A Vindication of the Sincerity of the Protestant Religion, Chapter 4

A Vindication of the Sincerity of the Protestant Religion · Chapter 4

p. 72CHAP. IV. Proving by the Bulls and Decrees of Popes, That the Doctrine of the Roman Court in the point of Obedience to Sovereignes, is a Doctrine of Rebellion.

HItherto we have ſtood upon the Defenſive, and have with no great labour wiped off the falſe and foul aſperſions of Rebellion caſt upon the Doctrine of the Proteſtant Churches: Let us try whether we can uſe the Sword as well as the Buckler. And we will uſe no other then the Popes own Sword; For as David p. 73ſaid of Goliah's ſword, There is none like that, give it me: In this Combate the enemies ſword is the right weapon, none like it. The Adverſary to diſgrace our Doctrine, hath objected to us ſome paſſages of our Authors, moſt of them falſe or wreſted, and ſome actions of perſons of the Proteſtant party. But though he had proved all theſe to be true, he had done no harm to our Doctrine, which is not built upon private opinions, or upon private or publick actions. He ſhould have taken our Confeſſions in hand, and Indicted them of rebellious Tenets, if he could have found any: Or finding none, he ſhould have given glory to God, and confeſſed the Truth of God with us.

But if I bring him the Bulls of his Popes, and their Decrees, can he ſcape as we do, when he urgeth us with maxims of Buchanan or Goodman? Can he ſay, The Pope ſpeaks Treaſon, and preſcribes Rebellion, as we ſay of theſe men; and my faith is not tyed to his authority? Can he as freely go off from the Popes judgement, as we do from the beſt of our party, when their Tenet is repreſented to us aberring from the rule of Gods Word, and diſſenting from the Articles of Religion, conſented unto by the Provincial Convocations of the Church? We will then object to him and his party that which they cannot diſown, unleſs they diſown their Faith and Religion, ſince their Faith and Religion depend upon the Popes Decrees; and that ſo ſtrongly, and with ſuch a ſpirit of deluſion, that the moſt peſtilent opinions paſs with them for Evangelical Truths, and the moſt abominable actions for patterns of Holineſs, if they be once marked with that ſtamp; according to Bellarmines p. 74ſentence, which no Romaniſt hath yet diſallowed for any thing I know. If the Pope did Bellarm. lib. 4. de Pontifice, ca. 5. Si Papa erraret in praecipiendo vitia, vel prohibendo virtutes, teneretur Eccleſia credere vitia eſſe bona, & virtutes malas, niſi vellet contra conſcientiam loqui. Idem cap. 31. in Barklaium. In bono ſenſu dedit Chriſtus Petro poteſtatem faciendi de peccato non peccatum, & de non peccato peccatum.erre in commanding vices, or prohibiting vertues, the Church ſhould be obliged to believe that vices are good, and vertues evil, unleſs ſhe would ſpeak against Conſcience. And to the ſame purpoſe he affirmeth, That in good ſenſe Chriſt hath given to St. Peter the power to make ſin to be no ſin, and that which is no ſin, to be ſin. And he takes it for granted, That the power which Chriſt hath given to St. Peter, he hath ipſo facto given it to the Pope his Succeſſor. If then we prove that ſedition, rebellion, and murther of Kings, is juſtified, promoted, yea and commanded by that Head of their Faith, the Papiſts muſt either approve it as good and holy, or ceaſe to be Papiſts, and learn to have the Faith of the Lord Jeſus Chriſt the Lord of glory, without reſpect of perſons.

Since the Roman Church ſtands much upon her Antiquity, we will begin by the ancienteſt example of approving the murther of Kings that can be chargedAnn. Chr. 611. upon the Roman See. It is that of Gregory the I. who hearing that Phocas had ſlain the Emperour Mauritius his Liege Lord, having firſt killed his children before his face, and that he had invaded the Empire, writ a gratulatory Epiſtle to that monſter, where theſe words are found. We are glad that the benignity Greg. 1. lib. 11. Epiſt. 36. Benignitatem pietatis veſtrae ad Imperiale faſtigium perveniſſe gaudemus: Laetentur Coeli, & exultet Terra, & de benignis actibus veſtris univerſae Reip. populus hilareſcat.of your Piety hath attained to the Imperial Dignity: Let the heavens rojoyce, and let the Earth be glad, and let the people of p. 75the whole Commonwealth be joyful for your gracious deeds.

The next example ſhall be that of Gregory the II. who rebelled againſt his Sovereigne, the EmperourAnn. Chr. 726. Leo Iſaurus, and made Rome and the Roman Dutchy do the ſame: And while the Emperour was ſore afflicted with the wars of the Saracens in the Eaſt, he made himſelf Lord of that part of his Maſters Dominions in Italy; for which Sigonius giveth an admirableSigonius Hiſt. de Regno Italiae, lib. 3. Ita Roma Romanuſque Ducatus à Graecis ad Romanum Pontificem propter neſandam eorum haereſim impietatem que pervenit. reaſon. That Rome and the Roman Dutchy were lost by the Grecians, and got by the Pope of Rome, by reaſon of their wicked hereſie. A ſtrange kind of penance from a Paſtor, to turn the ſinner out of his houſe, and poſſeſs himſelf of it. That wicked hereſie of Leo Iſaurus was, That he prohibited the adoration of Images, and pulled them down every where: For that Hereſie and Impiety, the holy Father Gregory the II. impoſed this penance upon the Emperour; He made him loſe his Eſtate, and himſelf ſeized upon it. This is the beginning of the Popes Temporal Principality. This is the Title whereby he holds Rome and the Territory of it to this day; even plain Rebellion, and Tyrannical Invaſion of his Sovereigns Eſtate and Dominion.

The next Succeſſor of Gregory the II. was Gregory the III. of whom Platina writeth thus. This Pope as ſoon as he attained to the Papal Platina in Greg. III. Hic ſtatim ubi Pontificatum iniit Cleri Romani conſenſu Leonem tertium Imperatorem Conſtantinopolitanum Imperio ſimul & communione Fidelium privat, quod ſanctas Imagines è ſacris aedibus abraſiſſet.Degree, by the conſent of the Roman Clergie, deprived Leo the III. Emperour of Conſtantinople, both of his Empire, and of the Communion of the faithful, becauſe p. 76he had ſwept away the holy Images out of the Churches. Obſerve that Platina that writ about the year 1472. at Rome, ſpeaks according to the great intereſt of that time and place, which was, That an Emperour excommunicated, was ipſo facto deprived of his Empire: Whereas the Popes that lived 700 years before, either had not that ambition, or wanted the courage to depoſe Emperours. But the Popes that reigned two or three hundred yeers ago, made that power of depoſing Princes, as ancient as they could by their Hiſtorians.

The ſame muſt be ſaid of the pretended depoſition of Chilperick King of France by Pope Zachary, the next Succeſſor of Gregory the III. Cardinal Perron ſets forth that example to fright Kings, in his Oration before the three States of France, and ſaith that the Pope abſolved the people of France from their Allegiance to that King, for which he alledgeth the teſtimony of two new Authors, Paulus Aemilius and Du Tillet. But Ado Biſhop of Vienna in his Chronicle ſaith, That the French by the counſel of Embaſſadors, and of Pope Zachary, eſtabliſhed Pepin their King. And Trithemius in his Abridgement of Annals ſpeaks thus: Chilperick King of the French, is put out from the Kingdome, as incapable to reigne, by the common conſent of the great perſons of the Kingdome, Pope Zachary giving them counſel.

But although the Champions of the Court of Rome aſcribe to theſe ancient Popes that power which they never exerciſed or pretended to. That aſſertion of theirs is very favourable to my purpoſe, which is to ſhew that the Roman Court is, and delights to be the Troubler p. 77of Chriſtendome by that uſurpation of depoſing Kings, and abſolving Subjects from their Allegiance: For the more they ſtrive for it, and labour to root it in Antiquity, the more they ſhew the ſtirring of Rebellions to be eſſential and original unto their wicked Throne.

