A Defense of the Catholic Faith, Book 2 · Article 17

A Defense of the Catholic Faith · Book 2 · Article 17

p. 311ARTICLE XVII. Of the Reliques of Saints.

The KINGS Confeſſion.TOuching the Reliques of Saints, if I had any ſuch that I were aſſured were members of their bodies, I would honourably burie them, and not giuegive them the reward of condemned mens members, which are only ordained to be depriued of buriall: But for worſhipping eyther them or Images, I muſt account it damnable Idolatry.

VntoUnto this doth Doctor Coeffeteau oppoſe foure paſſages of the Fathers, alleadging S. Ierome diſſputing againſt Vigilantius for the Reliques of Saint Ambroſe in his Sermon of S. Nazarius, and S. Celſus, ſaying in many places that he honoureth the bodies of Saints: S. Chryſoſtome who in his p. 312Homily of S. Iuuentius and Maximus, ſaith, that men doe viſite and adorue their Tombes, and touch their Reliques with faith, to the end they may receiue ſome bleſſing thereby: S. Auguſtine in the two and twentieth booke of the City of God, ſpeaking of three perſons that were cured with the touch of certaine Reliques. He alleadgeth no one teſtimony of holy Scripture; it hath no voyce in the Chapter: and yet hee skips at once ouer the firſt foure hundred yeares after Chriſt; for the auncienteſt of theſe foure wrote about the end of the fouth age.

1 To begin then with the word of God: Wee read in the olde Teſtament that the bodies of the holy Patriarches hauehave beene enterred,Gen. 50.25.Gen 50:25 and buried in the Sepulchres of their Fathers. Ioſeph when he died, gaue order that his bones ſhould be kept till their departure out of Egypt: for he deſired that the keeping of his bones, ſhould be an inſtruction to continue the hope of their deliuerance: but of any worſhip done vntounto his bones, there is no mention at all.

2 When Moſes died vponupon the mountaine of Nebo,Deut. 34.6.Deut 34:6 God would not ſuffer the Iſraelites to know the place of his buriall: the reaſon being doubtleſſe a feare, that they would hauehave Idolatrouſly abuſed his bodie.

3 In the firſt booke of Kings, chap. 13. God raiſed a dead man by the vertue of Elizeus his touching of the dead body, the Lord intending by this Miracle to authorize the doctrine of his faithfull ſeruant. p. 313But we finde not at all, that the body of Elizeus was for this taken out of his graue: neyther that the people did kneele to his bones, that they brought any offerings vntounto it, or that they kiſſed or carried it in proceſsion.

Ver. 17 4 In the ſecond booke of Kings, cap. 23 King Ioſias forbids the digging vp of the bones of a deceaſed Prophet but will hauehave them left in the Sepulchre. He doth not then commaund any tranſportation of his bones, or to yeelde any veneration or worſhip, or oblation or adoration.

Ʋer. 12: 5 In the ninteenth of the Acts, there are cures wrought by touching of the Kerchiefes brought from S. Paul; yet is not the linnen put apart for a relique, nor is there any ceremony done vntoit. For the Miracles were not wrought by any vertue of the linnen, but by the power of God, who by theſe Miracles confirmed the preaching of his holy Apoſtle.

6 Therefore, Eſay 8.19.20. the Prophet hauing reproued thoſe that went from the liuing to the dead ſends vsus to the law, and the teſtimony, if wee will hauehave the light of heauen to ſhine vponupon vsus.

7 To be ſhort, our aduerſaries finde not one ſillable in the word of God, nor any example of any religious ſeruice, or adoration of Reliques. For it is vntruely affirmed by Bellarmine, that the Scripture alloweth the religious worſhip performed to our**Lib. de reliquijs ſanctorum cap. 4 §. Ad tertium. Seriptura approbat cultum Sepulchri, & fimbrie Chriſta, Item vmbrae Petri ſudariorum & ſemicinct…orum Pauli. Sauiors Sepulchre, and to the hemme of his garment, and to Peters ſhadow, and Pauls Kercheifes. How ſhould it approue that whereof it makes no p. 314mention at all? Why doth he not alleadge ſome paſſage of Scripture, wherein the worſhip or veneration of the linnen, or ſhadowes, or Sepulchres is mentioned? who will be perſwaded, that a learned man affirming a matter ſo full of vntruth, ſhould hauehave any conſcience in him. So in the beginning of the third Chapter, hee falſely alleadgeth theſe wordes out of the eleuenth of Eſay, ver. 10. His Sepulchre ſhall be glorious: for it is in the Hebrew, his reſt ſhall be glorious: whereunto let this be added, that there is no word in that place of any worſhip performed to this Sepulchre.

