Commentary on Daniel, Chapter 1 · Controversies
5. Places of controuersie.
1. Controv. Whether the changing of the Popes name be grounded vponupon the example of Peter.
Vers. 7. VntoUnto whom the chiefe of the Eunuches gaue other names: hereupon Pintus taketh occasion to speake of that custome of the Romane Bishops, who at their inauguration doe take vntounto them newe names: Celius Rhodiginus out of Platina alleadgeth this to be the reason thereof, because Sergiu… the second had but an homely name before, he was called os porci, swines face, and thereupon would be called by a newe name, as beeing ashamed of his olde: But Pintus thinketh rather, that it tooke beginning from Peter, whose name the Lord changed, calling him in the Syrian tongue Cephas, which in the Greeke signifieth (petros) a stone: and out of this he falleth into an other matter, that this was not that Cephas mentioned, Galath. 2. who was not Peter, but one of the 72. disciples: for it is not like that S. Paul would reprooue Peter Pontificem maximum, the chiefe priest to his face; neither is that Iohn the Apostle, who is there also spoken off, but one of the disciples, for Paul himselfe saith, c. 1. 19. that he had seene none of the Apostles, but Iames the Lords brother: and againe it appeareth, c. 2. 70. that Iames, Cephas, and Iohn speake of Peter as of an other man beside themselues, when they saw that the gospel of the vncircumcision was committed to me, as of the circumcision to Peter, &c. to this purpose Pintus.
Contra. 1. Platina one of their owne historiographers may be credited for a matter of fact and storie, who was best acquainted with the doings of that Sea: Pintus conceit commeth too late to checke their owne register: and if the changing of Popes names be grounded vponupon the change of Peters name by Christ, why did not the Popes before Sergius alter their names: or why doe they not expect the authoritie of Christ to innouate their names, but take them vp themselues?
2. As for that Cephas or Peter whom S. Paul reprooued, he was no other but Peter the Apostle. 1. for be it admitted, that one of the disciples was called Cephas, yet he was not named Peter too: but this was reprooued vnderunder the name of Peter: 2. that Peter which was a pillar of the Church, and to whom the Apostleship of the circumcision was committed, was reprooued by S. Paul: but none of the disciples were Apostles, or any Apostleship committed vntounto them. 3. this Peter was one of the chiefe, Galath. 2. 6. but the disciples were not counted among the chiefe.
Neither doe the contrarie arguments conclude any thing. 1. for whence can they prooue, that Peter was the chiefe of the Apostles: the contrarie is inforced here, that Peter with the rest gaue vntounto Paul the right hand of fellowship, therefore there was an equalitie among them: and in that Paul so boldly reprooueth Peter, it sheweth that there was no superioritie. 2. S. Paul speaketh of his twice comming to Ierusalem, first after three yeares, and then he saw none of the Apostles but Iames: then after fourteene yeares, Galat. 2. v. 1. when he found at Ierusalem, Iames, Peter, and Iohn. This then is a simple collection, that at his first comming he saw none but Iames, therefore he saw no more of the Apostles at his second comming. 3. Neither doth the construction of the words helpe him any thing at all: for, v. 7. it is onelyonly said, when they saw, &c. Iames, Cephas, Iohn, are not there named: and if they were, if we vnderstand it thus, when Iames, Cephas and Iohn saw that the Gospel of the vncircumcision was committed vntounto me, as the Gospel of the circumcision was to Peter, or Cephas, it doth not follow, that Peter should be none of those three: for it is an vsuall Hebraisme, to repeat the antecedent in stead of the pronoun…, as Exod. 10. 13. He (that is Pharaoh) thrust them out from the presence of Pharaoh: who is so simple to gather hereupon, that there were two Pharaohs. 4. Whereas Pintus nameth Clemens, Oecumenius, Theophylact, as fauourers of this opinion, that this Cephas was an other beside Peter, many Fathers of greater authoritie may be produced, which hold that Peter the Apostle was reprooued by S. Paul, as Cyprian, Hierome, Augustine, Ambrose, with others: as is elswhere shewed at large, Synops. p. 139.
2. Controv. That fasting is not meritorious, nor satisfactorie.
VponUpon this example of Daniel, vers. 8. who determined with himselfe not to be defiled with the kings meates, Pererius taketh occasion to set downe generally the endes of Christian abstinence, which he maketh to be these eight. 1. to mitigate and oppresse the anger of God kindled against sinne. 2. to obtaine somewhat at the hand of God. 3. to imitate the abstinence of Christ and his Apostles. 4. to satisfie God for their owne sinnes and others. 5. to ouercome the tentations of Sathan. 6. to preuent sinnes to come. 7. to subdue the concupiscence of the flesh. 8. to make the soule more prompt and readie for spirituall exercise and meditation.
Contra. The rest of the causes of abstinence beeing admitted, three of them we worthily take exception to, namely the 1. 3. 4.
1. Gods wrath can not be appeased by any worke of ours: it is onelyonly Christ, in whom God is well pleased with vsus, and who hath made an atonement for vsus, he onelyonly hath offred a sacrifice of sweete smelling sauour vntounto God for vsus, Ephes. 5. 2. 2. Neither can we imitate the miraculous fast of our blessed Sauiour, who continued 40. daies and nights without eating any thing: neither did Christ fast to that ende, to giuegive vsus an example to doe the like: but wherein we should imitate Christ, he himselfe teacheth vsus, saying, learne of me, that I am meeke and lowly in heart. 3. And that fasting doth not satisfie for sinne, it is euident by the example of the vainglorious Pharisie, who boasted in his prayer, that he fasted twice in the weeke, and yet he was not thereby iustified: see more hereof Synops. p. 955.