After Zachary followed Stephen the II. who ſet on Pepin to expel the Exarchs out of Italy, and obtainedPlatina. of him the Exarchat for himſelf, though belonging to the Emperour of Conſtantinople his true Sovereigne: So there was both Rebellion and Robbery in that proceeding. Wherein he followed the ſteps of Gregory the II. who thirty yeers before had robbed the Emperour his Maſter of the City of Rome, and the Roman Dutchy.

Yet in theſe Dominions the Emperours of the Weſt, (which then begun again) kept the Imperial power.aaPlatina in vita Eugenii II. Lotharius in Italiam veniens Magiſtratum delegit qui populo Romano jus diceret. Platina affirmeth, That when Lothary came into Italy, he choſe Magiſtrates to judge the people of Rome: For in the partage between the ſons of Lewis the Meek, Italy and Rome fell to the ſhare of Lothary the eldeſt. But above all, the teſtimony of Sigonius is expreſs, who ſpeaking of the poſture of Italy in the yeer 973. ſaith, That the Pope kept Rome, Ravenna, and the Sigonius de Regno Italiae, lib. 7. ann. 973. Pontifex Romam, Ravennam, & ditiones reliquas tenebat authoritate magis quam imperio: quod Civitates Pontificem ut Reip. Principem, Regem vero ut ſummum Dominum intuerentur, atque ei tributa obſequiaque praeberent.rest of his Territories, rather by Authority then Soveraignty; becauſe the Cities look'd upon the Pope as a Prince of the Commonwealth, but upon the King as their Soveraigne Lord, and to him they payd Tribute, and yeelded Obedience. It appeareth p. 78by the Hiſtories of Volaterranus, Blondus, and Sabellicus, that it is but about two hundred yeers ſince the Pope is abſolute Maſter in Rome. And for the SpiritualIt was about the year 800. power, Sigonius affirmeth, That Pope Hadrian the I. yeilded to the Emperour Charlemagne, the power of ordering the Church, and electing the Pope, which was ſo approved by Pope Leo the VIII. eightſcore yeers after, thataaSigonius de reg. Ital. ad an. 963. Non ſine cauſa Adrianum I. Carolo magno tribuiſſe ut Eccleſiam ordinaret, & Pontificem eligeret. Platina in Paſchalis I. Paſchalis nulla interpoſita Imperatoris authoritate Pontiſéx creatur: Hanc ob rem ubi Pontificatum iniit ſtatim Legatos ad Ludovicum miſit, qui ejus rei culpam omnem in Clerum & populum rejicerent, quod ab his vi coactus eſſet pontiſicium munus obire. Accepta hac ſatisfactione Ludovicus reſpondit populo & Clero, majorum inſtituta & pacta ſervanda eſſe, caverent ne dein ceps Majeſtatem lae derent. he ſaid that it was not without cauſe that Hadrian the firſt had done ſo.

Yet Pope Paſchalis the I. got into the Roman See without the Emperours Authority and conſent, (as his Predeceſſor Stephen the IV. had done before him) and then ſent to Lewis the Meek to purge himſelf, and cast the fault upon the importunity of the Clergie and the people. The Emperour accepted the excuſe, but ſaid withal, That the Clergie and the people ſhould no more offend the Emperours Majeſty in that ſort. Let it be then remembred, that the Popes power is an uſurpation, firſt upon the Emperours of the Eaſt, and ſince upon thoſe of the Weſt; that it be not found ſtrange that his power having begun by Rebellion and Uſurpation, is maintained in the following ages by anſwerable means, and liveth by the ſame elements of which it was compoſed. This alſo will give an evidence to the judicious Reader of the true cauſe why the Popes had ſuch a long and pertinacious quarrel with the Emperours, and thundred continually p. 79upon them with Excommunications, created to them enemies, and tore the Empire with Factions; even that they might ſtrip the Emperour of all his right in Italy, make themſelves independent both for the Spiritual and the Temporal, and raiſe their greatneſſe upon the fall of the Empire. So the many examples which I ſhall bring of excommunicating and depoſing of Emperours, and abſolving their ſubjects from their Allegiance, ſhall lay a double guilt of rebellion upon the Popes, both as commanding rebellion abroad, and practiſing rebellion at home againſt their lawful Sovereigns.

The firſt Pope that offered to excommunicate the King of France, was Gregory the IV. who joyned withSigebert. An. 832. the Sonnes of Lewis the meek, who had conſpired againſt their Father. But the French Biſhops threatned to excommunicate him, ſo he deſiſted.

The firſt Pope that attempted to draw his ſpiritual Sword againſt the Emperour, was that honeſt man Gregory Anno circiter. 1080.the VII, called before Hildebrand, who excommunicated the Emperour Henry the IV, but depoſed him before. The Empire he translated to Rudolph Platina in Greg. VII. Imperatorem ipſum anathemate notavit, privatum prius omni Regia adminiſtratione.Duke of Suevia. But you muſt underſtand that though he gave him the Empire, he did not deliver it. For Rudolph was slain in battel by the Emperour. Rome was taken by the Emperour, and Gregory died for grief. The laſt words of Rudolph are notable: Seeing his hand cut off, heMarianus Scotus. Sigebertus. Vſpergenſis, ſaid to the Biſhops that had made him take armes. You ſee my hand which I had lift up to God with an Oath of fidelity to my Sovereigne, now puniſht for fighting traiterously againſt him by your inſtigation. It ſeemes p. 80that the Popes command could not cleer his conſcience of the crime of rebellion.

Ʋrban the II. did alſo excommunicate and perſecutePlatira. Sigebertus. that worthy Emperour Henry the IV. This is that Ʋrban who made thatƲrban II. Cauſa 15. q. 6. Can. Iuratos. Iuratos milites Hugoni Comitine ipſi quandiu excommunicatus eſt ſerviant prohibemus. goodly Decree, That an Oath made to an excommunicated perſon, muſt not be kept. The quarrel which made theſe Popes excommunicate the Emperour was about collation of Benefices.

Pope Paſchal the II. who ſucceeded Ʋrban, made that Emperours Sonne to take armes againſt his Father.Aventinus. …ttho Friſengenſis. And that ungracious Sonne was ſuch an obedient Sonne to his Holineſſe, that he gave battel to his Father: Who being overcome, and in his enemies hands, was depoſed in a Synod held at Mentz, by the Popes command to that purpoſe, and the Crowne and other Imperial ornaments, were taken violently from him by three Biſhops, of Mentz, of Collen, and of Worms, and given to his Sonne Henry the V. The old Emperour being ſoon after dead for grief, the Pope would not ſuffer his Sonne to bury him, but he lay five years unburied. Theſe are the holy actions of him that cannot erre, and hath all right ſhrined up in the cloſet of Platina in Paulo II.his breast.

It is worth relating how that Paſchal ſped by theſe wicked acts. The new Emperour came to Rome to be crowned by him. There the quarrel was renewed about collation of Benefices. And becauſe the peopleBaronius An. Chr. 1111. of Rome roſe in a mutiny againſt him, he made a great slaughter of them, and took his Holineſſe priſoner; p. 81uſing Iacobs words, I will not let thee go, till thou hast given me thy bleſſing. That bleſſing was the yielding of the Collation of Benefices, which Paſchal grantedObſerve that the Roman Church hath altered her belief in that point, for they hold now that the body of Chriſt in the Sacrament cannot be divided. and confirmed it by Oath. But he revoked that Grant as ſoon as he was free again, although the Oath was taken by the Altar, where Paſchal dividing the Hoſt between the Emperour and him; uſed theſe words, which Baronius relates: Sicubi pars haec vivifici corporis diviſa eſt, ita diviſus ſit à regno Christi qui pactum hoc violare tentaverit. As this part of the vivifying body is divided, ſo let him be divided from Chriſts Kingdome, that will go about to break this Covenant. But what! the Pope abſolveth others from their Oath, much more himſelf, when he liſteth.

