Defense of the Protestant Christian Religion, Chapter 8
CHAP. VIII. An APPENDIX for the further Illuſtration of ſome things, which are but briefly hinted in the former Chapters.
IN Cap. 2. of Apoſtaſie, and again, in Cap. 3. of Hereſie, mention is made of counſel given by Papiſts to the Pope. A Friend, to whom the Anſwer was communicated in Manuſcript, made ſome Inquiry about it, to whom a further Account was ſent; which becauſe the ſame Inquiries are not unlikely to ariſe in the ſtudious Readers mind, is thought fit to be communicated.
I find there were two papers of Advice preſented to the Pope in thoſe dayes, about the time of the Council of Trent, for the help and ſupport of the then declining Church of Rome; both which, give pregnant evidence againſt her, of her corruption, and departure from Apoſtolical, and primitive purity. The firſt to Pope Paul the Third, in the Year 1538. by Nine ſelect Cardinals and Prelates, viz. Cardinal Contarenus, Cardinal Peter Theatinus, afterwards Pope Paul the Fourth, Cardinal Sadolet, Cardinal Reginald Poole of England, &c. The Title is, Conſilium Delectorum Cardinalium & Praelatorum de emendanda Eccleſia: This Novem-virale Concilium, was ſent by Nicholaus Cardinalis Capulanus, to a Prince in Germany, by whom it came to the hands of Luther, and Sturmius, and by their means was made publick. It is mentioned and quoted by Eſpenſaeus, a Popiſh Biſhop, a Sorbeniſt, in his Commentaries on Titus 1. It was extant in the Book of the Councils, Tom 3. Concil. Edit. per Crab. Edit. Colon. 1551. But in all other Editions, Pontificiorum furto & fraude deſideratur, ſaith Mr. Craſhaw, who Reprinted it London 1609.
Theſe men do with ſomething of Ingenuity acknowledge, and adviſe to a Reformation of ſundry enormous Abuſes and Corruptions in the Church of Rome; and they begin wiſely and faithfully, at the fountain & Well-head, telling the Pope plainly, Principium horum malorum inde ſuiſſe quod nonnuili Pontifices tui Praedeceſſores, prurientes auribus ut inquit Apoſtolus Paulus coacervarunt ſibi magiſtros ad deſideria ſua non ut ab eis diſcerent quod facerè deberent, Page 2.ſed ut eorum ſtudio & calliditate inveniretur ratio quâ liceret id quod liberet.—Ex hoc fonte ſancte pater, tanquam ex equo Trojano, irrupêre in Eccleſiam Dei tot abuſus tam & graviſſimi morbi, quibus nune conſpicim is eam ad deſperationem ſere ſalutis laboraſſe. The beginning of theſe Eviis (ſay they) hath been, that ſome of the Popes your Predeceſſors, having itching ears, as the Apoſtle Paul ſpeaks, have heaped up unto themſelves Teachers according to their own deſires; Not that they might learn from them what they ought to do, but that by their ſtudy and craft a way might be found out whereby it might be lawful to do what they liſt. From this fountain holy father, as from the Trojan horſe, have broke forth ſo many abuſes into the Church of God, and ſuch grievous Diſeaſes under which we now ſee her labouring almoſt unto deſperation of recovery. The Popes Infallibility, it ſeems, was no Article of their Faith. Then they proceed to inſtance in ſundry particulars, Page 5. & de…ceps.as Caraleſſenes, in the Ordination of Clergymen, putting men both ignorant and vicious into Holy Orders, beſtowing