Three Pillars and Arch-patriarchs of the Popish Synagogues, Treatise 1 · Book 1 · Part 5
Hesk.The first Chapter declareth the mindes and iudgements of the Fathers and Doctours, vponupon the difficultie of the scriptures.
It is not ynough for this bold Burgesse, to trouble the house,Fulk. in prouing that which no man doth gainesay, but he wil also charge men with impudencie and arrogancie, which giuegive him no occasion of this his long and vaine speache. But herein, he sheweth his witt more then his honestie. For, bicause he can not disproue that which they say, he laboureth to proue that which they do not denie. And nowe of the doctours, (substantially no doubt) Origen must beginne, who saith: That these wordes of Paule: Brethren, you are called into libertie. Gal 5. is an hard place, and that the holy Ghost must be found in the scriptures, with much labour and sweat &c. We say likewise with Dauid, that the godly mans studie must be in the lawe of the Lorde day and night. But that Origen would not for the difficultie of the scriptures, dissuade any Lay man from reading of them, is manifest by this place in Gen. Capit. 26. Hom. 12. Tenta ergo & tu ô auditor habere proprium puteum, & proprium fontem, vt & tu cum apprehenderis librum scripturarum, incipias etiam ex proprio sensu proferre aliquem intellectum, & secundum ea, quae in Ecclesia didicisti, tenta & tu bibere de fonte ingenij tui. Assay therefore thou ô hearer, to hauehave a pit of thine own, a spring of thine owne, that euen thou also, when thou takest in hand the booke of the scriptures, maiest beginne to bring foorth some vnderstanding of thine owne wit, and according to those thinges which thou hast learned in the Churche, assay thou also to drinke of the spring of thine owne witte. Here Origen will not only hauehave men to reade the scripture, but also incourageth them to seeke out the interpretation by their owne studie.
But Hieronyme (next to Origen) in his Epistle to Paulinus both noteth diuerse obscure places in the scripture, and also counselleth Paulinus to vse the helpe of interpreters. And who is it that mislyketh his councel? especially if it be to exhort one that meant to be a teacher in the Church as Paulinus was. Yet neuerthelesse we shewed before, that Hieronyme would hauehave euen infantes brought vppe in the knowledge of the scriptures, and exhorteth not onelyonly men, but women also to the studie of them, and commendeth husband men, and labourers; for their knowledge of the scriptures.
And although he confesse the questions of Algasia to be full of difficulties, yet he both commendeth her studie in the scriptures, and desire to be resolued in her doubtes.
Yet Basill teacheth that all the scriptures are not to be published and made common. Basil. lib. Sp. 5. cap. 27.For there are poyntes of learning, or of doctrine that are to be kept close, and the obscuritie which the scripture vseth is a kinde of silence so framing those points of learning, that a man may hardly vnderstand them.
The wordes of Basil are these foreign. That is, (according to Erasmus translation) exercising a minde vnapte for the contemplation of this doctrine, and that for the profite of them that exercise them selues in the scriptures. Which last wordes, M. Heskins hath fraudulently left out, and so he is cleane contrarie to M. Heskins purpose. Although Basill speaketh not expressely of reading the Scriptures by the faithfull, but of publishing the mysteries of Christian religion that were receiued by tradition without Scripture. For in his short definitions foreign: to this question, whether it be expedient that they which are new come to the faith, should be instructed in the holie Scriptures? he aunswereth foreign, &c. This question may be dissolued by those things that were sayde before. For it is both conuenient & necessarie, that eueryevery man for his neede should learne out of the diuine Scriptures, both for the certeine persuasion of godlinesse, & also that he be not accustomed vntounto mans traditions. lib. 7. E. 44.But S. Ambrose also in fewe words saith much to this matter, calling the Scripture of God the great sea, hauing in it a deepenesse without bottome of deepe senses & vnderstandings, into the which many floods do enter. But this letteth not S. Ambrose vponupon 118. Psal. Serm. 1. to exhort the laye people to read the Scriptures. Et tu lege prophetam vt videat, lege vt apperiat os tutum. And thou also read the Prophet, that thou mayst see, read that he may open thine eyes. And againe: Quod sisugias lectionem propheticam, si domi non legas, in ecclesia audire nolis, &c. But if thou flye from the reading of the Prophetes, if thou read not at home: thou wilt not heare in the Church, but while thou feinest to heare those things that are read, &c. And if in your iudgement he said much for you, when he cōpareth the scripture to the sea, I thinke he saith more against you, where he compareth the Church to the sea. Hexam. lib. 3. cap. 3. Vnde bene mari plerum que comparatur ecclesia, quae primo ingredientis populi agmine totis vestibulis vndas vomit: deinde in oratione totius