This horrible action of a Son giving battel to his Father, and keeping him priſoner till he die, through hardneſſe and anguiſh, is highly commended by Baronius. Why? the Son did it in obedience to the Pope, who would not pardon his Father, no not after his death. Theſe are Baronius his words; In this action, the Son is no more to be condemned, Baron. loco citato. Nihil habes in quo damnes filium, magis quam ſi inſanienti ſurentique pius filius vincula injiciat patri. Quis negare poteſt ſummum ſuiſſe hoc pietatis genus?then if a pious Son ſhould bind his Father, who is fallen mad. And again, Who can deny that it was the higheſt kind of piety, to have ſhewed himſelf cruel in this caſe? Here is rebellion in the height, of a ſubject againſt his Sovereigne: Here is a moſt horrible parricide, of a Son armed againſt his Father: both commanded by the Pope, and at his command executed. And both praiſed and recommended by a Jeſuite and a famous Cardinal, as a pattern for poſterity.

p. 82Calixtus the II. his next Succeſſor but one, excommunicated Henry the V. and forced him to compound.

How the Pope could be ſo bold abroad, being ſoFrinſingenſis, Platina. weak at home, it is a wonder to me; for the Romans rebelled againſt Innocent the II. and created a Magiſtrate which they called Patritius, to whom they deferred the Government, whereby they broke his heart, and made him die for ſorrow. And when Pope Lucius the II. went about to put down that new Magiſtrate, he was anſwered, that the Senate would recover that right which the Popes had invaded by the help of Charlemayne. Lucius called upon the Emperour Conrad for help, who either could not, or would not help him. Lucius raiſeth Souldiers, and aſſaults the Capitol, but in that aſſault he was ſo bepelted with ſtones, that he died few dayes after.

And although Pope Eugenius the II. came to ſome compoſition with the Romans, yet both he and his Succeſſors, Anastaſius the IV. and Hadrian the IV. were kept under by them, and Hadrian was in the end forced to flie from Rome. Yet the ſame Hadrian ſuffered the Emperour Frederick the I. to hold his Stirrup, and quarrelledHelmodi Chron. lib. 1. cap. 81. with him for taking the left inſtead of the right.

That brave Emperour was more courſly uſed yet by the next Pope Alexander the III. who trod upon his neck when he ſtooped to kiſs his Holineſſes Foot, uſing theſe words of the Pſalm 91. Thou ſhalt tread upon the Lion and Adder, the young Lion and the Dragon ſhalt thou trample underfeet.

And when the Emperour ſaid, Non tibi ſed Petro, This ſubmiſſion I do not to thee, but to Peter; the p. 83Pope treading upon him again, ſaid, Et mihi & Petro, Both to me and to Peter.

Such was that Popes humility. So did he obey Saint Peters command. Submit your ſelves to every ordinance of man for the Lords ſake. The Pope had before excommunicated Frederick; and when he came to ſubmit and reconcile himſelf unto the Pope, his Holineſs gave him this wellcome.

This ſo memorable paſſage, ſo known and ſo odious to all the World, is left out for ſhame by Platina and his Commentator Onuphrius. And all that Platina ſaith of that meeting is, that Frederick kiſt the Popes feet in Platina in Alexandro III.the Porch of Saint Mark of Venice, and then they went together to the great Altar. But it is atteſted by twenty Hiſtorians alledged by Hieronymo Bardo in his Historia Navalis. The great Juriſconſult **Duarenus lib. 1. de ſacris Eccleſiae Miniſteriis, cap. 2.Duarenus relateth it with great deteſtation of ſo great a pride and tyranny. For which Joſeph Stevan ‖‖Ioſeph Stevan. Epiſt. ad Gregor. XIII. de oſculo pedum Papae. Iure meritoque in Religionis & Eccleſiae infenſiſſimum hoſtem Fredericum Barbaroſſam, non ut in ſalem inſatuatum quem jubet Chriſtus pedibus proterere ſed potius ut horrendam belluam calcibus inſultavit.who writ at Rome to Gregory the XIII. of kiſſing the Popes feet, checks Duarenus, ſaying that Pope Alexander the III. trod the Emperour Frederick under foot, not onelyonly as ſalt which hath loſt its ſavour, but as an horrible wild beaſt. And Otho Friſingenſis both relates it and commends it, **Otho Friſing. lib. 5. cap. 14. Quod ſactum ſummis liberum eſt ſacerdotibus, cum Principum tyrannidem, aut violatam fidem aut Eccleſiae imminutam dignitatem vident.and ſaith, That the Popes have the power to do ſo much, when they ſee the tyranny of Princes, or that faith is violated, or the dignity of the Church imbezelled. So though the Hiſtory were not as it is, moſt undoubtedly p. 84true, the approving and exalting of the fact in the Court of Rome makes that Court as guilty, as if it had been done. But it was done, and as bad was done by other Popes.

Pope Celestin the III. gave Constantia a Nunne in marriage to the Emperour Henry the VI. and gave him for her dowry the Kingdome of both the Sicilies, uponPlatina Uſpergenſis. condition he ſhould expell Tancred, who was poſſeſs'd of the Kingdome. Hence a bloody War between Henry the VI. and Tancred. It is ordinary to the Pope to give that which is none of his. When the Pope giveth a Kingdome from a Prince that enjoyeth it, he commands together the people to reſiſt him, making a ſport to ſpill their blood, and damn their ſouls.

Baronius commends very much that Popes behaviourAnnal. Roger. an. 1191. Sedebat Dominus Papa in Cathedra Pontificali tenens coronam auream inter pedes ſuos; & Imperator inclinato capite recepit coronam, & imperator ſimiliter de pedibus Domini Papae: Dominus autem Papa ſtatim percuſſit cum pede ſuo coronam Imperatoris, & dejecit eam in terram, ſignificans quod ipſe poteſtatem ejiciendi eum ab Imperio habet, ſi ille demeruerit. in the Crowning of the Emperour Henry the VI. and his Wife, thus related in the Annalls of Rogerius. The Pope was ſitting in his pontifical chair holding an Imperial golden Crown between his feet; and the Emperour bowing his head, received the Crown, and the Empreſs likewiſe by the feet of the Pope. And the Pope preſently hit the Emperours Crown, and kick'd it down to the ground, thereby ſignifying that he had power to caſt him down from the Empire if he deſerved it. Baronius having related this, amplifieth it with this morality

‖‖Baron. Tom. 12. Anno 1191. ſect. 10. Ut fixum menti [Caeſaris] haereret, nempe dare, cuſtodire, conſervare, & auſerre, ſi cauſa exigeret, imperium eſſe in voluntate Romani Pontificis, ejusmodi voluit commenere eum exemplo.That it might remain fixed in the Emperours mind, that it lieth in the Popes pleaſure to give, keep, preſerve, and take away the Empire if there be cauſe p. 85for it, he would admoniſh him with ſuch an example.

Could the Devil have ſet up pride to a higher pin? to put the Emperours Crown at his feet, as a foot-ſtool for him to tread upon; put the Crown on the Emperours head with his feet, as an office too low for his hands: and then with his foot kick'd it down, as having a quarrell againſt the Imperiall Crown, and together a contempt for it. This and the treading upon the Emperours neck were ſignificant ceremonies with a witneſs. And what more effectual courſe could have been taken to raiſe rebellion in all the States of Chriſtendome, then thus to blaſt the reſpect of Majeſty? For thereby all Nations were taught, that their Princes were not Sovereigns, but the Popes Vaſſalls and Liegemen: That themſelves were not their Kings Subjects, but the Popes, who could kick down their Crowns when he liſted; and that when that ſupreme Head ſhall command it, the Feet, that is the inferiour Members of the State, muſt make Foot-balls of the Crowns of Emperours and Kings.

