Answer to John De Albines, Answer to discourse · Chapter 16
The XVI. Chapter.
FORaThis is vntrue, for wee alleage both our lawful calling, & ſhew the right that we & not you, hauehave to thoſe places and maintenāce, for they were appointed for true Paſtours, and not for wolues & foxes, as your Prelates hauehave beene a great while. your defence you alleage no other reaſon, but your good zeale, and your ardent Apoſtolicall affection, the which hath mooued you, to ſowe this ſeede of ſedition. You ſaie, that the fielde is great, and there are few good reapers, but if you marke that, that doeth followe afterward, and to take the counſaile of the wiſe: Chriſt doeth not commaunde therefore, that euerie one ſhould take his ſickle, and go, and cut downe other mens corne. But he ſaieth:* bMat. 15. bMat. 9. It is but your ill luck, ſcarce to quote one of ten rightly.Pray the maſter of the worke, to the end, that he ſende more workemen to his vine. He doeth teach vsus, that if we ſee anie eſtate out of order, we ſhould praie to God to redreſſe it: And in the meane time we ought to correct and amend our owne liues: for if euerie man were for himſelfe, God would bee for vsus all.cThat is a good means, but doth it thereupō follow, that no other meanes is good and lawfull to that ende, and in that caſe? Yet, notwithſtanding this, it is not reaſonable, that vnderunder the colour of a good zeale, a ſeruant ſhoulde take in hand an act of ſo great importaunce, without expreſſe commandement of his maſter, as it is ſaied. But now that wee are come to talke of your good zeale (if it pleaſe you) let vsus knovv,dNeither hauehave we. if thoſe ardent flames of charitie hauehave ſo inflamed you, that you hauehave ouerthrowen the chaires of the negligent Paſtours and Biſhops, and in their roomes ye hauehave collocated your miniſters in euerie place, where yee could beare anie ſwaie, as it doeth appeare in manie townes and Cities in this Realme. I doe not doubt, but that you vvill doe the beſt that yee can to doe the like with the reſt,eThis is but a malitious ſurmiſe enforced to make vsus odious, contrary both to your cō ſcience and experience: but indeede it is plaine by proofe, that thus you dea…e with Kings and Queenes, if they be …o… of your ſect and humor. I meane as vvell temporall as ſpirituall. For euen as God (of whom yee ſpeake ſo often) doeth make no exception of perſons: euen ſo you, that call your ſelues his Lieutenants will make no difference betweene the euill eſtates & the good. Euerie one doeth know, that the adminiſtration of iuſtice is verie honourable before God, and that there be manie in this vocation, that would not for anie thing doe anie wrong, vntounto the widow and fatherleſſe childe: & yet we ſee and know by experience, that there are manie others that without anie conſcience, doe take bribes and offer wrong, both to the fatherleſſe & to the widow, the which crimes are no leſſe in that eſtate, then the careleſſe liuing of the Biſhops and Paſtors. So that I thinke by this, that he that hath giuē you charge & power to turne the Biſhops out of their ſeats, the Curats out of their benefices, and the Monkes and Abbots out of their Abbeys, becauſe of their euill liuings: would likewiſe extende your commiſsion, to put downe Lordes, Knightes, Iudges and Gentlemen, becauſe of the corrupt liues of manie of them. And to make an ende of the reformation, your holie Ghoſt, and thoſe zealous flames of the ſpirit, woulde mooue you to go a little higher: for there is nothing done, but the ſpirit may amend it. Againſt the great trees, ſtriue the great windes; and againſt great dignities great abuſes. It is not vnknown to al mē, that ther are good and godly Catholicke Princes and Kings, which are ſurelie to the people the great giftes of God: but likewiſe one cannot denie, but that there hath beene and are diuers ill Princes, that doe gouerne their people careleſlie & without iuſtice. And if by chance your Goſpell ſhould fall into ſome kingdom, where the Prince were not ſo ſage nor ſo wiſe, as you would hauehave him: in your conſcience, what would you doe to him? I thinke, that that verie zeale (if you coulde) that hath mooued you, vnderunder the colour of a reformed Goſpell, to trouble ſo muchaThis you attempt and practiſe flatly, all the world knoweth. Looke elſe to the courſe that your legers now in France take againſt their king. our ſtate, vvould likewiſe commaunde you, to dispoſſeſſe thoſe Kings, that doe abuſe there owne kingdomes, euen aſvvell as to depriue thoſe Biſhoppes, that doe abuſe their biſhoprickes. But, O Lorde, vvhat a Gospell is this, if it bee permitted, that the people ſhall call their Princes to accompt, or, that they maie correct their ſuperiours, vnderunder the colour of a reformed Gospell, vvhat ſeditions, troubles and vvarres ſhall vvee ſee ouer all Chriſtendome? Wee ſhall ſee fulfilled, to our great harme, the prophecie of*Cap. 3. Eſay, who ſaieth: The people ſhall ſeeke to raiſe one againſt another, & eueryevery one againſt his neighbour, the yong man ſhal diſdaine the old, and the ignoble the noble &c: But what colour ſoeuer ye cloke your new Goſpel withal, ye run far wide from him, that doeth command vsus*Rom. 13. tobIf this leſſon had beene remēbred of your Romiſh prelats, they neither could nor would hauehave beene ſo terrible to Kings and Emperours, as they hauehave beene of late. obeie al creatures for the louelove of God. He doeth not regard, whether they doe acquite their charge or no, for the obedience of the inferiours is not limited by the duetie of the ſuperiours.