The Safe Way Leading All Christians, Section 12
Sect. 12. Our Aduerſaries conuicted by the euident Teſtimonies of the Ancient Fathers, either ridiculouſly elude them, or plainely reiect them.
IT is no wonder that many Romaniſts are Teſtes veritatis, Witneſſes of Gods truth in the boſome of a corrupt Church, but it may ſeeme ſtrange that ſuch men ſhould eſtabliſh the antiquitie of our doctrine by their own confeſſions, and decline the certainty and ſafetie of their owne, and that it may yet further appeare, theſe are not forced or feyned allegations, wreſted to an other ſenſe then their owne men deliuered them; I will giuegive you the expreſſe words and authorities of the Ancient Fathers themſelues, whereby you ſhall obſerue, that the Church of Rome doth ſeeke to elude all records and reall proofes in Fathers and other learned Authors, touching the chiefe points in Controuerſie betwixt vsus.
Chryſ. in Homil. 49. opus inperſ. in Math. Credibile eſt authorem fuiſſe Catholicū & opus ipſum doctum, ſed non videtur eſſe Chryſoſtomi.] Bellar. de ſcript. Eccles. ad au. 398.Touching the all-ſufficiencie of the Scriptures, Saint Chryſoſtome ſaith: The Church is knowne, tantummodò onelyonly by the Scriptures: What ſay the Romaniſts to this doctrine? Bellarmine anſwers: It is probable the Author was a Catholique, but it ſeemes to be none of Chriſoſtomes.
Touching the adoration of Saints, Saint Auſtin ſaith: Many are tormented with the diuell who are worſhipped by men on earth: what ſay the Romaniſts to this doctrine? Bellarmine anſwers:Reſpondeo lo cum hunc fortaſſè non eſſe Auguſtini. Idem de ſanct. Beat lib. 1. cap. 9. This place (fortaſsè) peraduenture is none of Auſtins.
Touching the Popes Supremacie, Saint Auſtin ſaith,Auguſt. de verb. Domini ſerm. 13. Thou art Peter, and vponupon the Rocke which thou haſt confeſſed, vponupon this Rocke which thou haſt knowne (ſaying Thou art Chriſt the Sonne of the liuing God) will I build my Church: what ſaith the Romaniſts to this doctrine?Stapl. princip. doctr. lib. 6. c. 3. & Bell. lib. 1. de Pontif. c. 10. Stapleton anſwers: It was lapſus humanus a humane error cauſed by the diuerſity of the Greeke and Latine tongue, which either he was ignorant of or marked not.
Touching the Communion in both kinds;foreign, &c. In latinis codicibus non habetur vnus calix omnibus distributus. de Euch. lib. 4. cap. 26. Ignatius ſaith, One cup is diſtributed to all: what ſaith Bellarmine to this doctrine? In the Latine bookes it is not found, that one cup is giuen to all, but for all.
Ego vt libere pronunciem ſententiam meam, ſuſpicor hunc locum fuiſſe ab haereticis deprauatam. Senenſ. in Biblio. Sancta lib. 6. annot. 66.Touching the Sacrament of Chriſts body; Origen ſaith, The body of Chriſt is typicall and Symbolicall: what ſaith Senenſis to this doctrine? To ſpeake my minde freely, I ſuſpect this place to bee corrupted.
Touching Tranſubſtantiation, Theodoretus de alijs quibusdam erroribus in Concilio Epheſino notatus fuit etiamſi poſteà reſipuit. Gregor. de Valentià in lib. de Tranſub. c. 7. Sect. 11.Theodoret ſaith, the ſubſtance of bread and wine ceaſeth not in the Sacrament; what anſwer the Romaniſts to this doctrine? Gregorie de Valentia ſaith, Theodoret did erre in the Councell of Epheſus, although he afterwards repented it.
Touching our Iuſtification by faith onelyonly:Vna (ſola) virtus iustificat Fides, quae eſt virtutum fastidium. Chryſ. ſerm. in Pſal. 14. Tom. 1. Hanc Homiliam neque apud Graecos puto haeberi ne que in eá Chryſoſtomū agnoſco. Notatio in B. Chryſ. ad finē Tom. 5. Chryſoſtome ſaith: Faith alone doth iuſtifie, &c. what ſaith, Nobilius Flaminius to this doctrine? I doe not thinke this Homilie is receiued in Greeke, neither doe I acknowledge it to be Chryſoſtomes.
