The Jesuits Gospel, Approbation
THE APPROBATION OF THIS AVTHOR.
CLARVS Bonarſcius, otherwiſe called Carolus Scribanius is a Ieſuite now liuing at Antwerpe, and of much account amongſt them; he wrote this booke and ſpewd this blaſphemy out of his vncleane heart ſome 4. or 5. yeares agoe. And whereas both the Author and his booke deſerued the fire or halter, It was ſo farre from being miſliked in the Romiſhe Synagogue, or any waye cenſured, that ſince then the book hath beene reprinted and the Author and his booke ſtande inrolled, aproued and commended (in their great volumes ſet out for that purpoſe) for good and Catholicke.
Clari Bornaſcij Amphitheatrum Honoris Ieſuitici, in quo Caluiniſtarum in ſocietatem Ieſu criminationes iugulatae:Palaeopoli hoc eſt Antuerpia. proſtant Palaeopoli 1605. & poſtea 1606. Haec Poſſeuinus Ieſuita in Appararu ſacro Tom. 1. lit. C. pag. 357. editionis vltimae.
And it is to be noted that theſe volumes of Poſſeuine containe onelyonly an inrollment and approbation of no writers at all, ſaue ſuch as are approued Romiſh Catholicks: and are ſet out with great and publicke allowance of the Romiſhe ſtate, as may be ſeene at the beginning of the firſt Tome.
Beſides, let all men knowe the book ſtands yet vncenſured, and the man liues ſtill vnpuniſhed, nay vnreproued, or rather commēded and rewarded for it: therfore this cannot be calld an obſcure or priuate facte, but may properly be held the fact of the Romiſh Church or State.
A DISCOVRSE OF THE LADIES OF HALL AND SICHEM, IN WAY OF PREface: ſhewing particularly the occaſion of this new Goſpell.
THe bleſſed Mother of our Lord, as the Church in all ages hath done, ſo doth ours, willingly honour, as the moſt bleſſed of all Saints, yet as a creature, and as one ſaued by her ſonne, that Sauiour in whome her ſpirit reioyced: (a)Luke 2we know and acknowledge that not ſhe but the holy ghoſt hath ſaid that all generations ſhal cal her (b)Lukebleſſed: Yet we muſt confeſſe, we are of that fathers religion, who ſaid,(c)Auguſt lib. de virginit …elicior partus ſpiritualis quam carnalis beatior enim Maria fuit concipiend. Chriſtum fide quā carne materna enim propinquitas nihil ei profuiſset niſi felicius chritum corde quā carne geſtaſset her ſpirituall bearing of Chriſt was happier then her carnall, and her ſelfe more bleſſed by conceiuing Chriſt in her heart then in her wombe, and by beleeuing in him then by bearing him, for her bearing him in her body would not hauehave ſaued her ſoule, if ſhe had not more happily borne him in her heart. And in another place,(d)Idem inde felix quia verbum dei cu ſtodivit non quia in illa verbum caro factum eſt. Papiſts themſelues cannot deny but our men do (out of this caſe) ſpeak and write moſt reuerently of the bleſsed virgin as namly, Luther Oecolampadius Brentius ſpangenbergius vrb Rheg…s Bucer Bullinger. All this is confeſsed by Coccius the great Papiſt, in his theſaure cathelico. To. 1. Li. 3. 21. 5. p. 300. ſhe was happy and bleſſed, not becauſe in her the word was made fleſh, but becauſe ſhe heard the word of God and kept it.
This her bleſſednes, farre be it from vsus to impeach: and who would not yeild her all bleſſednes and honour that a creature may hauehave, of whome God vouchſafed to take the fleſh of man? And if any of our Religion hath giuen any words of her, that may giuegive the leaſt blemiſh to her bleſſed ſtate, it was not done in any the leaſt contempt of her, but in the zeale they bare to the honour of their Sauiour, whome they held diſhonoured by the vnequal cōparing of her with him: for what will not a Chriſtian mans zeale cauſe him to doe, when he ſeeth his God diſhonoured? who would hauehave thought that Moſes would hauehave caſt ſo careleſly out of his hands, ſo pretious a iewell as were the two Tables written with the finger of God? and yet when he heard the name of the Lord blaſphemed, he forgot himſelfe and them, and as though he remembred none but God, he threw them away and brake them in pieces.