Now that the point in difference betweene vsus may be vnderſtood, wee diſpute not whether the bodies of Saints, and Martyrs may be reſerued reſpectiuely, or in caſe their Sepulchres were vndecently placed, or ridiculouſly expoſed to prophane inſolencies, whether it be lawfull to remoue their bodies to ſome other place: for thus farre we agree. And his Maieſty of England proteſteth that if hee certainely knew any Reliques, which were indeede the body of any Saint, he would honourably burie them, and keepe them with reſpect; for if men doe curiouſly affect the ſight of the monuments of auncient Kings, or pagan Emperours, who ſhould be ſo prophane, as not to deſire the ſight of the Tombs of the Apoſtles, and of thoſe ſacred lights, whoſe glory ſhineth euen after their death? Or who in this regard would not be touched with a louing reſpect to them, and their memory? But the queſtion is, whether wee muſt performe any ſeruice to p. 315theſe Reliques? or muſt adore them? or ſpeake to things without life, or offer vntounto bones, or clothes? or whether God hauehave commaunded to lay them vponupon Altars, or carry them in proceſſion? For the Conuenticle held at Nice,Pag 104 of the Colen Edition Oſſa, cineres, pannos, ſanguinem, ſepulera deni que martyrum adoremus. about the yeare 789. which the Church of Rome reckoneth for a generall Councell, in the fourth Act willeth, that the bones, aſhes, and the ragges be adored. And Bellarmine in the fourth chapter**§. Quod autem. Chryſoſtemꝰ Sermone in Sanctos Iuuentium & Maximum dicit, Tumulos Martyrum adoremus of his booke of Reliques, proueth the adoration of Reliques by theſe wordes of Chryſoſtome in his Sermon of Iuuentius and Maximus, Tumulos Martyrum adoremus: Let vsus adore the Monuments of Martyrs: but the words in Chryſoſtome, are Tumulos Martyrum adornemus, Let vsus adorne the monuments of Martyrs: which is a horrible falſification: but this is ordinary with the Cardinall; whereof Coeffeteau himſelfe is euen aſhamed, for alleadging the ſame paſſage, he tranſlates it faithfully,Fol. 55. pag. 2. Let vsus adorne their monuments. The ſame Cardinall about the end of the ſecond chapter ſayth, We adore not Reliques as God: then by his owne confeſſion, he worſhippeth Reliques, but it is with an inferiour adoration.

Now wee require our aduerſaries to ſhew vsus ſome commaundement of God, or ſome example out of the holy Hiſtorie for this adoration, and religious worſhip: for whatſoeuer diſtinction of worſhip they may produce, is alwaies ſuch a ſeruice and religious worſhip, as God hath not commaunded, and is conſequently compriſed vnderunder that worſhip which S. Paul condemneth, Coloſſ. 2. p. 316calling it foreign, that is, will worſhip, or voluntarie deuotion.

And there can bee no Religious worſhip how meane ſo euer, but turnes to an abuſe, when it is transferred to a dead thing: Sith that the Church of Rome doeth ſpeake to theſe reliques, and ſalutes the Napkin, the Speare, the Teares, the Croſſe, ſaying, Aue ſancta facies, &c. And Aue lignum triumphale. And hee that ſhall obſerue with what zeale the people is caried to the Adoration of theſe Reliques, ſhall find that the ſeruice of God in compariſon thereof is key-cold. At Paris, when the Caskets of S. Geneueifues, & S. Marcellus Relickes, being carried about, come to meete each other, the people are made to beleeue, that the bearers hauehave much adoe to plucke them aſunder, they bee ſuch ſociable Reliques and louing bones, that they ſhould hauehave beene lodged in one Tombe to giuegive them contentment; In this ſolemnitie it is a wonder to ſee the zeale of the people, and with what a tumult they throng and preſſe to come neere to it. All the Angels together hauehave not the one quarter of this honour. And the Soules of Moyſes, Abraham, Noe, &c. are much leſſe honoured then Saint Francis breeches, or a peece of his Pilgrims ſtaffe.

