A View of the Romish Hydra, Sermon 4
THE FOVRTH SERMON againſt Abiſhai, and al trayteterous perſons.
CHRYSOSTOM a worthy & eloquent father, hath vttered a good methode and order of teaching to bee obſerued of all that ſhall occupy the roome of Miniſters in the Church of Chriſt.A methode in teaching and preaching. For he intreating of the ſame argumēt which wee nowe handle, ſaith thus man Homily:De David & Saul. Hic mihi videtur optimus eſſe docendi modus &c. This ſeemeth to me the beſt way of teaching, if we doe not ceaſe to counſel and exhort in any matter, before we ſhal ſee our counſel and admonition to come to effect: for if one reaſoneth to day of almes, to morow of praier, the next day of humanity, and againe afterward of modeſty and humility of minde, hee cannot well make perfect any of theſe in the heartes of his auditours. I am therefore returned to this place, to proſecute the ſame matter, which the laſt time was deliuered to you. You hauehave heard obedience towards Princes and Superiours hath bin commended by diuerſe lawes of Nature, of God in the ould and new Teſtament, commended by auncient Chriſtian fathers, by Ciuil Cōſtitutions and Examples of Princes, & how contrariwiſe. diſobedience, treacheries, rebellions were euermore condemned, & condignlie puniſhed.
Now I am to proceede to other lawes,The Popes Lawe condemneth treacherous murdering. and decrees, and examples to proue the ſame. The next law, is the Law Canonical, aduouched, & recited by the Pope himſelfe, whereby al kind of murther againſt any perſon neuer ſo meane is vtterly forbidden in priuate men:De Poenit. diſt. 1. as out of the Epiſtle of Clement: That bleſſed Saint Peter ſaid, there were three kinds of Homicides or murderers, killers of brethren, ſlanderers, and haters: out of Hierom: Al iniquity, and oppreſſion, and vnrighteouſnes is iudgement of bloud, Jn Jeſaiā.and although thou doſt not kil with the ſworde, yet dooſt thou ſlay with thy wil. Auſtin. ibi.And out of Auguſtine: Murder forbidden by Law was thought to bee nothing els but the killing of the body: Therefore the Lord hath opened to vsus that eueryevery vniuſt motion to hurt a brother, is to be reputed among the kindes of murther. This doctrine gathered out of theſe fathers, and borrowed out of the interpretation of our ſauiour Chriſt,Matth. 5. defining murder to be threefold, operis, oris, cordis, in work, woord, and hart, inſerted and allowed by the Popes owne lawe,Triple … ther. doth touch the quick and the very point of this controuerſy: It is not lawful to murther by detracting, by thinking againſt any perſon: and ſhal it not be accounted of theſe Catholiks murther indeed to lay violent hands vponupon the ſame perſon? And ſhal this be eſteemed murther againſt priuate perſons, and ſhall it not much more bee ſo eſteemed againſt publicke Magiſtrates? Shal not the murdering hande, the murdering tongue, the murdering heart againſt Princes be guilty alſo by this Law't We vnderſtād what they ſay in their Popiſh Decrees. And this alſo I would hauehave our coū trymen note, that if any hauehave taken an oath to Pope or any other,C. 12. q. 5. … Gloſſa. Tamen contra propriā patriam non iuuabit ipſum, He ſhal not aid any man or maſter againſt his own coūtry. And whereas in ſundry places of ſcripture we are bound by the commaundement of God to obey, to honour, to fear the King and al higher power, as the places rehearſed before declare: now their Law inforceth that beeing a precept or commaundement, it muſt be doone and followed: Whoſoeuer obeyeth not commandements, C. 14 q. 1.is guiltie and a debtour of the penaltie, out of Auſtin, De ſermone Domini in Monte. And in the ſame Title out of Gregory. That which is giuen in precept, is commaunded: that which is commaunded, muſt needs be don: if it be not done, Paenam habet: it hath the penalty. Why then ſhould any Pope diſpenſe with any Princes ſubiect, and not incurre double puniſhment, in that hee breaketh himſelfe, and cauſeth many thouſands to commit the like? The Popes law can tel him, Quod alter mandato noſtro facit, nos reputamur feciſſe. The Popiſh Schoolmen teach, That if a man doth not fulfil his penance enioyned to him by his ghoſtly father, he committeth deadly ſin. Scot. in 4. d. 15. and ſo doth Bonauenture require obedience to a Prelate vnderunder paine of death. And to diſobey a Prince ſhal it be venial, and a thing of nothing?