*Rom. 13. Al power doeth come of God, ſaieth the Apoſtle, & he that reſiſteth that power, doeth reſiſt the ordinance of God, and they that doe with ſaie it, acquire for themſelues damnation for euer.cThe Lord in his word preſcribeth obedience to ciuill magiſtrates, and to all ſuch miniſters and Chu ch officers, as are according to his ordinance, but if they be contrary to that, as your Popes be, hee ſaieth neuer a word for them, but many againſt them. He doeth make no diſtinction of perſons, whither it be a Magiſtrate Eccleſiaſtical or temporal, whither it be a King or a Pope, a Biſhop or a Lord, he doeth talke generally of al powers that are eſtabliſhed by God, to make vsus liue in peace & tranquility. God had not choſen of his good wil Caeſar the Emperour of Rome to be king of Hieruſalē, as he did chuſe Saul, Dauid, Salomon & the reſt, for of his owne ambition & vnſatiable cupidity, he had vſurped the kingdom appertaining to the houſe of Dauid: yet our Sauiour did commaund, that they ſhould paie him tribute. Math. 22. The which commandement he himſelfe did fulfill, to teach others obedience. God did likewiſe permit, that the wicked king Nabuchodonozor ſhould deſtroie the kingdome of Hieruſalem, to puniſh the wickednes of thoſe, that dwelt in it. And although hee had inuaded the kingdome of Iuda, to the which he had no title nor right, yet doth God proteſt, that he gaue it him, & he willeth & doeth command, that they ſhould obey him, euen as if he were the beſt Prince of the world. Beholde (ſaieth God by the Prophet Ieremy, Cap. 27.) you ſhall tell your Lordes, that I make the earth, the men, & the beaſtes that walke on the face of the earth, through my great ſtrength and mighty arme, and I hauehave giuen it to whom it pleaſeth me: And ſo now I hauehave giuen all theſe Lands and countreyes to Nabuchodonozor my ſeruant, king of Babylon. Beſides this, I hauehave giuen him the beaſtes and the fields to ſerue him, his ſonne, & his ſonnes ſonne, vntill the time of his earth come: alſo of him many people & great kings ſhal come, and ſhal ordaine, that the kingdome, or the people that ſhall not ſerue Nabuchodonozor king of Babylō, I wil viſit that people (ſaieth the Lord) with the ſword, peſtilence, and hunger, vntil that I conſume them in his hands. &c. But if you, my maſters the new reformers of the Goſpel, had beene in thoſe daies, what would hauehave bridled your burning zeale?dNo… for your Popes place and office that he challenges, is far more vnlawfull then Nabuchodonozors was. Could yee not with a little better cauſe report of Nobuchodonozor that, that ye report of the Pope: for who is that Nabuchodonozor, that we ſhould ſubmit our ſelues vntounto him? He is not a king, hee is not a tirant, hee is not an Emperour, but a robber, a cutthrote, more cruel then anie kinde of wilde beaſt. Is it not by him, that the Prophets hauehave repreſented the ſpoiler of nations? For God, when he would cauſe*Cap. 14. Eſay eCujus contrarium verum eſt.to talke of the fall of Lucifer, he doeth diſcrie it vnderunder the perſon of Nabuchodonozor: then how wil you hauehave vsus to ſubmit our ſelues to be ſubiect vntounto him, whom God doeth liken, not onelie to a deuill, but to the captaine of all the deuils of hell? Manie cauſes doe perſuade vsus, not to obey him. Firſt, his wicked & abhominable life. Secondly, our religiō, for we beleeue in God, that created heauen & earth: but as for him, he is more thē a worſhipper of Idoles, for he is one that called himſelfe a God. Thirdlie, he is not of the line of Dauid, by whom God had promiſed to eſtabliſh his kingdome, for hee was a ſtranger, & ſuch a one, as got into the kingdome by force, making himſelfe a king, not by righteous election, but by violent compulſion, ſo that, conſidering altheſe things, ye might well, according to your zeale, hauehave found fault with his raigne: but God would hauehave ſtopped your mouthes, ſaying, as I hauehave writē aboue, I hauehave created all things, & I giuegive thē to whō it pleaſeth me. Or as he ſaieth in*Cap. 34. Iob, It is I, that cauſe Hypocrits to raign to puniſh the ſins of the people. Or as he ſaieth in the .4. of Daniel, I hauehave the preheminēce ouer the kingdomes of men, & I giuegive thē to whō it pleaſeth me. fTrue, the authority being of it ſelfe lawful…, as Nabuchodonoſors was, though he abuſed it, but it is not ſo when the office it ſelfe is vtterly vnlawfull, as your Pope is.And he that ſpeaketh againſt him that is put in authoritie, although he be as euil as Nabuchodonozor, hee ſhall periſh thorough the ſword, famine, or peſtilence, or that that is worſe, through eternal death. Theſe are the very words that God ſpake by the Prophet, & therefore ſaieth Chriſt, Come vntounto me, & learn in my ſchoole, for I am humble and milde of heart, I hauehave obeyed Pylate, and Annas, & Cayphas, I hauehave ſuffered the ſentēce of death & hauehave beene nailed betweene two theeues, *Math. 12.and I tooke it paciently for your ſakes. Learne of me to be my diſciples in the ſchoole of humility, and you ſhall finde reſt in your ſpirits. The which true reſt indeede is, for euerie man to examine diligently his owne conſcience, and to commit to God the conſciences of his ſuperiours.
The XVI. Chapter.
