate, Bicause all things do stand and be brought to perfection, by the maiestie of God and since­ritie of fayth: shall we thinke that the idle ceremony of a Crosse, can giue effect to sacraments, and sacramentes be imperfect without a Crosse? Your owne doctor doth ouer­throw you. But ye cite two authorities of S. Augustine, to confirme your error. For the first where he sayth.Folio. 49. b. With the mysterie of the Crosse, the ignorant are instructed and taught, the font of regeneration is hallovved. &c. I aun­swere as I did before, according to the true meaning of the word (mysterie) that the meaning of the crosse which we be­leue, and sée not (for so ChrisostomeChrisos. 1. ad Cor. cap. 2. Hom. 7. saith) and not the visible and materiall Crosse, worketh the effectes aforesayd. For you wyll graunt me that the signe of the Crosse is but an accessory thing. The substance of the sacrament may con­sist wythout it. AugustineAug. in. Io. Tract. 40. et de catacl. cap. 3 sayth not: Accedat Crucis signatio ad elementum, & fit Sacramentum. Let the signe of the Crosse concurre with the elemente, and it is a sacramente. But, let the worde come to the element, and it is a sacramente. And yet he doth not attribute so muche to the elemente it selfe, or to the worde, as you doe to the signe of the Crosse. For of Baptisme he sayth: Vnde ista tanta virtus aquae, vt corpus tangat & cor abluat, nisi faciente verbo? Non quia dici­tur, sed quia creditur: Nam & in ipso verbo, aliud est sonus transiens, aliud virtus manens. Whence commeth this so great vertue of the water to touch the body, and washe the soule, but by the working of the worde? not bycause the worde is spoken, but bycause it is belieued. For in the worde it selfe, the sound that passeth, is one thing, and the vertue remayning, another. If onely fayth bring effecte to sacramentes, if the worde it selfe be not auayleable wyth­out beliefe, shall we thinke that S. Augustine made such ac­compt [Page] of the signe of a Crosse? In déede he made great of the mysterie of the Crosse, bicause on it onely dependeth fayth. But the mysterie, you haue nothing to doe withal. For vnlesse it be a materiall Crosse, or a Crosse made with a fynger in some part of the body, ye professe that in thys treatise ye will speake of none.Folio. 24. And now to the seconde al­legation out of Augustine. As the maner of signing with y^e Crosse was in his time vsual: so wold I wish for your own sake, that ye could content your self with his significations, and wade no further in so daungerous a puddle, than he hath dypped his fote before you. Wel doth he please himself in a subtile deuise of his, when he wil referre the Apostles wordes. Ephe. 3. to the figure of the Crosse, meaning by the breadth y^t there is spoken of, Charity: by height, Hope: by length, Pacience: by depth, Humilitie. But these make no more for Paules meaning, than the Geometricall propor­tion that Ambrose, out of the same place gathereth. Onely there is some edification in the wordes: and though ye ap­ply them to your most aduauntage,Folio. 48. b. yet can ye not inferre your purpose of them. For you would haue it appeare, that no Sacrament, were made and perfected rightly, wythout the signe of the Crosse.Trac. in. Ioā 118. But Augustine goeth not so farre. Onely he sayth. Nihil eorum rite perficitur. None of them is solemnly done, and according to the receyued order. For are you (M. Lawyer) ignoraunte of this common position among the Ciuilians, Quod (recte) iusticiā causae (rite) solennita­tem respicit? That this terme (recte) hath respecte vnto the righteousnesse and truth of the cause, but (rite) which is the word that Augustine vseth, doth go no farther than to the order and solemnitie thereof? So I graunt you well, that in Augustines tyme, if there wanted a Crosse, there wan­ted a ceremony: and yet were the sacraments perfect not­withstanding. In our Church of England, a Crosse is cō ­maūded to be made in baptisme: yet was it neuer thought [Page 93] of any wise or godly,De Conscr. Dist. 5. Cap. Nūquid nō. that baptisme was insufficiēt without it. Go to your Canon, where order is taken Vt omnia Sacra­menta Crucis signaculo perficiantur: That all Sacraments shal be made perfect with the signe of the Crosse: Yet in y^e glose vpon the same place, ye shall finde twise in one leafe, these words: Non remouet quin aliter possint sanctificari, & valere ad remissionem, sed refert factum nec aliter fit solennis baptismus. He doth not take away this, but that otherwise, (that is to say, without the signe of the Crosse) they may be sanctifyed, and the thing be auayleable vnto remission. But it is re­quisite that the thing be done (that is to say the signe of the Crosse be made) nor othervvise it is a solemne baptisme. This is the Popes lawe, and your gospell. Wherefore I besech you (good solemne sir) be not so harde master to vs: that for default of solemnity,Folio. 50. a, we shal be defaulked of fruite of Sacramentes. As for Chrisostome (I haue answered you oft) he speaketh of a Crosse that you haue nothing to doe withal. It is to heauy for you to beare. It is not to be séene as yours, but to be felt as ours. Then trouble not your self more thā ye nede. We are agréed by this time, Chrisostom, and you, & I, and al, that a Crosse we must haue. The mat­ter is certayne: but the mettal we doubt of. I promise you, I cānot broke the charming of Simon Magus, nor hāme­ring of Alexander y^e coppersmith. Wherfore ye must bring better proues than these, or else ye shall be sure to fayle of your purpose. If ye will haue any gayne at all, run in bet­ter order: least all that beholde you, crye Extra oleas. Ye range beyonde the boundes. Ye haue fylled your chéekes wyth a great deale of vayne winde: and when ye haue ga­ped as wyde as ye can, what bring ye forth? a vision of Probianus? a proper lye. And what conclude ye of it? That in as much as neyther Angels, nor men, haue euer done any thing for the vveale of man, vvithout the signe of the Crosse: therefore no Sacraments can be made vvith­out [Page] it. But Angels say I, haue no hāds, to make such cros­ses as we do, nor such as you do treate of. Therfore instruct your Angel better, when soeuer ye wil cal him to speake on your side. As for your other authors, what shal I say to? Ye myscōster Cyprian. Ye vnderstand not Augustine. Chriso­stom maketh nothing for you. Therfore awake out of your dreame at last, & good morrow M. Martial. Ye noted out of Cyprian that bicause he hath Operationis autoritas, Folio. 50. b. the autho­ritie of operation: thervpon is groūded, an authoritie & cō ­mission frō God, to make & minister hys Sacraments. But this was in your dreame. For whosoeuer hath y^e vse of eyes or his right wits, wil sée & consider, that there is meant, no priest gesturing, but holy ghost working. Ye noted out of Augustine, that in his time Churches, fonts, & altares vvere halovved, children cōfirmed. &c. But if ye go to halowing and confirming of our dayes, & compare it with that which was vsed then:Euseb. Li. 4. de vita Cō ­stantini & Athanas. in Apol. 2. ye shal sée no more likenesse, thā is betwene chalke & chéese. We reade how Constantinus, that liued in the same age with Augustine, about .xl. yere before him, ha­lowed his church at Hierusalem. He called together the fa­thers, that were assembled at Tyrus: he curteously intertay­ned them: he royally feasted them: he charitably, did deale vnto the pore: he liberally did endue the church. What did the byshops on the other side? They prayed and preached. Some red their lessons of diuinitie: some did reueale their secret contēplations: other some did make their lerned ser­mons: & the rest did occupy thēselues in prayer, for y^e peace of the church & preseruatiō of the Emperor. And although this order semeth to haue sprong à Iudaeorū encanijs, of the Ie­wes obseruance in their dedication, without cōmaūdement of God to vs, & therfore a Wilworship: yet read we not of any magical inchantment, or any such popish Pageant, as Episcoporum Pontificale, teacheth. In Augustine his time they neded no more for hallowing of a Church, but a sermō [Page 94] and prayers,Consecra­tion of Churches by popish order. In Pontifi­cali de con­secratione Ecclesiarū. in which peraduenture (that I may féede your humor) they made y^e signe of a crosse with their finger. But since his time, & euer since popery hath had the vpper hand, a great number of things else haue bene exacted by lawe, & thought more necessary, than any of the other two. As an holy water sprinckle, a bucket, salte, water, wine, ashes, morter, tyleshardes, bones, baggage, frankincense, oyle, creame, searecloth, cloutes, xxiiij. crosses, xxiiij. candels. These toles to worke withall being in a readinesse, the by­shop coms (for none can do the feate but he) and first he con­iures water and salt: Vt sit omnibus sumentibus, salus mentis & corporis: & quicquid ex eo tactum vel respersum fuerit, careat omni immunditia, omni (que) impugnatione spiritualis nequitia: That to al the receyuers, it may become health of minde and body, & that whatsoeuer be touched or sprinckled therew^t, may lack al vncleannesse, & al assault of spiritual wickednesse. That diuels, diseases, corruptions of ayres, infections of bodies, & what soeuer may be preiudicial to health, and welfare, may quite be voyded, whersoeuer any drop of this water falleth. A soueraine medicine, not only sufficiēt to discredit physick, but also to decay priests occupation. Wherein I maruel at their discretions, right prouident otherwise for the purse, that by auaūcing one thing of lesse importance, they would derogate authority frō the moe helpes to hel, so many hole­some suffrages, so many saincts intercessions, so many me­ritorious and deuout Masses: that I speake nothing of the bloud of Christ, which among the rable of Romish hereti­ques, is a thing of a thousand least accompted of. But what shal I stād in serching their absurdities, in whose life & doc­trine ther is nothing els but diuelish & absurd? Thus when y^e sorcerer hath made his first charm, he goeth thrise about the church, casting of holy water on the stone walles. Fyrst lowe: then hye, then hyest of all: and at euery time knoc­keth at the Church dore with a Crosse in his hand, saying: [Page] Tollite portas Principes vestras, Psal. 23. which words (as they translate them) be, Ye Princes lift vp your gates. Wheras Dauid saith: Tollite portae capita vestra. Ye gates lift vp your heads. But a smal matter, to falsefie the Prophet, whō they neuer truely vnderstode yet. As for this text, is a shipmans hose with thē. Sometyme they apply it to Christ, going downe to hell: sometyme to magistrates, to make a way open to Christ: sometime also, to Salomons temple. Well: when thus in a mockerie M. byshop hath knockt twise, & twise gone solēnly about the Church, w^t as much deuotion as a horse: at the third time, the great dore openeth: for he shut in one before, of purpose, to opē it when hys quew came: Then setteth he vp a Crosse in the midst of the church, and maketh another charme: saying, y^t the piece of wood, (which he calleth the Crosse of Christ) may be a stay & defence for al suppliants there, y^t that piece of wood may triumph there and for euermore. Then must the ashes be throwen into the Church, (O horrible witchcraft) and the byshop must wryte with his Crosier, his A.b.c. in Gréeke, vpon the ground: Af­ter this, a confection is made of salt, wine, and ashes: such a drug, as I would wysh no worse for my Lords own ho­linesse, when so euer his queysie stomacke doth lothe better nouriture of the word of God: for doubtlesse it is restoritie to such. Sée what he sayth to it: Vt vinum cum aqua & cinere mixtū, armatū caelestis defensione virtutis. &c. That wine mixed with water and ashes, may be armed with defence of hea­uenly vertue. Then Oyle and Creame is put into the holy water. Sure that is a purgatiue, and a strong one belyke. For the Marble stones be annoynted wyth it: and a verse of the PsalmePsalm. 45. song. The Lord hath annoynted thée with y^e oyle of gladnesse, aboue thy fellowes. O stony hearts. To apply the words, which the spirite of God properly spake of Salomon, & vnder Salomons person, of Christ, to a greasy stone, that euery man doth treade on: euery dog berayes. [Page 95] Then doth the quire sing: Erexit Iacob lapidem. Genes. 28. Psalm. 67. Iacob reared vp a stone, whereof they knowe not the signification. Also they bleate out wyth wyde throtes, Ibi est Beniamin adolescē ­tulus in mentis excessu. There is little Beniamin out of hys wyttes, as they translate it. And thinke ye that they were well in their wittes, which for Dominator eorum, would put in Mentu excessu? Wheras they should haue sayd: There is little Beniamin their gouernoure. To saye: There is yong Beniamin rauished of his wittes? But this is scrip­ture of Church hallowing. This is the purpose. These be the textes. The prayers are the same, that Salomon vsed when he was commaunded to make the temple: saue that they wyll haue a crop of Colocyntida, to marre a whole pot full of pottage. For they adde vnto these, Inuo­cation of Saintes, derogation to God, & abuse of hys crea­tures. When thys is done, the rotten bones and reliques are halowed, w^t like ceremonies and solēnities as they had before. And then they put on their masking coates, & come lyke blinde fooles, w^t candels in their handes, at none dayes, and so procede to the holy masse: with renting of throtes, and tearing of notes, chāting of priests, howlīg of clarkes, flinging of coales, and piping of organes. Thus they con­tinue a long while, in mirth and iolyty: many mad partes be played. But whē the vice is come from the altare, and the people shall haue no more sport: they conclude theyr seruice with a true sentence Terribilis est locus iste. This place is terrible. And haue they not faire fysht, think you? to make such a doe, to bryng in the diuel? O blynde beastes, O sense­lesse hipocrites, whom God hath geuen ouer vnto them­selues, that they shall not sée their own folly, & yet bewray their shame, to all the world beside. And is not thys, youre Church halowing, that ye talke of? Thys is it, that youre Church hath? ordayned Now that ye may proue in parti­cularitie, that which generally, ye did auouch before,) The [Page] signe of the Crosse to be vsed in all Sacramentes) ye come to an enumeration of them all. And I dare say ye be glad to catch such occasion, to treate of the vii. Sacramentes: yet dout I not, but before I haue done with you, I shall make ye contented to cut of .v. of them. First, as touching y^e vse of baptisme, ye begyn with Dionisius, Dionisius Areopagita Folio. 52. b Euseb. Eccl. Hist. li. 3. ca. 4. &. lib. 4. cap. 21. to whom ye geue y^e sur­name of Areopagita, and honorable title of Saint Paules scholer. Eusebius in dede maketh mention of such a one, and sayth that he was the first byshop of Athens: and thys he speaketh of the report of an other Dionisius of Alexan­dria. But as for any writing of hys, he hath no worde at all. And doutlesse if it had bene true, which you affirme, he would not haue suppressed it. S. Hierome maketh men­tion of two,In catal Scripit Ec­cles. of that name. One that was at Corynth, in y^e raygne of Marcꝰ Antoninus verus, and Lucius Commodus. An other, that was scholer somtyme to Origene, and byshop afterwarde of Alexandria, in the raygne of Galienus. But not a worde yet among all their writings (which he moste diligētly doth rehearse) eyther of the heauenly, or ecclesiasti­call hierarchie: out of which, ye cite, all your authorities. Wherfore it is a bastarde booke, vniustly fathered vpon. S. Paul his Dionise, wheras y^e style it selfe, and matter there intreated of, do argue that it is of no such antiquitie. For to go no further thā to those wordes that you do alleage of hys,Folio. 52. hovv the bishop assigneth some man to be godfather to hym, that is to be baptised, here is a playne lye. For the vse of godfathers was not inuented forty yeare after. It is euident by consent of all men, yea, the decrée it selfe beareth witnesse with me,De Cons. Dist. 4. Cap. In catechis­mo. Platina in vita Higi­ni. that Hyginus was first founder of God­fathers: and among all the receaued writers of that age, ye shall not lightly reade of any gossipping. But suppose it be true, that our recordes haue, that Hyginus hatched thys egge, he lyued at the least an hundreth and forty yeare af­ter Christ. And how can. S. Paul hys scholer, whose lyfe [Page 86] your selfe can stretch no longer than to the .96. yeare after Christ, speake of y^t which he neuer thought on?In the na­mes of the authors alleaged by Marti­all. whiche was so long deuised after? But to the matter. I know ryghte well that within. CC. yeare after Christ, there were crept into the Church, many idle Ceremonies, and the simplici­ty of Christ hys ordināce refused. Eche mā as he had either credite or authority, presumed of hymselfe, to adde some­what to Christes institution: and the fleshe deliting in hir own deuises, deliuered the same with as straight a charge, as if that Christ hymselfe had taken order for it: notwith­stāding, if ought beside the authoritie of Scripture, were so auncient in dede, (as I last spake of) & admitted at any time into God his seruice: yet were we no more boūd to obserue the same, thā the fathers themselues haue yelded to it. For if they haue repelled the traditionsTraditiōs no groūd of doc­trine. Traditiōs vary. of their elders, and after established some other of their own: their example proueth no vse Apostolique or necessitie, to haue bene in the one: & their president authoryseth, that we may as lawfully dys­anull the other. Enforce not therefore a doctrine of a cus­tome, traditions alwayes haue varyed: and many such, as Cyprian, Tertullian, Augustine, with other, haue thought to be necessary for saluation: the Church of Rome it selfe, hath not thought expedient to be vsed for instruction. Christ gaue commaundemente, Baptisme to be ministred,Math. 28. in the name of the father, and of the sonne and of the holy ghoste.Actes. 10. The Apostles continued in the same order. Ceremonies or circumstances, we reade of no more in Scripture: saue only the water, without all coniuratiō, consecration,Luc. 3. or in­sufflation: the persons Baptised: the preaching of God hys promises and fayth in Christ, and prayer of the fayth­full. Nowe, come ye bowne to Tertullians tyme: and ye shall fynde many straunge inuentions. Thrée dyp­pynges in the water: Tasting of mylke and hony:Lib. de. Cor­mil. Abstay­nyng from all other washing for a seuen nyght after [Page] In Hieromes tyme,Lib. 15. Com. in Esaiam. Epist. 72. Epi. ad. Bo­nifacium. De pec. mer. & remis. cap. 20. there was no hony vsed, but in liew therof, wyne and mylke were giuen. In Cyprians tyme, there was consecration of water, & such estimation of oyle, that no man was thought to be a Christian, that was bap­tised without it. In Augustines tyme, the witnesses made answere in the infantes behalfe, to the Articles of the fayth, demaunded of them: and yet the infant hymselfe was suf­fered immediatly to be partaker of the supper of the Lorde, and the same thought as requisite, as was hys baptisme. Notwithstanding, the latter age, (yea the Church of Rome which you call catholike) hath taken most of al these awaye. Then what do ye wyndelesse fetch about to proue. Folio. 53, but that the signe of the Crosse hath bene vsed in bap­tisme, and therefore nowe to be had in reuerence? By the same reason, hony, mylke and wyne shalbe restored in bap­tisme, and euery infant receaue the communiō. For grea­ter authoritie you haue not for the Crosse, than I for these. In dede Rabanus Maurus, a Bishop of Ments, liuing in the most corrupt age of the Church, in the same place that you haue quoted,De inst. cler. cap. 27. doth not only make mētiō of the Crosse signe, but refusing the traditions of the learned fathers, (of which I spake euen now) bryngeth in hys own: as Salt, Spittle, Tapers, and such other lyke. Salt was by the lawe com­maunded to the Iewes, & if it had bene Christ hys pleasure, that hys ministers should haue had respect vnto y^e Iewishe ceremonies, thē eyther Christ would haue commaunded it, or the Apostles would haue vsed it. But neyther of these is true. Therfore it is a vayne deuise. The spittle whereby they defyle and infect the childe,Iohn. 9. is taken out of the miracle Ioannis nono. But the Apostles saw that done: & yet none of them al, dawbed hys spittle vpō the eares and nosthrels of them, whom they baptised. Christ hys spittle, there is none but would wish, both for hymselfe and for hys: but y^e spittle, sometyme of a pestilent infected priest, moste tymes [Page 97] of a stinking drunkerde, alwayes of a synner, I knowe not who would be so fayne of. God kepe my frendes childe frō it. As for burning of tapers at none day, is mere folish, and taken out of the fonde Gentilitie. In the olde tyme, the Christians in their assēblies, vsed burning candels, at tyme of Goddes seruice: But in y^e nyght tyme, bicause they durst not resort togither in the day tyme. And it had bene vncō ­fortable and discommodious to sit in the darke. Whervpon S Hierome answereth: Cereos non clara luce accēdimus, Aduersus vigilant. sicuti frustra calumniaris, sed vt noctis tenebras hoc solatio tēperemus, & vi­gilemus ad lumen, ne caeci tecum dormiamus in tenebris. We lyght no tapers in the brode day, as thou dost vainly slaunder vs, but that, by thys comfort, we may temper the darkenesse of the nyght, and may watch at the lyght, least with thée, we slepe in the darke. Thus doth S. Hierome say for hys ta­pers. Let them answere to him (as doutlesse they shall to God) that otherwyse do vse thē. Thus haue I shewed, how simply, Christ did set forth hys holy Sacrament: how di­uersly men haue swarued from hys order: and therefore in ceremonies ought not to preiudice vs. But your Churche Cacolique, not cōtent with the ordinance of Christ and hys Apostles, not sticking to the ceremonies of the receyued fa­thers, haue chosen rather of their owne fantasticall and idle brayne, to vse Crossing and coniuring, begreasing & be­spuing of the poore infantes. Therfore I lyke not the gene­ration: their order I deteste. And nowe to Confirmation,Confir­maion. Folio. 54. which you affirme, to be no new deuise as nevv bolde bi­blers babble. But I shall proue to be no Sacrament, as yōg leude lyers lay for themselues. And first, where ye snatch a piece of Augustine, wherin he calleth the Chrisme a Sacra­ment, I answere: that he attributeth no more therto, than otherwise to praier, and to the word of God. Yea the Mas­ter of y^e Sentences hymselfe teacheth you: that many thin­ges improperly be called Sacramentes, which must not in [Page] reasoning, be numbred among the Sacramentes of Christ his Church. But if on thys sort euery signe visible, and the same holy, be a Sacrament with you: then shall euery I­mage in the Church, be a Sacrament. For they be signes, and you say they be holy.Mark. 10. As for the example of Christ, who embraced little children in hys armes, and laying hys han­des vpon their heades, blessed them, I answere: that as e­uery fact of Christ, doth not serue for our imitation, but in­struction: so must we not make a Sacramēt of eche of thē. For so the breathing vpon hys Apostles,Iohn. 20. whereby he gaue them the holy ghost, should be a Sacrament. Onely, thys signe may be a president for vs, that children appertaine to the kingdome of God, y^t they ought not be denyed the signe, which are partakers of the grace, & therfore should be bap­tised. Then afterwarde, if ye will haue them confirmed, I alow it well: retayning that order, which in the primitiue Church was, and in the English Church is vsed. That chil­dren, after certaine yeares, be presented to the bishop, and rendring an accompt, of that fayth of theirs (which by their suerties in baptisme they professed) haue hādes layd on thē:De bap. cont Don. lib. 3. Cap. 16. whiche is nothing els, but prayer made for them. Quid enim est aliud, (sayth S. Augustine) manuum impositio, quam o­ratio super hominem? For what is laying on of handes else, but prayer ouer a man? One thing will I aske of these apyshe imitators: if they wyll grounde vpō Christ hys doing their Confirmation: how dare they presume to doe more than Christ dyd? Whence haue they their oyle? Who gaue thē authoritie, to exhibite what signe of the holy ghost they would? What promise haue they of grace, annexed vnto their Sacrament, vnlesse they haue shut the holy ghost in their grease pot? They apply, I know, whatsoeuer is spokē of the grace of Gods spirite, to thys. But ineptly. For Christ sayth simply:Luc. 11. that God will giue hys good spirite to them that aske it. And to the faythfull, that he wyll not [Page 98] leaue them fatherlesse, but sende y^e spirite of truth vnto thē,Ioh. 14. and hymselfe dwel with them. But they do restrayne thys vnto their ceremonies: that whosoeuer is not annointed of thē, is not accepted of God: no nor he is a perfecte Christiā. For thys they wryte. Omnes fideles, per manus impositionem epis­coporum, spiritum sanctum post baptismum accipere debent, De conse. Dist. 5. ca. 1. vt pleni Christiani inueniantur. All faythfull, muste receyue the holy ghost after baptisme, by the imposition of y^e bishops hands, that they may be founde full Christians. And in the nexte decrée: Spiritus sanctus qui in fonte plenitudinem tribuit ad innocē ­tiam, in confirmatione augmentum praestat ad gratiam. The holy ghost, that in baptisme, hath giuen fulnesse to innocencye. in confirmation performeth increase to grace. But let thē shewe me, what warrant of God hys worde they haue for thys? what promise of God is sealed in vs by this their new founde Sacrament? Is Christianitie now, to be fet oute of popery? Is the truth of God, contayned in the Scriptures, insufficient to informe vs? Is there no full Christiā vnlesse he be annointed? Alas, where are so many Apostles, so ma­ny martyrs become, y^t neuer wer annoynted? Is baptisme insufficient w^tout cōfirmatiō? Is baptisme auaileable as the decrée hath, only for them y^t should dye straight, & confirma­tion for them y^t shuld lyue longer? Doth baptisme only re­generate vs to lyfe, but confirmation furnishe vs vnto the fyght? what is it thē, y^e Paul hath? We are buried w^t Christ by baptisme into hys death, y^t lyke as Christ was raysed vp frō the dead, by y^e glory of y^e father,Rom. 6. so we also should walke in newnesse of lyfe. Thys partaking of death and lyfe with Christ, is nothing els, but y^e mortifiing of our own flesh, the quickening of the spirit, in y^t the olde man is crucified,Mar. 7. and we may walke in newnesse of lyfe. But by this their deuise, they take away halfe y^e effect of baptisme, reiecting therein the commaūdemēt of God, to establish their own tradition. Wherfore I wil reasō w^t you as Christ did w^t the Pharises.Mat. 21. [Page] Is the confirmation (which you call a Sacrament) ordained to be so from heauen,Mat. 21. or of men? If it be of men, it is no Sacrament. If it be of God, then shew the worde. Ye haue the example of y^e Apostles in the. cha. 8. and .19. of y^e Actes.Folio. 54 a. Actes. 8. But no exāple suffiseth for a Sacramēt. The Apostles thēselues vsurped not so much. But sée how well ye folow the exam­ple. When the Apostles, which were at Hierusalem, heard say, that Samaria had receaued the worde of God, they sēt vnto them Peter and Iohn: which when they were come down, prayed for them, that they myght receyue the holy ghost. For as yet, he was come down on none of them, but they were baptised only, in the name of the Lorde Iesus. Then layd they their handes on them and they receyued the holy ghost. Now, are ye ignoraunt what here is ment by the holy ghost? I wyl tel you. The gift to speake in di­uerse languages: to worke miracles: and other particu­ler graces of the holy spirite. And although they had recey­ued the common grace of adoption & regeneration through baptisme, yet had they not, these other qualities, which in the beginning of the Church were graunted, and now be denyed. So that laying on of handes, serued to good vse then, when it pleased God at instance of y^e Apostles praiers to conferre the visible graces of hys spirite: but now, that there is no such ministery in y^e Church: now that miracles be ceassed, to what ende should we haue thys imposition of handes? the signe without the thyng? If a mā should now a dayes, prostrate hymselfe vpon the bodyes of the dead, bi­cause Helias and Paul, vsed thys ceremony, in raysing of their dead, should he not be thought preposterously to doe? So that it might well be a kynde of Sacramēt in y^e Apostles tyme, but the cause ceassing, what should y^e signe continue? Yet ye content not your selues, with the Apostles order: ye wyll (as I sayd before) haue somewhat of your owne. For neyther Peter, nor Iohn, annoynted the Samaritanes: but [Page 99] you do besmere, whomsoeuer you lay handes on.Folio. 54. a. Ye cal it Chrisma salutis, the Chrisme of saluation. But whosoeuer seketh saluation in the Chrismatory, shalbe sure to lose it in Christ. Oyle for the belly: and the belly for oyle, but the Lord shall destroy both the one and the other. Good Lorde: what beast but a papist, what papist but a diuell, durst pre­sume to say, that saluation should be fet out of an oyle box? The Apostle calleth vs from impotēt and beggerly things:Gala. 4. Colos. 2. and if we be dead with Christ, he sayth, we must not be burdened with traditions. Wherfore ye take the matter all a­misse, that by the dooinges of S. Peter and S. Iohn in Sa­maria, or els by the fact of S. Paul at Ephesus, Act. 19. do grounde your Sacramente of Confirmation. One reason ye haue heard: 1 Bicause the Ceremony of laying on of handes, ser­ued for particular graces, whiche were but temporall and therfore now, the thyng abolished, the signe should not re­mayne. An other I wyll bryng you. 2 The Apostles layed their handes but only vpon certayne persons, euen such as the gyftes aforesayd were bestowed on. Confirmation is extended vnto al: gracious and gracelesse, come who wil, none is denyed it. Who gaue you authoritie? where is your commission, to bestowe y^e indifferently vpon all per­sons, which the Apostles gaue but vnto fewe? In dede if it be so necessary to saluation, as ye make it, I can not great­ly blame you. But thē on the other side blame you I must, that you are so negligent in bestowing it. For this is your doctrine: that without confirmatiō, there can be no perfect Christian. And I besech you, how many be suffered to dye, vnconfirmed? vnlesse the bishop, chaūce to passe by, which is once peraduenture in seauen yeare: all they that departe in the meane season, are Iewes belyke, or in state of dam­nation. And can your charities suffer without remorse of conscience, so many semi christians, to passe you? Thus euery way you cōfute your selues. For if your Sacramēt [Page] of Confirmation,Folio. 55. a. be, as you say, such an oyntment, vvith vvhose most holy perfection, the gyft and grace of baptis­me is made perfect: If it be an oyntment, altogether holy and diuine, the perfection it selfe and sanctification, the be­ginning, the substance, the perfecting vertue of al holinesse giuen vs from heauen: 3 Then are you wycked persons that take no order, that the moe may haue it. But if there be no such vertue in it, then do ye lye the more. Agayne, yet fur­ther to note your absurditie. Your decrée in case of Confir­mation,De consecr. Dist. 5. cap. Manus quo (que). is thys: Manus quo (que) impositionis sacramentum, magna veneratione tenendum est, quod ab alijs perfici non potuit, nisi a sum­mis sacerdotibus: nec tempore Apostolorum, ab alijs quam ab ipsis Apostolis, legitur aut scitur peractū esse: nec ab alijs quam qui eorum tenent locum, cuiquam perfici potest aut fieri debet. Nam si aliter prae­sumptum fuerit, irritum habeatur & vacuum. The Sacramente of laying on of handes, must be helde with great worship, which can not be made of any, but only of the hye priestes, nor it is red or knowen, that in the Apostles tyme, it was ministred by any, but onely by themselues: nor it can or ought to be done of any, saue only such as supply theyr rou­mes. For if it be presumed to be otherwyse, let it be voide, and of no effect. But how came y^t bishops by thys preroga­tiue? How chaunce, that euery priest may minister bap­tisme, & the supper of the Lord: but only byshops may con­firme? Only the Apostles dyd in their tyme minister these Sacramentes: and therfore by that reason onely byshops should haue that office nowe. But are onely byshops the Apostles successors? when ye inhibite any of the lay fée, to take the host in hys hande, thys cause ye alleage: y^t it was deliuered only to the Apostles.Papistes contrarye to them­selues. In thys case, ye admytte euery poore priest a successor vnto them. But why not in y^e other? Bicause if any, be lesse successors to the Apostles thā other, they be your bishops. But to make a deuise of your own brayne, although in matters of religion it be not suffe­rable) [Page 100] yet to make a lye of the holy ghost, to falsify the Scripture, is more intolerable. And is it not a straunge case that y^e holy father writing the law: Gratian collecting it: so many seraphicall doctors commenting of it:Papistes beelye the Scripture. so long vse in all realmes confirming it: it should there be written and suffered to remayne, that in y^e Apostles tyme it was neuer red or knowen, that imposition of handes was done by any, but by the Apostles themselues? Why, what dyd Ananias? He layed hys handes vpon Saul,Acte. 9. wherby he re­ceyued hys syght, & was indued with the holy ghost. What bishop was he? No bishop forsoth.In glosa. preced. Dist. Monkes Apostles vicege­rentes. But a Monke by all lykelyhode. For by the cannon law, they be alwayes the Apostles vicegerentes. Sée you not by thys tyme, youre own shame? Shal this notwithstanding, your cōfirmation be styll a Sacrament, hauing nothing else but mans deui­ses, and a sort of impudent lies to support it? If it had bene a truth, that only the Apostles had layd on hands: if it were a good order, that only bishops should do the lyke, how fal­leth it out, that the popes themselues, haue dispensed with the matter? Gregory wryteth thus. Vbi episcopi desunt, Decr parte 1. Dist. 95. ca peruenit. vt presbyteri etiam in frōtibus baptizatos chrismate tangere debeant, con­cedimus. Where bishops want, we graunte, that priestes also may annoynt in the foreheades, suche as be baptised. How is thys presumption auoyded? howe doth the Sacra­ment now stande in force? But who wyll seke for any rea­son constancy or truth in popery? The example of Christe is pretended. Yet Christ neuer bad it: Nor the facte of Christ can be drawen to imitation: nor their selues wyll sticke vnto it. Christ neuer vsed oyle: They make it ne­cessary. Christe promised indifferently to all the faithfull hys holy spirite: They do restrayne it to their owne cere­monies. Christ for our behoofe, instituted baptisme, that we myght dye to synne and lyue to ryghteousnesse: They by confirmation, haue cutte awaye halfe the effecte thereof. [Page] The Apostles withdrawe vs from the elementes of thys world: they wyll haue vs seke our saluatiō in an oyle box. The Apostles vsed imposition of handes, which had effect, when miracles were in place: they wyll haue the same order, although they can not haue the same ende. The A­postles layed handes, but onely vpon some, which had the gyft of the holy ghost withall: they without respect or dif­ferences of persons, confirme euery body. Therfore it is but a mere tradition, and the same neither Christian nor Apostolique. In the order of it, they be contrary to them­selues. They wyll haue it necessary to saluation: and yet they let many dye without it. They say, that only bishops are the Apostles successors: and yet in other cases, they graunt, that euery priest is a successor too. They affirme that the Apostles gaue them only their president: and yet Ananias that was no Apostle, is proued to haue done the same. They teach that a byshop must only minister it: and yet they dispence for a priest to do it. And may not we bib­lers, be bold to cal you bablers? If only these heresies, lyes, absurdities, were in your proufes of Confirmation, they only were sufficient to confirme you fooles. But sée a fou­ler matter, of all Christian eares to be abhorred. Whyle ye go about to auaunce your inuention, ye deface the ordi­nance of almighty God, and ouerthrow the grounde work of our saluation. Confirmation a Sacramēt? yea a Sacra­ment worthier thā baptisme. For the master of the sentence sayeth,Lib. 4. Dist. 7. Cap. 2. Sacramentum confirmationis, dicitur esse maius baptismo. The Sacrament of Confirmation, is sayd to be greater thā the Sacrament of Baptisme. And afterwarde the cause is added. Quia à dignioribus datur, & in digniore parte corporis, bicause it is giuen of worthier persons, and in y^e worthier part of y^e body. For only bishops (as is sayd) confirme: but euery priest may minister baptisme. And in baptisme, oyle is layd vpon the head, but in Confirmation vpon the fore­head. [Page 101] Where fyrst is to be noted,Papistes attribute more to oyle in baptisme than to vvater. that ye sticke in one myre styll, ascribing more to the oyle your inuention: than to y^e water which is Gods element. It suffiseth vs to haue, as Christ and his Apostles had, fayre water in our baptisme: your oyle is better for a sallet than a sacrament: Then al­so by the way ye fall into another heresie. For when ye de­crée, the byshopping of children to be greater sacramente than baptisme is, bycause euery priest may christen, but on­ly byshops may confirme, shewe ye not therein, your sel­ues to be very Donatistes,Papistes are Dona­tistes. esteming the dignitie of the sa­craments of the worthinesse of the minister? Yet not only the master of the sentence, but also the decrée confirmeth that doctrine. Melchiades an author of yours and a Pope, sayth: Sacramentum manus impositionis, De con. dist. 5. cap. de his vero. sicut nisi à maioribus per­fici non potest, ita & maiori veneratione venerandum est et tenēdum. The sacrament of laying on of hands, as it cā not be made but only of the greater, so is it to be worshipped with grea­ter reuerence, and so to be defended. But O God:Diffiniti­on of Po­pish by-shopping what a strange religion is this? A droppe of grease, infected and fi­led with the stinking breath of a sorcerous priest, inchaun­ted and coniured, with a few fumbled words, to be compa­red to Christes holy sacrament? preferred to the water sanc­tified by the word of God? But this is your maner to de­praue the scriptures in euery point: corrupt the sacramen­tes with your owne leauen, and let nothing that good is, stand in due force, for your spirituall pollicies and fresh in­uentions. Gyue ouer therefore at length the breast of for­nication: leaue sucking of the dregs of superstition and po­perie: whereto I persuade my self, that rather fond nurses haue inured you, than conscience or reason persuaded you. For, scriptures haue ye none, but the same condemne you: nor godly Fathers any, but the same be agaynst you. For proufe whereof, as I haue hitherto discoursed of your scrip­tures for Confirmation, and vttered your doctrines, disa­greing [Page] from the same: so now wil I come to iudgement of your doctors. For Confirmation to be a sacrament ye bring Denise, & Fabianus. Of which the one I haue already suffi­cientely disproued: The other was but a Pope, and neuer receyued author. But I will set agaynst them, Tertullian and Augustine: two for two: substauntiall and honest, for suspected and infamous.Aduersus Martionem Libro. 4. Tertullian speaking of the sacra­ments of the primitiue Church, rekeneth no more but bap­tisme, and the supper of the Lord, saying: Quomodo tu nup­tias dirimis, nec coniungens marem & foeminā, nec alibi coniunctos, ad Sacramentum baptismatis & eucharistiae admittens? &c. How doest thou breake mariage, neyther coupling the man & the womā together, nor being coupled otherwise, admitting thē to the sacramēt of baptisme, & thankesgiuing? Likewise in his boke de corona Militis, Cap. 3. intreating purposely of the or­der of the church, beginneth with baptisme, & sheweth what ceremonies were obserued therein: and then he procedeth to the supper of the Lord, & (for sacraments) no further. Au­gustine also most playnly sayth:De doctrin. Christiana Lib. 3. Cap. 9 Dominus signis nos non onera­uit, sed quaedam pauca pro multis, eadem (que) factu facillima, & intel­lectu augustissima, & obseruatione castissima, ipse dominus & apo­stolica tradidit disciplina: sicuti est Baptismi sacramētū, & celebratio corporis & sanguinis domini. Which words in english be these. Our lord hath not burdened vs with signes, but Christ himself, & the discipline of the Apostles, hath deliuered vs in the steade of many, a very few, & the same most easy to be done, most royall to be vnderstode, most pure to be obserued, as are, the sacrament of Baptisme, & celebration of the body & bloud of the Lord. The like wherof, and in effect the same, he hath ad Ianuarium Ep. 118. This is the doctrine of y^e true church. This only auncient: and whatsoeuer is against it, newe. What it pleased men to vse in the ceremony of Con­firmation, maketh very smally to purpose: And the thing it self being so shamefully abused as it hath bene: the signe [Page 102] of the Crosse to haue bene vsed therein, is a good matter a­gaynst you. But sory I am and ashamed of you, that stil ye bewray your ignoraunce and folly. Nedes will ye haue .vij. sacramentes, and yet in your discourse ye confound them: alleaging that, for proufe of Confirmation, which the au­thors onely did meane of Baptisme. Thus do ye fall into y^e olde absurditie: that as before, where so euer ye redde thys word (Crosse) ye would lyft it to the Roodeloft, or to the fore­head: so nowe, where so euer ye heare mention of oyle, ye make it onely to serue for byshopping. Learne (M. Martial) to vnderstand your author, before ye presume to become a writer. Denise, Tertullian, Augustine, & Cyprian, in the places that ye bring of Christians annoynting, spake (as it is euident) but onely of baptizing them. For in their dayes (as is before approued) oyle was receyued, to the elemente of water. And specially the wordes of Denise Denise. doe confute you: For he ioyneth together, The Christening,Folio. 55. b. the Chrisome, the Chrisme, and the Communion, which all in one sacramente of Baptisme did concurre. Then what is thys to your purpose, that TertullianTertulliā hath? Caro signatur, vt anima muniatur, The fleshe is signed, that the soule may be defended? Was there neuer any signing of the fleshe, but in Confyrmation? Your selfe, I dare say, wyll not admytte it. But if ye were so fonde as to affyrme it, yet Tertullian himselfe dysproueth you. For the very nexte wordes that followe, be these: Caro manuum impositione adum­bratur, the flesh is ouershaddowed by imposition of handes. And where as diuers thinges be spoken of, Confirmation (if in any place) muste be vnderstode in the latter clause, and there is no worde of the signe of the Crosse. Where­fore, howe doth it appeare by these your proues, that the holye Fathers vsed also the signe of the Crosse, in thys youre holye Sacramente? Augus. lib. de Catach. rudib. ca. 20 Augustine (if you had e­uer readde hym) should not haue bene alleadged of you. [Page] For in all the Chapter he treateth, howe the Iewes were brought to Hierusalem by those meanes, as are fygures vnto vs, mentioning especially baptism, reepresented in the water of Iordan, and the supper of the Lorde by slaying of the lambe, whose bloud was sprinckled on the dore postes: vpon which wordes he immediately inferreth, Passionis & Crucis signo. &c. Thou must be marked in thy forehead, with the signe of the passion and Crosse of Christ, as it were in a post. What is this to Confirmation? As much as a texte out of Beuys of Hampton. And as for Cyprian, although the wordes alleaged by you,Folio. 56 b. be the very worste in all hys works, (which argueth very smal discretion in your choise) yet are they quite from the purpose too. I omit how Cypri­an,Cyprian. without a commaundement, made in God his seruise anoynting necessary: condemning therein, all htat before him had bene baptised, and had not any oyle poured vpon them. Forsoth by his reason, not heretiques onely retour­ning to the church, should be partakers of his heretical Re­baptisation, but the baptisme of Christ, of the Apostles, of all them them that we reade of in the Scripture, should be insufficient. For neyther will he haue the element of wa­ter, to be sufficient to baptize withall, vnlesse it be conse­crate,De Heret. bapt. Ep. 72. (Oportet mundari & sanctificari aquam prius à Sacerdote: The water muste be cleansed and sanctified firste of the priest) Nor yet this consecrated water to serue, vnlesse we haue a lyttle oyle to boote. Vngi quo (que) necesse est eum. &c. It is necessary (sayth he) that whosoeuer is baptised, be anoin­ted: that the oyntment being once receyued, he may be the anoynted of God, and haue in him the grace of Christ. Yet we neuer reade that the Apostles vsed any wordes of Con­secration, that they thought themselues in that case to be priests, whome the new testament calleth ministers of the word:Ad Tit. ca. 2 & Rō. 14. or y^t they could repute contrary to the expresse word, any creature vncleane. Omnia munda mundis. All things are [Page 103] cleane to the cleane. Christ by his word, and institution of baptisme, sanctified al water, vsed according vnto his wil: No man ought to adde to his ordināce any thing: no priest by coniuring can bring such holinesse and perfection vnto it, that in his respecte, as Cyprian would haue it, it shal be more auayleable for remission of sinnes. Wherefore S. Cyprian was to farre wide herein, & applied vniustly vnto the priest the word (Aspergam super vos aquam mundam. Ezech. 36. I wil sprinckle cleane water on you) which God peculiarly pro­miseth of himselfe. Then also to inforce a necessity of oyle, that baptisme can not cōsist without it, whereas Christ did not appoint it, nor Apostle vse it, passed his cōmission, Vt ne quid grauius. But to attribute more vnto y^e oyle, (mans own inuention) than to baptisme it self, the ordinance of Christ, I must nedes say, was proud & blasphemous. Yet Cyprian so did, for he sayde: that vnlesse they were on his wyse an­noynted, they could not be true Christians. To haue y^e an­noynted of the father, Iesus Christ, within them, was not ynough, vnlesse a little oyle had also besmeared them. A pi­tifull case that so good a father, so faythful a martyr, should haue so fowle a blotte, to blemish his authoritie. But (as I sayd) we must not gather out of the fathers writings, what soeuer was witnesse of their imperfection. Yet do I maruel most, what mad conceyte ye had, to bring this place for the vse of the Crosse in byshopping of children. Onely S. Cy­prian in all that Epistle and diuers other, goeth aboute to proue, that heretiques should be baptised. And this is farre from Confirmation: full little doth it confirme your crosse.Agaynst the asser­tion of seuenfold grace. Folio. 57. a. Chapt. 11. Nowe to speake a worde of your Seuenfolde grace, which you say, is conferred at byshopping, I besech you shew me the ground of your deuise. I know that you delite in y^e odde number, as al inchaunters haue done of olde. And therfore vij. sacraments, vij. kindes of graces of the holy ghost. But wherefore .vij? Bicause Esay numbreth but .vij? And this is [Page] the reason of all the Papists that euer wrote. But I might byd them tell them,Esay. 11. as Tom foole did his géese. Esay num­breth but syx: and the seauenth is their owne. Therfore stil I proue, that Papistes are falsefiers of the worde of God.Papistes falsefiers of Scrip­ture. And yet if the Prophet had rehearsed seauē (as it is of euery man to be sene he did not) to gather out of that, a seauēfold kinde of grace, were to absurd: in asmuch as other places, attribute of diuerse effectes, diuerse other titles to the holie ghost: nor the faithful are only partakers of those, that E­say doth speake of: which are: Wisdome, Vnderstanding, Counsel, Strēgth, Knowlege & Feare of God: but also of o­ther: as Chastity, Sobriety, Truth, Holinesse, which in like maner, do flowe from the same spring. Then also to thrust the power of Gods spirit into such a corner, y^t it shall haue but seauen holes to start to, is to straight a compasse, & can not contayne him. But this I may excuse you as the Pain­ter did himselfe: who being reproued that he had left out a cōmaundement, whereas he was bydden to write them all in a table, answered: There is more than ye will kepe. So you in rehearsall of your seauenfolde grace, speake of syxe more, than you are partaker of. Wherfore to make my A­postrophe to the readers (as you do) seing Dionisius is iust­ly disproued,Folio. 57. b. to be of no such authority and antiquity, as the Papists pretend: seing S. Augustine is depraued of them: S. Cyprian alleaged, where he defendeth an heresy: The example of Christ and his Apostles, most falsly drawen to proufe of Confirmation: I trust you wil more esteme, and better regarde the authoritie of auncient Fathers in dede, whose playne assertions, I haue brought to the contrary: you wil more reuerence the word of God, the bread of life, by them abused to most impietie, than the stinking leuen of these lying hipocrites: who speake of scripture, but esteme it not: who lay the fathers for them, but vnderstande them not: who pretend antiquity, but are caried about with euery [Page 104] winde and puffe of new doctrine, being as S. Ciprian saith,Epistola ad Nouatianos beginners of schismes: authors of dissention: destroyers of faith: betrayers of y^e church: & Antichristes in dede: who go­ing about to deface y^e catholike religiō cōmanded by Christ: taught by the Apostles: continued in the church by the holy ghost: haue defaced (as it were) y^e truth of Christs ordināce, to place their own dreames & deuises: as it apeareth by the nūber of their sacraments: by declining in al points from y^e order of Christ & his Apostles: by oyle, creame, salt, spittle, candels, & such like, added vnto baptisme: by preferring by­shopping of children, afore it: by making oyle of their own addition, of more effect & vertue than the element of water, sanctified by the word of God: Finally ascribing perfection of Christianitie, which consisteth in y^e spirit, to the outward work of coniuring and Crossing. Now M. Martial, to come to your holy orders, which among your sacraments ye put in the third place. I maruell that ye are so barren in the ground which of it self is so fruitfull, that wheras ye nūber but .vij. sacraments, this one, hath begotten by spiritual ge­neration six moe. For the master of the sentence (whome ye and al your faction do follow) maketh .vij. degrées of orders.Lib. 4. Dist. 24. Cap. 1. Et hij ordines sacramenta dicuntur. & these orders (saith he) be called sacraments. He saith not that they do al concur to make a sacrament. So by this meanes we haue now .xiij. sa­craments. A plentiful increase. And to set forth the more the dignity of their calling, in euery one of these holy orders, they haue Christ himself a cōpanion w^t them. But whereas sacraments must haue a promise annexed to thē, a promise immediatly from God: if any of these orders, or they alto­gether should make a Sacrament, some piece of Scripture shuld be brought for proufe of it. Neyther Angels nor men can make a sacrament: Therfore they lie when they do cal their orders sacraments: in as much as they which are cal­led among thē ordines minores the inferior orders, by their [Page] [...] [Page 105] [...] [Page] [...] [Page 104] [...] [Page] own cōfession were neuer knowē in the primitiue church, but long deuised after.In confess. Polonica. Cap. 51. Hosius himself, out of whome you toke your authorities, as well of Augustine, as of Leo, to proue your orders a Sacramente, confesseth in the same place, that of olde time Ordines ij minores, inter sacros non nume­rabantur: These inferior orders, were not rekened among the holy ones. But now they be holy all, and Sacramentes al. If I should rehearse the ydle ceremonies that are obser­ued in euery one of them: The Iewish disagrements of the doctors themselues, when eche man hath a sere assertion of his owne, defended with toth and nayle: The clouted reli­gion of olde patches of Iudaisme, Paganisme, and Chris­tianitie together, wherby they commend this their sacra­ment to the worlde: I should cumber the readers to long with vnfruitfull matters, and busy my selfe more a great deale than néeded, to confute that, which you M. Martiall, (such is your modesty) are ashamed to alleage.Hovv the ministerie of the vvorde may be called a sacramente. 1. Tim. 4. The ministe­rie of the word cōmended vnto vs by Christ himselfe, I can wel admit to be a sacrament, & therefore alowe, in a right sense, the title that Augustine doth giue vnto it. For ther­in is a ceremonie, that is taken out of the word of God, & a signe of spirituall grace conferred, as Paul doth witnesse: yet am I not contrary to my self herein, who before affir­med, that there were onely .ij. sacramentes of the Church: Baptisme, and the Lords supper. For when in general we treate of sacramēts, we truly say, y^t there are but .ij. bicause there are no more ordinary, & appertayning to al y^e fayth­ful. But ordering of ministers, is a special thing, contracted to a few, belonging onely to a peculiar function: So may it well be called a sacrament, & yet be denied to be a sacra­ment of the church. But where I attribute to Christian ministery, so much as I spake of: there is no cause of pride for popish priests. For they swarue so farre from Christes institution, that they serue not at al for any godly purpose. [Page 105] Christ did ordayne hys Apostles to preache,Ioh. 20. and to that end he breathed on them, shewing by that signe, the power and vertue of the holy ghost, wherewithall he indued them: But the Romish apes, onely retaine the signe, the thyng it selfe beyng far thest from them: and as for the end which Christ respected, they haue least regarde of. For, they haue taught their priestes, that it is least part of their duetye to preache: most to do sacrifice, and say Masse. And thys doth the wordes of their institution proue: & a greate proc­tor of theirs Hosius, affirme. For wher in the verse of in­cantation,De Sacra­mento ordi­nis. they haue Potestatem illis dari placabiles offerendi deo hostias, that power is giuen them to offer acceptable sacri­fice vnto God: Thys do they restrayne onely to the Masse. And Hosius doth wrestle maruelously about the word, dri­uing it still from the greke [...], which he wyl haue to signify, sacrifice. So in the ende to raise their own gain they derogate all from Christ hys death and hys passion. We know that Christ did offer hymselfe sufficiently: and made a perfect satisfactiō for our synnes: we know that he nedeth not any priestes helpe, to be as acceptable to his fa­ther for his seruice sake, as Christ for that one, and onely Sacrifice of hys body was. Christ gaue commaundement to be faythfull ministers, not bloudy coniurers: Christe gaue an iniunction to fede the flocke, not to offer Sacrifice. Christ hath promised his holy ghost, not to purge and take away synnes, but to mayntaine the Church, and kepe it in good order. And as for the argument that the most learned papistes do builde vpon, the greke worde, maye easely be answered. For Chrisostome when he had considered howe Paul had written, that he was a minister of Iesus Christe consecrating the gospell (for so S. Augustine turneth it) that there might be an acceptable oblation and Sacrifice of the Gentiles, sayth:Rom. 15. that the Apostle there did make full men­tion, of all the Sacrifice that he could make, vsing both the [Page] termes of [...] and [...], wherevpon the Pa­pistes will grounde their Idolatrous Masse. Thys is my Sacrifice, to preach the Gospell sayth he: my sworde is the gospell, my Sacrifice is the Gentiles. And now would I fayne sée, what these inchanters can say, bragging themsel­ues therefore to be priests, bicause they can iuggle so finely, that thinges shall passe out of their nature by them. The priesthode and Sacrifice that the Apostles had, was to con­uert the simple soules, to dawnt y^e cruell courages of men, to make an offering of them vnto the Lord: not throughe grosse miracle, or by bluddy knife, but by the spiritual ar­mure of the power of God: whereby counsayles are ouer­throwen, and euery hygh thyng that auaunceth it selfe a­gainst God,2. Cor. 10. is vanquished. And whosoeuer will be succes­sors vnto the Apostles, must vse thys ministery, this trade of doctrine: which if they continue in, being lawfully called therunto by God, and haue giftes competente to approue their calling vnto the world, they nede not to care for the signe of the Crosse, to be imprinted in them, the vertue wherof neuer departeth from them. Certayne it is, that neyther Scripture, nor any learned father, commendeth any blessing, but of prayer to vs. And how your wisedome doth esteme the wagging of a bishops fingers, I greatly force not. I loked rather, that ye should haue commended the oyle for anointing, which the greasy marchauntes wyll haue in euery messe. For the character indelebilis, the marke vnremoueable, is therby giuen. Yet there is a way to haue it out well inough, to rub them welfauoredly with salt and ashes: or if that wyll not serue, with a little sope. But ye had very little to say in the matter, and therfore as sone as you had alleaged your doctor Denise (whose autho­ritie notw^tstanding we may iustly deny) ye plucked dovvn your sayle and cast your anchor there. Folio. 62. a. Very wisely done of you. For perillous it is to carry to high a sayle vpon a [Page 106] rotten mast.