Nowe let vsus ſet their owne ſayinges, and doings in one ballaunce, and ſee how far they diſagree from this authority of theſe fathers,The Popes Actes contrarie to their lawes. alleadged by their Gratian. It is written that Pope Innocentius the third of that name, when he had intermedled, and made debate by his double dealing betweene Otho the firſt, and Frederik, B. Fulgoſ. lib. 6.he made a cunning collation at Rome in the holy time of Lent, of peace and agreement: but this iudgement was giuen of that Sermon by a noble Citizen of Rome, Iohn Capocius: O holy father, your wordes are the wordes of God, but your deedes are the deedes of the diuell. So may wee iudge of the reſt of the rabblement of Popes, whoſe lawes compiled out of theſe fathers, are godly in ſome caſes, but their own woords, & works are diueliſh.
Touching woords,N…c … C. 9. qu…ſ… in their owne high maieſtical ſtile, thus they ſpeake. It is certainly moſt euident, that the iudgment of the Apoſtolical See (whoſe authority is greateſt) muſt not be retracted of any man, neither is it lawful for any man to iudge of her iudgementes. And againe,Junnocent. cap. Nem… The iudge muſt not be iudged, neither of the Emperour, neither of al the cleargy, neither of Kings. And againe: The Church of Rome alone by her own authority may iudge of al, Calixen…but it is not permitted to any to iudge of her. It is a great vſurpation of the Byſhop of Rome, both in his notorious claime of all Kingdomes, and in his oppreſſion of all Kinges: which by generall terms, and particular diſcourſe may be found in Hiſtories, and are couched together in Auguſtin Steuchus a great Proctor of the Pope, euen out of the bowels and priuities of the Popes Epiſtles, & Regiſtres.De Dona… Conſtant. cont. I aur. Vall. The Vniuerſality of Rome. The generals are: Papam habere vetuſtiſſimum vniuerſalem que Dominatum &c, that the Pope hath a moſt auncient and vniuerſal dominion ouer the King domes of al the weſt Church. That Rome is content, King Pope, Queene Rome deſtroieth all Kinges and Queenes. The ſpeciall and peculiar Prouinces of the Pope. Sect 93. Spaine.and ſuffereth Kinges to rule, ſo that they acknowledge hir to be Patronam, Dominam, ac Reginam, as the Patroneſſe, Lady, and Queen: ſo that al penſions be payed to her, and ſhee as Queene to be ſaluted, & worſhipped, Adoretur. Theſe ſpecialties be many: Gregory, otherwiſe Hildebrand, giueth the Kinges of Spaine to vnderſtand, Regnum Hispaniae ex antiquis conſtitutionibus Beato Petro, & Sanctae Romanae Eccleſiae in ius & poteſtatem traditum eſſe: That the Kingdome of Spaine by auncient Recordes and conſtitutions hath beene giuen vp, and deliuered to the right, & propriety of Bleſſed Saint Peter, and of the holy church of Rome. Sect. 94. Hungarie.The ſame Pope writeth to Salomon King of Hungary in like ſort, chalenging that Kingdome as his proper poſſeſſion. Pope Alexander the third certifieth William Conquerour, that before King Iohn offered vppe England to the Church of Rome, England.it was in the hand of the Prince of the Apoſtles, and vnderunder his Tutorſhip