NOT we, but your Romiſh Ieſuites and ſeminary Prieſts, are the ſowers of that ſeede of ſedition, that you ſpeake of; neither is it we, but they and ſuch like of your ſide, which when they hauehave ſo done, alleadge onelyonly for their defence, their ardent and Apoſtolique zeale and affection to winne ſoules. This, in England and Ireland theſe late yeares, hath notoriouſly and very often beene found true in theſe, and queſtionleſſe other kingdomes, where the Goſpell is preached and eſtabliſhed, hauehave and doe finde the like. For they go vp and downe ſecretly, vnderunder the pretence of reconciling men and women, into the boſom of their mother Church, to alienate their heartes from their naturall ſoueraigne, to the obedience of a forraine potentate, and ſo prepare them againſt the time when opportunity ſhal beſt ſerue, to procure the death or depoſition of their lawfull Prince. And that thus without anie offence to God they maie doe, they perſwade themſelues by vertue of the Popes bull, in that therein they bee abſolued from their alleageance vntounto their home ſupreme magiſtrate, and are thereby alſo taught, that in furthering either his depriuation or death, they ſhal doe honourable, acceptable and meritorious ſeruice to the mother church of Rome. Theſe thinges (I ſay) hauehave of late yeares too too often here in England, in open places of iudgement beene manifeſtly proued againſt your Ieſuites and Popiſh Prieſtes, and therefore as traitours a number of them and their followers, hauehave beene moſt worthely executed. Which thinges being ſo euident as they are, great ſhame is it, that yet you ſhould not bluſh to charge vsus with theſe thinges, whereof yours are moſt famouſly guilty, and whereof truely you cannot conuict any of ours. You tell vsus wee ſhould hauehave praied to the Lorde of the harueſt, to thruſt forth more labourers thereinto (as Chriſt hath commanded vsus Math. 9. and not as you quote it Math. 15.) and that in the meane time we ſhould hauehave reformed our ſelues, and not hauehave taken vponupon vsus without ſome expreſſe commaundement from God, a matter of ſuch importance, as the reformation of your eſtate is. According to this counſell of Chriſt, wee hauehave praied to the Lorde of the harueſt, and he, in his mercy towardes his Church, hath heard our prayers, and wee hope will eueryevery day more and more, to the full ouerthrowe of yours, and perfect conſummation of ours. But that in the meane time, they, whoſe eies God hath opened to ſee the Babyloniſh confuſion of yours, ſhould there hauehave ſtaied (as you would hauehave had them) vntill they had a further commiſſion from God then already they had (for ſo you muſt needes meane by that further commiſſion or expreſſe commaundement, that you would hauehave had them firſt to hauehave had) you can neuer proue. For they, whoſe miniſtrie it pleaſed God to vſe to detect your Antichriſtian doings according to his worde 2. Theſſal. 2. in theſe later daies were ſuch, as namely, Wickliffe, Iohn Hus, and Luther, that had not onelyonly the ordinary calling of thoſe times to feede Gods people as paſtours and doctours, but alſo they were ſuch as God had bleſſed with rare and extraordinary giftes of knowledge and zeale, and therefore if they ſeeing the abhominations of your Synagogue, and the groſſe blindeneſſe and errours that you ſtill laboured to holde Gods people in, had contented themſelues onelyonly with praying vntounto God for the redreſſe therof, & with reforming of thēſelues, & had not ſaied their hands & ſhoulders to the work, vſing the talents that God had beſtowed vponupon them, to his beſt aduantage, without a further new and expreſſe commaundement, then they had alreadie receiued in the writen word, ſhould not they with the vnprofitable ſeruant Math. 25. hauehave had their wages? They tooke not in hand to doe as they did (as you would make your Reader beleeue) onelyonly vnderunder the colour of zeale, without expreſſe warrant from God their Lorde and maſter For beſide their zeale and knowledge, by their callinges in that they were famous doctours and paſtours in their times, they were bound by Gods expreſſe worde Eſay 58.1. Ezech. 33.6. & 7. and in ſundrie other places to doe, as they did. But to bring vsus and our miniſters into hatred, in this Chapter you labour to perſwade your reader, that as of burning zeale they hauehave in many places diſpoſſeſſed your Biſhops and Prieſtes of their places, ſo as Gods Lieutenants, and as men voide of all partiality (for thus tauntingly it pleaſeth you to write) they wil proceede againſt ciuill magiſtrates, both higher and lower in like maner, becauſe many of them hauehave beene and be (as you ſay) as ill liuers and rather worſe, then your Popiſh Prelates hauehave beene. Which to bee an vnlawfull thing and the cauſe of all confuſion and horrible diſorder, you beſtowe a great deale of needeleſſe paines to proue, for it is a thing that wee teach and vrge in earneſt, and you (your practiſe to the contrary beeing ſo vſuall as it is conſidered) onelyonly in ieſt, and for a faſhion teach it. But indeede this is the way, which the malicious and ancient enemies of Gods Church hauehave alwaies vſed, to diſgrace the true ſeruants of God by, with the Kings and Princes of the world, and therefore you doe well in that you are nothing behinde them, in malice & enmity againſt Gods people, in that you ſtudie alſo to be like them in this. Wee reade (you know) after the returne of Gods people out of their captiuitie in Babylon, when they beganne once to build and to go forward, either with Gods houſe in Hieruſalem, or the walles of that City, alwaies this was one of the practiſes of their enemies to labour their diſcredit, to the hinderance of their worke, to accuſe them to the Perſian Kings, to intende therein ſedition and rebellion againſt them. Ezr. 4. Nehem. 