Now for a proufe, that the signe of the Crosse, should be vsed also in the supper of the Lorde, (which you blasphe­mously do call the Masse, which is nothing else but the Sa­crifice of the diuell) ye bring the places of the .xxvj. chap. of Mathew and .xiiij. of Marke, where ye do fynde thys word Benedixit, that is to say, he blessed. And that this blessing should be but a certaine gesture of the hand, ye cite Albertꝰ Magnus, & compare the places of scripture together, where it may appeare that the selfe same thing is meant. I am glad ye admit the conference of places. I perceiue you wil play small play, rather than sit out, when Albertus Magnꝰ is worthyed of authoritie. But how well you and he doe vnderstande the Scriptures, shall by Gods grace, appeare anone. The wordes of Mathewe be these.Mat. 26. [...], which wordes (if ye vnderstande any Gréeke) be these. Iesus taking the bread, and giuing thankes, brake it. Likewise in Marke [...].Mark. 14. Iesus taking the bread, when he had giuen thankes he brake it. In the first place it is euident, that the worde of your olde trans­lation, Benedixit, can not be taken for the signe with a fin­ger, bicause of the proper worde of giuing thankes, which can not be applyed, to an externe gesture. Then also the worde of Marke, if ye obserue the Etymologi of it, muste signifie the same. For what is [...], and what is, [...], what is bene, and what is dicere? The wordes are compoū ­ded of vvel and speake. So that to blesse, is to speake wel, and not to crosse wel: When ye were last at Masse, & heard the priest syng aloude Gratias agamus, ye myght haue lear­ned what it is benedicere. For it was at the first receiued in the Church, that when they came vnto the mysteries of the Lordes supper, they should blesse, that is to say, should be thankfull for them. Which thing is proued ryght well [Page] by Chrisostome.Chrisost. In epi. ad co. 1. cap. 10. Hom 24. Who vpon these wordes. Calix benedictio­nis cui benedicimus, non ne communicatio sanguinis Christi est? The cup of blessing which we blesse, is it not the partaking of the bloud of Christ? 1. Corin. 10. bicause blessing is twyse spoken of, sayth. Cum benedictionem dico, eucharistiā aico: & dicendo eucharistiam, omnē benignitatis dei thesaurum aperio, & magna illa munera commemoro i [...]etenim cum calice inenarrabilia dei beneficia, & quaecun (que) consecuti sumus addimus: ita ad eum accedimus, cum eo communicamus, gratias agentes, quòd humanum ge­nus errore liberauit, quod cum spem nullam haberemus, & impij esse­mus, fratres & consortes suos ascripsit: hijs & caeteris huiusmodi gra­tiarum actionibus, accedimus. Which words of the doctor may be translated thus: when I speake of blessing I speake of thankesgiuing: and speakyng of thankesgiuing, I opē all the treasure of the goodnesse of God, and rehearse those great giftes of his. For with the cup we adde the vnspeake­able benefites of God, and whatsoeuer we haue obtayned. So we come vnto hym, we communicate with hym, than­kyng hym, that he hath deliuered mankynde from error, y^t when we had no hope, and wer wycked persons, he admit­ted vs brothers and companions to himselfe: with these and such other rendringes of thākes, we come vnto hym. Here ye sée what Chrisostome toke blessing to be. Set Chrisos­tome against your Albert. But let vs sée further conferēce of the Scriptures. Not only Christ in hys last supper vsed thys forme of blessing (which you do make chiefe poynte of consecration) but also in other of his miracles doing, wher­of we read in euery one of the Euangelistes. As where Mathew,Mat. 14. MarkeMar. 6. & Luke,Luc. 9. speaking of the fyue thousande be­side wemen & children, fed wyth fiue loaues and two fyshes report, that Christ vsed such order, as the worde importeth to be blessing. [...]: S. IohnIoh. 6. intreating of the same matter expoūdeth what is ment by blessing.Mat. 15. Mark. 8. For he sayth [...]. And giuinge thankes hee [Page 107] deliuered.Mat. 15. Mar. 8. Lykewyse where mention is made of the seauē loaues. Christ blessed also, but the euangelistes set it oute by the worde of thankes giuing [...]: And when he had giuen thākes, he brake. So that, most eui­dētly appeareth, by the word of God, to al reasonable crea­tures, that it is all one thyng, to blesse, and to giue thankes. Yea where your self alleage the word of Benedixit, in the xxiiii. ch. of Luke, that Christ lifting vp hys handes, blessed hys Apostles: Ye shall also fynde, the next sentence saue one, after,Luc. 24. the same worde applyed vnto the Apostles them­selues, that they also dyd blesse, and blesse God. For the text hath Erant assidui in templo, laudantes & benedicentes deum They were cōtinually in the temple, praysing and blessing God. Thynke you that thys blessing was with a certayne signe of the hande? Is thys the meaning of the word of god, where styll we be warned to blesse the Lord? If thys be absurde (as I am sure ye wyll graunt) then graunte y^e bles­sing, is another maner of matter, than crossing. Wherfore since I haue proued by nature of the wordes thēselues, by consent of al the euangelistes, by testimony of the Apostle Paul, by iudgement of Christome, that blessing, is thankes­giuing: I may iustly conclude, your assertion to be vaine & friuolous, that Christ vsed crossing, in ministring of hys supper. What ryte or ceremony, was receiued after, dy­uersly, according to the disposition of diuerse times and per­sons, is not materiall. For I haue sufficiently proued afore, that it is not inough to say, thys was once so: but it must be proued, that it was wel so. For I wel alow the proceding of Cyprian against Stephen the heretique,Ciprianus. Pōpcio. frat. Fp. 74. whiche vrged (as you doe) traditions to be kepte. But what sayd he to it? Vnde est ista traditio? vtrum de dominica & euangelica authoritate descendens: an de Apostolorum mandatis at (que) epistolis veniens. Whēce is thys tradition of theirs, (sayth he?) doth it descend from the authoritie of Christ and hys gospell, or from the [Page] writinges and commaundements of hys Apostles? As for that which is written by Christ, he proued necessary to be obserued: lykewyse whatsoeuer is contayned in the Actes of the Apostles, or other of their writinges. But otherwise, he would not be bounde to admit any thyng. And therfore ye may prate as long as ye lust, what men in thys tyme and that tyme receyued, and without better proufe, bynde vs no whit to obseruaunce of it.

Thus haue you made a fayre muster. M. Martial with signes and profers, and proued nothing. Whyle ye tra­uayle to bryng the Crosse to seauen Sacramēts, you haue discoursed on foure, and confounded them all. And as for y^e thrée which you haue put in the rere warde, ye vse only this reason.Fol. [...]6. b. All Sacramentes of the Church (as Augustyne sayth) are made vvith the signe of the Crosse. but Matrimony, Penance, and Extreme vnction, are Sacraments of the Church: Therfore the signe of the Crosse is vsed in them. For an­swere wherof, neither is the first proposition, (as you vnder­stande it) to be admitted: nor y^e seconde in any wyse is true. Therfore the cōclusion doth follow but ill fauoredly. First ye are abused in your own conceite, in esteming the signe of the Crosse, to be a thyng of such necessitie, as that y^e Sa­cramentes may not be made without it: whereas it is but an accessory thyng, deuised by man, wherof in Scripture we haue no president. And Augustine woulde not saye (as you fondly do) that simplely Sacramentes are made wyth the signe of y^e Crosse:Ser. 181. De tempore. but mentioning that, as a piece of a ceremony more than neded, brought in withall the necessa­ry poynt, (that you leaue out) the calling vpon the name of Christ. For Sacramentes consist of the signe, and thing sig­nified. Of the worde, and the ceremony. And in baptisme, the water & sprinckling therof in the name of the father y^e sonne and the holy ghost, vpon the party that is to be chris­tened, is the whole signe and ceremony to be done. But remission [Page 108] of synnes, participation of lyfe, felowship w^t Christ and with hys members, also the giftes of the holy ghoste, which are by grace conferred, be the signified thyng, y^e pro­myse of mercy so sealed in vs. Here is no worde of y^e signe of the Crosse, and yet is the Sacramente made perfecte thus. Nor in Christes institution we heare any mention of such a ceremony, nor that Christ in hys own baptisme, nor the Apostles in theirs, were blessed w^t a finger. Wher­fore the Maior is falsly set.Matry­mony no Sacrament. But the Minor is farther out of square. For before Gregories tyme, although euery man graunted Matrimony to be an holy ordinance of God: yet who euer affirmed it to be a sacrament? Forsoth (say you) Ambrose, Augustine, and Leo. So y^e same Ambrose calleth the wordes and workes of Christ, wherby he shewed hys diuinitie, hidden otherwyse in God, a sacrament.In ep. ad. Tim. 1. ca. 3. And Au­gustine hath nothing more familier in him, thā Sacramenta scripturarum, The sacramentes of the scriptures, whereby he vnderstandeth the darke speches & spirituall meaninges of the holy ghost. So that, if ye take a sacrament for that, wherby any thyng is signified vnto vs, then Matrimonye I graunt may be a sacrament. But sée what absurditie en­sues thereon. As many parables as we haue in scripture, so many sacramentes. The graine of mustarde séede: the goodwyfes leauen: the dore of the house: the shepehearde: y^e giant: the thefe (for by all these, the kyngdome of God, and Christ are signified) must be sacramentes. So the washing of handes: the shaking of dust from the Apostles féete: and euery act of Christ, may be a sacrament. Then we shal not kepe vs within y^e number of seauē (which you appoynt) but ere we haue done, we shall haue seuen score, yea seuen hun­dred sacramentes. But if ye take a sacrament, for such a signe, as God hath ordayned for vs, to cōfirme our fayth, & seale the promise of hys grace w^tin vs, thē are you to farre wide. For prouf of baptisme we haue. Whosoeuer bele­ueth [Page] and is baptised shall be saued. For the supper of the Lord we haue.Mat. 26. Take eate thys is my body. Drinke ye all of thys, thys is my bloud which is shed for many for the re­mission of synnes. And haue we the lyke for matrimonye? Then take a wyfe, and thou shalt be saued. Then take a wyfe, and thy synnes be forgiuen thée. Thys is your doc­trine (M. Martiall.) thys is your Louain learning. But ye say for your selfe,Ephe. 5. that S. Paul called it a sacrament. Ye forget your selfe, he neyther vsed the terme, nor applyed it to that purpose. To admit that it were so, as your igno­rant and grosse translator hath (wherof I wyll speake more anone) yet your discretion and skyll, myght haue cōsidered the correction that folowes, when the Apostle sayth plain­ly, that he speaketh not of the man and woman, but of Christ and hys Church: So that the sacrament is referred to them, and not to Matrimony. But the ignoraunce of the greke worde, hath only bred thys error. Where for a mystery it is translated a sacrament. I meruayle greatlye that the name of sacrament, should be so seriously vrged in thys place, beyng otherwyse in all places of the scripture beside neglected. For your sayd olde translator, hath in y^e same Epistle to the Ephesians,Ad Eph. 1. and .j. cha. Vt notū faceret nobis sacramentum voluntatis suae that he myght notifie to vs the sa­crament of hys wyll, (for the mystery of hys wyll). By the same reason now the scripture it selfe, whereby Gods will is reueled to vs, shalbe a sacrament. And in the Epistle to Timothe, [...] Timo. 3. your olde translator hath. Magnum est pictatus sacra­mentum, quod manifestatum est in carne. Great is the sacra­ment of godlinesse, (for great is the mystery of godlinesse) which is, God is manifested in the flesh. By whiche reason the incarnation of Christ should be also a sacramente. Nor there shall be any ende of sacramentes, if wheresoeuer we reade of mystery, we shall vnderstande the sacramentes of the Church. Your wisdome supposeth, that bicause a [Page 109] mystery and a sacrament do not so farre differ, but y^e that which is called a mystery, may also be a sacrament,Folio. 87. a. there­fore your grounde is good inough, that matrimony is a sacrament. Thys do ye proue,Martials reason. by a sad tale of old mother Maukin, that thought her saint Edmund to be no minstrel bicause he vvas a minister, vvhereas in these latter dayes a minstrell (as you saye) maye be a minister, and serue bothe turnes for a nede. But if mother Maukin, had bene suche a daukin, as to thinke euery minister, to be a mynstrell, as you do euery mystery to be a sacrament, thou Martial and Maukin, a dolt with a daukyn, might marry together, and the vicar of sainct fooles be both minstrell and minister, si­mul & semel, to solemnize your sacrament.Folio. 67. b. But we must not dally with the signification of the worde with you, but we must consider what is the definition, and what is requi­red in a sacrament: and then we shall fynde, nothing lack in matrimony, that is or ought to be in any other sacramēt. It is (you say) a uisible signe of inuisible grace. But what is that grace? Saluation, iustifying or sanctification, con­ferred vpon them that are partakers of it? If it be so, some thing it is, that ye say. But it is not so. For he that is married, is not in that respect, more the childe of God, than if he were vnmaryed. He that is maryed, hath no peculier promise, that for hys mariage sake, hys sinnes are remit­ted him. And yet these thinges are requisite in a sacramēt, that by the visible signe, some such promise as thys maye be sealed in vs. I will bring against you for this point, no o­ther diuinitie but your own. The master of the sentence sayeth: Sacramenta non tantum significandi gratia instituta sunt, Lib. 4. Dist. 1. Cap. 2. sed etiam sanctificandi: Quae enim significandi gratia tantum institu­ta sunt, solum signa sunt & non sacramenta, sicut fuerunt sacrificia carnalia, & obseruantiae ceremoniales veteris legis. &c. Sacramētes are not only ordayned to signifie, but also to sanctifie: For those that are onely appoynted to signifie, are onely signes [Page] and no sacraments, like as y^e carnal sacrifices & ceremonial obseruances of y^e old law wer. So y^t he which otherwise de­fēdeth as many heresies as you, ouerthrowes your reason, which do make (Matrimony) to be a sacramēt, bicause it is a signe of inuisible grace. For so wer al y^e sacrifices, so wer al the ceremonies of the old law. And in dede he confesseth, y^t they and such lyke are called sacramētes, Licet minus propriè, though not so properly. And so do I graunt you, y^t it may be called a sacrament,Absurdi­ties in po­pish doc­trine con­cerning the Sacra­ment of Matri­mony. Decr. 2. par­te Caus. 27. Que. 2. in. glo [...] & yet not such, as we here speake of. But marke how great & how many absurdities folowe of your doctrine. First where ye make wedlock a sacramēt, ye goe against your selues, and destroye the holy number of vij. making .viij. Sacraments at the least. For wedlocke out of wedlocke hath ingendred an other, & begotten .ij. sacra­ments. This is not my deuise. I read it in your decrées. For in the treatise of Matrimony & the acte therof, it is wryttē. Duo sunt sacramenta: vnum Dei & animae: Aliud Christi & ecclesiae. Dei & animae, in sponsis: Christi & eccesiae, inter virū & vxorē. There are .ij. Sacraments: One of God, & y^e soule: an other of Christ, & the Church. The Sacramēt of God & the soule, is in the parties espoused: The Sacrament of Christ and y^e Church, is betwene the man and y^e wyfe. So that the very talke of Matrimony, hath gotten yong ones. And by thys we may sée, y^e foolish end of wauering heades, tossed w^t dout full fluddes of opiniōs. Sometime ye wyl haue but .vij. Sa­cramentes, & alwayes thys is a defended principle: yet in your bokes sometyme ye make viij. sometyme as many as a man wyl imagine. Furthermore, wheras ye make a Sa­crament of wedlocke,An other absurdity. how falleth it out, that afterward ye condemne it, as a piece of vncleānesse? Ye say when a mā wyl marry, then he goeth to the world. Ye write y^e mariage is a carnal thing: Ye maintaine in your lawes, y^t in Matri­mony are prophane lustes, defiling concupiscence: that a man in y^e state can not please God, cānot be heard of God. [Page 110] And yet styl, ye wyl haue it a Sacramēt. Innocentius Pope in hys decrée sayth. Ne (que) eos ad sacra offitia fas sit admitti, Decr prima parte. Dist. 82. cap. pro­posuisti, Leu. 20. qui ex­ercent etiam cū vxore carnale consortiū: quia scriptū est: sancti estote, quoniam ego sanctus sum: dicit dominus deus vester. Nor lett it be lawful for them to be admitted to holy rowmes, which vse carnal company with their wife: bicause it is written: be ye holy, for I am holy, sayth the Lord God. Where first (I besech you) marke, how y^e lawfull vse of Matrimony, is cal­led carnall company: Thē also how despitefully, y^e place of Scripture: Be ye holy for I am holy, is applyed against Matrimony. The words wer spokē by God, vnto y^e Hebrewes, whā he forbad them, y^t they should not offer vp their sonnes to Moloch: y^t they should not follow the sorcerers & the wit­ches: and in the latter ende of y^e chapt. it is repeted agayn, where incest w^t mother, sister or such lyke, is condemned. Wherfore by wresting thys to lawful mariage, what dyd they, but cōdemne y^e maryed, of vngodlynesse. Yet God cō maūded y^e priestes of y^e olde law to be holy, whom notwith­standing, he neuer dyd restraine from mariage. But Inno­centius goeth forward in hys decrée, and sayth: Multo magis igitur sacerdotes, quibus & sacrificādi & orandi iuge officiū est, sem­per debebunt ab huiusmodi cōsortio abstinere: Quia si contaminatus fuerit carnali concupiscētia, quo merito se posse exaudiri credit? cū dic­tum sit: Omnia munda mundis, coinquinatis autem & infidelibus nihil est mundum sed coinquinata est eorum mens & conscientia. &c. Therfore much more priestes, which haue a cōtinual office to sacrifice and pray, ought alwayes to abstaine from suche company. For if he be defiled with carnal cōcupiscence, by what merite of hys, thinkes he, that he cā be heard, wheras it is sayd: al thyngs are cleane to y^e cleane, but to thē y^t are defiled, and to the vnfaythful, nothing is cleane, but their minde and consciēce is defiled. And can there be any thing spokē or deuised more cōtumelious against the state of Ma­trimonye, then that suche as are maried, are therby defi­led with carnall lustes, and their prayers can not be heard? [Page] What shall the honest couples throughout all Christendō thinke of thys? that when in the feare of God, they vse the ordinaunce that God hath willed them, that day they nede not to make their prayers, for the Pope sayth, they shal not be heard. Wherfore al mē by thys mans holy order, must eyther vtterly refuse prayer,Luc. 13. Colo. 4. 1. Cor. 7. or refuse to giue due beneuo­lence to their wiues: which both are shamefull inconueniē ­ces. I omytt that in the same decrée, he applies to the ma­ried, this sentence of Paul: Qui in carne sunt, deo placere non possunt. They that are in the flesh can not please God. Thē wo be to the maryed:Dist 82. Ca. quia ali. they are out of Gods fauoure, and therfore condemned. I omyt y^e Siricius calleth the vse of ma­trimony obscoenas cupiditates, filthie lustes. I omyt that another Innocente by name (but nocente, and noysome in dede) sayth: that to mary a wyfe, is cubilibus & immunditijs deseruire, Dist. 28. cap. d [...]cerni­mus. to serue wantonnesse and vnclennesse. Thus doe they deface the ordinance of God, to commende their own vnchast and filthy state. Yet wyll they haue matrimony to be a sacrament. A sory sacrament, that by your lawe is nothing else but carnall company, carnall concupiscence, vnclennesse, wātonnesse, filthy lustes, seuering vs frō Gods people, making our prayers not to be heard. Howe say you (M. Martiall) are you yet ashamed of your profession? wyll you stande to thys styll, that matrimony is a sacramente? Then let me procede a little further with you. Wherefore do you exclude your priestes from mariage?The third absurdite for the sa­cramēt of martrimonye. why are ye so iniurious vnto them, that they shall not partake the holye sacrament? Shall they alone be gracelesse, where so greate grace as you say is giuen? Or else are your sacramentes so singuler and selfe wyl, that they can not in one subiect a­grée together? But ye do not exclude them from the sacra­ment (you say) but only from the carnall knowledge. But the carnall knowledge (say I) by your own authoritie, is a chiefe part of the Sacrament, and therfore ye exclude them [Page 111] from the sacrament it selfe. For these be the words of your Cannon lawe,Decr. 2 pie. causa. 27. Quest. 2. Cum societas nuptiarum ita à principio sit instituta vt praeter commixtionem sexuum, non habeant in se nuptiae coniuncti­onis Christi & ecclesiae Sacramentum. Whereas the fellowship and societie of mariage is so ordayned from the beginning, that beside the commixtion of seres, mariage hath no sacra­ment of the coniunction of Christ and his church together. &c. Whereby it appeareth that the carnall knowledge be­twene man and woman, (which you forbyd your priestes, though not absolutely, yet onely so as they might lawfully vse it) is that sacrament of yours.The .4. absurdity for the sa­ment of matrimo­nie. Therefore ye doe wrong to your shorne & annoynted, to forbyd them mariage, your newe made sacrament, if for no other respecte but this, Vt sacris vestris operentur. But ye haue a remedy for it, damna­ble and diuelish. I will not speake it for shame, God make you honest. Agayne yet, where ye touch that Matrimonie is a sacrament, yea the company it self of man and wife to­gether in the act of matrimony, to be a sacrament: & euery sacrament (you say) conferreth grace: howe doth this holde together, that in the acte of matrimonie, in the company of man and wife together, ye deny the presence of the holy ghost? for your law affirmeth it to be sinne, though a sinne veniall. Shall it nowe be a sacrament,Dec. 1. parte dist. 13. Cap. item aduers in glo. and anone no sacra­ment? Shall all sacraments conferre grace, and this be a sacrament and conferre none? shall it be holy, and yet pro­phane? a sacrament, and yet a sinne? Last of all to proue that in all your deuises of error and hipocrisie,The fift absurdity for the sa­crament of matri­mony. ye séeke for nothing else but to colour and cloke abhominations: consi­der what an heape of mischieues is couered with this face of holynesse: When ye haue determined that matrimonie is a sacrament, ye take the knowledge of causes Matrimo­nial vnto your selues: for spiritual cases, must not be hand­led of prophane iudges. Then haue ye made such horrible lawes, to confirme your tyranny, that they are not onely [Page] impious to God, but iniurious to man. As, that yong folk, wilfully contracting themselues without their parents cō ­sent, may marry well ynough: that there shall be no mari­age within the seauenth degrée: that he that diuorceth an adulterous person, may not marry another: that gossippes (as we call them) may not be man and wife together: that from thrée wéekes before Lente, till the octaues of Easter, from Aduent to Twelftyde, & for thrée wéekes before Mid­sommer, there shall be no marrying at all, wythout a dys­pensation. No maruell then if ye haue made a sacramente of Matrimonie, since that is the mylch cowe, that yeldeth so large a meale of spirituall extortion. Nowe to come to Penaunce,Penaunce Folio. 68. [...]. which ye make a sacrament, as well as Matri­monie. Ye call it a bath of teares, a dispoyling of the olde lyfe, the second boorde after shipvvracke. These titles ar­gue not, that it is a sacrament: nor I contend who giueth it these titles, certayne I am, that some of them be blasphe­mous and abhominable. For, to go no further, than to this, that it is called the second table after shipvvracke, Quia si quis innocentiae vestem in Baptismo perceptam peccando corruperit, Lib. 4. Sent. Dist. 14. ca. 1 per Paenitentiae remedium reparare potest: Bicause (sayth the author, whose name I suppresse as well as you) if any haue marred his garment of innocencie, which in Baptisme he gat, by the remedie of Penance, he may repaire it. This is asmuch to saye: as if the effecte of Baptisme were taken away by synne: whereas we be bounde, to call our Baptisme to re­membraunce when so euer we synne, that by the promyse exhibited in Baptisme, the sinfull soule may be refreshed, & penance out of it gathered. Therefore as the gospell it self doth say,Mar. 1. Dec. caus. 15. quest. 1. Iohn preached the Baptisme of penance to remis­sion of synnes: So the fathers of the Church, do cal Bap­tisme, sometime the sacrament of Penaunce. But to your reason,Folio. 68. b. whereby ye proue Penaunce to be a sacrament. It is a visible signe of inuisible grace (ye say) & the visible signe [Page 112] is the external act of the priest, absoluing the penitent. By this reason ye proue better, Absolutiō to be a sacramēt than Penance. And so shal our sacramēts multiply stil. I besech you, what hath Penance to do with the priests Absolution? Can there be no remission of sinnes, vnlesse y^e priest assoyle me? I wil proue that manifestly false, & by your own law. For Confession, goeth before absolution, & yet without cō ­fession, there may be good remission. So by this reason, we stand not in nede of y^e visible element, the inuisible grace is graūted without it. For according vnto your canon,De Paen. dist 1. Ca. Si cui Folio. 68. b. Voluntas remuneratur, non opus, The wil is rewarded & not y^e work. Then is it a lie, which you affirm, that sinnes are remitted by meane of the external vvork. I know that you be more conuersant in y^e Popes decrées, thē in Austins works: there­fore I wil shew you what Gratiā gathereth out of thē.De Paen. dist 1. Ca. Faciliꝰ The sorrow of my hart, though I speak neuer a word, nor priest lay hand vpō my head, purchaseth me pardon. Id quod proba­tur autoritate illa prophetica: In quacun (que) hora peccator fuerit cōuersus et ingemuerit: Non enim dicitur, ore confessus fuerit, sed tantum cōuer­sus fuerit & ingemuerit, vita viuet et non morietur. Which thing is proued (saith he) by the authoritie of the Prophet, saying: In what houre soeuer, a sinner shalbe turned & lament: for he saith not, whē he shalbe confessed, but when he shalbe cō ­uerted and lament, then shal he liue and not dye.Ca. qui natꝰ Likewise after, Euidentissimè apparet, quod sola cordis contritione, sine con­fessione oris, peccatum remittatur. It appeareth most euidently, that by the onely contrition of heart, without confession of mouth, sinne is remitted. And yet againe.Ca. Qui­dam Deo. Confessio quae soli deo fit, quod est iustorū, purgat peccata. The confessiō which is made to God alone, (which is the part of the righteous) purgeth y^e offences. By which places all, it is playnly to be sene: first that your eareshrift (one part of your penance) is to no pur­pose: then that Absolution, which is your externall worke, your Sacrament (as you call it) is no meane of Remission. [Page] Furthermore to rake out this kenell of Poperie, Penance is a sacramēt (ye say) Euery sacrament a visible signe. The visible signe herein, is the externall acte of the priest: the inuisible grace, is the remission of sinnes to the penitent. So the signe and sacrament is in the priest: but the grace in the people. But how is this grace conferred? Forsoth by the priest, the ghostly father. And on whose head so euer the priest layeth his hands vnder confession, hath he remis­sion?Lib. 4. Sent. Dist. 1. Cap. 1. &. 3. Yea forsoth. Quia sacramenta nouae legis, efficiunt quod fi­gurant. Bycause the sacraments of the newe law, do bring to passe, that which they figure. Then euery murderer, théefe, adulterer, though he neuer repent, hath cleare re­mission, for he hath the sacrament. O shamelesse impuden­cie. But if it were so (which is great impiety) that by the ex­ternal act, remission were obtayned, yet I sée not how that shoulde be a Sacramente.Folio. 69. a. For the matter of this Sacra­ment (say you) is the external act of the penitent, cōtayning these three poyntes: Contrition, Confession, & Satisfac­tion. Among all these, where is the visible elemente? Vbi est illa corporalis species, Ser. de bap. Infan. quae fructum habet spiritualē? as Augus­tine sayth. Where is that bodyly shape, which hath the spi­tuall fruite? Hath Contrition, Confession, or Satisfaction a bodye? Be these subiecte to the eye, as breade, wine, and water are? Be they not vertues proceding from the minde, or things vttered by the mouth: and wil you make them to be things sensible, as boyes and girles brought out in a pageant? Wherefore your sacrament is cut of by the waste. Make as good shift with the words as you can, your visible and bodyly signe is gone.Vnitie in Papistes doctrine. And I maruell howe ye dare so precisely speake of your Sacrament of Penaunce, affirming the externall acte, to be the visible signe, of re­lease of sinne the inuisible grace: where as your master of the sentence,Lib. 4. Sent. Dis. 22. ca. 2. is put to his shiftes in this case: and putting two opinions, determineth vpon none. Whether the out­warde [Page 113] act should be the Sacrament, or els the outward and inwarde together. As for the outwarde, which you do rest vpon, he feareth to graunt, lest this inconuenience ensue, Non omne sacramentū euāgelicum, efficere quod figurat, that al the sacraments of the gospell, haue not the effect of that which they figure. But who is so bold as blinde bayard? Hitherto haue I spoken not so much as I might, to derogation of your diuels doctrine, but so much as your ignoraunce and ouersight, doth cause me of conscience to put you in minde of. For the rest,Folio. 69. b. ye referre me to the boke of the seauen sa­cramentes, set forth by the late King of famous memorie, Henry y^e .viij. And bicause this is but a popish deuise, (who­so euer defend it) I referre you to the same boke, to knowe what ye ought to thinke of the Pope.

Now as for Extreme vnction, Extreme vnction. which you say was pro­uided of Gods mercy and goodnesse, that in the last and pe­rillous extremitie we should not be destitute of ayde & com­forte: In dede God neuer forsaketh his, he hath lefte hys promises to heale the mindes infirmities, and vse of physick for diseases of the body. But that oyle, can enter into the soule, or is so soueraine a medicine for the fleshe, resteth to be proued:Folio. 70. a. Mark. 6. The Apostles annoynted vvith Oyle many sicke folkes, and they vvere healed. The priests annoynt euery sicke body, and none of them is the better. The Apo­stles were cōmaunded to cast out diuels, to cure diseases, to cleanse the lepres, and to rayse the deade: the priests ne­uer had any such commission. The Apostles signified by their annoynting, the vertue and power of the holy ghost, by which the cure was wrought: The priestes wyth their oyle, mocke the holy ghost, and make the body but greasier for the graue. If euery example that we reade in scripture, shall be followed of vs, If euery thing that was a signe to other shal be a sacrament to vs: then dust and spittle, shal be a sacrament to heale sore eyes. Then the poole of Siloah,Ioan. 9. [Page] shall be a Sacrament to washe away the filth. Then lying on the deade,Act. 20. shall be a sacrament to rayse them vp to lyfe. Wherefore though anoynting were in y^e primitiue Church vsed, and the same was a signe of grace conferred, yet can not this president extende to vs, bycause the commaunde­ment concerneth vs not, and also the effecte and end there­of is ceassed. Ye haue a common prouerbe in your lawe. Accessorium si qui naturam principalis, that the accessory thing, doth follow the nature of the principall.Anoyn­ting vvas a signe of healing. Wherefore since the principal is gone, the working of miracles and healing of the sicke, what shall we doe with the accessorie, the signe thereof, and outwarde annoynting? Ye vrge vehemently the institution of God by his Apostle S. Iames: but the A­postle meant not, preposterously to draw to imitation, that which was temporall, and onely touched the present state. When the doctrine of Christ was rawe in the peoples mouthes, and a newe Church beganne to be gathered, miracles were necessary, many gyftes were graunted, and amongst the reste,Anoyn­ting no cause of health. the power of healing: the mini­sters wherof vsed their oyle, not as a cause of health, but as a signe that the vertue proceded from aboue, and they were but instruments of the same: Nowe since the gyfte of hea­ling is gone, (as I am sure ye wil confesse) to what purpose is it to vse the oyle? If ye wyll therein be the Apostles successours, If ye wyll followe Sainct Iames his coun­sell, saue the sycke and you can? shewe the grace of your grease?Anoyn­ting must ceasse, by­cause the gift of healing ceasseth. The greasy merchaunts that take this cure nowe a dayes in hande, be no more exhibiters of the grace then graunted, than the player on the stage is a King in déede, when he [...]mmeth dysguised in a golden coate. Christ dys­pensed many things by his Apostles: the effecte whereof he denyeth vnto vs. And anoynting, better might be vsed of such as haue the power of healing, Surgians or Physi­tians, than of such as haue no skyll, but onely in murde­ring [Page 114] and in kylling. Here I rehearse not the contradicti­on, that in your ydle decrées I finde,Contra­diction in Papistes doctrine. and is only sufficient to dysproue your assertion: For whylest eche man goeth aboute to establishe hys owne deuise: and eche man is con­trary to another, ye shewe therein that ye be lyers all. You say, that Priestes onely must be the ministers of this Sacramente. Priestes muste be called for, Foli. 70. a. b. Priestes must anoynte. But Innocentius a father of your Church, hath long agoe decréed the contrary.Anno Dōi. 404. For Sigebertus in hys Chronicle, affyrmeth that he made an Acte, Oleo ad vsus in­firmorum ab Episcopo consecrato licere vti, non solum presbyteris, sed omnibus etiam christianis, in suam suorum (que) necessitatem vngēdo. That it shoulde be lawefull, not onely for the Priestes, but also for all Christians, to vse the oyle consecrated of the Byshoppe for the behoufe of the sycke, anoynting there­wyth, according to the necessitie of themselues and their friendes. But ye alleage Sainct IamesIames. 5. for you. Is there any sycke among you? let hym bring in the Priestes of the Church, (for so ye translate it) and let them pray ouer hym, anoynting hym vvyth Oyle, in the name of oure Lorde. Ye abhorre the name of the Lorde (for by Stories positi­on,Hovv the Papists in all poynts svvarne from S. Iames his order. that is the marke of an heretique) and yet all Prophetes and Apostles vse it. Then it followeth, The prayer of fayth shall saue the sycke, and if he be in synnes, they shall be forgyuen hym. Nowe if a man shoulde graunte (which I haue proued to be moste vntrue) that the annoynting here spoken of, agréed to thys age: yet had ye furthered your cause nothing, in asmuch as so shamefully ye doe de­cline from the Apostles order. 1 Sainct Iames will haue all to be anoynted if they be sycke: you onely anoynt in case of mortalitie and daunger of death, when one foote is in the graue already.

If oyle be your sacrament & the promise of grace be annex­ed to it,The ab­surdities. to heale both bodyly & ghostly (as you say) then what [Page] harde heartes haue you, that suffer so many to languish in extremitie, that come not by your wils before y^e last gaspe? 2 S. Iames will haue the sick to be anoynted of many: you wil admit but one alone, with his head in his sleue, muffled as an Ape, with a bell before him, as a batfowler for an owle. 3 S. Iames will haue the elders to be called to this of­fice, which were not onely of the ministerie, but also of the lay sée: You will haue a rable of shorne priestes, and none but them. 4 S. Iames is content with simple oyle: you will haue none but such as a byshoppe hallowed, with many a stinking breath warmed: with many a sorcerous word in­chaunted: with many a beck, many a knée to the ground I­doled. 5 S. Iames wil haue vnction (the signe of Gods spirit) and prayer of the faythfull to concur together, noting that it is not the oyle that healeth, but good mennes prayers are alwayes auayleable: you most blasphemously doe ascribe remission of sinnes vnto your oyle boxe. Now brag of your vnction: goe sell your kitchin stuffe. Trye it and ye lose it. It is to stale to make a sacramente. It stinketh I tell you. For where as in a sacrament two things be required: first that it be a ceremonie instituted of God: then, that it haue a promise of grace in it: In the first we respect, that the ce­remonie be deliuered vnto vs: in the seconde that the pro­mise also concerne vs. And for asmuch as neither the cere­monie was cōmaunded vs, nor the promise appertayneth to vs, both being temporall, & long agoe surceassed, I may wel cōclude, that Extreme vnction is no sacrament. What soeuer in the Councell of Florence, or in the late Synode of Trent, hath bene decréed to the contrary, shall not pre­iudice my truth. For I hauing reason and Scripture for me, with the learned and sounde determinations, of moe fathers of the Church than these: will not be prescribed by conuenticles and conspiracies. You pretende authoritie: we bring the scripture. You call vs heretiques: we proue [Page 115] you no lesse. And which shal take place? Gods worde? or mens willes? A talke? or a proufe? If all the fat bulles of Basan did drawe together, and the diuel their carter dyd dryue them to Trent, there to fede and stande fast for their prouender, shall the Lordes shepe therfore be starued? shal hys worke be neglected? If ten thousande of your affinitie, bewitched with the sorcery of Romish Circe, should holde a councell, and cal al men to the trough of your own draffe: should not I acknowledge and cōfesse with Grillus, in whō (bearing the figure of a reasonable creature,) inchauntmēt could take no place, that reason and religion should be pre­ferred to the belly? What reason is in thys, their sentence to holde, who be the parties accused, and yet iudges of the cause? What religion is in thys, that for filthy lucre, man­nes idle ordināce, shall displace the cōmaundement of al­mighty God? Wheresoeuer I sée thys shame and disorder (as in al your popish councels it is) I appeale from them,1. Cor. 4. I say with Paul Mihi pro minimo est vt à vobis iudicer, I passe very little to be iudged of you. As for the place of Hilariꝰ against Auxentius the Arrian, how fitly it may be apply­ed vnto you (and not to vs whom you would seme to touch) al they that haue eyes do sée. For you can say nothing,Fol. 71. 72, but these nevve ministers are heretiques, they are Caluinistes, and therfore diuels. Proufe bryng ye none, but the same is reproued. I trust therfore ye haue credite according. But to you I say. Ye be fallen with Auxentius. ye do participate with Arrius heresy. Who is the diuels Angel thā? Who is to be auoided? Nor I am contented onely to say it (as you do) though in thys respect my worde were aswell to be accepted as yours, but I proue it too. For when ye make an I­mage of God the worde, Creaturam facitis eum, qui omnia cre­auit, as Epiphanius sayeth. Ye make a creature of hym,Lib. 2. tom. 2 Her. 96. y^e created all thinges. Wherfore if ye would assente to the decrées of the first Nicene councell, and go no further, these [Page] wordes neded not betwixte you and me.Fol. 72. b But when ye take away the name of Nicene, and put Florence or Trente in place therof, ye are as true a mā, as he that stale a goose and sticked down a feather. For al coūcels are not a lyke. Nor al they that bragge of the holy ghost, are by and by inspired with hys grace. For Hilarius your own author (whō to no purpose ye brought forth last) hath to good purpose, thys. Multi sunt qui simulantes fidem, Hilarius Li. 8. de. Trinit. non subditi sunt fidei, sibi (que) fidē ipsi potius constituunt quam accipiunt sensu humanae inanitatis inflati, dum quae volunt sapiunt, & nolunt sapere quae vera sunt, cum sapien­tiae haec veritas sit, ea interdum sapere quae nolis. Sequitur vero hanc voluntatis sapientiā sermo stulticiae. Quia necesse est, quod stulte sa­pitur, stulte & praedicetur. Many there are (sayth he) which fay­ning a fayth, are not subiecte to fayth, and rather do ap­poynt themselues a fayth, than receiue it: puffed vp with the sence of mans vanitie, whyle they vnderstande those thinges that they lust, but wyll not vnderstande those thin­ges that be true: whereas the truth of wisdome is, some­tyme to vnderstande those thynges that thou wouldest not. But the talke of folly, commeth after thys wyll wysedome: for necessary it is, that foolishly it be vttered, that foolishly is vnderstode.