or tuitiō, vntil ſome others came, who following the pride of Satan, Pactum Dei abiecerunt,Sect. 95. & Anglorum Populum à via veritatis auerterunt, that is, Vntil they did caſt away the couenant of God, and turned the people of England frō the way of truth: And praiſeth Engliſh men, as faithful Contributours butours,Exhibeb…e. and Exhibitors to the See Apoſtolical by a yearly Penſion, partly to the Byſhop, and partly to Saint Maries Church, Quae vocatur Schola Anglorum, which is called the Schole of Engliſh men. It is likely our Engliſh Seminaries receiue ſome portion and peece of this Exhibition at Rome, & Rhemes, which our Popiſh Ieſuites bragge to bee the Popes liberality.The Pope giueth a Pig to our Papiſtes of our owne Sow. But there is another effertuous point in that Popiſh Regiſter: A ſure, and certaine warrant to William, that he ſhal hauehave Peter a pitifull and gracious debeour, Pium, & propitium debitorem. I know not with what meaſure of mercy, and pitty, Saint Peter hath paied this debt to King William: but Queene Elizabeth and her predeceſſours of late hauehave receiued ſmal Alms, but rather hauehave felt a ſhroad recompenſe. The ſame Alexander chalengeth Denmarke, Denmarke.tanquam peculium & vectigal Romanae Eccleſiae: As his owne peculiar, and trybutary to his church: Sect. 96. Ex Regiſt Im…c. 3. Alex. 3. Paſchalis. Bohemia. Genua. Sect. 97. &cItem the Kingdomes of Aragonia, of Sardinia, of Portugal, of Boemeland, Swethland, Norway, Dātia are ſubiect with like conditions, as alſo Ianua in Italy. Our neighbour Fraunce is ſo holden: and King Demetrius, and the Queene of Ruſcia ſo confeſſe to Gregory the ſeuenth, That they receaued it, Ex dono Petri: Of the ree gyft of Peter: And yet their printed Text is in a Diſtinction againſt theſe Regiſtres: Imperator non habe… ▪ Imperium à Papa, Abbas Vrſ. fol. 231.ſod à Deo: The Emperour hath his Empire not of the Pope, but of God. I omit the reſt, as Croatia, Dalmatia, who acknowledge that they hauehave their Regimēt per vexillum &c. By the banner, ſword, Scepter, and Crown rendred from Gebyzo the Legate of the Apoſſolick See. What is the concluſion of this new father Auguſtine? Domine ſac, dic, da totum.Quidigitur ſupereſt in Occidente, quod apertè non ſit Sedis Apoſtolicae? What is left in the weſt, which is not by plaine euidence belonging to the Apoſtolical See? Ergo this is the meaning: Al is ours, quoth the Diuel, or rather the Pope, whō the diuell hath lifted vp not onelyonly to the Pinnacle of the Temple, as high and vniuerſal Prieſt: but ſet and exalted vponupon an high hit, and giuen to him al the Kingdomes of the worlde, for his good ſeruice, in adoring & worſhipping him, which he offered before to Chriſt,Matth. 4. but he refuſed that his conditional offer, and now Antichriſt hath accepted it.
In their Decrees and Decretals and Gloſes and Doctours we may find thoſe and the like ſpeaches. The Pope may take away priuileges, and depoſe Biſhoppes, and the Emperour: Hee is Lorde of Lordes, hauing the iuriſdiction, and the right of the King of Kinges ouer Subiectes.