6. And it appeares Iohn 19. it was the principalleſt meanes, whereby the high Prieſt and the Iewes prouoked Pilate, to giuegive ſentence againſt our Sauiour, that they tolde him, that he was not Caeſars frend, if he deliuered him, thereby inſinuating (though in trueth hee had both payed tribute vntounto Caeſar, and had taught others both by example and word publickly, to yeelde vntounto Caeſar whatſoeuer was due vntounto him Math. 16. & 22. and they of all other did moſt repine at Caeſars iuriſdiction ouer them and their cuntrey) that hee was one whoſe doings and doctrine tended to the ſupplāting of Caeſar. In like maner Act. 17. & 24. wee finde it one of the vſuall meanes, that the vnbeleeuing Iewes and other lewde people (then when none in their hearts regarded Caeſar and his authoritie leſſe) vſed to diſcredit the Apoſtles and their doctrine, to accuſe them to be ſeditious and ſuch as cared not for Caeſars decrees. Neither did this practiſe die, when the common weale of the Iewes ceaſed, for it appeares in Euſeb. lib. 5. cap. 1. and in Tertullians Apology in ſundry places, that there was nothing more common in the primatiue Church, then to lay to the charge of the Chriſtians, that they conſpired amongſt themſelues againſt the ſtate of ye common weale, and the ciuill and ſupreme magiſtrates thereof. And therefore we can the more patiently abide this your dealing with vsus, in that herein we ſee we are no otherwiſe dealt withall by you, then Gods people, Chriſt his Apoſtles, and other his faithfull ſeruants hauehave beene dealt withall in ancient time, by your predeceſſours. But the Lordes name be praiſed for it, howſoeuer it hath pleaſed you, in thus charging vsus to intende the depoſition and diſplacing of ciuill magiſtrates, to conforme your ſelues to the ancient enemies of Gods people, our doings in thoſe places where our Religion hath beene longeſt ſettled, doeth euidently in the eies of the world acquite vsus hereof. For in ſuch places who ſeeeth not, that the ciuill magiſtrates togither with it hauehave alwaies, and yet doe honourably and quietly enioy their places and dignities? Yea this wee dare bee bolde to ſay, that the Chriſtian Kings, Princes and magiſtrates, that hauehave giuen beſt entertainment vntounto it, finde by moſt manifeſt experience, that both it and the profeſſours therof, hauehave better eſtabliſhed them in their thrones, and more aduanced them in their dignities, then euer they were or could be by yours. For now they are abſolute Kings and Princes according to their right, where as yours made thē to hold their kingdomes, as the Popes vaſſals, and ſo but at the curteſie and deuotion of a forrainer, and of an intollerable proud and vnſatiable vſurping Prelate: and now their treaſure is kept at home to the ſtrengthening greatly of their kingdomes and dominions, which by your Romiſh Religiō & gouernment, was woont a 1000. waies moſt inſatiably in infinit quantity yearly, to the wonderfull weakning thereof, to be conueied to Rome. And whereas then by meanes of your auricular confeſſion, the ſecrets of eueryevery Prince where that was vſed, was often to the great peril of their ſtates made knowen, to many & vndiſcreet blabs & by them & their means to their forreine head the Pope, and ſo he was thereby alwaies the better inabled for the furtherance of his owne deuiſes, to preuent & croſſe theirs: by the baniſhing of that Romiſh ſtratageme Princes coūſels & ſecrets, are kept at home in ſecret as they ſhould, to the great good of thē & their cuntries. And laſtly, by our Religion, according to the examples of Dauid, Salomō, Aſa, Iehoſaphat, Ezechias, Ioſiah, Conſtātine & Theodoſius, they are in poſſeſſion of their full authority, to cōmāde for Religiō & in matters eccleſiaſtical, aſwel their ſubiects of the clergy as the reſt; whereas by your Religion they were ſupreme gouerners vnderunder God for matters ciuil only, & had their cleargy ſo exēpted from them and their iuriſdiction, that howſoeuer they had their bodies in their kingdomes to enioy the promotions thereof, they had neither their bodies nor ſoules in further ſubiection, then would ſtand with the pleaſure and profit of the forraine potentate the Pope. By meanes whereof, Anſelme, Stephē Lanckton, Thomas Becket and ſundry other proude prelates of this land, hauehave ſo ſtucke to the Pope, againſt their ſoueraigne kings at home here in England, that in compariſon of the Pope, they hauehave ſet their King at naught, to the wonderfull trouble and diſquiet of the whole land, as notoriouſly appeares in our Cronicles. Which things conſidered, I thinke you may long tell Princes, that you and your religion is frendly to them, and that we and ours is hurtful vntounto them, before any of them, that be wiſe, beleeue you. Truely I cannot but wonder at your groſſe hypocriſie in this Chapter, in that you are ſo earneſt and buſie, not onelyonly to proue it vnlawful and mōſtrous, how bad ſoeuer they that be in authority be, to refuſe to yeelde duety & ſubmiſſion vntounto them, but alſo to lay to our charge, that we hauehave an intention, to place and diſplace ciuill magiſtrates at our pleaſure. For I cannot perſwade my ſelfe, that