Answer to John De Albines, Answer to discourse · Chapter 8
The VIII. Chapter.
VPonUpon Moiſes Chaire there ſitteth (ſayeth our Sauiour Chriſt) who? not the godlieſt mē of the world, but the Scribes & Phariſes: doe that they ſaie, but not that that they doe. But if our new Goſpellers had beene in thoſe daies, they would hauehave tolde Chriſt, that his commandement was not to be obſerued, becauſe the liues of Anna and Caiphas were not correſpondent vntounto thoſe of Moiſes & Aaron: for the firſt came to the vocation of prieſthood, being called of God: but the laſt attained to it by the vocation of theiraAs many of yours doe, or by worſe means, or elſe your owne frends bely thē. purſes, and yet notwithſtanding, rather then our Sauiour would breake this harmonie of the miſticall bodie of the Church, he was not onelyonly content to permit, that Caiphas ſhould execute his office (although hee was vnworthy, as one that came to it by Simonie) but rather he did confirme his pontificat with the gift of the Spirit of Propheſying, with the which he wasbThat is groſſe blaſphemy. as fullie inſpired, as euer was Dauid, Eſay, or any of the reſt; and all to teach vsus that, that I hauehave alreadie ſaied: I meane, that the Eccleſiaſtical order, & the adminiſtration of the Sacraments, doe not conſiſt in the good or euill liues of the paſtours, but onelie of God and of his word, interpreted by them. As touching that that appertaineth to our health, God hath no regard to the life of the magiſtrate temporal or eccleſiaſticall: for he can aſwell ſerue him with an euill perſon, to doe good to the common wealth, as of a good; as the godlie propheſies of the wicked Balaam doe well witneſſe. Num. 24. And here is to be noted, that when we talke of the ſucceſſion of Biſhops, and of the doctrine continuing in the Church, we doe not meane onelyonly to talke of thecIndeede you doe wiſely to call for helpe of others, for otherwiſe the necke of your ſucceſſiō hath often bene ſhamefully broken. Popes, but of all the Biſhops and other hauing Eccleſiaſtical charges, not onelie at Rome, but thorow al other places, where the true preaching, and right adminiſtration of the Sacraments be vſed. And therefore you doe pretend in vaine, to proue, that the aboue mentioned ſucceſſion hath beene interrupted by the diſcention of Popes & Antipopes, and by the Ciuil warres that hauehave bene at Rome in times paſt. For although that the Sea of Rome was vacant for a time, the Chaires of Biſhops in France, Spaine, England, and ouer all Chriſtendome were not vacant, they did not for their debates let to adminiſter the precious body of Ieſus, and the reſt of the Sacramentes, to preach and teach the people, doing manie other godly deedes.dThis is notoriouſly falſe, as the ſtories witnes at ſundry times, when there were two or three Popes together, each hauing his faction, and one banning the other. And to be briefe, the Ciuill diſſention at Rome did not cauſe the reſt of the people throughout Chriſtendome to breake the vnitie of their faith, which they held before their diſcordes. The ambition of the Popes of Rome was in nothing preiudiciall vntounto thoſe that helde the integritie of their faith, nor through the reaſon of their ill gouernance, our Sauiour Chriſt did not loſe his rightful inheritance.
The VIII. Chapter.