if Moſes his zeale makes his haſtines excuſable then no reaſon to condemne them whoſe zeale gaue paſſage to their paſſions, and cauſed them for the honor of the Creator to forget the priuiledge of a Creature: and I dare ſay there neuer was learned man of our profeſſion that preſumed to touch the very skirt of the garment of her glory, vnleſſe they ſaw her ſet in compariſon with God or Ieſus Chriſt, which ſeeing the Romiſh Church dare offer to do, thereby ecclipſing the glory of Gods mercy and the worthyneſſe of Chriſts ſatiſfaction, Bonauenture himſelfe ſaid, that we muſt take heed leaſt we ſo farre aduance the glorye of the mother that we diminiſh the glorye of the ſonne.we holde it our dutyes to be zealous for the glory of our God, and to preſerue as farre as in vsus lyeth the prorogatiues of our Sauiour, if it be ſaid that they match her not with God or Chriſt. I anſwer they doe, and that in ſuch a meaſure, as we dare pronounce her or any Angel accurſed that ſhould either arrogate or accept of that which the Romiſh religion aſcribes vntounto her. Too good euidence hereof hath beene ſeene in all ages for theſe 200. yeares laſt paſt, wherein they hauehave fallen from honoring her as a Saint, to magnifie her as a Mediator; to pray to her as to a God, to truſt in her as in a Sauiour: Many perticulars hauehave beene ſpecified by many of our writers which by the aduerſaries could neuer be denied (they are ſo euident) & yet were they neither recanted nor remoued, Reinoldus de Idolatria. Catalogus teſtium veritaetis. Perkins, of the Idolatrye of the laſt times.but contrarywiſe they hauehave proceeded from euil to worſe, till their blaſphemy hauehave euen peirced the heauens and touched the Crowne of the Almighty, & confronted the woundes, merrits and bloud of our Sauiour. Particular inſtances heereof are many, which may be collected out of the Authors of late yeares, part whereof ſhall if God permit be perticularized in this Treatiſe.
But aboue all there is one, which as it is the lateſt, ſo is it the fowleſt, and wherein Popiſh blaſphemye is at the height, as now it giues hope to all Chriſtian men that their prayers are heard, her end is at hande,Reuel. and that her iniquitie is come vp before God. And there remaines nothing but the reuenging hand of God to be ſtretched out vppon her. We hauehave it not from the report of merchants, from the letters of the poſts, nor from the Intelligence of Embaſſadors, for then our aduerſaries might ſuſpect it, Nor from the reporte or writings of our own men, for then let the world not beleeue vsus: but we hauehave it from the fountaine it ſelfe euen from the Recorde wherein it is written, with the Authors hand: and ſurely if the euidence were not beyonde exception, our ſelues would not beleeue it of them, though they be our enemies. Thus ſtandeth the caſe.
Amongſt the late deuices that Romiſhe pollicye hath forged to vpholde their hierarchye, a principall is, their art of Miracles, which they pretende to hauehave ſo ordinarye,In 80. the Pope loſt all England Scotland, Ireland, Denmarke, Sweden and a great part of Germany, France, Switzerland, Peland, and Hungary. that in many Churches they hauehave more miracles then ſermons: but alas daily experience ſheweth that they be lyinge Wonders and no true miracles. Now becauſe ſuch tricks are moſt effectuall to delude the common people, and that they finde themſelues and their cauſe to hauehave loſt much of late in many parts of Chriſtendome, therefore to recouer themſelues and to gaine credit to their forlorne cauſe, they hauehave moſt buſily applyed this point of late, and hauehave by the crafte of Machiauelian Ieſuits (as Watſon their brother Preiſt often ſtiles them) ſo farre preuailed,In their quodlibets often. that there ſcarce paſſeth a month wherin ſome new Image of our Lady is not found, or ſome ſtrange miracle and wonders heard of.