After Celestin the III. came Innocent the III. as proud, but more active then he. England hath reaſon to remember this Pope. For he excommunicated King John, depoſed him, abſolved his Subjects from their allegiance to him, and caſt an Interdict upon England, which laſted ſix years. All which time no Divine Service was ſaid in the Kingdome, but in ſome priviledged places, no Sacrament was adminiſtred, and no corps buried in Conſecrated Ground. The Kingdome of England he gave to Philip Auguſt of France, if he could p. 86take it; and that by a formal order, thus related by Matthew Paris; The Pope by the counſell Matth. Paris in vita Reg. Johan. Papa ex conſilio Cardinalium, Epiſcoporum, & aliorum vivorum prudentium, ſententialiter definivit ut Rex a ſolio deponeretur. Ad hujus quoque ſententiae executionem ſcripſit Dominus Papa potentiſſimo Regi Francorum Philippo, quatenus in remiſſionem peccatorum ſuorum hunc laborem aſſumeret.of the Cardinalls, Biſhops, and other prudent men gave a definitive ſentence, that the King ſhould be put down from his Throne: For the execution of that Sentence, the Pope writ to the moſt potent King of the French, Philip, that for the remiſſion of his ſins he ſhould take that labour upon him. A new way for that King to get the remiſſion of his ſins, to invade his neighbours eſtate. As in the age of our Fathers Pope Sixtus the V. gave nine years of true indulgence to all the French that would bear Arms againſt their King Henry the III. Thus the remiſſion of ſins purchaſed by the blood of the Son of God, and preſented by his Goſpell to all that repent and believe, is by the Pope given as a reward of Invaſion and Rebellion.

Matthew Paris writes, that, The Pope having gotten the Kingdome of England to himſelf (to his thinking) ſent to Philip Auguſt, to enjoyn him to be reconciled with King John, elſe he would put France to Interdict. Philip anſwered, that he feared not his ſentence, and that it belonged not to the Church of Rome to pronounce a ſentence againſt the King of France.

It is a long and a ſad ſtory, how King John was perſecuted by Pope Innocent the III. his Barons made to riſe againſt him, his Neighbours to fall upon him, his Clergy to revile him, and his people to deſpiſe him; till that unlucky King was brought to ſuch an extremity, that to buy his peace he gave his Kingdome to the p. 87Pope, and yet could not get his peace that way. The Gold which he laid at the Legats feet in ſign of ſubjection, the Legat trod under his feet in ſcorn, yet took it in his hand after, ſo great was his clemency.

What a cruel tyranny did the following Popes exerciſe over his Son Henry the III. in his long and unfortunate Reign, inſulting over his weakneſs and ſuperſtition? How licentiously did theſe Wolves tear and raven in England, while the publick cry of the oppreſſedMatth. Paris in vitae Hen. III. people repreſented unto the King, that his Kingdome was become like a Vine, whoſe fence is pulled down, and rooted out by the wild Bear.

Theſe Hiſtories which make the uſurpations of the Roman Court to be abhorred, yet are ſet forth by the Jeſuite Petra Sancta as examples for all Princes; AndPetra Sancta Not. in Epiſt. ad Balzac. he would have all Kings to imitate King John and Henry the III. of England in their ſubjection to the Pope. He could not have choſen more frequent examples to dehort them from it, conſidering the gulf of miſeries which they ſunk into, by their ſtooping under the Popes tyranny. But they have more reaſon to follow the example of the next King, brave Edward the I. who recovered his own and his Kingdomes liberty, by expelling all the Roman Exactours out of England; and by his contempt of Rome reigned peaceably and glorious. For the Pope, who in the Reigns of his Father and Grandfather was thundering continually, and cudgelling both King and people, never ſpake a word againſt this ſtout King.

Pope Innocent the III. played with his Spiritual Sword in Germany as well as in England, for he excommunicated p. 88the Emperour Otho the IV.Platina in Innocent III. Otho iram Pontificis in ſe concitavit à quo & anathemate notatur & Imperii titulis privatur. and deprived him of the titles of the Empire, as Platina ſpeaks warily, for Popes cannot take away Kingdomes, but onelyonly deny to acknowledge the titles.

The Emperour Fredericke the II. was worſe uſed by the Popes, though much deſerving of the Roman See, to which he had given the County of Fundi. For he was excommunicated and depoſed by Pope Honorius the III. and again by Gregory the IX. for that MonſterPlatina. of pride and greedineſſe, when the Emperour was gone on his errand into Palaestina, anathematized him, raiſed him enemies in Germany, by his preaching Friars,Matth. Paris in Vita Hen. III. Reg. Angl. Vſpergenſis. Trithemius and taking advantage of his abſence, ſent an army into Appulia, and ſeiſed upon the Emperours Lands. Twice he ſhewed himſelf reconciled with the Emperour, and twice again broke with him, and excommunicated him; but with ill ſucceſſe to himſelf: For by all theſe Excommunications and Depoſitions the Emperour thrived; who after a long patience fell upon the Pope; made his Interdicts laid upon the Empire, to be hiſſed out; and ſo diſtreſſed the Pope by his armies, that he died for wrath and ſorrow.

The ſame Emperour was alſo excommunicated andPlatina. Matth. Paris. perſecuted by Pope Innocent the IV. And when after the Emperours death, the armes of his Son proſpered in Italy, he gave the Kingdome of Sicily to Richard brother to Henry the III. of England; Richard not acquainted with the Popes giving of Kingdomes, asketh that the Forts and the Treaſure and Hoſtages be given to him. Herein wiſer (if he had ſtayed there) then p. 89others, who accept that which the Pope cannot deliver.

I will paſſe by many Popes that came after, who ſent their Excommunications no further then the Kingdome of Naples and Sicily, and filled Italy with factions, that they might fiſh in troubled waters: Let us fix our contemplation a little upon that high pattern of Pontifical vertues, Boniface the VIII. upon whom Platina beſtoweth this Character. That BonifacePlatina in Bonifacio. Bonifacius ille qui Imperatoribus, Regibus, Principibus, Nationibus, Populis, terrorem potius quam religionem injicere conabatur; Quique dare regna & auferre, pellere homines ac reducere, pro arbitrio conabatur; aurum undique conquiſitum plus quam dici poteſt ſitiens. who studied to give terrour rather then religion, unto Emperours, Kings, Princes, and Nations, and laboured to give and take away Kingdomes, drive men away, and bring them again, according to his pleaſure. One that was thirſty of goods ſcraped up from all places, more then can be exprest.

The paſſages between him and the French King Philip the Fair, are known, yet perhaps not to all. This is the Hiſtory in ſhort: This Pope having a grudge againſt him about the Collation of Benefices, and deſiring to pick a quarrel, ſent to him the Biſhop of Pamiers, Stella. Hiſtoire de France.to command him to undertake an expedition to the Holy Land, and to threaten him if he refuſed. The Biſhop did that errand ſo malapertly, that the King offended, committed him to priſon. The Pope angry, demanded the Biſhop again, and had him; and ſent this Letter to the King. Fear God, and keep his Commandements, We will have thee to know that thou art our Subject, both for the Spiritual and the Temporal. That no Collation of Benefices and Prebends belongs to p. 90thee. And if thou haſt the cuſtody of any of them that are vacant, we will have thee to reſerve the fruits for their Succeſſors. And if thou hast granted any (Benefices) We declare all ſuch Collations null, and as far as they are executed de facto, We revoke them. Thoſe that believe otherwiſe, we hold them for Hereticks. Theſe goodly Letters being brought to Paris by a Legate, were pluckt from him by the Kings Council and Judges, and caſt into the fire by the Earle of Artois. And to them the King returned this Anſwer, Philip by the Grace of God, King of the French, to Boniface, calling himſelf Sovereign Pontife; but little greeting, or rather none at all. Let thy moſt egregious folly know that in temporal things we are ſubject to no man. That the Collation of Churches and Prebends belongs unto us by Royal Right, and converting the ſame to our uſe, during the vacancy. That the Collation by us made, and to be made, ſhall be valid; and that in vertue of the ſame, we will couragiouſly defend the poſſeſſors. Thoſe that hold otherwiſe, We hold to be idiots, and bereaved of their ſenſe.