As his brags are bigge, ſo his practiſes are not vnlike,Aenead. lib. 7. Sabellicus is witneſſe of the pride of Clement againſt Frauncis Dandalus Embaſſadour, & afterward Duke of Venice, who comming from the great Seignory of the world for peace,F…. Danda…. as a poore penitent, was vſed like a dog in an iron coller about his neck, lying proſtrate vnderunder the Popes table: and with much ado at length obteined abſolution. Henry the fourth Emperor,Hen. 4. being alſo diſcommuned of Gregory the ſeuenth, came ſpeedily to Canoſſum (which Abbas calleth oppidum Canuſinum) bare footed in winter and troſt,A. D. 1076 putting off his princely robes, and comming near to the gate, deſireth to be let in, which was denied to him: ſo remaining in the ſuburbes the ſpace of three daies,Platin in vita Gregorij 7. continually crauing pardon, at the length by interceſſion of Mathildes a Counteſſe, and a familiar frind of the Pope, & the Earle of Sauoy, & an Abbat, was abſolued. The ſame Platina doth not deny but that many miſliked ſuch curſing & bāning, & did inſtantly vrge and hold, That a King ought not ſo ſodainly to be pronoūced an accurſed mā or an Anathema. Ioan. 21. …eed, th… is, Rule.The Pope had Scripture for this, that Peter had commiſſiō from Chriſt to feed his ſheep, Paſce oues meas, & maketh a Cō mētary or rather a cōment vponupon it, Excepit ne Reges? Did he except Kinges: And Peter had authority of binding and looſing,Jbidem. and therefore exempted no man, and Gregory in earth appealeth to Peter and Paul in heauen againſt the ſame Henry, abuſing the Text of Scripture: Aſtiterunt Reges terrae: The Kinges of the earth and Princes of the world ſtood vp, and Eccleſiaſticall perſons, Pſal 2. A Gloſſe meete for a Pope.and other common men hauehave coniured againſt the Lorde, and againſt vsus his Chriſts, and Henry hath too proudly lifted vp his hornes, and heeles againſt the church of GOD, meaning the church of Rome. Gregorie Chriſt. Abbas in anno 1106.Gregory proceedeth ſtill by excommunicating, and perſecuting by himſelf and his Catholickes, blaſing him out in his armes, and coulours to bee an Archheriticke, and an Apoſtata, whom notwithſtanding the other Hiſtoriographers commend,Lib 7. The Italian writers partial on the Popes ſide againſt the Germanes. as Sigebertus, Otto Friſingenſis, Auentine, Cuſpinian, who findeth fault with theſe men that cary the King, and namely with Bertholdus, who continued the hiſtory of Hermānus Contractus with the Abbat of Vrſperg, affirming that, vter que ardentius quàm conueniat pium Imperatorem inſectetur, reproouing their heate againſt the godly Emperour. The Pope alſo maketh the ſubiect Rodolph to riſe againſt his Maſter, and the ſon Henry againſt Henry his father, who by the hypocriticall proteſtation of the Sonne, and the crafty counſaile of ſome Peeres, rendred vp hie Regalities, that is, his croſſe, his ſaunce, his ſcepter, & crown: which practiſe ſo diſpleaſed the good father afterward, that ſhortly after he fel ſick and died at Leodium, and his corpes by theſe Popiſh mens cruelty was for the ſpace of fiue yeares vniuſtly kept from Chriſtian burial. A matter more than tragical that hath no end, but in life and death, yea after both, perſecuteth the annointed of the Lord.
This is the practiſe of Popes and ſpecially of Gregory: now conſider with me,The plagues of Gregoria and his adherentes. whether Dauids argument holdeth or no, whether the Pope ſo ouer-reaching in loftines of wordes, ſo ſurmounting in hautineſſe of deedes againſt ſuch Perſonages, hath eſcaped guiltles in the ſight of God? And whether any Popiſh commiſſioners vnderunder him hauehave gone vnpuniſhed? Was not Gregory ſubiect to the cenſure of Auguſt, and of the cleargy, and of the church, contrary to that brag of the Popes, Nicolas, Innocent, and Calixt, of whom before is ſpoken? Gregory notwithſtanding theſe Popes charters and lofty ſtile,Gregorie. Abb. Vrſp. anno. 1080. was iudged to bee a manifeſt coniurer, ſorcerer, and a ſtragler and runnagate from the true faith, and that in a Councel holden at Brixia, and as ſaith Abbas Vrspergenſis, Factus eſt omnium conſenſus aduerſus Hildebrandum Papam, There was a generall conſent of al againſt this Gregorie, whom they terme a falſe Moncke, & totius Veſaniae peſtiferum Principem, and of all this brainſickneſſe a peſtilent ring-leader. He was iudged before in a Councell at Wormes, and depriued with this plain ſpeech, Becauſe thou haſt declamed, that none of vsus ſhould be a Biſhoppe to thee: therefore hereafter thou ſhalt not be Apoſtolicall to vsus. He was alſo iudged in a Councell at Mence, Ann. Dom. 1076.where in the preſence of the Emperour and the Legates of Rome, Inanno 1085.all thoſe Biſhops rebels to the Emperour, were depoſed, and others accurſed. And the Romanes with