Benefices and Eccleſiaſtical promotions upon them; Reſervations of Penſions, changing and chopping of Livings, Impropriations, Pluralities, Non-reſidences, Exemptions and Impediments laid upon Biſhops, in governing their Flocks, and puniſhing of Sinners. The great degeneracy and corruptions of Religious Orders, Simony, and filthy Lucre, in the exerciſe of the Keyes. The ſcandals between Monks and Nuns. Vain Philoſophy in Schools, and Univerſities, teaching Impiety; whereas, ſay they, Oſtenderent infirmitatem luminis naturalis in Quaeſtionibus pertinentibus ad Deum: Page 12.They ought to ſhew the weakneſs of the light of Nature in diſquiſitions about the things of God. They inſtance alſo Diſpenſations for Marriage within the degrees forbidden, Page 16.abſolving Simoniacks: In hac etiam urbe meretrices ut matronae incedunt, habitant etiam infignes aedes, corrigendus bic turpis abuſus. In this City of Rome (ſay they) Whores go up and down as honourably, as chaſte Matrons; and they dwell in ſumptuous Houſes, this ſhameful abuſe ought to be Reformed. Theſe are ſome of the main Heads of their Advice. Tollantur (ſay they) obteſtamur ſanctitatem tuam, Page 11.per ſanguinem Chriſti quo redemit ſibi Eccleſiam ſuam eamque lavit eadem ſanguine, toliantur hae maculae. We do beſeech and obteſt your Holineſs, by the blood of Chriſt, wherewith he hath redeemed his Church unto himſelf, waſhing it with his own blood, we beſeech you let theſe ſpots and blemiſhes be taken away. But the Pope would reform nothing, but was like the deaf Adder, which ſtoppeth her ear: which will not hearken to the voyce of the charmers, though they charm never ſo wiſely. We would have healed Babylon, but ſhe could not be healed: forſake her, and let us go every one into his own countrey: for her judgment reacheth unto heaven, and is lifted up even to the skies, Pſal. 58.4, 5. Jer. 51.9.
The other counſel was given to Pope Julius the Third, by three Biſhops met at Bononia. It is intituled, Conſilium quorundam Epiſcoporum Bononiae congregatorum: quod de ratione ſtabiliendae Romanae Eccleſiae. Julio. 3. Pont. Mux. datum eſt. It is ſubſcribed, Bononiae Octob. 20. Anno 1553. Sauctitatis tuae ſervi & creaturae devotiſſimae. (Your Holineſſes moſt devoted ſervants and creatures) Vincentius de durantibus Epiſe. Thermularum Brixienſis. Aegidius Falceta Epiſco. Caprulanus. Gerardus Buſdagrus Epiſc. Theſſalonicenſis. It was firſt publiſhed by Vergerius after his converſion. It is mentioned by Johannes Wolphius, in his Memorabilia. And, laſtly, Re-printed at London, out of Mr. Craſhaws Library, Anno 1613. Theſe Adviſers, like meer carnal Polititians, do obſerve horrid Degeneraties and Abuſes; but inſtead of counſels tending to Reformation, they mend the matter ſo, as to make it much worſe; their propoſals aiming at no other ſcope, but meerly how their ſins, and corrupt ſtate, which they love, and like ſo well, may be continued and preſerved, and how Light and Reformation may be kept out; ſome of their words being rendred in Engliſh, in the Anſwer above, Chapter 3. But moſt of the Latin omitted, for Brevities ſake; I ſhall here ſubjoin it, with ſome more alſo of their own words, for the Readers more ample ſatisfaction: Thus then they ſpeak.
