Transubstantiation Exploded, Part 1 · Paragraph 5
PAR. 5.
Of the absurd title in the frontispice of Edward Stratford his pamphlet, and how lamely and imperfectly both he and his Lord and Fisher and Weston have answered former treatises set out by the Author.
ABout this time you came to Paris and understanding what had past betweene me and your pue-fellowes for reasons best knowne to your selfe, you dealt with M. Iohn Fourd by M. Knevet his halfe brother to draw us together to a friendly conference, which soone after your arivall he also effected as your Chaplaine S. E. relateth, in his introduction to your conference, to which he hath prefixed an absurd title viz The conference mentioned by D. F. in the end of his Sacriledge, frontispicium sine fronte. Is the sacriledge which I detect and convict your church of by the joynt testimonie of all ages, my sacriledge? can he make this goo… by his Doway logicke? suum cui que , giv… every man his owne, the booke is min… the sacriledge is yours. He that de… fendeth or excuseth any heresie … crime in an other, I grant makes it … own, and what the great Lawyer Ulpi… spake of parricide, may be said as tru… of sacriledge, the iustificatiō of so fow… an act, intitleth the patron thereof… the crime it selfe, and taints him … deepe or deeper then if he had co… mitted the very act. In which consid… ration if M. Everard or your Chaplai… S. E. or any other drunke with … Whores aApoc. 17. 4cup shall be so hardie as i… replie to that booke of mine to mai… taine or excuse your sacriledge in tak… away the cup from the laity, his rep… may be justly tearmed his sacriledg… But contrarywise to tearme a boo… written ex professo against sacriledg… the authours sacriledge, hath neith… colour of truth nor rellish of wit, … what can be more absurd then to tear… Mithridates his confection against po… son, Methridates his poyson? or Por… Latro his invective against conspira… Portius his conspiracie? or … Emperours Law against adulterie, the Lex Iu… de Adulter… vid. Bullarium Ro. Pontif. L…th. 10. 1. contra Execrabil… bullam. Anti christi.Emperours adulterie? or the Popes bull …gainst simony, the Popes simony? or Luther his declamation against Pope Leo his execrable bull, Luther his bull? …piphanius hath written a speciall booke …gainst all heresies, Acontius against …athans stratagems, The Bishop of …uresme against the grand imposture of …e Romane church, Reynold against the …dolatrie thereof, Stapleton against the 7. deadly sinnes, will he call the first, …piphanius his heresies, the 2. Acontius …is stratagems, the 3. The Bishop of Du…sme his grand imposture, the 4. Doctor Reynolds his Idolatrie, the last Stapleton …is 7. deadly sinnes. Let his frontispice …hen blush for shame, and by his owne …eason take sacriledge to himselfe, and …all it his sacriledge, because it is his …tle: and let him cite the title of my booke true as it is, The grand sacriledge …f the Church of Rome, that he may have at least one true quotation in all his booke.
In my booke (which he so nicknameth) a great beame is discovered in the eye of the Romane church: in the …elation of the conference appendant thereunto a mote in your eye. Why doth he so earnestly endeavour to take out the mote out of your eye, and leave the beame in his mothers eye the church of Rome, is your credit dearer to him then his catholike beliefe? or thought he… himselfe sufficiently provided to encounter the small skiffe attending on the great vessel, not the great vessel it selfe? If he and the rest of you so much slighten my endeavours against your Trent Faith, that you thinke them not worthie the taking notice off, why doe you put forth answers to part of them? if you esteeme them fit to bee looked after, and put to the test of examination, why doe you not answer them entirely? but to halfes, or not so much as to halfes, scarce to the tenth part, some of you like birds pecke at the blossomes of my words, other at the barke of my praefaces, or praeambles, none of you yet hath pierced into the heart or pith of any polemical treatise written by me. Your stout champion bIn a pamphlet intituled the repaire of honour. Imprinted at …uges, An: 1…4.D. Weston bravely chargeth my Epistle to the A replie to D Featlies answere to M. …rs …. … An. …reader and presently repaires to his fort for feare of gunshot. M. Iohn Fisher the Jesuite advanceth a little further, hee shapeth some kinde of answer to a piece of my preamble to the Romish Fisher caught and held in his …owne net, and there sitteth downe panting for breath, now this 9 yeares: and your Chaplaine after two yeares, since the booke of the grand sacriledge was printed, falleth most valiantly upon the appendix consisting of a few leaves, leaving the maine treatise untouched; wherein a Iurie is impanaled of all ages, condemning your Romish Synagoguo of a crime of a high nature, a crimson sinne the robbing Gods people of their Redeemers bloud conteyned as we say mystically, as you believe litterally and properly in the chalice. Every argument in it against you is confirmed by the prime writers of your owne …de: every objection of yours against …s is solved out of your owne C…assick divines, who are brought upon the theater like Romane fencers playing their dp. … & seq.prizes, and dangerously wounding one the other. Out of compassion to whom, if not for the love of the cause, he should have drawne his weapon if he durst. I have heard from the mouthes of two Romane Priests that that treatise is as a thorne in your eyes: yet your Chaplaine dares not pluck at it for feare of pricking his fingers: but under your relation, tanquam sub Ajacis clypio, under Ajax buckler hides himselfe presently after he hath flung a dart of Calumny at a Conference of mine signed and subscribed by two witnesses, both named by him, and acknowledged to be present at that disputation in Paris, Anno 1612.