A Defense of the Catholic Faith, Title page – Table of contents
A DEFENCE OF THE CATHOLICKE FAITH: CONTAINED IN THE BOOKE OF THE MOST Mightie, and moſt Gracious King IAMES the firſt, King of Great Britaine, France and Ireland, Defender of the FAITH.
AGAINST THE ANSWERE OF N. Coeffeteau, Doctour of Diuinitie, and Vicar Generall of the Dominican Preaching FRIARS.
Written in French, by PIERRE DV MOVLIN, Miniſter of the word of God in the Church of PARIS.
Tranſlated into Engliſh according to his firſt Coppie, by himſelfe reuiewed and corrected.
LONDON Printed by W. Stansby for Nathaniel Butter and Martin Clerke. 1610.
To the KINGS moſt Excellent MAIESTIE.
I Take mine Authors word, and mine owne experience, for warrant from beyond the Seas, (moſt Dread Soueraigne) that your Maiesties excellent knowledge and learning, hauehave wonne you admiration among forraine Nations. And for home-affections it is well knowen, that your Maiesties ſincere louelove to the truth of Religion, and conſtant Confeſſion of the Catholicke Faith, whereof your Maiestie is worthily ſtiled The Defender, hauehave knit the hearts of your people vntounto you. Who well perceiue by your Kingly Apology directed to the Princes of Chriſtendome, that God hath made your Maieſty ſuch a one as was DAVID, The ſweet Singer of Iſrael, euen a Propheticall King,2. …am. 23.1. and a Kingly Prophet; whoſe bold profeſſion it is, Pſal. 119. I will ſpeake of thy teſtimonies, Pſal. 119.46.euen before Kings, and will not be aſhamed: Such as the Kings alſo among the Heathen are ſaid to hauehave beene, both Princes and Prophets;
Rex Anius, Virg. Aeneid. 3.rex idem hominum, Phoebi que Sacerdos. Concerning the Authour and Pen-man of this booke I neede not ſay any thing: Authorem commendat opus. Touching my ſelfe, vponupon whom this taske was ſecundarily impoſed, I know the Tranſlation will blab out mine imperfections. Your Maieſty is apt to pardon greater offences, and therfore, I hope, theſe. The ground worke is your Maiesties owne; which maketh me bold to vſe that ſaying toward your Maiesty, my Soueraigne Lord, wherewith Paulus Oroſius dedicateth his Story to S. Austin, his Maſter and Tutor; Totum tuum ſit, quod ex te, In initio.ad te redit: It is all your Maieſties owne doing, which comming from you, I returne it back againe vntounto you. And ſo I dedicate you to your ſelfe:In Apologet. cap. 30. concluding with that which Tertullian reporteth to hauehave beene the auncient Chriſtians Prayer, for the ſafety of their Emperours; and is now in vſe alſo in the Church of Rome, if we may beleeue Doctor Coeffeteau, but, I feare me, not with like true affection;Fol. 5. Vitam Maieſtati tuae prolixam, Imperium ſecurum, domum tutam, exercitum fortem, Senatum fiaelem, populum probum, regnum quietum obnixè precor.
Your Maieſties most humble, and faithfull Subiect, IOHN SANFORD.
To the moſt Mighty and Gracious King, IAMES the firſt, King of great Brittaine, and of Ireland.
SIR,
AS your greatneſſe, no way needeth our ſeruice, ſo your exquiſite learning wants not any defence. For your greateſt enemies, to whom your power is redoubtable, hauehave your learning in admiration. But were it ſo that you had vſe of any mans pen; yet ſhould you hauehave litle cauſe to ſeeke further then your owne kingdomes, ſince amongſt your ſubiects there is ſo great a number of learned men to whom we are in all regards inferiour. Yet notwithſtanding, we hauehave held it neceſſary to declare vntounto the world, that that religion which you defend, is the ſame which we profeſſe, and that it befits vsus to make reſiſtance to ſuch as in your particuler perſon aſſault the generall truth. This vndertaking of mine is great, and my abilities but ordinarie; beſides, my vocation very laborious; neither is a tempeſt a fit time to write in, or a banke of an vnquiet torrent, a fit place for ſerious meditation. But SIR, the perfection of your worke may ſupply my defect, for to fight after you cannot be properly termed fighting, but the purſuite of your victory; for though the point of truth be euer ſharpe, yet it entreth and pierceth more or leſſe, according to the force, and vigour of the arme. It is not then to be maruelled if it ſtrike cleane through errors, being guided by ſo ſtrong and powerfull a hand. To you then SIR belongs the glory of this holy worke, to vsus remaines the good, and benefit of following your example: for the eaſieſt way to ſpeake well for you, is to ſpeake that which we hauehave learned of you: neither is it poſsible, that any one ſhould write well in your defence, that writes not in your imitation. Wherein theſe my paines, can no way merit to be compared. For your Maieſty poureth out largely with a royall hand into the Threaſury of the Sanctuary, whileſt I like the poore widow make offer of my mite: the which I do with the more affection, & boldneſſe, in reſpect that our Kings participate with you in the cauſe, and that we do ſee our crowne already foiled, and our kings life endangered for want of conſidering thoſe things which your Maieſty in your booke propoundeth: and God grant that your Maiesties warnings be not propheſies, and that our good, mercifull, and victorious king, who flouriſheth equally in peace, as he is feared in warre; being endued with an admired vigor both of body and mind, may be long preſerued amongſt vsus; who hauing had ſo good experience, and in ſo many places of our fidelity, will not we hope be diſpleaſed with this our liberty in defending of our religion, to which we are not drawne by the hatred of any, but by our zeale to the cauſe of God, and through compaſsion of the poore peopla: who being carried along with the ſtreame of cuſtome, thinke they do God good ſeruice to hate vsus, yea ſo farre are they tranſported as they are become iealous and ſuſpitious of the holy Scriptures, fearing leſt by the word of God they ſhould be miſled and ſeduced: for the ſaluation of whoſe enthralled ſoules we would willingly expoſe our liues: and will not ceaſe daily to pray to God, to enlighten them in the truth: whom we likewiſe pray that he will preſerue your Maieſty from all euill, and bleſſe your perſon, and kingdomes, and the Church that liueth vnderunder the ſhade and quiet of your gouernment: with praier from my heart I recommend to God, remaining
From Paris the 20. of Ianuary 1610. Your Maieſties moſt humble and moſt obedient ſeruant, P. D. M.