Cum nos multum ac diu cogitaviſſemus quiſnam eſſet graviſſimae hujus controverſiae ſtatus—tandem hunc eſſe deprehendimus. Lutherani Symboli Apoſtolorum Niceni & Athanaſii articulos omnes recipiunt & confitentur. Folio 1.Atque id veriſſimum eſt. Neque enim inficiari oportet praeſertim inter nos, quod adeo verum eſſe omnes intelliginius. Itidem Lutherani negant velle ſe aliam doctrinam admittere, praeter unicam illam, quae prophetas Chriſtum & Apoſtolos authores habet; optarentque ut pauciſſimis illis contenti eſſemus—Et priſcas Eccleſias imitaremur nec de recipiendis ullis traditionibus cogitaremus, Folio 2.quas non conſtat luce meridianâ clariūs fuiſſe à Domino noſtro Jeſu Chriſto, & abipſis Apoſtolis dictatas atque inſtitutas. Ita ſentiunt adverſarii noſtri.—Nos contra ſeculi opinionem beatitudinis tuae volumus credi—id quod in Decreto tertiae Seſſionis Concilium Tridentinum—ſtatuit; nempe Chriſtum atque ipſius Apoſtolos multo plura tum ad mores, tum ad fidem pertinentia docuiſſe—quam ea quae ſcripta ſunt. Et tametſi hoc aperte probare non poſſimus (nam planè fatemur inter nos—tantum habemus conjecturas quaſdam) tamen confitemur eſſe verum quia ſic tenet Romana Eccleſia. Hic eſt in ſumma cardo totius controverſiae, hinc tumultus illi, hinc illa contentio.—Nam Apoſtolorum temporibus, ut verum tibi fateamur, ſed ſilentio opus eſt, vel aliquot annis poſt ipſos Apoſtolos, nulla vel papatus, vel Cardinalatus mentio erat, nec ampliſſimos illos reditus Epiſcopatuum & Sacerdotiorum fuiſſe conſtat, nec templa tantis ſumptibus exſtruebantur, nec erant Monaſteria, nec Priores, nec Abbates, multo vero minus hae doctrinae, hae leges, hae conſuetudines, ſed neque imperium illud quod in Gentes, & Nationes hodiè obtinemus. Quin omnes omnium Eccleſiarum Miniſtri Romanae non minus quam caeterarum, ultro Regibus, principibus, & magiſtratibus parebant.—Nos Re probe examinatâ comperimus hanc Ecclefiae gloriam, authoritatem & potentiam tunc primum exortam eſſe, cum in ea ſagaces & ſolertes Epiſcopi praeeſſe caepêrunt, qui per occaſionem à Caeſaribus contenderent, ut ſuâ authoritate at potentiâ primatum & ſummam in alias Eccleſias poteſtatem, penes hanc ſedem eſſe ſtatuerent.
Praeterea Conſilium noſtrum eſſet, ut tua ſanctitas Cardinalibus & Epiſcopis praeciperet, ut Logicam, Sophiſticam, Artemque Scholaſticam & Metaphyſicam, Folio 5.item decretales, ſex Clementinas extravagantes, & regulas Cancellariae, in ſua quiſque civitate legiae doceri publice curent. Utinam legendis hujuſmodi libris homines ubique diligentius incubuiſſent. Neque enim res noſtrae in hujuſmodi deploratiſſimum ſtatum adductae eſſent. Sed hi contemptis melioribus iſtis diſciplinis Graecae & Hebraicae linguae operam dare, & mox Bibliorum verſionem ad Graecam & Hebraicam veritatem exigere examinareque ac Theologiae & Antiquis Eccleſiae doctoribus ſtudere caeperunt. Unde damna illa quae jam ſuſtinemus Omnia extitere. Quare danda erit opera ut ſtudiis iſtiuſmodi valere juſſis, Scholaſticam artem & tuum jus Canonicum homines repetant quibus Theologiae ſtudia ſepulta pene atque obruta fuiſſe olim conſtat.—Decretalium, &c meminimus at non item Decreti, eſt enim pernicioſus liber & authoritatem tuam valde vehementer imminuit. Ita enim inquit Canon qui incipit Transferunt 24. Q. 3. Immutant mendacio veritatem, qui aliud praedicant quam ab Apoſtolis acceperunt. Hoc plane Lutheranum eſt axioma: Quid enim aliud quotidie inculcant noſtri adverſarii, quam ne latum quidem unguem licere ab his rebus quae Apoſtolis fuere in uſu recedere? At quis eſt ex noſtris qui non recedat ſaepe quotidie? Certe vix umbram quandam retinemus in noſtris Eccleſiis ejus Doctrinae & Diſciplinae quae Apoſtolorum temporibus ſieut etiam initio attigimus floruerunt & prorſus aliam accerſivimus.