Two yeares agoe they cauſed a ſtorye to be written and publiſhed wherein they bluſh not to make their people beleeue, that more miracles,See the booke called Iuſti…iptii diua. virgo Hallenſis. and greater then Chriſt did, hauehave beene and are daily done at Hall (a towne in the borders of Brabant and Henault) by the virgin Mary at a picture of hers in a Chappell there: and this is ſet out by no vulgar or triuiall fellow, but by that famous Apoſtat Lipſius, that the tale may carry the more credit: and the miracles are not of ordinary but of the higheſt nature: for healing of frēſie…, feuers, cōuulſions, is nothing, nay:…airus daughter. ſight is giuen to the blinde, and whereas Chriſt raiſed but 3 from the dead (that we know of) our Lady of Hall (ſaith Lipſius) gaue life to 7 at leaſt that wer dead: Loe here how far ſhort Chriſt himſelfe is of his mother:Omnia quafecit Chriſtus fecit Franc…ſcus plura quam fecit Chriſtus fecit Franciſcus. lib. conformit… tum beati Franciſci. and now we meruaile no more if they hauehave written that St. Francis did all that Chriſt did and more then Chriſt did, ſeeing the picture of his mother, can doe more then he did.
I ſay the picture of his mother, becauſe Georgius fabricius, the Popes cēſor of books, in his allowance of this legend of Lipſius ſaith, that God giueth and communicateth downe power to worke miracles not onelyonly to the virgin Mary and the Saints, but euen to their Images or pictures: beholde good reader a worthy peice of new refined popery, Gods diuine power is communicated to the very pictures of creatures: ſtrange doctri…e of …opery.And if a y man obiect that miracles are not in theſe dayes to be expected, Lipſius hath a learned and catholike anſwer, that now indeede in reſpect of Chriſt, or to auerre his doctrine, or to maintaine his honour, they neede not, but the caſe is otherwiſe (ſaith he) with Saints, for many doe refuſe to worſhip them, and grudge at the honour that in the Romiſh Church is giuen them,By popiſhe doctrine Chriſt doth more to eſtabliſhe the worſhipping ot Saints then his owne. and therefore to defend them in this point, and to eſtabliſh that worſhip which they doe vntounto them, God ſuffereth ſo many miracles to be done euen by their Images: which anſwere being well conſidered of, what a kinde of doctrine it containeth, I leaue to the learned and iudicious Reader:
I onelyonly ſay, that if this be true, then how ſorteth it with the very body and current of his ſtory, by which no man can deny, but it is apparent that moſt of the miracles which he ſpecifieth, were done almoſt 200. yeares agoe, namely betwixt the yeares 1400. & 1500. long before Luther began to preach, and as they ſay afore our Religion was in the world, and conſequently before the worſhipping of Saints was withſtood, therefore it followeth; that miracles were ordinary at Saints Images, euen then when worſhipping of Saints was not denied: Lipſius might hauehave done well to hauehave reconciled ſo euident a contradiction.
But what aſſurance hauehave we for the truth of theſe miracles? or how know we that this is an approued picture of our Lady? Lipſius anſwereth that there was one Sophia daughter to the Landgraue of Heſſe, by his Lady Saint Elizabeth: (a Saint of Pope Gregory the 9. making within foure yeares after her death.)
This Sophia (ſaith he) as it is thought, had certaine Images of our Lady, giuen her by her mother Elizabeth (was it then but thought ſo, and muſt we now beleeue it?) one of theſe ſhe gaue to the Nunnes of the Nunry at Vilvord, and that was called our Lady of comfort: 2 more ſhe gaue to Madam Machtild, or Maud her huſbands ſiſter, who beſtowed them thus: one ſhe gaue to Graueſand, another to Harlem (two townes in Holland) the third, (which it ſeemes ſtole all the vertue from both the other) to Hall, a towne in Henalt, (and this is that we now ſpeake of:) and to ad more credit to the ſtory, he tels vsus that this Lady Maude was Mother to that Ladye Mawde who bare at one birthe 364. children, which were all borne aliue,An olde ſtorye but greatly ſuſpected by Eraſmus and other learned men, to be fabulous. and baptized by a Biſhop: So (ſaith Lipſius) this is that image, which now we worſhip at Hall: and thus ſtrong a foundation hath the ſtorie: and now may not all Caluiniſts be aſhamed to doubt of this ſtorye or to ſuſpect theſe grounds?