ALthough ye bende your selfe in all thys Article, and stretch euery vaine of your feble skyl, to proue a matter which (although it be in part vntrue yet, beyng graūted dyd not hurt my cause: that the Apos­tles [Page 116] and fathers of the primitiue Churche blessed thēselues vvith the signe of the Crosse, Fol. 73. a. and counselled all Christē mē to do the same: and that in those dayes the Crosse vvas set vp in euery place conuenient for it) yet bicause ye styll ap­peare in your lykenesse, and it is so requisite ye be knowen to the world, a clouter of a patch of troth, vpō a whole cloke of lyes: I wyll not disdayne, to make an easy proufe of your thrée taglesse poyntes: for any greater stresse they wil not abyde. And first of all: the terme of blessing, is ill ap­plyed to signing in the forehead. For what it is to blesse,To blesse. I declared in the Article before: to speake wel, professe wel, lyue well. Thys is [...]. Thys is benedicere, whych you doe vse alway to translate, blesse. S. AugustineAugust. in psa. 32. hath Benedicam dominum in omni tempore, semper laus eius in ore meo. Quod est in omni tempore, hoc est semper. Et quod est benedicam, hoc est laus eius in ore meo. I will blesse the Lord in all tyme: al­wayes hys prayse shalbe in my mouth. And that which he fayeth, in all time, is euer. And that which he sayeth, I wil blesse, is hys prayse in my mouth. Likewise Chrisostome Chrisos. in Gen. ca. 9. Hom. 29. Quando dominus benedicitur, & aguntur illi gratiae ab hominibus, tunc vberior ab illo solet benedictio dari, propter quos ipse benedicitur. Nam qui benedixerit, debitorem illum facit maioris benedictionis. When God is blessed, and thankes be giuen of men vnto hym, then more plenteous blessing is wont to bée giuen of hym, for their sakes by whom he is blessed. For he that blesseth, maketh hym detter of a greater blessing. Where ye sée plainly, what the nature of the worde is, & in what sense it hath bene taken of olde. But if you haue learned of your olde mother Maukyn (of whom ye spake before) an other sense: if you haue borowed of foolish custome a newe founde signification of the worde, to note a signing of a Crosse in the forehead: ye do very ill apply it to y^e Apostles tyme and primitiue Church: where we neuer reade Benedice hont se signo crucis sed signabant se: That they blessed thēselues [Page] [...] [Page 117] [...] [Page] [...] [Page 116] [...] [Page] but marked themselues with the signe of the Crosse, yet y^e the Apostles dyd euer practise any such thyng, is not to be founde in any approued writer. Your authorities ye fetche out of Abdias. Such lyppes, such lettise. Hym haue I pro­ued in the third Article to be a very lyer, a vayne foundati­on to builde a truth vpon. Wherefore as loth to be tedious (as you) I wyll trauaile no further in confuting of these .ij. or .iij. leaues together,Fo. 73. 74. 75 which are wholy gathered out of his legendes. If any thynke any piece of more credite to be gi­uen to hym, let hym resort to that which I sayed before, or reade hys tales. I wishe no better confuter than hymselfe. As for Clemēt (whom you say) S. Peter appointed to be his successor.Clement, Folo. 75. Contra He­res. Li. 3. ca. 3 Eus. li. 3 cap 13. I would fayne haue you to recōcile your authors before I do fully beleue it. For Ireneus reckeneth Linꝰ first after Peter: then Anacletus, and Clement to be the third. Eusebius affirmeth the same. Adding further, that after Linus had occupied the sée twelue yeare together, then he resigned hys byshoprike to Anacletus the seconde yeare of Titus. Ephiphanius, Epiph. lib. 1. To. 2. He. 27. although he vary in the name, yet in the order he doth agrée, saying: Episcoporum in Roma successio hanc consequentiam habuit, Petrus & Paulus, Linus, Cletus, Clemens. The successiō of bishops in Rome had this orderly sequele: Peter and Paul, Linus, Cletus, Clemens. And whereas in the same place report is made, that both Linus and Cletus enioyed the rowme twelue yeare a piece, I maruell that Clemēt, according to Peters wyl, dyd not immediatly suc­cede, but taryed for it .xxiiij. yeare. A greate modesty of the man, or much immodesty of the makers. But to come to the purpose, that which ye cite of hys authoritie, hath no credi­ble author to support it. In dede I fynde in hys recogniti­ons, a notable place or .ij. for the materiall Crosse. Whiche I thynke conuenient to speake of more hereafter in the .x. Article.Folio. 75. 76. The tales of S. Anthony, S. Martin, Donatus bi­shop of Eueria, and Paula y^e noble woman of Rome, I passe [Page 117] ouer with silence: bicause if they did signe them selues (as you say) they be no presidentes to enforce an imitation, and yet a man may dout, whether such thynges were done as are reported or no. Erasmus hys iudgement is, that. S. Hie­rome wrote the lyfe of Paul the Heremite onely for hys ex­ercise. And in the same place, that ye bryng for your prouf, vvhere S. Anthony armed his forehead vvith the impressiō of the healthfull signe, Fol. 76. and by and by the mōster running svvyftely ouer the fielde, vanished out of sight, we reade these wordes.Hieron. in vita Pauli Eremite. Haec vtrum diabolus ad terrendum eum simulaue­rit, an (vt solet) eremus monstruosorum animalium ferax, istam quo (que) gignat bestiam, incertum habemus. Whether the diuel did coun­terfet these things to feare hym, or els, whether the wilder­nesse beyng very fruitefull of monstrous beastes, do bryng forth also thys beast, I know not. So that we may dout of the trueth of the hystory. And most likely it is, (as S. Hie­rome hymselfe saith) that the diuel feling the heremites af­fectiō, would make the signe of y^e Crosse wherin he delited, to be (as euer since it hath bene) a cause of further sickenes: a stone of offence: a stombling blocke to fall at. Therefore he ministred an occasion, wherby he myght runne to thys sory succor, and fayned hymselfe to be afrayd of it, y^e men myght put more affiaunce in it. Wherefore we oughte to dout the worste, leaste these externall meanes, doe make oure enemye haue more aduauntage of vs, and oure in­warde fayth to be the lesse. Notwithstanding, if in the doings of elder age, there were no such offence,Not vvhatsoe­uer hath bene, may novv be done. Dist. 63. yet conside­ring howe thynges in tyme haue growen to abuse and su­perstition, such as haue bene tolerablely receyued, must now of right and conscience be condemned. Remember the decrée of Stephen, wherof I spake before, that if any of the predecessors, haue done any thing, whiche at any tyme could stande without offence, and afterward is turned to er­ror and superstition, it oughte immediatly to be remoued. And [Page] I sée not but Christians may better forsake it, thē kepe it. I am glad that ye esteme so much S. Hieroms reporte of Paula. I trust ye wyll not reiect hym when in a greater matter he shalbe alleaged. Epiphanius, Epipha­nius an enemy to all Ima­ges. a bishop of Cypres who lyued about the yeare of oure Lorde. 390. writing to Ihon the patriarke of Hierusalem, hath these wordes. Quod audiui quosdam murmurare contra me, quia quādo simul per­gebamus ad sanctum locum qui vocatur Bethel, vt ibi collectam te­cum ex more Ecclesiastica facerem, & venissem ad villam quae dici­tur Anablathae, vidissem (que) ibi praeteriens lucernā ardentē, & inter­rogassem quis locus esset, didicissem (que) esse Ecclesiam, & intrassem vt orarem, inueni ibi velum pendens in foribus eiusdem ecclesiae, tinctum at (que) depictum, & habens Imaginem quasi Christi vel sancti cuiusdā. Non enim satis memini cuius imago fuerit. Cum ergó hoc vidissem in ecclesia Christi, cōtra authoritatem scripturarum hominis pēdere ima­ginem, scidi illud, & magis dedi consilium custodibus eiusdem loci, vt pauperem mortuum eo obuoluerent & efferrent. Whiche wordes right worthy to be considered, are in Englishe these. In that I heard certaine did grudge against me, for that, whē we went together to the holy place which is called Bethel, to make a gathering there with thée, according to the maner of y^e Church: and came to a village called Anablatha, and as I passed, saw a candell burning, and asked what place it was, and when I had learned that it was a Church, and had entred in to make my prayers, I founde there a vaile hanging in the Church porch, becoloured and painted, and hauing the Image as it were of Christ, or of some Sainct vpon it: For I doe not well remember whose Image it was: Therefore when I had séene thys, that in y^e Church of Christ, contrary to the authority of the Scriptures, there hanged the Image of a man, I cut it, and gaue counsell rather to the Church wardens, to wrappe some poore deade man in it, and bury hym. So farre Epiphanius. And a [Page 118] lyttle after he requesteth the bishop of Hierusalem to giue commaundement In ecclesia Christi, eiusmodi vela quae contra re­ligionem nostram veniunt, non appendi. Decet enim honestatem tuam hanc magis habere solicitudinē, vt scrupulositatem tollat quae indigna est ecclesia Christi, & populis qui tibi crediti sunt. That in the Church of Christ, there should be no such clothes hanged, which come against our religion. For it becommeth youre honesty (sayth he) rather to haue thys care, to take away the scrupulosite which is vnworthy of the Church of Christ, & people which are committed to your charge. Whereby we sée that certayne Images of Christ and other, were in those dayes crept into the Church: but the faythfuller byshops dyd strayght remoue them. We sée also y^t in S. Hieromes tyme (to approue that which in the Epistle I sayd before) y^e vse of Images, was not publikely receyued in Churches, but iudged disagreante vnto the Scriptures. For other­wyse (to vse your own reason) S. Hierome would not haue wynked at hys faulte, nor translated the Epistle without correction, if he had thought that hys dooinge had bene yll, or hys wordes vntrue. But what could ye haue more eui­dent against your Crosse, than that which Epiphanius The Churche Crosse cō ­demned by Epi­phanius. most fréely sayde? Firste, that it is against the authoritie of the scripture, to haue the Image of a man hang in the Church of Christ. Then, that he desired, that such paynted clothes should not be hanged vp, bicause he thought them againste our religion. Last of all, that he déemed the vse of suche, to be but a scrupulositie, vnworthy of Christes Churche, vnworthy of Christians. We teache no more thā Epipha­nius dyd, yet you condemne vs as heretiques. Was Epi­phanius euer accompted such? Would Saincte Hierome haue turned hys Epistle out of the Greke into Latine, if it had contayned any vnsounde doctrine? Would he haue giuen suche a testimonye of hym (as we reade, he dyd) if he myghte haue bene stayned with any poynte of heresie? [Page] writing to Pammachius, Hieronimꝰ ad Pam­machium. against Iohn of Hierusalem, he sayth. Habes papam Epiphanium, qui te apertè missis litteris hae­reticum vocat. Certe nec aetate, nec scientiae, nec vitae merito, nec totius orbis testimonie, maior illo es. Eo tempore quo totum Orientem (excepto Papa Athanasio at (que) Paulino) Arrianorū & Eunomianorum haeresis possidebat, quando tu occidentalibus, & in medio exilio confessoribus non communicahas, ille vel presbyter Monasterij, ab Eutitio audieba­tur, vel postea Episcopus Cypri, à valente non tangebatur. Tantae enim venerationis semper suit, vt regnantes haeretici, ignominiam suā pu­tarent, si talem virum persequerentur. Thou haste (quoth he) the Pope Ephiphanius (where is to be noted that the Pope in olde tyme, did signifie but a father, and the name was giuē not only to them of Rome, but also to them of Cypres and Alexādria) who in his letters to thée, calleth thee heretique. Truly neyther in age, nor knowledge, nor worthynesse of lyfe, thou art greater thā he. At such tyme as the heresie of the Arrians and Eunomians possessed all the Easte (excepte father Athanasius and Paulinus) when thou dyddest not cō ­municate with them of the Weste, and suche as confessed the truth in midst of their exile, he beyng but a poore mini­ster of a religious house, was heard of Eutitius, and beyng afterwarde byshop of Cypres, was not touched of Valens. For alwayes he was of such worship and reuerence, that when the heretiques raygned, they thought it a shame for them, if they shoulde persecute suche a man as he. Here haue ye the testimony of S. Hierome for Ephiphanius. Ye haue heard what hys opinion was. I woulde fayne knowe what your iudgemente is of it. S. Hierome pray­sed Paula: So dyd he Epiphanius. S. Hierome wrote the lyfe of Paula: So dyd he discourse vpon Epiphanius, and translated hys doinges. Then set the fact of Paula, against the facte of Epiphanius, and sée whiche is to be preferred. She made the signe of a Crosse in hir forehead: He, would haue no signe in the Church remayning. She prostrate hir [Page 119] selfe before the Image on the Crosse: he cut in pieces the cloth that had the Image on it. She without reason, not ac­cording to skyll, gaue example of a thing: He by religion and scripture condemned it. She was a woman, but he a man: she vnlearned, but he learned: she liued after in a corrupter age, he went before, nerer y^e sinceritie of the Apo­stles tymes. Then if ye vrge the one, I will burden you wyth the other. Yet admit wyth Epiphanius, no Crosse, no Crucifixe, no Image in the Church: and I will not sticke with a mysticall signe of the Crosse with Paula. Foli. 78. 79. Ye reckon vp a sorte, that vsed of deuotion to make in their foreheades this crosse signe: Ye make no mention of them, that vsed it not: in zeale as good as they, and in number moe. Where­fore as Dionisius aunswered, when it was layd vnto him, howe many had escaped the perill of the sea, by Neptunes ayde, whose garmentes and monuments were hanged vp to be séene: yea, quoth he, but there are no monuments of them that perished: Euen so say I, though you kepe a ka­lender of the Crossers, yet where is the register of them that Crossed not? If I should in number contende wyth you, I wel neare might be equall: but if antiquitie should be respected: you should be farre inferior. For as for Ab­dias fables, all wyse and honeste estéeme as much, as the famous Pamphlets that come from Louain. But I wyll not vse so slender a defence. I will not (as you doe) cumber the readers with more ydle talke than nedefull proufe. For if in any thing: sure in religiō, this sentence taketh place: Non viuendum exemplis, sed legibus. We must not liue by examples, but by lawes. Yet here ye triumph maruel­lously, God wote before the victorie, before any blowe gy­uen. For when ye haue rehearsed the names of certayne, which in their dayes did vse this ceremonie, ye vehemently say, Shal vve so far discredit and disauthorize these graue, Folio. 80. a. vertuous, and learned men, as though they knevv not the [Page] Scriptures, and true interpretation of the same? As though they knevve not light from darkenesse, veritie from here­sie, true religō from vayne superstition? Alas God forbid. Alas good man, how fell you out with your self? Who hath chased your charitie? Be men discredited, that be not in e­uery poynt followed? hath your wisedome forgotten that the selfe same fathers, which twice or thrice ye rehearse by tale, both did, and taught, more ofte and more earnestly o­ther things than that, wherein your selfe refuse to followe them? I will take paynes for your pleasure to runne them ouer agayne, in such order as ye put them, that ye shal not say, but I deale faythfully wyth you. TertullianTertullian. Folio. 79. b. De corona Militis. is put in the first ranke, he sayth: When so euer vve goe forth and moue forvvarde, vvhen so euer vve come in, or goe oute, vvhen so euer vve put on our apparell, and dravve on our shooes, vvhen vve vvashe, vvhen vve syt dovvne at the ta­ble, vvhen vve haue light brought in, vvhen vve go to our chambers and syt dovvn, vvhatsoeuer vve haue to do, vve make the signe of the Crosse in our foreheades. The very next sentence (saue one) before,Tertulli­ans tra­ditions. these wordes he hath also. Die dominico ieiunium nefas ducimus vel de geniculis adorare: Eadē immunitate à die Paschae in Pentecostem vs (que) gaudemus. We think it a wickednesse to fast vpō the Sunday, or to serue God on our knées. And the same immunitie we enioy from Easter day to Whitsontide. And before that, Oblationes pro natalitijs annua die facimus We make euery yeare an offring for our birth day, we kepe the wakes. And now M. Martial: how chaunce that ye knéele at your Masse on Sunday? why do you not offer vp a cake on munday? Tertullian thought the one a wickednesse: the other be commaunded as a ne­cessary seruise. Dare ye so discredit & disauthorize Tertul­lian? Alas God forbid. Ye will rather neuer serue God at all, neuer fast, neuer knele: but drink & be merry, and pipe vp Iohn taberer to morrovve shall be my fathers vvake. [Page 120] These toyes & such other, as he borrowed of Montane (not­withstanding afterward condemned by councell:) so you of conscience & tender heart will follow, thinking therein you are a good catholike. The next in your aray is holy Ephrem Ephrem. He sayth: Let vs paynt in our gates, and printe in oure foreheads, faces, breasts and all partes of our body, the liue­ly signe. In the same boke also de Poenitentia, foure times together, he calleth Christ Legislatorem, a lawe maker.De cōpūcti­one cordis. Lib. 1. Ca. 5. De laudibꝰ Mariae. And is this Catholike? Where haue ye redde the like? He prayeth also to the virgin Mary, saying: Sub alis tuis cus­todi me Kepe me vnder thy wings. What worde or sense of Scripture for this? Dauid in foure or fyue places doth attribute the same to God. Psalme. xvj.xxxv.lvj.lx.lxij. But to none other. And the whole course of Scripture is in dede against it. Yet here ye will followe him. Then what say you to this? Diuers tymes he fayned hymselfe to be mad, for feare least they should lay a bishoprike vpon him. Will ye follow him in this? I doubt your modestie.Folio. 78. Chrisostom. Chrisostom (you say) doth coūsell vs, vvith great study & earnest zeale to set in our foreheads and mindes the Crosse. So doth he euery man to haue the bible in his house. How like ye that?Hom. 9. in Epis. ad Co­loss. De Lazar. Cōc. 3 & 4. In cap. Mat 21. Hom. 69. Euery man and woman, as wel, and rather the lay fée than the cleargy, to be conuersant in Scripture. Admit ye that? That whersoeuer the Bible lieth, the diuel can haue no po­wer there? Beleue ye that? That Monks had their minds voyd of al affectiōs, and their bodies like Adams before the fall (wherein is denied originall sinne) Confesse ye that? If in these poyntes ye thinke it no shame to swarue frō Chri­sostome, think it no discredit to refuse the other.Folio. 78. Hieron. in 3 Sopho. In Ezech. Ca. 16 cōtra Iouin. S. Hierom counsels vs to make the signe of the Crosse. So doth he also to trust to y^e merits of y^e priest, or else to think ther is no due sacramēt. He saith that our soules as long as they are yong are without sinne: & that to marry twise, is as il almost as to play the harlot. If in these cases ye think he had the true [Page] interpretation of the Scripture, I maruell not if ye truste him in the other.Folio. 78. August. de pecc mer. & remis. libr. 1. Cap. 20. But if in these he was deceyued, why doe ye so earnestly vrge him in the other? Sainct Augustine commaundcth vs to make the signe of the Crosse. So doth he also, that infants should receyue the communion. If ye discredite him in this, who thought it as necessary for them to take the Lords supper, as to be Christened: wil ye think it so great a matter, in such a trifle as the other is, which without any worde, without any binding vs to it, he onely spake of, a little to dissent? Cyrillus ye name, but cite no au­thoritie.Folio. 79. b. When we come to his place, in the latter ende of the ninth Article, you shall heare more newes of him. Pru­dentius he sayth,Prudentius Cathemeri [...] Hym­no ante cibū Folio. 79. that vvhen vve goe to sleepe, vve must in our foreheades make the signe of the Crosse. But in the same boke also he sayth, that it was the woman that sub­dued the Serpent, transferring the glory, from Christ vnto Mary. And as he doth inferre a reasō for the Crosse, bicause a minde earnestly fixed on that signe, cannot be inconstant and vvauer. So doth he for the dignity of Christes mother, saying: The virgin that deserued to bring forth God, brin­geth all poyson and yll povver vnto naught. And the doc­trine of the one, is as true as the other. Wherefore since it is not to be denyed, but that euery one of the fathers of the Church (whome I notwithstanding with all my heart doe reuerēce) haue had their errors & imperfections (though not in like degrée al) ye do vs wrong, to say we discredit them, if we do not clearly in al things follow them. They themsel­ues refused that honour and authoritie: they must be trus­ted, but yet as men. As long as they bring their warrant for them, God forbyd in dede, but we should admit them. If we established our traditions, and destroyed theirs: If we deuised a worship of our own, & despised theirs, we wer to be blamed: But when in respecte of Gods commaunde­ment (which no man ought, on peril of his life transgresse) [Page 121] we reiecte a custome and deuise of man, we are not to bée burdened with pride or singularitie.Folio. 80. Your selues thinke it laweful, to alter and innouate at your owne pleasures, all traditions and ceremonies of elder time: As taking away mylke and hony from Christenings, contrary to Tertul­lian: and denying infants the supper of the Lorde, contra­ry to Augustine: with an hundred moe, that I could re­hearse. And wherewithall doe you supply them? with your owne fansies, your owne follies. Yet you neyther discre­dite, nor disauthorize the fathers. We, if we stande not to euery iote, that any one of the fathers heretofore hath writ­ten, and hath pleased the Pope of his power absolute to ad­mit, are compted heretiques, schismatiques, such as haue separated our selues from the Church. In dede we professe a separation from you, as our Apologie doth witnesse,Folio. 81. Apologie of the church of England. and shewe good reason why. Therein your finenesse doth cal vs patchers. I wys all the packe of you hath not cloth in your shoppes to make the like. But separating our selues from you, the enimies of God and of his truth, we ioyne (as we ought) with the church of Christ. For what is the vnitieVnitie of Papistes. that you appoynt vs? The humble obedience of the Church of Rome, whome you wil haue to be the mother Church, whō you doe call the boosome and the lappe, that all men ought to runne vnto, which will be numbred among Gods chil­dren. You, with this vnitie, content your selues, seking ra­ther, your selues ouer Christ, than Christ ouer the flock to raigne: compassing rather, how your selues may dayntily liue in this world, than howe the members of the Church may be brought to heauen. But we must appoynte, suche kinde of vnity,Vnitie of Christiās. as must not depend vpon one particular or priuate Church: be it eyther of Antioch, or of Hierusalem, or of Rome it selfe, but vpon the catholique and vniuersall Church, which was not onely before Rome in antiquitie, but shall continue when Rome is gone. This muste we [Page] search out of the scriptures.Rom. 12. Vnū corpus multi sumus in Christo sayth y^e Apostle, We being many, are one body in Christ. Christ is the head, and we be the members. Howe doe the members and the head agrée? With one flesh, one bloud, one spirite, and one life. As Christ is in the father, and the father in Christ: so we al by Christ, are one in God. If one spirite rule vs, we must all thinke one thing. If we be all one body, we must not hate our owne fleshe. As brotherly loue and charitie is necessary for vs to declare by the same that we be Christs disciples: as peace & quietnesse among vs all, is a thing most expedient, as a bande to knyt vs in the vnitie of the spirite: so they which are thus vnited vnto Christ, must not only be quickned w^t the same spirit, but be cōforted & maintained, with the same fayth & hope. Wher­fore if you wil haue vs to continue the vnity of your church with you, then make it first a catholike Church: & of a sink of Idolatry, a follower and furtherer of true religion. It is not by & by the vnitie of y^e church, which coms vnder colour & name of it. Hierome a doctor of the Church writeth. Sub rege Constantio, Contra Lu­ciferianos. Eusebio & Hippatio Consulibus, nomine vnitatis et fidei, infidelitas scripta est. In the time of Constance the king, Eusebius & Hippatius being Consuls, vnder the name of vnitie and fayth, infidelity was written. And such an vnitie do you deliuer vs, (not you alone, I meane, but all the ra­ble of popish heretiques with you) as consisteth of Idolatry, false worshippings, simony, with a corrupt body, and a coū ­terfet head, euen Antichrist himself. You say, that the vni­ty of the church doth hang vpon obseruance of ceremonies, olde rites & customes: We say, that it standeth vpon fayth and spirite.Ephesi. 4. Which are the truer in this behalfe? S. Paul byddeth vs to be carefull, to kepe the vnitie of the spirit, til we méete together in the vnitie of fayth. Augustine intrea­ting of the Sabboth fast,Epist. 86. sayth: Interminabilis est ista conten­tio, generans lites, nun (quam) fiaiens quaestiones. This contention is [Page 122] endelesse, stil ingendring strife, neuer ceassing from doub­tes. And what I besech you, do you, that bragge of your v­nitie? dissent from all antiquitie, not agrée with your sel­ues, contende about trifles, damne the true fayth, dero­gate all from Christes death and his passion, and giuing it to your owne frée will and works. The works that you cō ­maunde, be your owne deuises. The works that God com­maundes, you haue nothing to doe withall. Breake Gods cōmaundement, and it is no matter. Breake yours, we dye for it. It is a wonder, how bolde you will be to pronounce heretiques to serue your turne.Euseb. eccle­siast. hist. Lib. 5. Victor Bishop of Rome woulde excommunicate and condemne of heresie all the churches of Asia, bicause they did kepe their Easter Quar­tadecima luna primi mensis, when the Iewes swete bread is eaten, & not at the time y^t he kept it at Rome. A sore point I promise you. But you condemne vs of heresy, for prea­ching of the Gospel, against the traditions and precepts of men. If they, from whose ordinances we do depart, had ey­ther thought their traditions necessary, or shewed scripture wherevpon they grounded them, we would not presume to withstande their authoritie, or gaynesay their good reason. But when they deliuer them as thinges indifferent, and plainly professe, that they haue no worde of the Lorde for them: a hope of commoditie may cause vs to retayne them, but an apparant mischief must driue vs to refuse thē. Ter­tullian himself,Tertulliā de corona mi­litis. when he had rehearsed a great sorte of tra­ditions, among which, this was the last, that we nowe doe speke of, (the manner of signing vvith the Crosse in the forehead) immediately inferreth, Harum & aliarum eiusmodi disciplinarum si legem expostules scripturaerum, nullam reperies. If thou require a lawe of Scripture, for these and such like or­ders of discipline, thou shalt finde none. Wherefore since they builde not vpon the Scripture, they do not expounde vpon the word: when these ioyes be taught, we can not (as [Page] you say) dyscredite and dysauthorize them, Folio. 79. b. as though they knevv not the scriptures, & true interpretatiō of the lavv. When you doe make a lye of your owne, doe I discredite your knowledge in the lawe? A lawyer may sometime be a liar, as you proue vnto vs, and yet not the lawe to wyte. When the fathers bring an inuention of their owne, do I otherwise deny them the right sense of scripture? The fa­thers may haue sometime their fansies, and yet besyde the word. Then if their fansies be misliked, is their exposition of the word condemned, whereas they meddle not with the worde? Apelles shoomaker was worthily checkt, when he would be busy aboue the knée: but that did not set, but he might haue iudgement good ynough of the shooe. Yet in a shooe made on anothers last, y^e best shoomaker for al his skil may chaunce be deceyued. In déede good cause we haue, on­ly to depend vpon the word of God, and not be ruled ouer by time or custome, bycause in matters of our religion, as Christ hath taken perfecte order therein: so hath he com­maunded vs to go no further but him obey.August. de Consen. Euā Li. 1. Cap. 18. Socrates was wont to say, Vnumquem (que) Deum sic coli oportere, quomodo seipsum colendum esse praecepisset. That euery God was so to be serued, as he himselfe had commaunded to be serued. And this was the cause why the Romaines, would neuer receyue the God of the Hebrewes. For grounding vpon this foresayd prin­ciple, they saw it necessary, that eyther al their ydols shuld be excluded, and onely the true God entertayned: or he on­ly not admitted, the rest be honored. For by the worde of God they found, that they could not agrée together: and cō ­trary to his word, they would not séeke to serue him. If they had this affect, as Augustine declareth, gathered by morall reason, and by no further insight of faith: Shal we that pro­fesse more knowledge and perfection, be folisher than they, hearing continually Christ and his Apostles inueighing a­gaynst wilworshippers? Therefore I say, we aske for [Page 123] the worde, you answere vs by wyl: we cal for Scripture, you reache vs custome.Epig. lib. 6. Martiall a mery man a poet of your name, a man of more learning and wit than you, had some tyme to do with such a lawyer as you. For a neigh­boure of hys had stolen .iij. goates. The matter was called into the courte, the party should come to proue the indite­ment. He gat hym a counsailler to declare the case. When the iudge was ready to heare it, his counsailer fel a discoursing of the fight at Cannas, the battayl wyth Mithridates, the wrōges and iniuries sustayned by the Africanes. Thus whē he had filled their eares a great whyle w^t dyn, thūping on the barre and squekyng in hys smal pipes: Martiall ten­deryng hys own cause, more than the babbling of his vaine aduocate, at length pulled hym by the sléeue, and sayd. And please your worship I gaue ye my fée to talke of .iij. goates. And thus had I néede to put you in remembrance. For where ye appointed to speake of Gods seruice, ye tell vs a tale of thys man and that man, what he dyd, and they dyd. And yet not a worde what God hath commaunded.Fol. 82. Ye call vs curious, when we require Scripture. We can get at your handes nothing else but custome. And speakyng of custome, accordyng to your custome, ye make a lye: and falsefie Tertulliā.Martiall corrup­teth Ter­tullian. For these are your words. We say vvith Tertullian, that custome increser, confirmer, and obseruer of fayth, taught thys vse of the Crosse. &c. As if y^e increase, confirmatiō, and obseruing of Fayth, proceded of custom. Hys wordes are otherwise. For speakyng of hys traditions he sayth. S. legem expostules scripturarū, nullā reperies, traditiō tibi praetendetur auctrix, consuetudo confirmatrix, & fides obseruatrix. If thou demaunde a law of Scripture for these, thou shalt fynd none: Traditione shalbe pretēded to thée as increaser, custom confirmer, and faith obseruer of them. Where you may sée, that custome is not made increaser and confirmer of fayth: but fayth obseruer of custome. Notwithstanding [Page] I must still beare with you. For ye be driuen to narrowe shyftes, & fayne would ye say something. But it is a foule shyft to make a lye. Thys custome ye proue came of tradi­tion. For (as Tertulliā Tertulian de corona millitis. sayth,) how can a thing be vsed, if it were not first deliuered. To graunt it a tradition, I wil not sticke with you. But Tertulliā wyll haue the same to be builded vpon reason, or els he refuseth it. He maketh the Antithesis not betwene written and vnwritten: but be­twene written and reasonable. And so he thynketh a Tra­dition not writtē, to be admitted, so it be reasonable. Ther­fore he sayth. Rationem traditioni, consuetudini, fidei patrocinaturā perspicies. Martial is still by his ovvne au­thors ouerthro­vven. Ye shall sée that reason wyll defende tradition, cu­stome and fayth. And afterwarde. Non differt scriptura an ra­tione consistat, quando & legem ratio commendet. It is no matter, whether custome consist of writing or of reason, inasmuch as reason also commendeth law. So that reasonable must be the tradition. And how shall thys reasonable be defined. Tertulliā hymselfe doth tel you, limiting how a mā maye make a custome if he conceue & decrée duntaxat quod Deo cō ­gruat, quod disciplinae conducat, quod saluti proficiat. Only that is agreable to God, furthering vnto discipline, and profi­table to saluation. If the tradition of the Crosse signe, may be proued to be such, I wyll yelde vnto you w^t all my hart. Consider the reasōs, and the examples that y^e Doctor vseth. First of the Lordes authorite, who sayd. Cur non & a vobis ipsis quod iustū est iudicatis? Vt nō de iuditio tantum, sed de omni sē ­tentia rerum examinandarum. Why do you not of your selues iudge that, that is rightuous? y^t it be not onely vnderstode of iudgement, but of euery sentence of things to be exami­ned. And it followeth. Dicit & Apostolus, Si quid ignoratis, Deus vobis reuelabit. Solitus & ipse cōsilium subministrare cum praeceptum domini non habebat, & quaedā edicere à semetipso, sed & ipse spiritū dei habens, deductorē omnis veritatis. Ita (que) consiliū & edictū eius di­uini iā praecepti instar obtinuit, de rationis diuinae patrocinio. Hanc [Page 124] nunc expostula saluo traditionis respectu, quocun (que) traditore cense­tur, necl authorem respicias sed authoritatem. &c. And the Apo­stle sayth. If ye be ignoraunte of any thyng, God shall reueale it to you. He hymselfe, when he had not a com­maundemente from the Lorde, was wonte to giue coun­sell and prescribe some thinges of hymselfe, but as one that had the spirit of God directer of all trueth. Wherefore hys counsell and edict hath now obtayned to be (as it were) the commaundement of God, through supportation and defēce of the reason diuine. Thys reason inquire for, sauing the respect of tradition, whosoeuer be the deliuerer therof: nor respect the author, but the authoritie. So farre Tertulliā. And in hys wordes,In a cu­stome maker the spirite of God. In custōe, commo­ditie and agreable­nesse to Scripture must be cōsidered. Folio. 82. a. Basile. many notable poyntes are to be obserued. First that in all iudgementes and examinations of thinges, we must follow that, that is right and good. Thē, that no man presume to ordayne any thing in the Church, vnlesse he haue the spirite of God to guide hym. Thirdly, that S. Paules tradition should not haue stode in force, vnlesse it had bene consonāt vnto the Scripture. Fourthly, y^t in all customes, we muste haue an eye vnto Gods lawe, seke what accordeth to it, hauing no respect to the custome maker, but Scripture cōfirmer. Thus ye myght haue lear­ned howe to iudge of traditions. Tertullian myghte haue taughte you. But as soone as euer you had made a lye of hym, there ye left hym. To Basile, who sayth. If vve reiect and cast avvay customs vvhich are not vvritten as thyngs of no great valevv or price, vve shall condemne, before vve be vvare those thinges vvhiche in the gospel are accōpted necessary to saluation, I answere: that of Traditions there be thrée kyndes.Three kyndes of tradition Some that necessarily are inferred of the Scripture: such were the Apostles Traditions: as that a woman in the congregation shoulde not be bare hea­ded: 1 that in the congregation she should kepe silence: [Page] That the poore should labor with their owne hands, and get their liuing: which all & such other, although they wer not expressely in the word, yet consequently they folowed of the worde. And therfore Paul, dyd not obtrude them of hys au­thoritie, but by the Scripture proue them. These and the lyke I confesse to be necessarye: and of all Christians to be retayned. Proue ye the Crosse signe to be one of these, and I wyll recant. 2 But there haue bene other thynges deliue­red to the Church, direct contrary to the worde. As Latine seruise, worshipping of Images, vowing of chastitie, com­municating vnder one kinde, and an infinite number of po­pysh prescriptiōs. These ought not in any wyse to be recey­ued, but (what preterte of antiquitie or authoritie soeuer they haue) be vtterly refused. 3 The third kynd of Traditiōs, is of such as be indifferent, neyther vtterly repugnant to y^e word of God, nor necessarily inferred of it. Herein we must follow the order of the Church: and yet not absolutely, but with a limitation.In tradi­tions in­different vvhat to be obser­ued. First we must sée, that those obseruāces be not set foorth, as a piece of Gods seruice: wherein some speciall point of holinesse or religion shall consist. For they may be kept for order, for pollicie, for profit of the Church, but otherwyse the Scripture it selfe, hath Gods store and plentye of thynges, expediente for hys honor and seruice, our comfort and saluation. Felix ecclesia, (sayeth Tertullian) Tertul. de. prescrip. ad­uer. Hereti. cui totam doctrinā Apostoli cū sanguine profuderunt. Happy is y^e Church, to whom the Apostles poured out the whole doc­trine together with their bloud. There is no insufficiency, no imperfection. Therfore we must especially beware, that in our traditions, indifferēt of themselues, we repose no ho­lynesse or deuotion. Then also, that we thynke them not to be of such necessitie, that at no tyme they may be remo­ued. The Church must styll retayne her ryght, to be iudge and determiner of such traditiōs: eyther to beare with thē, or else abolish them, as best may serue for edification. Last [Page 125] of all, thys must not be forgotten, that the people of God; sometyme be oppressed with traditions and Ceremonyes: and for outwarde solemnities, the inwarde true seruise of God is neglected. As in the popish Churche, on a hye day, there are so many gaudes, that there is no place for a prea­cher. Wherfore, the superfluitées,The Churche had to many Ce­remonies in Augu­stines tyme. the long trayne of Cere­monies, must be cut of, least they do hynder the course of godlynesse, and by gay shew, engēder a cōfidence to be put in them. S. Augustine in hys tyme complayned, that the Church was to full of presumptions. And of them y^t haue bene added since, a man may make many large volumes. Wherfore these prouisoes had, the order of the Churche (I meane not Rome, for that is no member of it) may be kepte in traditions, which are indifferent. But in thys number you cannot iustly compryse the Crosse. And although of some fathers it hath bene accompted such: yet must ye re­member (as I sayd before) that they dyd not alway buylde golde & siluer, but sometyme hay and stubble vpon Christ. Nor euery thyng that is pretended to be the fathers wry­tinges, must by and by be thought to be theirs. Many ba­starde babes haue bene put in the cradel, eyther when there was no lawfull chylde, or the same ouerlayed and stifeled by the nurse. As for exāple:Fol. 84. a. Athanasiꝰ Euagrius. Li. 3. cap. 31. Athanasius (whome you cyte for proufe that the Crosse was vsed in hys tyme) hath many thynges that be none of hys. Euagrius in the ecclesiasticall history, doth playnly say, that many workes of Apollinariꝰ, were ascribed vnto hym. And as for the booke which you al­leage, Questionum ad Antiochium is euident to be an others.Quest. 23. For Athanasius hymselfe is cited in it. The wordes are these. Et haec quidem multum valens in diuina scriptura magnus Athanasius. And these thyngs did great Athanasius, a migh­ty one in the Scripture of God. Would Athanasius haue reported thys of hymself? Wherfore, in y^e ye bring prescrip­tion of time, and writinges of the fathers for you, ye do both [Page] reasō vpon an vncertaine principle, & fayle in your proufe. For the principle, I say: and I doubt not but ye wyll sub­scribe vnto me, that whatsoeuer hath bene deliuered, and o­therwyse estemed Apostolique, is not to be followed, and thought inuiolable. To begyn wyth that, whiche bred in y^e Church a miserable schisme, for many yeares together, the Easter fast:Easter fast. Reade Eusebius in the Ec­cle. His. the, v. boke the xxiiii. xxv. and xxvi. cha. was it alwayes, and in euery place vniformly obserued? Nothing lesse. All the Asianes dissented frō the Romaines, and eche of them sayd, they had a tradition, yea from the Apostles. The Asians would haue Easter day, to be the .xiiij. of the moneth Nisan, howsoeuer it fell: were it eyther the first, seconde, thyrde, fourth, fyfth, or sixt fery. The Romaines, would haue it only on that day, whiche is called Dominicus, the Sabboth. The Asians wer the stron­ger part: they had Philip the Apostle, and hys daughters, Iohn the Euangeliste, and Polycarpus his scholer for thē. The Romaynes, had the whole succession of byshops from Peter forwarde. Which of these partes wyl you approue? Ye are a Romanist, and therfore ye will holde with Anice­tus rather, following the custome that is of hym receyued. But now ye must not condemne the other, least ye be gilty of the same cryme, that Ireneus dyd reproue in Victor. For he helde it tyranny, to throw the thunderbolt of excommu­nication for a little storme y^e rose of ceremony. Notwith­standing they squared styll. For when Polycarpus came to Rome, Anicetus beyng byshop there, many quarels there were betwixt them: well afterwarde composed, but of this poynte they could not agrée. Neque enim Anicetus Policarpo persuadere poterat ne seruaret, quae cū Ioanne discipulo domini nostri, ac reliquis Apostolis quibuscū fuerat conuersatus, semper seruauerat: Nec Policarpus Aniceto suasit vt seruaret, qui sibi presbyterorū qui­bus successerat, consuetudinē seruandam esse dicebat. Et cum ista sic haberent, cōmunionē inter se habuerūt. For Anicetus could not (as Eusebius sayth) wyn Policarpus that he should not kepe [Page 126] those thinges, which (with Iohn the disciple of our Lorde,For di­uersity in traditiōs and cere­monies men not to be con­demned. & the rest of the Apostles with whome he was conuersaunt) hitherto he had kept. Not Policarpus could persuade Ani­cetus, to yelde vnto them: who sayd, that the custome, of y^e elders, whom he had succeded, was to be kept of hym. And whereas things stoode on thys sorte, yet had they a commu­nion betwixt them. A worthy example for thys our age, wherin such Victorines as you (M. Martiall) wyl by and by condemne of schisme & heresy, whosoeuer in traditions do not agrée with you. These holy fathers, dissented in opini­on of the meane actions: yet in the ende, they ioyned: and by the way frendly communicated. We, bicause we do not in opinion agrée, bicause we go not against our conscience, and the worde of God: are accompted heretiques.Act. 24. But af­ter the way (which you call heresy) we worship the God of our fathers, beleuing all thinges which are written in the lawe and Prophetes. If so great offence hang vpon trans­gressing of Tradition, we shall condemne all faythfull be­fore vs, all congregations, and Rome it selfe.Policarpus. Traditiōs hovv they varie. Ireneus contra, Her. lib. 5 cap. 3. For it was a Tradition in Policarpus tyme, to kepe Easter day, som­tyme on one day, sometime on another. And Ireneus repor­teth of hym: Hic docuit semper, quae ab Apostolis didicerat, quae & ecclesiae tradidit, & sola sunt vera. He taughte alwayes those thyngs that he learned of the Apostles: and those he deli­uered vnto y^e Church, and they onely be true. Yet you ob­serue the Easter on one day euer: the Sunday (as you call it.) It was a tradition in Tertulliās tyme,Tertul. de. corona mili­tis. to giue milke & hony to Infantes at their Christening: and thys he helde Apostolique: yet you kepe it not. It was a traditiō in Au­gustinesAugustinꝰ Cassulano. tyme, y^t mē should not fast, frō Easter, to Whyt­sontyde: yet you decrée the contrary. It was a tradition in Cyprians Cyprian de lapsis. tyme (which Augustine also confirmeth) that the Supper of the Lord should be ministred to Infātes: & this was thought necessary to saluatiō: yet you declyne frō this. [Page] It was a tradition in Epiphanius tyme,Epiphaninꝰ aduersus Aerium. that for .vj. dayes before Easter, men should eate nothing, but bread & drink with a little salt: yet you obserue not thys. It was a tradi­tion in Basiles Basilius de Spir. Sanct. tyme, (which also Tertullian, doth recorde) y^e no man should serue God with bowing of the knée on the Sabboth day, nor yet all the tyme, from Easter to Whit­sontyde: yet you mislike with thys. Wherfore sith Tradi­tions, honored with the name of the Apostles, accompted of the fathers and doctors necessary, do notwithstanding so often vary, and you your selues in no wyse admyt them: what reason is it, that we should be condemned for refusall of the lyke, which with lesse reason, more inconuenience, it pleaseth your selues to confirme and stablish?