one conſent depoſed him, and as Chriſtianus Maſſaeus affirmeth,Ann Dom. 1083. a Noble man Cincius at the beginning, when the Pope ſong his firſt Maſſe,Lib. chr. 16. plucked him from the Altar, & caſt him into priſon. This Pope ſhamefullie fledde to Salerna, and taried there vntounto his dying day,Abbas. fol. 238. confeſſing before his death that hee had moleſted iniuriouſly Henrie the Emperour, and therefore euen then aſſoiled him. Platina the Popes Secretary ſaith, that when in the ſynod of Biſhops Gregory was depriued, Gilbertus was choſen in his place, whom they called Clement. Cuſpinià. in Hen. 4. Horman.Cuſpinian alſo ſaith, that Hermannus a noble and valiaunt man, but factious, rebelling againſt the ſaide Henry, was ſlaine euen of a ſeely woman, out of a tower by a great ſtone throwen down vponupon him:Eggibert and that his owne kinſman Eggibert for the like ſeditious attempt taken in a mill, was put to ſhamefull death by the ſouldiours of the Emperour,Rodolph. and that Rodolph a ſubiect of the Emperour, whom the Pope aduaunced and freed from his oth of allegenunce, beeing conquered in war, when hee behelde his right hand cut off, lamentably ſaid: I doe confeſſe that I am well ſerued: In Hen. 4for with this hande I made a promiſe and tooke anoth of fidelity to my lord, which I hauehave vnhoneſtly broken by your perſuaſion, I hauehave a iuſt reward for my periury: and, as alſo the Abbat; of Vrſperge confeſſeth,Abbas Vrſ. ann. 1080. he being carried to Mereſburge, made his moane vntounto the Biſhops that he had loſt his right hand. Kingdome and life by their means. Theſe be the fruits of Popiſh Counſailours and ghoſtly fathers. Here is one thing to bee noted out of Iohn Cuſpinian touching the good nature of the Emperour againſt this leud Rebel, that he buried him honorably with roial pompe, which when it was reprooued and miſliked by his frinds, he aunſwered: Vtinám omnes mei aduerſary eo ornatu ſepultiiacerent, A praier for Rebels.I would to God that all mine aduerſaries mightly and dy with ſuch an honourable burial. So (dearly beloued) let vsus al pray, that al the fors and rebels and if willers of her Maieſty may either be conuerted, or ſo confounded, though they had afterwards aſumptuous funeral.
Now what became of Henry the fiſt,Man. 5. the parricide of his father, the Popes darling, an Emperour of the Popes owne cecation: He dranke of the ſame cup of affliction which he offered to his father. Firſt the Pope denied him that priuilege, which iuſtlio hee claimed in beſtowing Eccleſiaſticall dignities, and inueſting of Biſhops and Abbats, which was the ſparke, and beginning of a great flame of diſſenſion betwixt Henry the father, and the Pope. Pope Paſchalis the ſecond in a Councel holden at Lateran reuoketh all his promiſes which he made to the King, euen by the receauing of the Sacrament ſolemnly and religiouſly at his Maſſe,Abb. Vrſp. anno 1116. calling that a Prauilege, and not a Priuilege: and in the end excommunicated him, ſtriking him, as ſome write, Grandi fulmine, with a great lightening or thunder-bolt. Afterward he was driuen to releaſe al the Inueſting to his Lord Calixtus: & as the Pope began with him, ſo God in iudgement proceeded againſt him. For there fel out in Germany tumultes, ſpoiles, burning, waſting, murthering eueryevery man as hee liſted: Cities were deſtroied, and they made a pray of al things that was the Emperours. And the ſame Abbas reporteth that there were certaine conſpirators againſt them,Ann. 1124. and the tempeſt of ciuil ſeditions inceaſed, &, as the Prophet ſaith, Lying, and periury ouer flowed,Oſe. 4. and bloode touched bloode: ſo that hee dranke the dregs of that cup which hee made his father taſt.Inan. 1117 There followed moſt terrible wonders & ſignes from heauen, and earthquakes, thunder with haileſtones, and lightning, whereby cattle, men, townes, and fields were deſtroied. There fel out alſo a great famine and mortality, ſo that it was thought that the third part of men periſhed, and that ſcarcely men were left to bury the dead carcaſſes. And not long after died Calixtus the Pope, and a multitude of Noble men, and the common people ſo faſt, and in ſuch heapes by hunger, and peſtilence, that no man (ſaith Cuſpinian) was able to number them. The Emperour himſelfe was ſtriken with a ſtraunge diſeaſe, called Dracunculus, a foule vlcer or botch in his priuy partes, whereon he died, in his life being in miſerable pain, and had infamy and an euil name after his death. For thus the hiſtory recordeth of him that he was a Prince, In. Heur. 5.not greatly to be commended, for that vnderunder the pretenſe of Catholick Religion he depriued his father: Whoſe life is thus painted out by Cuſpinian: his impiety and cruelty towards his father: his owne wretched life and ſhameful death.