Now therefore ſurely we muſt needs beleeue (els we are vnbeleuing heretikes) that one was before this Image diſpoſſeſſed of a diuell without any other meanes, for ſo he ſaith, & that ten at leaſt were deliuered frō preſent death by but calling or thinking vponupon our Ladye at Hall, and that ſeauen were raiſed from death to life being but layd before the image; and all theſe within the ſpace of xx. yeares, and in one countrye (ſo ordinarye a matter is it in Poperye to raiſe the dead.) Nay we muſt beleeue (or els we are infidels) that when a faulkener ſhould hauehave beene hāged for looſing his Lords faulkon, and had the rope about his necke,An excellen… and new foun… way for faul… ners to …e their loſt …kes, neuer …ore heard prooue this …ſius and …u wilt hauehave …ny Faulkers turne pa…ts. and did but call to mind the Ladye of Hall, forthwith the Hawke came flynge home againe, and light vppon the faulkeners ſhoulder, and ſo ſaued his life: for this is not Lipſius aſhamed to report. Which if it be true, then we ſhall leſſe wonder hereafter at that in the legende, where it is reported how a Parrat hauing gott abroad out of her cage and ſporting her ſelfe in the ayre, was by and by eſpied by a hawke, who being readye to ſeaze vppon her, Inſtantly the Parrat ſeing herſelfe in danger to be ſurprized, cried out S. Thomas a Becket ſaue me: and preſently the hawke fell downe dead and the Parrat was deliuered.
…ee the booke …alled, Liber …onformitatum …. Franciſe…. …f any impreſ…ion.As alſo thoſe miracles of S. Francis ſo far beyonde Chriſts or his Apoſtles, that he tamed wilde beaſts, that he preacht vntounto a Wolfe, and conuerted him from his crueltie, and calling him by the name of his brother Wolfe, made the towne of Engubium & him friends, who of long time had beene at contention, and for the aſſurance of the peace, he made his brother Wolfe to giuegive him his faith in the Market place, before the Magiſtrates, and afterward the Wolfe went vp and downe the citye, and tooke his meat from dore to dore: Loe here you heretikes, here is a Miracle worth ſomething: and if they wil not beleeue me, looke in the holy booke of Conformities,See the conformitye of the olde impreſsion and his life in Engliſh. and there you ſhall finde all this and much more: as namely, how the birds would come flyng, and the beaſts flocking about him to heare him preache, and how the Nightingales and other birds would come and helpe him to ſay Maſſe, and ſing his office, and would anſwere him verſe for verſe. Come out ye heretikes (Caluiniſts and Lutherans) Saint. Francis and his followers challenge you all to bring out one miracle like theſe,Sedulius a Popiſhe writer hath this la… yeare defended all theſe. to approue your religion ſurely they may, and for ought I ſee Chriſt and his Apoſtles alſo, for they neuer wrought ſuch a miracle to confirme the Goſpel. Is it not then apparant that ſaint Francis hath done more then Chriſt did?
Oh my deare countrymen (you that name your ſelues the catholikes of England) if you would but open your eyes and conſider of this, I durſt make your ſelues iudges, what diuinitie this is: if you ſuſpect me, beleeue me not, looke into the bookes themſelues, and beleeue your owne eyes: if you ſay vntounto me that ſome ſuch impieties and follies might creepe into the olde bookes, 100. or 200. yeares agoe when the times were not ſo warye nor ſuſpitious; but the Church hath ſince reformed ſuch abuſes, I anſwere, I alledge moſt of this out of the Booke of co…formityes, lately corrected and printed in Italye within theſe 20 yeares: but if you looke into the olde one, printed 100 yeares agoe, (wherewith your forefathers were abuſed) you ſhall there finde ſuch matter, a for reuerence of the Reader I ſhame, and for the honour of God I feare to write.
And as for theſe miracles at our Ladyes picture at Hall they were neuer offred to the worlds view nor euer came to light till within theſe 3 yeares that Lipſius (a man who durſt doe any thing but honour Chriſt) preſumed to publiſh them, and with foule impiety to write that in theſe dayes Chriſt and his doctrine, ſeruice and religion needes no miracles but the Saints and their ſeruice and worſhip do ſtand in neede thereof: and as in the infancy of the Church Chriſt had his, ſo in the perfect ſtate of it, Saints and their Images muſt hauehave their miracles:See the conformitie of the …olde impreſſiō or his life in Engliſh. but obſerue withall that (if they ſay true) more ſtrange and as I may ſo ſay, more Miraculous Miracles are done for the honour of Saints, and approuing the worſhipping of them and their Images, then were for the eſtabliſhing of the Goſpell, the abrogating of the ceremoniall law, & for prouing Chriſt to be the ſonne of God.
