Answer to Campian the Jesuit, Title page – Dedication
AN ANSWERE TO THE TEN REASONS OF EDMVND CAMPIAN THE IESVIT, IN CONFIDENCE WHEREOF HE offered diſputation to the Miniſters of the Church of England, in the controuerſie of faith.
WHEREVNTO IS ADDED IN BRIEFE MARGINALL NOTES, THE ſumme of the defence of thoſe reaſons by IOHN DVRAEVS the Scot, being a Prieſt and a Ieſuit, with a reply vntounto it.
WRITTEN FIRST IN THE LATINE TONGVE BY THE REVEREND AND faithfull ſeruant of Chriſt and his Church, WILLIAM WHITAKERS, Doctor in Diuinitie, and the Kings Profeſſor and publike Reader of Diuinitie in the Ʋniuerſitie of Cambridge.
AND NOW FAITHFVLLY TRANSLATED FOR the benefit of the vnlearned (at the appointment and deſire of ſome in authoritie) into the Engliſh tongue; by RICHARD STOCKE, Preacher in London.
IN THIS TREATISE, MOST OF THE Controuerſies betwixt vsus and the Church of Rome are briefely and plainely handled.
THE PRINCIPALL THINGS IN EVERY ANSWERE are gathered into a ſhort ſumme, and are ſet downe after the Epiſtle to the Reader.
Imprinted at London by FELIX KYNGSTON, for Cuthbert Burby and Edmund Weauer. 1606.
TO THE RIGHT HONOVRABLE WILLIAM LORD KNOVVLES, BARON OF GREYS, TREASVRER OF HIS MAIESTIES Houſhold, and one of the Lords of his Maieſties moſt Honorable priuie Councell.
RIght Honourable, the Religion, or more truly, the ſuperstition of the malignant Church of Rome, hath two ſpeciall priuiledges aboue any religion in the world that either hath been, or is. The one, that the profeſſors of it may eate their God in the Sacrament: the other, that they may kill their King in their diſcontentment; not only when he is an Heretike, but, as the law ſaith,It is the reaſon giuen why Pope Zacharie depoſed Hilaerike King of France, and ſet vp Pipine in his place in Gratians decree. part. 2. cauſ. 15. c. 3. Alius. when he is Inutilis, not for their turne and to their mindes. The former hath bin the cauſe of the ſpilling of much blood in the daies of Q. Mary: the latter of depoſing of ſo many Kings, and murthering of them, in France, and other places of Chriſtendome, and of the manifolde treaſons in the daies of Queene Elizabeth of bleſſed and happie memorie. And of two attempts againſt his ſacred perſon and ſtate, in theſe three yeeres ſpace. The firſt was but a ſmoake, the latter ſhould hauehave been a ſire: the firſt was but the lightning; the latter ſhould hauehave been the thunderclap; if he that is the God both of lightning and thunder had not gratiouſly preuented it. Now the former of theſe points they defend eueryevery where: but the latter they a little bluſh to heare of; not that it is not in their hearts, but becauſe their hands want power to effect it. Yet that it is their doctrine and conſtant opinion, hath been prooued in a ſmall treatiſe, which I preſented to …our I honor ſome few moneths ago. And that ſo apparantly that they are at a default, as the Councell was Act. 4.16. What ſhall we doe to theſe men? for ſurely a manifeſt ſigne is done by them, and is openly knowne to all them who dwell in Ieruſalem: and we cannot denie it. So with a little change it may bee ſaid by them; What ſhall we ſay to theſe things? for ſurely a manifeſt truth is told by them, and it is openly knowne to all them who dwell in England: and wee cannot denie it. For though they hauehave endeuoured to anſwere it, yet they hauehave not bin able to denie any thing in it. Only theſe Charmers of the ſpirituall Egypt hauehave endeuoured to doe in like manner with their inchantments.Exod. 7.11. But as all the Sorcerers miracles were not true, but onelyonly ſleights and trickes by the helpe of Satan: ſo are not theſe for the moſt part, but only Iaglings, and not able to deceiue any but fooles & children, either the ignorant, or the ſeduced alreadie. And in many things in effect they ſay as Iudah:Gen. 44.16. How can wee iuſtifie our ſelues? God and man hath found out the wickednes of vsus all. But not to digreſſe further: at the time of my preſenting of the foreſaid Treatiſe to your Honour, it pleaſed you to ſhew me Campians tenne Reaſons, lately taken in a Papiſts houſe, tranſlated into Engliſh; wherewith many were peru…ed, and others made to ſtagger in the way o… truth; becauſe of the goodly ſhew of truth that ſuch gilded lies hauehave put vponupon them by ſuch cunning Orators. Your