Qui crudelis erat Patri, quem ſuſtulit omni
Imperio, & vitam praecipitare facit:
Henricus quintus funeſtum tranſigit aeuum
Aſſiduis bellis perpetuiſ que notis.
Thus the Pope Gregory with al his treacherous practiſers is come to nought, and iudged of God and men, who wil be iudged of no man: foreign.Heſiod.
The ſaying of the Poet is verified: Euill counſel is woorſt for the counſailour himſelfe. What ſhould I ſpeak of Henry the ſixt Emperour,Rebellion againſt Heur. 6. againſt whom the Byſhop of Leedes rebelled, and was ſlaine for his labour: and ſo by his death the rebellion ceaſed? A good end of good iuſtice miniſtred: God graunt the like euent in theſe daies. Earles alſo and Barons rebelling in Apulia againſt their promiſe and faith, were not their hoſtages taken, and their eies pluckt out,Abbas. 1191. and the reſt of their rebellious captiues put to death by ſundry horrible puniſhmentes? Among the priſoners was an Archbiſhop of Salerna, but his eies were ſpared, more of the Kinges goodneſſe then of his deſert. I told you before of this Henry out of Bapt. Egnatius and Raph Volaterran how he was poyſoned in the Sacrament,Lib. 3. Anthrop. lib. 23. which hee was woont oft to receiue. And Abbas Vrſper. Multi aſſerebant eum interyſſe veneno, albeit he himſelfe doubteth of it.
I might adde vntounto theſe the treachery of Pope Lucius the third againſt Frederik Barbaroſſa, Luci. Pope againſt Frederik.in ſtirring vp controuerſies and quarels againſt him, for which God iudged him, ſo that hee died ſtrait in his conſultation at Verona, and was buried with this Epitaph.Abb. Vrſp. an. 1185.
Luci Lucatibi dedit ortum, pontificatum
Hoſtia, papatum Roma, Ʋerona mori.
Read alſo there of the rebellion of the Milleners, Alexander. P. & Milleners.who contemned their oth to their liege Lord, vponupon the bare word and warrant of Alexāder the Pope: Read there of the treachery of Vrban the third, called Turban of many,Vrban. for his troubles moued againſt the Emperor: but al three Popes died before him,Jn anno 1186. and Vrban diſquieting the church was ſtriken by the hād of God and periſhed. This is the iuſt plague of God vppon ſuch Succeſſours of Peter, that draw the ſworde: and as Otho writeth, ſuch prieſts are to be blamed greatly, that go about to ſtrike Kinges with that ſword which they hauehave receaued by the courteſy and fauour of the Kinges.In lib. 7. in prolog.