Lipſius died a relapſed papiſt at L…ucin ano.If Lipſius were liuing I would not ſpare to tell him: that this his doctrine ſmels ſtrongly of that whereof he hath beene, (it ſeemes not without cauſe) ſuſpected, which becauſe he is dead I will forbeare to name.
But ſome of our Engliſh Papiſts (which are not learned) may doubt whether there be ſuch a booke or no, or if it be not deuiſed by vsus, and fathered on them, (for ſo do their Preiſts often ſuggeſt vntounto them of ſuch books as they feare the people will miſlike) but if any of their miſleaders doe ſo miſinforme them, let them know the booke hath beene twiſe printed at Antwerpe, & once at Paris, with allowance of authoritye in both places, not onelyonly of the Cenſors of Books, and the Archbiſhop of the place, but the matter and miracles in the book are confirmed with the bulls of 2. Popes,Theſe bulls of 2. Popes are in the end of the book. one of Pope Nicholas, in the yeare 1451. the other of Pope Clement the 8. within theſe 8. yeares: and if any ſhould be ſo vnreaſonable as to thinke that we hauehave forged all this, Poſſeuine the Ieſuite may giuegive him full ſatisfaction: who in his Apparatus ſacer hath publiſhed to the world that Lipſius in the yeare and at the place aforenamed,Iuſtus Lipſius vir vere Catholicus inter complures eruditiſſimos libros, anno. 604 edidit librum hac praenotatione Iuſti Lipſii diua virgo …allenſis eius que beneficia & miracula bona fide at que ordine deſcripta. Antuerpia apud moretum. Poſſe. Appa. ſa To. 2. in litera I. page 318 did put out ſuch a worke, & giues him ſpetiall cōmendation for his labours, in that and the like for the Catholike cauſe.
But hath not Lipſius recanted, or the Romiſh Church reformed this ſince then? Alas, Lipſius was ſo farre from that, that the yeare after, very neere vntounto his death, as though he intended nothing but to heape vp wrath againſt the day of wrath, he added drunkennes to thirſt, as the Prophet ſaith, for heaping ſin vponupon ſin, in ſtead of reuoking & recanting his former colluſiō, he publiſhed another pamphlet, a more ridiculous Legend, and fraught with more improbabillities and impoſſibilities then the former. It beares this title: Iuſtus Lipſius his hiſtory of our Lady of Sichem, or of our Ladies picture, of the craggy-rocke or ſharpe hill, Iuſti lipſii diua virgo Aſpricollis.and of her new miracles and benefites: at Antwerpe. 1605.
At this Image ſaith he, are wroght miracles of al ſorts Apoplexis, Epilepſies, goutes and all kinde of diſeaſes are healed, lame are reſtored to limbes, blind to ſight, deafe to their hearing: and all theſe by heapes, not ſildome or extraordinarily, but yearely monthly, dayly: almoſt 60. are regiſtred by Lipſius beſides many more omitted, and all to be done in 2. or 3. yeres, inſomuch as if his report be true, God makes miracles farr more ordinary for the honour of Saints and their Images, then he did for confirming the doctrine of Chriſt and his Apoſtles: But what credit hath the ſtory of our Lady of Sichem? euen as good as hath our Lady of Hall, els let the reader iudge.
