Antichrist the Pope of Rome, Part 3 · Chapter 4
CHAP. 4. Deluſions by Relikes.
1 THe ſecond deluſion which ariſeth from their canonized Saints, is by their relikes, by meanes whereof it is ſtrange, both how miſerably they hauehave abuſed the world for a long time, and what wealth they hauehave amaſſed to themſelues. I might be infinite in this kinde, but I will contract my diſcourſe into as ſhort and narrow roome as I can: And therefore to omit their infinite number of falſe relikes, ſuborned by crafty Prieſts for their owne gaine; yea ſuch as were not of Saints in heauen, but of the d…mned in bell, as an Ancient Doctor teſtifieth when he ſaith: Multorum corpora adorantur in terris, quorum aminae cruciantur in inferis: that is, The bodies of many are adored in earth, whoſe ſoules are tormented in hell. And as it is confirmed by the Legend of S. Martin, where wee read, of one worſhipped with great deuotion, who was knowne to hauehave bene a notorious wicked man: In which tanke, we may iuſtly place our Canterbury Saint Thomas Beck…t, at whoſe ſhrine ſo many deuotions were made. For forty eight yeeres after his death, it was diſputed among the Doctors of Paris, whether he were damned or ſaued, as a French Hiſtory reporteth: and one Roger a Norman, maintained, that he had iuſtly deſerued death, for rebelling againſt his Soueraigne, the miniſter of God. Againe, to omit the multiplicity of relikes of the ſame kinde, belonging to one and the ſame Saint; as halfe a dozen of heads, two or three dozen of eares, as many of hands, and of armes, and of legs; this impoſture being ſufficiently diſcouered by many writers. And laſtly, to omit their ſecret foiſting in of new relikes in ſtead of the old, which either were ſtollen away, or loſt, or could not be preſerued from rottenneſſe; and theſe the members, ſometimes of a man hang'd or buried, and ſometimes of an Aſſe or Dogge, or ſome other beaſt: as at Geneua, that which a long time was worſhipped for an arme of S. Anthony, was found to be no other then the haunch of a Deare: I ſay, to omit all theſe impoſtures which are moſt frequent in the Church of Rome, and whereof plenty of examples might be brought, I will inſiſt onelyonly in ſuch deceites as are more rare, and admit no exception nor cauill.
2. At S. Mary maior in Rome, they ſhew the Cratch or Crib wherein our Lord Ieſus Chriſt was laid at his Natiuity, which ſome of them ſay was made of earth, alleadging to that purpoſe the opinion of S. Chryſoſtome miſinterpreted,Chryſoſt. hom. 2 in Lu…. but others of wood, as Baronius affirmeth: And ſo they themſelues agreeing not what it was, why ſhould wee beleeue that there is any ſuch thing at all? Sigonius reporteth, that at the taking of Caeſarea in Syria by Baldwin the firſt King of Ieruſalem, Sigon. de regno …ed…c. lib. 9.the Genuans had in their ſhare a cup made of an Emraud which Chriſt vſed at his laſt Supper, and cauſed it to be kept and worſhipped as an holy relike.Baron. An 54. 63. But Baronius giueth this fiction (it may be vnwillingly) the lye, for he alledgeth the authority of Bede, that the Cup wherein Chriſt celebrated his laſt Supper was of ſiluer, with two eares, and was kept at Ieruſalem: both which opinions cannot be true, and therefore the one thus diſcrediting the other, makes them both two to be ſuſpected as falſe. Againe, at S. Iohn Laterane in Rome, is to be ſeene and adored, the Spunge wherewith they preſented vntounto Chriſt on the Croſſe vinegar and gall,Idem An. 34.116. which Baronius affirmeth, retaineth ſtill a certaine ruddy colour, as if it had bene dipped in blood. But the French Annales affirme,Nich…l. G…ll…s. Annal. that S. Lewis the French King redeemed this Spunge of the Ʋen…tians, to whom it was pawned by the Emperour of Conſtantinople, together with the true ſtumpe of the true Croſſe, and the iron of the Speare wherewith Longis pearced our Sauiours ſide: and thoſe were receiued as holy relikes in a Chappell at Paris, and yet they bragge of the ſame at Rome, and in other places. By vertue of the ſame Chimicall multiplication, whereby Chriſts Coate without ſeame is found at Argentined in France, and at Triers in Germany: and S. Iohn Baptiſts finger wherewith he pointed vntounto Chriſt, at Vezentium, at Tholouſe, at Lions, at Florence, and elſe where. But