The Accomplishment of the Prophecies, Chapter 2 · Part 29
The proofe of this Exposition.
ALthough the ordinary workes of God deserue most to be admired, yet men never wonder at these, but are still desirous to see some extraordinary thing: Few are there that take notice of the suns moving, but what a wonderment would it be to see the sun stand still? And yet notwithstanding the motion thereof is the more wonderful of the two. Man is naturally enclined to looke after extraordinary eventes, but to to carelesse to better himselfe by them. So the Iews resorted to Christ: because of the miracle of the fiue loaues, but not to receiue instruction. This is the reason why God, being willing to direct mēs vnderstandings by naturall means, did annex miracles to the publication of his law and his gospel: that so he might plant a dutiful respect in our hearts, before he did engraue his will in them. Yet for feare that miracles by being made to commō should cease to be miracles, he thought it not fit to satisfie every mans curiosity in this, but sends vsus backe to the hearing of his word: which being once confirmed by miracles in the first publication thereof, to aske any more for miracles is manifest incredulitie. Herevnto adde that Satan doth sometimes imitate the miracles of God, but never his truth, whēce it happens that he which will not beleeue except he see miracles, doth thereby (without thinking of it) sollicit Satan to worke some miraculous feates, and to sport himselfe in deluding him. This is the reason why our Lord in the 13. of Deuteronomie doth forbid vsus to iudge of the doctrine by the miracles, and woulde that we should rather iudge of the miracles by the doctrine, saying that if any one shal giuegive vsus a signe, or wonder, and the signe or wonder which he told of should come to passe, yet we must not harkē vntounto him if he once say, Come and let vsus go serue other Gods; that is to say, if he shall teach false doctrine. Such were the miracles of the magicians of Egypt, which counterfaited the power of God. Such were the miracles of the ancient hereticks, who disputing against the Catholickes did alleadge their miracles, as Tertullian reporteth in 44. chapt. of the booke of prescriptions. They will moreover (saith he) speake much concerning the authority of every hereticke, that they hauehave more then any others cōfirmed the certainty of their doctrin that they hauehave raised the dead, healed the sick, foretold of events to come, that they might be reputed for Apostles: as though this also were not written, that many shall come doing great miracles, for to strengthen the deceitfulnesse of their wicked preaching. And in the 3. cha. of his 3. booke against Marcian, hee saith, that the false Christs doe worke miracles very easily. For Iesus Christ tels vsus that in the last day many shall say vntounto him, hauehave not we cast forth divels in thy name? To whome he shall answere, I know yee not, depart from me yee workers of iniquity. And in an other Mat. 24 ver 24. Marc. 13 v. 22.place he saith, that false Christs; and false prophets shall arise, & shall shew great signes, and wonders, so that if it were possible they should deceiue the very elect. And S. Paul yet more in particular saith of the sonne of perdition which is called Antichrist, that his comming shall be with signes, and lying wō ders, so called, both because they shall bee deceitfull miracles, and meere illusions, as also because they shall serue to establish a lie.
Which made me not a little wōder how Bellarmine and others came to put miracles amongst the notes of the true church, since the spirit of God hath given it vsus in these last daies for a marke of the false. And that after the miracles of the Apostles, and their disciples, we hear of no miracles foretold, but only those of false teachers, and the sonne of perdition, as the author of the commentary vponupon S. Matthew (commonly fathered vponupon Chrysostome) saith in the 49. sermon. We do not now acknowledge ani… to be the ministers of Christ because they doe profitable miracles, but because they do no… of these miracles. It is an evill and adulterous generation that seeketh signes, saith Christ in the 12. of Matthew; But the faithful rest the contented with the wil of God revealed in his word: For if we teach no other doctrine then that of the Apostles, their miracles are ours, and confirme our religion. It is for them that forge newe articles of faith, to worke new miracles, that they may be beleeued.
Now for to finde the accomplishment of S. Pauls prophecy in the miracles of Popery, wee are of necessitie to rippe vp the whole matter from the beginning, and to see by what miracles the Papacy beganne first to be advanced.