I haue hitherto had in hand, your .ij. fyrst poynts: and stretching them a little, they be broken both. For neyther haue you proued sufficiently y^t they of the primitiue church, vsed the signe of the Crosse themselues, and counselled o­ther to doe the like: nor if it had bene proued, it were suf­ficient to driue me to assent. Nowe to the thirde, that the sayed Crosse vvas erected in euery place, althoughe in the thirde Article I haue in part declared the contrarye: yet to your further proufe, I must aunswere something. And so fyrst to your Martialis Martialis (though he were last founde, after xiiij. hūdreth yeares sléepe, & odde, sodaynly astarted) I say king Arthur was a noble king: he had .xij. knightes of the rounde table: and whether Launcelot du lake were one of thē, I do not wel remēber: but he was a Martial man too: he was a doughty knight, he did many worthy feates, as it followeth in the texte. Are ye not ashamed to vouch him to be one of the seauenty and two disciples,Fol. 83. b. whome neyther they of y^e Apostles time, nor they that succéeded after, euer mentioned or knewe?Seke for thys about the begīning of the first Article. Shall he nowe by miracle be raked out of a donghyll, where he hath lyen a stinking .xiiij. hun­dreth [Page 127] yeares? Shall we nowe disproue Eusebius, and al o­ther writers, to make your matter good? Yet to say the truth, hys wordes without wringing or wresting at all, be taken of soberer wyttes than your owne, to importe much lesse, than you doe talke of. For we may haue the Crosse in a signe (according to the words of Christ in his laste sup­per, Doe this as oft as ye doe it, in remembraunce of me) though we haue not the signe of the Crosse. Therefore you be forsworne once. For ye fayd,Folio. 83. b In good fayth it could not be so. But what shal I séeke for any truth of you, who sha­uing your crowne, haue shaken all honestie and fayth from you. You wysh with a sigh (alack good heart) that the readers should see, hovv in the time of Athanasius, Folio. 84. b Athanasiꝰ. Christē men made Crosses, like vnto the Crosse of Christ, and ado­red the same. I should here passe the boundes of modestie, and iustly offende the good readers eares, if I should aun­swere according to your professed impudencie, and shame­lesse deseruing. Thought you that your writing should ne­uer come to scanning? Was it not inough for you to béelie them that be most vnlike you, the ministers of the Church of Christ now liuing: but that you would styll falsefie the Scriptures, and make lies of the fathers? Remember your writings: your wordes are these.Folio. 84. a. Novve that it stayd not here, but vvas set vp and had in reuerence in other places, and other ages, it appeareth by Athanasius: vvho asking the question, vvhy all faythfull Christen mē make Crosses lyke vnto the Crosse of Christ, and make nothing lyke to the speare, rede or sponge, being holy as the Crosse, ansvve­reth and sayeth. Crucis certe figuram, Martial maketh .3. lies of A­thanasius together. ex duobus lignis componentes adoramus. &c. We certes makyng the figure of the Crosse of ij. peces of vvood, adore and vvorship it. These are youre wordes: yours I may call them, for they be furthest of, frō Athanasius meaning. And in the margēt, the place is quo­ted. Quaest. 39. ad Anti. Here be thrée lyes together. Fyrst [Page] by suppressing a piece of Athanasius: saying of the speare, réede, & sponge, that they are, holy as the Crosse. Where y^e author hath, that they are, as holy as the Crosse. Thē remē ­ber thys (as) Also by corrupting of the texte, putting in the wordes, of (Adore & vvorship) whiche are not in the boke. Last of all, referring vs to the .xxxix. question, wheras there are not so many in all. In dede Quaestione. 16. Quest 16. ad Antio. these are hys words. Quare credentes omnes ad crucis imaginem cruces facimus, lanceae vero sanctae, aut arundinis, aut spongiae, figuras nullas confici­mus: cum tamen haec tam sint sancta, quam ipsa crux? Responsio. Fi­guram quidem Crucis ex duobus lignis compingentes, conficimus: vt si quis infidelium id in nobis reprehendat, quod veneremur lignum, possimus duobus inter se disiunctis lignis, & crucis dirempta forma, ea tanquam inutilia ligna reputare, & infideli persuadere, quod non colamus lignū, sed quid Crucis typum veneremur: in lancea vero, aut spongia, vel arundine, nec facere hoc, nec ostendere possimus. which in englishe are these: Why do all beleuers make Crosses, af­ter the Image of the Crosse, but make no figures or like­nesses of the speare, the réede or the sponge: where as not­withstanding, these are as holy as the Crosse it selfe? The aunswere. We make in déede the figure of the Crosse, by putting of two stickes together, that if any of the infidels, reproue that in vs, that we worship wood, we may by sepa­rating two pieces of wood, and taking away the forme of a Crosse, accompt them as vnprofitable sticks, and persuade the infidell, that we worship not wood, but the thing repre­sented by the Crosse: which in the speare, sponge, or réede, we neyther can doe nor shewe. Here first it is euident, that the réede, or speare, is as holy as the Crosse, and therefore as wel to be worshippped as the Crosse, although the word of comparison you would fayne suppresse. Then that there is not any worde or halfe worde for worshipping: yea the whole sequele of the matter, doth conuince the contrary. Yet your honesty is such, as to put in of your owne (vnder name of Athanasius) Adore and Worship. By the Popes [Page 128] owne lawe, (for being such a falsarie) ye should haue your crowne pared, & be made an Abbey lubber,Dist. 50. ca. Si Episcopus as long as ye liue. And may not I vse the words of your zealous spirite, and say: Ah see good readers vvhat a sotte vve haue to doe vvithall? Bicause ye reade (or heare say at the leaste) that a Crosse was made, therefore ye conclude,Folio. 84. b. it was set in the Roodeloft: for no man (say you) maketh him a veluet coat to lay it vp in his presse, or his frends picture to be put in the colehouse. But doth any wiseman, whē he hath a new gar­ment, proclaime it in the market place? or hang the counter fet of his friend, vpon a pole to be sene? By your owne slen­der reason, as ye iudge of the one, so ymagine of the other. Now to come to y^e ecclesiasticall history, where mention is made of y^e Idol Serapis: I wold the readers shuld wel con­sider it, For Roodes, Crosses & Images haue bene nothing else but coūterfets of Serapis. Roodes, Crosses, Images coūterfets of Serapis Ruffinus Ecclesias. hi. lib. 2. cap 23. The priests of Egipt, y^e vota­ries of those dayes, (for Ruffinus calleth them [...] such as had made themselues (and God wyll) chaste: set me vp in their temple a monstrous Idoll, reaching from one syde of the wal to the other. To purchase more credit to it, they had made a little windowe eastwarde, where the mor­ning sunne might glimmer in, & taking the iust heyght of their idol, shuld shine no lower nor higher than they wold: but that, when their God was shrined, might be full in his face, and vpon his lippes. And so by this meanes a mira­cle was wrought, the sunne with a kisse, bad him welcome to Church. Agayne, where the nature of the Lodestone is to draw iron to it, they made (as curiously as workmanship could deuise) the Image of the sonne in iron: that whereas the sunne was in the vawte, & the Image directely vnder­neath it, the Image sometime, might rise and hang in the ayre. But least the ponderositie of the metall, might come to his course agayne, they conueyed it away, and sayde: The sunne hath now taken his leaue of Serapis, and gone [Page] to his businesse. These and such other inuentions they had to deceyue the people. Such hayes they pitched to purchas their profit. But these were but grosse, in respect of the fine­nesse of our parish priests, and popish Chaplens. For they haue made Roodes, with rowling eyes, & sweating browes: with speaking mouth, and walking féete. I report me to the Roode of grace: the Roode of Winchester: y^e very Crosse of Ludlow: and Iacke knacker of Witney. Nor maruel if the Crosse be so déepe in your bokes, that can stand a hielone, and walke on the altare, that can runne in the night time from S. Iohns Chappel, into our Ladies, and will not for ielousy abide frō hir. But I would the world should vnder­stand, that as the Egiptians, & Christians, Serapis, and the crosse signe, in name do differ: so the priests of them both be of one religion,Ruffinus. Eccl Hist. lib. 2. cap. 25. like conuersation. Tirānus a chauntrey priest, seruing at Saturnus altare, had a way to créepe into his Gods belly (for he was hollow as most part of our Ima­ges are, mete for to make swines troughes,) & when so euer any gentlewomans deuotion serued hir, to come to make hir oraisons, if y^e priest liked hir parson, answere was made frō within, that she must abide there all that night, in pry­uie contemplatiōs. The silly husband was glad, that he had any thing to do his God a pleasure: & therfore would deck hir & trim hir vp, in hir holyday aray: and to Church she go­eth, with penny in hir purse, & taper in hir hand, to offer for hir sinnes: The priest, before al the people, shuts y^e Church dore, he leaues the woman within, and home he goeth. But afterward by a priuy vawt vnderneath the ground, he con­uoyes himself into the body of the ymage: & while the lam­pes be burning, & she praying, he roareth somewhat out of his trunk, partly to feare hir, partly also to make hir wel a­payde, that she should be worthied to haue a God to talk to hir. But whē he had wrought what soeuer he thought good, eyther to astony hir, or entise hir to folly, then sodainly by a [Page 129] vice, all the candels goe out, he playeth the priest. &c. Thus in conclusion, many honest mens wiues, many worshipful & honorable, vnder colour of holynesse, & by mere hipocrisie, were instrumentes many yeares, to satisfy the pleasure of the filthy priest. At length, a discreter matrone than the rest, abhorring the vice, and obseruing the manner of it, knewe the priests voice, and detected it to hir husbande: herevpon the priest was apprehended: the Idoll ransacked: the star­ting holes espied: the crimes confessed: the hipocrisie ab­horred. And would to God that the like wickednesse, and farre more horrible, dayly committed by the vnchast gene­ration of soleliued priests, might cause alike all countreys and nations to detest your shame. Ye blame lawfull mari­age: ye thinke it a life dissolute, & satisfying of the lustes of the flesh. But how liue ye? how liue ye? with viler shiftes than Saturnus priest. Adultery? no fault. For the most part ye practise it all. It is worse, it is worse. I appeale to your conscience (M. Martial) whether ye knowe it to be so or no? my self will not speake what I do know. But accursed be he that taught the boyes of Winchester to knowe y^t, which M. Hide (ye remēbre) so seuerely punished.M. Hide late schole master of Winche­ster. Levves Euank. Ye lay vnto our charge, pride, carnall lusts, sensualitie, much babble of the Lord, no good workes in Christ, in talke much vehemency, in dede no charity: & of late there hath stepped vp a famous cleark, who syfting a priuate fault in one only persō, y^e pro­fesseth the truth, & exaggerating the same, cōcludech w^t doting Demipho, Vnum nosti omnes noueris, Know one & know all. And may I not aunswere as vnto Dauus, ad pristinū vel capistrum Daue? But if I shuld vnrip (as if ye leaue not your slaūders, I wil do by Gods grace if life & leasure serue me) y^e liues of your popish doctors, & your owne selues, O Lord, what periurie, what impiety, what incontinencie, what so­domitry, would burst out together?Folio. 85. a. But here I stay & wil return to Serapis. I tolde you before, that if ye would haue [Page] any president of the crosse signe, ye must go to y^e Egiptians Idoll Serapis. Ruffinus Eeclesia. his. Lib. 2. ca. 29 The Christians therefore, thinking, that, a meane to bring them soner vnto the fayth, pulled downe y^e scutchins of the Idoll, and in euery place set vp the Grosse: not to haue them fal from one ydolatry to another (which is by worship of it) but that it might be an introduction vn­to further knowledge, and procuring of a credite vnto our religion. For the Crosse being one of their letters, which they called [...] Priestly and holy letters, made them for affection to their owne tradition, thinke the better of ours. For the author sayth, Qui tunc admiratione rerum gesta­rum conuer tebātur ad fidem, dicebant ita sibi ab antiquis traditum, quod hec quae nunc coluntur, tamdiu starent, quamdiu viderent sig­num istud venisse in quo esset vita. Vnde accidit, vt magis ij qui e­rant ex sacerdotibus vel ministris templorum ad fidem conuerterētur, quam illi quos errorū pro vaestigie et deceptionū machinae delectabāt. They which by wondering at things that were done, were conuerted to the fayth, sayde: that it was tolde them of olde, that these things which nowe are worshipped, should stand so long, as they should sée, y^e that signe was come, in which there was life. Whereof it came to passe, that rather they, which were of the priests & ministers of the Church, were conuerted to the faith, than such as toke a pleasure in sorceries of error, and traynes of deceyte. So that it was better than a preaching vnto them, bycause they had such a preiudice therof. Now if the case were, that heathen should be conuerted to the fayth, and they before hande had the Crosse in reuerence, I would in this respect admit it. But among Christians, where the crucified is dayly preached, & ought to be knowen without such externall meane,Folio. 85. a. great folly it is to haue it. Hitherto of the doings in Alexandria. Now to come to Constantinople, as touching Chrisostom I haue sayd ynough in the first Article. Only therefore wil I adde this, which may be a bone for you to picke on: that [Page 130] whereas he speaketh of houses, markets, wildernesses,Chrisostom demonst cō ­tra gentiles hie wayes, sea, ships, garments, parlours, wals, windowes, armour, and such other thinges, where the Crosse should be, onely he sayth not, that the Crosse was in the Church. Rekening vp, so many, would he haue forgotten the chiefe, if any such order had bene receiued then? It is not credible. AugustineAugust. de Cruce & Latrone. (if ye were not to wilfully set) should not be vr­ged of you. For he meaneth nothing lesse than eyther the materiall or your mysticall Crosse. He playnly speaketh of the passion of Christ: and incident into that, is the forme therof, which was his suffering vpon y^e Crosse. Crux Christi (sayth he) feriae sunt & nundine spirituales. The Crosse of Christ is our holy feast and spirituall faire. Do ye kepe the feast vnto the piece of wood? Doe ye buy any thing of the exter­nall signe? If ye do not, ye mistake S. Augustine. For im­mediately vpon the foresayd words he inferreth those y^t you alleage: Before the Crosse vvas a name of condēnation, novv it is made a matter of honor: before it stode in dam­nation of a curse, novv it is set vp in occasion of saluation. Where I graunt in déede, that he maketh a difference be­twene the Crosse in the olde lawe, and Crosse in the newe lawe, but what is meant by that Crosse? the materiall thing? That is but as you gesse:Deut 21. Gal. 3. For I am sure of the cō ­trary. The scripture sayth not, Maledictum lignum, Cur­sed is the trée, but Maledictus omnis qui pendet in ligno. Cursed is euery one that hangeth on the trée. Wherefore your collection is vayne, that as then the materiall Crosse vvas a name of ignominy, so novve the materiall Crosse is a thing of honor, dyd the ignominy consiste in the woode then? no: but in the person. For if ye were hāged M. Mar­tiall, (to vse a familiar example) y^e shame were not in y^e gal­lowes, but in your self-man. Then the honor is not in y^e ma­teriall Crosse, but him that died on it. And that the words (Nunc erecta est, is novve at this present set vp) can not he [Page] racked to a Metaphorical sense is very strange, to me: for if it be true,Heb. 13. Apo. 13. that Christus idem heri & hodie, that Christ is the same both to day & yesterday: And y^t he is the lamb, Qui occi­sus est ab origine mundi which was slayn from the beginning of the world: me thinketh it is no absurditie to say: y^t now at this present in the time of grace, Christ dayly suffereth: his passion is set out as a spectacle vnto vs. And nowe to cōclude with Constantine the great,Folio. 86. whose fact is such a de­fence vnto you, that ye thinke your selfe full armed with it. But without any schole play, with a downe right blow, ye may be toucht on the bare. For although Constantinus Constan­tine. (not fully yet instructed in the fayth) sometime defended his face vvith the signe of saluation: sometime shevved forth the victorious banner: sometime erected it in a paynted table: somtime did hang it vp before the court gate: yet we neuer redde, that of so many Churches as (you say) he builded, he brought y^e signe of the crosse into any of thē. Then did he not repose any holinesse therein, nor his doings otherwise are to be drawen to example: vnlesse ye haue nede to retourne with him, from Paganisme to the fayth, and haue as large commission as he. Wherefore sith your ignoraunce vnder­standeth not the Fathers writings, sith your impudencie falsly corrupteth them, sith presumptions haue alwayes cū ­bred the Church of god, and traditions in euery age with e­uery sere byshop varied: we are not to be thought otherwise than followers of y^e Apostles, although we decline frō some thing, that men haue called, and in their conceytes reputed Apostolique. Flatter not your selfe, as if any were so mad hauing common sense, to be persuaded with your glorious wordes, which in euery leafe, haue so good triall of your shamelesse lies. Learne what the Church is, then talke thereof: be a member of the Church, and I wil make more accōpt of you: Be no preacher to other of their soule health, vnlesse ye take better order for your owne.

THat diuerse holy men and vvomen, Martiall. Fol. 88. got little pieces of the holye Crosse, and inclosed them in golde or siluer, and eyther left thē in Churches to be vvorshipped, or hanged them a­bout their neckes, therby to be the bet­ter vvarded. To which assertiō, cōsidering, what in y^e Arti­cles afore hath bene sayd and proued, a short answere may serue. For inasmuch as al your reasons be grounded on a false principle, (authoritie of men, whiche in Gods matters can take no place) ye spende in thys Article a greate many moe wordes, than all the matter in your booke is worth. Tertullian hymselfe,Tertullian de virginibꝰ uelandis. speakyng of a traditiō more reasona­ble than thys, pretendeth not authoritie, but sayth y^t he wyll proue, Hoc exigere veritatē cui nemo praescribere potest, non spaci­um temporum, non patrocinia personarum, non priuilegium regionum. Ex hijs enim fere, consuetudo initium ab aliqua ignorātia vel simpli­citate sortita, in vsum per successionem corroboratur, & ita aduersus veritatem vindicatur. Sed dominus noster Christus veritatem se non consuetudinem cognominauit. Si semper Christus & prior omnibus, aequè veritas sempiterna & antiqua res. That the truth requireth this: against the which no persō, no space of tyme, no ma­stershyp of men, no priuiledge of countries, can prescribe. For most commonly by the meane of these, custome) that began of some ignoraunce of simplicitie) is by succession cō ­firmed into an vse, and so exception taken against y^e truthe. But Christ our Lord called hymselfe the truth, and not the custome. If Christ be alwayes, & before al: the truth it selfe is aswel eternal, and of most auncienty. Let thē cōsider and [Page] marke wel thys, who accompt it new, y^t in it self is olde. No nouelty, but verity, confoundeth heresy. Whatsoeuer is a­gainst the truth, the same is heresy: yea y^e olde custom it self, as sayth Tertullian. Wherefore ye should not presume so much vpon y^e credit of Helena, Paulinus, Gregory, y^t whatsoeuer they did, should be a sufficient presidēt for vs to do the lyke. The fathers of the olde & the new Testament, are not to be drawen for exāple alwaies. For then why not Dauid defende an adulterer, & a lecherous captayn willing to dis­patch hys trusty soldior? why wer it any fault to abiure the faith, or otherwise dissemble w^t God, if the lyke facte in Pe­ter myght be followed?Aug. con­tra. 2. Ep. Gauden. lib. 2. Augustine very wysely sayth. Nō debemus imitari semper aut probare quicquid probati homines egerunt, sed iuditium scripturarum adhibere, an illae probent ea facta. We must not alwayes imitate or alow, whatsoeuer allowed persons haue done, but lay y^e iudgemēt of scriptures to it, whe­ther they alow the doing of it. If thē I droue you vnto this issue, y^t ye should proue, by the word of God, the alleaged exāples good, ye had néede to require a lōger terme, and yet in the ende, you would make a non suite. For ye shal not fynd in al the scripture, any piece of word, or exāple of any, that can by force be wrested to y^e reseruatiō of little scraps of wood, or reposing any hope or affiance in them. Too vaine and heathenish is y^e obseruāce: too foule and horrible is that Idolatry. Yet wyll I not deface those fornamed persons, vpon whose authoritie ye grounde your selfe: nor say that otherwise they wer vngodly, though in this point no godli­nesse appeared.Rom. 10. Paul writeth of y^e Iewes in his time thus: Testimonium illis perhibeo, quod studium Dei habent, sed non secun­dum scientiā. I beare them recorde, that they haue the zeale of God, but not according to knowledge. And I doubt not but these whom you haue named, had a zeale of their own: thought to serue God: yet seruing their fansy first, they dyd offende against the maiestie of God, and were occasion of [Page 132] fall to many that came after.2. Par. 17. The holy Chronicles report of Iehosaphat, that he walked in the first wayes of hys fa­ther Dauid, & sought not Baalim, but sought y^e lord god of hys father, and walked in hys cōmaundementes & not af­ter the trade of Israel. The like testimony also is giuē him in the .20. ch. Iehosaphat walked in the way of Asa hys fa­ther, and departed not therefrom: doing that whiche was right in the sight of the Lord: notw^tstanding the hie places were not taken away. Beside thys,2. Paral. 19. he made affinitie with Ahab, & loued them y^t hated the Lord: dyd any mā therfore for those imperfections, condēne Iehosophat as a wycked Prince? Or wyl any mā excuse hym for the same? On lyke sort, I wil not vtterly disproue your authors, I thynke not the contrary but y^t they wer Gods childrē, although in this matter for which theyr authoritie is pretēded, ther is none with safe conscience that can lyke w^t them.Iud. 8. Gideon among the iudges of Israell, was the least stayned, yet through deuotion (as he estemed it) he greuously synned against y^e lord. For when as a mighty chāpion, he returned home from cō ­quest of Midiam, the souldiers laden w^t goldē prey: he required their earinges to be geuē to hym. Which amounting to a great sum, he made an Ephod of it, he deputed it to ho­ly vses: & serued in y^e tabernacle. By which meanes it came to passe, y^t al Israel went a whoring after it, and it was, the destruction of Gidion & hys house. So y^t we sée by Dauid, by Peter, by Iehosophat, by Gideon, y^t men of singuler graces otherwise, sometime do fal into great absurdities, & are not to be drawen to imitatiō. Which thing I speake vnto thys ende, y^t you shal not say, I condēne your fathers as infidels & idolaters, although vnaduisedly, they gaue too iust occasiō of such offence to other. Yet wer it no deadly synne, if I cal­led Nicephorus and Gregory fabulous: Paulinus & Helena superstitious: which, as I haue already in part proued, so were it easy to be confirmed. But I had rather as mē excuse [Page] thē, then as Gods followe them. The Pharises dyd weare their philacteries, their scrolles of parchemente, vpon their long robes, wherin the cōmaundements of God were written. A iuster pretence had they to cōtynue y^e Ceremony, (the word of God cōmaunding them that y^e the law shuld neuer depart frō their eies) thē euer any had for pieces of y^e Crosse: notw^tstanding Christ reproued their hipocrisie,Mat. 25. Luke. 11. & pronoun­ced vpon thē the heauy woe. Shall not thys be done vnto al them, that for a vayne glory, deuise a wylworshyp? and as­cribe their defence to a rotten stycke, that onely dependeth on the prouidence of God? If ye thynk the comparisons are not lyke, the wryting of the commaundemēts on the coate, and inclosing a piece of the Crosse in golde, thē reade what Hierome sayeth: lay down affection, and to condemne your error, speake out your conscience: hys wordes are these. Nō intelligētibus pharisais quod haec in corde portāda sūt, Hierom. in. [...]lat. nō in cor­pore, alioquin & armaria & arce habent libros, & notitiam Dei nō habent. Hoc apud nos superstitiosae milierculae in paruulis Euāgelijs & in crucis ligno, & istiusmodi rebus, quae habent quidem zelum del, fèd non iuxta scientiam, vs (que) hodie factitāt. Culicem liquantes, & came­lum glutientes. Where the Pharisées vnderstoode not (sayth. S Hierome) that the commaundementes are to be caryed in the heart, and not in the body. For otherwyse studies and chestes haue bokes, and haue not the knowledge of God. Thys, do superstitious women to thys day with vs, in little gospels, and pieces of the Crosse, and such other thynges: which haue the zeale of God, but not according to knowe­leage, strayning a gnat and swalowing a camell. Here doth S. Hierome compare together, the broade philacteries, and little pieces of the Crosse: he calleth them, the pharisées hi­pocrisie: and these to be wemens superstitious folly: he grauntith thē both, a zeale of God, but neyther accordyng to knowledge. And so lyttle dyd he esteme the reliques of y^e Crosse, so fonde a thyng he thought it to be inclosed, caryed [Page 133] or worshipped of any, that he would not attribute the folly vnto mē, which ought of congruēce haue more discretiō, but superstitiosis mulierculis, to suche as your olde mother Mau­kins are. And sith you vrge authoritie so much, who is more to be credited? Helena a silly woman, or Hierome a learned mā? Nicephorus a suspect writer, or Hierom a receyued doc­tor of y^e Church? Paulinus a bishop, or Hierome (as you say) a Cardinall? Gregory a Pope, or Hierome a Sainct cano­nised? They caryed, they sent, they reuerenced, little pieces of the Crosse. But he condemnes it, as more than a womā ­nish superstition, as strayning of a gnat, and swalowing of a Camel. And whereas ye cyte Chrysostome,Fo. 90. b. Chrisostom in Dem. ad Gentiles. that suche as could get any piece of the Crosse inclosed the same in golde as vvell men as vvomē, and made it mete for their neckes. It is not to be thought, that thys he spake as a prayse of the parties, but a practise of the tyme. For Hierome and he, li­ued both in one age, and then wer men to much addicted to such idle toyes. If ye aske me then, why Chrisostome dyd not in the same place disproue the fact: I answere, that he had to do with the heathen, which caught occasion of euery mans priuate doing, to bring the religion of Christ in oblo­quy. Therfore it was no wisdome for Chrisostome, to haue reueled the shame of Christians. Which myght haue hyn­dered hys cause, very much, and discouraged the other frō comming to the fayth. My selfe if I should conuert an infi­dell, would not vncouer the shame of Papistes, but hyde it what I could: assured of thys, that there is no Turke nor Sarazin in the world, that wyll forsake hys own Idolatry, to fall into a worse of Popery. So that it was not without good consideration, y^e Chrisostome so cleanly dyd excuse the fact, which he lyked not, y^t he myght not offend thē whō he sought to wyn. Thynke you y^t a Iewe can be brought frō confidēce in hys [...] the name of God writtē in foure letters, if he chance to sée a sory piece of wood had [Page] in lyke reuerence? They were wont to inclose that in gold: euen so do you pieces of the Crosse. They thought themsel­ues safe frō all perils by it: euen so do you by thys. And is there any hope, y^t the Iewes can thinke wel of y^e religion, which cōdemneth their superstitiō about the name of God (had in such reuerence among them, that they dare not pre­sume with tong to vtter it) and vseth a worse about a piece of wood? May we not suspect y^t there is some piece of truth more than we are ware of? some piece of secret operatiō (as Serenus Salmonicus doth write) in the word of ABRAC­ADABRA, to heale one of the feuer: if a splinter of a rottē post, against all kynd of mischief, sufficiently may de­fende vs? I maruell not now, that your soule priest in the tower, was founde with hostes, hanging aboute hys necke in a silken purse,Ad pop. Antio. Ho. 21. if a piece of wood haue such power to saue vs. I doubt not but shortly you wyll also bryng in aurea Alexandri numismata the golden coynes of Alexander, of which Chrisostom speaketh, to tye to your féete, & S. Iohns gospels, to hang about your neckes. These superstitions, these witcraftes,Chrisostomꝰ In caput Mat. 23. Hom. 43. and sorceries, were vsed in Chrisostomes tyme, and are not yet forsakē of some. But what Chrisos­tome thought of them, and of such reliques as you do talke of, appeareth in hys seconde exposition vpon Mathew. Where he expostulateth with the priests, for their philacte­ries and gospels, saying: Dic sacerdos insipiens: nonne quotidie Euangelium in ecclesia legitur, & auditur ab hominibus? Cui ergo in auribus posita euangelia nihil prosunt, quomodo eum poterūt cir­ca collum suspensa saluare? Deinde vbi est virtus. Euāgelij in figuris li­terarum, aut in intellectu sensuum? Si in figuris, bene circa collum sus­pendis: si in intellectu, ergo melius in corde posita prosunt, quam circa collum suspensa. Tell me thou foolish priest, is not the gospell dayly read and heard of men in the Church? Therfore who hath no profit by hearing of the gospel, how can it saue him by hanging it about hys necke? Furthermore, wherin con­sisteth [Page 134] the vertue of y^e gospel? in the proportiō of y^e letters? or vnderstanding of the sense? If in the letters: wel doest thou hang them about thy neck: but if in the vnderstanding: thē would it profit more, reposed in thy heart, thā hāged about thy necke. Thus much Chrisostom. And least peraduenture ye should thinke, that thys only superstition were reproued of hym, he procedeth further, and toucheth matter that doth more néerely concerne our case. Alij qui sāctiores se ostēdere volunt hominibus, partē fimbriae aut capillorū suorum alligant & sus­pendunt. O impietas: maiorem sāctitatē in suis vestimentis volunt os­tendere, quam in corpore Christi: vt qui corpus eius māducans, sanatus non fuerit, fimbriae eius sanctitate saluetur: vt desperās de misericordia Dei, cōfidat in veste hominis. In english. Some other, which wil shew themselues holyer vnto mē, do binde together & hang vp a piece of the hem of Christes garment, or hys heare. O wyckednesse: they wil shew more holinesse in y^e garments, thā in the body of Christ: y^t he which is not healed by eating of hys body, shalbe saued by the holinesse of hys garmente hem: that he that dispaireth of the mercy of God, shall put hys confidence in the garment of a man. And thinke ye not that the coate of Christ, which touched hys blessed body: y^t the heare of Christ, which grew vpon hys holy head, is of as great vertue as a piece of the Crosse wherevpon he dyed? Then if Chrisostome coumpted it impiety, to haue such esti­mation of the coate or heare of our sauioure Christ, shall we thynke that a piece of wood was in such price with him? Would he inclose y^e Crosse in gold, or coūsel other to do the same, which held it wickednesse, so to esteme a percel of his body? Christ hath left vs hys body in dede: for a memory of him, for a cōfort of vs to be receiued: and shal we seke for external meanes, which neither haue part of promise, nor be deuoyde of perill? We reade in y^e gospel, y^t after, Christ was crucified, Ioseph required y^e body and interred it: y^e Maries were beholders of hys passiō and burial,Mat. 27. Luk. 23. there was no spa­ring of cost for oyntmēt, yet none of thē al cared for y^e crosse. [Page] If it had bene such a iewell as you do make it, they would haue brought it, stolne it, or spoken at the least wise of it. Many other thynges of lesse importance (than thys is by your supposall) be mentioned in the Scripture, as necessary or expedient. Only (more than that Symon of Cyrene cari­ed it,) we reade nothing of the Crosse, that he dyed on. I remēber y^t it is a great argumēt of yours: How God wyl not suffer hys Church to erre. I remember ye alleaged in the Article before,Foli. 87 b. quod in hanc Apostoli plenissimè cōtulerūt omnia quae sūt veritatis. That the Apostles most plentifully cōferred on the Church all thinges appertayning vnto the truthe: as Ireneus doth truly say.Lib. 3 ca 4. contr. Her. How chaunceth it then, y^t thys truth of the Crosse, for foure hūdreth yeares together was hydden from them? From the death of Christ, tyl the tyme of Helena, no man or woman euer talked of it. When she came, she founde it .ij. hundreth yeares after, it was vtterly consumed. I thynke that such idle chaplenes, such morow­masse priestes as you, so slenderly furnished out of the store­house of fayth to fede the people, would be glad to deale more of your popish plenty, if thys at the first were gent­ly accepted. We should haue extolled. S. Leonardes bolle, S. Cornelis horne. S. Georges colt. S. Anthones pigge. S. Fraunces cowle, S. Persons bretche, with a thousande re­liques of superstition as well as thys. For miracles haue bene done by these (or els you lye) nor authorite of mē doth wante to these. Longolius a learned man and Charles the v. a noble Emperoure, requested to be buryed in a friers cowle, and so they were. Therfore the friers coule must be honored. Ye remember what the hoste in Chawcer sayd to-sir Thopas for hys leude ryme: the same do I say to you (bi­cause I haue to do with your Cantorbury tales) for youre fayre reasons. One thyng remaineth, which I do you wrōg if I omit: the singuler vertue that is not only in euery por­tion of the holy Crosse, but also in euery signe thereof: inas­much [Page 135] as it onely driueth avvay all subtiltie and craftes of euill spirites: destroyeth vvitchcraft: Folio. 92. &. 93. doth as much as the presence of Christ in earth: pocedeth vvith like efficacie as the fyrst sampler. Strange effectes I promise you. But fyrst I maruel, why you are offēded with vs, for preaching onely fayth iustifyeth, synce you do teach vs, that the onely signe of the Crosse can do as much as it. If onely woode, if onely making an ouerthwart signe, disappoynt the might of aduersarie powers: he is but a foole, that wil be troubled with sprites: he is but a beast, that will feare the Diuell, Signo crucis tantū vtens homo, omnes horū fallacias pellit. Man vsing onely the signe of the Crosse, putteth away all their subtiltie and craft. If a piece of wood that wormes do bréed in, that neuer God nor good man commended other­wise than wood, haue such spirituall vvater flovving there­into, vvhich is knovven to be saluation of faythfull soules: Folio. 93. shal we be condemned, for attributing the like effect to spi­rituall and liuely fayth? which the word of God, so ofte, so earnestly, with such promis of grace, such assurance of safe­tie cōmendeth to vs? If the signe of a Crosse, drawen with a finger do the same, that the presēce of Christ did in earth (as is by you alleaged) O men vnmercifull, that suffer so many halte, so many lame, so many blinde, so many sore, to liue in misery, and missecary with vs. Christ cured y^e like: he by his presence brought health and comforte to all disea­sed: why do not you (my Crosse masters) the like? If these allegations be true (as confidentely they be printed of you) why ceasse your miracles? Confirm vs in your folish faith. When we sée the effectes, we shall consider of the cause. Thus haue I shewed you, that in cases of religion (as this is one) no mens authority shuld prescribe vnto vs: no time, no custome preiudice a truth. Examples be daungerous to be follo:wed both bycause they be sometime but personall, and are not alwayes of Gods good guiding spirite: which, [Page] if it be true in them, of whose fayth and holynesse we haue in the Scripture honorable commendation: we may the more mistrust of other, whose liues and vertues we can by no meanes be so well assured of. As for authorities (though Scripture it selfe doth suffise the faythfull, and such as de­lite not to be contentious) yet that men of good iudgement, vtterly abhorred, as heathenish, diuelish, and Idolatrous, this keping, inclosing, honoring of a piece of woode, or any such earthly matter, I haue brought you Hierome & Chri­sostome, whose plaine words condemne the superstition of you, and al other that you do talke of. Last of all, I haue touched y^e grosse absurdities that consequently do follow of your doctrine (which though I haue not thorowly vnripped, your beastlinesse & vanity being so lothsome to me) yet haue I touched sufficiently, to driue you (if any grace be in you) to consider your duty better, to write w^t more reason, or be stil with lesse shame. Is this the profession of your priesthode? Is this the cōmissiō that men of your coate haue? to preach the fables of olde gentility, & stirre vp the kenel of stinking superstitiō, which euery olde wife is a wery of: euery childe doth scorne at? Learne Christianity of Christ himself: true order of preaching of the Apostles: seke not so much what men haue done: but, how well they haue done. It is writ­ten to the Hebrewes,Hebr. 2. that God of olde time spake at sūdrie times and in diuers maners, to our fathers by the Prophe­tes: But in these last dayes, hath spoken vnto vs by his deare sonne. Whereby, what other thing is to be meant, but that God hereafter will not vse the mouth of many, nor heape vs prophecy vpon prophecy, reuelation vppon reue­lation: but that he did so fully instruct vs by his sonne, that the very last & euerlasting testimony of truth must be had of him. He gaue him therefore a singuler prerogatiue, to be our Prophete, our master, and our guyde, commaunding him onely, no church, no councel, no man to be heard. The [Page 136] Church (I trust) will take no more vpon them, than the A­postles did. What the synagoge of Antichrist doth, I care not: what the true Christians ought to do, I proue. Christ sent forth his Apostles into the worlde, and gaue them com­mission to teach and preach, not what soeuer they could in­uent, but what he had fyrst commaunded them. And no­thing could be more playnly sayd, than that which he spea­keth in another place:Math. 23. (Be not ye called Rabbi) as masters or rulers ouer your brothers fayth: for one is your Doctor and your teacher Christ. Then if nothing can be allowed in matters of fayth and saluation, but that which is groun­ded on Christ & the Gospell, all doctrines of men, all Cros­ses, all Crucifixes, Roodeloftes and all, which haue no co­lour of scripture to defend them, but be most iniurious and contrary to the same, muste cleane be abolished and put out of the Church. If Christ did call them hypocrites,Math. 15. and honourers of him in vayne, which teach the doctrines that procéede of man: surely, you Papistes (for fowler name of heresie can I giue you none) which bring vs mens authori­ties, without the warrāt of Gods holy word, that binde vs to beleue things most contrary to it, are neyther shepherds nor shéepe of the folde: but for all your fléese, be rauening wolues. This doth Ignatius on this wise confirme, Omnis igitur qui dixerit prater ea quae tradita sunt, tametsi fide dignus sit, In episto. ad Hieronim. tametsi ieiunet, tametsi virginitatem seruet, tametsi signa faciat, ta­metsi prophetet, lupus tibi appareat in grege ouium. Who so euer speaketh any thing more than is written, although he be worthy credit, although he fast, although he kepe his virgi­nitie, although he do miracles, although he prophecie, yet let him seme to thée a wolfe in the flock of shepe. This hath bene alwayes the opinion of the godly. This all the doctors haue taught and written. Onely you (good sir) and certaine of your factious fellowship, will be wiser than Christ: bol­der than the Apostles: better lerned than the Doctors: and [Page] giue vs out new lessons, that Scripture neuer thought of. I wil not tarry here, in rehearsall of your errours in other poynts, which hasten to the end of my reprouf of this. On­ly you (good readers) I shall exhorte, and for the mercies of Christ, besech you, that as ye tender your owne health, and wish to be gathered into the fold of life, ye wil hearken to y^e voyce of your shepherd Christ, & come at no strangers call: giue credite to no man in matters of your fayth, further thā he brings his warrant with him. Beleue no report, for it is a liar. Beware of the woluish generation, which now being hungry kept, and féeding vpon carrein, breath out nothing else, but horrible blasphemies, and stinking lyes. They prate of good life, themselues most licentious. They burden men with breach of lawes, themselues most rebel­lious and dissolute. They goe about to discredit vs, as tea­chers of carnall libertie, themselues embrewed wyth all kinde of filth and abhomination. As for all their doctrine and religion, I may say vnto them, as Christ did to y^e Pha­rises: Populus iste labijs me honorat, cor autem eorum longe est à me. This people honor me with their lips, but their heartes are farre of from me. Their eyes, their hands, their head, their féete, they frame in such wise, as shall tend to some piece of obseruāce of the lawe. Their winking, their nodding, their mouing, their crossing, is all Gods seruice, as they do tell vs. But where is the heart? Where is the minde and in­ward puritie that God requireth? When they heare, Thou shalt not kyl: thou shalt not steale: thou shalt not cōmit ad­ulterie: The purest of them all, what do they? Peraduer­ture not draw the sword to slay any man: not lay their hā ­des on other mens goods: not depart their bodies with har­lots (which yet is a marueilous rare byrde, to be hatched in the nest of poperie) but they compasse mischiefe and destruc­tion in their hearts: they burne in desire: they fret & con­sume away for enuy. So, that which is the chief of the law, [Page 137] is least among thē. That which semeth gay to the outward shewe, is onely retayned and kept. And for conclusion: be­side that they expel fayth, which is y^t goodnesse of al works: they set vp works of their own making, to destroy y^e works of God, & be holier than they. First with their chastity, they destroy y^e chastity y^t God ordayned, & only requireth. With their obedience, they take awaye the order that God in thys world hath set, and exacteth none other. With their pouer­tie, they peruert humility, & the true pouerty of the spirite, which Christ taught onely, which is onely, not to loue the worldly goodes. With their faste, filling their vnsatiable paunches, they forget the fast which God commaundeth, a perpetuall sobrenesse to tame the fleshe. With their patte­ring of prayers, they haue put away the prayer that God hath taught vs, which is eyther thankes for benefites re­ceyued, or desiring helpe, with trust to be relieued. Their Crosses, haue displaced Christ. Their pictures, haue defa­ced Scripture. Their Lay mennes bokes, haue abolished the lawe. Their holinesse, is to forbyd that, which God or­dayned to be receyued with thankes giuing: as meate, and Matrimony. Their owne workes they mayntayne: they let Gods decay. Breake theirs, and they persecute to the death: Breake Gods, and they eyther loke thorowe their fyngers, or else giue a flappe wyth a Foxe tayle, for a little money. Then is it easy to be espied what they are. Let them dysguise themselues neuer so closely, yet by this exa­mining of their natures and properties, they wyll bewray themselues. Chrisostome commenting vpon the seauenth of Mathewe, sayth: Si quis lupum cooperiat pelle ouina, quomodo cognoscet eum, nisi aut per vocem, aut per actum. Quis inclinata deorsum balat: Lupus in aëra conuertit caput suum contra coelum, & sic vlulat. Qui ergo secundum Deum vocem humilitatis & confessionis emittit, Ouis est: Qui vero aduersus veritatem turpiter blasphemijs vlulat contra Deum, Lupus est. Which is thus in englishe: [Page] If any man (sayth he) couer a wolfe with a shepes skin, how shall he know him, but by his voyce, or by his doing? The shepe bowes downe the head to the ground, & bleates. The wolfe lifts vp his nose into the ayre, & barks. Therfore who­so euer according to Gods word, speaketh with the voyce of humblenesse and confession, he is a shepe. But he that con­trary to the truth, blatters out blasphemies agaynst God, is a very wolfe. That the Papistes are such, as it doth suf­ficiently appeare already, so shal it abundantly (ere I haue done) be proued. Therefore I say. Beware of Papists.

ALthough we ought not in dis­cussing of a truth, ruled ouer by the worde, greatly contende, what rytes and ceremonies, haue of presumption or toleration, bene brought into the Church: yet that you may sée before your eyes, what ill of such presidentes hath insued: how one inch graunted to superstition, a whole ell hath followed: consider a while your Litanies, & pro­cessions:Folio. 93. b. The singing and saying of Letany (you say) is cō ­monly called Procession: but Litanies were receyued long before processions did come in place. For Litanies, what are they? but humble prayers & supplications vnto God, to procure his fauour, and turne away his wrath: These haue bene receyued in the Church of olde: and according to occasion, diuersly vsed.

We reade that when Constantinus the Emperour, had purchased peace vnto the Church of God, about a thrée [Page 138] hundreth and thirty yeare after Christ: then publiquely the Christians repayred together: then were there in the con­gregations (as Eusebius Euseb eccle. Hist. lib. 10. cap. 3. reporteth) Orationes, Psalmodiae, sacro­rum operationes, mysteriorum participationes, gratiarum actiones. Prayers, singing of Psalmes, businesse about holy things, participation of mysteries, & giuing of thankes. And (that which is worthy to be remēbred) he writeth of the good Em­peror on this sort. Cātare primus incepit, vná orauit, De vita Const li. 4. A nota­ble exam­ple of a Prince. conciones stans reuerenter audijt: adeo vt rogatus vt consideret, respōderit, fas non esse dogmata de Deo remisse ac segniter audire. Himself began first to sing, prayed with the rest, & reuerently heard the sermons, standing on his féete, so farre forth, that when he was re­quired to set him downe, he aunswered: that it was not lawfull to heare the precepts of God, with slackenesse and with slouth. Hilarius also .370. yeare after Christ, writeth of the order of the Church in his time, thus:Hilarius in expos. Psal. 65. Audiat orantis populi consistens quis extra eccl [...]siam, vocem: spectet celebres hymno­rum sonitus, & inter diuinorum quo (que) sacramentorum officia, respon­sionem deuotae confessionis. A man that standeth wythout the Church, may heare the voyce of the people praying, may beholde the solemne sound of hymnes: and as the Sacra­mentes are a ministring, the aunswere of a deuout confes­sion. Likewise Ambrose.Ambros. de voc. gentiū Cap. 4. Praecepit Apostolus fiers obsecrationes, postulationes, gratiarum actiones, pro omnibus hominibus. &c. The Apostle commaundeth .1. Timoth. 2. supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giuing of thanks to be made for al men. Which rule and lawe, sayth Ambrose, all Priests, & fayth­full people, do so vniformely obserue, that there is no part of the worlde, wherein such prayers are not frequent. So that it is euident, that Litanies were then in vse, although we reade not of any Processions,Polidor. de inuen. Li. 5. Cap. 10. till the time of Agapetus Pope, who (as Platina reporteth) did first ordayne them, Anno. 533. although we reade the like of Leo the thirde a­bout .810. yeare after Christ. Surely, whensoeuer Proces­sions [Page] began, they were taken of Gentilitie.