Honour was then giuen to vnderſtand, that they were anſwered by diuers, eſpecially by that worthie and excellent Inſtrument of Gods glorie, and one of the moſt glorious lights of our Engliſh Church, Doctor Whitakers. The book was ſhewed you; but being written in the Latin tongue, you wiſhed for the m re benefit of the generall, that it might be turned into Engliſh. Your will was a commaund vntounto me, who profeſſe I owe much dutie to your Honour, and hauehave had leſſe opportunitie than will to ſhew it, for theſe few yeeres ſpace I hauehave been towards you: and now as ſoone as I could, for my publike ſeruice of the Church in my poore miniſterie, I hauehave effected it. Touching which if I may bee bold to deliuer what I thinke in few words, thus much I ſay for Campians reaſons: I account him bold in all, fooliſh in many things; yet wiſe in this, that in the beginning he tels vsus they are his tenne chiefe Reaſons. Herein he is like to the fooliſh Painter, who when he had made two pictures of two ſmall beaſts, which after they were made, nothing reſembled thoſe which he intended, writ ouer their heads, This is ſuch a beaſt, and this ſuch an one. So he hauing compoſed theſe tenne Rhetoricall ſpeeches, being ſo without reaſon, which he intended they ſhould hauehave had, he calles them reaſons, leſt the reader in peruſing ſhould hauehave miſtaken them, as he he had done in writing. Doubtleſse at a concluſion Campian is an excellent fellow; and if he could hauehave furniſhed as good premiſes, as he hath enhaunced and amplified the concluſion, he would hauehave put the anſwerer to much trouble. But now we may ſay of them as Hierom ſaid of the bookes of Iouinian: Hieron. aduerſ. Iouinian. lib. 1.It is harder to know what he holds, Multo difficilius eſt noſſe, quam vincere. foreign. Portenta verborum deſcriptionis dedecus. Vel per f…brem ſomniare, vel a reptum morbo phrenetico, Hippocratis vinculis alligandum. Hieron. cont. Heluid. cap. 3. Ne reſpondendo dignus fieret, qui vinceretur. Quia loquacitat…m facundia existimat. Quia maledicere omnibus, bonae conſereatiae ſignum arbitratur. Obſcandalum fratrum, qui ad cius rabien mouebantur.than to confute his opinions: not for any deepnes of matter, but becauſe he is as Hierome calles Iouinian, one that loues to ſpeak darkly. For he hath (as he ſpeaketh) bumbaſted words, deformed diſcourſes, and he that reades him aduiſedly, would thinke him either dreaming in ſome diſtempered fit of an Ague, or perhaps rather ſick of a frenſie, ſo that he had neede of Hippocrates phyſicke or fetters: which had been farre more meete for him, than an anſwere from ſo worthie a man. Hierome had three ſpeciall reaſons why he was hardly induced to anſwere Heluidius. Firſt, leſt by anſwering he ſhould make him bee thought worthie the encounter. Secondly, becauſe hee accounted his babling to bee eloquence. Thirdly, becauſe hee made it a note of a good conſcience, to raile and ſpeake euill of others. Which things might well hauehave ſtaied this worthie man from writing, ſeeing all theſe three might well bee feared, yea manifestly ſound in this hereticall Ieſuite, more than in Heluidius. But as Hierome, to remoue the ſcandall of the brethren, who were moued by his outrage, or might be infected by his poyſon, broke off his ſilence: ſo did this excellent Champion of Chriſt encounter with this vncircumciſed Philiſtine of Antichriſt; and hath anſwered him for manner, not as he and his manner of writing well deſerued,August. cont. lit. Petill. Do nat. lib. 2. c. 37. Tantum vos diliganius, vt viuatis, quantis …eſtiis errorem odimus, vt intereat, qui vos perdit. but yet withall ſo, as his owne nature and milde diſpoſition was accuſtomed, who might hauehave ſaid of himſelfe as Auguſtine of his dealing with the Donatiſts: We ſo louelove your perſons that we wiſh you may liue; and ſo hate your error, as deſiring it ſhould periſh, which workes your ruine. So meekly hath he anſwered him in all things, ſaue ſome few times by his prouecations he is a little ſharpe, as Moſes the meekeſt man was once or twice moued at his people and their peruerſenes. For the matter, he hath kept that courſe with him, which he hath commonly and commendably (in my poore opinion) obſerued, when he dealt with other aduerſaries, that is, hath anſwered to the full that is