The Pope inraged excommunicates the King, but none durſt be the publiſher or bearer of that Bull. The King aſſembleth at paris his Knights, Barons, and Prelates, and asketh them of whom they hold their Lordſhips, and the temporal of their Eccleſiaſtical preferments. All anſwer that they hold them of the King, not of the Pope, whom they charge with hereſie and many crimes, The Pope aſſembleth a General Council (as Platina calleth it) though it was gathered out of fewPlatina. Countries) and by a Decree of that Council, depriveth Philip of his Kingdome, and giveth it to the Emperour p. 91Albert; and laboureth to arme Germany and Netherlands againſt France. But that vigorous King ſent Nogaret into Italy, who by the help of Sciarra Columna, whoſe Family Boniface had cruelly oppreſt, got two hundred horſe, and ſurpriſed the Pope at Anagnia, whom they mounted upon a poor jade, and brought him priſoner to Rome, where he was ſo ill beloved, that no body ſtirred to reſcue him. With this adverſity his proud heart was broken, and he died five and thirty dayes after.

Benedict the XI. who was elected in his place, abſolved Philip preſently. And his Succeſſor Clement the V. to that Abſolution added a complemental Bull, in which Philip is exalted as a pious and religious Prince,As it may be ſeen Extravagante Meruit. and well deſerving of the Church; as it may be ſeen Extravagante Meruit. For the Popes eaſily pardon the ſins of thoſe whom they fear. Truly that vertuous King hath left a fair leſſon to poſterity, by what wayes the favour of that Holy See ought to be purchaſed and preſerved. And ſince Lewis the XIV. now reigning is taking the like courſe with the Pope, he is like to be in time the favourite of his Holineſſe, and to obtain from him another Bull meruit; declaring how well that eldeſt Son of the Church hath deſerved from the Church his Mother.

Pope Iohn XXIII. angry that Ludovicus Bavarus had taken upon him the adminiſtration of the Empire, beforePlatina Hieronymus Marius. he got his leave, refuſed to crown him, though many times deſired by him. The Emperour did nothing the leſſe continue his power and imperial care both in Germany and Italy, and going to Rome (the Pope p. 92then ſitting at Avignon) was crowned by the joynt conſent of Clergy, Nobles, and People. Upon which he was excommunicated and deprived of the Empire as far as words could do it, by this Pope. And the ſame Sentence was confirmed againſt the Emperour, by the Succeſſor of Iohn, Benedict the XII.

Clement the VI. who came next after, was more inclement then his predeceſſors, in perſecuting Ludovicus Bavarus. For he excommunicated all the Biſhops thatNauclerus. adhered to him; and ſet Bulls at the doors of all the Churches, to raiſe rebellion againſt him. And when the Emperour would ſubmit to him, and ſue for peace, he required ſuch conditions of him, as neither he, nor the Princes of the Empire, would or could yield unto, as that he ſhould depoſe himſelf, put all his Eſtate, and his own Sons in the Popes power, and promiſe to undertake no more any thing, without the Popes leave. Theſe conditions being rejected by the Emperour, Clement charged the Electors to elect another. Which when the Archbiſhop of Ments refuſed to do, repreſenting the Emperours innocency, he deprived him of his Archbiſhoprick, and of his Electoral dignity. The other Electors corrupted with money by John King of Bohemia, elected his Son Charles King of the Romans, whom Clement approved; whence great and bloody Warres followed, and the Emperour Ludovicus Bavarus, was taken away by poyſon by Clements means, as ſome Authors write.

That Election of Charles the IV. was the breakingFaſciculus temp. Volatterran of the back of the Empire, which the Popes had been long labouring for. For this Charles, that he might be p. 93elected Emperour, pawned the tributes of the Empire to the Electors. And the Electors made him ſwear that he would never diſengage that pawne. Then they made him make that authentical Capitulation, which I have produced in my firſt Chapter. The Empire being thus weakned, and loſing the Tributes, which are the ſinewes of Warre, was diſabled from reſiſting the Turk, who hath ſince waſted the Chriſtian Provinces with little oppoſition, and hath deſtroyed ſo many Churches, or turned them into Moskites. For all theſe diſtractions, the Church and the Empire may thank the See of Rome, which had a hand in all the Negotiations of the Princes of Germany and Italy; and whoſe Authority acted alwayes for the depreſſion of the Emperour. Neither could all theſe conditions, ſo hurtful to the Imperial Dignity, and the publick ſubſiſtence, have paſt into ſtanding laws, if the Pope had not promoted them, or if he would have ſhewed himſelf againſt them.

Since this Pope Clement the VI. for about fifty or threeſcore years, I find not that the Popes had many irons in the fire out of the limits of Italy, the Papal power being much broken with Schiſmes. So that the Popes inſtead of fulminating Bulls againſt Emperours and Kings, courted its ſeveral Monarchs of Chriſtendome, to take their party againſt their Anti-popes.

Benedict the XIII. in the year 1408. being incenſedTheodoricus à Niem in nemore unionis. againſt Charles the VI. of France, for inhibiting the exactions of the Papal Court, ſent a Bull of Excommunication againſt the King and his Princes. The UniverſitySomnium Viridarii▪ of Paris required that the Bull ſhould be torne, p. 94and that Pope Benedict, (whom they called Peter de Luna) ſhould be declared Heretick, Schiſmatick, and diſturber of peace: Which was done. The Bull was torne by Sentence of the Court. And two Bulliſts, bearersCarolus Molinaeus contra parvas datas, relates that Sentence of the Court. of that Bull, made that which they call Honourable amends, upon the Pallace ſtairs, then were carried in two dung carts, arrayed in Jerkins of courſe linnen cloth painted, with paper Miters on their head, the trumpets ſounding before them, and the common people howting upon them, and abuſing them. So little account did they make of the roaring of the Popes Bulls.

For a hundred years after Benedict the XIII. I find not that the Popes made uſe of their ſpiritual Sword againſt any Prince out of Italy and Sicily; partly by reaſon of Schiſmes, when that Roman Beaſt had many heads; partly by reaſon of the Councils occaſioned by theſe Schiſmes. For they had three Councils in leſſe than forty years, at Conſtance, at Baſil, and at Florence; and the firſt and ſecond of them took upon them to depoſe Popes, and gave credit to that dangerous opinion, ſo odious to the Court of Rome, that the Council is above the Pope. This kept the Popes for a time in ſome order and reſpect to the Princes of Chriſtendome, but for ſome wrangling about pragmatick ſanctions, which grew not ſo high as to Warre or Excommunication.

But in recompence, Julius the II. raiſed warres and tumults, as much as would ſerve for a hundred years. He drew both his Swords againſt ſeveral Princes and States of Chriſtendome; eſpecially againſt that excellent p. 95King Lewis the XII. of France. For having drawn him into Italy for his ends, he makes a LeagueO…phrius Paul. … us. to drive him out; excommunicates him, and puts his Kingdome to Interdict. Excommunicates the Venetians, giveth their dominions to any that will take them. Driveth the Bentivogli out of Bononia; expoſeth their houſes to pillage: Excommunicates the Duke of Ferrara, and invades his Countrey by Armes; goes to Warre in perſon. Makes the Engliſh, the Spaniards, and the Switzers, to fall upon the French; takes many Imperial Cities. Excommunicates the King of Navarre, and giveth his Kingdome to the King of Arragon, who upon that invades and takes it: And this is all the title that the Spaniard hath to Navarre, which he keepeth to this day. So much blood was ſhed in Chriſtendome by the meanes of that plague of mankind Pope Julius the II. that it is thought that he was the death of two hundred thouſand Chriſtians, in ſeven years time.