We reade ofte in Liuie, that the Romaines in all their dis­tresses, would run to euery sere Idoll that they had: would goe their circuites, from thys place to that place, and thinke they dyd acceptable seruice vnto God. We reade in Arnobius, Arnobius contra gent. Lib. 8. thus much of their folly. Nudi cruda hyeme discur­runt, alij incedunt pileati, scuta vetera circumferunt, pelles coedunt, mendicantes vicatim Deos ducunt. Quaedam fana semel anno adire permit tunt. Quaedam in totum nefas visere est, quaedam viro non li­cet, non nulla abs (que) foeminis sacra sunt, etiam seruo quibusdam cere­monijs interesse piaculare flagitium est. &c. They gad about na­ked in the raw winter, other haue their caps on: they carry about with them old targets: they beate their skins: they leade their Gods a begging round about the streats. They suffer some Chappels to be gone to once a yere: some must not be séene at all: some, a man must not come vnto: some other are holy ynough without women: And for a seruant to be at some of them, is a haynous offence. So much Ar­nobius, concerning the Romaines. And thinke you not that our Processions, with banners displayed, and Idols in armes be liuely described here? Certayenly amongst the Christened I neuer readde, that any vsed Processions, be­fore the Montanistes and the Arrians. TertullianTertullian li. 2. ad Vx­orem. ma­keth mention of the one, and Eusebius Euseb. eccle. hist libro. 6. Cap. 8. of the other. Méete it is therefore, that Papistes participating with their errors, should also take parte of their idle ceremonies. Concerning Litanies (as of latter yeares they haue bene ordayned) you must vnderstande, that some be called Minores, the lesse: some Maiores, the greater. The lesse, were instituted by Mamertus byshop of Vienna, in the yere of our Lord. 469. as Sigibertus or .488. as Polichronicon reporteth. The order of them, was but a solemne assēblie of people vnto prayer, at such time, as we call the Rogation weke. The cause was pro terrae motu, pro tempestatibus, & bestiarum incursionibus, quae [Page 139] tùm témporis populum contriuerunt, For earthquakes, and tem­pestes, and inuasiōs of wilde beasts, which then did great­ly destroy the people. The greater Litany, was deuised by Gregory Gregorius. In dic. 6. cap. 2. the Pope, Anno. 592. when as the occasion being like as before, the superstition began to be more. For by reason of a great pestilēce following of a floud: the byshop by ceremonies, thought to appease the wrath of God, and therfore made septiformem litaniam, a seuen fort Litany. One of the Cleargy, another of the monkes: one of men, another of their wiues: one of maydens, another of wi­dowes: the last of poore and children together. These people so distinct into seuen orders, should come from seuen seue­rall places, and then it was thought they should be hearde the soner. But in their procession,Sigebertus in annum. 591. foure score persons were striken with the plage, to shew how well God was pleased with them. Notwithstanding how thinges of a good deuo­tion instituted, in tyme do grow to great abuse, these lita­nies that you talke of, do proue. For what the order and so­lemnitie of them was,Concilium Moguntia­cum. we reade in the councell of Mentz celebrated .viij. hundreth and thirtene yeare after Christe. The words of their decrée be these. Placuit nobis, vt Litania maior, obseruanda sit a cūctis Christianis diebus tribus. Et sicut sancti patres nostri instituerunt non equitando, nec preciosis vestibus induti, sed discalccati, cinere & cilicio induti, nisi infirmitas impedierit. Our wil is,Papistes degenerat from all good or­der. y^t the greater Litany be obserued of al Chris­tians .iij. dayes: and as our holy fathers haue ordayned it, not ryding, nor hauing precious garmentes on them, but bare footed, in sackecloth & ashes, vnlesse infirmitie do let. So farre the councell. Contrary to which, the popish pro­cession is neuer solemne, but when all the copes do come a­brode, and euery wyfe is ready to scratch an other by the face, for going next the Crosse. And as the deuocion of men is lesse, so are the wordes of Inuocation vsed among the [Page] Papistes woorse, which I shal haue occasiō anone to speake of: when I come to the Litany that Augustine the Monke vsed, at entring into our lande. With you: M. Martiall, I wyl procede in order.Fol. 93. b. The Arrians as you cite out of Sozo­menus beyng set beside their Churches at Constantinople, had secret conuenticles whether they resorted: much lyke to men of your occupation in Englande, which haue theyr Masse in corners. They deuided themselues into cōpanies, and song psalmes & hymnes made in ryme after their own guise, with additions for proufe and defence of their owne doctrine, as popish portusses & hipocriticall himnals haue, such as you in Oxforde were delited to sing about y^e Christ­mas fier. Which thing (say you) the good bishop and vigilāt pastor Chrysostome espying, least some of the catholiques allured vvith the pleasaunt casure of the meter, and svvete sounde of their ryme, should go to their assēblies: deuised also certaine hymnes in meter, and made them sing them in the same tune that the Arrians dyd: vvhereby it came to passe, that the catholiques farre passed them in num­ber, and in solemnitie of procession. For (sayth Sozomenus) Argentea crucis signa vna cum caereis accensis precedebant eos. Before the Catholiques vvent tvvo siluer Crosses vvith ta­pers or torches burning. Thus farr you sir. And doubtlesse herein you haue shewed a great piece of skil. You haue no­ted in the margent (bicause we shal not forgot it) how Cros­ses and tapers were caryed in procession. And is not the Crosse much beholden to you, that now make it a candel­sticke? that now wyl cōpare it to a lynke, or a staffe torche, or to the pole that caryeth the cresset? And may not youre Louanistes greatly ioy in you, that can deuise? may not we also greatly ioy in them, that can ouersée and suffer suche a proufe to go to print? Geue me leaue a little to examyne your history. First of all, that whiche is the chiefe circum­stance, [Page 140] ye vtterly omyt. That the Arrians assemblies were in the nyght. Whervpon Sozomenus sayth.Lib. 8. cap. 8. Noctu congre­gati & in coetus diuisi that in the night tyme they were gathe­red together, and deuided themselues into companyes. And Socrates sayth, Et hoc maxima noctis parte faciebant. And this they dyd most part of the nyght. Agayne where ye say,Lib. 6. cap. 8 that the catholiques had two siluer Crosses, it is more than ye founde in the text: and peraduenture lesse: for (argentea crucis signa) may be aswell many siluer signes of the Crosse, as one. But what wer those siluer Crosses? Such as ye would make the ignoraunt beleue? Such as you do vse to cary in processiō? If other be so made to credit you: yet we do know to much to be abused by you. SocratesSocrates ec­clesia. Hist. lib. 6. cap. 8, writeth of the mat­ter thus. Ioannes veritus ne huiusmodi cantionibus simpliciorū quis­quam ab ecclesia auelleretur, opposuit illis quosdamè suo populo, qui & ipsi nocturnis hymnis dediti, & illorum studium hebetarēt, & su­os in fide confirmarent. Videbatur quidem vtile fore hoc Ioannis pro­positum, verum cum perturbatione est, & periculis terminatum. Cum enim homousiani hymni in nocturnis illis hymnodijs illustriores redde rentur, (excogitauerat enim argenteas cruces, quibus erant impositae cereae faces accensae, ad quam rem Eudoxia imperatrix sumptus suppe ditauerat) Arriani numero multi and so forth. Whiche wordes are in English these. Iohn (byshop of Constantinople) fea­ryng least by these songes of the Arrians any one of y^e sim­ple myght be pulled from the Churche, set certayne of hys own people against them: which beyng also giuen to sing the nyght hymnes, might both hinder the purpose of the ad­uersary, and confirme in fayth the mindes of y^e catholiques. Thys intente of Iohn, semed to be profitable, but it ended with trouble, and perils. For when the songs of the catho­liques, in their night tunes were made more notable: (for he had deuised certayne Crosse pieces of siluer, wherevpon were put burning tapers of waxe, whereof Eudoxia the [Page] empresse did beare y^e charge, y^e Arrians endeuored to reuēge themselues. Here it is euident, wherfore these Crosses (that you do talke of) were had, that inasmuch as their assemblies were in the night, when lightes were necessary: and those lyghtes of theirs,The cros­ses of Cō ­stantino­ple. could not be caryed on a strayghte piece, they would haue a piece to go crosse ouerthwart, to set ma­ny candels on: which being made of siluer the lightes gly­mering therevpon, made a beautifull & goodly shewe. This is the history. Thys was the Crosse: these were the tapers of Chrisostomes tyme. But what is thys to popish processi­on? As much as if I said. My Lord Maior hath a perch to set on hys perchers when hys gesse be at supper: Therfore the Priest, when he is at hys praiers, must haue a crucifix to go before hym. The barber in hys shop hath a latē place to set on hys candels to shaue men therat: therfore the priest whē he goeth hys stations about the churchyarde, muste haue a siluer Crosse caried before him, and a couple of boyes with tapers in their handes, to lyght hym at none dayes. I remē ­ber of olde that on Tenebre wednesday, or one of y^e solēne dayes before Easter, ye were wont to haue a ryghte coun­terfet in the Church, of Constantinoples Crosse, saue that the one was of siluer, the other of wood. And thys was Iu­das Crosse, wherupon was set a great sort of cādels, which at seruise tyme were put out in order. But thys I thinke is not the Crosse that ye speake of. For you wyll haue a siluer Crosse (or copper at y^e least wyse) after the paterne of Chri­sostomes catholiques. But then you must sticke it full of candels to or els you be not lyke nother. And haue you not great cause, M. Martiall, vpō thys example, to inferre these wordes of triumphe and victory. Lo good readers Chrisos­tome an auncient father, and one of the moste famous doc­tors of the Greke Church, and renovvmed for vertue and learning throughout the vvorld, had the signe of the crosse [Page 141] and tapers vvith lyght, Fol. 94 a caryed in his Church of Constanti­nople, before hys people in procession. And was it in dede a Crosse, M. Martiall? In which signification of yours? the first, secōde, third or fourth? doubtlesse, you were much ouer séene; that dyd not make the fifth signification of Crosse to be the Crosse staffe that caryeth the candels. And was thys Crosse caryed in the Church? I had thought it had bene in the streates. For the Arrians could not come into y^e Church and yet they met with them, with flinging of stones, and cracking of pates. The Arrians had no Crosse (you say) why then they went darkling, or were content with a lanterne. Lo, good readers, hath not M. Martiall,Martial in one stony maketh foure lyes and yet the mat­ter ma­keth no­thyng for him. Martials conclusiō out of So­zomenus. sayd muche to the matter? First that in Constantinople there should be caried two siluer Crosses. And that is a lye. For there is no num­ber mentioned. Then that they should be caryed in processi­on. And that is a lye. For it was only in processu, in their marching forwarde. Thirdly that they were caryed in the Church. And y^t is a lye. For it was in the streates. Fourth­ly, that they were caryed, as ours are, in the daye tyme. And that is a lye. For it was in the nyght season. What? foure lyes together in to small towme? To much of consci­ence? But marke the conclusion. Forsoth vve gather out of Sozomonus, by the godly father Chrisostomes fact, that vve must cary a candlesticke in steade of a Crosse in procession. A proper collection: and yet very true. For the Crosses of Constantinople, to proue a doctrine of the Church Crosse, is as good, as the cressets on midsommer nyghte, to proue the romors at hye muste in Poules. And thus much for the Crosse. Now to the candels If they were of olde vsed in the seruise of the Church, no maruel at al, since their metings were in the nyght tyme,Eusebius eccl. Hist. lib. 5. cap 1 where to be darkeling it was vn­comfortable. We reade in Eusebius that in the raygne of Antoninus verus in Fraunce, in Lyons, and vienna the [Page] Christians were forbidden to haue any houses to dwell in,Euse. Eccle. Hist. li. 5. cap. 1. to enter with other folke into the bathes, to walke abrode in the streates, or to be sene in any place. By reason wher­of, they were compelled to get thē caues, and there vnder the grounde to hyde them. But when for their comforte in Christ, they would resort together, they dyd it in the nyght tyme, for feare of suspition: and therof many slaunders did ryse vpon them,The vse of tapers. for treasons, conspiracies, horedomes, and murder. Yet candels they had, & necessary they were. Like­wyse we reade, that when Iustina the Empresse, fauoring the Arrians, had graunted them the vse of the Churche in Millain,Augustinꝰ li. Confes. 9. cap. 7. Ambrose withstode it: and kept it day and nyght: with watch & warde. Then Litanies were song, and then were tapers vsed. But when persecutions ceassed, and men myght fréely serue God abrode: when rewardes were ge­uen to the seruers of hym, and seruise appoynted in y^e daye tyme: that candels should be vsed, they had no grounde of reason. I sée not whence you may haue a president of your burning tapers at none day, so wel, as from the sacrifices of Saturnus. Macrob. Saturn. li. 1. cap. 7. Aras saturnias non mactando viros, sed accēsis luminibus excolebant. They decked and furnished the altares of Saturn, not with the bloud of men, but with burning of candels. And we neuer reade that any returned from Gētilitie, but retayned somewhat of their olde obseruaunces. If ye vrge the olde custome, that so many hūdreth yeares ago, tapers were vsed in Gods seruise: I wyll reply, with reproufe of that custome, by a generall councell. For in the Synode helde in Spain, called Cōciliū Elibertinū, is was straight­ly enioyned,Cap. 34. Lactantius de vero. cul­ [...] dei. li. 6. cap. [...]. y^t none should lighte candels in the daye tyme. Lactantius inueighing agaynst the heathennish or popishe superstition (conueniunt, enim in vno tertio, for Papistes & Pa­ganes agrée in a third, that is to say, lyghting of candels vnto their Gods) sayth. Accendunt lumina velut in tenebris a­genti [Page 142] Deo. Sed si coeleste lumen, quod dicimus solem contemplari velint tam sentiāt, quod non indigeat lucernis eorum Deus, qui in vsum ho­minis tam candidum lucē dedit: & tamen quum in tam paruo circu­lo, qui propter longinquitatē, non amplius quā hamani capitir videtur habere mensurā, tantū sit fulgoris, vt eū mortaliū luminū acier, non queat contueri & si paulisper intenderis, hebetatos culos caligo ac tenebrae consequantur: quid tandē luminis, quid claritatis apud deū, penes quem nulla nox est, esse arbitremur? qui hanc ipsam lucē sic mo­deratus est, vt ne (que) nimio fulgore, neque calore vehementi noce­ret animantibus tantúmque istarum rerum dedit ei, quantum aut mortalia corpora pati possunt, aut frugum maturitas postularet. Which is to say in English. They light candels vnto God, as if he were in the darke. But if they wyl beholde the hea­uenly lyght (that we call the sunne) they may vnderstande that their God lacketh no lyghtes, that for the vse of man, hath giuen so cleare a lyght. And yet, whereas in so small a circle whyche by reason of the distaunce semeth no big­ger than a mannes head, there is so greate a glysteryng, that the engine of mans eye, is not able to loke directly on it: and if for a whyle ye fixe your sight theron, dymnesse & darkenesse do follow your dased eyes: what lyghte, what clearenesse may we thynk to be with God, with whom ther is no night at all? who hath so ordered thys lyght of hys, y^e neyther by to muche shining beames, nor ouer parching heate, he shuld hurte the cattel: & yet of both hath departed so much, as either the bodyes of man may beare, or riping of the fruites require. Wherfore he concludeth. Num igitur mentis suae compos putandus est, qui authori & datori luminis, cande­larum ac cerearū lumen offerit pro munere? Is he to be thought to be in hys ryghte wyttes, that to the author and geuer of lyghte, offers vp the lyghte of candels and tapers for a gifte? And can there any thyng more playnly be sayde, to condemne the vse of burning tapers on the Lordes table?There must be no tapers on the Lordes ta­ble. God hath required an other lyght of vs (sayth Lactantius) and the same not dym and smokye, but cleare and bryghte, [Page] proceding from the mynde, which for that cause is called [...] as much to say, as lyght: which doubtlesse is impossi­ble for any to set forth, but hym that knoweth God. Then if we set vp in the day tyme a candell for our selues? we be blynde fooles: if for the vse and seruise of God, we be blas­phemous. Terrenum enim facimus eum, & in tenebris agentem, For we make hym earthly, and shut hym vp (as it were) in a dark prison. Ita (que) istiusmodi cultores, quia celeste nihil sapiūt, etiam religiones quibus deseruiunt ad terram reuocant. In ea enim lu­mine opus est, quia ratio eius & natura tenebrosa est. Therfore such worshippers, bicause no heauenly thyng sauors with them, call down their religions, which they obserue and kepe, vnto the earth: wherin we stande in nede of lyght, bicause the respect and nature of it, is cloudy altogether and ful of darkenesse. Thus much haue I sayd, to your first proufe of Crosse & Tapers at tyme of Litany. Now where you finde your selfe agreued,Foli. 94. b. that we haue not likewise your ceremo­nies in vre, saying: oure heretiques novve a dayes, vvill haue no. Crosse at the singing of their Lordes prayer, Martiall refuseth the Lords prayer and con­sequently the Lorde Christ. bi­cause neyther their Lord nor they, can abyde the sighte of the Crosse. Truly, I had thought that we had had all one Lord before: that we had all depended vpon Christ, and iustly might haue bene called Christians: now that ye re­fuse hym in the playn field, what shall I call you but Anti­christes, and Apostotae. For euident it is, who is our Lord, by the prayer that we vse, and Christ hath commaūded vs: you by condemning the prayer, also deny the Lorde. For) what meane you by this? (Heretiques at their lordes praier haue we any other Lordes prayer, than that which is writ­ten in the .vj. of Mathew & .xj. of Luke? If thys ye acknow­ledge, ye myght aswell haue sayd at the Lordes prayer, or at our Lordes prayer, as (at their Lordes prayer) but if ye haue such a sect of your selues, that do mislike with y^e lordes [Page 143] prayer, I would be gladly taken as an heretique of such: and all your religion I holde accursed.Folio. 94. b. (They cannot be he­retiques) say you (that can abide the sight of the Crosse.) And wil you abide by that? Ye haue proued by this time Luther Luther is proued no here­tique. no heretique: for alwayes he is pictured ful deuoutly knée­ling before the Crosse. And truely no Papist had the signe of the Crosse in more reuerence than he. Wherefore you must restrayne your position, or lessen much the numbre of your heretiques. Iustinians Iustinian Emperor. lawes, though in ciuile cases I doe gladly admit, and in some matters of correction, I like very wel, (Vt quod paederastis virilia confestim exsecari voluit) yet in Religion we are not bound to this order. I know that in his time many superstitions were come in place: and since he liued in the same age with Agapetus the Pope, fyrste foūder of Processions, no maruel if he followed some piece of his fansy. Mamertes, & Gregory that first deuised Lita­nies, although they make mention of diuers orders and solēnities that were vsed in them (namely of the vse of the Bishops Pall) yet speake they no word, that the Crosse shuld go before them. Wherfore I greatly force not, whether the order of crosses in Litanies were vsed somewhat before his time, or first by himselfe deuised, since we haue example of so many faythful, that prayed without it: and promise that our prayer shall be heard, though we want it. My self wil not discredite the Emperour, which being as Suidas sayth, [...] vtterly vnlearned, deserued well of lear­ning. But what he was, both for his lawes and execution of iustice, and religion, reade Alciate and Euagrius. Alciat li. 4 Disp. Cap. 7 Euagrius Libro. 4. Ca. 30. et. 32. The tale and titles of Augustine the Monke (who commonly is called the Apostle of Englande) I haue not in such credite and estimation, that I thinke vs (as you say) next vnto God most beholden to him, for our fayth and religion. For euer since the time of Eleutherius of Rome, and Lucius of Eng­lande, Christianitie hath bene receyued, and neuer fayled [Page] among vs.Augustin the monk common­ly called the Apo­stle of Englande In dede some partes of the realme, which now are accompted chiefe, and then lay most open to the spoyle of enimies, were blinded with Paganish superstition, and the faythfull Christians fled into the mountaynes. The Sarons, for the part that they possessed, were most Idola­ter. The Britons remayned Christians: in so much that when Augustine came among them, he founde seauen by­shoprikes, and an Archbyshoprike, beside diuers and sun­dry monasteries: which all had faythful and learned prela­tes, kéeping their flockes in most Godly order. Nor vtter­ly was the fayth extinguished, where Augustine lāded. For Ethelbert the king of Kent, (as Polydor writeth) was mete­ly wel instructed, by a godly wife, that came out of Fraūce, and a Christian byshop that attended on hir. But Augu­stine when he came, in place of Idolatry planted supersti­tion: and where religion was sincerely taught, he labou­red what he could of a certayne ambitious proude heart to peruert it. For finding in the city of Bangor, a notable sort of Monkes (not idle bellies as of late yeres they haue bene, but learned, and liuing of the sweate of their browes) in so much that being deuided into seauen partes, there were no lesse than thrée hundreth of a company: this Romishe Pre­late, required subiection of them: and further woulde haue enioyned them, to become seruitoures in preaching of the Gospell, to their mortall enimies, the Saxons: which con­dicions when they refused, Ethelbert the king, partely in Austins quarrel, partly of an olde grudge of his owne, stir­red vp the rest of the Saxon kings, to make war vpon thē. So they came to Chester, wherein the religious people had assembled themselues, and when the City was taken, there were twelue hundreth of the good men, most cruelly slayne. And where as their rage was not so quieted, but néedes they would come to destroy Bangor, the Britous confede­rates assembling themselues, wythstode them, and slewe [Page 144] ten thousand and thrée score of them.Hist gene Aug lib. 2. Cap. 2. Hactenus Galfridus. Which great murder, can not be imputed to any thing so much, as to the ambition of the Monke. And although Beda reciteth the history somewhat otherwise, yet, his witnesse proueth, that Augustine was much to blame, which wold so seriously contend about trifles. For what were the matters that he exacted. Primo vt eodem quo Romana ecclesia tempore, festum Paschatis celebrarēt: Secūdo cōmunibus ritibus & caeremonijs cū Romanis in Baptismi ministerio vterentur: Tertio vt cōmunicata opera, & cōmunibus laboribus genti Angliae Euangelium praedicarēt. that is to say: Fyrste that they should celebrate the Easter feaste at the same time, that the Church of Rome did. Se­condarily, that they should vse in ministration of baptisme, the selfe same ceremonies wyth the Romaines. Thirdely, that they should communicate their trauayles, that ioynt­ly, they should take paynes together, in preaching of the Gospell to the englishe nation. These conditions, bycause they were not receyued, the people (as he sayth) were pla­gued. But in this behalfe, the wonderfull iudgemente of almighty God is worthy to be considered, that exercyseth his people with plagues among: and although of his mer­cy sometime he graunt them Alcyonia tempora, some little breathing whiles: yet tempests do arise anone, & the crosse accompanieth true Christianitie: which in this age of the Church, wherein Gregorie (by surname the great) and Au­gustine of whome we last haue spoken liued, may well be sene. For after the flourishing time of Constantinus, wher­in most liberty was graunted Christians: after the learned age of Augustine and Ambrose, when all good knowledge was at the ripest: sodaynely ensued a straunge and lamen­table alteration, when for light, darkenesse: for Gods ser­uice, ceremonies: for learning, ignoraunce and barbaritie succeded. That if ye passe syx hundreth yeare after Christ, [Page] ye shall sée nothing but cloud of ceremonies, darkening the sunne of eternall truth: and a sorte of wilworships, defa­cing the true honor of the almighty God. And then might you séeke all Christendome, and scarcely finde a learned fa­ther, excepting Gregorie and Fulgentius. These two were the best, and almost the onely to be accompted of: and yet these (God wote) shewed in what time they liued: when e­uery man delited, to haue a Gods seruice of his owne ma­king.Folio. 96. a. And then was our hap to receyue this Popes Apostle from Rome, Crucem pro vexillo ferens argenteam, carying a sil­uer Crosse for his banner,Hovv far vve differ from Au­gustin the Monk, as vvell in ceremo­nies, as in time. and the Image of Christ payn­ted in a table. Where by the way ye may obserue, that ce­remonies, the elder they are, do grow the more. For where as Augustine brought in but a bare Crosse, we haue recey­ued not onely a Crosse, but also a crucifix graued thereon: And whereas he caried a picture but paynted on a table, we haue the same carued and embossed. Augustine comming vnto them, that neuer had heard of Christ, politiquely deui­sed somewhat, wherewithal fyrst he might féede their eyes: that afterward lending him their eares, he might instructe their hearts. Wherefore if this facte of his might be excu­sed, by the state and condition of the countrey: yet can not we in our Crosse carying, haue the like pretence, and ther­fore ought not to vse the like example. Notwithstanding, his Litanie was good, and I maruell that y^e Romish church is not at this day contented with the like. He came not in with Ora pro nobis, he made no intercession to saincts for vs: but onely song this swéete Litany. Deprecamur te Domine in omni misericordia tua, vt auferatur furor & ira tua a ciuitate ista, quia peccauimus. In all thy mercy we besech thée O Lorde, that thy indignation and fury, may be taken away from this city, bycause we haue synned. Which Litanie of hys, if it be compared with ours, the selfe same thing shall be sene in both. But the popish Litanie, as it is different from [Page 145] this, so is it Idolatrous. Virgin Mary pray for vs, Peter pray for vs, Paule praye for vs. And so forth to Abbots, Monks, Hermits, Nuns, Friers, & al to pray for vs. I may say to you, as TertullianTetullianus in Apolo­getico. ca. 30 by an Irony sayd to the Gentiles. Vos religiosi salutem quaeritis, vbi non est, petitis à quibus dari non potest: praeterito eo in cuius est potestate. Insuper eos Christianos de­bellatis: qui eam sciunt petere, qui etiam possunt impetrare dum sciūt petere. Nos enim pro salute Imperatorum, Deum vocamus aeternum, Deum verum, & Deum viuum, quem & ipsi imperatores propitium sibi praeter ceteros malunt. You deuoute persons (sayde Ter­tullian) seeke for saluation, where it is not to be founde. Ye aske it of them that can not giue it, omitting hym in whose handes it is. Nor contente with this, ye beate downe those Christiās, which know to aske health, which also be able to obtayne it, bycause they knowe howe to aske it. For, we for the Emperours good state and preseruation, do pray to the eternall God, the true God, and liuing God, whome the Emperors them selues had rather than all other to be mer­cifull vnto them. This (I say) doe we for all magistrates and rulers: for all thinges necessary for this life of oures. Nor we think it necessary to obserue any other forme and ceremony in our praying, than the same Tertullian set­teth forth of Christians in his time, wythout any Crosse at all. Ad coelum (sayth he) suspicientes Christiani, manibus expansis, quia innocuis: capite nudo, quia non erubescimus: deni (que) sine moni­tore, quia de pectore oramus, precantes sumus omnes semper pro om­nibus Imperatoribus, vitam illis prolixam, imperium securum, domū tutā, exercitus fortes, senatū fidelem, populū probū, orbem quietū, & quaecun (que) hominis & Caesaris vota sunt. Haec ab alio orare non possū quam à quo scio me consecuturum: quoniam & ipse est qui solus praestat, & ego sum cui impetrare debetur, famulus cius, qui eum so­lum obseruo, qui ei offero opimam & maiorē hostiā, quā ipse manda­uit, orationem de earne pudica, de anima innocenti, de spiritu sancto profectam. We Christians loking vp to heauen, with han­des stretched out, bicause they are harmelesse: bare headed, [Page] bycause we are not ashamed: without any prompter, by­cause we pray from the hearte: alwayes do make our sup­plications, for all Princes and rulers, beseching God to send them a long life, a quiet raigne, an housholde in safe­tie, and valeaunt souldiours, counsellers faythfull, and people vertuous, a merry world, and whatsoeuer themsel­ues wish for besyde. These things I can not pray for of a­ny, but of whome I knowe I shall obtayne: bycause he it is, that only perfourmeth: and I am he, that must obtaine: his seruaunt, which honour and esteme him onely: which offer vnto him a fat and full Sacrifice, which he hath com­maunded me, a prayer that procéedeth from a sobre & chaste flesh, an innocent soule, and from the holy ghost. In which wordes Tertullian declareth the order of Gods seruice in his time, which consisted not in outwarde shewes, but in­warde veritie: nor in their distresses they called vpon any, (as you doe in your Litanies) saue onely vpon him, that on­ly can, and will rewarde his. Wherefore your Litanies of late deuised,Papists supersti­tious, and vvhy. be most vnlawfull: and notwithstanding your Crosses, you be most superstitious. Superstitiosi enim vocantur as (Lactantius sayth) non qui filios suos superstites optant (omnes enim optamus) sed aut hij qui superstitē memoriā defuncto­rum colunt, aut qui parentibus suis superstitibus, colebant Imagines eorum domi, tanquam Deos penates. Nam qui nouos sibi ritus assu­mebant, Lactantius diuin. inst. Li. 4. Ca. 28. vt in deorum vicem mortuos honorarent, quos ex hominibus in coelum receptos putabant, hos superstitiosos vocabant.

For they are called superstitious, not that desire their chil­dren to be long liued: (for so we doe all) but eyther such as haue the memorie of the deade fresh with them, and estéeme the same: or such as hauing their parents aliue, did wor­ship their Images at home, as their housholde Gods. For they that toke new fashions vnto them, to honour the dead in steade of the Goddes, which men they supposed to haue bene receyued out of earth into heauen, them did they call [Page 146] superstitious. And forasmuch as you (M. Martial & your fel­lowes) be such which so diligently retaine y^e memory of the deade, which call vpon the deade, and make your prayers to them: Lactantius sayth, you be not religious, but super­stitious. As for the ensigne of our master Christe, vvhich (you say) vve labour to haue out of the fielde, Folio 97. a. bycause we knowe the fight of our aduersary is vncessant, without a­ny truce or intermission, vntill this soule of ours doe vn­body: we carry this ensigne alwayes wyth vs, we neuer suffer it to depart from the walles of our heart, but sleping and waking, eating and drinking, at Church, and at home, we haue it alwayes afore vs. And this is in dede y^e Crosse of Christ, not caried on a staffe, not set vpō an altar, but fixed in our harts, with a ioiful remēbrance of his merits for vs. Hoc enim vexillo, antiquus hostis, non Imaginibus victus est: Car. Mag. de Imag. lib 2. Cap. 28. hijs armis non colorum fucis, Diabolus expugnatus est: per hanc, non per picturas, inferni claustra destituta sunt: per hanc, non per illas, hu­manum genus redemptum est. In Cruce namque, non in Imaginibus, pretium mundi pependit. Illa ad seruile supplicium, non quaedam I­mago ministra extitit. Hoc est nostri regis insigne, non quaedam pictu­ra quod nostri exercitus indesinenter aspiciunt legiones. Hoc est Signū nostri Imperatoris, non compaginatio colorum quod ad praelium nostri sequūtur cohortes. For by this ensigne saith Charles the great, not by Images, our auncient enimy is ouercome.The ma­teriall no ensign of Christ. By this artillarie, not by any counterfets of coloures, the Diuel is vanquished. By this, & not by pictures, the dongeons of hell are emptied. By this, and not by them, mankinde is al rede­med. For the price of the world hanged on a crosse, and not in Images. The Crosse, and not an Image, was the mat­ter of a seruile punishment. This, and not a picture, is the ensigne of our king, which the bandes of our army con­tinually doe loke on. This, and not a tempering of cer­taine colours, is the signe and banner of our Emperor and captaine, which our hostes of men do follow to the warres. [Page] By which relation of contraries, it apeareth playnly, what the Crosse is, that we ought to reuerence: and what Chri­stes banner, that we ought to dysplay. Not the Image, the signe and picture, but the memoriall of his death and passi­on. Wherefore he concludeth. Non quaedā materialis Imago, sed dominicae crucis mysteriū vexillum est, quod in campo duelli, vt fortius confligamus sequi debemus. It is not any material Image, but the mysterie of the Crosse of Christ (the death it selfe) which is our ensigne,The true ensigne of Christ. that in the fielde of our conflict, we ought to followe, to the end we may more manfully fight. And thus you sée that all authority and reason condemns you. There is nothing in Gods seruise, that you myslike in vs, but ra­ther ought to be reputed prayse. The reliquesFolio. 97. b. For Reli­ques. of Anastasius, brought in with procession, (which ye also do bring to proue the vse of a Crosse) shewe that you stande in great néede of good proues, when you can be contented with so slender aydes. I nede no more to aunswere, but that a superstiti­ous instrumente, was méetest to serue a superstious ef­fecte.Num. 19. We reade in the olde testament, that who soeuer tou­ched the deade corps of any man, and purged not himselfe, defiled the tabernacle of the Lord, and should be cut of from Israell. And shall in the new testament, the rotten bones of a deade carcase, make men the holier? If all the Scrip­ture be readde ouer, and writings of the fathers, for. CCC. yere after Christ, we shal finde no commaundement or ex­ample in the world, of reliques kept, or bones translated. We reade of Moses, the seruaunt of the Lord, that he dyed in y^e land of Moab, and the Angell of y^e Lord buried him in a valley,Iosue. 34. but no man knoweth of his Sepulchre vnto thys day. Which thing, was of purpose, by the prouidence of God, appoynted so: that the Iewes might haue no occasion thereby to commit Idolatry. But if the translating of dead bones, had made eyther for the glory of God, or commodi­tie of man: the reliques of such a one as Moses was, shuld [Page 147] not haue bene hydden. For doubtlesse of al Prophetes, he was the greatest, by the testimony of God hymselfe.Num. 12. Who called hym faythfull in all hys house, to whome he spake mouth to mouth, and by vision, and not in darke wor­des: yet was not hys body shryned, nor hys bones caried in procession, nor any chapel erected for hym.Ep. Iude. [...] In dede y^e diuel dyd attempt no lesse, then to make it a matter of supersti­tion (for we reade that there was a stryfe betwixt hym and Michaell about Moses body) but the Angell of y^e Lord with­stode it. And although peraduenture by some instructiō ye shall hap vpon the story of Ioseph,Iosephes body. who required hys bro­thers, to cary hys bones into y^e lande of Canaan: yet doth it not make for your reliques nother. For who kneled euer to Iosephes tumbe? who brought it euer into the sāctuary? who lyghted euer any candell to it? Only to assure them of hys fayth in Gods promises, and to confirme them that the lande of promise they should enioy, he wylled thē as a wit­nesse, to take hys body with them. Next vnto Moses, amōg the Prophetes, were Samuel and Elias. Samuel1. Samu. 25. dyed (as the Scripture sayth) and all Israell assēbled, and mourned for hym, and buried hym in hys own house: more we haue not. Elias was rapt in a fyry charet:2. Reg. 2. hys body was trans­lated, not into the Church, but into heauen: both to testifie the rewarde of immortalitie prepared for the faythful, and to cut away occasion of mens Idolatry. Furthermore Eli­sha dyed & they buried him. And certaine bandes of y^e Moa­bites came into the lande that yeare,2. Reg. 13. and as they were bu­rying a man, beholde they saw the soldiors: therefore they cast the man into the sepulchre of Elisha: and whē the mā was down, and touched y^e bones of Elisha, he reuiued, and stode vpon hys féete. Yet after so great a miracle, hys bo­nes were not trāslated: there was no pilgrimage appoin­ted to hym: there was no chappel erected for hym.Ecclesi. 48. While he lyued (sayeth Iesus the sonne of Syrach) he was not [Page] moued for any prince, neyther could anythyng bryng hym into subiection: nothing could ouercome, & after hys death hys body prophecied: he dyd wonders in hys lyfe, and in death were hys workes meruellous. Yet for al thys y^e people repented not. So that thys miracle, confirming the doc­trine and calling of Elisha, serued as a preaching of penāce to them and not to enforce a worshipping of the body. For which cause it is plainly sayd: hys body prophecied. Whē zelous & good Iosias,2. Reg. 23. had taken the bones of the false Pro­phetes out of their graues, and burned them vpon the al­tare, seeyng the sepulchre of the man of God, he sayde: let hym alone, let none remoue hys bones. Great cause in ap­pearaunce, why they shoulde haue bene remoued thence, where so many wycked had lyen buried: but suffered they were, and honored they were not. In the new testamente, what shal we thynke the cause y^t so little mention is made eyther of the buriall, or else assumptiō of the Virgin Mary, whose vndefiled body, was the worthy temple of the holye ghost? but that y^e wysdome of God foresaw, what michiefe and Idolatry would soone haue risen of it.Mat. 14. Of Iohn Baptist we reade, that after he was slayne, hys disciples came and toke vp hys body,Act. 8. and buryed it. Likewise of Stephē, whē he was stoned, y^t certayne men y^t feared God, caryed hym among them to be buryed, and made great lamentation for hym: but of their bones reseruing, or bodies trāslating, not a word at al. Doubtlesse if such reliques had bene thought profitable to the church of Christ, there should not haue ben such silence of them. Notwithstanding afterwarde, vpon a­boundaunce of zeale, not onely the memories of the fayth­full martyrs, but also some parcels of their māgled bodyes began to be kept: to little vse of them, and ill example to their posteritie. Wherefore me thynke, they made a ryght good excuse, that denying the body of Polycarpus to thē that sued for it, sayd: Ne Christo relicto, hunc colere inciperent. It [Page 148] should not be deliuered, lest Christ forsaken,Euse Eccel. His. Li. 4 cap. 16. they shoulde begin to serue hym. None of the Saincts, but haue left be­hynde them a better memoriall, than a scull or a carcase, in writing or in doing. Let their writings thē, be perused of vs: the vertuous conuersatiō of their lyfe be followed, and they (no doubt) wil be beste contented.In Euchir. can. 5. Erasmus intreating of such superstitions, as you do moste embrace, sayde very wisely, to the soldior of Christ. Veneraris diuos, gaudes eorum reliquias contingere: sed contemnis quod illi reliquerunt optimum, pu­ta vitae purae exempla. Nullus cultus gratior Mariae, quam si Mariae humilitatem inuteris. Nulla religio sanctis acceptior, magisque pro­pria, quam si virtutem illorum exprimere labores. Vis tibi demereri Petrum & Paulum? Alterius fidem, alterius imitare charitatem, & plus feceris, quam si decies Romam cursitaris. That is to say. Thou worshippest the Saintes: thou arte glad to touche their reliques: but the beste thyng that they haue lefte behynde them, whiche is, the examples of a pure lyfe, thou contēnest. No seruise more acceptable vnto Marye, than if thou imitate the lowlinesse of Mary. No religion more welcome and more proper vnto Saintes, thā if thou study to expresse their vertue. Wilt thou procure the fauor of Peter and of Paul, follow and resemble y^e fayth of the one, and charitie of the other, and thou shalt do more, than if thou shouldest gad ten tymes to Rome. So much as tou­ching Anastasius reliques. Now, that I haue proued, the Crosse of Chrisostome, to make nothing for you; y^e lawes of Iustinian not to prescribe me: the example of Augustine the Monke not to bynde me: the trāslating of reliques, not to be estemed of me: it remayneth, that your proufes, for hauing of a Crosse at singing or saying Letany, are insuffi­cient. I haue shewed you by the way, whose deuyse were Letanyes: whence came processyons: howe farre we swarue, both in the one and in the other, from those wylworshippers, that first inuented them. I haue decla­red [Page] no lesse, the fonde abuse of tapers, and shameful super­stition of Reliques in the Churche, both by Gods worde, and testimony of good men, condemned. Wherfore let vs, forsakyng vanities of mens deuises, seke God, and seruyse of hym in Scripture. Let vs walke before hym in innocen­cy of lyfe: let vs be followers of Sainctes, as they were of Christ: let vs in hūblenesse of our heart make our prayers vnto hym, although we haue no Crosse in procession before vs. But for auoyding of the Crosse (the plage of God due for our desertes) let vs often vse our Godly Letanie, & let vs instantly alwayes say: From the tyranny of the bishop of Rome, and all hys detestable enormities, from all false doctrine and heresie, from hardnesse of hart, frō contempt of thy worde and commaundement, good Lord deliuer vs.

IF signes and miracles, which in these latter dayes, haue bene ofter wrought by power of the diuel, then by spirite of God, should be brought, to confirme a doctrine in the Churche: no vayne Idolatrye of the Gentiles, no wycked worshippinges amōg the Chri­stiās, but by y^e same reason, shalbe authorised. Whē Acciꝰ Nauius the great wisserde, had dehorted Tarquin the olde, [Page 149] frō inuocating any thing, vntil he had bene stalled by hym, and receyued at his handes certayne obseruāces:Liuius De­ca 1. Lib. 1. the kyng scorning hys occupation, wylled hym to aske coūsel of hys byrdes, whether it myght come to passe, y^t he had cōceyued or no? when answere was made, that it might, he deliuered hym a whetstone, and cōmaūded, hym to cut it, w^t a rasour, in twoo: which thing he did, and therevpon the sorcerers Image was erected. When the Veij were ouerthrowen, & their city takē, a soldior was sent,Liuius. Dec, 1. lib. 5. to fetch away Iuno Mo­neta from them: and when in sport he asked her, whether she would go to Rome, the Image answered. That she would. When the mother of the Gods) according to Sibil­laes oracle) was brought frō Pessinuns, and the ship beyng set on y^e sandes in Tyber, Decadis. 3, lib. 9. could by no force or policy be mo­ued, Claudia, (which otherwise was of suspected fame) be­sought the Goddesse, that if she thought her to be a mayde, she would suffer the ship to be drawen to the shore by her girdell: and so it was. When Rome was afflicted with a mortall plage, and euery where some dyed of the pestilēce, Esculapius cōueyed from Epidauro, purged the ayre, & con­ferred them health. When Appius Claudius, Decad. 1. li. 9 (contrary to diuine responsall) would haue transferred the sacrifices of Hercules, to common seruauntes: he had by miracle, his eyes put out for it. When Pyrrhus had spoiled the reuestry of Proserpina, and taken away all the treasure y^t he found: sone after he was drowned, and nothing saued, but onely the good Ladyes money. Infinite such examples I could al­leage, wherby the heathen were blinded in Gentilitie, as you be now in Popery. But shall we gather of those, that witches and wisserdes muste be consulted with? that Iuno Berecynthia, Esculapius, Hercules, and Proserpina, muste haue sacrifice, and seruise done them? If this ye admitt not, I wyll as little graunt, the signe of the Crosse to be ad­mitted, for any miracle that hath bene wrought by it. Iu­piter [Page] and Diana, with the whole rable of Ethnike Idols, dyd heale many of their diseases,Miracles are vvrought by the di­uell. And hovv. and straungely deliuered them. Wherof. S. Cypriā doth make a feate discourse. You wyll graunt (I dare say) that thys was done by power of y^e diuell. And can the diuell then do such déedes? Cā he heale? can he restore? He can, when Gods pleasure is: and he doth amonge them that are subiecte to hys tyranny: that wyll walke in a popish blyndnesse: before whose eyes he casteth such a mist, y^t they thynke themselues in the meane while, to be worshippers of God, and to be ayded of hym. For the diuell hymselfe hath so ill a name, that if he were neuer so déere to men, yet they would not professe hym openly, nor call vpon hym by expresse wordes. Wherefore he doeth so daze the myndes of them, y^t he hath gotten vnder hys rule, that they thynke with themselues, they serue no man lesse than the diuell: when he in dede, puls them cleane awaye from the worshipping of God, and saluatiō that is in him, to make them partakers of hys vnhappy state and condem­nation. Therfore these wicked spirites, do lurke in shrines, in roodes, in Crosses, in Images: and first of all peruerte the priestes, which are easiest to be caught with bayte of a little gayne. Then worke they miracles. They appeare to men in diuerse shapes: dysquiete them when they are a­wake: trouble them in their slepes: distorte their mem­bers: take away their health: afflicte them with diseases: only to bryng them to some Idolatry. Thus whē they haue obtayned their purpose: that a leude affiaunce is reposed, where it should not, they enter (as it were) into a new leage, and trouble them no more. What do the simple people then? verely suppose, that the Image, the Crosse, y^e thyng that they haue kneled and offered vnto, (the very diuell in dede) hath restored them health: whereas he dyd nothyng but leaue of to molest them, Hac est enim (as S. Cyprian saith ipsorummedela, cum cessat ipsorum iniuria, Thys is the helpe and [Page 150] cure, that the diuels giue, when they leaue of their wrong and iniury. Nor truly, we can not iustly alleage, that such thynges were done among the Gentiles only, nor yet only among the Iewes, (as we do reade it was.Deu. 13.) But among the Christians, it both hath bene and shalbe so. S. Paul hath a notable place in his seconde Epistle to the Thessalonians2. Thes. 2. the seconde Chap. The wycked man (sayth the Apostle) shal be reuealed, whose comming is by the workyng of Satan, with all power and signes and lying wonders. And in all deceauablenesse of vnrighteousnesse among them that pe­rishe. Wherby it is euident, that signes and wonders shal­be wrought in the tyme of Antichrist, that shalbe able to seduce (if it be possible) the very elect. Haue we not warning in the gospell, that some shall come to Christ after suche a sort in the latter day, saying: Domine, domine, Math. 7. non ne per no­men tuum prophetauimus? Et per non tuum daemonia eiecimus? Et per nomen tuum multas virtutes praestitimus? Lorde, Lorde, haue we not by thy name prophecied? and by thy name caste oute diuels? and by thy name done many greate workes? To whome God shall answere notwithstanding: Nescio vos. I knowe you not. So that it is not a sufficiente proufe, to make the thing good, to say: that miracles were wrought by it. God doth abhorre adultery: yet by the acte of it, sometyme doth he suffer a miracle to be done, in the conception, the generation, the brynging of the childe into lyfe. God is offended with theft, yet doth he suffer stollen bread to fede vs, whiche is onely the power of hys mira­culous and secrete working. Nowe if ye gather, that the vse of the Crosse is commendable, bicause of miracles, done by it: by the same reason, the adulterer and théefe, maye defende and mayntayne theyr vnlawfull doings, bicause as great and greater miracles are wrought by thē Notwithstanding I know, some miracles are better than [Page] other some: and great difference there is betwixte them. Christ and hys Apostles wrought miracles: so dyd Symon Magus and other sorcerers. But as Gods glory was fur­thered by them: so priuate gaine was soughte for in these. As, for the heauenly doctrine of Christ, a confirmation was fet from miracles: so is there no diuelish superstition, but the same hath had straunge wōders for it. Wherefore. S. Augustine,Augustinꝰ de ciuitat. dei. li. 10. Cap. 16. hath a goodly rule. Si angeli sacrificia sibi petant fieri, & adhibuerint signa, ac è diuerso alij testētur vni Deo sacrificādum, ne (que) vlla miracula fecerint, ijs vti (que) non illis credere oportet. If An­gels require sacrifice to be done vnto them, and worke signes with all: and contrary wyse some other testifie, y^t Sacrifice must only be made to God, and yet doe no mira­cles, we must beleue these, and not them. And in an other place concerning the Maniches, he sayth: Signa vt vobis credatur nulla facitis, Contra fau­stum. quamuis si ea faceretis, vobis credendum non esset. Ye worke no miracles (sayth Augustine to the Maniches) whereby ye may induce vs to beleue you: though, if ye dyd worke such, we ought not therefore to credit you. And so say I to you (M. Martiall) you say, the Crosse is able to doe thys and that: we sée it not: no miracles ye worke: and yet if ye dyd so straunge thynges as ye talke of, we were not bounde to beleue your doctrine. For miracles alone, are not sufficient,Miracles alone no proufe of doctrine. to cōfirme and stablish vs in a ryght fayth. First of all, by the lyne of Scripture, we must examine the doc­trine that is taught vs: then if it do agrée to that, we must beleue it, yea though we haue no miracle at al: but if mira­cles do come beside, thē are the beleuers more established, and such as yet do not beleue, be made the more attente to heare, and haue a way made for them, to come to y^e fayth. Wherfore in some condition, they be like to Sacraments.Miracles in some part lyke to Sacra­mentes. For both, are added as assurances to promises, as seales to wrytinges. And as Sacramentes do bryng no comfort, vn­lesse they be receiued by fayth: so miracles do not auayle, except we haue first a regarde to doctrine. In this diuersity, [Page 151] to make no difference, is ouersight: to commend the worse and omit the better, is falshode.Folio 99. a. You are (you say) in a great perplexitie vvhere ye shal begin, as he that sytteth at a ta­ble, furnished vvith many delicate dishes, vvhereof he shal first taste. And I maruell that you so fine a féeder, will fall to your crambe. Ye are come to a garden set rounde about vvith fresh fragrant flovvers, & yet ye gather but an hand­full of nettels, for vs to smell vnto. Christ, by the touch of his hand, spettle of his mouth, by a playster of dyrt (as you call it) healed the sicke, opened the eares of the deafe, resto­red the eyes of the blinde. And why should not the dyrte of the streats be aswell honoured as the Crosse of the altare? since the Scripture doth commende the dyrte, but maketh no mention at all of the Crosse: since better proufe we haue of miracle wrought by the one, than euer can be made for the other? If any external meanes,Thre rea­sons vvhy miracles shuld not make for the crosse whereby strange won­ders haue come to passe, be to be had in admiratiō, why not such as Christ and his Apostles vsed, & the Scripture men­tioneth, rather than the ydle deuise of man, whereof there is no lawful president. Agayne, if your assertion were true, (that miracles vvere vvrought by the signe of the Crosse) yet were they not only by the signe of the crosse: and there­fore the Crosse onely (according to your treatise) should not without the rest be magnified. Last of all, if it were true (as ye shall neuer proue) that such things (as you alleage) were done sometime by the signe of the Crosse: yet this can be no reason, why the Crosse shuld now be had in estimation, vn­lesse ye will haue all meanes and instruments of wonders heretofore wroughte: as the hem of Christes garmente, the spettle and the clay: the shaddowe of Peter, and nap­kin of Paule, to be likewise honoured and estéemed of vs. But let me come to rehearsal of your miracles. Among thē this is the fyrst. And bycause I will haue your truth in al­legations appeare, I will put it downe as you haue writ­ten [Page] it,Martiall. worde for worde in order. At vvhat time the vertu­ous Lady Helena, vvilled as the story mentioneth, by reue­lation from God, Euseb. li. 10 Cap. 7. & .8. Eccl. Histo. to seeke the Crosse of Christ in Hierusa­lem, foūd after long digging in the mount of Caluary, thre Crosses, so confuse, that neyther by the title that Pilate set vp in Hebrevve, Greeke and Latine, neyther by any other means they could discern vvhich vvas the Crosse that bare our sauiour Christ: a noble vvoman of the city, consumed and spent vvith long sickenesse, did he at deathes dore. &c. Ye note for your credite, in the margent, the place whence ye haue the story: and that you affirme to be out of Eusebiꝰ his ecclesiasticall historie the tenth boke, the seauenth and eyght Chapters.Martial belyeth Eusebius. But this is a shamefull lye. For Eusebiꝰ hath no such worde: And this is a better proufe of the va­nitie of your historie, that where Eusebius in his third boke de vita Constantini, maketh mention of Helena, and the place it selfe of Christes sepulchre, which by the Emperors commaundement was cleansed, yet he speaketh not a word of this miraculous inuention of the Crosse. Yet he liued at the same time, and was more likely to knowe a truth, than other. Ye be to blame therfore to belye Eusebius. In déede Ruffinus in his first boke & seauenth Chapter, hath the like that ye talke of. But what may be iudged of the story, shal afterward appeare.