THat which is further alleadged in this Chapter to proue, that Scribes and Phariſies muſt be heard and obeyed, ſitting in Moiſes chaire, notwithſtanding their ill liues, doeth nothing at all ſerue to proue, that your lewd Popes were to be heard and obeyed. For to ſit in Moiſes chaire, is not (as you imagine) to ſucceed him in place or office, but in teaching the trueth, as he did; and ſo your wicked Popes, that we ſpeake againſt, neuer ſate in Moiſes chaire, nor in the Chaire of any Apoſtle, or Apoſtolique man: but in the Chaire & ſeate (in reſpect of their doctrine) of the whore of Babylō. But by that you afterwards remember of Caiphas & Balaams prophecies, it ſhould ſeeme you were of opinion, that to preach and to holde the trueth, is inſeperable from your Popes Chaire and office: and that therefore it may not be imagined, but that, how lewd ſoeuer they were, they could not but prophecy, & teach the trueth, becauſe theſe in the places by you mentioned (notwithſtanding they were lewde men) did. Indeed very fitly might your Popes theſe many yeares be cōpared vntounto theſe two, they reſemble the one ſo fitly, in crucifying Chriſt againe in his mēbers: and ye other, in ſeeking to curſe the people of God for filthy lucre. But that vponupon theſe particuler facts of theirs it ſhould follow (as therupon you would ſeeme to infer) that leaſt the Harmony of the miſticall body of Chriſt ſhould be brokē, God alwaies hath guided ye mouthes of your Popes ſo, that they could not erre in iudgement, I ſee no reaſon at al. For out of particuler facts rare & vncertaine, you cōclude a general and conſtant rule. Doeth it folow, thinke you, Pilates wife learned by her dreame, that Chriſt was innocēt: therfore womēs dreams are alwaies true? Daniel a young childe found out the vnrighteous iudgement of the iudges: therefore young children alwaies ſhall be able to doe the like? Or to cōe to your own exāples, doth it follow, that becauſe Caiphas, & Balaā, prophecied right, therfore neither they themſelues at other times could erre, nor any of that office? The Scripture teſtifieth ye cōtrary. For ye ſame Caiphas iudicially pronoūced our ſauiour to be a blaſphemer, Mat. 26. & Paul. Act. 23. chargeth Ananias, ſitting there iudicially as hie prieſt (as he had iuſt cauſe) to giuegive iudgmēt cōtrary to ye law, in cōmāding him to be ſmittē. And howſoeuer Balaā the falſe prophet, prophecied there wel, it is euident by ye text, that it was ſore againſt his will, and that it came to paſſe by Gods eſpecial power, in guiding & bridling his tongue. And yet it appeareth after, that the ſame Balaā by his wicked counſaile was cauſe of that treſpaſſe cōcerning Peor. Nūb. 31. and you may read. 1. King. 22. that 400. falſe prophets prophecied vntruly to Ahab. I doubt not but God, when it pleaſeth him, can cauſe your Popes, as he cauſed theſe (how wicked ſoeuer) to ſpeake the trueth. For Iudas, after he had betrayed his maſter, yet before he hanged himſelfe, iuſtified his maſter: and the Deuils thēſelues oftentimes in the Goſpel acknowledge Chriſt aright to be the ſon of God: but thereupon it followeth not, becauſe he can doe it, that therefore he wil do it, & alwaies hath: nay rather that which is propheſied 2. Theſſ. 2. is verified in your Popes, becauſe they receiued not the louelove of the trueth, therefore God ſent thē ſtrong deluſiōs, that they ſhould beleeue lies: for according to this faith, they hauehave ſpoken.