obiected, but hath not troubled himſelfe to forecaſt what might be moreouer obiected, to take that away; which makes any mans worke both tedious and obſcure. And this as it ſeemeth hath been the cauſe of Duraeus his replie: it falling out in this warre, which Campian ſpeakes of, as in marſhall affaires; when the defendant maketh ſhew of no more ſtrength, then that by which hee might wel repell and conquer the preſent aſſaults of the firſt part of the band; the ſecond is prouoked and tolled on vponupon hope of the victorie, as if there were not ſtrength enough to reſiſt them: ſo Duraeus happily thought, that D. Whitakers had ſpent all his ſtrength in oppoſing of Campian, and that he ſhould hauehave found an eaſie aduerſarie in a ſecond encounter: but his hopes deceiued him, for he hath found him ſufficient for this aſſault alſo. Now Duraeus his defence of Campian, and D. Whitakers of himſelf, hauehave I, according to your Honours deſire, annexed to the other, but yet only by briefe marginall notes: wherein I hauehave endeuoured to make both the obiection and anſwere as full as I could, and doe iniurie vntounto neither. If the aduerſaries ſhall thinke that I hauehave not giuen their Champions reaſons and obiections, their full weight, I proteſt to them wittingly I hauehave not diminiſhed him any thing at all. If they thinke he hath any more force in himſelfe, let them tranſlate him into Engliſh; and though my leiſure be ſmall from my publike Miniſtery and ordinarie ſtudies, yet will I take ſo much time frō them, as to tranſlate Doctor Whitakers alſo to the full. In this which I hauehave done, I hauehave not taken that libertie in tranſlating of the anſweres, as I finde he hath done who hath tranſlated Campian, and yet hauehave I not ſtricktly tied my ſelfe vntounto the words, but followed our Engliſh phraſe, which hath his proprietie of ſpeech, as well as the Latin. Not to be too troubleſome to your Honour in withholding you from the treatiſe which followeth. When you come to it, you ſhall hardly finde any controuerſie betwixt vsus and the Synagogue of Rome, but it is in part touched, (confuſedly I grant, but otherwiſe it could not be, ſeeing he was to follow the ſteps of him who had very little method in him, and leſſe matter) and therefore it may be as an Enchiridion, which being euer had with you, and read with ſome diligence, as your great affaires of the ſtate will permit you, you ſhall hardly be vnfurniſhed of ſome pregaant matter, againſt almoſt all the points, which the aduerſaries hauehave made goodly in ſhew, but nothing in ſubſtance. And thus I commend theſe my ſmall labours to your Honour, who ſet me on worke. Vouchſafe I humbly beſeech you, to accept thē as a memoriall of my duty to your Honor. And as you hauehave alwaies profeſſed the true Chriſtian and Apoſtolike faith, and deteſted error & ſuperſtition: ſo I intreate your Honor that according to your place you will ſtill endeuour to maintaine the ſame truth againſt all Oppoſers: and further the good lawes,Ille haereticum interficit, qui eſſe haereticum patitur. Caeterum noſtra correptio, viuificatio eſt, vt haereſi moriens, viuas Catholicae fidei. Hieron. coat. Pelag. lib. 3. c. 6 but ſpecially the execution of them againſt all ſuch ſeducers as this Campian was in his time. And if that be true of Ierome: He kils an heretike who ſuffers him to be an heretike: but a iuſt puniſhment of them is the quickning and putting life into them, that dying to their hereſie, they may liue to the Catholike faith. Vouchſafe them alſo this pitie, knowing at length by experience it is not the way for authoritie to wi… them by lenitie, but to repreſſe them, and ſo gaine them by iuſt ſeueritie. At the leaſtwiſe hauehave compaſsion on the many thouſands of this kingdome that hauehave been and daily are corrupted by their inchantments, and thereby made archenemies of their Prince, the Church, and State, yea and of their own ſaluation. Now the God of glorie,1. Sam. 2.…0. who honours them that honour him, encreaſe your ſpirituall graces and earthly honour, and make you more and more a ſpeciall inſtrument vnderunder his Highnes of the peace and welfare of the Church and Common-wealth, accompliſhing all your deſires for preſent proſperitie and future felicitie.
Your Honours Chaplaine in all humble ſeruice, RICHARD STOCK.