your ſkill in diuinity was ſo ſmall, but you were reſolued for all this, that the obedience and ſubiection taught in theſe places here quoted by you, or any where elſe in the ſcriptures, is not ſo infinite and abſolute, as that thereby ſubiects are bound to doe whatſoeuer by higher powers, be it good or bad, they are commanded to doe. For how could it be poſſible, that a man of your place ſhould forget the vſual limitation, in the Lord, or that you ſhould not remember that God muſt be obeied before man. Neither yet can I thinke, that you were ignorant, but that the very ſame thing which here you charge vsus with, as with a grieuous fault, hath bene and yet is openly practiſed, and taught publickly, to be very lawfull in your Church of Rome. Hereof I am ſure D. Allen, a great man of your ſide, in his 5 Chapter of his defence of Engliſh catholicks, reckōs vp in a great brauery and bragge, ſundry Kings and Emperours by force depoſed by the Pope. And indeed it appears moſt euidently in ſundry Chronicles, that at their pleaſure, a long time they hauehave moſt ſhamefully miſuſed Chriſtian Princes & potentates of the world. For though they were and are beholden to the Chriſtian Roman Emperours, for their firſt aduancement, from the ſtate of poore perſecuted biſhops, to the ſtate of patriarches in theſe weſterne parts, yet in proceſſe of tyme, when the ſeat of the empire was remooued to Conſtantinople, & theſe weſterne parts were gouerned by an exarch at Rauenna, they through the help of certaine Kings of the Lombards and others, in tokē of thankefulneſſe to the ancient Emperours of Rome, quite extinguiſhed their Empire and authority in theſe weſt parts. And in the ende, not contented with that, which they had incroched by the ruine of the Empire, through the helpe of the Goths, Vandals, Lombards & others (ſeeking thereby their further aduācement) Pope Zachary, about the yeare 743. found the meanes to cauſe Childericke then King of France, to bee depoſed, and he ſet vp Pipine in his roome, whom he & his ſucceſſour Stephen the 2. aduanced to the Empire, and therefore this Pipine, Charles the great and Lodouicke his ſonne (which three immediatly ſucceeded one another, in the new Empire, thus tranſlated vntounto them by the Pope) to gratify the Pope for the ſame, they brought the Lombards and others, that before beganne to be ſomewhat to ſauſie with the Popes, vnderunder, and beſtowed vponupon his ſee, as Blondus & Volateran note, very many rich and great Ilands, cities, countries, ſhires, townes and prouinces, whereby he was mightely aduanced. Yet for all theſe great benefits receaued by the line of Pipine, when his ſucceſſours began not to be pliable enough (as they thought) to their becke, in making warre againſt the Princes of Italy, which began to pinch them for their wrong-gotten goods, Gregorie the fifth about the yeare 1002. practiſeth with the Germans, to bring the Empire to them, from the line of France, and ſo Otho was ſet vp Emperour. But when theſe German Emperours began to abridge them of their wil, and to reſiſt their tyrannicall oppreſſions, then they laboured & practiſed by all meanes, to hamper them alſo: in ſo much that certaine it is, that Gregorie the 7. excommunicated Henry the 4. or as ſome write 3. about the year 1078. & gaue his empire to Rodolph, who miſſing of it & being ſlain, the Emperour yet to be recō ciled with the Pope, waited 3. daies & 3. nights in the winter, with his wife and child at the gates of Canoſſus, and within the ſuburbes thereof, barefoote & barelegged, before he could come to the ſpeech of the Pope, when he had obteined that, then he was faine to kiſſe his foote, and to yeelde vp his crowne into his hands, & to take it againe vponupon ſuch conditions, as it pleaſed him to preſcribe, and yet his ſucceſſour Paſcalis raged againſt the ſame Emperour againe, & ſet vp his owne naturall ſonne Henry, to depriue his father of his Empire. Who when he had got it, yet he was in the ende accurſed and excommunicated by that Romiſh ſee, as his father had beene, and not preuailing ſufficiently that way, the Saxons at laſt were ſet vp to warre againſt him and depoſe him. And thus they hauing hampered theſe two Hēries, vntounto Frederick Barbaroſſa came, which was about the yeare 1155. they did what they liſted, who beganne ſomewhat againe to abridge them of their vſurped ſupremacy, and ſo did his ſons ſonne Frederick the 2. but in the ende Alexander the third, brought the necke of the firſt vnderunder his feete in S. Marks church in Venice, and Pope Adrian controlde him from holding his wrong ſtirrop, & excommunicated him for being ſo ſaucy, as to ſet his name in writing before his; and the other was miſerably vexed, by Honorius the 3. Gregory the 9. and Innocent the 4. For the firſt of theſe interdicted him, the ſecond excommunicated him twiſe, & raiſed the Venetians againſt him; and the third did in the end ſpoile him of his Empire, cauſed him to be poiſoned, and at length ſtrangled by one Māfredus. Innocent the 3. in the minority of Frederick the ſecond, and before he was choſen Emperour, dealt in like ſort with Philip and Otho the 4. placing them and diſplacing them at his pleaſure. Frederick the ſeconds ſonne called Conrade, and the next of his line alſo called Conradine were amongſt thē miſerably abuſed: for the firſt of them was ſoone diſpatched, they ſtirring vp againſt him the Lātgraue of Turing, who droue him into his kingdome of Naples, where