plebis tanquam vndis refluentibus stridet: tum responsorijs. Psalmorum, cantus virorum, mulierum, virginum, paruulorū, consonus vndarum fragor resultat. Whervpō the Church is oft times verie wel compared vntounto the sea, which first by the cōming in of the multitude, floweth out waues frō eueryevery porch or entrie: and then maketh a noyse with the prayer of the whole people, as it were with the ebbing or flowing backe of the waues: last of all, with answerings of Psalmes, singing of men, women, virgines, and little children, a well tunable sound of the waues reboundeth. By this place it appeareth, that all sorts of people were admitted to the reading of the scriptures, and that no tong was vsed in the Church, but such as was cōmon to all the people. Chrysostome succeedeth Ambrose, who saith:Hom. 44 in Matth. The scriptures are darke that they are found out with labour, but not shut that they can not be found out at all, and that the priestes ought to be the keykeepers of the scriptures, not to shut them vp, but to open them, &c. I would oppose some testimonie of Chrysostome to explane his meaning, not to be to discourage men frō reading the scriptures, but that M. Heskins doth soone after confesse the same, of his owne accord, in these wordes: I am not ignorant (gentle reader) that Chrysostome doth so, that is, that Chrysostome in a number of places most earnestly exhorteth men to the reading of the scriptures, and doth not feare them with the obscuritie, and difficultie thereof. I aske no more against M. Heskins, but his own confession of Chrysostomes iudgement to be against him, whervnto we must returne anon, after a little consideration of Gregories iudgement. Gregorie sheweth, that the obscuritie of the scriptures is for great profite, for exercising the vnderstanding, for auoyding of wearines, idlenes, contempt, and for great delight, when it is found out with labour. Augustine hath the like sentence, but this maketh much for our cause, that the obscuritie of the scripture, where, it is darke: is very profitable for the diligent reader. To conclude, if all the scripture were neuer so darke, yet seeing it is necessarie to be knowne of al men, it ought to be read and studied of all, & the more & the oftener, where it is more hard to vnderstand, yt long & diligent search may find out, yt which sildome & slight reading would passe ouer. As for the last testimonie of Hieronyme ad Paulinum, concerning the Canonicall Epistles, That they are both short and long so that there be not many which are not blind in them. Bicause we had the like before, I will referre it to the former answeres. The rest of the rayling stuffe, charging vsus with cause of heresies, arrogance, and ignorance, in suffering and allowing the people to reade the scriptures, affirming them to be easie, when they be hard &c. is more meete for M. Heskins to write, then vsus to answere. But to return to the obiection, that he maketh of the iudgement of Chrysostome and Erasmus, whom he confesseth to be against him, let vsus see his wittie answeres. To Chrysostome he answereth, That there were two causes why he would hauehave the scriptures read, one, that they might the better vnderstand his expositions in the Churche, the other that they might reade them to followe them: to these purposes he graunteth it were tollerable they should be read, but not to frame newe doctrines out of them, nor to cont…mne the learned teachers, &c. And who (I pray you) would hauehave them read to other purpose? Not Luther, not Iewell, nor any man whom you most spyte at. But see the force of truth, and the malice of an enimie therof. Heskins hauing reasoned in fiue Chapters, against the reading of scriptures, nowe graunteth to it: but yet that which is most conuenient & of al, most necessarie, he vouchsafeth to cal it but tollerable. To Erasmus he replyeth, first, yt seeing he confesseth in diuers places the scriptures to be hard to vnderstand, he maruelleth that he would exhort ignorant men to the reading of them. But Erasmus would easily turne backe M. Heskins reason vponupon his owne head. Seeing they are hard, they are the more often and diligently to be read & studied. Secondly, he thinketh Alphonsus good ynough to oppose against Erasmus, who affirmeth, That although it were meete the people should read the scriptures in Chrysostomes time, yet it is not meete nowe, bicause lawes are changed as the times and manners of men are. And it is no more meete that the people should nowe read the scriptures, then that the Vigils should be kept as they were in Hieronymes time, or that Infantes should receiue the Communion as they did in Augustines t…me, or men shuld abstaine from bloud and strangled as in the Apostles time, or discipline and publique penance should be vsed as in the old dayes. If the maners of men be worse nowe, they hauehave more neede of the knowledge of God, whereby they might be reformed, wherefore the similitudes are nothing like. And besides this, note also the errour of the Church in S. Augustines time confessed, and the want of discipline in the Popish Church acknowledged.