It is to ſmall purpoſe to ſay that this is done in honour of the Saints. For it ſhould firſt be ſhewed, that God hath commanded it: Secondly, we ought to be well aſſured, that the Saints are well pleaſed with this ſeruice. Add further, if a King ſhould put off his Doublet, I thinke there is no man (vnleſſe p. 317he hauehave his wits crazed) that would ſalute it, much leſſe to ſay vntounto it, God ſaue thee Doublet; as they doe in the Church of Rome, where men ſay, I greete thee O teare; And God ſaue thee O triumphall wood. If you ſalute any thing in honour of Ieſus Chriſt, or of whomſoeuer, it ought in reaſon to vnderſtand what you ſay.

And here we hauehave the firſt ſtrength of antiquitie on our ſide, Euſebius in the fourth Booke,Nullus ad Aegyptum meas perferat reliquias, ne vano corpus honore ſcruetur. Ne vituperati ritus a me (vt noſtis) etiam circa me ſeruentur obſequia— Vos igitur humo tegite, vos patris operite corpuſculum. Et illud quoque ſenis veſtri cuſtodite mandatum, vt nemo praeter veſtrā dilectionem locum tumuli mei nouerit. Chapter fifteene of his Hiſtorie, ſpeaking of the Martyrdom of Polycarpe, ſaith that the Chriſtians were charie of his Aſhes, and that they had procured them to bee buried; but hee doeth not ſpeake of any ſeruice, or Religious worſhip, or adoration done to the aſhes. Saint Athanaſius, in the life of S. Anthonie, is moſt pregnant to this purpoſe, where he ſaith, that theſe were the laſt words of Anthony when he lay dying; Let no man carie my Reliques into Egypt, for feare leſt my body be honoured with vaine honour, for feare leaſt Obſequies, and Funerall ſolemnities (which I hauehave blamed as you know) be practiſed vponupon my ſelfe; For I am eſpecially returned to this place to auoide it; doe you then hide and couer this poore body with earth, and obſerue the commandement of your aged father, that no man beſide your ſelues, know the place where I am buried. Out of this place appeareth, that the Chriſtians euen from that time, were exceſſiuely giuen to honour the bodies of the beleeuers that died: And we muſt not thinke, that S. Anthony was afraid that the Chriſtians would adore him for GOD after his death. For Bellarmine doeth acknowledge that p. 318which indeede is a truth; That * it was neuer heard that any Christians did conferre Diuine honours vponupon the Reliques of Saints. The cuſtome of the ancient Church, was to burie the bodies of Martyrs, and not to put them in Caskets out of the ground to carie them about in Proceſſion. In the eight Chapter of the Acts of the Apoſtles, the Chriſtians doe there burie Steuen without mention of any ſeruice done vntounto his body. The ſame was done to Polycarpus, as Euſebius witneſſeth. Saint Ambroſe had appointed the place, which was vnderunder the Altar or the Communion Table for his buriall, as appeareth by his laſt Epiſtle; for in thoſe dayes the Altar was moſt commonly a Table of wood, eaſie to be remooued, ſo that the pauement vnderneath might well be broken vp to lay a dead body.Gaudens autem quae aderat multitudo corpora Sanctorum diligenti tradidit ſepulturae. Victor in his third Booke of the Vandals perſecution, The multitude did with ioy and withall diligence, lay vp the bodyes of the Saints in a Tombe. The Poet Prudentius, about the end of his Hymne vponupon Eulalia,

Relliquias Cinereſque ſacros,

Seruat humus veneranda ſinu.

And in the beginning of the Hymne next following,

Bis nouem noſter populus ſub vno

Martyrum ſeruat cineres ſepulchro.

Theodoret in the firſt Booke of his Storie, Chapter eighteene, doeth ſufficiently ſhew, that the ChriſtiansCap. 4 de relliq. Sanct. § Dices. Nuaquam eſt auditum apud Chriſtianos ot aliqui ſanctorum reliquijs d…uinos honores detulerint. p. 319then knew not what it meant, to yeeld Religious worſhip to Reliques, in that hee ſaith, that Conſtantine hauing recouered the nayles of our Sauiours Croſſe, ſet ſome of them in his Helmet, the reſt hee thruſt into the Bit of his Horſes bridle: That is, he put two * in his Head peece, and the other two in the Bridle. Thus did this venerable Horſe chew Reliques. What it was that mooued this Emperour to doe it, is another matter: But I ſay that the Biſhoppes of that time, would neuer hauehave ſuffered that to hauehave beene done, if they had thought that any Religious ſeruice or adoration had beene due to thoſe Nayles.