The Apostles & their Disciples having wrought many excellent and sauing miracles, this vertue did insensibly diminish by little and little. This notwithstanding in the third and fourth ages there were some miracles done. But wheresoever God hath his Church, the divell will be sure to build him a chappell not far of: and where he cā not overthrowe the worke of God by cō tradicting it, hee will obscure it by counterfeiting the like therevnto. He did therfore doe many miracles by the handes of hereticks, as S. Austin doth confesse in his 13 tract vponupon S. Iohn, and in the 16. chapt. of his booke of the vnitie of the Church, where he saith that Donat and Portius did miracles, of whom and of all those which pray towards the sepulchers of the dead, and which see visions, he saith, that they are either the fictions of lying men, or prodigies of deceitfull spirits.
Satan hath for this purpose made vse of another more subtill device. For hee hath raised vp historians, which in rehearsing the true miracles of the good servants of God, doe adde some of their owne, & mingle the true with the false. Or else he himselfe hath wrought some absurd and ridiculous miracles, which hee hath patcht in among the actions of the Saints, so to make the true miracles suspected, being thought to come out of the same shop.
S. Martin did doe God great service in winning the Gaules from Paganisme, and advancing Christian religion, and was a man full of zeale, and mightie in workes; but Severus Sulpitius, which tels vsus that he saw him, reporteth many things of him which turne to his disgrace, and make the whole historie ridiculous. Hee saith that Martin healed one that was possessed of a divel by giving him somthing to purge, and that he made him void the divell out at his backe parts.*Tractain de trans… Martini. He, the same relateth how Martin did inioine a company of wild fowle not to catch any more fish, cō manding them to flie thence into a desert country. A certaine man comming into one of Martins cels, & finding a fire there sate him down, tuckt vp his clothes about his knees, so to warme him the better, which Martin (who as then was in another roome) knowing by revelation, cryed out from farre. Quis nudato inguine nostrū incestat habitaculum? These tales which follow here are worse. He saith that Martin promised the mercy of Iesus Christ vntounto the divell, if hee would but repent, as if Iesus Christ had died for the divels also. The brother of Martin being dead, his soule was presented before God, and for his sinnes sent to hel, there to be grievously tormented: But two Angels, came, and signified to God (for God himselfe knewe not of it) that this was the man for which Martin prayed, wherevpon God commanded that hee should bee releast, sent backe againe into the world; and restored to Martin. After his death a dog barked incessantly at certaine men as they passed by, one of which turning backe, said vntounto the dog, In the name of Martin I command thee to be quiet. What was this but to place Martin in the roome of Iesus Christ, & to make vse of his power in a matter of no importance? whereby you may see, that Satan did euen then begin to cast his proiects, how he might establish the worship of Saints in the Church, and make them which had abandoned the false Gods, change the true Saints into Idoles. Now this was about the 400. yeare of our Lord.
But these things began dayly to growe worse and worse; for two hundred yeares after came Gregory the 1. Bishop of Rome, surnamed the Great, for what reason I knowe not; who in his dialogues doth furnish vsus with other examples of this kinde. In the 1. booke and 4. chap. an Angell geldeth S. *Nocte quadam assistente Angelo Eunuchizavi sevidit.Equitius in his sleep. In the same place a maid comming into a garden, and taking a lettice to eate it, crusht the divell betweene her teeth in the lettice: and this poore divell (whom belike she swallowed downe together with the lettice (being commanded to goe out and chekt by Equitius, excuseth himselfe, saying. *Ego quid feci? sedebam ibi super lactuc…m venit illa & m… mordit me.Alas what hurt did I, I was sitting quietly vponupon the lettice, and she came & bit me. The fault was in her for not making the signe of the crosse when she gathered the lettice: and it may bee the diuell would hauehave vanished from out the leaues, if shee had but dipped her lettice in vineger. In the 19. chapter. S. Boniface maketh a fox, with all gentlenes that may be, to bring back a chicke which he had taken away. And in the 10. chap. a Lady of good fashion is possessed with a diuell because shee lay with her husband the day before the dedication of a certaine church. In the first chapter of the 2. booke, the diuell breakes S. Bennets bell with a stone, which hee did vse to ring, when hee would hauehave meat brought vntounto him. A little after, the same Saint burning with the fits of louelove, did (for to correct the outragious insolencie of his flesh) roll his naked body vponupon thornes, and nettles, till the blood sprang out againe. In the 20. chap. a Monke holdes a candle to S. Bennet all supper time, as though it had beene a sinne for him to set it downe vponupon the table. In the 22. chap. the Deacon saying, as the fashion is, *Si quis non communicat det locum.If there be any one here that doth not communicate, let him depart, two maids being buried in the church, which died without euer receauing the Communion, rose out of their graues, went out of the church, & returned againe after the communion was ended. In the 14 chap. of the 3. book, S. Eutiche calleth a Beare his brother, giuing him a charge to lead his flock to feeding, and to bring them home still at night. In the 15. chap. some of the cloaths of this Saint, being hanged out, hauehave the vertue to procure raine. In the 4. booke and 21. chap. two Monkes that were hanged, doe sing most melodiously vponupon the gibbet after their deathes. And this fourth booke is spent wholly in mentioning of soules, that say they are in Purgatory, not in a fire vnderunder the earth, that the Pope might draw them out by his Indulgences (for this invention was not yet thought vponupon) but in bathes, in the wind, vnderunder the leaues of trees, or in the cold water. And these soules being asked why they suffered these paines, answered, because they had wronged some Monk or other, or had not giuen that to the Church which they had promised. Wherevpon Gregory stands amazed at the so frequent visions of souls, neuer heard of before. Saying in the 41. chap. Whence comes it to passe I pray you, that in these latter daies we hauehave so many things revealed concerning the soules of the departed, which lay hid from vsus before?