I promiſed to paſſe by theſe things, hauing handled them at large in my Retractatiue from the Romiſh Religion. M…t. 7. pag. 20…. My aime is here to ſhew how they diſcouer their owne fraud, by their contradictions; and to that purpoſe, the Smocke of the bleſſed Virgin may ſerue for another example, which they ſay is wouen of fine linnen and ſilke; two Elles and a quarter long, and an Elle two quarters and an halfe large: a coſtly ſmock without doubt, eſpecially in thoſe times, when the vſe of ſilke was not ſo frequent as it is now; for a pound of ſilke as Flauius Ʋopiſius witneſſeth, was in the time of Aurelian the Emperour worth a pound of gold: And is it credible (thinke you) that the Virgin Mary ſhould hauehave a ſmocke of halfe ſilke, when her pouerty and Ioſephs was ſo great, that they had not meanes to buy a Lambe to offer at her purification, as ſhe was commanded by the Law if ſhe had bene able, but two turkle Doues, or two yong Pigeons, which was the offering of the poorer ſort, as all interpreters of the ſecond Chapter of S. Lukes Goſpell, with Maldonate a Ieſuite himſelfe affirmeth? In like manner, there was a great ſuite in Law betwixt the Chapter of our Lady in Paris, and the Couent of S. Denis, about the body of S. Denis; whereof the Chapter ſaid they had the head, and the Couent the whole entire body, head and all: the matter came to tryall, and it was adiudged by the whole Parliament, that the relike in the Chapter, was the head of S. Denis of Corinth, and not of Denis of Athens, which they adiudged to be in the Couent. But this creates a new doubt, for it is not read in any Hiſtory, that the Corinthian Denis was euer in France, and how then could his head come to Paris? And for the Athenian Denis, Baron. An. 1062. 10.Pope Leo the ninth, as Baronius confeſſeth, decreed by an abſolute ſentence, that his true body was at Ratisbone in Bauaria, and no where elſe: whence I gather, that if the Pope erred in his ſentence, as he muſt needes do, if the Pariſians were in the right; then the Ratisbonians were Idolaters, in worſhipping a counterfeit Saint; if he erred not, then were the Pariſians Idolaters, eſpecially ſeeing it was prohibited by the Councill of Laterane, that no relike ſhould be receiued publikely, without the authority of the Pope.
3. But to proceed with this abuſe: They are not content to proſtitute the bodies and members of their Saints to adoration onelyonly, but they alſo propoſe as relikes to be adored,See more for this in Stephens Apology for He…d…s their very garments, and wh…tſoeuer did any waies appertaine vntounto them. As at Tr…ers, in the Abbey of S. Simon, Ioſephs Pantofles were a long time in requeſt: And at Aix in Germany, they bragge of his Breeches, together with the Virgin Maries Smocke before mentioned: the one being ſo little as they would fit a childe, the other ſo great as they might be worne by a Gyant. In ſome places are reſerued their pots, and diſhes; yea to the very taile of the Aſſe which carried Chriſt, which is to bee ſeene at Genues; and to the purpoſe of this Aſſe, the holy Hay which was in the Manger where Chriſt was laid being new borne, is a relike of great ſame in Lorraine. But what ſhall we ſay to that ſtrange dotage of theirs, that cauſe the ſtones wherewith S. Stephen was ſtoned to bee worſhipped: as at Arles, at Vigand in Languedoc, and at Florence, And the arrowes wherewith S. Sebaſtian was ſhot to death? Sure if the ſtones deſerued to be worſhipped, much more did the ſtoners; and if the arrowes, much more they that ſhot them. And that the Reader may not be too much aſtoniſhed at this their ſottiſhnes, let him but marke this ſtory following, and hee ſhall eaſily perceiue how the poore world at that time, had neither eyes in their head, nor vnderſtanding in their braines, but were led like blinde men to the ditch, and fooles to the ſtockes, without once ſaying, Whither go I? The ſtory is this (for let me do them that fauour ſo to call it:) when Nicodemus tooke downe the body of Chriſt from the Croſſe, he gathered ſome of his blood into the finger of his gloue (for there is no doubt but that gloues were then in vſe aſwell as they are now) and with this blood wrought many miracles: by reaſon whereof, being perſecuted by the Iewes, he tooke a parchment and wrote