And hath not alſo the cup of poyſon walked among the Popes themſelues as they hauehave giuen it to others?Popes poiſoned. Did not Gerhardus Braſutus diſpatch with poyſon ſixe Byſhops of Rome, Benno Car.Clement, Damaſus, &c. only to make a room for Hildebrand aſpiring to the Popedome? Was not Victor the third of an Abbat made a Pope, and within a yeare and foure months was he not ſcrued with this vnſauery and peſtiferous ſauce?In Poemat. Antiquis. Volat. li. 22. Lib. 16. was he not poyſoned in a chalice by a Deacon? Or as Chriſtian Maſſaeus writeth, per fautores Guiberti, By the fauourers of Guibert? Did not Alexander the ſixth when he had prepared a poiſoned cup,In ſpeculo Rom. Pont. taſt himſelfe of the ſame bottle by errour of ſeruitours at the table, & died with them: There is none of this Popiſh broode that commit ſuch treachery againſt Chriſtian Princes, or periuries againſt Turks, and Infidels, that God wil ſuffer vniudged,Treacherie of Popea againſt Turkes. Bonf. lib. 6. Dec. 3. Amurathes. and vnreuenged. One not able Hiſtory we read in Bonfinius, and in the chronicle of Carion, that Hunniades a valiaunt captain with other chriſtians had made truce for ten years with Amurathes the Turke: but by the perſuaſion of the Pope Eugenius, and his Cardinal Iulian, Vladiſlaus the young King and the reſt brake it, for that the Papiſtes auouched that no ſuch platte of peace ſhoulde bee pitched without the conſent of the Pope: Whereupon Vladiſlaus was forced to ſend for help to his friend Dracoles a Wallachian, and hee receiued from him, beſides the aide of two thouſand horſemen, two ſwift horſes, one for himſelfe, and another for his Son, with ſignification, that, aſſoone as they could, they ſhoulde runne away, for that the Turke ſhould of all likelyhood ouercome: which prophecy or foreſpeaking came to paſſe: for the Turk ſpreading out towards heauē the book & Articles of Pacificatiō agreed vponupon, betwixt them, & ſworn to, by the Chriſtiās, vpō the Enangeliſts, by the other vponupon their Alcoran, cried out to Chriſt, that if he were a true God, he ſhould be reuenged of his falſe Chriſtiās, Immediatly the King was ſtaine, the Cardinall running away was thruſt thorow, Hunniades hardly eſcaped, & the Chriſtians, who had the better hand afore, were with great loſſe, and ſhame of al Chriſtendome vanquiſhed. Thus the Romiſh Iſmael hath his hand lifted vp againſt all men,Gen. 16. Epl. 242. and the handes of al men are againſt him, as alſo Bernard did apply this text againſt the Romanes in like ſenſe.
The Turke truer and inſter than the Pope.A Turke ſometimes keepeth touch better than the Pope: and puniſheth moſt ſeuerely al vnfaithfulnes. Saladine Soultan of AEgypt, as he was fauourahle vntounto Guye Luſignane King of Ieruſalem his priſoner, ſo he was ſeuere againſt Rainold Caſtilian, Saladine. Bapt. Ful. lib. 6.and cut off his head wt his own hand, bicauſe he waged battle againſt him contrary to the league of Truce and contrary to his faith and troth giuen in that behalfe. So it falleth out that ether God, or by his permiſſion the Diuel, either Chriſtian, or Turke, or Soultan, or one, or other will meete in the end with ſuch Popiſh Prelates. If none wil, they among themſelues will take order, that they ſhal be murdered or couſoned. Marke I pray you an Piſtory. Celeſtinus of an Eremite made Pope, pretending a reformation of the Cleargy of Rome in his firſt Conſiſtory got diſpleaſure by it, Tantum incurrit indignationis, vt delirum & fatuū ſuſurrarent, that is,Pope againſt Pope He incurred ſo much their indignation, that they whiſpered among thē ſelues that he was an old doting foole. And one of them, Benedict, non re, ſed nomine, not in deed, but by name, ſet one at the Popes chamber doore, many nightes, by a reed to ſound as it had been an Angel: Celeſtine, Celeſtine, cede, negotium ſupra vires eſt: Boniface a Couſoner of Celeſtine.O Celeſtine, Celeſtine, giuegive place, this is more than thou canſt perfourme: which voice the ſimple Pope hearing aunſwered, Faciam quod Deus voluerit: Gods will bee doone, I will doe as pleaſeth God. But the pleaſure of Benedict or Benet was,Maſſe. l. 17. that he ſhould