Behold two abuses, euen in those daies, crept into the Church of Rome, and both confirmed by miracles, to wit, the Adoration of Saints, and the opinion of Purgatory; although this were another kinde of Purgatory, thē that, which we hauehave in the church of Rome now adaies. And this was not aboue 600. yeares after Christ.
But in the two next ages following, Satan holding on his olde course, did much advance the mysterie of iniquitie, hauing raised vp a new heresie, to wit, the Adoration of images, which was no small helpe to the exalting of the Papacy. For in the controversie cōcerning Prioritie between the Patriarch of Constantinople, and the Bishop of Rome, the Emperour Phocas deciding it on the Bishop of Romes side, & a little after the Emperours forces decaying in Italie, the pope after hee had vsurpt the title of the head of the church, began to cast about how hee might shake of the yoke of the Empire: and the *Bell. lib. … Imag cap. 1… parag Arg…mentum. E… adem occas…one amisit dem Leo … successor es ius imperi… Italiae.the question concerning images falling fit to his purpose for to withstand the Emperor, which did persecute the worshippers of images, he made himselfe Prince of Rome, and of a great part of Italy, by such meanes and degrees, as we hauehave formerly related. Miracles were made serue to this end, which as then were so frequent, that it was held for a miracle, not to worke a miracle. Baronius in his Annals, in the 870. yeere parag. 63. names certaine witnesses which report that three miles of from the towne of Damas, there was in former times a table or image of the virgin Mary in painting, the painting whereof came to bee flesh incarnate within the wood, and sent forth a more odoriferous oyle then balme. Luitprandus, and Platina in the life of Sergius the third, reports that when the body of pope Formosus was carryed into S. Peters church, all the images of the Saints that stood there did him obeysance. Bellarmine in the 12. chapter. of his booke of images, speakes of an Hermit that was tempted with fornication, to whom Satan promised that he would tempt him no more, that is to say, that hee would giuegive him the gift of continency, on conditiō that he should ever after that adore the image of the virgin Mary. This was a meanes rather to incite him on to it afresh. There are images shewed at Burgo in Spaine, which are reported to hauehave fallen from heauen, and to be made by S. Luke, and images of a crucifix the haire & nailes of which do grow out new every month. Caesarius and others recite infinite miracles done by images, which did sweat, or weep, or speak, or wag the head, and it is certaine that (if at leastwise we may beleeue these people) the image of the virgin Mary hath wrought a thousand times more miracles, then Iesus Christ himself ever did in his own person. Which holy virgin they hauehave prophanely dishonored, by attributing such miracles vntounto her as are scarsely honest. There is an Italian booke sufficiently knowne, intituled, Miracoli d' ella gloriosa virgine Maria printed at Milan in the yeare 1547. which saith that a certaine Abbesse being great with child, the holy virgin willing to cover her crime, did in her steed present herselfe before the Bishop in forme of an Abbesse, and shewd him by an ocular demonstration that she was not great with child. The same booke relateth that an honest woman snatcht the virgin Maries sonne from betweene the armes of her image, saying vntounto her, GiueGive me my sonne which is kept prisoner, or I will not giuegive thee thine, & that the virgin Mary for to hauehave her owne sonne did free the other womans sonne out of prison. Caesarius in his 7. booke 35. chap. reports that the virgin Mary for 12. whole yeares together, did supply the place of a certaine Nunne called Beatrice, whilst shee lay in the Stewes, till at last she came backe againe to take her place, and freed the Virgin from standing sentinell any longer. And God being enraged against the rebellion of men, hath giuen to these miracles a powerfulnes of deluding, that so the Apostles prophecy might bee fulfilled.