therein all the miracles he had done and …he myſteries of this blood, which he cloſing vp together with the blood, tied it to the beake of a great Bird which he had found, & threw the beake into the Sea,This tale is more at large in Stephens Apology for Herodotus. recommending it vntounto God. This holy beake about a thouſand yeeres after, hauing trauailed vp and downe all the Seas, from the Eaſt to the Weſt, at laſt arriued in Normandy, in the ſame place where at this day ſtandes the Abbey of the beake: This holy beake lying there among the buſhes, it chanced that a good Duke of Normandy hunting a Hart in thoſe quarters, the Hart and Dogs were on a ſuddaine all ſo ſilent, that none knew what was become of them: till at laſt, they were all found on their knees, and praying their Canonicall houres as ſome thinke: with which ſight the Dukes deuotion was ſo ſtirred vp, that he cauſed the buſhes to be grubbed vp, and found there this holy beake, with that which was within it ſafe and ſound; whereupon, as being admoniſhed of God, hee erected the foreſaid Abbey, and called it by the name of the Beake, where this holy relike is ſtill to be ſeene. Now who doth not ſee, that if one beake feedeth ſo many idle bellies as are in that Abbey; and not onelyonly feedeth, but alſo enricheth them with great poſſeſſions; how great muſt needes be the riches that accrue from ſo grear a number of relikes, as cannot bee brought within the compaſſe of an Inuentory? If there were no other thing to proue this, the very caskets or ſhrine …herein they put their relikes are a ſufficient demonſtration hereof; for they are commonly of that price, being emboſſed with gold and precious ſtones, that few mens eſtates are able to counteruaile their worth.
4. But beſides thoſe ſolemne relikes kept thus in pompe, in their Churches and religious houſes, there are others of leſſer eſteeme, which are carried vp and downe from one place to another, & ſhewne to the common people, to draine their purſes withall. Now theſe were oftentimes diſcouered by the Church-men which liued in thoſe places where theſe Pedlets came with their wares; and this partly through enuy, leaſt their owne trading in this kind ſhould be hindred, and partly through feare, leaſt the ſimple people perceiuing their groſſe abuſe and cozenage, ſhould thereby be moued to ſuſpect all the reſt. For theſe relike-mongers did many times ſo euidently and impudently delude the poore people with their counterfeit traſh, that if they had not bene curbed and reſtrained, they would hauehave diſcredited the whole pack: For they contented not themſelues in ſetting forth their wares like Mountebankes, to ſay and proclaime, behold in this Viall the blood of Ieſus Chriſt gathered vp vnderunder the Croſſe by the Virgin Mary: and in this the teares that fell from Chriſts eyes, when he wept for Lazarus: and behold the bands wherewith the Virgin ſwathed Chriſt in Aegypt: and behold the Milke, and the Haire, and the Combe, the Coyfe, the Vaile, the Girdle, the Pantofles, the Gloue, the Ring, the Handkerchiefe, &c. of the Virgin Mary: But they were ſome of them ſo ſhameleſſe as to ſay, behold in this box (but they muſt not open the box) the breath of Ieſus Chriſt, kept carefully by his mother euer ſince he was an Infant. And amongſt thoſe that were growne to this impudency, we reade of a Prieſt at Genues, who returning from the Eaſt, boaſted to hauehave brought with him from Bethleem the foreſaide breath of Ieſus Chriſt, and from Mount Sinai, the hornes that Moſes had on, when he deſcended downe from that hill: and when he was accuſed for deluding the people with this forged ſtuffe; his anſwer was nothing but this, that if they would not beleeue that he had the true breath o… Chriſt in the Violl, and the hornes of Moſes; no more would he beleeue, that the Milke which they ſhewed publikely and ſolemnly at Genues, was the very milke of the Virgin Mary, ſeeing there was an equall ground of credibility for them both: and therefore that either his relikes deſerued as much credit as theirs, or at leaſt, theirs no more then his. A reaſon me thinkes vnanſwerable, conſidering that the credit of all their relikes, dependeth meerely vponupon the opinion and report of men, who are ſubiect, both to deceiue, and to be deceiued.