3. Controv. That the prescript of fasting daies for religion, and forbearing of certaine kinds of meate, is not warranted here by Daniels abstinence.
Pintus vponupon this example groundeth the lenten-fast of 40. daies, and other fasts obserued in the Papall Church; and thereupon inueigheth against Protestants, calling them heretikes, because they doe Ecclesiae ieiunia aspernari, despise the fasts of the Church: and saith whereas we pretend to hauehave reformed the Church, non Ecclesiae, sed sectae Epicureae reformatores, &c. we are not reformers of the Church, but of the Epicures sect: Pintus, p. 18.
Contra. 1. Protestants onelyonly reiect their superstitious and hypocriticall fasts: true fasting (which is an abstinence from all meates and drinkes for a time, to make their prayers more feruent) they practise more then Papists, who knowe not what such fasting meaneth. 2. Who are the Epicures and bellie gods of this age, their fat Monkes and Abbey-lubbers are wittnesses: who while they forbeare eating of flesh, do feede vponupon other delicate meates and daint…e confections, with drinking of wine, which doe more pamper the flesh and enflame the lust. 3. This example of Daniel doth nothing at all fit their turne: 1. Daniel kept this abstinence 3. yeares together. 2. he abstained as well from eating of fish as flesh. 3. neither did he drinke any wine all this time of abstinence: let them goe now and imitate Daniels fast themselues; which they would take to be a verie hard penance. Polan.
4. Controv. vers. 20. What the wisemen of the Chaldeans were: and whether the wisemen which came to Christ were kings.
Pintus vponupon this place giueth this note, that the wise men among the Chaldeans and Persians were called Magi, which is a Persian word, and was the same with a Philosopher among the Grecians, and a Gymnosophist among the Indians: and because the kings of the East were philosophers, they were called Magi, wisemen: and so the wise men which came to Christ, Matth. 2. are held by an auncient tradition of the Church to hauehave beene kings, as Tertullian, Hierome, and Augustine affirme, with other. Pintus, p. 24.
Contra. 1. Hierome writing vponupon the 72. Psalme, calleth them not reges, but regum typos, lib 3. de mira…. scrip. c. 4.kings, but types of the kings: Augustine saith, monente subdolo sermone regis, alacres eunt, beeing craftely warned by the king, they goe cheerefully: not as it is corruptly read, reges alacres eunt, the kings goe on cheerefully: 2. Tertullian indeede saith, nam & Magos reges fere oriens habuit: in the East, they had for the most part the Magi or wisemen for their kings, &c. But this can hardly be prooued: the wise men were of great authoritie with the Persian kings, and did vsurpe the kingdome a while, before Darius was chosen king: but the Magi were not kings. 3. And if this be such a firme tradition of the Church; that these 3. wisemen were kings, what tradition hauehave they for the rest, that these three kings lie buried at Collen, and that their names, were Gaspar, Melchior, Balthasar: which three names written in parchment, and hung about the necke, they say are auaileable to driue away any disease from the bodie. 4. If they had beene kings, Herod would hauehave beene afraide to hauehave entertained them beeing iealous of his kingdome, neither is it like that the Euangelist would hauehave omitted it, it beeing much for the honour of Christ, that he was adored of kings in his infancie: see Beza, in his annotat. Matth. 2. 1.
5. Controv. v. 20. Of the Magicians among the Chaldeans, and how that such were alwaies opposite to the true Church of God, as diuers of the Popes were such.
1. The word chartummim, is a strange and forren word, and is taken properly (as Aben Ezra) for the Magician, or Genethliake, the caster of mens natiuities.
2. In the beginning the tearme of Magicians was honourable among the Persians▪ for they were such as professed the knowledge both of diuine and humane things,Clem. Alexand. lib. 1. and were assistant vntounto Kings: they were the same among the Persians, with the Priests or Prophets in Egypt, the Philosophers in Greece▪ among the French the Druidae, among the Indians the Gymnosophistes: among the Bactrians the Samanaei.
3. But afterward these Magi fell to practising of vnlawfull artes, to inuocate spirits, and to confederate themselues with deuills: of whome they learned their enchantments and coniurations, as Theodoret alleadgeth out of Porphirie.
4. Such were the Magicians and Sorcerers in Egypt, of whome Iannes and Iambres were the chiefe, which resisted Moses.
Most of the Heretikes were Magicians, as Simon Magus, and Menander his successor, and Marcion, as Iustinus witnesseth, Apolog. 2. pro Christian. and one Marcus, who by his magicall impostures deceiued many,Ireneus lib 1. advers. haere…. c. 8. 9. as Ireneus. Many of the Popes were professed Magicians, and by such Diabolicall practises obtained the Popedome: as Sylvester the 2. Sylvester the 3. Gregorie the 6. Benedict the 9. Iohn the 12. who in playing at dice was wont to call vponupon the deuill, as Luitprandus, and to offer wine vntounto him, as Fasciculus temp. Gregorie the 7. did vse to carrie about with him a booke of Necromancie, and was condemned as a Magician and Sorcerer in the Synod at Brixia, as Abb. Vrspergens. and Benno Cardinal. write, Polan. Thus in the aduersarie Church Magicians hauehave beene had in great reputation; as here they were accounted of among the Chaldeans: But as Daniel by his godly wisdome obscured them all; so the light of Gods truth and Gospel hath preuailed agrinst all such abominations.