A Defense of the Catholic Faith, Book 2 · Article 7
ARTICLE VII. Touching the Virgin Mary.
The KINGS Confeſſion.AND firſt for the bleſſed Virgin Mary, I yeelde her that which the Angell Gabriel pronounced of her, and that which in her Canticle ſhe propheſied of her ſelfe: that is, That ſhe ¶Luc. 1.28.is bleſsed amongſt women, and, *Ibid. ver. 48.That all generations ſhall call her bleſsed. I reuerence her as the Mother of Chriſt, whom of our Sauiour tooke his fleſh, and ſo the mother of God, ſince the Diuinity and Humanity of Chriſt are inſeperable. And I freely confeſſe, that ſhe is in glory, both aboue Angels and men, her owne Sonne (that is both God and man) onelyonly excepted. But I dare not mocke her, and blaſpheme againſt God, calling her not onelyonly Diua but Dea, and praying her to commaund and controule her Sonne, who is her God and her Sauiour. Nor yet can J thinke, that ſhe hath no other thing to doe in heauen, then to heare eueryevery idle mans ſuite, and bufie her ſelfe in their errands; whiles requeſting, whiles commanding her ſonne, whiles comming downe to kiſſe and make louelove with Prieſts, and whiles diſputing and brawling with Diuels. In heauen ſhe is in eternall glory and ioy, neuer to be interrupted with any worldly buſineſſe: and there I leaue her with her bleſsed Sonne, our Sauiour and hers in eternall felicity.
Here Coeffeteau playeth the ſugitiue, and that little which he murmureth in flying, are partely falſehoods, partely diſguiſings of the beliefe of his Church. He graunteth to the King that ſhe ought not to be called Goddeſſe, and reiecteth with him, a thouſand ridiculous things, and the falſe honours which ſuperſtition hath inuented. Now I cannot diuine, what Religion it is that giueth to the holy Virgin ridiculous or exceſſiue honours, ſaue onelyonly the Romane Religion. It is onelyonly the Romane religion that calleth her Queene of heauen, the gate of Paradiſe,Regina coeli p…rta paradiſi Domina mundi. hauing rule and dominion ouer the world, they are the Titles which are giuen to her in the prayer that Sixtus the fourth, hath willed to be ſaid before the Image of our Ladie of Loretto, with graunt of eleauen thouſand yeares pardon: I my ſelfe hauehave ſeene in the great Miſſ…lles of Paris before the late Popes new plaſtered them ouer, theſe Sapphicke verſes barborouſly elegant.
O fellix puer pera
Noſtra pians ſcelera
Iure matris impera
Redemptori.
It is alſo in the Church of Rome, that throughout all the Churches, the Virgin Mary is painted, lifted vp and aſſumed into heauen in body, and ſolemnly crowned Queene of heauen, and of all the world, without being able to produce any witnes of worth for the ſame. Seeing there is none that euer came backe from heauen that had ſaid that he had ſeene it to be ſo; And God ſaith nothing of it in his word, neither doth the Auncient Church ſpeake of it.
It is the Church of Rome alſo which maketh the Virgin Mary much more inclined to procure our good, then Ieſus Chriſt; euen ſo farre, as that ſhee muſt appeaſe the wrath and indignation of her ſonne againſt vsus, as they ſing vponupon the Feaſt of Alhallowes, or Al-Saints.
Christe redemptor gentium
Conſerua tuos famulos
Beatae ſemper Virginis
Placatus ſanctis precibus.
And ſo Pope Innocent the third ſpeaketh in the Hymne of Chriſt and the Virgin, to which hee addeth great indulgences.
Precor te regina caeli
Me habeto excuſatum
Apud Chriſtum tuum gnatum
Cuius iram pertimeſco
Et furorem expaueſco.
This Church of Rome who in her houres, Roſaries, and Letaines calleth the Holy Virgin, Mother of merciemercy, Gate of Heauen, our Saluation, She that hath bruiſed the head of the Serpent, as alſo Geneſis 3.15. this propertie of bruiſing the Serpents head, which is there giuen to the ſeede of the Woman, in the vulgar tranſlation is attributed to the Woman by a wicked falſification.