he died of poiſō giuē him, as ſome write; & the other claiming but the kingdome of Naples, after his death the matter was ſo handled (they ſtirring vp Charles the French Kinges brother againſt him) that both he & Frederick, Duke of Auſtria, were takē, impriſoned & in the end beheaded. Hēry the 6. Frederick the firſts ſon, Pope Celeſtine the 3. crowned at Rome, but in ſuch ſort, that wt his foote he put the croune vponupon his head, & therewith he ſpurned it of againe. And the like yt happened to Frederick had almoſt befallē Philip the Frēch king, by Pope Boniface the 8. who becauſe he could not hauehave whatſoeuer commodities he demaunded out of France, by his bull denoūced ſentence of depoſition againſt the ſaied King Philip, and gaue the title thereof to one Albertus king of the Romans: …t for all the roaring of that bull, Philip kept his place ſtill. Alexāder the 3. that trode vponupon Frederick the firſts necke at Venice, euen here in England ſo farre abuſed King Henry the 2. about Thomas Beckets death, that he cauſed him to go for penaunce barefoote in winter, with bleeding feete to his tombe. And Innocent the third cauſed King Iohn his ſonne, after that 7. yeares he had reſiſted their ſupremacy & tyranny, by the meanes of his excommunicatiōs, indicements of his land, and encouraging of his ſubiects againſt him, to ſurrender his croune to the hands of his Legat Pandelphus, and ſo he continued fiue daies, before hee receiued it againe, and then was glad to take it in farme of him for a rent by indenture. Infinit be the villanies, that hauehave bene offered & done by that ſee to Emperours and Kings. For did not Gregory the 7. to the great iniury of the Empire, ſet vp Robert Wiſard, and made him King of Sicilia and Duke of Capua? Did not Pope Vrbane the ſecond put downe Hugo an Earle in Italy, diſcharging his ſubiects from their oath and obedience vntounto him? Did not Pope Clement the fift, moſt deſpitefully cauſe Franciſcus Dandalus, the Venetiā embaſſadour, ſuing but for abſolution of Venice from the Popes curſe, to lie a long time firſt tied by the neck in a chaine vnderunder his table, like a dogge, before he would harken to his requeſt. Furthermore Gelaſius the ſecond, brought the noble captaine Cintius ſo vnderunder, that he was glad lying proſtrate before him, to kiſſe his feete, and by the yeare 1237, the Pope Gregorie the 9. had ſo curſed king Henry the 3: king here of Englād, that he was glad (to currie fauour wt him) to receiue a Legat of his, called Cardinal Otho, meeting him at ye ſea ſide, & that in moſt lowly maner, bowing downe his head in low curteſie towards his knees. And though he yeelded wonderfull ſubmiſſion to the next Pope Innocent the 4. yet he tooke of one Dauid Prince of Northwales 500. marks by the yeare, to ſet him againſt ye King of England, & exempted him & his welſhmen, from their fealty which they had ſworne vntounto him before. Moſt intolerable were the exactiōs & cōmodities, that one way & other the Popes for thēſelues & their frends, had out of Englād in Henry the 2. king Iohns & Hēry the thirds time: they exceeded oftē (as it appeareth in ye ſtories) the anciēt reuenues of the crowne, & wonderfully empoueriſhed ye land, & yet whē theſe kings (though in neuer ſo hūble maner) at any time, neuer ſo litle ſought to ſtay theſe pillages & oppreſſiōs of the lād, the Popes raged moſt extreamly againſt thē: & did thē what deſpite they could, vntill they had their will. Yea ſo intolerable hath beene their pride & inſolēcy againſt kings & Emperors, yt they hauehave brought thē to lead their horſes by ye bridle, & to waite on thē on foot like lackies, they riding like high & mighty princes ouer thē, & they hauehave made thē faine to pleaſe thē withal, to hold thē water & to ſerue at their table. And though their power bee not as it hath beene, yet … … lice and will, to trample Princes vnderunder their feete, is as … as euer it was, and therefore not onelyonly hauehave Pius 5. and Gregory the 13. by their curſed buls, roared againſt our gratious ſoueraigne Lady Queene Elizabeth that now is, thereby labouring her depoſition, but alſo both ſecretely and openly, a number of waies they and their fauourits hauehave gone about both by opē hoſtility and priuy conſpiracies, to bring that their wicked purpoſe to paſſe, yea though it were, by the ſhedding of her innocent bloud. And ſo far are they of yet in this great light to be aſhamed of murdring treacherouſly Chriſtian Princes, whom otherwiſe they cannot frame to their fancies, that of very late yeares, by a moſt wicked varlet, whom they had perſuaded, that therein he ſhould doe a meritorious deede, they ſo diſpatched the noble Prince of Orenge; and ſince by the like perſuaſions, hauehave ſought by one Parrie and others to effect the like againſt our ſoueraigne; whom the Lorde for his Chriſtes ſake ſo long preſerue, that ſhe may ſee either the happy conuerſion, or effectuall confuſion of all her enemies. Now theſe thinges conſidered, and they beeing moſt true (as from point to point, they are teſtified by your owne Cronicles) if there had beene any ſhame in you, you would neuer hauehave gone about as you hauehave, to charge vsus with your ſurmiſed intention to diſplace ciuill magiſtrates. Whereas you would ſeeme to ſtrengthen this your malicious accuſation, in that we hauehave diſplaced ſome of your Popiſh Biſhops, Prieſtes, Monkes, and Friers, and refuſe obedience and ſubmiſſion to your Popes: you