In the meane while, it is a thing to be wondred at, how theſe Nayles hauing beene loſt for three hundred yeeres ſpace, were thus found altogether ſo fitte to the purpoſe. And how Helena the Emperours mother could diſcerne them from the Nayles of the two theeues, and how the fourth Nayle was loſt. For the Croſſe had in the middle a little**Plautus Moſtellaria Act 2. Vt affigantur bis pedes bis brachia. Irenaeus l…bro ſecundo cap 42. Vnum in medio vbi requ…eſcit qui clauis affigitur. Super hanc tabulam tanquam hominis ſ…antis ſacrae affixe ſunt plantae.Acts 2 boorde, vponupon which the feete of the malefactors to bee Crucified, were ſet, and each foote was Nayled a part, and ſo alſo our Sauiour way Nayled, as Iuſtin Martyr teacheth in his Dialogue againſt Tryphon: and Ireneus lib. 2. Cap. 42. Nazianzen in his verſes of Christ ſuffering, And Theodoret before alleadged. But eſpecially Gregorie of Tours in his booke of the praiſe of Martyrs: And therefore it was a negligence in Helen that ſhee did not imploye her ſelfe to finde out the fourth nayle.foreign. For there were foure Nayles, Cypriani liber nothus de paſſione, Clauis ſacros pedes terebrantibus.

p. 320It is a thing alſo to be wondred, how the nailes were found in the ſame place with the Croſſe; Seing that the cuſtome of the Aunciens was to burie togither with the bodies of malefactors,Inueniuntur oſſa inſerta catenis, & implicita. the chains and yrons wherewith they ſuffered, as appeareth in Plinies Epiſtles, lib. 7. Epist. 27. where he reciteth the ſtories of a Ghoſt that appeared to the Philoſopher Athenodorus. And in Chryſoſtome in his Oration againſt the Gentils. And Welſerus **In cōmentarijs rerum Vindelicarum.cōfirmeth it in his ſeauenth booke of his Commentaries of Ausbourge.

In the meane time it appeareth by the place of Athanaſius, heretofore alleaged, and by the ſimplicity of Conſtantine, that this abuſe began from that time to ſlide on and increaſe, which was ſo farre growne in ſome places 400. yeares after Chriſt,Noui multos eſſe ſepulcrorum & picturarum adoratores. Noui multos eſſe qui ſuper mortuos luxurioſiſſimè bibant. that S. Auſtin in his firſt booke de Moribus Eccleſ. doth greatly complaine of it. I know (ſaith he) that there are many that adore Sepulchres and Pictures; I know that there are many that drinke at large ouer the dead: The ſame Auſtin in the 28. chapter of his booke of the labour of Monkes (for in thoſe daies they had each man his trade) complaineth of ſome gadders vp and downe,Membra martyrum, Si tamen martyrum. carriers about of reliques, which they reported to be the limmes of Martyrs: Yea, ſaith he, if ſo be that they be members of Martyrs.

