Two Treatises Against the Papists, Article rebutted 10
The 10. article conteyneth in effect but 2. demandes.
1 Moreouer I aske whether for all these many hundreth of yeares or euer els before there was any temporall Prince or Potentate, that offered to be vnderunder God a minister of Iustice and an executor of Christian lawes in the right of your Congregation, that euer maintained by lawes Ciuill or other, your Faith and Congregation, and I recant.
BEfore ye general defection, it is an easy matter, to name you the Emperours and Princes which both offered, to be ministers of Iustice in the right of our church, and also mainteyned our faith and Congregation, by Ciuill lawes, as Constantine the greate, Iouinianus, Valentinianus, Theodosius, Archadius, Honorius, Marcianus, Iustinianus, Mauricius, and diuers other. But when the kinges of the earth had committed fornication with the great whore of Babylon (as the holy Ghost foresheweth Apoc. 17. and 18.) it is no preiudice to our cause if we can not shew, any of them that hauehave mainteined our Religion. Yet because you make so gentle an offer vponupon the triall of such a matter, which is of small force either to the hurt of our cause or the maintenance of yours, I will let you vnderstande what I hauehave reade for this purpose. Not doubting but other which hauehave reade much more, and seene more auncient histories than I, can shew you a great deale more. I passe ouer as to well knowen, how many of the Grecian Emperors resisted the setting vp of Images, in so much that in the Greeke church to this daye they can abide none in their temples, likewise I passe ouer Charles the great, who wrote a booke against Images, which is in printe, who also declared, that he liked not the heresie of the reall presence and transubstantiation, which in his time was in forging, in that he called Bertrame, to declare his minde of that matter, as appeareth by his booke, which is also in printe. I will not rehearse those princes, that contrary to the Popes lawes, defended their priestes, that were maried: For although these and such like defended some parte of the trueth, which we holde against you, yet lest you should obiect, it was but in some one or two pointes, I passe them ouer with silence. But VVickleue, I wene, you will not deny, but he was of our Church and Religion. And I reade that king Edward the third, both in his Parliament holden Anno Domini, 1371. and at other times with diuers other noble men defended his cause: in so much that so long as he liued, all the popish byshops, coulde do him no harme, yet did he openly inueigh against the Pope, calling him Antichrist, and all popish doctrine without any couller or dissimulatiō both in the vniuersitie of Oxeford, where he was reader, and also in his sermons abroade, as appeareth by his bookes and English homilies, which yet are cōmon to be seene, wt vnlesse he had bene supported, and maintained by the kinge and other potentates, coulde neuer hauehave continued so long as he did. Further, hauehave you not hearde of Zisca, and Procopius, two mighty Capitaines, which defended the Bohemians from the tyrannie both of the Emperour, the Pope, and almost all the Princes of Germanie? For what cause did Paule the second Anno Domini, 1466. condemne George, a noble and a worthy Prince, king of Bohemia for an heretike? and depriued him of his kingdome? was it not for defending the Protestantes in his dominion? Thus you see that some Princes and Potentates hauehave not onelyonly offered but hauehave in deed, taken in hand to defend our church, which you thought vnable to be shewed, wherfore I chalenge your promise, you must recante.