And firste for the vertue of Ladye Helena (thoughe I woulde be gladde to speake as much good of my countrey-woman as I can) yet she was a concubine, (by your leaue) to Constance: as it apeareth in Catalogo Caesarum Cap. 1. which is inserted into the Ecclesiasticall history. Like­wise S. AmbroseAmbros. de obitu Theo­dosij. calleth hir Stabulariā, a woman brought vp in an hostrie. And as for hir superstition (which in part I haue touched before) it is too euident. But whatsoeuer she was, let vs goe to hir facte. If she found the Crosse, a time was when she found it, and the same must be after hir con­uersion, [Page 152] when Siluester was byshop of Rome: For other­wise, she could not be so vertuous and religious (as ye talke of.) And Nicephorus Nicephorus Li. 7. ca. 40. affirmeth, that by Siluester she was conuerted to the fayth. For which cause the author (whose credite in this tale ye followe) doth write the Inuention of the Crosse, to haue bene in the raigne of Constantinus the greate. But what sayth your Popeholy lawe to thys? Reade your decrée.In Decre de Consec. di. 3. Cap. Crucis. Eusebius Papa. Crucis Domini nostri Iesu Christi, quae nuper nobis gubernacula sanctae Romanae ecclesiae tenen­tibus, quinto nonas Maij inuenta est. Eusebius the Pope. The Crosse of our Lorde Iesus Christ, which of late was found the thirde day of May, while I had the gouernaunce of the holy Church of Rome, and so forth.The Pa­pists agre not for the inuē ­tion of the crosse. Whereby it is euident that your lawe sayth, howe the Crosse was found in Euse­bius time: your author sayth, it was in Siluesters time. And yet many yeres were runne betwixt: yea the whole raigne of Melciades y^e Pope, beside many odde yeres of their owne continuance in the Romish sée. Wherfore you must eyther say that your popish lawe doth teach you lies: or else that your author in this behalfe, is a liar. It is alwayes to be obserued, how vncertayne tales be deliuered of Papists as truthes vnto vs.

Marianus sayth, that the Crosse was found in the raign of Constance, father to Constantinus.

Ruffinus sayth, that in Siluesters time it was found out, which by Hieromes computation, must nedes be a good while after the fyfte yeare of Constantinus raygne. For onely in the fyfte yeare of Constantinus, Siluester beganne his Popedome. And therefore Sigebertus sayth,Lib 8. Chro. that he can not sée, how this geare may stande together.

In the firste Tome of Councels, we haue thrée Epi­stles of Eusebiꝰ Pope of Rome: wherof the last is ad Thu­scos & Campanos, where order is taken, that the Inuen­tion of the Crosse, found in his time, should be kept holyday [Page] Then God inspired not the heart of Helena to seeke the Crosse. It was found to hir hande, yea long before she was conuerted to the fayth. Agayne, if it were admitted, that Helena did finde it, (being driuen therevnto by womannish curiositie, or a folishe zeale) yet in the rest of the tale, I sée no constant truth.Folio. 99. b. For you say, that she founde, after long digging in the mount of Caluary, three Crosses, so con­fuse, that neyther by the title that Pilate set vp in hebrevv greeke and latine, neyther by any other meanes, they could discerne, vvhich vvas the crosse that bare our sauior Christ. But Sainct AmbroseAmbros. de obitu Theo­dosij. hath the quite contrary: For intrea­ting of the same matter, he sayth: Tria patibula confusa reperit, quae ruina contexerat, inimicus absconderat. Sed non potuit obliterari Christi triumphus. Incerto haeret vt mulier, sed certam indaginem spiritus sanctus inspirat, eo quod duo Latrones cum Domino cruci­fixi fucrint. Quaerit ergo medium lignum, sed poterat fieri vt patibu­la inter se ruina confunderet, casus mutaret & inuerteret. Redit ad Euangelij lectionem, inuenit quia in medio patibulo prelatus titulus erat, Iesus Nazarenus rex Iudeorum. Hinc collecta est series verita­tis, titulo Crux patuit salutaris. The englishe whereof is this. She founde thrée trées of execution confounded together, which the ruine and fall had couered: the enimy had hid­den away. But the triumph of Christ could not so be ble­mished and quite forgotten. As a woman she did sticke in doubt. But the holy ghost inspired a sure way of triall: in as much as two Théeues were crucified with our Lorde. Wherefore she séeketh the trée that was in the mydst. But it might be, that in the spoyle of y^e place, the gybbets might be confounded: some chaunce might chaunge them: some occasion displace them: wherfore she returneth to the rea­ding of the gospel: she findeth that on the middle gallowes, this title on the toppe was set: Iesus of Nazareth king of the Iewes. Hence was the course of truth gathered. The healthfull Crosse was well knowen by the title. So farre [Page 153] S. Ambrose.Nothing else but repugnancy & con­tradictiō in popish doctrine. Nowe sée the repugnancies in this proufe of yours. Marianus sayth that the Crosse was founde in the raigne of Constance. Ruffinus ascribeth it to the time of Constantine. Eusebius doth challenge the glory of the mi­racle vnto his time. Siluester denyeth it, and sayth that in his time, it was fyrst sought and found. The Canon lawe doth holde with Eusebius. The ecclesiastical hystory taketh parte with Siluester. You cite the story, that by the tytle vvhich Pilate set vp, the Crosse by no meanes could be dis­cerned. And S Ambrose sayth playnly that by the title the Crosse was discerned. Whome shall we credite nowe? What shall we builde vpon so vncertaine ground? You made a lye of Eusebius Pamphilus, that in his ecclesiastical historie he should reporte the story that he doth not. Eusebi­us the Pope and the Canon lawe, proue that you do lye, re­ferring the inuention of the Crosse, to Siluesters time, who conuerted Helena. wheras it was found a good many yeres before in Eusebius raigne, or els do they lie. Wherfore sith Eusebiꝰ of Caesaria, that was most likely to know the truth liuing in y^e same age, writing of y^e same matter, maketh no mention how the Crosse shuld thus miraculously be found: sith your own authors agrée not in their tales, but in euery circumstāce of time, of persons, of maner of the doing, va­rie: I may iustly doubt, whether Helena were inspired of God to séeke the Crosse, or that by any such straunge mira­cle the Crosse was found. As God vvorketh nothing in vayne (as you say) So not euery vanity that you deuise, God worketh: say I. From the whole Crosse,Folio. 10 1. ye descende to euery piece thereof: as that it shoulde haue the like effica­cie and force, for that it vvas once embrevved vvith the vvater and bloud of our sauiour Christ. But if euery piece of woode, that is stoutly affirmed to be a piece of the holy crosse, were once imbrewed with the bloud of Christ: then Christ in his body had as much bloud, as any great riuer [Page] hath drops of water.Many lies be made of pieces of the Crosse. What land in Christendome, what city, what monasterie, what priuate parishe, but hath had some piece of it? Helena sent the one part of it to Constan­tine hir sonne. Ruffinus ecclesi. Hist. lib. 1. Cap. 7. Sozome­nus. li. 2. Cap. 1. which was set vppon a piller at Constanti­nople. The other part, she inclosed in a siluer cophin, and that she commaunded to be kepte at Ierusalem. Notwith­standing a halting wench, that wayted sometime on Lady Helena, and afterward ranne away frō hir mystresse, staie a piece of the sayde Crosse, and brought it to Poytiers in Fraunce. An other piece fell downe from heauen, and is kept as a relique in the holy chappel of Paris. Another pece, as much as an Angell could lug on his back, was brought to Rome, and a whole Roode was made thereof. Fynally the Crosse hath so replenished all places of the worlde, that if all the pieces were gathered together, no ship, no hulke of greatest burden, were able to beare them. And yet pore Simon of Cirene, caried sometime the whole. If ye go to the constant opinion of men: the Crosse is yet remaining (most of it) at Ierusalē. Wherfore we must go fight against the Turks, and recouer the holy Crosse. But being so mā ­gled as it hath bene: what by theft, and what by frendship, impossible it is that any thing should remayne of it: yea, though it wer so bigge as Noahs arke: vnlesse it be like the Monster Hydra, y^t for euery head cut of ariseth .vij: for eue­ry splinter taken frō it, another greater piece as byg as an Oke doth grow.Ruffinus Li. 1. Cap. 8. The ecclesiastical history sayth: Ligni ipsius salutaris partem detulit silio, partem vero thecis argenten conditā de­reliquit in loco. That Helena brought one parte of the health­full wood vnto hir sonne, and the other parte she lefte in the place at Ierusalem, inclosed in a syluer cophin. To thys accordeth Theodor. eccle. Hist. li. 1. Cap. 18. & Sozomenus li. 2. Cap. 1. So that by them it should appeare, that where as she sent but one piece of the Crosse to Constantine, which [Page 154] was reserued at Constantinople, Supra columnam porphyream vpō a red marble piller, y^e greatest part therof Maxima portio as Sozomenus writeth, was left at Hierusalem.Lib. 9. But Ia­cobus Philippus Bergomensis sayth: that a piece of it was brought to Rome, and the same (as it should séeme) that the other authours affirme to haue bene lefte at Hierusalem. For his wordes be these: Crucis ipsius partem detulit, quam qui­dem & thecis argenteis, at (que) gemmis preciocissimis exornari fecit, quam (que) denique Romam veniens, secum cum magna veneratione de­tulit. She brought a piece of the Crosse (saith he) which she caused to be garnished with siluer couer, and precious sto­nes: which also at length, cōming vnto Rome, she brought with great worship, with hir. Whereby we are brought in doubt, where Helena did bestow the Crosse: & what became of any parte of it, our doctors agrée not.The nay­les that Christ vvas cru­cified vvithall. Furthermore as cō ­cerning the nayles wherwithall Christ was fastened to the Crosse, a greater controuersie doth arise. Theodorete. ec. hist. li. 1. ca. 18. writeth thus. Clauorum alios galeae regiae inseruit qui presidio essent capiti filij sui, & hostium tela repellerent: alios frenis equestribus coniunxit. Some of the nayles Helena did put in the Kings helmet, which might be a defence to hir sonnes head, and repulse the weapons of his enimies: other she put to his horses bridle. But Sozomenus sayth:Lib. 2. Ca. 1. Galeam ex illis, & frenum equorum fabricasse, that the Emperour hym­selfe made him an helmet and an horse bridle of them. So that fyrste they agrée not in this: whether it should be the mothers deuise, or the sonnes: Then also, whether the nayles were clenched in the helmet, and ioyned to the bry­dle: or else, that a whole helmet and brydle too, were beaten out of them. AmbroseAmbrosius de obitu Theodosij [...] varieth from them both: for he affir­meth, De vno clauo frenos fieri praecepit. De altera diadema intexuit. Vnum ad decorum, alterum ad deuotionem vertit. She cōmaunded of one nayle a bridle to be made. She woue y^e other into his coronet. One to the shew, the other she turned to deuotion. [Page] And as for the thirde, she kepte. Nowe to carry a thing in signe of honour, as it were in a triumph, is one thing: to make it a speciall poynte of defence, another. A sallet is one thing, and a cap another: an helmet, is one thing, and a crowne another. To ioyne a nayle vnto my bridle, is one thing, to make a brydle of a nayle, is another. Beside this Bergomensis is different from them all. For in his Chroni­cle, he speaketh of thrée nayles: whereof the fyrst, he sayth, Constantinus ipse in frenum equi sui transtulit, quo in praelio tantū ­modo vtebatur. Alterum vero in galea sua collocauit. Et tertium in Adriaticum mare, ad comprimendas saeuientis maris procellas deiecit. Constantine himself trāsposed into his horses bridle, which in the wars he onely vsed. Another he placed in his helmet. The third he cast downe into the gulf of Adria, to asswage the stormes of the raging sea. So that Sozomenus dissen­teth from Theodorete. S. Ambrose teacheth a contrary to them both. And Bergomensis, agréeth with none of them all. The truest opinion, is, that there were not past thrée nayles in all. Which thrée you sée how they were bestowed One was put into an helmet, or into a crowne: another was annexed to a brydle, or else a bridle beaten out of it: The third was cast into the bottome of the sea. Notwith­standing I knowe not howe it commeth to passe, but euery one of these is extant to this day: and although the helmet be gone, the bridle consumed, the sea continueth: Yet the very selfe same nayles be come abrode agayne, and reser­ued as reliques. Yea more than euer were driuen on the Crosse, vnlesse they will make of .v. woundes .xv. For Cal­uine (whome I am not ashamed for honours sake to name, and none of you all is able to disproue) in his boke of Reli­ques, proueth of his knowledge, that in Italy, Fraunce, & Germany, there be at the least .xiiij. remaining. And I could easily bring forth the .xv. which was here in Englande in Quene Maries dayes, with a taper burning solemnely before [Page 155] it. Thus is the Crosse, and euery nayle therof, an an­uile to strike mens lyes vpon: this is the constancy in mē ­nes doctrine. By thys may be gathered, that popishe fan­tasies are, as Poets fables: and as much credite to be gi­uen to them otherwyse, as to the legendes of Lucian. Fol. 103. a. Ye vrge a miracle, for euery little piece and splinter of the Crosse, inasmuch as a Church and a religious house, was preserued from burning by it. Paulinus doth tell the tale. But if such a thing happily were done, when miracles did stande in force, and men stode in nede of them, yet were they not made, to establish a worshipping, or hauing at all of a Crosse with vs, but to confirme a fayth in the crucified Christ in them: and to teache vs, not to do the lyke,Fo. 104. a. b. but to beleue the lyke. Many tales haue ye heaped vp, as that a vvoman should be preserued from rape and vvitchecrafte, by the signe of the Crosse, and name of Christ. That a vvoman vvas brought safe oute of the stevves, Fo. 105. a. b. by the grace of Christ, and signe of the Crosse. That a canker in a vvomans brest, vvas healed by the Crosse. That a Dragon vvas kyl­led vvith the Crosse. That S. Martin made certaine Gen­tiles stande styll, and preserued hymselfe from the fall of a tre, by the signe of the Crosse. Finally that a souldior vvas kylled for forsaking the bearing of the signe of the Crosse. Fol. 106. a. The credite of these storyes al I remit to the authors. On­ly I affirme, y^t they proue not your cause: for it is no good reason. The signe of the Crosse hath done this miracle and thys, ergo the signe of the Crosse must be set vp and hono­red. If ye could auouch, that the signe of the Crosse, were able now to do the lyke, I would admit youre case the ra­ther: though absolutely (as I sayd before) miracles do not enforce a doctrine. The woman of which Epiphanius repor­teth when she was in the bathes, felt one,Li. 1. Her. 30 by inchantment touche her, whome she sawe not, and made the signe of a Crosse: which was no cause of her preseruation, but wyt­nesse [Page] of hir fayth that dyd preserue hir. And thys, Epipha­nius hymselfe testifieth: Signauit se in nomen Christi, vt quae Christiana esset, She signed hir selfe into the profession and name of Christ, as who was a Christiā. And after, he sayth not, that the signing serued hir: But per signa ulum & fidem. By the signe of Christ, and by fayth, the woman receyued helpe. And fayth doutlesse without the signe, had bene a­ble to haue wrought asmuch as that, but y^t it pleased God, to shew a miracle, which (to an other end) he would by some visible signe to be expressed. The ende was, to shewe the vertue of beliefe in Christ, and to conuert an heathen man which could not sée the secret fayth, y^t so preuayled against inchantmente, and therefore stode in nede of an outwarde signe.Lib 1. Tom. 2. Her. 30. Wherfore Epiphanius in the same place concludeth Hoc tertium instructionis ad fidem opus, Iosepho contigit. Thys thirde worke happened vnto Ioseph, for instruction of hys fayth. So that when it pleased God to vse a miracle, for cō ­uersion of an infidell, we must not gather that he hath left an example for vs to do the lyke: yet is not such power as­crybed to the signe, as you collect: but the vertue remained in the name of Christ. Notwithstanding as oft in y^e Scrip­ture causa per effecta, fides per opera declaratur, y^e cause is decla­red by the effectes, as the fayth by workes: so many tymes and specially for the worldes instruction, the inwarde pu­ritie and persuasion, is notified to men, by the outwarde fact: which fact nedeth not now to be the signe of y^e Crosse, since we lyue not amōg Turkes and Sarazins, but al mē without it, know of whom we holde: in whom we doe be­leue. Thus haue I aunswered the place of Epiphanius: and by thys you may learne, neuer to alleage a place, but to consider better the circumstaunce of the same. I thinke a man should haue much a doe with you, if ye were able at this day, to shew the lyke vertue and effect of a crucifix, as hath bene of olde reported. Yet thys oughte to be appro­ued, [Page 156] afore we do confirme the necessary vse therof. A catholique of yours, for all hys confidence in the Crosse, would be loth to aduenture hys daughter in a common brothell house, (as your tale is,Foli. 104. a. of the woman of Corinth) although he had taught her neuer so much to Crosse her. Peraduen­ture she might be as good a maid, as she that toke such plea­sure in Massing and in Crossing, that oute of the Churche she would neuer come, vnlesse it were to a mans bed. On­ly I maruell, if the signe of the Crosse be so souerayne a medecine, to preserue chastitie,Why pa­pistes are more licē ­tious and aduoute­rous than other. why so many of your order that most delyte therin, make stewes as it were of theyr own houses: none so great lechers as y^e superstitious: none more incontinente than popishe priestes. And they thynke they haue warrant of your religion for it. For in that tyrā ­nous interraigne of Antichrist .viij. yere a go, when a priest of Oxforde was accused to Cardinall Pooles cōmissioners of an horrible offence, not to be named of a Christian, but commonly practised, among the papistes. Nefas est accusare sacerdotem, cryed out the Datary. It is a wickednesse to ac­cuse a Priest, of such cryme or such. But the matter was euident, the parties confessed it. And what was awarded hym? forsoth to aske hys fellow, whether he were a thefe: to tell a tale in an others eare, which was as good as him­selfe. So that confession salued that sore strayght. About the same tyme, an olde fornicator, in red Crosse streate in London, declared y^e effect of your religiō, which is, to bréede a securitie in synne: for beyng taken in adultery, by such as are yet alyue, and haue good cause to remember it, he sped hymselfe as fast as he could to Church, would nedes haue a Masse, & whē he had heard it, he came home agayne. Hys wyfe layed y^e matter bitterly to hys charge, his frēds most greuously dyd expostulate w^t hym: & when he had nothing to excuse hymselfe, nothing to lessen y^e fault withal, he sayd. There is none of you all, though you would sée me hāged, [Page] but knowes I beleue in the Sacrament of the altare: well then I beleue well, I thanke God of that. Yet he thought hys beliefe in the Sacrament of the altare, was inough for hym, though otherwyse he played the varlet egregiouslye. You thynke that a signe of a Crosse, suffiseth, (as it dyd for Luciā, and the Iew, though no fayth in Christ, no goodnesse do come with al. And thys may be supposed to haue encora­ged your deuoute fathers, to lyue so licentiously as they haue done. Wherein if I had lewes Euans hys vayne, I could with truthes make those eares to glowe, which now do glory in hys shamelesse lyes. The signe of the Crosse (say you) maketh that harlots vvould liue chast. Fol. 116. a. What chastitie in cros­sing pa­pistes. How happens it thē, that a frende of yours (a bastard, or bishop, or both was peraduenture) which is not I warrāt you without a Crosse or twayne, should haue from hys bedsyde a priuy posturne? Not, that when hys Bacchus had bathed hym, hys Venus might warme him? How falleth it out, that a chiefe main­tayner of your saction, that ioyeth asmuch in y^e Crosse signe as you, lothed alwayes hys lawfull dyet, and delyted moste in stolen venery? What happe was thys, that sometyme a warden of your colledge, y^e daily deuoutly would knele be­fore the siluer Crosse, & attempted as earnestly to bryng al Christians to the wodden Crosse, should kepe both the mo­ther and the daughter in Oxforde: and after for periurye weare a paper in Windsore? I wyl no further offēde chast eares, with rehearsing y^e shame of your vnchast generatiō. Only wyll I say (and if ye further vrge me, in particularity wyll proue) that as I am now entreating of miracles: so e­uer in my tyme it hath bene greatest miracle, to sée a chaste votary. But to returne to your allegations: if ye wyll haue vs credite you in your doctrine, then let vs sée the fruites: let miracles be wrought, let the Crosse make you honeste, and I wyll verily affirme it a miracle. If the signe of a Crosse do heale diseases, and kyll dragons: if it kepe vs frō [Page 157] the fall of trées, and make our enimies stande styll before vs: Then fare well physicke: I wyll occupye no weapons,Miracles past, no proufe of present vse. In Euan. Io. Hom. 29. I wyll feare no daunger: I wyll conquere where I lust. A vanitie it is of you, M. Martiall, to bryng for proufe, of a present vse, that which was done so long ago. Remember what father Gregory doth say. Nolite fratres amare signa quae possunt cum reprobis haberi communia: sed charitatis at (que) pietatis miracula amate, quae tanto securiora sunt, quanto & occulta, & de quibus apud dominum eo maior fit retributio, quo apud homines minor est gloria. Brethren be not in loue with signes, whiche may be had common with the reprobate: but loue ye rather the miracles of charitie and true godlinesse: which, the more se­cret, the more secure: and for the which, the lesse estimation that there is with men, the greater is the rewarde wyth God. In the first beginning and gathering of the Churche, many thynges were necessary, whiche nowe be nedelesse. Miracles were vsed then, which outwardly be denied now. Whē we go about to plant a trée, so long we water it,A simili­tude. vn­tyll we sée that it hath taken roote, but when it is once substantially grounded, and braunches spreade abrode, we take no more payne to water it: on lyke sort, as long as y^e people were altogether faythlesse, thys meane of miracles was of indulgence graunted them: but when spirituall in­structiō had taken better place, the corporal signes surceas­sed strayght. Wherfore the Apostle sayeth: Linguae in signū sunt, non fidelibus sed infidelibus. 1. Cor. 14. Straunge tonges are for a signe, not to them that beleue, but to them that beleue not. And playnly to argue that a thing is good, bicause a miracle is shewed by it, or else to approue a present vse by that, which nedefully sometyme was done, hath to many absur­dities and inconueniences to be yelded to. S. Augustyne,Aug: de. vni. Eccle. cap. 16. denyed that argumente of Petilian: he would not admyt y^e doctrine of the Donatistes, although they had wroughte all wonders in the world. Non dicat, sayeth he, ideo verū est, quia [Page] illa & illa mirabilia fecit Donatus, vel Pontius, vel quilibet alius, aut quia homines ad memorias mortuorum nostrorum orant & exau­diuntur, aut quia illa & illa ibi contingunt. Let not the aduersa­ry say: therfore it is true, bicause Donate or Pontius or a­ny other hath done these and these wonderfull and straūge thynges: or else bicause men do make their prayers at the tumbes of our dead, and be heard: or bicause such thinges and such thynges do happen there, (for these may be aswell figmēta mendacium hominum, vel portenta fallacium spirituū. The fayned deuises of lying men, or straūge wonders of deceit­ful spirites.As vvell vve maye haue any signe of I­dols, as the signe of the Crosse if miracles may make it. Wherfore if miracles proue y^e vse of a Crosse, why should they not cōfirme the doctrine of the Donatists? Yea if miracles may commende a thing, I wyll not onely haue the signe of a Crosse, but the signe of a diuell. Macro­bius in hys Saturnalibus. li. 1. ca. 7. Speaking of the Sacri­fices vsed in the raygne of Tarquine the proude, sayeth: Effigies Maniae suspensae pro singulorū foribus, periculū si quod im­mineret familijs expiabant. The Images of madnesse hanged before euery mans doore, made cleare for all daugers, that hanged ouer the householde: wherefore I wyll thus reasō, with you.

• Eyther the miracles that you do speake of, were false tales, or else they were truthes.
• If they were false tales, a true man ought not to alleage them, nor a Christi­an beleue them.
  Whether it be true or false that M. Martiall reporteth of the Crosse, it cannot proue the lavvfull vse therof.

The Scripture warneth vs, that in the latter dayes, there shall be strong spirites of illusion, so that the e­lecte themselues (if it be possible) may be seduced. Wher­fore if the diuell, at any tyme by the priestes, as of olde tyme by the wisemen of Egypte, haue wroughte won­ders about Roodes and Images: no doubte, but by she­wyng vnwonted thynges, he goeth about to allure vs to [Page 158] thynges vnlawfull. And therefore suche miracles should not be credited. But on the other side, if it pleased God to vse the signe of a Crosse in dede, as a meane to worke some miracles in the worlde, yet is it no sufficient cause, to confirme the hauing, much lesse the honoring of it now. To mollifie the hartes of visible and mortal men, God vsed visible and mortall meanes: not to confirme a re­uerence to them, but to establishe an honoure and seruise to hymselfe. God spake vnto MosesMoses oute of a fyrye bushe. Shall nowe the fyre or the bushe be honored? A good cause is broughte, why God appeared in a bushe,Bushe. rather than any thyng beside: that the peoples eyes myghte teache them that, whiche their heartes and soules oughte to beleue. For the thornes of the bushe, dyd signifie the sinnes for whiche the lawe came. And as the bush prickes not in the roote, but is gentile and smoth, though the bo­dy and braunches be full of thornes: so are not our syn­nes of our first creation, but by growing in the fleshe, we haue gathered them vnto vs. As the bushe was not con­fumed by the fire, but the fire glisteringly dyd set foorth the bushe: so were not synnes abolyshed by the lawe, but onely notified: not taken awaye, but layed open afore vs. For the lawe coulde no more, but tell vs our disease: onely the grace of Christe, doth cure vs. As God ap­peared in forme of fier, and not in an earthly shape: so muste we learne to followe God, to rayse oure thoughtes and desires vpwarde, and not be depressed with downfall cares.

As God vouchesafed to appeare in a mountayne, thereby to put vs in minde of hys heyghte, farre passing Princes and all worldly sublimytie: so muste we consider the wor­thinesse of our calling, and be wel assured, y^t such a hil must be climbed of vs, as hath all the earth subiecte vnderneth it. Wherefore as so great miracle was wroughte by fier, [Page] in a bushe, on a mountaine, not to enforce an estimation of the meanes, but only to driue mē to the endes aforesayd: so by the Crosse, miracles haue bene wrought, not for the wods sake, not for the metall, but only for confirming of a fayth in Christ. Thys fayth then, let vs retain, & let y^e Crosse alone.Exod. 4. Moses auoided y^e wrath of god, & escaped death, by cutting of the foreskyn with a sharpe stone: & this is as much, as Saint Martines signe, wherby he auoyded the fall of a trée. Shall now a sort of stones be brought into y^e Church, and honored of vs? Moses dyd sée the Angell of the Lorde ready to destroy hym, bicause he (dwelling in the lande of Midian) neglected the circumcising of hys sonne: and he that was a messanger of the God of Abraham, had not in hys childe,Circumci­sion. the signe of the fayth of Abraham, wherein the Iewes might and did glory. Thys circumcisiō then, wher­by suche perill miraculously was shunned, was done by a stone: not that an earthly stone should be the more estemed, but Christ the corner stone be signified: by whom al sinnes and transgressions be cut of,Exod. 7. and by whom the daunger of eternall death only is auoyded. The rod of AaronAarons rod. was of­ten turned into a serpent, often returned into the own na­ture, which in a figure, represented Christe, from lyfe to death,Exod. 15. from death arising vnto lyfe againe: or els, that as the rod by deuiding the red sea, made a passage open into y^e lāde of promise: so Christ through baptisme into hys death, hath prepared the way into lyfe for vs: shall nowe the rod of Aaron, bicause it wrought such miracle, be set vp in the Church?The vvod of Marah. The trée that was cast into the waters of Marah, dyd make them swete: in token that the bitternesse of the lawe, was taken away by the death of Christe, and nowe the mindes of the faythfull people be replenished thorow it with spirituall and aboundaunte pleasure: shall therefore the signe of that piece of wood now be worthied of honor? The Iewes were preserued from the serpentes stinges,Num. 14. by [Page 159] loking on the brasen Image, representing also the death of Christ, which from infection of damned spirites,The brasē Serpent. Nume. 20. The vva­ter out of the rock. saueth hys elect: shal now a piece of brasse, or signe of a serpēt, be set vp in Churches and reuerently adored? The Rocke smittē with Moses hande, gushed out of water, and the streames flowed in the parched fieldes, to satisfy the drought of the thirsty people: whereby is signified, Christ to be the stone, cut out of the quarrey Sine manibus precidentium, without any workmans hand, which by the liuely liquor of his eternal testament, quencheth the thirst of incredulitie: crying con­tinually, Si quis sitit, veniat ad me & bibat. Ioan. 7. If any man thirst let him come to me and drinke. Shall nowe for this respect the rock or riuer be exalted, & set in place of Gods seruice? The fléese of GideonIud. 7. Gideons fleese. was onely moysted with the deawe, when al the earth beside was drie: agayne it was only drie vpon the fléese, when the deawe fell vpon all the ground: to note the Gentilitie of all the worlde destitute of grace, voyd of that heauenly and spirituall deawe, when onely the fléese of Israell, the people of the Iewes, were comforted with y^e showers of Gods word & promises. Agayne: that for want of true beliefe, the foresayde people should wither wyth the drought of infidelitie, when the heathen folke should be all to be sprinckled with the deawe of heauen, as nowe we are by preaching of the gospell: But where the threshing place of the barne, and fleese of Hierobaal, were the meanes whereby the miracle was wrought, shall any of them both be nowe magnified of vs? Sampson with the IawboneIud. 15. Sampsōs Iavvbone of an Asse, slewe a thousand men, and oute of the chéeke tooth thereof, the water ranne, to asswage his thirste: in signifi­cation, how Christ our aduocate and mediatour, hath ouer­throwen the aduersary power, hath by one death destroyed all the enimies of life, and hath refreshed the drye soules of faythfull people, which be the members of his body, with the spirituall drinke of affiance in him. Shall we now haue [Page] Iawebones and chéeke téeth,2. Reg. 2. Elias cloke. 2. Reg. 5. in the Church? Elias with his cloke deuided the water of Iordā insinuating vnto vs, how Christ by hys incarnation, hath made a way to baptisme, that by faith in him, we may walke on the dry land of secu­ritie, dreadelesse of the waues of synne: Shall therefore a cloke be hanged vp, and a candle lighted before it? Naa­manNaamans vvashing. the Syrian, by washing himselfe in Iordan, was clen­sed of his leprosie: And shall the signe of Iordan be wor­shipped of vs?The hem of Christs garment. The sha­dovve of Peter. Paules handker­chefe. The hem of Christes garment, conferred health vpon the womā, touching it: And shal y^e signe of this be had in estimation? The shadowe of Peter, healed also some that passed by: Likewise the kerchefe, & handkerchefs of Paule, cured diseases, and droue out euill spirites: shall nowe the signe of a shadowe, shall a sory clout, be so much made of? Therefore if miracles of olde time past, wrought (as I may graunt you, though absolutely I am not bounde to beleue all that you doe bring) by meane of a Crosse, shall be sufficient cause, to make the signe thereof, or the selfe same thing, to be erected and honoured: then shall the fyry bushe, the Mountayne of the Lorde, the Circumcision of Moses, the Rodde of Aaron, the woode of Marah, the bra­sen serpent, the water of the rocke, the fléese of Gideon, the Iawebone of Sampson,Mat. 9. Act. 5. Act. 19. the cloke of Elias, the washing of Naaman, the hemme of Christes coate, the shadowe of Peter, the handkerchefe of Paule, be set vp in the Church themselues, or their signes. For by none of these, but mi­racles were done: and as good reason in this respecte to set vp in the Church, any one of these, as otherwise the Crosse. As I haue shewed you the effecte and ende of other mi­racles, reported in the Scripture: So when it pleased al­mighty God, to bring moe nations to one fayth in Christ, and vsed the Crosse as a meane to worke the lyke by, you must as well vnderstande the meaning, not to bring the woode, into an admiration, not to teach vs the seruice of a [Page 160] signe, but to confirme the fayth in the crucified, and due obedience to him that was signified.Fol. 108. a. A Ievvell (you saye) a precious stone of some straunge vertue if a man haue it, muste be kepte vvarely, nor the stone be suffered to be broken. And shall vve Christen men breake the Crosse of Christ? &c. An hearbe in the garden medicinable for this or that dysease, muste not be rooted out. And shall vve roote out of our gardens the holy signe of the Crosse? and so forth. Well M. Martiall: let me aske you this question: If ye haue but a glasse, and repute it a diamond, doth your estimation bring vertue to the thing? If ye had a good hearbe, and the same be nowe withered, wyll ye make as much of it, as if it were in the prime? The Crosse that ye make so greate accompte of, that ye couet to haue set vp in Churches, hath not the vertue and power that ye talk of: It can not heale: It can not preserue: It can not daunt the affections of the fleshe: It can not driue the wic­ked spirites from vs. As the meane is gone, of the foresayd effectes: so are the effectes themselues ceassed. Possible it is, that in time paste, men dyd some good, by signing them with a Crosse: nowe is it not according to your position, medicineable against al Coniuration, Enchauntment, Sor­cerie, and Witchcrafte: but rather dayly vsed in all these: Wherefore your proues be to weake: your miracles to no purpose: Your Doctoures much like your selfe. The Heathen, the nevv Indians, the Ievve, the Apostata, Folio. 108. These are desirous of the signe of a Crosse, These signed them­selues vvith a Crosse on the forehead: Therefore the signe of the Crosse must be vsed and honoured. As lyke as if I sayd: These were Idolaters, they knewe no true worship, the diuel deluded them, and therfore we must follow them. May I not therfore wyth iuster cause than you, complaine: and say as you do, O tempora, O miserable daies, O times too licentious? when euery Erostratus, may become famous, [Page] by burning of Dianaes temple? when euery insolent and ydle brayne, if he can inuey agaynst the state of his coun­trey, defame them that in learning and vertue be farre vn­like himselfe, shal presume to write, and be suffered to print his ignorant allegations, and impudent vntruthes, to de­face the Gospell, to set a gogge seditious and newe fan­gled heads? You would haue men iudge no better of vs, but that we go about, to ouerthrovv the religiō of Christ, take avvay the memory of his passiō, Fol. 109 a. b. & say that there is no Christ at al. This do ye set forth by an example of Andrew Lampugnā, which gat an audacitie to slay the duke of Mil­lain, by striking ofte his Image: and by a similitude of a chambre of presence, wherein who so commeth, and pulleth downe the cloth of estate, or otherwise breaketh Princes armes in pieces, he is no loyall and faythfull subiecte. Let the world iudge betwixt you and vs, who seke lesse the de­facing of Christ and his Gospel, who would more abolishe the memorie of his death. We by continuall preaching of it, or you by often paynting of it? We by referring al glo­ry vnto God, or you by transferring all prayse vnto your selues? We by setting forth our state of saluation so, as Christ himself hath taught vs, saying: Search ye the scrip­tures: or you by following the diuels doctrine, and peruer­ting the word, affirming: That we dayly must gaze vpon pictures. There be other meanes to remembre Christ (as in the Preface I haue at large declared) than by laying .ij. stickes a Crosse, or breaking the ayre with a thumb on my forehead.Papists deny Christ. Nor they deny Christ, which affirme him to be God, and therefore in Heauen seke him: but such as make an Image of him, seuering thereby his diuinity from hu­manitie, and only as man vpon earth honour him. Wher­fore your history is yll applyed. Galeatius Maria (as your owne authour sayth) being duke of Millain,Paradinus in symbolis. was a wicked tirant, a common rauisher of all honest women, a violent [Page 161] oppressor of al his subiects: therfore God stirred the hear­tes of some, to conspire his death. And for the same cause the worde of that armes is, vel in ara, that God in euery place, yea to the altare it selfe: pursueth the reuenge vpon the vngodly. And therefore the man which otherwise stode in dreade of the Prince, was by another meane heartened. But God stirreth the hart of none, to work any vengeance on Christ his sonne: therefore the comparison is not like. Agayne Lampugnā, gat him the liuely Image of the duke: we haue the Image I wote nere of whom: sure the Image of Christ it is not: but in respect of the abuse, a damnable Idoll. Then if the striking at the Image of Christ, be signe that Christ himselfe is hated: consider with your selfe who is more faulty, who is more despitefully set herein? You, or we? We pecke at a stone or a piece of wood, which hath no likenesse in the world of Christ: you burne and butcher the liuely members of Christs owne body, the perfect coun­terfets of him departed hence. We pull downe the dumbe and the deafe Idols, the instruments of abuse: you murder the saincts, you destroy y^e Prophets: you spite that any liueth honester than your selues. Who nowe (I beseche you) be more enimies of Christ? Who be more like to fall into A­postacie? the ouerthrowers of Idols, or destroyers of sainc­tes? the myslikers of a dead stocke or stone: or murtherers of quicke and liuing men? You request me to tell you,Folio. 109. b. if a man come into a chambre of presence, and plucke dovvne the cloth of estate, and breake the Princes armes in pieces, is it not his intent to haue the Prince deposed? In déede sir if the Prince haue set it vp, and giue commaundement that it shall there stande, it is too great an offence to breake it. But if the Prince haue proclaymed the contrary, that none shall presume to drawe his armes, or set vp any cloth of estate for him: and yet notwithstanding, some in despite or mockerie, shall hang vp a beggerly and stinking clout: [Page] or in steade of his royall armes, erecte some monument of reproufe and shame, if I came in place, I would pull it downe, and be the faythfuller subiecte for that. And this is the very state of our cause. Christ and his Apostles (as I haue proued before) haue vtterly forbidden Images: there is no Crosse, that hath any likenesse of our redemer on it. Christ hath taken order onely by his worde to be set forth vnto vs. Therefore the Crosse of woode, stone or me­tall, may wythout offence be remoued of vs. For it is not the cloth of estate of his: the armes and recognisance of his kingdome: It is a wicked inuention of the Papistes, a crafty delusion of the diuell: to supplant Christ, to take a­way the knowledge and true seruice of him. Alexander (as Horace sayth) Edicto vetuit, Episto. lib. 1. ne quis se praeter Apellem pingeret, aut alius Lysippo, duceret aera fortis Alexandri vultum simulantiae, gaue charge, that but Apelles, none in colours should him dresse: Or but Lysippus, should in brasse his countenance expresse. Then if a simple botcher had attempted to draw him, contrary to his commaundement, should he not haue committed pety treason trowe you? On like sorte Christ hath gyuen out his worde, whereby he hath witnessed of himselfe,Ioan. 4. he hath strayghtly enacted, that whosoeuer wor­ship him,Ioan. 5. in spirite and veritie they shall worshippe: they shall not more symplie conceyue of him, than of the Maie­stie of a God, the seconde person in Trinitie, wyth our fleshe caryed vp into Heauen with him. Nowe commeth the workeman with his tooles, and maketh a corporall and lying shape, to bring an outwarde and earthly worship. Alexander the Coppersmyth, cryeth out for his aduaun­tage:Rom. 1. Epi. 1. ca. 5. Simon Magus the Sorcerer, contendeth for hys share. S. Paul is against it. S. Iohn condemneth it. What shall we nowe doe? goe to the lying Image, and forsake the true? forbyd the worde, and bring in a picture? haue our heartes here in earth, where our God is in Heauen? [Page 162] Quisquám ne tam ineptus est, vt putet aliquid esse in simulachro dei, Lactantius de falsa rel. lib. 2. Cap. 2. in quo ne hominis quidem quicquam est praeter vmbram?

Is any man so foolishe as to thinke, that any piece of God or godlinesse is in an Image, wherein there is no poynt incident into a man, beside the shadowe?

Shall this be the armes and cognisaunce of our master, in nature whereof, there is nothing like him, in vse whereof, there is nothing but myslyketh him? I doubte not but the Crosse, if it had any sense or vnderstanding, would bowe downe it selfe to the maker of it, and not abyde the maker to doe honour to it. For had not the maker bestowed some coste and workemanshippe vpon it, it might well ynough haue bene locked in the copher and layde in the chimney. Then, what preposterous thing is this? They that haue sense, to set vp the senselesse? the reasonable creatures, to worship the vnreasonable? the lyuing, to fal downe before the deade? the workmanshippe of God, and children of his kingdome, to adore a corruptible piece of earth? An yll ef­fecte of a vile occupation.

We rather ought to erect our hearts & eyes thyther, where our ende is, whither we loke to go, than be defixed on that, which presently doth cumber vs, & long we shall not enioy. Humi miscri volutamini (as Lactantius doth say) & poenitet qua­drupedes non esse natos, De fal. reli. lib. 2. Cap. 2. cum deorsum quaeritis quod in sublimi quae­rere debuistis.

Ye wretches tumble vpon the earth, and séeme to be sorie that ye be not made fourefoted beasts, when ye seke below, that which ye ought to fynde aboue.

For your Crosses & Crucifires, your Images & inuentiōs, what pretext so euer they haue to commend them, what co­lour & cost so euer to garnish them, yet are they but earth: [Page] from thence they came, and thither they will. What should ye then be subiecte vnto thinges inferiour to your selues? Quum vos terrae summittitis, Lactantius ibidem. humiliores (que) facitis, ipsi vos vltro ad in­feros mergitis ad mortem (que) damnatis: quia nihil terra inferius & hu­milius, nisi mors & inferi: quae si effugere velletis, subiectam pedibus vestris terram contemneretis corporis statu saluo: quod iccirco rectum accepistis, quo oculos at (que) mentem, cum eo qui fecit, conferre possetis. Cō ­tēnere autē et calcare terrā nihil aliud est, quā simulachra nō adorare. When you submit and abase your selues vnto the earth, ye throwe your selues voluntarily to hell, and condemne you to death: for nothing is inferiour and worse, than the earth, but death and hell: which if ye would auoyde, ye should contemne the earth that is vnder your féete, preser­uing the state and condition of your body: which for this respecte ye haue receyued vpright, that ye might resemble and compare both eyes & minde, with him that made them. But to contemne and despise the earth, is nothing else, but not to worship Images, which are made of earth. Thus much Lactantius. Nowe if Christ be so slenderly receiued of vs, and all his benefites so lightly passed ouer, that our memorie must be holpen, and vnlesse we haue somewhat subiecte to our eyes, we shall sone forget him: we haue the poore, we haue beside the seales of his mercie, the sacramen­tes of his grace, which when he deliuered he sayd: Hoc faci­te in mei commemorationem. 1. Cor. 11. Do this in remembraunce of me. For as oft as ye eate this breade and drinke this cup, sayth the Apostle, ye shewe the Lords death tyll he come. Wher­fore let this confirme our memory, that Christ thought nedefull for vs: let vs not seke any further aydes, than Christ (expert of our infirmities) hath lefte vs. If Christ and his death be duely preached to vs, no force if all Crosses be cast into the fier. But if preaching of Christ and hearing of his worde doe fayle vs: a sory Crosse can but delite our eyes, and straight corrupt our heartes. The miracles that haue bene done, although they may in parte wythout any [Page 163] shame, be doubted of: without any impudencie denyed: yet graunted to be true, must not be broughte for con­firmation of a Crosse, least the lyke be alleaged to make Symon Magus a Sainct. In dede we reade,Eusebi. li. 2. cap 13. Mat. 7. that for the like effectes, he had an Image in Rome set vp to him, with thys inscription, Simoni deo sancto. To Simon the holy God. But Christ also speaketh of the like, which in the latter day shal come vnto hym, saying: Lord haue we not caste out diuels in thy name, and by thy name done many great workes? To whome notwithstanding, Christ shal answere thys: I neuer knew you, depart ye from me, ye workers of iniquitie. Therfore your miracles, if they be false, be di­uelish: if they were true, yet now are impertinent. But if we should deny them as vntrue (wherein we might haue good authoritie to support vs) should we therfore according to your gathering, denye the omnipotencye of God, Fol. 111. a. as though he could not vvorke any such miracles? Why, we rather do aduaūce it much, acknowledging that God with out such externall meanes, is able to worke more effectes than these. Only beware you, least by ascribing to muche vnto the meane, ye be ignoraunt of the ende, and disgrace the author. We sée by experience, that vertues wroughte or so supposed to haue bene, by the signe of a Crosse, hath caused sensing, knéeling, offering, and al kynde of wicked Idolatry to the Crosse. And so, where Christ should haue bene only praised, a piece of wood is honored. A good matter it is to receyue a benefite, and so acknowledge it. A vyle part it is to enioy y^e pleasure of one mans trauail, & bestow the thankes vpon an other: yet so it falleth out among the superstitious. God worketh the miracle: they worship the meane. So dyd the children of fornication, among the Ie­wes of olde, whose mother had played the harlot, saying: I wyl go after my louers,Ose. 2. that giue me my bread and my water, my wooll and my flax, myne oyle and my drinke. [Page] Nor she dyd know that I, sayth the Lord, dyd giue hir hir corne and oyle, multiplied hir golde and siluer, which they bestowed vpon Baal. Therefore wyl I returne, and take away my corne, in tyme therof, and my wyne in the sea­son thereof, and wil recouer my wooll and my flax lent, and discouer hir leudenesse in the sight of hir louers. Whereby we haue to vnderstande, that as God is the onely worker of all miracles, tending to our health and preseruation, so doth he accompt it an haynous fault, a spirituall forni­cation, when the glory thereof, is conferred on an other. Learne you by thys, that the matter of the Crosse neuer had the vertue, to worke such thinges as you reporte, and therefore ought not of any to be worshipped. God by hys Prophet, in playne termes, doth call it whoredom, which you for your profit, in speach of hipocrisie, do cal Deuotiō. Wherefore beware of the plage insuing: deryue not y^e glo­ry fed the crucified, to y^e Crosse.Lactan. li. 2 cap. 2. Viuū colite vt viuatis. Moria­ture enim necesse est, qui se suam (que) animā mortuis adiudicauit. Wor­ship y^e liuing God, y^t you may lyue. For nedes he must dye, that hath adiudged hymselfe and hys soule vnto the dead.