Denique quod inter omnia Conſilia quae nos hoc tempore dare poſſumus, Folio penult.omnium graviſſimum ad extremum reſervavimus. Oculi hîc aperiendi ſunt, omnibus nervis aduitendum erit ut quam minimum Evangelii poterit praeſertim vulgari lingua, in iis legatur civitatibus quae ſub tua ditione & poteſtate ſunt, ſufficiatque tantillum illud quod in miſſa legi ſolet, nec eo amplius cuiquam mortalium legere liceat. Quamdiu enim pauculo illo homines contenti fuerunt tamdiu res tuae ex ſententia ſucceſsêre, eaedem que in contrarium labi caeperunt ex quo ulterius legi vulgo uſurpatum eſt. Hic ille in ſumma eſt liber qui praeter caeteros haſce nobis tempeſtates ac turbines conciliavit quibus prope abrepti ſumus: Et ſane ſiquis illum diligenter expendat, deinde quae in noſtris fieri Eccleſiis conſueverunt ſingula ordine contempletur, videbit plurimum inter ſe diſſidere, & hanc doctrinam noſtram ab illa prorſus diverſam eſſe, ac ſaepe contrariam etiam. Quod ſimulatque homines intelligant, à docto ſcilicet aliquo adverſariorum ſtimulati non ante clamandi finem faciunt, quam rem plane omnem divulgaverint, noſque inviſos omnibus reddiderint. Quare occultandae pauculae illae chartulae, ſed adhibitâ quâdam cautione & dilige…tiâ, ne ea res majores nobis turbas ac tumultus excitet. This laſt Paragraph, let Engliſh ears hear it.
Laſt of all (ſay they) which we have reſerved to the laſt place, as the weightieſt of all the counſels that we can give at this time. Your eyes are here to be opened. You muſt endeavour, with all the power you have, that as little as can be of the Goſpel be read, eſpecially in the vulgar tongue, in thoſe Cities which are within your power and juriſdiction, but let that little which is wont to be read in the Maſs ſuffice, and let it not be lawful for any mortal man to read any more than that. For as long as men were content with that little, your affairs ſucceeded according to your hearts deſire; but they began to decline, and go back, as ſoon as it came in uſe to read more of it. This is in ſum that Book, which above all others, hath brought upon us theſe ſtorms and whirlewinds, wherewith we are almoſt carried away headlong. And truly if any man ſhall diligently weigh that Book, and then conſider diſtinctly all thoſe things which are wont to be done in our Churches, he will ſee that they differ very much the one from the other, and that this Doctrine of ours is altogether diverſe from that, yea, and oftentimes directly contrary to it. Which as ſoon as men underſtand, being ſtirred up by ſome Learned man amongſt the Adverſaries, they make no end of clamoring, till they have laid open the whole matter, and rendred us odious unto all. Wherefore thoſe few ſheets of paper muſt be hid, and kept out of ſight, but with ſome caution and diligence, leſt the very doing of this, ſhould increaſe the ſtorm, and bring yet greater troubles and tumults upon us. This is their advice, with other things ejuſdem farinae, too many to be here Tranſcribed. Ghoſtly counſel, of ghoſtly Fathers. Wherein, indeed, they ſtate the Controverſie between them and us aright, namely, That their departure from the Scripture, and our adherence to it, is that which hath begun and bred the Quarrel, and made the breach between them and us, and the name Proteſtant ariſe; then inſtead of trembling at his Word, and humbling themſelves to reform by that unerring Rule, they enter into open Rebellion and Conſpiracy againſt the Rule, to ſuppreſs it, and ſmother it, even in the ſpiritual Language of thoſe Rebels, Who ſay, Pſalme 2.3. Let us break their bands aſunder, and caſt away their cords from us: For which, he that ſits in heaven, laughs at them, and the Lord hath them in deriſion.
