A General View of Papistry, Dedication 2 – Book 3
To the right honorable Sir Robert Cicil Knight, one of her Maiesties most honorable priuie Councell.
BOth that general louelove (right honorable) which the Church of God doth beare to your worthie and honorable Father, for his sincere and sound affection to religion, and the dutifull reuerence which our vniuersitie of Cambridge, and generally the whole company of Students doth owe vntounto him as their singular good Patrone, hauehave moued and caused me at this time, to cōmend this last part of this worke to your Honor his sonne: of whose louelove also vntounto the Gospell, following your Fathers steppes, we are all perswaded, and conceiue no lesse hope of your honourable fauour to learning: I hauehave (as your Honor seeth) vndertaken an hard peece of worke, and thrust my shoulders vnderunder an heauy burthen: for in this worke I hauehave taken vponupon me, to discouer and lay open all popish Heresies, and Errors, to portraite and decipher the whole body of papistrie, to spread abroad the whore of Babylons skirtes, that her filthines may appeare: to vncouer her whorish face, which masked vnderunder the visour of the Church, and religion: for we may say to them, as Leo Bishop of Rome did sometime to certaine Heretikes: Ecclesiae nomine armamini, sed contra Ecclesiam d…micatis: You are armed with the name of the Church, and yet you fight against the Church.
This difficult matter being thus by me enterprised, I hauehave exposed my selfe to the obloquie and euill speech of two sortes of men: against whom in the defence of this work I must craue your Honors aid and protection. The first sort, is of our hollow harted Countrimen, that hauehave English faces, but Romish harts, who will forge cauillations (I know) against these labours of mine: and not cease to accuse me of lying and falshood, as not hauing truly and indifferently set down the opinions of the popish Church. To meete then with those slanderous accusations, let such men know that I hauehave beene most carefull and circumspect in this behalf, throughout this whole work, not to charge them with any opinions, which I hauehave not gathered out of their owne writings, and alleadged their owne Authors for them: so that with a good conscience I can protest before God (that one day shall open the secrets of our harts) that to my knowledge I hauehave not any where vsed any forgerie, cauilling, or deceit, in setting downe their assertions: and I would to God their writers were as free from this fault, and as indifferent in alleadging the sentence of our Church, as we doe deale plainely with them. But as for them, it is a shame to see, how without all feare, the Rhemists in their annotations vponupon the new testament, doe bely and slander our Church: I will for example sake note a fewe places.
They charge vsus to say, that God is the author of sinne, annot. Math. 13. sect. 2. which blasphemie is further off from vsus, then it is from them: though we graunt, that nothing is done in the world beside the will of God, not by his permission onelyonly.
That we affirme all things to be easie in Scripture, annot. Luk. 6. sect 1. whereas we say onelyonly, that the doctrine of faith is plainly declared in Scripture: and deny not, but that many things are therein hard to be vnderstood.
That we should say, that the preaching of the Law, and the iudgement to come, maketh men hypocrites, Act. 24. sect. 2. whereas we holde the preaching of the Law to be necessary to bring men to repentance: but iustification by keeping the Law, which they teach, we vtterly condemne.
That we condemne good workes as sinfull, Pharisaicall, hypocriticall, annot. Rom. 2. sect. 3. whereas we acknowledge them to be the good gifts of God, the fruits of iustification, the way wherein all Christians must walke to saluation: we onelyonly exclude them from being any cause of our iustification before God.
That we allow no fasting, but morall temperance, and spiritual fasting from sinne, Act. 13. sect. 5. whereas we doe acknowledge a Christian vse of fasting and abstinence from all meates and drinkes, for the taming of the flesh, and making vsus more fit to pray: not an abstinence from flesh onelyonly, as they do superstitiously practise.
That we should say, man hath no more free will, then a peece of clay, Rom. 9. sect. 7. whereas we onelyonly say, that our free will hath no power or strength at all, to will or doe the thing that good is, without the grace of God.
That Caluine holdeth Christians children to be so holy, that they neede no baptisme, annot. 1. Cor. 7. sect. 11. Whereas Caluine clean contrary reasoneth thus against the Anabaptists, That children ought therefore to be baptized, because they are holy, as S. Paul saith: And such slanderous accusations they hauehave published against vsus, which would require a seuerall treatise to be set forth at large.