Touching Images in Churches, Epiphanius ſaith, hee found a vaile at the entrance of the Church repreſenting the Image of Chriſt or ſome Saint, Verba illa non ſunt Epiphanij ſed ſuppoſititià. Sāder. de Imag. lib. 2.] Sunt potius alicuius Iconoclastarum figmentum quam epiphanij germanū ſcriptum. Baron. annal. ad anno. 392. num. 59.and commanded it to be taken downe and buried: what ſaith Sanders to this doctrine? they are not the words of Epiphanius, but ſome counterfeit: they are the words (ſaith Baronius) of ſome Image breaker.
Touching Traditions and vnwritten verities: Saint Cyprian duplicate page duplicate page ſaith, From whence is this tradition? for the Lord commanded vsus to doe thoſe things which are written? what ſaith Bellarmine to this doctrine?Reſpondeo Cyprianam haec ſcripſiſſe cum errorem ſuam tueri vellet. Bell. de verbo Dei lib. 4. c. 11. Saint Cyprian thought to defend his owne error, and therefore it is no maruaile if hee erred in ſo reaſoning.
Chry. Homil. 3. in Epiſt. ad Epheſ.] Dico Chryſoſtomū vt quaedam alia per exceſſū ita eſſe locutum cum ſolum hortari cuperet homines ad frequenter & dignè communicandum.] Bellar. lib. 2. de Miſſa. c. 10.Touching Priuate Maſſe, Chryſoſtome ſaith, It is better not to bee preſent at the Sacrifice, then to be preſent and not communicate (with the prieſt:) what ſaith Bellarmine to this doctrine? Chryſoſtome ſpake this as at other times by exceeding the truth, when he would incite men frequently and worthily to communicate.Nihil aliud diconiſimore Poetico luſiſſe Prudentium. Bellar. lib. 2. de Purgat. c. 16.
Againe, if we cite Prudentius, Bellarmine anſwers, I ſay no more of him but that hee played the Poet.
If we obiect Tertullian, Non magni facienda est eius authoritas cum contradicit alijs Patribus, cum constat eum hominem Eccleſiae non fuiſſe. Bellar. lib. 3. de Euchar. c. 6. Originē plenum fuiſſe erroribus quos eccleſia ſemper detestata eſt. Ribera in Malach. in proc…m. Hieronymus no eſt Regula Fidei.] Canus in Theolog. locis lib. 2.—11. Iuſtini Irenai Epiphanij at que Oecumenij ſententiam non vid…o quo pacto ab errore poſſimus defendere. Bellar. lib. 1. de ſanct. cap. 6. Locum ab authoritate eſſe infirmum & vt prudens quidem paſtor dixit. Pauperis eſt, &c. & in iudicio plurimorum non acquieſces.] Salmer. Rom. 5. diſput. 51.Bellarmine anſwers: His authority is of no great account, when he contradicts other Fathers, and when it appeares he was no man of the Church.
If we produce Origen; Ribera the Ieſuite ſaith: He was full of errors, which the Church alwaies deteſted.
If we cite Hierome: Canus makes anſwer: Hierom is no rule of faith.
If we cite Iuſtin, Irenaeus, Epiphanius, and Oecumenius: Bellarmine anſwers: I ſee not how we can defend theſe men from error.
Laſtly, if wee produce the vniforme, conſent of Fathers againſt the immaculate conception of the bleſſed Virgin: Salmeron the Ieſuite makes anſwer, weake is the place which is drawne from authority, for Pauperis eſt numerare pecus: It is the ſigne of a poore man to number his cattell.
Thus in behalfe of the Proteſtant doctrine, you hauehave heard the proofe of the Romiſh witneſſes in the chife points, made good by the teſtimōies of the Fathers themſelues, you hauehave heard likewiſe (notwithſtanding their great vaunt of the Fathers) how lightly they regard them or reiect them, when they ſpeake not Placentia, agreeable to their Church and doctrine; and that no man may doubt, many in the boſomes of their owne Church hauehave ſpoken freely and truely, in many particular points of doctrine, both with vsus, and againſt their owne Tenets, behold, it is ſo truely felt, and commonly vnderſtood, that the Church hath complained to the Inquiſitors, and the Inquiſitors hauehave ſent out Melius Inquirendum a new writ of enquirie after ſuch delinquents, and hauehave cenſured them with a Deleatur, in thoſe paſſages that make either for our doctrine, or againſt their owne.