I find both theſe counſels mentioned by Pope Paul the 4th, and Pope Clement the 8th, in their Index librorum prohibitorum, publiſhed by them in purſuance of the Decrees of the Council of Trent. The former, in the letter L. under this Title, Liber inſcriptus, Conſilium de emendanda Eccleſia: And ſo Pope Paul the 4th, prohibits and condemns the Book, and Council, ſubſcribed by himſelf, when he was Cardinal Peter Theatin: As the like change of judgment upon change of intereſt is commonly obſerved in Aeneas Sylvius, when he came to be Pope Pius the 2d. The latter counſel is mentioned in the letter C. under this Italian Title, Conſiglio d'alicuui Veſcovi congregati in Bologna. The counſel of certain Biſhops met together in Bononia. This may ſuffice, as to a further Account of this matter.
In Cap. 7. of humane Teſtimonies, mention is made of Epiphanius his Teſtimony againſt Idolatry, and of the freedom of expreſſion uſed by ſundry Romaniſts concerning him, whereof take this further account. Epiphanius his words are theſe: Quando veniſſem ad villam, quae dicitur Anablatha—Inveni ibi velum pendens in foribus ejuſdem Eccleſiae tinctum atque depinctum, Epiph. Operae. tom. 2, Epiſt. ad Johan. Hieroſol. page 317. Edit. Petav. 1622.& habens imaginem quaſi Chriſti vel ſancti cujuſdam, non enim ſatis memini cujus imago fuerit. Cum ergo hoc vidiſſem in Eccleſia Chriſti contra authoritatem Scripturarum, hominis pendere imaginem, ſcidi illud, & magis dedi conſilium cuſtodibus ejuſdem loci ut pauperem mortuum eo obvolverent, & efferrent.—Precor ut Jubeas—in Eccleſia Chriſti ejuſmodi vela quae contra Religionem noſtram veniunt, non appendi. As we were going to Bethel (ſaith he) when I came to a Village called Anablatha, I found there a Vail hanging in the Church-door coloured and painted, and having an Image in it, as it were of Chriſt, or ſome Saint; for I do not well remember whoſe Image it was: Wherefore when I ſaw this, that the Image of a man hung in the Church of Chriſt contrary to the Authority of the Scriptures, I tore it in pieces. And, moreover, I counſelled the Keepers of that place, to wrap up the dead body of a poor man in the ſaid Vail, and ſo to carry him forth to be buried. And I do beſeech you to give order, that there be no ſuch Vails hung up in the Church of Chriſt, which are contrary to our Religion.Riv. Crit. Sacr. lib. 3. cap. 29. Waldenſ. Tom. 3. Lit. 19. Cap. 157. Bell. de Imag. lib. 2. cap. 9. Salmeron Comment. in 1 John. cap. 5: Diſ. 32. Sixt. Sinenſ. lib. 5. Annot. 247. Greg. Valent. de Idol. lib. 2. cap. 7.
He writes this to John Biſhop of Jeruſalem, and the Epiſtle is Tranſlated by Jerom, a ſign he liked it well; and ſo you have the Teſtimony of two Fathers together, both Epiphanius and Jerom: A Teſtimony ſo full and clear, that your Writers come forth againſt it one way, but flie ſeven. Some of them, as Rivet notes, ſenſleſly affirming, That he ſpeaks it in regard of the Anthropomorphites, ſo Tho. Waldenſis, as Bellarmine reports. Others, with as little ſenſe, or reaſon, would have this paſſage to be ſuppoſititious, becauſe, forſooth, they know not how to ſhape an handſom Anſwer to it, ſo Bellarmine, &c. But others of them, Heretick-like, ſay, That he did erre, and that one Swallow makes no Summer; and that they regard the practice of your Church, more than the Authority of Epiphanius. Thus Salmeron, Sixtus Sinenſis, Gregorius de Valentia. But may you thus depreſs the Fathers below your Church? May you thus advance your ſpurious Church above the Fathers, as the Pope doth his Nephews, above Kings and Princes? And may not we prefer the Scriptures above either you or them? But when you have ſaid what you pleaſe, and tryed all the ſhifts you can, yet this Teſtimony of Epiphanius is an undeniable evidence againſt you, That the groſs Idolatry of Image-worſhip, how faſt ſoever it was then coming in, yet had not generally prevailed in his time. Helvicus placeth him upon the year of Chriſt, 376.