The auncient Chriſtians in the three firſt ages were wont to warme their zeale by the imbers of the Martyrs; And becauſe they had no Temples, they aſſembled together in the Church-yardes; where the Tombes of the Martyrs ſerued them foraaforeign. p. 321tables to adminiſter the Lords Supper; This being at the firſt done onelyonly as occaſion and the preſent opportunity would permit, was afterward made a law. For in the fift Councell of Carthage, the Altars are called Monuments or Tombes: Where is to be noted, that the Councel complaineth, that many ſuch falſe monuments were erected vponupon dreames and vaine illuſions, and commaundeth to plucke them downe, if the tumult of the people ſhall not hinder them: which ſheweth that ſuperſtition was already growne ſtrong in this point. Gregorie Biſhop of Rome in the firſt booke of his Dialogues chap. 2. ſpeaketh of one called Libertinus, who alwaies carried about a hoſe of S. Honorate. In thoſe times, our Kinges planted their whole Religion in founding of Monaſteries and getting Relikes together thinking by theſe means to be ſaued. King Dagobert tooke away all the Reliques from the other Saints, to enrich the Temple of S. Denis, S. Ruſticus, and S. Eleutherius; whereupon there fell out great ſtrife and debate among the Saints, if wee beleeue the Chronicles of France. For the Saints whom he had robbed and riffled, as S. Hilarie, S. Fremin, &c. adioyned themſelues to the Deuils,See this Story in Nicolas Gilles anno 645. and it is taken out of Turpin. & craued their helpe to carry the ſoule of this good King to hell; But hee cal ed to the Saints, whom he had enriched, for ſuccour, who ſo valiantly reſiſted the other Saints and the Deuils, that they plucked away his ſoule from them, and carried it into Paradiſe. Now a daies many ſuperſtitious perſons are aſhamed of their reliques p. 322and mocke at them; And yet for all that, it is held for an abſolute and inuiolable Decree, that eueryevery Altar muſt hauehave his Reliques vnderneath it, otherwiſe they cannot conſecrate. For after the Introite of the Maſſe, the Prieſt bowing himſelfe ouer the Altar, asketh of God pardon of al his ſins, through the merits of thoſe Saints, whoſe bones lie hidde vnderunder the Altar. This greatly auaileth to ſtrike the people with a ſuperſtitious horrour, and aſtoniſhment of hart, and with a trembling deuotion, it being done out of ſingular wiſdome, and vponupon great conſideration. For it is credible that when Chriſt did adminiſter his laſt ſupper, that he cloſely conueighed vnderunder the table, ſome bones of Samuel, or ſome tooth of Sampſons Aſſes law bone; And if Chriſt did not ſeeke ſaluation throgh their merits, it was becauſe thoſe old Saints were worſe ſtored and prouided of merits, then they whom the Pope hath Canonized for Saints, as S. Iuniper, or S. Thomas of Cāterbury, defender of the crowne of England.

Concerning the Fathers, whom Coeffeteau oppoſeth hereunto; Chryſoſtome, Ambroſe, and Auſtin, are of the minde that the bodies of the Saints ought indeede to be honored, and their ſepulchres beautified and adorned. But what is this againſt the King of England, who ſaith aſmuch. As for thoſe miracles which were done at thoſe Sepulchres, of which S. Auſtin ſpeaketh, God by them did authorize the doctrine of the Goſpell, which his faithfull ſeruants had vttered in word, and ſigned p. 323with their bloud. Such were the miracles wrought by the touch of Elizeus his body, and by the Kerchiefes of S. Paul: But it followeth not thereupon, that they adored or yeelded any religious ſeruice to thoſe Reliques. Vnleſſe perhaps we muſt adore the ſhadow of S. Peters body, as Bellarmine will hauehave it:Bell. lib. de reliquijs cap 4 §. Ad tertium. Scriptura approbat cultū vmbrae Petri. of which ſhadow doubtleſſe ſome peece may bee found ſtored vp among the Reliques, aſwell as at Cour-chiuerni neare Blois they keepe the Labour of S. Ioſeph, when hee cleft wood, for hee was a Carpenter.

Howbeit there be two thinges which I will not here diſſemble; the one is, that Heretikes at that time,Doctores haereticos maximè doctrinae ſuae fidem onfirmaſſe, mortuos ſuſcitaſſe, de bil…s reformaſſe, futura ſignificaſſe vt Apoſtoli crederentur. Nunquid non Africa ſanctorū Martyrum corporibus plena eſt? Et tamen nuſquam hic ſcimus talia fieri. did more miracles as Tertullian witneſſeth lib. 3. againſt Marcion cap. 3. and in his 44 chapter of his Preſcript. where he ſaith, that the Heretikes did raiſe the dead, heale the ſicke, foretell thinges to come. The other is, that the place in S. Auſtin De Ciuitai. Dei lib. 22. cap. 8. is to be ſuſpected For he ſpeaketh of miracles done in Africa, and neare vntounto Hippo, where he was Biſhop, by touching the Reliques of Saints. Whereas himſelfe Epiſt. 137. ſaith that in ſome places of Italie, as at Nola and at Millan, ſuch miracles were done neare vntounto the monuments of the Saints: but that in Africa there were not any wroght in any place; And that which is more to be obſerued, is, that this Epiſtle was written to the people and clergie of Hippo, who would eaſilie hauehave controuled him, if ſuch miracles had beene wrought in Africa; What ſhall we now beleeue? Here is S. Auſtin who ſaith in one place, p. 324that many miracles were done in Africa neare vntounto the place of his abode; by the Reliques of Saints: In another place he ſaith there were non done at all. Surely the writings of the Fathers paſſed throgh certaine ages, horribly darkened with ignorance, in which ſome malicious men tooke a pleaſure to falſifie them. And indeede by the courſe of Storie of the ages following a man may obſerue, that by how much the more ignorance increaſed by corruption of doctrine; by ſo much the more miracles were wrought. Reade the Dialogue of Gregorie the firſt, and you ſhall ſee that Chriſt did nothing in a manner, & in compariſon of the miracles then wrought. Gregorie himſelfe in the fourth booke of his Dialogues chap. 41. wondereth at it, and propoundeth this quetion to himſelfe:Quid hoc eſt quaeſo, quod in his extremis tem poribus tam multa de animabus clareſcunt quae ante latuerant? How commeth it to paſſe that in theſe latter times ſo many thinges are reuealed vntounto vsus, touching the ſoules of the dead, which before were bidden. For then in thoſe times, men talked of nothing but of Ghoſts that appeared, which exhorted men liuing to giuegive to the Church. And it was yet but the ſixt hundreth yeare of Chriſt, ſo much had the Prince of this world gotten in ſhort time.