5. But no maruaile, if ſuch relikes as theſe were diſauowed by the warier ſort, ſeeing they croſſe both common ſenſe and reaſon; and imply, not onelyonly an improbability, but alſo an impoſſibility: For touching the breath of Chriſt, what wit of man can giuegive a reaſon, how it could be encloſed in a box, and kept ſo long a time? And for Moſes his hornes, it is apparent that there was no ſuch thing; it aroſe from a groſſe errour of their owne tranſlation, whereas the Text ſaith onelyonly, that the skinne of his face did ſhine, when he deſcended downe from the holy Mountaine. Exod. 34.29. And Saint Paul alluding thereunto; 2. Cor. 3.7. confirmeth the ſame: for he ſaith, that he carried a vaile ouer his fade, becauſe the Children of Iſrael could not ſtedfaſtly behold the ſame, for the glory of his countenance; but for hornes, not a ſyllable in holy Scripture is to be found; and yet they picture him with a paire of hornes on his forehead, and oſtent the ſame hornes for relikes in their Churches. Neither neede theſe ſeeme ſtrange, ſeeing they want not many others, that are both more ſenſeleſſe and abſurd: as Saint Michaels Sword and Buckler, wherewith he ouercame the deuill, as if the deuill that is a ſpirit, would be conquered with ſuch weapons: the ſound of the bels which hung in Solomons Temple, which a certaine Monke made the world beleeue hee brought from the Eaſt; certaine haires which fell from the Seraphim, when hee came to imprint the fiue wounds of Chriſt in Saint Francis body: yea, ſome of them are not aſhamed to ſhew the Pilgrimes that go to Ieruſalem a three cornerd ſtone, which they beare them in hand, is that very ſtone whereof Dauid ſpeaketh in the 118. Pſalme. The ſtone which the builders refuſed is the head of the corner. And that Ioſeph the reputed Father of Chriſt might not come behind his Son, at Courtheuerin neere vntounto Blois, is kept for a Monument his breath alſo, which he breathed when he claue wood being a Carpenter: and at Burges in Spaine is ſhewne a Crucifix whoſe nailes and beard are cut eueryevery monethmonth they grow ſo faſt, and in theſe excrements they ſay is great vertue. In Galicia (as Pilgrimes report) are preſerued ſome of the Feathers of certaine Chickens, which are of the race of that Cocke which crowed when Peter denyed his Maſter. And at Saint Denis is to bee ſeene, the Lanthorne which Iudas carried in his hand when he came to betray his Maſter. Can any man beleeue theſe that is in his right wits? And yet they obtrude theſe relikes, with an infinite number more of the like ſtraine and ſtampe, vponupon the common people, as matters of faith and deuotion.
6. But let me conclude this whole diſcourſe of Relikes, with two moſt famous examples. The firſt whereof is of Saint Peters chaines, the one of which (as they ſay) being the chaine wherewith hee was bound at Ieruſalem and brought vntounto Rome, and laid neere vntounto the other wherewith hee was bound at Rome; theſe two chaines reioycing to ſee one another as two friends, ſo leaped and skipped, that they ceaſed not vntill they embraced each other, and became vnited together, as they remaine at this day in a famous Church at Rome, called vponupon this occaſion Saint Peter ad Vincula. Another is of the linnen cloth of Saint Veronica, wherein Chriſt had imprinted the picture of his face; this was carried by Voluſian an Embaſſador from Tiberius to Rome, and cured him of his ſickneſſe which the Phyſitians were in deſpaire of: and euer ſince is reſerued at Rome for an holy Relike, though a certaine City in Spaine doth challenge the ſame alſo, and in both places it is deuoutly worſhipped, and therefore either the one, or the other, muſt needs be guilty of Idolatry.
7. To ſearch to the bottome of this gulfe of ſuperſtition, would beget both a great labour to my ſelfe, and wearineſſe to the Reader, I end therefore this diſcourſe about Relikes with two Mementoes. The firſt whereof is, that this muſt of neceſſity be the kingdome of Antichriſt, when the whole world in a manner ſhould be deluded with ſuch groſſe and palpable Lyes. And the ſecond, that ſeeing theſe Relikes were worſhipped with ſuch great deuotion, that they euen put their whole hope and confidence in them for the obtaining of bleſſings, either temporall, ſpirituall, or eternall; they were therefore guilty of as groſſe Idolatry, as euer the Pagans were in worſhipping their Idoll gods, or rather deuils, as Saint Paul tearmeth them, 1. Cor. 10.20.