Nowe looke after what manner Satan went about at first to establish the worship of Images, the same way did he go to lay the foundation of transubstantiation, & did also for the authorising of this, serue his owne turne with a new sort of false miracles. For many faithfull servants of God opposing themselues against this errour in the rising thereof, the foster-fathers of this abuse, began to invent a kinde of miracles never heard of before. A certaine Monke reportes that he saw Iesus Christ in forme of a childe sitting vponupon the Altar; another saith, that *Albertus Krantzius in Metrop lib. 1 cap 9. Wernerius Role uingius de laud Westph cap 7. Sigon. de reg. Ital. ad annum 1264. Platina in Leone 3. Onuphr. in Platinae Vrbanum 4. Meierus annal. Flandri. lib. 33.Wittikind King of the Saxons, entring disguised into a church, and diligently observing the Christians fashion of receauing the communion, saw them put a litle pretty smiling boy into their mouths. Others report that they hauehave seen the host make the signe of the Crosse: others that they saw Angels which held a little childe vponupon the altar, and afterwards cut him into a thousand small pieces. Iodocus Coccius Canon of Iuliers doth produce 35. such like examples as these, and yet doth not alleage the one moyty of them. All these miraculous apparitions of flesh, and bloud, beganne in the yeare 785, for before that time they were never heard of, nor doe our adversaries alleadge any one example of them: neverthelesse to giuegive colour to these new fables, by the testimony of some ancient witnesse, one (I know what manner of man) Amphylochius by name, hath written the life of S. Basill, many ages after Basill was dead, altogither different from that which Nazianzen hath writtē of the same subiect, where he saith that a Iew saw an infant torne in many pieces betweene S. Basils handes. The like fable is related by Simeon the Metaphrast, a new author, in the life of Arsenius the Hermite. For it shal never be found that any author, as ancient as Basill, or Arsenius, or those which came long after, did ever speake of this. The 8. age began first to bring forth these prodigies, and impostures: Iesus Christ as then beginning to make himselfe known in the Masse, and to shew himselfe in his proper shape, beeing a perfect compleate man in heauen, and but a childe vponupon earth, wholly entire in heaven, but here cut and mangled into small pieces betweene the hands of the Priest. Wherefore they do yet keepe some bloud & flesh in many churches, for feare least the people suspect that these were illusions. For Satan even in those daies did secretly begin to weaue the web of the mistery of Transubstantiatiō: which having cōfirmed by these miracles, he got it at last to passe in an article of a councell, the Lat…ran Councell I meane, held vnderunder Innocent the 3. in the yeare of our Lorde, 1215. To these apparitions they annexe the testimoines of beasts. There were an hiue of Bees seene in S, Gervays his monastery in Paris which builte a chappell of waxe in honor of the Host; but aboue all, the miracle of the Asse that left his provender to worship the hoast, seemes most ridiculous to the king of Great Brittaine: and that with good reason: howsoever Apol. in Regem cap. 9.Bellarmine in his answere to the king seeke to colour it with other miracles mentioned in the Scripture, which, as he saith, seeme no lesse absurd to him. Wee are therefore now come to that passe, that it is helde impiety not to think that foolish legends forged but of late, must hauehave all one authority to bind our beliefe, as the word of God, besides, no miracles of the scripture do plāt Christiā vertues in brute beasts: for it must needes be (by their reckoning) that this Asse (going of his own accord to worship the hoast) had some zeale in him & knowledge of God, which was not to be seen in the Kine that drew the Arke, nor in Balaams Asse. The miracles that are done nowe a daies are of no more worth, and are al reducible to one miracle, which is to driue away divels, who make as though they were afraid of holy water, and the signe of crosse, so to detaine the people still in errour: and as theeues are thought to giuegive life when they do not take it away, so the divels are said to do good when they cease to hurt. Wherevnto they do willingly cō descend, for to make men thinke that the Masse or these cōiurations hauehave some vertue in them. The Pharisies accused Iesus Christ for casting out divels by Beelzebub Prince of the divels, thinking that Beelzebub did cast out others as being more powerfull then they. But we speak not as the Pharisies: for we say not that these coniurers of spirits in this age, do cast out divels by any superiority or predominancie that they hauehave over them, but by collusion, and by