That which Coeffeteau moſt maketh bragges off, and ſetteth it out with faireſt colour, is the teſtimony of S. Hierome, Epiſtola ad Riparum aduerſus Vigilantium. Ergo Petri & Pauli immundae ſunt reliquiae?who hath written two Epiſtles in defence of the Reliques of Saints, againſt Vigilantius who did oppugne them. But there is no affinity betweene their quarrell and ours. For Hierome accuſeth Vigilantius for accounting the Reliques of p. 325Saints vncleane, a thing which we neuer affirmed; nay the King of England ſpeaketh of them with great reſpect. He ſaith further,Epiſt. 2 aduerſ. Vigil. Sanctorū reliquias proijci in ſterquilinium: vt ſolus Ʋigilantius ebriꝭ & dormiens adoretur. That Vigilantius would hauehave the reliques of Saints caſt out vponupon the dung hill, that himſelfe alone though druncke and aſleepe might onelyonly be adored. HaueHave we euer ſaid ſo? Or is there any of vsus that would onelyonly be adored? But as touching the queſtion, whether Reliques be to be adored, S. Hierome in the Epiſtle before alleaged, doth flatly denie that they ought to be adored:Nos autem non dico Martyrum reliquias, ſed ne Solem quidem & Lunam non Angelos non Archangelos colimus & aaoramus. We doe not adore, I doe not ſay onelyonly, the Reliques of Martyrs; But neither Sunne nor Moone, for Angels nor Archangels: Where is to bee ſeene that hee would hauehave it eſteemed leſſe ſtrange to adore the Sunne, then Reliques. Which maketh vsus to ſuſpect the place in his Epiſtle to Marcella, of falſhood: where he exhorteth her, Samariam pergere, & Iohannis Baptiſtae, Heliſaei quo que & Abdiae pariter cineres adorare: to come to Samaria and to adore the aſhes of Iohn Baptiſt, Elizeus, and Abdias. Howſoeuer, if he would hauehave beene beleeued, he ſhould hauehave grounded his ſaying vponupon the authority of the word of God: according to the rule which himſelfe giueth vponupon the 23. chapter of S. Matthew. Becauſe, ſaith he,Hoc quiae de Scripturis non habet authoritatem pari facilitate contēnitur qua probatur. Lib. de Reliquijs Cap. 3. §. Gregor. Lib. de Reliquijs c. 3. §. ex Africa. this is not grounded vponupon the authority of the Scriptures, we may as eaſily reiect it, as they proue it.

The place of Gregorie Nyſſenus which Bellarmine produceth is falſe. We hauehave heretofore ſhewed the falſhood of that Oration vponupon Theodorus; As alſo that is falſe which he ſaith, that the fift Councell of Carthage forbiddeth any Altar to bee dedicated p. 326without Reliques. The Councell doth not ſpeake in that place, of all Altars, but of the monuments of Martyrs, which the beleeuing Chriſtians, aſſembling themſelues together in the Church-yeards, vſed in ſteede of Altars. And becauſe that for want of true monuments, they ſometimes erected in honour of true Martyrs, falſe deuiſed ſepulchres, the Councel commandeth them to be plucked downe. It is a thing incredible how the workes of this Cardinall doe ſwarme with vntruthes. The other places which he alleageth doe neither ſpeake of adoration, nor religious worſhip.