The Tranſlator to the Reader.
Gentle Reader, I here preſent thee a worke very worthy of thy ſtudy and Meditation, if eyther thou beare a louelove to Gods truth, or good affection towards thy Soueraigne. OnelyOnly let me intreat thee, out of a common feeling of humane frailty, to pardon, and before thou reade, to amend the faults that hauehave herein eſcaped, through ouerſight of the Printers; my ſickeneſſe at that time, and the diſtance of place, not giuing me leaue to be alwayes preſent, to preuent the ſame. In the Tranſlation I hauehave not nicely tyed my ſelfe to the wordes, neyther was it requiſite: Non verbum verbo curabit reddere fidus—Interpres: Horat. in Art. poet.but retayning the ſtrength and ſinew of the Sentence, I hauehave rendred it as beſt fitted the property of ſpeech in our owne language. Where the Kings words were to be inſerted, I hauehave choſen rather to follow his Maieſties owne Coppy, then the French Tranſlation, which ſometimes varyeth from it: neyther hauehave I therein wronged mine Author. Wherefore omitting thoſe ſmaller miſtakes (which the diſcreete will paſſe ouer with an eaſie cenſure) whether they bee wordes redundant, as in, or the, twice repeated: Or Syllables diſioyned as often, for often: or letters tranſpoſed, as villaines for villanies: or wordes ill orthographized, as Epoſtle, and daceiue in one page, for Apoſtle and deceiue: Likewiſe Alminacke, Letonies, terent: for Almanacke, Letanies, torrent, &c. Thoſe other which are repreſented in the end of the booke, I leaue to thy courteſie neceſſarily to be amended; being ſuch as import the matter, and in which the Compoſers omitting, or not well reading the wordes interlined, wherein I ſometimes corrected my ſelfe, hauehave thruſt in their owne coniectures.
Farewell.
TO THE READER.
MAy it pleaſe thee, gentle Reader, to vnderſtand, that after we had finiſhed our worke, and that the booke was now ready to come forth, there came to my hands certaine corrections and amplifications of ſome points, from the Author himſelfe, earneſtly intreating to hauehave them inſerted: which becauſe they could not conueniently be brought in in their proper places, the booke being already printed, yet that we might doe him right againſt the malice of his captious Aduerſaries, I thought it good, to beſtow them in this page; requeſting thee of thy charity, which couereth a multitude of ſinnes, at once to pardon both our faults.
Page 30.14. reade the laſt Canon, 45.25. r. as though he affirmed it without knowledge, and ſpake it onelyonly vponupon truſt: 80.23. r. iudged to be vniuſt. 181.7. r. the earth is almoſt full of the chips and pieces thereof.
Page 338.16. after the word men leaue out the whole ſentence, ending with the word Saluation; then adde as followeth. OnelyOnly we muſt note that this word Dulia hath a double and doubtfull ſignification, and that there be two ſorts of Dulia; The one is a Religious action; the other is onelyonly a ſeruice, an humane reſpect, which is yeelded alſo to the liuing. As for that kinde of Dulia, which is a Religious worſhip, the holy ſcripture forbiddeth it to be giuen to any ſaue onelyonly to God alone; as 1. Sam. 7.3. foreign. Prepare your hearts to the Lord, and yeeld Dulia, or Seruice to him alone. And S. Auſtin; Quaeſt. 94. vponupon Exodus: foreign debetur Deo tanquam Domino: Doulia is due to GOD as to him who is MASTER. And de Ciuit. Dei, lib. 10. cap. 1. Religio non eſt niſi Dei cultus: Religion is nothing elſe but the ſeruice of God; plainly ſhewing, that the ſeruing of the Creatures is not an action of Religion. But if we take the word Dulia for a reſpect and ſeruice done vntounto men, and not for a religious action: our aduerſaries doe amiſſe to ſay, that they ſerue the Saints or other Images with Dulia, ſeeing they yeeld them a religious ſeruice and a voluntary worſhip, tending to the attainment of ſaluation. Againe ibid line 29. reade, that then no miracles were wrought by their Images.