O what horrible & intollerable blaſphemy did your hart cōceiue, & your pen (to your perpetual infamy) vtter, when vponupon occaſion of Caiphas prophecy, vttered by him, either not woting what he ſaied, or rather (as Cyril in his 8. booke vpō Iohn, Chap. 3. noteth) hauing a malitious purpoſe thereby to perſuade the Iews, that it was expedient to put Chriſt to death, leaſt the whole nation ſhould bee deſtroied by the Romans: you doe ſet downe theſe words, that Chriſt did confirme his pontificate with the gifte of prophecy, with the which hee was as fully inſpired, as Dauid, Eſay, or any of the reſt? O what iniury in theſe wordes hauehave you done to thoſe holy prophets, and to the Spirit of God in them, as thus to match them with this curſed hell-hounde? Wee muſt holde, that they were indued with the Spirit in ſuch meaſure, as that in their writings and ſayings wee muſt be ſure, they did not erre, or els the ground of our faith (which is their writinges) is ſhaken: whereas this wretch euen the ſame yeare (as I hauehave ſhewed you) pronounced Chriſt to bee a blaſphemer: and therefore moſt deuiliſhly erred. And indeede hee was wholy deſtitute of the Spirit of God, not onelyonly then, but euen in this alſo: for (as I noted before out of Cyrill) he, in vttering of thoſe words, had a deuiliſh meaning and intent, though God by his ſecret power ſo ordered his ſpeech, as that his wordes might alſo cary this ſence, that it was expedient that Chriſt ſhould die for the ſaluation of man, as there alſo the ſame Cyrill obſerueth. And therefore for this he is no more to be ſaied, to hauehave had the Spirit of trueth to direct him, then you may ſay, the deuils and Iudas had, that I ſpoke of before. Why then doeth S. Iohn vponupon theſe wordes of his giuegive this note, that he was high Prieſt that yeare? becauſe it pleaſed God ſo to tēper his wordes (vnware to him) that whereas he ſpake to haſten the death of our ſauiour, his word ſounded, that the people ſhould vtterly periſh without the death of Chriſt: which was moſt true, but not his meaning. By this monſtrous compariſon of yours, we may learne, that it is no marueile that you that durſt make this beaſtly compariſon, dare compare your paſtours and Biſhops (how wicked ſoeuer both for life, and iudgement in Religion) wc the ancient true paſtours of Chriſts Church. Yet hereby you hauehave taught vsus to truſt your lofty and ſwelling compariſons, the worſe as long as we liue. You ſtriue with your owne ſhadow in labouring to proue, that the effect or fruite of the miniſtry of the word and ſacraments, dependeth not vponupon the life of the miniſter. For it is a thing that we holde, teach, and preach as much as you. You doe therfore but abuſe your reader, in going about to make him beleeue that we reiect your Biſhops onelyonly for their lewde liues: whereas the thing eſpecially that we condemne both you and them for, is your Antichriſtian doctrine. It is well, that when you hauehave ſaied what you can for your line of Popes, yet the conſideration of the oft interruptiōs of their ſucceſſion by ſchiſmes, and otherwiſe, you are glad in the ende to giuegive vsus this note, that when you talke of ſucceſsion of Biſhops and paſtours, you meane not onelyonly them, but all other Biſhops and paſtours of your Church, in whom the ſucceſsion hath beene continued, whenſoeuer it was interrupted in the other. For hereby in effect you doe acknowledge, that you meane not, nor thinke it wiſedome, to leane too much to the ſucceſſiō of them, leaſt they let your building fall. Wherein I preferre you yet before Stapleton, in that herein the trueth of the manifold interruptions of their ſucceſſion ſeemeth to hauehave preuailed more with you, then with him. For he writing againſt Doctor Fulke of this matter of ſucceſſion, though hee ſaieth hee will not holde ſucceſſion in the ſame places, and ſees to hauehave continued generally, yet in this particuler line of Popes onelyonly, hee thinketh that ſafely he may. You are alſo to be commended for acknowledging diſſentions to hauehave beene betwixt your Popes, and Antipopes themſelues, and in leauing them without defēce for their lewd liues, ambition, and negligence, euen to anſwere for themſelues. For indeede as it cannot be denied, but that theſe thinges moſt monſtrouſly hauehave beene found in very many of them, ſo you could not hauehave had any honeſty in ſmothing of their faults. Yet you go ſome thing to far in ſaying, that their diſſentiōs were not preiudiciall to the vnity of faith, held before. For how could it be, that one part of the world ioyning with the Pope, the reſt with his Antipope, or Antipopes (it being an article now of your Catholique faith, Boniface 8. de maioritate & obed. Cap. 1. vnderunder paine of damnation to be beleeued, that al ſoules muſt ſubmit themſelues to your Pope, as to the Supreame head of the Church) but that theſe for many yeares togither banning & curſing each others faction, thereby the vnity of faith was not onlie troubled, but maruellouſly broken.