Suborning of counterfait Reliques.But the maine point is, that through tract of time, and the malice of men, the queſtion is now changed. For in thoſe times, while the ſufferings of the Martyrs were yet freſh in mens mindes, and their Reliques certainely knowne; men diſputed vponupon ſome ground and ſubiect, how far they were to be honoured: But now a dayes they thruſt vponupon vsus fained Reliques, counterfaite marchandiſe, as a meere Artifice for gaine: Reliques which they are wont …o ſhew in darke places, and that by vncouering them either by halfes or not at al; making the ſeely people to reſt content by bare ſeeing of the box or casket, cauſing them to kneele vntounto them with troubled deuotion: And if they depart out of th…ſe Oratories without offering, or paying, it will be thought hereſie or ingratitude.

Some Reliques there are meerely forged to mock and abuſe the world: And Burgos in Spaine there is a Crucifix, whoſe bearde they cut eueryevery monethmonth, p. 327and pare his nailes, and theſe parings are ſaid to bee of great vertue. At Rome there is kept in S. Iohns Church in Lateran, the circumciſed fore-skin of Chriſt, as alſo the very Altar at the which Iohn Baptiſt did ſay diuine ſeruice in the wilderneſſe, as witneſſeth the booke of Romiſh Indulgences printed at Rome. Our Pilgrims bring home, out of Galizia, the feathers of certaine hennes which are of the race of that cock, that crew to S. Peter when he denied his maſter: In S. Sulpitius Church in Paris, there is a ſtone of that fountaine wherein the Virgin Mary waſhed the ſwathing-clothes of Chriſt newly borne. There was ſhewed vntounto my ſelfe at S. Denis, Iudas his Lanterne, which doubtleſſe is a peece of great vertue. As alſo Aarons rodde, which by that reckoning muſt needes hauehave laſted three thouſand and ſix hundred yeares without rotting; and yet our good maſters confeſſe, that the cōſecrated hoſts doe finnow and grow mouldy, the preſence of Chriſt in them, cannot ſaue them from putrefaction. Men goe to Collein to worſhip the bodies of the three Kings that neuer yet were. The authour of the booke called Opus imperfectum vponupon S. Mathew, attributed to Chryſoſtome, ſaith that they were of thoſe whom they called Magi, wizards, or ſoothſayers, and that they were twelue in number. Their names Gaſpar, Melchior, and Balthaſar, doe ſhew that it was the inuention of ſome Almaine Monke, for the two firſt are high-dutch names. That good and faithfull ſeruant of God Theodore Beza, whom God hath now gathered to his Saints in glory, in p. 328his booke againſt Baldwine, reporteth of himſelfe that he ſaw at Tours a croſſe laden with rich ſtones which the people adored at the Paſſion; amongſt the reſt there was an Achates or an auncient Agate ſtone which the people kiſſed, and that himſelfe beholding the ingrauing, he found it to bee a Venus weeping ouer her Adonis lying by her. And further, that to Lewis of Bourbon, Prince of Condee, being in the ſame Towne, there was brought amongſt other Reliques an arme of ſiluer, which being opened, there was found within it a knaue of ſpades with a louelove ditty. And that at Bourges there was found in a casket of Reliques a little wheele turning round vponupon a ſtaffe, hauing a little ſcroule written about it.

When this wheele about ſhall turne

My louelove with me in louelove ſhall burne.

How can a man reconcile S. Iohn of Angerie, with Amiens and Arras, ſeeing that theſe three Townes doe bragge that they hauehave the head of Saint Iohn Baptiſt? How many houſes might there be built, with that which is ſaid to be the wood of the true Croſſe? Or who could recken the thornes of Chriſt his Crowne? Or the milke, or the haire of the Virgin Marie? In England only in the beginning of the reformation of religion, there were found aboue a buſhel full of S. Apollonies teeth. And alwaies the baſon to receaue the offering, is at hand. Wee ſee many Churches founded by this meanes. What ſemblance of theſe thinges was there amongſt the auncients, nay was there euer any groſſer p. 329coſenage in all the Heathen Paganiſme? In all this abuſe of Reliques, finde me out any Relique or remnant of Pietie, or any trace of Chriſtianity.