In a word, for the toppe of all abuſes, there are in the Church of Rome two Pſalters of our Ladie, one of which is called Saint Bonauenture Pſalter, which is nothing elſe but the one hundred and fifty Pſalmes of Dauid, in which they hauehave taken away the name of God▪ and in it's roome hauehave put the name of Mary, which hauing beene printed an infiuite number of times in Latine, hath ſince beene tranſlated into French and printed at Paris,aAt Paris by Claudius Chappelet in S. Iames his ſtreet at the ſigne of the Vnicorne. 1601. Printed at Paris by Nicolas du Foſſe in S. Iames his ſtreete at the golden pot 1601. with priuilede and approbation, of the Sorbonne. The other Pſalter is digeſted into fifteene Demaunds, with like approbation of the Doctrines: In which the Virgin Mary is called, the firſt cauſe of our ſaluatiō, the finder out of grace, that turneth away the indignation of Ieſus Chriſt by vncouering her paps vntounto him, The Roſe by whoſe ſmell the dead are raiſed vp, who by the faire Lillies of her face, made the King of Heauen in louelove with her, who at the laſt day ſhall moderate the ſentence of the Iudge, euen ſo far hauehave they proceeded, as to place her before Ieſus Chriſt in theſe wordes. Glory be to you, O Virgin, and to Ieſus Chriſt, &c. It would doe well to report the wole booke.
Moreouer eueryevery one knoweth how in Italy they ſpeake with much more reſpect of La madoma, then of God; whom they call by a terme full of miſ-regard, Meſſer Domene Dio, Lect. 80. Confugimus primo ad beatiſſiman vir ginem coelorum reginam: cui Rex regum pater celeſtis dimidium regni ſui dedit. Quod ſignificatum eſt in Eſter regina: Sic pater coeleſtis cum habeat inſtitiam & miſericordiam, iuſtitia ſibi retenta, miſericordiam matri virgini conceſſit.Of whom alſo Gabriel Biel a famous Doctor ſaith in his expoſition of the Canon of the Maſſe, That God hath diuided his Kingdome at halfes, with the Virgin Mary, hauing reſerued Iustice to himſelfe, and left mercy vntounto her.
Now theſe things are not drawne out of any obſcure authours, but out of their owne Miſſalles Letonies, and publicke prayers, out of the writings of their Popes, and Pſalters publickly allowed; to the end that Coeffeteau may know, that in condemning theſe things, hee warreth againſt the whole Church of Rome, and commeth no longer with a cold diſſimulation to diſguiſe his owne priuate beleefe.
Which ſhall ſerue for an anſwere to that place of Cyril wch he alleadgeth, where the virgin Mary is called the ſingular ornamēt of the world. A lampe that neuer goeth out, the Crown of Virginitie, &c. For in all this, there is not any one of theſe titles wicked (ſuch as are thoſe which we hauehave before repreſented) no nor the title which Coeffeteau giueth her, calling her the Spouſe of the Father, which is a title, which the Scripture giueth to the whole Church, & not to the Virgin Mary. It is not for vsus in things of ſo high nature out of iollity to forge new terms, wch are to the weake occaſion of error or of ſtumbling.
The paſſage which hee alleadgeth out of Saint Cyprian is altogether diſguiſed and clipped, and is nothing to the purpoſe. Saint Cyprian ſpeaketh to the faithfull who aſſayled with contagion, had ſeene their Fathers, their bretheren, their children, die before them, and enter into Paradiſe before them, He ſaith then vntounto them, our Fathers, Magnus illic nos charorum numerus expectat, parentum fratrum filiorum freques no… & copioſa turba deſiderat, iam de ſua immortaletate ſecura & adhuc de noſtra ſollicita.Mothers bretheren, and Children waite for vsus in great number, and a great troupe doth deſire vsus, being aſſured of their owne, immortality, but in care of our Father. To what purpoſe is this to defend the ſeruiceand titles which they yeeld to the Virgin Mary. To what purpoſe is the generall mention of the Saints deceaſed, ſeeing that he ſpeaketh onelyonly of them who hauehave knowne vsus in this life And though he ſhould ſpeake of all the Saints, what doth this make againſt vsus, who hauehave neuer denyed but that the Saints doe deſire our ſaluation, and pray for the Church in Generall although they doe not know the neceſſities, nor the prayers of particular perſons.
This falſehood of Coeeffeteaus is followed with another of the interpreter of Ireneus, who ſpeaketh thus. Euen as Eue was ſeduced to turne away from God, Sicut illa ſeducta eſt vt effuge ret Deum, ſic haec ſua ſa eſt obedire Deo, vti virginis Euae virgo Maria fieret aduocata.ſo Mary was counſailed to obey God, to the end that the Virgin Mary might become aduocate for the Virgin Eue. The very reading doth make the place to be ſuſpected, ſo litle comelineſſe hath it and leſſe ſence. It was in the Greeke, foreign vt fieret conſolatrix, that is to ſay, to the end that Mary might be the comforter of Eue. For God hauing condemned Eue, gaue her this ſeed of the Woman, which is the Virgine Mary for a conſolation. The word foreign which in S. Iohn ca. 14.26 ſignifieth a comforter, is alſo vſus ed by Saint Iohn, 1. Iohn. 2.1. to fignifie an aduocate. foreign we hauehave an aduocate with the Father. The ſame Ambiguitie deceiued Tertullian Cap. 9. of his Booke againſt Praxeas, where he thus rendreth the wordes of Ieſus Chriſt, Ioh. 14.16. I will pray vntounto the Father and hee ſhall giuegive you another aduocate. The ſame fault is found in the booke of Nouation of the Trinity cap. 28.29.