In a Synod of the Gallican Church at Tours, it wasNicol. Cilles in Vita Ludov. XIII. Thuan. lib. 1. declared that the Pope hath no power to make warre againſt a Chriſtian Prince; and if he do ſo, that the Prince hath power to invade the Popes Territories. This the King ſignifieth to Julius, and cites him to anſwer to a General Council, which both the Emperour and he had called to be held at Lyons. The Council was held there, but ſoon removed to Piſa; where the Council cited Julius to appear; and he not appearing, was condemned as an Incendiary, unworthy to ſit at the Helme of the Church, and declared deprived of the Papal Dignity. There alſo Lewis coined golden Crownes with this Motto, Perdam nomen Babylonis. p. 96I will destroy the name of Babylon. For it is obſervable, that all that have quarrelled with the See of Rome theſe thirteen hundred years, have called it Babylon, and SaintHierom ad Marcellam. Hierome was he that began.

We cannot charge the Succeſſor of Iulins, Leo the X. to have ſtirred Wars abroad; he loved too much his eaſe at home for that. But I could not paſs by him, for indeed his memory is precious to all Proteſtants, for giving occaſion to the Reformation by his Indulgences. And he is worthy to be recorded for his ſentence ſpoken to his Secretary Cardinall Bembo, Quantum nobis Criſpinus.nostriſque ea de Christo fabula profuerit ſatis eſt omnibus ſaeculis notum, an anxiome of too high a nature to be Engliſhed.

After him came next but one Clement the VII. the Fomenter of the quarrell between the Emperour and the French, joyning ſometimes to the one, ſometimes to the other, and playing falſe with both, whereby he gave occaſion to the taking and ſacking of Rome. The thundering of this Pope, and of his SucceſſorIovius. Paul the III. againſt Henry the VIII. did him no harm, but to themſelves, and to the Roman See very much.

Of the following Popes till Pius the V. the Proteſtants have much to ſay, as of men that ſought their own pleaſure, and wrought their ruine. Hence ſo much blood ſplit in horrible Maſſacres. But theſe are beſides my ſubject, which is to make the Popes to appear Authors of rebellion.

But now in a good time we are come to Pius the V. that Pope whom the Engliſh Proteſtants have moſt reaſon p. 97to remember. For without admonition or citationCambdens Hiſt of Qu. Elizabeth. premiſed, he pronounced a ſentence of anathema againſt that bleſſed and glorious Queen Elizabeth, to raiſe rebellion in the Kingdome againſt her Authority and Life, and cauſed the ſame to be publiſhed and ſet up upon the Pallace Gate of the Biſhop of London: the Title was this; A ſentence declaratory of our holy Lord Micolaus Sanderus de ſchiſmate Anglicano, lib. 3.Pope Pius againſt Elizabeth Queen of England, and the Hereticks adhering unto her, Wherein her Subjects are declared abſolved from the Oath of Allegiance, and every thing due unto her whatſoever; and thoſe which from thenceforth obey her, are innodated with the anathema. In that Bull Pope Pius having firſt ſtyled himſelf Servant of Servants, declareth that God hath made the Biſhop of Rome Prince over all people, and all Kingdoms, to pluck up, destroy, ſcatter, conſume, plant, and build. Then he calleth Elizabeth the pretended Queen of England, the ſervant of wickedneſs. And having declared her crimes, which are to have taken upon her ſelf that ſupremacy which his Holineſs pretended to, and to have eſtabliſh'd the true Catholick Orthodox Religion in her Kingdomes, he doth thunder out this ſeditious Decree againſt her and all her loyall Subjects. We do out of the fulneſs of our Apostolick power declare the aforeſaid Elizabeth, being an Heretick, and a favourer of Hereticks, and her adherents in the matters aforeſaid, to have incurred the ſentence of anathema, and to be cut off from the unity of the body of Chriſt. And moreover we do declare her to be deprived of her pretended Title to the Kingdom aforeſaid, and of all Dominion, Dignity, and Priviledge whatſoever. And alſo the Nobility, Subjects, p. 98and People of the ſaid Kingdome, and all other which have in any ſort ſworn unto her, to be for ever abſolved from any ſuch Oath, and all manner of duty of Dominion, Allegiance, and Obedience, as we alſo do by authority of theſe preſents abſolve them, and do deprive the ſame Elizabeth of her pretended Title to the Kingdome, and all other things aboveſaid. And we do command and interdict all and every the Noblemen, Subjects, People, and others aforeſaid, that they preſume not to obey her, or her Monitions, Mandates, and Laws: And thoſe which ſhall do to the contrary, we do innodate with the like ſentence of anathema.

This Bull was the fire and the roaring of the Canon, and the bullet came forth immediately; which was the rebellion in the North, for which Chapino Vitelli was ſent into England from the Duke of Alva, under pretence of compounding ſome controverſies about commerce. And Nicholas Morton was ſent from the Pope to knit the rebellion. Which he did, denouncing from his Maſter, that Queen Elizabeth was an Heretick, and thereby had forfeited to the Pope all her dominion and power. At the ſame time a rebellion broke out in Ireland, kindled or blown by a Spaniard, Iuan Mendoza. And when the Rebells of England were defeated, they found refuge among the Papiſt Rebells of Scotland, who ſet up again the Engliſh rebellion. All theſe in vain, by the gracious aſſiſtance of God to poor England, as if his compaſſion had been ſtirred up by his jealouſie, after that the Pope had declared himſelf ſo inſolently, Prince over all People, and all Kingdoms, to pluck up, destroy, ſcatter, conſume, plant, and build. And p. 99God would ſhew, that to himſelf, not to the Pope, belongeth the Kingdom, and the Power, and the Glory for ever.

Neither did Pius the V. fight onelyonly by Bulls, but at the ſame time that the Bull was publiſhed, he laid down a hundred thouſand Crowns to raiſe the rebellion, and promiſed fifty thouſand more, yea, and to bear the whole charge of the War. That money was diſtributed by one Ridolpho. And how active that Pope was to ſtirre Spain, France, and Netherlands againſt the Queen, and to put her Kingdome in combuſtion, is related by Hieronymo Catena, an Authour of great credit at Rome in his life of Pius the V.

Gregory the XIII. ſucceeded Pius the V. in all his plots againſt England. He gave to Thomas Stukely, an Engliſh Rebell, a Commiſſion to help the Rebells of Ireland, and get that Kingdome for the Baſtard-Son of his Holineſs, Iames Boncompagnon; and gave him the command of eight hundred Italians to joyn with King Sebastian of Portugal, who had engaged his word to the Pope to ſerve him with his whole power againſt Queen Elizabeth, and had raiſed a great Army for that expedition. But when Stukely came to Sebastian, he found him poſſeſs'd with a new project to help a Moor King of Fez, againſt another King who kept him out of poſſeſſion, and to get the Kingdome from them both. To that War he invited Stukely, promiſing that preſently after that work done (which he repreſented to him moſt eaſie) they ſhould go together to the War againſt England and Ireland. So they ſailed over into Africa, where Sebastian and his whole Army were deſtroyed; p. 100and with him Stukely and the Popes Italian Souldiers were cut in pieces. A deliverance of England ever to be remembred with praiſe and admiration. So let thine enemies periſh, O Lord.

This Pope had a great hand in that unparallelled villany wrought by the marriage of Henry King of Navarra, with the Siſter of Charles the IX. of France. A marriage which Pius the V. would never conſent unto, by reaſon of their difference in Religion. But when his Succeſſor Gregory the XIII. was told by the Cardinall of Lorrain, that this marriage was intended as a trap to deſtroy Henry and his Proteſtant party, he preſently gave his diſpenſation for the celebrating of it, and encouraged the deſign. The horrible maſſacre which attended the jollity of that marriage, was received atThuanus. Rome with triumphant expreſſions of publick joy. And Cardinal Ʋrſin was ſent Legat into France, to praiſe the Kings piety and wiſdom in that great action, and to beſtow bleſſings and ſpiritual graces upon the King and the Actors of that fearful Tragedy. The Court of Rome might well praiſe what themſelves had procured, if not contrived; and truly the plot hath an Italian garb, and looks not like a production of the French ſoil.