And ſeeing we are upon this, let us ſee a little further what your Writers ſay of Epiphanius, beſide their anger at him for this Teſtimony, what general cenſure and character do they give of him? It may be a Divertiſement here, not unpleaſant, Can. Loc. Theol lib. 11. p. 477. Rivet. Critic. lib. 3. cap. 28. Baron ad ann. Chriſti 310. Sect. 15. an. 306. Sect. 45. an. 326. Sect. 4. & 8 an. 327. Sect. 7. ann. 338. Sect. 2. ann. 342. Sect. 50. ann. 306. Sect. 45. ann. 310. Sect 16. Petav. Animadver. ad Epiph. lib. 1. tom. 1. ad Haereſ Samaritan. pag. 21. ad. Haereſ. 20. Herodian. pag 39. ad Haereſ. Epicur. pag. 20.nor unuſeful, to ſee how they handle him, that ſo it may appear whether they have any greater Reverence to the Fathers, than we. Melchior Canus ſaith of him, Nullos ille graves Authores ſequi ſolet. Baronius is as rude as he, and ſaith, ab omni ſcopo veritatis abhorrere quod apud Epiphanium legitur falſum item eſſe quod ait, &c. Rivet refers the Reader to eight or nine places, wherein he ſhews his judgement freely concerning Epiphanius. But Petavius the Jeſuite equals, if not exceeds his Fellows, Permulta enim iſthic falſa (ſaith he, falſe things) minimeque cohaerentia diſputat. And again, Suſpicamur it aque multipliciter hallucinatum Epiphanium. And again, in another place, Totidem paucis illis verbis a ſanctiſſimo eruditiſſimoque viro Epiphanio peccata ſunt. Quorum admonere Lectorem… officii eſt institutique nostri, excuſare humanitatis, diſſimulare aut tueri velle, neque officii, neque humanitatis eſt. So many Errors (ſaith he) are here committed in ſo few words, by this holy, and this learned Man Epiphanius; of which Errors, to give the Reader warning, is both my Duty and Undertaking in theſe Animadverſions. To excuſe them, is a piece of courteſie and reſpect; but to diſſemble them, or to defend them, is no part either of Duty or Courteſie. Thus he. A ſober, and a well-tempered Speech▪ and the more obſervable, becauſe uttered by one that was ſo full of the gall of bitterneſs, as this Petavius was. But ſuch Animadverſions, ſuch Reproofs as theſe, have theſe Writers of your own, thought fit to beſtow upon Epiphanius. And now, what if we ſhould ſay, that he, as well as ſome other of the Ancients, did hyperbolize, and exceed a little in his Encomiaſticks of St. Peter; and that his words and expreſſions are not ſo wary, and ſo well guarded, as they might have been, in predicating the glories of that great Apoſtle. It appears from all this, that we ſhould ſay no worſe of him, nor handle him more unmannerly and irreverently, than your own Writers have done before us:
This may ſuffice, at preſent, for the further illuſtration of theſe matters. As alſo, for the Vindication of the True Reformed Proteſtant Chriſtian Religion, in the purity of it, as contained in the Holy Scriptures of the Old and New Teſtament, againſt the Roman Catholick Apoſtaſie. The Lord bleſs what hath been ſaid, for the reducing and bringing home his loſt ſheep, and for the further eſtabliſhment of Believers in their moſt Holy Faith.
FINIS.
End of the text · Samuel Mather, Defense of the Protestant Christian Religion (1672)