After theſe, come other two falſe peeces, namely the Liturgies of S. Baſil and of Chryſoſtome, which all the learned acknowledge to be forged, yea ſo groſſely, that euen in the Liturgie attributed to S. Chryſoſtome, there is mention made of the Emperor Alexius, who was borne ſome ſeuen hundred years after Chryſoſtome. Moreouer there is prayer made for Nicholas Pope of Rome, which was neuer the cuſtome of the auncient Greeke Church.
Nay further, the faſhood is double; for not onelyonly the parcels alleadged are falſe in themſelues, but alſo it is falſly ſaid by Coeffeteau, that in the Li…urgie of Baſil, the Virgin is inuocated, It is one thing to pray vntounto her, another to make a commemoration of her.
We will cloſe vp theſe falſe paſſages with a true one, out of S. Epiphanius, in his 79. Hereſie, which is the Hereſie of the Collyridians. Surely the Virgin was a Virgin worthy to be honoured, but yet ſhe was not giuen vsus to be adored: for euen ſhe her ſelfe adored him who was borne of her according to the fleſh, but came downe from heauen out of the boſome of the Father. And therefore the Goſpell doth arme vsus againſt this abuſe, telling vsus, that the Lord himſelfe ſaid vntounto her, What hauehave I to doe with thee, woman; mine howre is not yet come: To the end that no man ſhould preſume more, then he óught vponupon the Virgin Mary, nor ſhould attribute to her too much excellency, he calleth her woman; as it were prophecying of the things that ſhould come to paſſe in the world, by reaſon of Schiſmes and Hereſies, for fe…re leaſt ſome out of too much admiration of her, ſhould fall into the dotages of this Hereſie. Now hee ſpeaketh of an Herefie which offered a cake to the Virgin Mary, but yet did not yeelde her the fourth part of the honour which the Church of Rome doth vntounto her. Moſt ſingular is that aboue the reſt which he addeth: Let MARY be had in honour, but let the Father and the Sonne be adored: Let no man adore MARY; I ſay not a woman, but neyther man himſelfe. It is to God that this myſtery is duc. The Angels themſelues are not capable of ſuch an honour. And it is worth the noting, that he girdeth at this Title of the Queene of Heauen; and I beſeech the Reader to obſerue it: Let Ieremy (ſaith he) repreſſe thoſe odde houſe-wiues, that they trouble the world no more, and that they may no longer hauehave this word in their mouthes, We honour the Queene of heauen. And ſo S. Ambroſe in his third booke of the Holy Ghoſt And for feare (ſaith he) leaſt ſome man would deriue this ſame to the Virgin MARY,Lib. 3. cap. 12. Mary was indeede the Temple of God, but ſhe was not God: And therefore we muſt adore him alone, who wrought in this Temple.
Let Coeffeteau then ceaſe to pay vsus in this falſe coyne, and let him not ſhew vsus like a couſening Lapidary his counterfeit Iewels in the darke: was he not affraid to lay open his falſe dealing in this Theatour? Or did he thinke that he had to do with a King that was blinde and without reading?
The beſt is, that al this ſeruice of the Virgin, which they call now adayes Hyperdulia, and which maketh vp a good part of the Romane Religion, hath no foundation in the word of God. OnelyOnly our Aduerſaries bring in men ſpeaking to this point; but they put their ſpeeches before hand in their mouthes, and make them ſay that which they neuer beleeued. How commeth it to paſſe that Saint Iohn, who ſerued the Virgin Mary as a ſonne after the death of Ieſus Chriſt, and the reſt of the Apoſtles, who loued and honoured her, had yet neuer recourſe to her interceſſion: they might hauehave ſaid in themſelues, we hauehave in heauen a Lady Aduocate one that is ſo neere vntounto vsus, and, who now is Queene of heauen: and yet neuertheleſſe if we beleeue this people, they were ſo ill aduiſed as not to make profite thereof; they did not value nor make vſe vntounto themſelues of this aduantage, neyther hauehave they councelled vsus to addreſſe our ſelues vntounto her: but what boldenes is this in wormes of the earth, to attribute vntounto a creature the Empire of heauen, and of the world, without being inſtructed what was the will of God therein? As if the breefe flyes or Hornets had taken vponupon them to eſtabliſh ſome man in the Popedome. Let the word of God then bee heard therevpon; which is the thing that we will doe in the Article which followeth.