muſt vnderſtand that herein you commit two great and foule faults; the firſt is, that you ſtretch the places here quoted by you, which teach indeed only obedience and ſubmiſſion to ciuill magiſtrates, and to lawfull eccleſiaſticall perſons, in the Lorde, as though therein and thereby God had aſwell tied and bound al perſons, to obedience and ſubiection, to your vnlawfull and Antichriſtian Prelates and cleargie, yea and that in ſuch ſtrict maner, as though it were vnlawfull how bad and wicked ſoeuer they and their commandemēts be, either to refuſe to obey them, or to ſpeake any hard word againſt them: your ſecond fault is, that you take it, that there is no difference to be put betwixt your eccleſiaſticall Prelacies, and the higher powers, that the ſcriptures in theſe places teach obedience and ſubmiſſion vntounto: whereas indeede there is as great differēce, as there is betwixt heauen and earth, and the ordinances of God and the vnlawfull deuiſes of man, betwixt the higher powers there ſpoken for, & the higher powers that you plead ſo much for. For the higher powers there ſpokē for, be ſuch as though ſometimes for iuſt cauſes knowen vntounto God, they light in the hands of wicked and profane perſons, yet of themſelues are the lawfull ordināces of God, whereas the authority of your Popes & of other your Romiſh Prelates, whom we hauehave diſplaced, and refuſe to ſubmit our ſelues vntounto, is vtterly vnlawful, and not onelyonly without warrant from the lord in his word, but directly contrary to the ſame. For whereas Rom. 12. & Epheſiās 4. the ſpirit of God hath reckoned vp all the eccleſiaſtical officers, which Chriſt the maſter of the houſe hath appointed, for the ful and perfect ordering therof, none of theſe of yours, whō we hauehave diſplaced and refuſe to obey, are once remembred, & beſides both contrary to Chriſt our ſauiours expreſſe cōmandement, & Peters alſo Luk. 22.1. Pet. 5. they take vponupon them, as tyrannially as euer did any Princes of the nations, Lordſhip ouer Gods inheritance, & therfore by their proceedings we finding them to be very antichriſtian, both S. Pauls propheſie, that Antichriſt ſhall be conſumed by the ſpirit of Gods mouth 2. Theſſ. 2. and that flat commandement giuen vsus from heauen Apoc. 18. to come out from Babylon, & to ſeperate our ſelues from her, doe aſſure vsus, that lawfully wee may ſpeake againſt them and their enormities, and not only refuſe ſubmiſſion vntounto them, but alſo to doe what we can to roote out ſuch plants, which our heauenly father neuer plāted, out of the earth. Wherefore fondly doe you go about to teach, out of the Prophet Ieremy, that as the Iewes were taught ſubmiſſion and obedience to Nabuchadnezzar, ſo we ſhould learne thereby, to chamber our tongues againſt your Pope and other Prelates, & alſo quietly to ſubmit our ſelues vntounto them. For though he were a wicked tyrant, yet his authority it ſelfe was lawfull, and ye ordinance of God; and he came vntounto his authority ouer the Iewes, by force of armes & conqueſt, which is an ordinary way, that God vſeth to inueſt Kings and Emperours, with ſuch ciuill authority ouer nations and cuntries by, whereas the very authority it ſelfe of your Popes and other Prelates (howſouer you cōfidently, and yet vntruly aduouch that S. Paul Rom. 13. is to bee vnderſtoode, aſwell to hauehave ſpoken that which he there ſpeaketh of them, as of Kings & other lawfull magiſtracies & offices) is as I hauehave proued vtterly vnlawful, and the meanes whereby they hauehave come thereunto, hath beene ſhameles wreſting of the ſcriptures, fraud, deceit, treachery & maine force, wc all are abhominable ſteps, for cleargy mē to attaine vntounto their offices by: neither would we, if we had liued vnderunder the perſecuting Emperours of Rome, or vnderunder Nabuchadnezzar (as you here inſinuate) hauehave refuſed to yeelde ſo far obedience and ſubmiſſion vntounto them, in all quietnes, as we might, not diſobeying the Lorde to obey them; and further, neither the Iewes vnderunder the one, nor the Chriſtians vnderunder the other, were bound: which obedience and ſubmiſſion to your Popes & Prelates will not ſerue your turne, for you would hauehave it yeelded vntounto them without limitation, for otherwiſe they ſhould not be obeyed, wherein you would faineſt hauehave thē obeyed. And therefore in your Canon law diſt. 40. cap. Sipapa: it is enacted, that though your Popes ſhould deale neuer ſo lewdly, both in reſpect of themſelues, and in carying others by heaps vntounto hell, yet none muſt be ſo preſumptuous, as to aſke them, why they doe ſo. Howbeit for the more full ſatiſfying the Reader, and clearing our ſelues of this your ſlanderous accuſation, of intending the diſplacing of ciuill magiſtrates, for their wicked liues, this further is the common and receaued doctrine amongſt vsus, concerning that point: that though Chriſtian ſubiects may not diſobey God, to obey their wicked commandements, yet they are rather patiently to ſuffer the penalties that they ſhal inflict vponupon them, for their chuſing rather to obey God then them, then to vſe or to conſent to the vſing of any forcible meanes to depoſe them. And this our practiſe hath plentifully made to appeare, to bee the common and receaued opinion in this caſe amongſt vsus. But whereas you would hauehave vsus ſo humble and meeke (by abuſing and wreſting Chriſtes counſell giuen vsus Mat. 11.) as that we ſhould obey Pilate, Annas and Caiphas, euen to the