AS the grounde it selfe, & chiefe buttresse of your cause, is taken out of the seconde of Nice, whose impudent vanities, I haue sufficiently be­fore declared: so are not you ashamed, sometime to alleage them wyth as small triall, as they had truth. But as S. Ambrose sayd of the councel helde at Ariminū. Illud ego con­cilium [Page 164] exhorrea. y^e councel I do vtterly abhorre: so do I say of thys, that w^t as good cause and with al my hart I refuse their authoritie, & condemne their doinges.Li. Ep. 5. Epi. 31. Fol. 113 b. A vaine allega­tion it was of Germanus, that the Images of holy men, are a liuely description of their stoutenesse, a representatiō of holy vertue, a dispensation of grace giuen thē: a vayne ap­plycation it is of yours, that euen so the Crosse & Image of Christ crucified, set before our eyes, is a liuely descriptiō of his stoutnesse, in bearing the blovves of the Ievves, and so forth. To speake first of other Images, and so to descende to yours, I besech you, what stoutnesse and vertue is des­cribed, what holynesse & grace is dispēsed by them? When the Saincts were alyue, their vertues could not be discer­ned w^t eye, they rested in y^e mynd their proper subiect. And shall they nowe be séen in their dead Images, which haue neyther mynde nor sense to hold them? Thys is as iust, as Germaines lips. Whē I sée an Image gorgiously apparel­led, w^t speare, or sword, or boke in the hand, an other with a box, or a babe in hir armes, what reason can tel me, whe­ther Mars, or S. George: Venus or y^e Virgin y^e mother of Christ, be there erected? If ye tell me, that the superscriptiō discernes thē, thou if it please the maker to remoue y^e title, that which before was the Idoll Venus, shal now become the blessed Virgin: that which was Mercury, shal anone be Paul: & so as it pleaseth y^e workeman to name it, it shalbe reuerenced and estemed. But whereas they be called lay mens bokes, impossible it is w^tout a scholemaster to reade thē. But whē they be red, what lessons haue they? Such as Cherea did learne in Terēce, or such as Venus Cnidia did teache in Lucian. For when they beholde straunge & costly Images, wonderously adored, with coronets on their heds, rynges on their fingers, precious stones on their garmēts: what may they thinke, but y^t some stately Princes w^t their proude apparell & disguised traine, be come in presēce: and [Page] then they fall down, and worship the body, or the garmēt: the Idoll, or the golde, or peraduenture both. The body is stiffe, for it is a stone: the garmentes as stiffe, for they are of golde. The shape inforceth an honor to the Image, the furniture prouoketh a coueting of y^e goods. So at one time, two Idolatries be cōmitted. If your maydes do loke vpon Mary Magdalen, as in the Churches she is set forth, with nice apparell, and wanton lokes, what can they behold in hir, but the prankes of an harlot? what can they learne of hir, but lustes of vanitie? Doubtlesse, if Images must be admitted to set forth the Saincts: the Saincts themselues shall not be honored, but dishonored: and we shall espye no example of sobrenesse, of chastitie, of contempt of richesse & vanitie of the world, but of excesse, of wantonnesse, of pride and couetousnesse. For if the externall decking, the trim­ming of the puppettes, do lyuely describe any thyng, it is not the nature of holy Sainctes, but childish affection of old doting fooles, which must haue suche babies to playe them withall.The reasō of our tyme for Images. But y^e play of folly, doth ende in earnest of grosse Idolatry. And although some affirme, that in these dayes, men be too wyse and learned, to take any hurt or offence by Images, they know what they are, they gad not into farr countries after them, the preachers otherwise informe thē, and therfore (as they suppose) it is not vnlawful or wicked, absolutely to haue Images in Churches, though it maye (for the daunger of the simpler sort) seme to be not altoge­ther expedient: To thys I reply, that none in these dayes in thys respect is better instructed in the feare of God, than Ezechias was: more zelously affected to the truthe, than Iosias: more endued with wisedome from aboue, thā Sa­lomon: they knewe what an Idoll or Image was, they were not likely for their own persōs, to sustaine any harme or domage by them: they armed other against the danger of them: yet would not Ezechias suffer the brasen serpent, [Page 165] (the signe of Christ our Sauior) to stande. Iosias for al hys knowledge,2. Re. 18. 2. Re. 23. 1. Re. 11. which could not in that case be him selfe abu­sed, tooke awaye all occasion of ruine from hys people, and vtterly remoued al Idols. Salomon for all hys wisedome, by suffering his wāton Paramoures, to bryng their Idols into hys court and pallace, was by carnall harlottes per­suaded, and brought at the last to the committing of spi­rituall fornication: and of a most wise and godly Prince, became a most folish and vile Idolater. Then let Ezechias and Iosias teache vs, vtterly to remoue all occasion of fal, aswell from other as from our selues: let Salomon also feare vs, from suffering any such to stande, least by trans­gression, our wisedome be folly, and vnderstanding error. He that loueth daunger, shall perishe therein:Eccle. 13. 1. Cor. 10. and let hym that standeth, beware he fall not. I am sure there is no Prince of the world, more furnished with skill, than was y^e Salomon: none haue more graces conferred on them: and yet he was abused by Images: by Images, that he knew to be but stockes and stones. For horrible it is to fall into the hands of the liuing God: and who so turneth the glory of the incorruptible God, to the similitude of the Image of a corruptible man:Heb. 10. Rom. 1. whoso turneth the truthe of God into a lye, & worshippeth the creature forsaking the creator: for this cause God giueth them vp to vile affections, to theire hearts lustes, to vncleannesse. &c. Then let all Princes, all wise of the world beware, that they procure not Gods in­dignatiō, by breaking hys precept, so oftē giuen, so straghtly enioined, Thou shalt make to thy self no likenesse of any thing. Suppose they be so strengthened in fayth, so assisted by grace, that how great soeuer the daunger be, yet they fall not in it, they kepe themselues vncorrupt from Idola­try: shall that be sufficient excuse for them, if they leaue occasion of such offence to other? Shal their learning and wysedome be cause of folly, and deceyt to the simple? Shal [Page] they haue such regard of their own fāsie: which is to no purpose, but only to gaze on: w^tout a cōmaundement, as they thēselues confesse, y^t the silly flocke shalbe scattered therby, and the more multitude, being simple perish, for whō Christ payed as deare a ransome, as for y^e greatest, the wisest, the best learned of the earth? The Scripture is cōmaunded to be knowen of al men. Gather (sayth Moses) the people toge­ther,Deute. 31. men, wemen & children, & the straunger y^t is within thy gates y^t they may heare and that they may learne, and feare the Lord your God, & kepe and obserue al the words of hys law. Likewyse in y^e new testament, the lyke cōmaundement is giuē by Christ, to search the Scriptures. Which words if any mā think,Iohn. 5. do appertaine only to the Iewes of the old tyme, or to y^t Cleargy now: by y^e same reasō (as Au­gustine doth wel proue) he may say, y^e Christians ought not to know Christ,De verb. Domini. Ser. 45. nor be knowen of Christ. Notwithstan­ding the Scriptures, (contrary to Gods wil,) haue bene for a policie forbidden to be red, least the ignoraunt myght fal into error by thē. And shal not the pictures, forbidden & ba­nished out of Gods seruise, breding a most vile affection of Idolatry, be remoued rather out of the tēple, aswel in respect of the precept, as peril? I haue shewed, what these Ima­ges do describe: pryde, auarice, wantonnesse, and nothyng else. If a man say, thys Sainct in hys lyfe tyme despysed hys lyfe, to lyue w^t God: cōtinued in pouerty, to be rich in Christ: reiected the pleasures, & lustes of the fleshe, to sub­due the same to the good guiding spirite: hys Image by & by controls hym of a lye. For he séeth a most chereful & stately loke, a gorgious & rich attire, an embracing in death of y^e, which in lyfe he most abhorred. Wherfore, as Images ge­nerally describe a contrary effect to their first paternes, as alway they worke a more wicked ende than in religiō is to be admitted: so the Crosse it selfe, doth not nor cannot leade as to y^e crucified: but estrāgeth our harts frō god y^e creator, [Page 166] to a vile creature. And if the commoditie of Images in the Church or Crosses, had bene such (as you would haue it ap­peare) I maruell y^e Christ our scholemaster, that hys Apo­stles our teachers, toke no order for them.Rom. 15, Paul sayth not Quaecū (que) picta sunt, sed quaecun (que) scriptae sunt, ad nostram doctrinā scripta sunt. &c. Whatsoeuer thinges are painted, but what­soeuer thynges are written, are written for our instructiō. Not y^t by Images or gasing stockes,2. Tim. 3. but thorow pacience and cōfort of the Scriptures, we may haue hope. Nor he sayth. All picture, but Scripture, inspired of God, is pro­fitable to teach, to reproue, to instruct, that the mā of God may be perfect, furnished to all good workes. Then if the Scripture be a commended and commaunded way, and y^e same sufficient to make vs perfect in all pointes, I sée not to what vse an Image or a picture is.Exo. 20. God gaue the lawe to Moses, not set forth w^t colours, but writtē in .ij. tables. IosueIosu. 23.2.4 deliuered y^e same vnto y^e people, not in Imagery, but in worde: not glorious to y^e eye, but gladsome to the eare, comfortable to y^e hart: so y^t the meane, wherby they would the benefites of God to be kept in remēbrance, was not to paint or graue y^e lykenesse of thē, but by faythfull pen, re­port the noble factes, & so print in the hart, a thankfull me­mory. Dauid intreating, of the incarnatiō, & natiuitie, pas­sion & death, resurrection & kyngdom of Christ our Sauior (which are the proper effectes which you wyl haue set forth in Imagery) sayth in the persō of Christ, thus:Psa. 39. In capite libri scriptū est deme. In y^e beginning of the boke, it is writtē of me It is not graued in a piece of metal, or painted on a wall. The Euāgelist sayth: Sicut scriptū est in libro Sermonū Esaiae. Luke. 3. As it is written in the boke of EsaiesEsa. 52. sermons. He spake of sermons, and not of signes: of a boke, and not of an Image. The Apostles also, of whome it is written, beau­tifull are the fete of those, that bryng tidinges of peace, & preach helth, which wēt throwing their sedes with teares, [Page] planting the fayth of Christ with afflictiō, and shal returne agayne hauing their handfull,Psa. 125. with plentifull increase, with ioy for gayne, and successe of the gospell: sent not a Crosse, or history of the passion painted in a table to cities or to nations, but their Epistles, the certayne witnesses of their myndes, their writinges. Nor Christ (y^t we reade of) conferred on them the art of painting, caruing, or en­grauing, wherby they myght conuert the heathen to the fayth, or leaue a remembraunce with their disciples after them.Luk. 24. Sed aperuit illis dominus sensum scripturarum: but the Lord opened the sense of Scripture to them. S. Iohn ba­nished into the Ilande Patmos, to receyue the secrete and diuine reuelations, heard at the Lordes handes: Scribe haec in libro. Apoc. 1. Wryte these in a boke, and not worke thē in stone or metall. Wherby we are giuen to vnderstande, that the instruction of our fayth, the only ayde of a Godly memory, must be the Scripture. The Crosse, with a picture of a mā vpon it, with armes stretched, body pearced, and fete nay­led, may peraduenture put me in mynde, of a man so exe­cuted: but who it was, for what cause it was, to what hole­some ende and effect it was, no picture in the world can tel me. If preaching, inspired by the grace of God, working ef­fectually in the hearts of hearers, be not able to turne and conuert the obstinate: If the lawful vse of Gods holy in­strument, pearcing the hearts, and striking the conscience, can not frame aright, and reforme to pietie: what shall we thynke of a dumbe senselesse vnlawfull thyng? If I sée a fellon, a théefe, a murtherer hanged before myne eyes, haue I not more to consider myne owne estate, than if I behelde a wodden roode, or siluer crucifix? Suppose I know that that picture representeth Christ: am I furthered any thyng towarde my saluation? or are the mercies of Christ more effectual to me?Ephe. 1. vnlesse I know, that euen God the father, hath also chosen me in Christ hys sonne, before the [Page 167] foundations of the worlde were layd, that I should be holy and without blame before him in loue? Is ther any cause to driue me to thankefulnesse, or otherwise to vertuous cō ­uersation, bycause I sée a gallowes, which my horse séeth as well as I, and yet is not the holier? Can I glorifie God for sending of his sonne, vnlesse I knowe that he did fende him: and for me he sent him: whome he hath predestinate, to be adopted thorow Iesus Christ vnto himself, according to y^e good pleasure of his wil: to the prayse of the glory of his grace, wherewith he hath made vs accepted in his beloued, by whome we haue redemption through his bloude, euen the forgyuenesse of sins, according to his rich grace: wher­by he hath bene abundant toward vs, in all wysedome and vnderstanding, and hath opened vnto vs the mysterie of his wil, according to his good pleasure which he had purpo­sed in him: That in the dyspensation of the fulnesse of ty­mes, he might gather togyther all things in one, which are in heauen, and which are in earth, euen all in Christ? If these effectes be described in a Crosse, the duety of thankful­nesse is taught wythall, the forme of obedience, is set forth vnto vs. But no Crosse can tell me, that Christ came once into the world: much lesse that he was, before he came: that he came to die for vs: that he died to rise againe: that he rose to purchas a righteousnesse for vs: yet these and some o­ther articles of our fayth, we must be fyrste instructed in: or else the sight of the Crosse doth no more profit me, than (as I sayde) my horse. But neyther we are willed by any worde of God, to fetch our knowledge from such vnskilful scholmasters, nor any thing is in them, whereof they can to our health informe vs.Folio. 114. b. You say that the Crosse teacheth the proude and contentious man humilitie, for if any be vvise in his ovvne conceyte, and condemneth other mens iudgements, and craketh to the people, that the doctrine vvhich he teacheth contrary to all other, is sure, sound, and [Page] groūded vpon the vvord of god, that man I say, loking in­tentiuely vpō this signe, may learne humility, & say vvith S. Paule, God forbid that I shuld brag or glory in any thing but in the Crosse of our Lord Iesus Christ. In dede, syr, hu­mility may well one way be learned of a crosse: for when it is striken, it strikes not againe: when it is reuiled, it giues no yll language: wil it to stand, & it wil not stirre. But you that think your self as wise as any man, & yet are abused in your own conceyt, when ye loke on your Crosse, what are ye aduaūtaged? Do ye learne to glory in nothing else, but Christ crucified? In déede S. Paule in that Epistle to the Galathians condemned the hypocrites and false teachers, which vrged the Lawe, Circumcision, and Cermonies, a­gainst whose heresy he brought his assertion: that only the death of Christ was his ioy and felicitie: nor any thing he had but that to reioyce in.Papistes for all their cros­ses haue no humi­litie. If you haue learned this lesson of the Crosse, I am glad thereof. For then ye condemne your merites & satisfactions: Then wil ye lay away your idle ce­remonies and wilworship. But if you retayne a confidence in your works, if you ascribe any righteousnesse vnto them, if you thinke you are able to deserue saluation, or satisfy a­ny way for anothers sinnes, then do ye glory in somewhat else than the Crosse of Christ: then is your humility but hy­pocrisy. When the Papists beholde the work of their owne hands, the Crosse it self, fayre mustering in y^e church, which might peraduenture haue bene a logge for the chimney, or else a chamberpot, if they had not giuen that shape vnto it, and garnisht it as it is, which nowe by their meanes is re­uerently adored, and though to be of such singular vertue: no other thought can come into their heades, but that they thē selues be better than their handy work, the maker more to be estéemed than the metall: & so for humilitie a pride is ingendred, that they be causes of such wonderfull effectes: and if God be honored, they must be thanked. As for obsti­nate [Page 168] synners, if they haue no better helpes, to regenerate their hearts, than the signe of a Crosse, to féede their eyes: they are like to be aswell conuerted, as Iulian and the Iew (of whome ye spake before) who notwithstanding that they made a Crosse, remained in their Paganisme accursed stil.Folio. 115. b. We reade in y^e scripture such power attributed to the word but to the wood neuer.Psal. 18. Lex Domini immaculata conuertens ani­mas, testimonium Domini fidele, sapientiam praestans paruulis. The lawe of the Lord is perfect, conuerting the soule, the testi­mony of y^e Lord is sure, & giueth wisedome vnto the simple. The statutes of the Lord are right, & reioyce the heart, the cōmaundement of the Lord is pure, & giueth light vnto the eyes. If any such authority could be brought for the crosse, I could more easyly be brought to beleue it. Nowe that ye bring but your own supposall, I might refute it with a bare denial. But I wil bring Chrisostom for me.Chrisosto. in Cap. Io. 8. Hom. 54. Animo desperato nihil peius. Quāuis signa, quamuis miracula videat, in eadē perstat pertinacia. which is to say. Nothing is worse than a despe­rate minde. Although he sée signes, although miracles be wrought, yet he standeth stifly in the same self wil froward­nesse. And there also he bringeth the example of Pharao, whome all the wonders and plagues of Egypte coulde not make relent: Wherefore if the Crosse be brought vnto the like, I am sure, small comfort wyll aryse thereof: so that not onely the authoritie, but also the exāple condemns you.De humar. verbi. Athanasiꝰ in the place by you alleaged: hovv the vvōted affections be taken out of harlots hearts: murderers kepe their vveapon no longer: fearful men conceiue a courage: barbarous nations lay avvay their immanitie, doth not as­cribe these effects to the Crosse, but wholly and solely to the fayth of Christ. Then vvhy doth he mention the signe of the crosse (say you) vvhy vvas he not contented to put faith and no more? not that they should be ioyned patente to­gether: but, that the one mighte be testified by the other. [Page] And the maner of that time was, they being conuersant a­mong y^e infidels, by this kinde of signe to shew their profes­siō. So that as it is not inough to haue a faith secret to our selues, wherof we dare not make a confession, but that we must so séeme vnto the worlde, as inwardely we are, that God be not only glorious in himselfe, but so acknowledged of the world: therfore the signe of the Crosse, and faith, the token of profession and profession it selfe, be put together. And though ye turne ouer all histories that euer were, ye shall neuer finde, that a Crosse without fayth, did further any man: But that fayth alone, without any Crosse, is right auayleable, the Scripture in euery place witnesseth. Now where ye contende,Fol. 117. a. that a Crosse is necessary, not­vvithstanding that men may haue Godly instructions by reading the Scriptures: And hearing good preachers: by­cause euery man can not reade Scripture, nor vnderstande it, vvhen he readeth it: & euery man cannot at all times so conueniētly heare a good preacher, as he may see the signe of the Crosse: And things seene, do moue more affection, than those that be heard or red. As your aunswere to this obiection agaynst your selfe, contayneth thrée pretended causes: so wyll I in order consider of them. First that all men, cannot reade Scripture, or vnderstand it, when they reade it: I besech you be Images and Crosses such bookes, as al men can reade & vnderstand?Images do speake doubtful­ly. Did not I tell you how Stephen Gardiner a learned man, made a false constructi­on out of such a boke, taking the Image of the king, for S. George on horsebacke? The countenance, the proportion, the apparel of them, is as pleaseth the workman to deuise: the vertue, the power, and the qualities of them, is as plea­seth the lokers on to ymagine. And let them reade in Ima­ges that lust,They teach Di­uelishly. let them vnderstande as they may: nothing doubtlesse is to be readde or vnderstode in them, but the leude lessons of grosse Idolatrie, penned by the diuell, ten­ding [Page 169] to damnation.They be read vn­lawfully. And if there were not apparantly such perill in them (the contrary whereof can not be auoyded) yet were we bound, not only to suspecte, but also to refuse such scholemasters as they, being not authorised by Gods com­mission, but (as I haue proued) alwayes inhibited. If Christ (as the Gospell telleth vs, twice in one place together) be the only doctor and guide of his: Math. 23. If God hath spo­ken in these last dayes by his sonne vnto vs, in whose per­son all wonted wayes of instruction, all reuelations doe ceasse: Hebr. 1. we must nowe goe no further than to hys word: we must seke no teacher but his holy spirite, Ipse nos inducet in omnem veritatem. that same wyll induce vs into all truth. And although I knowe that the gyftes of God haue their degrées, yet dare I say,Ther can be no such ignorance as shall driue vs to seeke a knovve­ledge in an Image. that none is vtterly so voyde of grace, but hath (for vnderstanding) so much confer­red on him, as shall be expedient for his owne behoufe, vn­lesse he be vtterly as a rotten member cut of from Christ. But if the skyll of reading, or gyfte of vnderstanding be denyed vnto any, shall he be driuen to séeke it, where it is not? Then shall he finde what he would not. If our hea­uenly father refuse to teach vs, a vile creature can not in­struct vs. If God wythdrawe his decréed meane whereby he may win vs: an extraordinary matter, a stock or a stone cānot conuert vs. If God do not suffer vs a preaching par­son, the diuel doth send vs such dūb vicares. If man be not worthied to direct vs in a truth: an Image or a Crosse wil peruert vs with a lye. Posuit thesaurum suum in vasis fictilibus. He hath put his treasure in frayle vessels (sayth S. Paule, speaking of the worke of Gods exceding mercy,) in sending vs men of our owne nature, by whome his wil may be re­uealed to vs. But if your order & assertion did holde, then had he put his treasure, in dumbe & dead and senslesse crea­tures, and shoulde stande to discretion of the Carpenter or smyth, where he should best conferre his grace. A strange [Page] case,That vvhich al the crea­tures of God can not teach a Crosse can. that where all the workes of God be insufficient to teach humilitie, to persuade pacience, to conuert from er­rour, and comforte in despaire, the vile worke of mannes wicked hande, is able (as you say,) to procure and compasse the same for vs. The worlde it selfe is a certayne spectacle of thinges inuisible, for that the order and frame of it, is a glasse to beholde the secrete working and hydden grace of God. The heauenly creatures and spheres aboue, haue a greater marke of his diuinitie, more euident to the worlds eye, than eyther can be vnknowen or dissembled. Which thing S. Paule declareth to the Romains,Rom. 1. saying: that so much was opened vnto men, as was requisite to be knowē of God, in that his inuisible powers, yea, till ye come to his eterne vertue and diuinitie, being vnderstode from the very beginning and creation of the world, be dayly séene amongst vs. Notwithstanding, such a knowledge as this, being growen and gathered by such circumstaunces as be common vnto all alyke, is naturall as it were, and onely enforceth this, that no excuse, no cloke of ignoraunce, can be pretended: But to alter the heart, to make a new minde, to regenerate it to true pietie, is the worke of another in­strument, and effecte of another cause. For the principall and chiefe poynt, wherevpon dependeth our health and sal­uation, is not onely to know Gods absolute and vniuersall authoritie, (whereof both Heauen and earth is full, and all the worlde is wytnesse) but also to fynde out hys secrete counsayles, to consyder his iudgementes, to marke the mysteries of our saluation in Christ our Lorde, which is hidden from the worlde. Then if the maruellous workes of God, be not sufficient to directe our wayes, considering howe frayle we are, and if it hap that through them, some­time we fall into any deper consyderation of the heauenlie nature, strayght wayes we are pulled from the thoughte thereof, to our owne leudenesse and ymaginations, sly­ding [Page 170] to the dotages and dreames of the fleshe: whereby it commeth to passe, that if perhappes any true instincte doe sparckle in vs, it is out agayne, before we can get any warmth of it.

What shall we thincke of a syllie Crosse, that sorrie wormes, and canker, doth corrupte? that neuer God nor good man deuised? Shall we runne to so wicked and vn­weldy succour: shall we séeke so blinde a guide to bring vs out of darkenesse? God neuer hath, no not from the begin­ning, dealt otherwise wyth hys electe, but that he would strengthen and relieue their weakenesse, with a stronger remedie. For he hath vsed to their instruction, the myste­rie of his worde, Illuminantis oculos, Psal. 18. & intellectum dantis par­uulis, That lighteneth the eyes, and giueth vnderstanding vnto the méeke.

Therefore the goodman, and master of the house, sayd in the Gospell: Negotiemini donec veniam, Occupy til I come.Luke. 19. When he, intending to goe abrode himselfe, gaue eche of his seruauntes his portion to bestowe. What portion was it? What was the talent? What was the marchandize, that they should trafficke with? Not wyth the marchants of Tyrus, to lade their shippes wyth precious wares: nor with the Mariners of Ahasias, séeke straunge countreyes to get golde: But his worde it was, that he charged them wythall: that was the treasure, that being well bestowed,Ioan. 4. Apoc. 22. Ioan. 6. Cantic. 8. Psalm. 119. Sap. 18. Naum. 2. Math. 16. 1. Cor. 10. Apoca. 15. should bring infinite pleasures with it. For his worde is the lyuely water, wherby the heates of our lusts are quen­ched: the breade of lyfe to féede our hungry soules: the pleasaunte wyne to cheare and make vs merry: the lan­terne to guide our steppes: the sworde that ouerthroweth the enimies of the truth: the fyrie shielde to defende vs agaynst our aduersaries: the sure rocke wherevppon to builde: the touch stone, to try out doctrines, & what spirits are of God: the key to open & shut heauen gates: the swete [Page] tuned instrumēt, to passe away the tediousnesse of this our exile: the medicine for all dyseases: the ioy, the iewell, the only reliques of Christ departed hence: which, if we minde to knowe his will, as it becommeth obedient children: if we do loke to be heires with him, as all men do make a re­kening of, then must we seke, obserue, and haue alwayes in reuerence. For hence is the perfecte knowledge of all truth onely to be had, and all other blessednesse, in as am­ple wise, as if that Christ were before our eyes, ready to perfourme and pronounce the things. Wherefore sith the Scripture is worthyed of these titles, and none of them can iustly be applyed to the Crosse: sith the worde is the or­dinary and only meane, that God now vseth for instruction of his: the Crosse is a scholemaster of error and impietie: let no man pleade ignorance for his excuse, which may wel be increased, but refourmed neuer, by a beggerly boke of woode or stone. As for the other percell of your aunswere, that bycause all men can not so conuenientlie at all times heare a good preacher, Folio. 117. a. as they may see the signe of the Crosse, therefore the Crosse must be had beside preaching. I may tourne the argument on your owne heade, that the more generall the matter is, and more easily come by, be­ing in it selfe vnlawfull, the more seriously it ought to be reproued, the more iustly condemned. For whereas Ima­ges doe but infecte the hearte, are occasions of fall, and no­thing else, it is a perillous matter, the poyson to be more generall than the medicine, the remedy to be harder than the offence to come by. Bonum quo communius eo prastantius, sayth Aristotle, A good thing the more common it be, the better it is.The more vve may see a crosse the vvorse. But a mischiefe the more it spreadeth, the more it anoyeth: And of all mischief, an Image most. For Ima­ges, Crosses, Crucifixes, are euery mannes ware: A good preacher is scarcely to be founde in a countrey. Images continually doe preach Idolatry: the preacher can not al­wayes [Page 171] open his mouth against it. Images are likely to se­duce a multitude, all men of nature, being prone to Ido­latry: The preacher is able to persuade but a fewe, fewe men inclined to credit sounde doctrine. Wherfore the doc­trine of a good preacher, & a gay puppet set vp in y^e church, being direct contrary: the lesse we may heare the preacher, the more we may sée the puppet: the lesse is our comforte in Christ our Lorde, the more doe we stande in the Diuels daunger. As for affectiō to be stirred by Imagery,Leude af­fections stirred by Imagery. I graūt they may be some, but not such as they ought. For impossi­ble it is (as in the preface is declared) an Image to come in place of Gods seruice, & not allure to a wicked worship. Ex­periēce hath taught vs, & examples doe proue, y^e princes for their pleasure erecting Images, haue bred the vile affection of Idolatry. The booke of Wisedome is most euident ther­in. Then if the picture of a liuing mā, a mortall creature, be of such force to crooke the soule: what shall we thinke of Images of them, that are reputed saincts? of the Image of Christ our God and sauiour?Luc. 10. Act. 14. Gala. 3. Whose names be writ­ten in the booke of lyfe, they care not for their faces, to be paynted on a post. They that aliue abhorred any worship, wyll not being dead prouoke so great offence. Christ y^e (as God) wil be honored in truth, must not to the world be set forth w^t a lye, nec qui spiritu coeperūt carne consumādi, nor they y^t began in the spirite, must be made perfite in the fleshe. The heathē y^e beleued not immortalitie of soule, & were altogi­ther vainglorious and proude, had a pleasure to haue their Images set vp, & their childrē reioyced in their parents fol­ly: but this must not be taken, as president for vs Christi­ans. For they had no other rewarde of well deseruing: we looke for an other maner of crowne of glorye,2. Tim. 4. 1. Petr. 5. which is layde vp in store for vs, against a better daye. They had no lawes to forbid such coūterfets, yea the law it selfe, to ex­cite men to vertue, decréed Statuas in foro, Images in the [Page] market place.Deu. 4.5.7 1. Ioh. 5. Car. Mag. Li. 3. ca. 15. We haue law inough from the maiestie of God, to condemne Images in place of prayer. Wherfore I may say, with the good fathers of Franckeforde: Si homi­nes mortales proteruia vanitatis inflati. &c. If mortal men, puffed vp with frowardnesse of their owne vanitie, proude of worldly pompe, bragging, ambitious, bicause they coulde not be in all places, would be magnified in some place: bi­cause they loked for no heauēly profit, would therfore haue an earthly prayse: Shal thys inforce vs to make a picture of our God, who is in euery place, can be contained in no place, whose seate the heauens are, whose fotestole is the earth, who is wonderfull in all places, can with the eye be discerned in no place? Where hys vertue is so great, hys glory so excellent, hys myght so vnmeasurable, he is not with coloures to be portrayed, to be séen in temples made with mans hande, to be honored or knowen in a beggerly picture: but to be set forth in hys worthy workes, soughte for in the heauens, worshipped in heart, y^e Prophet saying: Adorate dominum in atrio sancto eius. Psal. 28. Ioh. 4. Worship the Lord in his holy Sanctuary. And the Euangelist. Deus spiritus est, & qui adorat deum, in spiritu & veritate oportet adorare. God is a spirit and they that worship God, must worship hym in spirite & in truth. Thus haue I proued, that our affections to God warde, nether ought nor cā be styrred vp, by y^e vaine pain­ters or caruers craft, howsoeuer mens fansies are delited with them. Yet to consider your own histories. Whē Alexander the great, was faire and finely painted, Iulius Cesar beholding him was made more ambitious: and he y^t other­wyse could haue bene contented with hys own estate, was throughe a picture made a plague of the world. Scipio the Aphricane, by loking on hys forefathers monuments, had more occasion of pryde, than cause of prayse giuen hym. Notwithstanding if in worldly things, for speciall pollicy, such order be tollerable (to kepe in memory the noble factes [Page 172] of other) if affections at home may be stirred, with counter­fetes of our absent frendes: yet in Gods matters, whose presence is at no tyme denyed vs,In Gods matters no Imagery admit­ted. whose person can not be truly counterfeted, whose factes, are more lyuely descri­bed in hys worde, than all the workemen of the world can imitate: this point of diuels rhetorique, thys mouing of af­fections, is not to be yelded to. For the mynds of the fayth­full be only styrred vp, by y^e spirite of God, which inward­ly worketh in the hart, and outwardly by hys worde and Sacramentes. Wherefore Erasmus would not admit, y^t a preacher should bryng an Image to the pulpit: he woulde not haue suche bokes as those. Yet then I am sure, they might be best red, and affectiōs (if euer) would most be mo­ued then. Hys wordes be these.Li. 3. Eccle. Quidam per imagines mouent affectus, aut per ostensas sanctorum relliquias, quorum neutrum con­uenit grauitati loci in quo consistit Ecclesiastes. No Ima­gery vvith prea­ching, muche lesse vvithout. Ne (que) enim legimus vn (que) tale quic (que) factum, vel à Christo vel ab Apostolis. Some (sayth he) do moue affectes by Images, or shewing of Saincts re­liques, wherof neyther agréeth to the grauitie of y^e place, that a preacher standeth in. For we reade not, that euer a­ny such thing was done of Christ or hys Apostles. Then if religion will admit no president, but onely of Christ and hys Apostles: If Images with tonges, to tell what they are, be not alowable: shal tonglesse thinges, by mans de­uise be erected in euery place, to serue God w^t al? I told you before, what Images do teach: what affectiōs they moue is euident to al. As Cherea when he saw paynted in a table how Iupiter in fourme of an in got of gold, came through y^e tiles, & fel into hys Ladyes lap, reioysed w^t hymselfe, and sayd: if the thundering God played such a part: Ego homun cio hòc non facerem? should not I poore wretch do thys? So whē a gorgious and golden God, shal stande vpon y^e altare, wil not y^e couetous wish it in his purse? wyll not he gather, if God delite to be made, & adorned w^t thys precious metal, [Page] am not I bounde to make much of mine? When a man is portrayde in the church, hanging on a gybbet, and another foole is crowching to it, the cause not considered, and cir­cumstaunce vnknowen, wil not the carelesse and desperate person, thinke with himselfe: what shame is it for me to hang, since our God was so serued? This is the least harme that can come of it. The wicked adoration, the damnable Idolatry, I wittingly omit. In the next Article, I shall intreate of it.Images not to be admitted for helpe of memo­ry. Folio. 119. b. Now for the calling vnto remembrance, of y^e which hath bene taught, or occasioning to learne that which is vnknowen, ye say: that Images, if for no other cause, yet bicause they quickē the memory, vvhich in many is fickle, helpe ignoraunce, vvhich in some is lurde (I knowe not what ye meane by the terme, but so ye haue sent it vs vn­corrected) stirre vp loue vvhich is vvaxen colde, help hope vvhich is almost deade, moue deuotion vvhich in all men decayeth, reuiue fayth vvhich in all men fayleth, they might right vvell be suffred among Christen men. For proofe of which pointes, ye bring two places: one (as out of Augustine) an other out of Cyrill. To the place of Augu­stine, I aunswere, according to the iudgement and censure approued by the Parisiens & set before the work that ye cite. Quod Sermo de visitacione infirmorū, A vayne fansy fa­thered vpon Augus­tine. locutuleij cuiusdā est, nec docti nec diserti. Quid habuerunt vel frontis vel mentis, qui talia scripta nobis obtruserunt nomine Augustim? that the Sermon entitu­led, of the visiting of the sicke, is some bablers doyng, that hath neyther learning nor eloquēce. What shamefastnesse or honesty was in them, which haue dashed vs in the téeth w^t such writinges, in the name of Augustyne? To Cyrillus I say, that he had to do with Iulian the Apostata: to whom it was expedient,Foli. 120. to excuse the order of Christians in hys tyme: and therefore he sayd, the healthful vvod doth make vs remember. &c. In dede in comparison of the Gentiles Idols, Iupiter & Ganymedes, Daphne & Apollo, of which [Page 173] he there discourseth, the signe of the Crosse was to be pre­ferred: and to the enimy,Cyrillus. li. 6. contra. Iu lianum. we must not exaggerate y^e fault of our frende, but couer it what we can. So dyd Cyrillus. But that he was not in y^e same heresie w^t you, see what pre­sidentes he bryngeth against you. In the selfe same booke, wheras you bryng your authoritie, these wordes he hath. Honestus & bonus erat (sicut ipse dicit) Numa, & splēdida preditus intelligentia, etiam plurimas sacerdotum constituit leges. Diligenter ergo inquiramus, quem hahuerit ille cultus modum. Scripsit igitur de illo Dionisius Halicarnasseus, qui Romanorū historiam diligenter composuit: quod templa quidem & delubra extruxerit, simulachrum autem in illis erat nullū. Nam quia Pythagorae philosophiam commē ­dahat, cuius & dogmata sequebatur, cognouerat deum omnino specie & forma tali carere, affirmabat (que) illum gaudere, mentalibus & non carnalibus sacrificijs. Iccirco & constructa tēpla fidei nominabat, qua sola deus ab hominibus, quantum capaces sunt, videtur: & subditis praecipiebat, vt per fidem iurarent. Numa (sayth Cyril) in answere vnto Iulian (as the enimy hymselfe affirmeth) was honest and good, and indued with notable vnderstanding, made many lawes for the Priestes. Let vs inquire therfore dili­gently, what maner of seruise he had. Dionise of Halicar­nassus, which wrote well the history of the Romaines, re­porteth, that he made temples and oratories, but ther was no Image in the world in them. For bicause he commen­ded the wisedome of Pythagoras, whose doctrine also he fol­lowed, he knew that God was destitute of such foorme and shape: and affirmed that he toke pleasure in sacrifices of y^e mynde, and not of the fleshe. Therfore the temples that he builded, he called the temples of fayth, by which only God is séen of men, so farre as they are able to reache vnto hys sight: and he commaunded hys subiectes to take their othe by fayth. In which wordes many thynges may frutefully be obserued: First, that where Iulian layed Numa hys reli­gion to the Christians charge, Cyrill is contented with hys authoritie, but he vseth it to the condemnation of he­thenish [Page] Idolatry:Cyrill alovveth no Images in Churches. Then, that he alloweth no Images to be in Churches, bringing a reason as out of nature it selfe, whereof the Philosophers wer not ignorāt, that there can be no lykenesse of God made, and therefore not of Christe, vnlesse we deny him to be God. So that if a Crosse was v­sed in his time, yet was there no picture of Christe vpon it. Last of all, that places deputed vnto prayer, were only cal­led by the name of y^e, which is the onely meane, whereby we apprehende the promises of God, and come to true know­ledge of him. If there were nothing els but Numa hys iudgement (whome notwithstanding in all these pointes Cyrillꝰ doth allow) he wer only sufficient to condēne youre doctrine.No I­mage of Christ to be made. For if Christ be God: & God can haue no forme or shape, what shall we thinke of the pictures of Christ in euery roodeloft, and on euery crucifix? Are they not things vtterly vnlawfull, and suche as wherein Numa shall con­demne you? Peraduenture ye set a picture of Christ, as of onely man, but thereby ye runne into a damnable heresie: separating his humanitie from his diuinite:No Churche to be cal­led by the name of a Sainct. & making him inferior vnto his father, as is proued afore. Againe the wis­dome of that Romaine king, condemneth the foolishe super­stition of Christians, in giuing worse names vnto their Churches, than he did to the temples of his Idols. For he called them al the temples of fayth, giuing therby the glory vnto God: wheras we doe cal them, sainct Iohns Church, S. Peters Church, S. Maries Church, and such other like. To ioyne issue in the case, whether memory be holpen by Imagery: If ye speake of Gods matters, it is an vngodlye memory that is holpē by them.Lib. 4. de. Imag. ca. 2. Infoelix memoria, quae vt Chri­sti memoretur, qui nun (que) à pectore iusti hominis recedere debet, imagi­nariae visionis est indiga. An vnhappy memory is y^e (as Charles the great affirmeth) which to remember Christ, who neuer ought to departe out of the hart of the iust mā, standeth in nede of a sightfull conceite. Nor otherwise can haue y^e pre­sence [Page 174] of Christe within hym, vnlesse he haue hys Image paynted on the wall, or expressed in some other matter. Thys is not only sayd, but a reason of the same is brought For (sayeth he) such a memory as is nourished and kepte by Images, procedeth not of harty loue, but necessitie of eye sight. And sée by thys meanes how little God is beholden to vs. We remember hym, as we remember the diuel: for when we are not moued of conscience and good wyll,A diue­lish me­mory that must be holpen vvith a Crosse. to thynke vpon Christe, but onely as the eye, by occasion is lead, then is there no loue, but a mere necessitie, whiche maketh me remember, so oft as I sée it, any thing that I hate most. So that who are these that must haue their me­mories quickened with a Crosse? Such, as if they were blinde, belyke would not remember: and beyng where no Crosse is, wyll forget Christ. And sure lyke inough. For there are no worse lyuers in the worlde, than likers of the Crosse. Wherefore sith the minde of man, ought so who­ly to be desired on hym, after whose Image it was firste made, that by no creature it oughte to be estraunged from the truthe, whiche is Christe, Demētissimum est eam interpo­sitis materialibus Imaginibus, ne eius obliuionē patiatur admoneri debere: cum videlicet hoc infirmitatis sit vitiū non libertatis inditiū. Moste madnesse it is, that oure myndes by the meane of materiall Images, must be put in remembraunce, leaste we fall to forget hym: whereas thys is the faulte of infir­mitie, no signe of libertie. The Apostle Paul sayth, that oure conuersation muste be in heauen,Philip. 3. Rom. 8. and hope re­posed in heauenly thynges. Spes enim quae videtur, non est spes. That hope which is sene, is no hope. God hath made many creatures of his own, wherby his power may be knowen of vs, & they all notw^tstanding in their degrée serue vs: shal we now shape out a new creature & serue it? So dyd y^e Iewes, whō y^e Prophet bitterly reproueth, saying: [Page] To whom wil ye lyke God,Esay. 40. or what similitude wyl ye set vp vnto hym? The workeman melteth an Image, or the goldsmith beateth it oute in golde, or the goldsmith ma­keth siluer plates. Doth not the poore chose out a trée? and so forth. Whereby we are giuē to vnderstande, y^t all Ima­gery (so farre as cōcerneth Gods seruice) is condemned, not only for the vse and adoration, but also for the hauing and erecting of them. For as yet he spake not of y^e worshipping of Images, but only of worthying them any place among them To whom wyll ye lyken God, (sayth he) as who shuld say: Paint what ye wyll, embosse and burnishe, yet shal your workemanship haue nothing lyke with God. There­fore to aspire vnto the knowledge of hym, we muste not take counsell of oure owne folly: but follow the wysdome of God herein, and betake vs to hys worde, whiche is the lyuely Image and perfect coūterfet of himselfe. If this suf­fyse not, let vs cast our eyes about vpon hys creatures, & they wyl tel vs of hym, yea the poore and hungry, that styll be subiect vnto the Crosse, wil leade vs straighter to Christ than any Crosse. If you wyl seke for any further ayde, I may say vnto you, as followeth in the Prophete. An nes­citis? an non audistis? an non vobis annūciatum est ab initio? an non edocti estis a fundamētis terrae? Know ye nothing? haue ye not heard: hath it not bene tolde you from the beginning? haue ye not vnderstode by the foundations of the earth? Marke (I beseche you) what scholemasters Esay doth appoynt vs when he had vsed the generall worde (of knowing) he infer­red .ij. wayes, that leade vs to knowledge. First is the word which commeth by hearing. The seconde is y^e world, which without our workemanship is dayly to be séen. If ye fynde any more, it is more thā the Prophet knewe of: it is more then the spirite of God teacheth, it is more than a Christien and godly man may vse. Wherfore, seyng nothyng is des­cribed by the Crosse auayleable for vs, no piece of cause or [Page 175] effect of Christes passion is represented in it: yea the per­son of Christ (as much as in vs lieth) disgraced by it, and the maiestie of God dishonoured: seing by the Scriptures and authority of the Godly, such meane of remembraunce is both insufficient, and vtterly vnlawfull, condemning our selues of too deadly forgetfulnesse, and contempte of the or­der that God hath set vs: Finally, séeing that it is such a so­ry scholemaster, as speaketh doubtfully, teacheth diuelish­ly, is séene daungerously: let the signe of the Crosse be cast out of the Church, and the Crosse it selfe be preached sym­ply: least by suffering the signe of the Crosse to stande, the sonne of God crucified be contemned: and we fall to wor­shipping of a Crosse materiall, which in the nexte Article shall be proued damnable.