Not long after this Pope ſent to Henry the III. of France and to his people Indulgences for millions of years, which were to be obtained by making proceſſions to four Churches in Paris, and by being zealous and diligent in the extirpation of hereſies, that is (in his ſtyle) to extermine the Proteſtants.

The male line of the Kings of Portugal being extinct, p. 101this Pope laid a claim to the Kingdome, as depending from the holy See, and would have the Nation to have taken Arms for him againſt the heirs from the females: But his claim was hiſſed out with great ſcorn.

In the year 1580. this Pope ſent an Italian called San Ioſepho with ſome Italian Troops into Ireland, to joyn with the Iriſh Rebells. When they were demanded by a meſſage from the Lord Deputy who they were, and what they came for, they anſwered, Some that they were ſent by the moſt holy Father the Pope, and ſome from the Catholick King of Spain, to whom the Pope had given Ireland, becauſe Queen Elizabeth had juſtly forfeited her Title to Ireland by her hereſie. A doctrine which at the ſame time was preach'd in England and Ireland by Jeſuites and other Seminary Prieſts; with great boldneſs and vehemency: till the Queen and her Councell perceiving what danger the State was running into by theſe mens activeneſs and impunity, Campian and ſome others ſent by the Pope on that errand were apprehended. And being examined, they obſtinately defended the Popes authority over the Queen, and maintained that ſhe was no Queen, as being lawfully depoſed by the Pope; upon which they were condemned and executed. That Crown of Martyrdom the Pope procured to his Confeſſors. And the greater the number is of thoſe Martyrs that the Papiſts muſter, the more they exaggerate the Popes cruelty to his trueſt Vaſſalls. For could the Pope expect, that perſons ſent to perſwade the people to diſpoſſeſs and kill their Sovereign, ſhould have other dealing from the hand of Juſtice.

The principal Article of the late Papal Creed is, p. 102that which Pius the V. ſets forth in his Bull againſt the Queen, that God hath made the Biſhop of Rome Prince over all people and all Kingdoms. But the Engliſh Papiſts are taught that beſides that general right over all Kingdomes, the Pope hath a peculiar right over England and Ireland as his proper Dominions. This is Bellarmins doctrine which he hath made bold to maintain unto King James himſelf. The King Bellarm. lib. cui Titulus Tortus pag. 19. Rex Anglorum duplici jure ſubjectus eſt Papae, uno communi omnibus Chriſtianis ratione Apoſtolicae poteſtatis quae in omnes extenditur, juxta illud. Pſ. 44. Conſtitues eos Principes ſuper omnem terram: Altero proprio, ratione recti dominii.Ps 44of England (ſaith he) is ſubject to the Pope by double right. The one by reaſon of his Apoſtolick power, which extends over all men, according to that (Charter) Pſ. 44. Thou ſhalt eſtabliſh them Princes over all the earth. The other proper, by a right dominion. Then he pleadeth that England and Ireland are the Churches dominions, the Pope the direct Lord, and the King his Vaſſal. This then being become an Article of Religion, in which the Engliſh Papiſts are inſtructed; and this in conſequence, that if the Pope diſallow the King, he is no more King of England, but an Uſurper, and muſt be uſed accordingly: Let any man judge, who hath ſome equity and freedome of judgement left, whether a prudent Prince and Council of State, ought to ſuffer ſuch an inſtruction to be given to the people. Truly the more Religion is pretended for that doctrine, and the practice of Rebellion obtruded as a commandement of the Church, the more it concernes the loyal Magiſtrate to oppoſe it vigorously.

Pope Sixtus the V. to favour the enterpriſe of Philip the II. upon England, renewed the Excommunication p. 103of Queen Elizabeth, pronounced by Pius the V. deprived her (verbo tenus) of her Kingdome, abſolved her ſubjects from all Allegiance to her, and publiſhed a Croiſada againſt her, as againſt the Turk, giving plenary Indulgence to all that would make warre againſt her. But the Popes Curſes provoked Gods bleſſings upon the Queen, who might ſay as David, when Shimei curſed him; The Lord will requite me good for his curſing this day. All the ſtorms raiſed againſt England, were blown over without harme. The great preparations of Spain ſerved onelyonly to diſable it, and ſecure England. And the many attempts againſt the Queens life upon that Bull, contributed to her ſafety, by manifeſting to the World the wickedneſſe of Rome, and the pernicious effects of the Roman principles. For which I might produce the Examinations and Confeſſions of many that ſuffered for attempting to murther the Queen, but I will bring but one for all. William Parry acknowledged that he had promis'd at Rome to kill the Queen, about which he was most troubled in his conſcience, till he lighted upon Dr. Allens book, which taught that Princes excommunicate for hereſie, were to be deprived of Kingdome and life: Which book (ſaith he) did vehemently excite me to proſecute my attempt.

This Popes Excommunications had more effect in France, for after that he had excommunicated King Henry the III. and abſolved his ſubjects from all Allegiance to him; in conſequence of that Bull many of the French rebelled againſt their King, and he wasslain upon that account, by a Dominican Friar. Which when this Pope heard, he commended the action p. 104highly, in a full Conſiſtory at Rome, and forbad that any funeral rites ſhould be celebrated for him. Which funeral rites (uſually celebrated at Rome for departed Princes) conſiſting moſt in prayer for their ſouls, it appeareth that his Holineſſe was not contented that he had slain that King by his Bull, but would alſo damne his ſoul.

Gregory the XIV. excommunicated by his Bulls Henry the IV. of France, forbidding all Peers, Nobles, Cities and Commons, to yield him obedience, and declaring him incapable of the Crown, as an Heretick and relapſe. But that Bull was by the Court of Parliament, then ſitting at Tours, condemned to be torn and burnt by the Hang-man.

Clement the VIII. did the ſame over again, and excommunicated Henry: The Bull was condemned as the other, to be burnt by the hand of the Hang-man▪ But the effect of theſe Bulls appeared by the attempts againſt the Kings life, which ſoon after followed; firſt by a woman, next by Peter Barriere, and again by John Chaſtel; all denying him to be King, becauſe he was not abſolved by the Pope. Neither did the effects of theſe Bulls ceaſe, after that the King was abſolved by his Holineſſe: For by them the King got his death. Ravilliac who killed him, could alledge them when he was examined; and ſay that the King was an Heretick in his heart, and deſerved to be slain, as an enemy of the Church.

Paul the V. was as turbulent as his predeceſſors, as he ſhewed it in his inſolent and impertinent quarrel with the Venetians, becauſe they had ſtopt by Edict p. 105the giving of Lands to the Church, whereby the State loſt many tributes and ſervices. He threatned them of Excommunication, if they did not recal that Law. And upon their maintaining of it, he excommunicated them, and put their State in Interdict. But it took no effect, for none of their Clergy would or durſt obey it; the Jeſuites onelyonly excepted, who therefore were expelled out of their dominions. They condemned the Popes Bull by Edict, and forbad the bringing of it into their Territory, upon pain of hanging: Neither did they give any ſatisfaction to the Pope, when the buſineſſe came to an Arbitrement: but forced him to make amends to himſelf, and to come to their terms.

In the beginning of this Popes reigne, was detected that Treaſon, not to be matcht in any age for cruelty and depth of villany, the Gunpowder-plot, to have deſtroyed in one blow the King, the Parliament, the Judges of the Land, and all the flowre and ſtrength of the Kingdome of England. This horrid Treaſon was the effect of the ſeveral Bulls of the Pope before the Reigne of our gracious King James of glorious memory; who coming into his Kingdome of England, found it lying under a Papal Interdict; and himſelf excluded from the Crown, by a Bull ſent into England, a little before the death of Queen Elizabeth, whereby all that are not Roman Catholicks, are declared incapable of, and excluded from the Succeſſion: of which his Majeſty complains in his Apology. And that Bull was produced in the Indictment of the Jeſuite Garnet, as the principal motive of the Gunpowder Treaſon.