the voluntary departing of the divels themselues. Wherefore they cannot answer vsus as our Lord did the Pharisies, that if Satan cast out Satan his kingdome cannot endure, because hee is divided against himselfe, for in all their exorcismes we presuppose that the diuels are to well agreed. Yea and I say, that if Christ could hauehave done no other miracle but to heale those which were possessed with diuels, the Pharisies had had some reason to doubt of his power: but he gaue sight to such as were borne blinde, raised the dead that lay stinking in their graues, multiplyed the bread, things which the diuels cannot doe, and which our aduersaries (though neuer so foole-hardy in imitating) doe not yet dare to counterfait: for they hauehave beene manie times taken tardy in lesse matters, and punished for such pranckes by iudges of the same religion that they are. In the yeare 1509 there were fowre Iacobin Friers executed at Berne, for raising vlcers, in the feete, in the hands, and in the side of a simple man, of whom they would hauehave made another S. Frauncis, and giuen him the marks, as *Langii Chron. Citizense ad annum. 1509.Langius witnesseth in his chronicle, and it is a thing commonly practised to this day in Swizerlād. In the year*S…e…dan l ▪ 9 1534 the Cordeliers of Orleans did put a Novice of their profession over the vault of the church, which with pittifull sighes & great lamentation did faigne that hee was the soule the Provosts wife of Orleans, that died without giuing them any thing, and gaue them to vnderstand that she was dā ned, and that her body must bee digged vp againe out of the earth. This point of knavery being detected by the Officiall, the two principall authors of it, to wit, Colimā and Steven of Arras, were sent to Paris, & after iudgement past, were forthwith led backe againe to Orleans, and there in an open place (where malefactours vse to suffer) were made to confesse their imposture. Papon in the sixth edition of his Reportes, 1. title, & 6. Iudgement. doth relate manie sentences that hauehave past in the high Courts against these false, and abusiue miracles. The miracles of Martha Brossiere, which was possest with a diuell, hauehave lately beene found to be false, and shee condemned in iudgement, Mounsieur Marescot a Physitiā that was sent for to visit her, hath written an expresse booke of this. Mounsieur Boutiller that famous advocate at Paris hath written a set tract against the fable of Gargoville of Roane, slaine by S. Roman, wherein it is said, that for a requital of this good turne, God hath done him this favor that whosoeuer doth but lift vp his coffin (be it that he bee a parricide or hauehave committed incest) is forthwith absolued both from the punishment, & the guilt of these crimes. Read the miracles of our Lady of Halls in Flaunders, published by Lipsius, & you shall see that the good man hath spent 40 yeares in gathering choice flowers of Grammar Latin to throw them downe at the feete of an image, and made vse of all his philosophy vponupon an idle toy: there shal you see how he doth often call the Virgin Deam, & Divam, Pagan-like substituting femall Gods. S. Ignatius Loyola the father and patron of the Iesuits had not for a lōg time done any miracles: but his opening vertue began of late to shew it selfe, by vnstopping the obstructions of a wench troubled with the stone & making her to leake. This is the first signe of any powerfull vertue that was in this Saint, and this goodly miracle was newly printed of late at Liege and at S. Omers, and is proclaimed by the common cryer to be sold at Paris.
To go about here to reckon vp a thousand false miracles wherewith the legends are stuft, were nothing else but to rake vp heapes of dunge. S. Dominicke heales a wenches thigh, by rubbing it over with the oile of LoueLove, as his Legend reporteth. That of S. Frauncis saith, that he preached to the Pyes, and Swallowes, and called thē his sisters: that he gaue his hand to a wolfe calling him his brother, and that the wolfe gaue him his paw. The booke intituled Fasciculus temporum, composed by a religious Carmelite, vponupon the yeare 754, reporteth of S. Gingolfs wife, that she vsed to sing with her lower mouth, which was inflicted vponupon her for a punishment, because shee scoffed at her husbands miracles. In all this, the greatest miracle is the patience of God▪ and the blockishnesse of the people, that are thus led. But it must needs bee that the Apostles prophecie, must be fulfilled; which saith, that the comming of the sonne of Perdition should be in all power, and signes, and lying wonders: and that God should send the powerfulnesse of delusion for a punishmēt vntounto such as would not louelove his truth, On whom (saith the Apostle) God hath sent strong delusions, that they should beleeue lies.