ALthough in the former Arti­cles the folly and vnfaythfulnesse ther­of is shewed: yet that the world may vnderstand, vpon how weake a groūd ye stand, howe ruinously ye builde: I wil assay the force, and sone ouerthrow the foundation of your cause. Most reason it had bene, if ye would haue proued an adoration and worship of a Crosse (which appertayneth vnto God a­lone, which to no creature can be applied) ye shoulde haue [Page] brought some testimonie of the Scripture, which in Gods matters, only and sufficiently doth take an order. But you sawe, that Scripture is directe agaynst you, therefore you would not alleage, that should hinder you. The Paynter that had drawen a cocke yl fauouredly, commaunded hys boy to kepe the quicke cockes away: so you that shameful­ly would confirme a lye, reiect most wickedly the proufe of truth. But I wil briefly note (which you vtterly omit) Gods playne & euident commaundement to the contrary: wher­by ye may learne, that if men in termes had ouershot them selues, yet you shuld haue a better ayme, than by following their gesse, roue so farre from all godlinesse. If you had proceded orderly & according to the rule of skil: you would haue shewed, fyrst what Adoration and Worship is: and then haue approued (which you neuer shall) the lawfull ap­plication of it vnto the Crosse. If ye take it as the worde in Hebrew signifieth, it is to how downe or prostrate your selfe. The Gretians come very néere vnto the same, and expresse it by bowing of the knée, or putting off the cap. &c. Nor I doubt, but you in this interpretatiō agrée with me. Notwithstanding that in no sense it can be giuen vnto an Image, or otherwise to a senselesse and deade creature, shall appeare anone.Exod. 20. In Exodus, when God had spoken of all similitudes, and likenesses of thinges in heauen or in earth, he added: Thou shalt not bowe downe to them nor serue them. The Gréeke is the same, which signifieth Wor­ship and Adoration, [...]. Also the Prophet in Gods person speaketh. Is there no knowledge nor vnderstanding to say,Esay. 44. I haue burnt halfe of it, euen in the flet, & haue baked bread vpon the coales therof: I haue rosted flesh, & eaten of it. And shall I make y^e residue an ab­homination? shal I bow to the stock of a trée? And with a great indignatiō in another place he sayth:Esay. 2. They worship­ped y^e worke of their own hands, that which their own fin­gers [Page 176] made. A mā bowed himself, & a man humbled himself, therefore spare them not. Many other places I could heape hereon, which euidently conuince all Adoratiō, to other thā to God to be accursed. Only when you wil vs, after the ex­ample of your master the diuel, to fall downe and worship a siluer crosse, or a woodden trée, I wil answere with Christ: Auoyd Sathan. It is written:Math. 4. Thou shalt worship y^e Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serue. Now worship and seruise so ioyntly do concur togither, that the one cānot be without the other. If only we must serue god, him only we must worship. In the Epistle to the Hebrues,Heb. 1. S. Paul pro­ueth Christ, more excellent than the Angels: bycause they worship Christ, but are not worshipped agayne. If Angels haue not this adoration, shal a vile stock, or a cold, cankerd, corrupte piece of metall haue it? In the Actes of the Apos­tles it is writtē, how Cornelius the Centurion,Act. 10. fel down at Peters féete, & worshipped him. But the Apostle toke him vp and reproued him, saying: Stand vp, for I my self am a man. If so great a sainct as Sainct Peter was, be not to be worshipped: so fowle a block as a Roode is, much lesse is to be set by. In the Reuelation,Apoc. 14. an Angel from Heauen gaue a charge on this wise: Feare God, and giue him the glory, for the houre of his iudgement is come, and worshippe him. Which worship, that it ought not to be giuen to another, in the same boke good president we finde. For when the E­uangelistes fell downe at the Aungels féete,Apoc. 19. to worshippe him, he aunswered: Sée thou doe it not, I am thy fellowe seruant, and one of thy brethren, which haue the testimony of Iesus: Worship God. Likewise about the latter ende, this witnesse ye haue:Apoc. 22. When I had heard and séene (sayth Iohn) I fell downe to worship before the féete of the Angel. But he sayd vnto me: Sée thou do it not, for I am thy fel­lowe seruant, and of thy brethren the Prophetes, and of them which kepe the wordes of this boke. Worship God. [Page] If the Angels of Heauen refused worship and adoration, alleaging wythall, that they were but seruaunts, and ther­fore would nor derogate from their master, ascribing to themselues that which is onely due vnto God: Shalt we thinke that an Image, a picture, or a post, forbydden to be made, accursed to be vsed, may as a dumbe God, or a deade Diuell, lawfully be thus honored? I will not cumber you any more wyth Scriptures, for that I thinke you are not so farre past shame,Fol. 124. a. Fol. 126. Fol. 125. [...]. but that ye acknowledge that they are a­gaynst you. Let vs come to the doctors. Ye only cite Chri­sostome, and so, as it pleaseth Frier Perionie of Paris to make him speake. Augustine, in a worke that is none of his (as here a little before I proued. Athanasius corrupted, as in the fift Article I shewed. Lactantius vtterly agaynst himselfe, as shall anone be iustified. And as for Paulinus Damascene, and the canon cited, as out of the sixt councell generall, I haue heretofore in sundry places aunswered. Here are but seauen authorities in all, if they were admit­ted (as they are not) to be true. But if I should runne ouer all the auncient fathers that euer wrote, and truly alleage them (as you do not) they would all confirme you a lier, and Idolatrer. For proufe I will bring you for seauen, seauen­tene: (be [...] counsels generall) and among them the selfs same authours which you truste vnto, that your blinde ig­noraunce or wilfull obstinacy may the more appeare. I wil cite them in order, as in auncientie they stande. Clement, not passe .80. yeares after Christ, in the worke that you doe ascribe vnto him, sayth: that when Peter had spoken much agaynst the Egyptians superstitious Idolatrie, which ho­nored an Oxe and a Goate, a Fish and a Serpent, wyth o­ther sluttish and vncleanly things, Cloacas & crepitū ventris, and that the hearers began to laugh thereat, he burste out into these wordes:Clemens Recog. ad Iac frat. Do. Lib. 5. Rideus vt alibr [...]m dedecora, quia longa [...] suetudine propria non videtis. Num Egypciorum quid on stu [...]itiam [Page 177] merito ridetis, qui muta animalia, ipsi cum sint rationabiles, colunt: Audite tamen quomodo & illi vos irrideant, aiunt enim: Nos vi­uentia colimus animalia, licet moritura, vos vero, quae nunquam om­nino vixere, haec colitis & adoratis. Ye laugh at others shame, bycause by long custome ye sée not your owne. For wyth good cause ye may scorne the folly of the Egyptians, which being reasonable creatures themselues, worshippe dumbe beasts. But heare how they do mocke you too: for they say:The vvorship of a Crosse vvorse than the Egiptians Idols. We worship liuing creatures, although die they shal. But you doe worship and adore those things, which neuer liued yet. And thinke you not, that he well describeth and con­demneth your errour, of the worshippe to be giuen to the Crosse? Is it not a deade thing, and therefore to be wor­shipped a great deale more Idolatrous, than the beastes of Egypt? They of an external worshippe, iudged an vn­lawfull acte, and Peter doth approue them in it, you wyll offende as haynously as that, and yet wil not be iudged vn­lawfully to doe. Agayne, he playnely proueth in the same place, what spirit you haue, when you speake for the crosse. For his words be these: Per alios item serpens ille proferrre ver­ba huiusremodi solet: Nos ad honorem inuisibilis Dei imagines visibi­les adoramus: Quod certissimè falsum est. A diue­lish ex­cuse to say, that to the ho­nour of Christ they vvorship hys Crosse. Si enim vere velitis Dei Imaginem colere, homini benefacientes veram in eo Dei Imaginem coleretis. The diuel (sayth he) by the mouth of other, is wont to bring forth such words: We to the worship of the inui­sible God, worshippe the visible Images: And this is most certaynely false. For if ye wil truly worship Gods Image, ye should by being beneficiall vnto man, worship the true Image of God in him. Thus farre Clement, where I be­sech you marke, that he doth affirme it to procéede of sug­gestion of the Diuell, that men for Gods honour, wil wor­ship Images. Also that he sheweth, howe and what Ima­ges may in déede be worshipped: men, the true Images of God helped. Thus much Pope Clement. Nowe another [Page] Clement of Alexandria, Clemens Alexandr. oratione ad gentes. which was about .215. yeare after Christ, for confutation of your beastly errour, bringeth the assertion of Heraclitus the Ephesian. An non prodigiosi sunt qui lapides adorant? Be they not monstrous, that worshippe stones? And what your Crosse is better, I sée not. As it standeth it corrupteth. When ye honour it, ye most dys­grace it. Sense it, and ye sindge it, or take the beauty from it. Doubtlesse such Images beside the vse, which is abho­minable, in their creation are worse than any liuing crea­ture: And therefore I may doubt with Clement, Clement thinketh thē mad that vvorshippe a Crosse. Quomodo quae sunt insensilia, diuino sint honore affecta: & errantium vt pote miserorum misereri amentiae. Howe it commeth to passe that things deuoyde of sense, haue diuine honour and worshyp giuen them: and worthily pity the madnesse of those mise­rable wretches, so deceyued as they are. For other crea­tures, be they small, be they great, whatsoeuer they be, haue eyther all senses, or else some: or if sense be denyed them, yet life is graunted them, they increase, they grow: But Images, Crosses, Crucifixes, are altogither ydle, voyde of good effect, vtterly vnprofitable. They be cast, they be molten, they be cut, they be graued, they be embossed, they be burnished, and last of all with nayles they be faste­ned, that with knées they may be honoured. Adorant autem hij non Deos & Daemones, mea quidem sententia, sed terram & artē quod quidem est Imagines. But these folke do worship in my opinion (sayth olde Clement) not Gods, nor Diuels, but earth, and workmanship which is the Images. Wherfore he proueth, that such haue fetched their religiō from proud Persians, beastely Barbariens, superstitious sorcerers, Ignorantes Deum, haec autem egena & Infirma vt ait Apostolus que ad vsum hominum ministerium (que) facta sunt elementa adorantes. Where as they knowe not God, but worshippe these beg­gerly and weake elementes, as the Apostle calleth them, which are made to the vse and seruise of men. And further [Page 178] he proueth out of Goddes worde. Exod. 20. that to make a Crosse, is a kinde of crafte. Nobis enim est aperte vetitum artē fallacem exercere. Non facies enim, inquit Propheta, cuiusuis rei si­militudinem. &c. For it is playnely forbydden vs to practise this deceytefull occupation: in as much as the Prophete sayth: Thou shalte not make the lykenesse of any thing. Here you perceyue what this good father thought, that it was a monstrous matter, a madde parte, worse than ser­uise of the Diuell, to worshippe stockes or stones, or any such thing as a Crosse is.

Ireneus Ireneus ad­uersus Her. Li. 1. Ca. 24. reproueth y^e heresie of the Gnostici. Qui Imagi­nes quasdam depictas, quasdam autem & de reliqua materia fabri­catas habent, dicentes formam Christi, factam à Pilato in illo tem­pore quo fuit Iesus cum hominibus. Which had certayne Ima­ges, some paynted, some made of other matter, saying that the forme and picture of Christ was made by Pilate, at what time Iesus was conuersaunt wyth men. Thus he that came néere vnto the Apostles tyme, reputed it an he­resie, to haue, to make, to carry about wyth them the coun­terfet of Christ. What would he haue done if they had ho­noured it? Damned them to the Diuell.

Tertullian Tertull. ad­uers. Mar. Lib. 2. not long after, wryting agaynst Martion, sheweth that the onely cause of forbydding Images and lykenesses of things, was the Adoration & worship of them Similitudinem vetans fieri omnium quae in coelo & in terra, & in a­quis, ostendit & causas, Idololatriae scilicet, quae substantiam cohi­bent. Subijcit enim, non adorabitis ea, ne (que) seruietis illis. God forbidding the likenesse of any thing, in Heauen, in earth, or in the water to be made, shewed also the causes,To vvor­ship the Crosse Idolatrie. which do restrayne the substance. And those causes are Idolatry. for he inferreth after: You shall not worship thē nor serue them. Wherefore (as he truly sayth) to adore & worship the likenesse of any thing (as a Crosse is some thing) is mere I­dolatry, agaynst which offence the holy Martyr Cyprian inueighing, sée howe he describeth it.

Cyprian ad Demetrium Quid ante inepta simulachra & figmenta terrena, captiuum corpus incuruas? Rectum te Deus fecit, & cum caetera animalia, prona & ad terram situ vergente depress a sint, tibi sublimis status, et ad coelū, at (que) ad Deum tuum vultus erectus est. Illuc intuere, illuc oculos tuos erige, in supernis Deum quaere, vt carere Inferis possis, ad alta & coe­lestia suspensum pectus attolle. Quid te in lapsum mortis, cum Ser­pente quem colis, sternis? What doest thou bowe thy captiue body, before folish Images and earthly counterfets? God hath made thée vpright, and whereas all other beastes of the earth are depressed in shape, bending down to y^e ground ward, thou hast a lofty state, to heauen, and to thy God thy countenance is erected. Then loke vp thither: thither cast vp thine eyes: seke God aboue. That Hel thou mayst lack, lifte vp thy doubtfull heart to high and heauenly thinges. What doest thou throwe thy selfe wyth the Diuel whome thou seruest, into the pit of death? So farre. S. Cyprian, and by him it is playne, that to bow, to knéele, to shew any signe of reuerence to an earthly counterfet, to the work of mannes hande, is contrary to nature, agaynst the dignity of our creation, and a wicked worship. What Origens To vvor­ship the Crosse cō ­trary to nature. Origen. o­pinion was in this behalfe, I haue proued afore, in the first Article, and thither ye may resorte to finde it. Onely thys will I adde, that when he had rehearsed the commaunde­ment of God: Exod. 20. he put his owne censure and ver­dite therevnto, saying: Erat quidem legis mens ea, vt singuliis in rebus vt veritas exigebat hij versarentur, Lib. 4 cōtra Celsum. nec preter verum effin­gerent aliqua, quae prae se maris vel foeminae speciem praeseferrent. &c. The minde of the law, quoth he, was this, that they should in all thinges so behaue themselues, as the truth required: nor that they should beside the truth, counterfet any thing representing the shape of man or woman. Wherefore the picture of Christ vpon the Crosse, by Origens opinion, is agaynst the lawe. Beside this, he telleth you, what Adora­tion,In Exod. and what worshippe is. Aliud est colere, aliud adorare. [Page 179] Potest quis interdum & inuitus adorare, sicut nonnulli regibus adulantes, cum eos ad huiuscemodi studia deditos viderint, Hom. 8. cap. 20. adorare se simulant idola, cum in corde ipsorum certum sit, quia nihil est ido­lum. Colere verò est, toto hijs affectu & studio mancipari. Vtrum (que) er­go resecat sermo diuinus, vt ne (que) affectu colas, ne (que) specie adoras. To worship is one thing, and to adore another. For a mā may sometyme against hys wyll adore, as they that flatter Princes, when they: sée them addicte to suche studyes, doe fayne themselues to worship Idols, whereas in their heart they are assured, that an Idol is nothing. But to worship, is to enter into a certaine seruitude and bondage w^t them, and be addict vnto them, with all affect and zeale. Therfore the worde of God cutteth away both: that neyther in heart thou worship, nor in apparaunce adore. Thus much suffi­seth for Origene, whereby it is playne, that whatsoeuer our mynds are, our bodyes must not bow to any Crosse or creature. Arnobius Arnobius contra Gen­tes. lib. 6. discoursing against the Gentiles, who serued Idols, and dyd Sacrifice vnto them, had the same obiected hym, that you do to vs. We worship the Gods (sayd they) by their Images. And you, By vvorshipping the Crosse, vve serue Christ. And may I not answere to you, as he dyd to them? Si hoc nō sit, coli se Christus nesciat? nec impaer­tiri à vobis vllum sibi honorem ex stanabit? Per tramites ergò quosdam & per quaedam fidei commissá, vt dicitur, vestras sumit at (que) accipit cultiones, & antequam sentiat cui illud debetur obsequium, simulachro litatis prius, & velut reliquias quasdam aliena ad illum ex authori­tate transmittitis. If you had not thys Crosse, should Christe be ignoraunt that he were serued of you? wyll he thynke that there is no honor done hym? Then doth he receiue your seruise and your worshippinges by certayne traynes, by o­ther put in trust (vicars if ye wyll or commissaries) and be­fore he, to whom the obsequy is due, haue any felyng of y^e matter: ye do your Sacrifice vnto the Image, and sende hym but the scraps from another mans boorde. Et quid fieri [Page] potest iniuriosius, contumeliosius, durius, quam deum alterum scire, & rei alteri supplicare? opem sperare de numine, & nullius sen­us ad effigiem deprecari? Nonne illud est quaeso quod in vulgaribus sprouerbijs dicitur, fabrum cadere cum ferias fullonem? Et cum homi­nis cosilium quaer as ab asellis & per culis agendarum rerum senten­tias postulare? And what can be deuised (fayth he) more iniuri­ous, slaunderous, vncurteous, than to acknowledge one God, & make thy sute to another thing? to hope for helpe of God, and poure out thy prayers to a senselesse Image? Is not thys (as the Prouerbe hath) to haue a quarell to Rowlande and fyght with Oliuer? and where thou sekest for aduise of mē, to aske the sētence first of porkelinges and of asses? Again. Non iste error esis non (vt proprie dicatur) amentia, supplicare tremebundum fabricatae abs te rei? Et cumscias & certu [...] sis tui esse operis, & digitorum artem pronū in faciem ruere? &c. Is not thys an error? Is it not (to speake properly) a mad­nesse, in trembling wise to make thy humble shute to a thing, that thou madest thy selfe? and whereas thou doest know and art assured, that it is thyne own workemanship, the fruite of thyne owne fingers, to fall groueling vpō thy face before it? I wyll no further deale with Arnobius. All hys .viij. bokes contayne nothing else, but confutation of your Image heresy, and Crosse shame. Lactantius his scholer, beside many other places to the lyke effect, where­of in the former treatise, I haue touched dyuerse, hath also thys:

Quae amentia est, aut ea fingere quae ipsi postmodum timeant, aut timere quae finxerint? Lactantius de fals. Rel. lib. 2. cap. 2. Non ipsa inquiunt timemus, sed eos ad quorum imaginem sicta, & quorum nominibus consecrata sunt. Nē ­pe ideo timetis, quod eos esse in coelo arbitramins: ne (que) enim si dij sunt aliter fieri potest. Cur igitur oculos in coelum non tollitis, & aduocatis deorum nominibus in aperto sacrificia celebratis? Cur ad parietes & ligna, & lapides potissimum, quam ille spectatis v­bi [Page 180] eos esse creditis?

What madnesse is thys, eyther to frame those things, which they may after feare, or feare those thynges, which they haue framed? No forsoth (say they) we feare not that, but them after whose Image they be made, and to whose names they be consecrated: why then ye feare them, bi­cause ye suppose them to be in heauen. For if they be Gods, it can not otherwise be chosen. But why do you not lyft vp your eyes to heauen, and callyng vpon the Gods by name, do your Sacrifices openly? why do you rather loke to the walles, to the stockes and stones, than to that place, wher you beleue they are?

If Lactantius thoughte it a wickednesse in them, to turne their eyes vnto the earthly creatures beneth, where God was onely to be founde aboue, shall youre ado­ration of a Crosse stande? shall the worship of a piece of wood, or masse of metall, be so estemed? Where is nowe Flocte genu lignum (que) crucis venerabile adora? Dyd he con­demne the Gentiles for turning of their eye to stoc­kes and stones: and shall be charge the Christians to bow the knée to the worshipful Crosse? It is to absurde and impious.

Athanasius Athana­sius. is so farre from adoration and worshipping of the Crosse, that in many places, he is most earnest to the contrary. In hys fyrst Sermons contra Idola, he hath no­thyng more frequent, than that such honour to creatures is accursed.

But least you thynke, he spake only against the Gen­tiles Idols, and that concerneth not youre Images and your Crosse: I wyl come nerer you, and go to the nature of the worde generall (Adoration). He reasoneth with the Arrians, denying Christ to be equall wyth y^e father,Contra Arrianos Ser. 5 after thys sorte: Si adoratur ab Angelis, quia gloria sublimior est, par erat vt omnia inferr [...], superioribus se in adorando inclinarent. [Page] Sed id ità non est: creatura siquidem creaturam non adorat: sed quae seruilis sunt conditionis dominos: & quae creaturae sunt, deum adorationibus colunt. If Christ he adored of y^e Angels, bicause he is higher in glory than they, reason it were, that all infe­rior thinges, should bow down themselues in adoration to their superioures. But that is not so. For one creature adoreth not another: but such as are of seruile condition, adore their Lordes and masters: and such as be creatures, do worship their God by adorations. Afterwarde he infer­reth the examples of Peter and the Angell, which woulde not that thys seruise should be done vnto them. Wherevpō he concludeth: Solius numinis est adorari. It appertayneth onely to the Godhead to be adored. Wherefore vnlesse ye make your Crosse a God, it can haue no worship nor adoration. As for the place which out of his questions ye alleage, I say agayne ye lye.Fol. 125. a. For it is not, Crucis figurā ex duobus lig­nis componētes adoramus, as you do cite it. But Crucis figuram ex duobus lignis, compingentes conficimus. Marke good readers, what a true man we haue to speake for the Crosse. Where Athanasius hath. We frame the figure of the Crosse, ma­kyng it of ii. stickes: Thys man hath, We making a figure of the Crosse of tvvo pieces of vvood, adore it. O blinde ig­noraunce or blinded malice.Fol. 125. a. If the vnderstāding of a word myght haue deceyued one, yet the circumstaunce of thys place is suche,Quest. 16. ad Antioch that none in the worlde can make more a­gainst adoration of the Crosse. For he yeldeth a reason, why they make a Crosse of .ij. pieces of wood: that if any in­fidell lay vnto their charge, that they worshyp wood, they may breake the forme of it, Et infideli persuadire, quod non colamus lignum, Martial a falsefier of Athana­sius. and persuade the infidell that we worship not wood. A meruailous matter, that a fugitiue of Englād, and a diuine of Louain, should be to leude a false frēd. But I procede to other. Epiphanius (as is before alleaged) would not suffer a vail to hange in the Church, that had a mans [Page 181] Image on it, would he suffer a Crosse thynke you to be worshipped? He wylled the byshop to commaunde,Epiphanius ad Io. Epis. Hieroso. ne eius­modi vela appenderentur, that such clothes, should not be han­ged vp, quòd contra Christianam religionem veniunt bicause they come against Christian religion. And after he calleth it Scrupulositatem indignam ecclesia Christi, a scrupulositie vnwor­thy of the Churche of Christ: shall we thynke that he could alow, not a cloth, but a Crosse? not a vaile, but a crucifix? And where he could not suffer, the sight of the one, would he abyde the seruise of the other? Intreating of a sect of he­retiques called Collyridians which dyd offer to the Virgin Mary, these wordes he hath: Praetextu iustitiae semper subiens hominum mentē diabolus, Li. 3. Tom. 2. Here. 79. mortalem naturam in hominū oculis dei­ficans, flatuas, humanas imagines pre se ferentes per artium varietatē expressit. Et mortui quidem sunt qui adorantur: ipsorum verò imagi­nes quae nun (que) vixerunt adorandas introducunt, adulterante mete ab vno & solo deo, velut commune scortum, ad multam multiplicis coitus absurditatem irritatum, & quod temperantiam legitimi coniugij vnius viri detriuit. The deuil entering into the mynde of mē, alwayes vnder pretexte of iustice, aduaūcing in the eyes of men, the mortall nature, to the degrée of God, hath ex­pressed thorow varietie of cunning, Images, representing the counterfeites of men. And they that are worship­ped, in dede be dead. And the Images which neuer lyued, they bryng in, to be worshipped,Worship to Images Fornica­tion. the mynde thereby cō ­mitting fornication, and estraunging it selfe from the one and onely God, as it were an harlot, departing fithily hir body vnto many, and as one that had worne away the sober vse of lawful cōpany with one husbande. And afterwarde. Non dominabitur nobis antiquus error, vt relinquamus viuentem, & adoremus ea que ab ipso facta sunt. Coluerunt enim & adoraue­runt creaturam praeter creatorem & stulti facti sunt. The olde er­ror shal not preuayle ouer vs, to leaue the liuing, and wor­ship [Page] those thinges whiche are made of hym. For they haue worshipped and adored the creature, beside the Crea­tor, and became fooles. So he procedeth with proufe, that neyther Helyas, nor Iohn, nor the Virgin Mary, nor the Angels themselues, are to be adored: ergo no Crosse. S. Ambrose,Ambros. de ebitu Theod speaking how the Crosse was founde, sayde thys of Helena. Regem adorauit non lignum: quia hic gentilis est error, & vanitas impiorum. She worshipped the kyng, and not the Crosse, for that were an error of Gētilitie and va­nitie of the wycked. What playner wordes can you desire? ye can not say y^t he spake of the Gentiles Idols. He spake of the Crosse, the same y^t Christ hanged on: and y^t he sayd, was an hethenish error, & to worship, was a vanitie of wic­ked men. If the very Crosse wheron Christ suffered, be not to be adored: wyll you conclude, y^t a signe thereof shoulde so be reuerenced? HieromeHierom. hath: Notanda proprietas deos coli imaginem adorari, quod vtrum (que) seruis dei non conuenit. The propertie of the wordes is to be marked, that Gods are worshipped, and an Image adored: whereof neyther agre­eth to the seruants of God. Reade more of hym. In Iere. 6. &. 10. &. Dan. 3. Ye shall playnly sée, that neyther worship nor adoration, oughte to be giuen to so vile a thyng as a Crosse is. Augustine,Augustin. de vera. Rel. cap 55. agréeth with hys fellowes, & sayeth: Non sit nobis relligio humanorū operū culius. Menores enim sunt ipsa artifices qui talia fabricantur, quos tamen colere non debemus. Let not vs haue a religiō in worshipping of mans works. For the workemen themselues that make them, be better, whome notwithstanding we oughte not to worship. Nor Chrysostome,Chrysos­tome. in any worke that is hys, dissenteth frō the reste. Vpon the .4. of Iohn. &. 32. Hom these playne wordes he hath. Adorare creaturae: adorari non creature sed domini est. To adore and worship, belongeth to a creature: but to be a­dored, belongeth to no creature, but onely to the Lorde. Cyrill when he would proue the diuinitie of Christ, & that [Page 182] he is of the same substaunce with the father, drewe an ar­gument from adoration of the Angels. And if that any but onely God, maye be adored, then is hys reason none.Cyrill The­sauri. Li. 2. cap. 1. The wordes be these. Nemo ignorat, nullí prorsus natura preterq̄ dei adorationem à scriotura contribui. No man is ignoraunt, that adoration in the Scripture, is attributed to no kynde of nature, saue onely to the nature of God. And thus the el­der fathers. Now to come down to latter yeres.Gregory Pope. Epist. li. 7. Indict. 2. cap. 109. Gregory the Pope, the first that euer maintained Images, is so muche against the adoring of them, that in euery sentence where he speaketh of them, he seriously forbiddeth it. Zelum vos ne quid manufactum adorari possit, habuisse laudauimus. Et iterum. Ab earum adoratione populum prohibere debuit. Et tertio: vt populus in picture adoratione minimē peccaret. In English. We prayse it well that you had a zeale, that nothing made with hande should be adored. And agayne. You oughte to haue forbidden the people from the adoring of them. Thirdly, y^t the people should not offend in adoratiō or worshipping of a picture. If pictures generally be thus cōmended, so much as cōcerneth adoration, I leaue it to your discretiō to con­sider, what is to be sayd of worshyp to be done to roodes or crucifixes. Nor here I wyll omyt a proper workeman of your own occupation, Iohannes Alfonsus de castro. He in hys boke aduersus haereses reporteth, that one Claudius by shop of Taurino, forbad all in his iurisdiction, the adora­tion and worshyp of our Lordes Crosse. He was of priuye counsell to Charles the great. A worthy Prelate for so wise a Prince. What the opinion of Charles the greate was in thys behalfe,Carolus. Magnus. I referre you to hys foure bokes de Imagini­bus, of purpose penned against the insolent and doltish cō ­spiracy dissembling at Nice. If ye loke for coūcels to con­demne your error, I sende you backe to y^e thirde Article, & there ye shal fynde sufficient to confute you. Thus haue I sleightly passed ouer, not al y^t I could recite, but as many [Page] as I thought expedient, for cleare disproufe of your vngod­ly purpose. Ye would haue it appeare, that al y^e fathers wer in your fonde beliefe, whereas ye rehearse but a very few, and the same not onely corruptly wrested, but maliciouslye in most partes falsefied. I haue brought you the simple and playne wordes of theirs, oute of their owne approued wri­tinges, such as I trust, you wyll not gaynesay. Now let the good readers iudge, whether according to the false ex­position of you, or fonde meaning of a fewe, the Crosse should be worshipped and adored: or els according to the sounde censure of the moe,A briefe rehersall of the doctors opi­nion tou­ching the adoration of the Crosse. of the Godly, of the Scriptures themselues, be cast out of the Churche, and deputed to the vse that it deserueth. As for the adoration, S. Peter com­pared it with the Gentiles Idolatry: condemned it as vn­lawfull, and yet saw not the hartes of the worshippers. Clement of Alexandria, calleth it a monstruous thyng, a mad parte, worse than the seruise of the diuell, to worship stockes or stones: yet we must crepe to y^e Crosse you saye. Ireneus accompteth it heresy, to cary about the true Image of Christ: yet you will haue it catholyke to adore & wor­ship the false Crosse. Tertullian sayth, that it is Idolatrie to adore the lykenesse of any thyng: Thē is there no great holinesse or safetie in the Crosse. Cyprian affirmeth it, to be contrary to nature, against the dignitie of our creation, and a wycked worship, to fal down to a creature: and shal we then adore the Crosse? Origen wyll not admit any ex­ternall signe of honor, (howsoeuer the minde otherwise be affected) to be giuen to the workemanship of mans hande: but sayth, that it is against the commaundement: & shall we crouch & créepe to the Crosse? Arnobius scorneth the esteming of the Crosse: and to the condemnation of Eth­nikes, sayth: Cruces nec colimus nec optaemus, vos plane qui ligneos Deos consecratis, Cruces ligneas vt Deorum vestrorum partes forsitā adoratis. As for Crosses, we neyther worship nor wysh for: [Page 183] But you which consecrate ye woodden Gods, peraduenture worship the woodden Crosses, as percels of your Goddes. This spake Arnobius in defence of the Christians,Lib. 8. and re­proufe of the Gentiles. And shall we directe contrary to this, both wish and worship Crosses, worse than the Gen­tiles, vnworthy name of Christians? Lactantius in lyke sort, condemneth the Gentiles for tooting vpon Images, and willeth them to looke vp to Heauen: And shall we still be poaring on so blinde a boke as a Crosse is? Athanasius would not that the enimie should haue such aduauntage of him, as to say, that he or any other Christian, worshipped the Crosse: we must haue it a doctrine, that euery man is bound to worship it. Epiphanius tare the vaile that had the picture of Christ vpon it: he affirmed the worshipping of the same to be fornication: We must haue a poste wyth a mocke man vpon it, and afterward do honour to it. Am­brose accoumpted it an errour of Gentilitie, a vanitie of peruerse, to adore the Crosse: And we must holde it a good catholike doctrine, bycause Master Martiall doth teach it. Hierome, Augustine, Chrisostome, Cyrill, Gregorie, con­demne (as is before confirmed) all adoration done to any creature: and yet you thinke the same, by testimonies of the fathers, due to the signe of the Crosse. If you had consi­dered the fathers wel, you would not so yll haue slaundered them. You thinke you haue a good euasion, when you say, that vve must atrribute vnto it, not any diuine honor due onely to God, Folio. 128. b. but as it hath bene right vvell declared be­fore of others, an inferiour kinde of reuerence. I maruell that you are so inconstant M. Martiall. Euen nowe you would nedes haue Adoration and Worship to the signe of the Crosse, & they be propre vnto God alone: now will ye haue an inferiour reuerence. And what is that? Forsoth you can not tel. But it hath bene declared of other. I know what other in this behalfe haue babbled, making their di­stinction [Page] betwene [...] and [...]. They put .ij. hor­ses into one stable, to eate at one racke, and reach to one manger, yet they be not serued alike, bycause they haue a barre betwixt them. I could speake more of the absurditie hereof, but that I must lay my finger on my line, & treads the onely steppes of you, that full crookedly haue gone be­fore me. If you voutchsaue to tell me what that inferior re­uerence shuld be (which now by silence ye vtterly suppresse) ye shal then know further of my minde. It only remayneth that I aunswere your Paradox, your straunge, your in­credible proposition,Fol. 129. that there can be no mystruste nor feare of Idolatrie in Christen men vvorshipping and ado­ring the Crosse. To come to Worship and Adore againe, where the nexte line before ye would haue but an inferiour reuerence, maketh me thinke that you be very fickle, and not settled as yet on any certayne ground. But worship a Gods name, adore & deifie (say you) for certayne it is there can be no perill of Idolatrie. Ye do very wisely to put men in security, for otherwise they would be very loth to vēture. Greate is the leape, and the water déepe. But howe shall we passe? Ye haue deuised a bridge as it were of a bulrush. Your argument is this:A strange proufe that no man may feare Ido­latry in a Papist. All that be Christiās are baptised. And if they be baptised, then haue they receyued the fayth of Christ, and beleue in one God father almighty, and so forth, and haue learned that commaūdement of his: Thou shalt haue no other Gods but me. If then by baptisme they haue receyued the fayth of Christ, and beleue in one God father almighty. &c. and haue learned that commaunde­ment of his, that they shall haue no other Goddes but him, Then beleue they in no other God but in him: then serue they no other God but him: then make they to themselues no other God but him: But vvhensoeuer they pray, vvher­soeuer they knele, vvhatsoeuer gestures they vse, they giue all honour and prayse to God, they haue their heartes and [Page 184] mindes fixed vpon him: nor vve may iudge the cōtrary, for they are Christians: and so are vve also expresly forbed to iudge of other mens consciences, or to be curious or suspi­tious of other mens doings. To answere with modestie to so impudent an assertion, is hard: reasonably to deale with so vnreasonable a creature, is more than couenant: to vse many wordes, where a wand is deserued, is more a great deale than néedeth for your reason, vnlesse ye were purged first. For doubtlesse there is some mad humour raygning, that bringeth forth so absurde reasoning.Th' effect of Marti­als argu­ment. First ye haue proued, that all Protestants be good Christians, for they be baptised, they haue receyued the fayth. &c. Then that your selfe are very much to blame, in déeming amysse of them. For in asmuch as they haue learned y^e commaundements, they also of necessitie muste obey the commaundementes. Thirdely, that all subiectes in the realme of Englande, all Christians beside, are in right good ease, for they can not synne. This is your reason M. Martiall, and not mine. For thus ye say: They haue learned the commaundement to haue no other God but him, then beleue they no other God but him, then serue they no other God but hym. By the same reason I may reply: The man that is baptised,The ab­surdities thereof. hath receyued the fayth, doth knowe the commaundement, Thou shalt not steale, Thou shalt not committe adulterie. Therfore there is none that is baptised, that can be a théefe or adulterer. The Iewes were circumcised, they had the lawe, they knewe that they ought to haue no other Goddes but him: Therfore no Iewe that euer was Idolatrer. But notwythstanding our Christendome and fayth receyued, many be théeues and murtherers: notwithstanding the lawe deliuered to the Israelites they worshipped (some of them) the brasen serpent, and the scripture sayth they were Idolatrers therein. Therefore notwithstanding that men outwardly professe one God, yet do they not worship alway [Page] one God, nor serue him on such sorte as they are cōmaun­ded. So that it bydeth still for all your blinde reason, that a man may feare Idolatrie, in such as doe pretende a wor­shipping of God. And we doe not offend, in affirming you Idolatrers.Folio. 129. b. For althoughe (as you saye) one kinde of I­dolatrie be beste knowen vnto God alone, who searcheth the heart, yet hath he left a way to try it, a iudge to discerne it. And therfore, indefinitely and absolutely to say, that I­dolatrie is a sinne, lurking and lying secret in the heart, is an inconuenience. Remembre howe Christ at the first en­traunce into his schole, gaue out this lesson: Quemeun (que) pu­duerit mei coram hominibus, Luc. 6. pudebit & me illius coram patre meo et sanctis Angelis. Whosoeuer shall be ashamed of me before men, I wyll also be ashamed of him before my father and his holy Angels.A profes­sion of Christ is requisite in a Chri­stian. Rom. 10. So that God is not herewith contented, if a man inwardly wyth hart acknowledge him: but also se­uerely doth exact, that by our outward profession, we testify to the world, that his disciples we are. For vpō none other condition but this, he doth admit vs into the societie & fel­lowship of his kingdome. Truly doth Paul say: Corde cre­ditur ad iustitiam, ore confessio fit ad salutem. With heart we be­leue to righteousnesse, with mouth we confesse to saluatiō. Out of which words it is playnly to be gathered, that there is no true fayth before God, but the same engēdreth a con­fession before men. That euery man according to his cal­ling & grace giuen him, do further by al meanes, as occasiō is giuen him,1. Pet. 3. the glory of his God. Therefore Peters pre­cept is general: to be ready alwayes, to giue an answere to euery man, that asketh a reason of the hope that is in vs. This reason ye refuse: ye kepe a byrd in the bosome, but it berayes the nest. For impossible it is, that a good cōscience in seruise of his God, shal in apparance do one thing, & in effect another. And although y^e seruise acceptable vnto god, consist in spirit & in truth,Ioan. 4. as Christ himself pronounceth, [Page 185] yet wil he not only be truly serued, but also be knowē, that he is so serued. For which purpose, these extern actions are right necessary, to be witnesses to the world, of our affecte within vs. Vnderstand ye therfore, that as .ij. kindes of ho­nor be due to God: one spiritual, resting in the heart: ano­ther corporal, consisting in outward gesture: So are there also .ij. kindes of Idolatry. The fyrst,Tvvo kindes of I­dolatrie. when a man by per­uerse opiniō, corrupteth the spiritual worshipping of God. The second, when the honor peculiar vnto god, is transfer­red to a creature. In both these, ye Papists most haynously do offend. For ye think, that God which is a spirite, is deli­ted with your masking & externe pomp, wherin consisteth al Romish religion: and so by your owne text, ye be proued false worshippers. Also by your knocking & holding vp of hands before an Image, ye shew your selues whose seruā ­tes you are, abasing your estate, & seruing a creature. For the proufe whereof, bicause it more nerely concerneth our question, let vs inquite what bonde we be entred in wyth God, to serue him as we ought. So shall we sée, whether a­ny outward & bodily fact, may wel induce vs, to say or think any man an Idolatrer. The eternall God requireth at our hands, that his name be glorfied, both in our spirite and in our body, bycause that both be his. And if the commaun­dement did not extende so farre, yet reason doth conuince no lesse. For in asmuch as our bodies also be redéemed with the precious bloudshed of Christ, what a shame is it, to haue them subiect stil vnto the Diuels seruise? Our soules to be Gods, our bodies to be the Diuels? Whereas our bodies ought to be the temples of the holy ghost, what absurditie is this, to defile them with sacriledge? Whereas our bo­dies are foreapointed to immortality and partaking of the glory of God, what wickednesse is this to attaynt them with Idolatrie? Paule, when he doth inuey agaynst forni­cation, vseth this argument. Whereas our bodies are the [Page] members of Christ,1. Cor. 6. is it méete to make them the members of an harlot? And on like sort I may answere you. Where­as our bodies be the members of Christ, shall we cut them of from that body of his? shall we prophanate them wyth vnlawfull worshipping?1. Reg. 10. Rom. 11. God when he would expresse the peculiar note of his faythful seruaunts, sayth of them, that they bowed not the knée to Baall, nor with their mouth kis­sed him. He might as wel haue said, that they were not pol­luted with superstition: they did not accompt Baall for a God. But to intimate vnto vs, that the inwarde affecte in this case suffiseth not, he expresseth by name, the outward gesture as altogether impious. Wherefore howsoeuer we flatter our selues with an hidden opinion (so secret that our selues féele it not) yet the euident and apparaunt worke of capping & knocking, bowing and knéeling, may disproue our hearte to be well affected: and we by outwarde ado­ration, trie and discerne a méere Idolatrer. When God by his Prophete would describe his magnificence, and honor due to him:Esay. 45. he sayd, Viuo ego, mihi flectetur omne genu, & omnis lingua iurabit mihi. I liue sayth the Lord, Euery knée shal bowe to me, and euery tong shall sweare to me. Thus the holy ghost by bowing of the knée, by profession of y^e mouth describeth true worshipping. But you M. Martiall, wyll haue neither good nor bad worshipping to be iudged by ge­sture. A proper shift ye haue, when ye adore an Image & créepe to the Crosse, saying: You knowe that, to be but a piece of metal: you make not your prayers to that, but vn­to God alone, whome in spirite you worship, though your face peraduenture be turned to the Image. The selfe same pretexte had the Corinthians. For they resorted to the feastes of Idols, not of superstition: They were to well instructed. And Paule in their person bringeth forth an excuse for them:1. Cor. 8. Scimus quod Idolum nihil est. We knowe that an Idoll is nothing. We knowe that one God, one [Page 186] Lorde and sauiour Iesus Christ, is to be honoured and ser­ued of vs. But did this satisfy S. Paule? Nay. But he affirmed rather, that their inward persuasion and preten­ded excuse was nothing, in asmuch as their example moued the weake to commit Idolatrie. For if any man, sayth the Apostle, sée thée which hast knowledge, sit at fable in the I­dols temple, shall not the conscience of him that is weake, be boldned to eate those things which are sacrificed to Ido­les? And on like sorte, you affirme, that an Image or a Crosse is nothing. But when ye giue the outward reue­rence, when ye adore it, will not the simple déeme greate vertue in it? shall not your knoweledge (whatsoeuer it is) be occasion of your brothers fall, for whome Christ died? Wherfore syth adoration is so offensiue, better it were ne­uer to sée Image while the world standeth, that our brother be not offended. And this is S. Paules reason, & not mine. As for your subtile and profound argument, drawen out of the bowels of your professed lawe, whereby ye make a wō ­derous demonstration,Folio. 130. a. that there can be no due prouf of I­dolatrie, in asmuch as Confession thereof is nothing credi­ble, Probation can not be made but by externall signes, & they do onely enforce a presumption, and as for euidence of the facte, it can not fall into effects of the minde, where the abhomination of Idolatry lieth: I answere, that although we be very ingenious to finde out excuses for our owne of­fences, yet the euidēce of the outward facte, maketh sufficiēt probation of Idolatrie, and is too good a witnesse of mysde­meaning minde. For if the heart conceyued not, the bodie would not doe: & if the body called the hart vnto accompt, I am sure that at least in the court of Chauncerie, where conscience is examined, the heart should be first condemned of mysgouernement. When Ezechias destroyed the bra­sen serpent, the Iewes lacked such an aduocate as you, that might haue called the King into the law, and tried the case [Page] of iniustice agaynst him, bycause he was not able to make proufe of any crime. For they would not confesse their I­dolatrie: & their knéeling to the Image, made (as you say) but onely a presumption: and no euidence could be fet frō the outward fact, bycause ye suppose, there is no Idolatrie but secrete in the heart. But flatter your selues (as you best can) with your lurking affecte and priuy deuotion: your apparant impietie, shall not only to Godwarde but to the world condemne you. If Daniels companions had féeyed such a counsellour, such a lawyer as you: they would not haue throwen themselues into such extremitie, whereas they could not haue bene cōuinced of Idolatrie, for al their knéeling before the Idol, if in hart they retained the honor and seruise of the liuing God. But they woulde not haue their bodies defiled with wicked worshippings, nor of one temple make two Lordes: the soule to be Gods, the bodie to be Sathans. S. Paule of the outwarde conuersation condemned the Corinthians as Idolatrers. 1. Cor. 8. S. Pe­ter also (as is before rehearsed) layde to his hearers charge, that they were worse than the Egyptians, bycause of the external signes: God when he setteth forth the true seruise of himselfe, maketh often mention of the outwarde reue­rence. Therfore (as you cal it) so is it in dede a poore iudge­ment of yours, that bycause God is worshipped in spirite and in truth, therefore men falling before a piece of wood, knocking the breast, and holding vp the handes, may not in any wise be thought Idolatrers. Enrich (I beséech you) this poore iudgement of yours, with better reason, or hold your tong for shame. As touching your wisedome & déepe discretion,Folio. 132. wherin ye wil not be so abased, to be more bru­tish than beasts, more simple than byrds, more folish than davves, but that ye knovv a deade Image from a liue man, a still picture from a quicke creature: I say that scripture sheweth presidents of the contrary, in as wise men as you [Page 187] are. And as for your owne part experience doth teach vs o­therwise. The iuggling of Papists, with Roodes and Ima­ges, hath sought by all meanes to plant an opinion of holi­nesse & diuinitie to rest in dead things. And howsoeuer you beleue of them, yet damnable is the seruise that you com­maund vnto them: and the more ye knowe the vile condi­tion and estate of them, the more iust and terrible is your condemnation, in exacting a worship & adoration of them. Therefore I say with Paule. Bycause ye knowe God, and glorify him not as God, neyther are thankfull,Rom. 1. but become vayne in your ymaginations, and your foolish heart is ful of darkenesse, when ye professe your selues to be wise, ye be very fooles.

❧ And thus haue I aunswered your Ten Articles: v­sing moe wordes in disprouf of them, than the cause requi­reth, or any man of indifferency would loke for at my han­des. Onely I would not be sayde, to concele any piece of proufe, that you bring for mayntenaunce of your errour. Wherefore I haue turned ouer leafe by leafe, as in y^e mar­gent euery where appeareth: perused eche lyne and word that had any reason in it, annexing a sufficient and the same abundant confutation of it. Your conclusion in déede I deale not withal: for it contayneth more than was in the premisses: more than you be able or go about to proue. It is but an heape of lies and slaunders, which impudentlie spokē, may be best answered wyth silence. Nor any newes it is, the professors of the truth to de depraued of you. Paul was blasphemed as a teacher of heresie,Act. 18. Sozomenus Li. 1. Cap. 18. as whose religion should be newe and straunge. Constantine was accused as an innouater and peruerter of Gods order, bycause he furthered and followed Christianitie. The faythfull Fathers wanted not their Crosse, they were alwayes reuiled with moste wordes of reproche, and déemed of the worlde the vilest persons of the earth. But as they did not [Page] contend in scolding,Theodor. Li. 3. Cap. 5. but stode most stiffe in heresie repro­uing: So suffiseth me to haue detected your folly, and dis­proued your vntruthes, that the simple at leaste wyse be not abused by you. The cause it self standeth to fast, to be battred with such féeble assault of yours. The honestie of men, whome you would séeme to touch, is not to be empai­red with the running ouer of a rayling mouth. If ye ga­ther hereafter any sounder skill, and riper discretion doe come vnto you, ye will correcte your former follies, and thanke me for the ministring occasion of amendment. But if God hath vtterly resigned you to your selfe, and wilful­nesse raygning in your witlesse head, bréede a confidēce to put stil your more shame in print: my self wil contemne so leude an aduersarie, and giue place to other that with more fredome of speach and lesse derogation vnto their persons, may answere you according to your shamelesse desertes.