The Primitive Practice for Preserving Truth, Section 16
SECT. XVI.
IT may somewhat amaze the reason and judgement of any moderate man, though an Atheist, why the Pope himself or his Prelates and Clergie should so extreamely hate and violently persecute (even more cruelly then they doe Jewes or Turks) the Evangelicall partie, and especially those of the French, Scottish and Helvetick confession, who doe commonly joyn eminency of piety and godlinesse, with a most sound and absolute body of doctrine agreeable with that of the Primitive Church. But if wee consider that the Pope himselfe, all Popish or popishly affected Prelates, and all the Romish rabble, like the Scribes and Priests in our Saviours dayes, ayme nothing at all at Gods glory, or the salvation of mens soules, but onelyonly at the maintenance of their wealth, pride and tyranny, not intending to yeeld an inch or haires breadth to any the least reformation: wee cannot but see that their self-love, and wallowing in all sensualitie, is the cause of the hatred of the godly, who both by their lives and writings condemne and oppose their wickednesse and errors: For as the persecutions of the Arrians against the Orthodox Fathers exceeded the cruelty of the Heathen Emperours, so hath that of the Romish Babylon far surpassed and out-stript them, both being joyned together, they feare not the diminution of their Votaries by the perswasion of Jewes or Turks, but onelyonly by the sound reasonings of the Protestants, whose Religion hath already gained from them, not onelyonly Cities, Republickes, and Provinces, but whole Kingdomes also; and therefore seeing the truth it selfe is against them, they count it high time to fall from reasoning to policy, and from institution to cruell persecution, as a ready meanes to carry through their bad cause. Incomparable Monsieur de Thou (who is a glory to the Romish Synagogue it selfe, and whose History the most exact and excellent that ever was written by a humane pen, ought alwayes to be deare to the Christian world) discovers plainly to us this truth, in setting downe the bloudy Legacy Pope Paul the third left to his Conclave when he died in the yeare 1359. For having called divers of the Cardinalls into his bed-chamber, he exhorted them by all meanes to maintaine and continue the office of the Inquisition, as the onelyonly meanes left upon earth to establish and support the Romish Religion: then which Confession there can none be more cleare of the falshood of their pretended Catholick Church; for if no other way remaine but bloud and butcheries for them to establish and repaire the lofty and proud Towers of their Babylon, then have they doubtlesse no part left in the Church founded by our Saviour and his Apostles; for that was at first reared up and finished by the preaching of the Gospel, and may certainly be continued and supported to the worlds end by the same meanes. It is not for Christians, but for Pagans and Infidells, who know not the way of instruction, to propagate their Gentilisme and Idolatry by fire and sword. Besides, that epidemicall sinne of lust, both naturall and against nature, being peculiar to the Popish Prelates, and the rest of their Clergie, is a maine ground of their stupefied Consciences, and so prepares and fits them for the shedding of innocent bloud, or any other sinne whatsoever. Peter Espina…, Archbishop of Lyons in France, was a great persecutor, and a prodigious incestuator with his own sister; John Archbishop of St. Andrewes in Scotland spent the greater part of the revenues of his Sea, and the seizure of the Protestants estates (whose mortall enemy he was) upon his harlots and revellings; the Cardinall of Granvellans veneries were so manifest and numerous, as when in the yeare 1574. the Kingdome of Tunis, and the Fort called the Gulet, before accounted impregnable, were wonne by the Turke; the Spaniards made a jest of it, and said openly, that the Cardinalls breeches had occasioned that losse; meaning thereby that Philip the second relying chiefly upon his advice in that and most of the rest of his important affaires; his lust so tooke him up, as he had not time to give seasonable counsell. The reckoning up of all these lustfull Priests and Prelates, who have been persecuters of the truth since the last Reformation begun by learned Luther, would desile all modest eares to heare, or any Christian tongue to relate. It may justly be said of them all, what one delivered of the before-mentioned Cardinall Beton; That he wallowed at home in pollution with his harlots, and raged abroad with the bloud and slaughter of the innocent. Ockam himselfe in the first part of his Dialogues, lib. 5. cap. 16. confesseth that a wicked and an Atheisticall life blinds the understanding, and prepares a way for the entertainment of the vilest heresies: How true is this of the Romish Prelates, who could not possibly swallow down those prodigious errours, and severall kinds or species of Idolatry, abhorred of the very Moores and Turks; That taking from the Commandements one; that adding to the Articles of the Creed twelve; that robbing the people of the Cup; that depriving God of his honour, by praying to men and women departed; that trampling of Christs infinite merits under their prophane feet, by their own merits, and a number of other falshoods, were not their judgements poysoned by their horrible lusts, and other crying sins? The Turks themselves boast at this day, that they first learn'd their Sodomie from the Italians, and that disorderly brood in Italy, may as truly vaunt, that they first learn'd that abomination from those amongst them in orders. Was there ever, or shall there ever be, not onelyonly amongst the Papists, but amongst the Lutherans and Pseudo-Lutherans, any Prelate, or other Ecclesiasticall person, that did or shall violently cite, accuse, suspend, fine, imprison, deprive, or murther any godly Minister, or other pious Christian, who was not, or will not be amongst other vices, guilty of that brutish sin of lust? And 'tis possible, though the back-door be kept never so secret, yet God shall at last, in his judgement, reveale it to the world, as he doth often punish them with that loathsom and infamous disease commensurate to that sin, with which that notable persecutor Doctor Weston in Queen Maries dayes in England was so unconcealably smitten, as he was ordinarily branded by a beastly nickname, not beffiting modesty to expresse.