ſuffering of death, without once opening our lippes, to ſpeake anie word of diſgrace againſt them: I ſee the onelyonly marke you ſhoote at is, that we ſhould obey your Popes & Prelates in whatſoeuer they commande vsus, or elſe that we ſhould ſuffer them, without once muting againſt them, to make what hauocke of vsus they liſt. For though you would ſeeme to plead for our obedience & ſubmiſſion to the ciuill magiſtrates, yet plainely you bewray, that ſo your Popes and Prelates might get this ſubmiſſion at our hands, you hauehave the thing you ſhoote at and care for. But to returne to your perſwaſion of vsus to be meeke and humble &c. tell me in good earneſt, did Chriſt at any time obey any of them you ſpeake of, in any thing that was ill? and was there not a neceſſity in regard of our redēption to ſuffer thoſe things which he ſuffered, and as he ſuffered them at their hands? what maketh this then, either to binde vsus to obey the wicked & vngodly proceedings of your Popes and Prelates, wherein onelyonly we refuſe to liſten vntounto them, or needeleſly to ſuffer thoſe thinges at your hand, which lawfully we may auoide? And I truſt you are perſwaded, that Chriſt himſelfe that willed others to learne of him to be hūble and meeke, that he neuer forgat that leſſon himſelfe. And yet if you reade Mat. 23. and Iohn the 8. you ſhall finde, that he compriſing the high Prieſtes themſelues within the compaſſe of his ſpeech, aſwell as other his inferiour malitious enemies, calleth them hypocrits, children of the Deuill &c. And the Prophets though they were not to learne of you, how to behaue them ſelues to higher powers, yet they did vſe often very ſharpe and bitter ſpeeches, againſt the Princes and other rulers of their times; an example whereof you hauehave Eſay. 1.10. in theſe wordes. Heare the word of the Lord O Princes of Sodom: hearken to the law of our God, O people of Gomorrah. But Paul you will ſay Act. 23. hauing called a wicked high Prieſt, that contrary to law tyrannouſly had commanded him to be ſmitten, painted wall, being admoniſhed thereof, corrects himſelfe, remēbring that it is writē, thou ſhalt not raile or ſpeake ill of the Prince, Ex. 22. ſaying I knew not that he was the high Prieſt. Indeede one of the high Prieſts clawbacks, who are alwaies ready to iuſtify their maſter, how vniuſtly ſoeuer he deale, and to controle Gods ſeruāts for ſaying neuer ſo litle amiſſe of thē, though therunto they be neuer ſo iuſtly prouoked, gaue him a check therefore, wherevpon it ſeemeth that Paul vponupon the reaſon aforeſaied excuſed himſelfe, but indeede he did it in ſuch ſort, as that in trueth he giuegive, him a greater blow, though ſomewhat more couertly, then he had done before, in plainly ſhewing that, (that dealing of his conſidered) he knew him not to be the high Prieſt. But if this notwithſtanding, you thinke ſtill, that Paul would not giuegive any harde ſpeech to ſuch a Prelate, and iuſtifie it when he had done, conſider a little what reckoning you make of Saint Peter, and then call to remembrance, what is writen Gal. 2. and you ſhall finde it cleare, that not onelyonly he rebuked Peter openly at Antioch, but that alſo he iuſtifies that his owne doing therein, ſaying, that he did ſo becauſe he went not with the right foote to the Goſpell. And learne by theſe places not to be ſo dainty ouer your Popes and Prelates hereafter, but yt if they doe lewdly, think it may well ſtand with that meekenes & humility, that Chriſt hath taught vsus, that they be plainly as they deſerue, tolde of their doings by vsus. It is one thing to rafle of them, that be in lawful authority, and to backbite and depraue them; and another thing it is, by way of inſtruction, admonitiō and reprehenſiō, by plaine, iuſt and true tearms, to let them ſee their faults, ſo it be done in time and place conuenient, & in maner beſeeming ſuch an action. This later might the Iewes doe to Nabuchadnezzar notwithſtanding Ieremies words, and ye Chriſtians vnderunder the heathen Emperours to them, and yet both keep within duety and loialty, but the former is that which is vnlawful to bee vſed againſt any, how bad ſoeuer he be, that is in place of lawfull magiſtracy or office. Finally, whereas you yet thinke ſcorne, that your Pope ſhould bee worſe then Nabuchadnezzar: and that therefore the Iewes might hauehave had far more iuſt exceptions againſt him, to free them frō their obedience and ſubmiſſion to him, then we hauehave to free vsus from ſubiection to your Popes, in trueth, therein you are very much deceiued. For firſt, his authority, as a King ouer them, was a power in it ſelfe lawful, though abuſed by him; and yours (as I hauehave ſhewed) is flatly vnlawfull: and the Iewes were commanded ſubiection vntounto him; and we are commanded (as I hauehave ſaied) Reuel. 18. to forſake all communion with your Popiſh Antichriſtian kingdome. Your Popes for lewdnes of life, for manifold Idolatries, and blaſphemies in Religion, and for want of right title to the dignity and office which they claime, doubtleſſe will thorowly match him, & by how much their knowledge, in reſpect of the meanes they hauehave which he lackt, ſhould be more then his: by ſo much theſe things in them, make them more intolerable, then the ſame could make him. And therefore theſe thinges conſidered, the obedience and ſubmiſſion which the Iews were enioyned to yeeld to Nabuchadnezzar, inferreth not the like to be due to your Popes and other your Romiſh Prelates.