Let indifferent men now iudge (comparing their writings with ours) which of vsus hath dealt most vntruly, and vnfaithfully each with other: and whether we hauehave not more iust occasion to complaine of them, then they of vsus. But to let accusations goe, I would desire them rather to listen to the words of exhortation, that they would but indifferently weigh with an equal balance of Christian iudgemēt, what is set downe on both partes in this booke: I trust if they be not wilfull and obstinate in their opinions, that they may in time conceiue some better liking of the truth.
Augustine in a certaine place maketh mention of drunken Polio, Cont. Iust. Pelag. lib. 1who one a time came from his pots and riotous company to Xenocrates schoole, to laugh the graue Philosopher to scorne: but it fell out to his good farre otherwise: Ad extremum totum se illi, ad quem deridendum venerat, discipulum tradidit: But Polemo being cleane changed by Xenocrates speech, became his Scholler whom he went to scorne: and whereas he came drunke, he returned sober. So I wish that our English recusants would but take vp this and such other bookes into their hands, if it were but to scorne them, God may so worke with them, that their scorning shalbe turned into a louelove and lyking of the truth. And I further say vntounto them, as Augustine to the Pelagians: Quod dicimus, orent, vt aliquando intelligant, non litigent, vt nunquam intelligant, quod dicimus intendant, non contendant, illuminentur, non calumnientur.
An other sort of men there is beside these (Right honorable) against whom I must arme my selfe: they are such, as are giuen to extenuate,Cont. 2. epist. Pelag. lib. 3. cap. 1▪ disgrace, and discommend the labours of others. Me thinkes I heare them thus to giuegive out of me. He hath taken a matter in hand aboue his strength, some of his writings are extant already, we know what he can doe, he is like to perform no great matter, and what doth he? he doth but abridge other mens writings, he bringeth nothing of his owne. To these accusations I thus answere: First, I confesse my strēgth to be small of it selfe: yet God by weake meanes may worke great things. Some Pamphlets of mine, I cōfesse, are abroad vnworthy this learned age, though perhaps befitting the person that wrote them, his time & age, and the occasion considered. But I say rather with August. I count my self in the number of those, qui scribendo proficiunt, et proficiendo scribunt, which profit in writing, and by profiting write. Secondly, cōcerning my labour & paines taken in this work I boast not; he that thinketh it light, let him trie first himselfe before he giuegive his iudgement: the waight of this burthen he onelyonly knoweth that felt it, and God that gaue strength to beare it: but as for my part, I hunt not for the praise of men, I desire onelyonly to profit the church of God: I had rather men should holde their peace then flatter. It is very well said of him,Augustin lib. 2. de Serm. dom. Si inter quos viuis te recte viuentem non laudauerint, illi in errore sint: si autem laudauerint, tu in periculo es. I had rather other mē should be in a small error, then I in great danger. Epictetus wise saying is much commended: foreign, sustine, abstine, sustaine, and abstain I would we might part it betweene vsus: sustine hath bene mine, I hauehave endured the labour▪ I would abstine might be theirs, that they would abstaine from ill speaking.
Lastly, if I hauehave taken vponupon me more then is performed, I hauehave done foolishly: for that olde verse might hauehave warned me sufficiently, Sumite materiam vestris, qui scribitis, aptam —viribus. But I trust, by the gratious assistance of God, I hauehave in some smal measure accomplished, that I would, and I say with Augustin, Gratias ago Deo, qui quantum voluit donando, quod voluit, fari promisit, et v…i voluit tacendum, linguae terminum posuit. For it is God that gaue me strength to proceede so far as I hauehave done, and hath set me my boūds, which I should not passe: for no m…n may exceede the line and measure of his gifts, 2. Corin. 10.14.
Thus I end, commending these my labours to the charitable and christian iudgement of the Church of God, whom I desire to profit, and to your Honors protection, whom I wish in vertue and honor to tread your Fathers path, and both of you to liue so long as it pleaseth God, to his glory, and the comfort of his Church, and afterward to be euerlastingly rewarded in heauen, through the onelyonly merits of Christ Iesus, to whom be praise for euer.
Your Honors to commaund in the Lord Christ, Andrew Willet.