Page 367.13. r. the whole earth is full of the peeces of it. 399.27. Modicum quod que delictum mora reſurrectionis illic luendo.
Page 425.27. r. in the 9. Diſtinction, and the 9. Canon of the Councell of Antioch, and the 17. Canon of the Councell of Chalcedon. Theſe wordes of the Canon of Antioch, are for a marginall note: foreign.
Page 433. blot out the 8. laſt lines, and the firſt line of the next page.
Page 440.21. read, So in the 6. generall Councell Pope Honorius is condemned as an Hereticke, and caſt out of the Catholicke Church in the 13. Act: and the ſame Councell aſſembled in the palace, in the 13. Act, doth by name condemne the Church of Rome, &c.
Page 441.17. reade, the 11. Homily of S. Chryſoſtome vponupon Matthew.
Page 454.14. reade, that Chriſt is an head more abſolute and greater then the Pope, and that the Pope is of leſſe vertue then the holy Ghoſt.
Page 470.12. reade, vponupon the foundation layd by another Apoſtle. The fame and good report, and the mutuall communication of the ſtrangers that were Chriſtians with the Romanes, had planted the Chriſtian Religion at Rome; but the Church of Rome required the preſence of ſome Apoſtle for her full eſtabliſhment.
A Table of the principall matters contained in this worke.
THE FIRST BOOKE. ¶ Of the Vſurpation of Popes ouer Kings.
CHAP. 1. The occaſion why IAMES the firſt, King of Great Brittaine wrote his Booke, together with a iudgement vponupon Doctor Coeffeteaus Booke. Pag. 1.
CHAP. 2. Remonſtrations of D. Coeffeteau, with his iudgement touching the Treaſons and attempts vponupon the life of the King of England. Pag. 16.
CHAP. 3. Of Cardinals. Pag. 23.
CHAP. 4. Of Ieſuites. Pag. 39.
CHAP. 5. Of the power of the Pope ouer the Temporalties of Kings, and that he cannot take from Kings their Crownes, nor free Subiects from the Oath of fidelitie; and thereupon the reaſons of Bellarmine are examined. Pag. 45.
CHAP. 6. Of the Clergie and their Exemptions. Pag. 88.
CHAP. 7. Of the Authoritie of Emperours and Kings ouer the Biſhops of Rome; that they hauehave choſen them, puniſhed them, and degraded them. That Princes hauehave had power ouer Biſhops and their Temporalties. The firſt ſeede of Poperie in England. Pag. 105.
CHAP. 8. That they who hauehave written against the King of Great Brittaine his Booke, hauehave vniuſtly called him Apoſtata and Hereticke. Pag. 128.
THE SECOND BOOKE. ¶ A defence of the Confeſsion of IAMES the firſt, King of great Britaine.
ARTICLE. 1. Of the Creede. Pag. 133.
ART. 2. Of the Fathers in generall. Pag. 134.
ART. 3. Of the authority of the Fathers each apart by themſelues. Pag. 135.
ART. 4. Of the authority of the holy Scripture. Pag. 143.
ART. 5. Of the Canonical and Apocrypha books. Pag. 145
ART. 6. Of the memory of Saints, and of their Holydayes. Pag. 154.
ART. 7. Of the Virgin Mary. Pag. 164.
ART. 8. Of the ſuffrages of Saints, and of the ſeruice due vntounto them. Pag. 173.
ART. 9. Of the Maſſe without Communicants or Aſsiſtants, and of the Sacrifice of the Maſſe. Pag. 202.
ART. 10. Of the Communion vnderunder one kinde. Pag. 246.
ART. 11. Of Tranſubſtantiation. Pag. 258.
ART. 12. Of the Adoration of the Hoſt. Pag. 271.
ART. 13. Of the eleuation of the Hoſt that it may be adored. Pag. 274.
ART. 14. Of carrying their God in Proceſsion. Pag. 275.
ART. 15. Of workes of Supererogation, and of ſuper abundant Satisfaction, and of the Treaſury of the Church. Pag. 276.
ART. 16. Of the baptizing of Bels. Pag. 308.
ART. 17. Of the Reliques of Saints. Pag. 311.
ART. 18. Of Images. Pag. 329.
ART. 19. Of the Image of God. Pag. 356.
ART. 20. Of the Croſſe. Pag. 361.
ART. 21. Of Purgatory. Pag. 375.
ART. 22. Of the Anarchy, and degrees of Superiority in the Church. Pag. 406.
ART. 23. Of the Popes Supremacy. Pag. 413.
THE THIRD BOOKE.
¶ Of the accompliſhment of Propheſies.