This gave occaſion to the Oath of Supremacy, ſet p. 106forth by the King and his Parliament then ſitting, for the ſecurity of his Majeſties Life and Dignity; wherein it is required of all to whom it is adminiſtred, to acknowledge his Majeſty to be the lawful King of the Realmes of England, Scotland and Ireland; and that the Pope hath no right to depoſe him of his Kingdoms, or diſpenſe his Subjects from their obedience to him. Alſo that they abhorre as impious and heretical, this doctrine, That Princes excommunicated by the Pope, may juſtly be depoſed or slain by their owne Subjects.

This Oath being preſented to the Roman Catholicks, ſome of them made no difficulty to take it, among others, Blackwell the Arch-prieſt. Whereupon the Pope ſent Apoſtolical Letters into England, declaring thatDated Sept. 22. 1606. this Oath could not be taken with a ſafe conſcience, and exhorting the Engliſh to ſuffer all kinds of torments, and death it ſelf, rather then to offend Gods Majeſty by ſuch an Oath. To imitate the conſtancy of other Engliſh Martyrs. To have their loins girt about with vertue, to put on the Breſt-plate of righteouſneſſe, and take the Buckler of Faith. He tells them that God who hath begun in them that good work, will perfect it, and will not ſuffer them to be Orphans, &c. And he injoyneth them to obſerve diligently the precepts contained in the Letters which Clement the VIII. his predeceſſor had written a little before to Mr. George Arch-priest of England. By which Letters all Princes of a Religion contrary to the Roman, are excluded from the Crown of England.

Theſe Letters whereby the Engliſh were exhorted to be Martyrs of the Popes Sovereignty in England, and p. 107to make it an Article of their faith, which they muſt ſigne with their blood, that the Pope hath power to depoſe Princes, and expoſe them to be expelled and ſlain by their own ſubjects, did not receive that entertainment which he expected among the Engliſh of his Religion: For ſome rejected them as ſuppoſititious, & forged by the Hereticks, to draw perſecution upon them, and kindle their Kings wrath againſt them, he being already juſtly provoked to revenge by the late conſpiracy. The Pope hearing of this, ſends other, and more expreſs lettersDated Aug. 23. 1607. into England, to expoſtulate with the Roman Catholicks; ſaying That he wondred at their doubting of the truth of the Apoſtolick letters, to diſpenſe themſelves upon that pretence from obeying his commandments: And therefore he declareth, That thoſe Letters were written by himſelf, not only motu proprio & ex certa ſcientia, by his own motion and certain knowledge, but alſo after a long and grave deliberation, enjoyning them again to obey thoſe Letters, becauſe ſuch is his pleaſure.

To theſe letters which ſet up rebellion with a high hand, as an Article of the Roman Faith, were joyned letters of Cardinal Bellarmine to Blackwell the Archprieſt, wherein he chides him bitterly for taking the Oath, which under colour of modifications, had no other end, but to tranſport the Popes authority to a Succeſſor of Henry the VIII. And by the examples of his Predeceſſors, he exhorteth him to defend the Popes primacy, whom he calleth The Head of the Faith.

Of this Oath thus prohibited by the Pope, and cryed down by Bellarmine, the Jeſuite Becanus ſaith, That p. 108both of them [the Pope and Bellarmine]Beean. de diſſidio Anglic. Vterque negat ſalva conſcientia praeſtari poſſe hoc juramentum quia abnegarent fi-Catholicam. deny that it may be taken with a ſafe Conſcience; becauſe by taking it, the Catholick Faith is denyed.

Is it then an Article of the Catholick Roman faith, that Princes excommunicated by the Pope, are ipſo facto depoſed, and their ſubjects abſolved from all obedience and fidelity to them? It is directly, though not believed but by few: You have that fundamental Law authentically pronounced by Gregory the VII. and it is made a Canon of the Roman Church. By Apoſtolical Cauſa 15. Qu. 5. cap. Nos Sanctorum. Eos qui excommunicatis fidelitate, aut Sacramento conſtricti ſunt Apoſtolica authoritate a juramento abſolvivimus, & ne ſibi fidem obſervent omnibus modis prohibemus.authority we abſolve from their oath, all them that are bound by fidelity or oath to excommunicate perſons, and by means we forbid them to keep faith unto ſuch perſons. I would ask the Roman Catholicks, Seriouſly do you believe this? And are you ready to ſeal that faith with your obedience or ſufferings upon occaſions? If you believe and will maintain it, you are not good ſubjects, but dangerous perſons in the State. If you deny faith and obedience to that Papal Decree, you are not good Roman Catholicks; for if you were, you would acknowledge the Pope the Head of the Faith, with Bellarmine, and that the Pope cannot erre in his Canons, and that it is in the Popes power to make Articles of faith, according to the determination of the Council of Trent. Now the Pope hath made this an Article of your faith, the denying of it an hereſie, and the reſiſting of it a crime puniſh'd in the perſons of Kings by the deprivation of Kingdom and life.

p. 109Open your eyes, Chriſtian ſouls, that are ſo much blinded as to pin your faith upon the Popes Decrees; And reading in your own Authors the hiſtories of the Popes behaviour which I have here repreſented, acknowledg that thoſe Decrees for many hundred years have been the powerful ſtirrers of rebellion in Chriſtendome, and the ambition of Popes the firſt Intelligence that ſets the great Orb of ſedition on going.

After that the Popes have thus commanded and wrought rebellion by expreſs Decrees, and filled the Chriſtian world with fire and blood theſe five or ſix hundred years, have the Jeſuites the face, when we object this againſt the Head of their Faith, to object unto us in exchange ſome paſſages out of books either falſe, or diſowned by us, if true: And the defenſive Arms of a few perſons, living under the Croſs, and driven by themſelves upon the brink of deſpair? The evil which men of our Religion have ſaid or done, we condemn freely and openly. Let the Romaniſts condemn alſo ſo many Decrees of the Popes which have been the Incentives of war, and brands of rebellion: But that they cannot, as long as they remain Papiſts, ſworn to approve all that the Pope ſaith or doth.

The difference between the faults of the Pope and thoſe of Proteſtants about the point of obedience, is this; That diſobedience with us is a crime, but with him it is a Law. We puniſh rebels, but the Pope rewards them. We ſay to rebels after St Paul, That they that So did Sixtus the V. of which before.reſist the higher powers, ſhall receive to themſelves damnation. But the Pope promiſeth eternal life to make ſubjects rebel againſt their King. We abhor the murtherers p. 110of Kings, but the Pope ſets them on by his excommunications, and after the murther committed, makes panegyricks on their praiſe.

Can the Romaniſts produce among us a Prieſt that hath made himſelf a Temporal Prince by robbing his Maſter of his land, who hath kickt down the Emperors crown, trodden upon his neck with his foot, depoſed him from his Kingdom, made his ſon riſe in Arms againſt him, abſolved his ſubjects from their obedience, and given his Dominions to another; One that makes himſelf the abſolute diſpoſer of Kingdoms, and Maſter of the Univerſe? Such a Prieſt is no where to be found but at Rome.

After this true account of ſo many Emperours and Kings depoſed and killed, and ſo much rebellion, ſlaughter, and deſolation wrought in Chriſtendom by the Papal excommunications and factions; let the conſcionable Reader, who is not altogether ignorant in modern Hiſtory, judge what truth there is in our Adverſaries aſſertion, That in this last Century of years there have been pag. 93.more Princes depoſed and murthered for their Religion by thoſe Proteſtants of Integrity, then have been in all the others ſince Chriſt's time by the Popes excommunications, or the attempts and means of Roman Catholicks. He ſhould have ſet down a liſt of thoſe Princes depoſed and murthered by Proteſtants, and for their Religion. For my part I have heard of none. Indeed Charles the I. our holy King and Martyr, ſuffered for his Religion: and the Adverſary may take that one for many, becauſe he was foreign, worth alone many Princes. But they that murthered him were not Proteſtants, they diſavow p. 111that name; And it was for the Proteſtant Religion that he ſuffered.

But ſince he ſpeaks of the means and attempts made by Roman Catholicks against Princes, he ſhall hear a little more of them.