to priſon, where hee remained more then ſeuen years: And the See Papall was vacant ſcarcely one day: and this Benet was ſodenly tranſformed into Boniface the eight: but as he entred in as a for, ſo he liued as a lion.Ju… Bonifae. And Platina thus deſcribeth this Lyon, Qui imperatoribus, regibus, principibus. &c. This Boniface that did ſtrike into Emperors, Kings, Princes, nations and people a terrour, rather than a religion: He that went about to giuegive, and to take away kingdomes, to thruſt out and thruſt in at his own pleaſure and arbitrement, dieth, and as it was commonly ſaide at that time,Mat. Weſt. in Edo… … De Don… Conſtan… vt canis, as a dog. Little better was the end of others by the confeſſion of Auguſtinus Steuchus, declaring how the Romanes themſelues hardly entreated their Popes. How many hauehave they cruelly killed? How many hauehave they taken, impriſoned, and ſtrangled? And yet the ſame Steuchus will goe about to prooue vntounto vsus the perpetuity, and eternity of the Romiſh Seat, and that out of a Poet Virgil, Imperium ſine fine dedi. the ſenſe is,
That their Papal Empire ſhal be endleſſe: wherein I may well reſemble theſe Romaniſtes vntounto the people of Athens, Ariſtoph. … Equitibus.who promiſed vntounto themſelues, an vniuerſall gouernement ouer the whole world,
Treioice that I ſhal bee as an Eagle in the cloudes. Athenian… and Romaniſts mounting Eagle…Notwithſtanding this conceit, and crochet of theſe Romiſh Athenians about their euerlaſting continuaunce, and Eaglelike mounting, I muſt ſay of all theſe Popes, Chr. Maſſ…. L. Chro. 18.as the Chauncelour of Paris Gerſon in the Coūcel of Conſtance ſaid many times of one Pope, Peter de Luna: Non erit pax Eccleſiae donec auferatur Luna: There wil be no peace to the church of Chriſt, vntil this Lunatike Papaty be rooted out from vsus, and out of al Chriſtendome, This alſo was once prefigured, and ſhadowed out to vsus in another ſort againſt Iulius the ſecond that Romiſh Ruffler, and againſt that bloody Seat by a ſtrange monſter born at that time,Chr. Maſſae. lib. 20. whē Iulius his army fought againſt the French-men: The monſter had in his head an horn: for arms wings: both ſere, in part a man, in part a womā: in the knee an ey, the foote of an hauke: in the breſt theſe marks, V. ✚ The Monſter of RomeThe interpretation of it was thus then ſet downe: Pride, lightnes, want of vertues, Sodometry, the louelove of earthly things, forgetfulneſſe of God, and vnſatiable couetouſneſſe, FLAGELLO FRANCORƲM PƲNIENDA: Theſe monſtrous vices muſt be puniſhed by the ſcourges of French-men: Iulijſtes and Papiſts enimies to Fraunce, & yet Fraunce a friend to Papiſtes.which partly was verified then in the great ſlaughter of the Popes hoſt: and partly in the miſerable ranſacking of Rauenna by the French-men: but ſhal be fully accompliſhed when Fraunce wil reforme the Religion, and embrace the Goſpel of Chriſt, and ſhake off the tyrannicall cordes, and cartropes of that man of ſinne, whereas now they cry a contrarie note againſt God, and his Annoynted, Lette vsus breake their bandes: let vsus caſt from vsus their yoke: Pſal. 2.for the which, Hee that ſitteth in heauen laugheth them to ſcorne: Pray dearly beloued for them: Pray for the French nowe afflicted, Pray for the French that afflicte: for the one, that they may bee comforted, for the other, that they may be conuerted. Their conuerſion will bee the Popes deſtruction, and a conſolation for vsus, and for all the Godly: Therefore O Lord ſo be it: Say Lord Jeſus, Amen.
The totall Summe which I hauehave nowe ſpoken of in this latter argument,The Concluſion. compriſeth theſe three pointes: Firſt the Popes owne Decrees and Conſtitutions, which are ſound. Secondlie their owne breaches of the ſame, which are manie. The third their deſerued end and iudgement, which from time to time falleth vponupon them, ſometimes by man, and alwaies by God, whom they doe grieuouſly offend. The ſame God turne them or bridle them, that we and our gouernours being deliuered from the handes of al our enemies, may ſerue him in holines and righteouſnes all the daies of our life: who bee praiſed for euer and euer. Amen.