The tale of the Image of the eragg ye hill.Neere to the little poore (but olde) towne of Sichem ſaith Lipſius, there is a mount, barren, rough, and craggy, on one ſide whereof there is a little hillocke: on it growes an Oake, and in it or faſtened to it, is a lit-Image of our Lady, which hath done great miracles in time paſt, and was therefore worſhipped of the people there: but how is that proued? thus: aboue 100 yeares agoe, a Shepheard found that Image, & put it in his boſome, thinking to carry it home to worſhip it, but as he was in theſe thoughts, he was ſodainly ſtrucken & aſtoniſht in his ſences, & benūmed in his whole body, inſomuch as he could not ſtirre one foot but ſtood ſtil like a dead tronk, not knowing what to think of it, nor how to help himſelf: his M. wanting both his ſhepheard and his ſheepe, ſought them, & found him ſo ſtanding, who tolde him the whole matter: his M. taking the Image, went with great deuotion and ſet it vp in the Oake againe, & forthwith the ſhepheard had his limbs reſtored, & went & worſhipped it, and ſo by their reports, al the country heard of it, who came by heaps & wer healed of al diſeaſes, but agues eſpecially, and ſo it continued (ſaith he) til within theſe 20. yeres, about which time the bleſſed Image was ſtolne or loſt no man can tell how. (But is it not ſtrange that if it could doe theſe miracles, they would let it be loſt ſo careleſly?) well, loſt it was: But what tho? people went as faſt then as afore, and ſtill as great cures were there done as when the Image was there: and in want of the Image the people worſhiped the Oake, & why might they not ſaid Lipſius? the holy Image had hallowed the tree, ſo that it might lawfully be worſhipped: (heholde popiſh deuotion!) yet ſaith he we worſhipped not the tree, but in it the Image, and in it our Lady, and in her God. Marke good Reader, God gets his worſhip at laſt, thogh it be at the fourth hand: they tender it to the tree, the tree yeeldes it to the Image, the Image conueies it to our Lady, and ſhe preſents it to God: ſo then by popiſh doctrine & deuotion God is ſerued and honoured after his creatures, and ſo at laſt gets his owne, If they ſay that the worſhip is intended to God, and is not ended but in him: I anſwere, but were it not better that the worſhip were offered immediately from the heart and hands of the worſhipper to God himſelfe, and to paſſe through no hands, but of his ſonne the mediator? but this is hereſie, let it paſſe, or els it muſt paſſe the fire.
To returne to the ſtory: our Lady of Sichem is loſt, but what then, muſt the poore towne looſe her traffick and liuing? (nay rather we wil make another, for that is no hard nor vnuſuall thing in that religion:) and ſo ſaith he 7. yeres after: an honeſt and deuout Alderman of Sichem (perceyuing well how his and his neighbours gaines came in, and how the poore towne liued) like a good towneſman, made another Image, put it in a boxe of wood, and faſtened the boxe to the Oake, that ſo their Lady might not be loſt ſo careleſly as afore.
This new Image thus made, did as many miracles as the other, and why ſhould it not, for was it not as good as the other? Alwaies remembred that I meane not in any of theſe ſpeeches the bleſſed virgin vvhome as I hold a bleſſed Saint in heauen, ſo I preſent her with all the honour that may be giuen to a creature: But I meane Lipſius his lady of Sichem, or our lady of Hall.nay it may be it was more curiouſly carued and better wrought. Thus it continued certhine yeares till at laſt the Pariſh Prieſt perceyuing they began to be well cuſtomed, beſtowed ſome coſt on their Lady which got them ſo much, and built her a little chappell of boords, and there placed her. But ſtill their cuſtome growing greater, they ſhewed them ſelues thankefull to their patroneſſe, and as ſhe fild their purſes, they ſought her honour, and built her a faire chappell of ſtone, ſome 2. yeares agoe, and in that reſteth the Image, working miracles eueryevery day. But what became of the holy Oake? it was ſo cut away by pieces by deuout perſons, and carried away, that it was in danger of falling, and a counſell was called in the towne what were to be done with it (as in ſo great a matter it is requiſite) and there, after ſerious conſideration, it was grauely concluded, that it ſhould be cut vp by the rootes, & with much ſolemnity brought into the towne of Sichem, where when it came, forthwith happy was he that could get a peece of the holy wood, whereof (ſaith Lipſius, and bluſheth not to write it) diuers made them little Images, and with much piety do worſhip them: others that were ſicke of grieuous diſeaſes, ſhaued it into their drinke and drunke it, and ſo were healed. See what an excellent religion this is: one Image hath begot many, and the firſt Image being but faſtened to the tree, ſo ſanctified the whole Oake, that eueryevery Image made of the whole tree, ſhould be as good as it ſelfe, and eueryevery crumme of the wood ſhould worke miracles, as faſt as the Image did.
Loe heere the hiſtory of our Lady of Sichem, or of the ſharp hil: & this legēd is not Lipſius aſhamed to thruſt vponupon the vvorld, for a true & vndoubted ſtory: ſuch are the times we be fallen into, that to ſet faſt the crowne vponupon the Popes head, truth muſt ſtand aſide and lies muſt paſt for currant without controule: and ſuch a cauſe is Popery as cannot continue in credit before the people, but by forging a continued ſucceſſion of lying wonders, for now we are made beleeue, that the Virgin Mary hath 2. Images within few miles together which hauehave done more miracles in a fewe yeares bypaſt, then God himſelfe did in the olde, or Chriſt and his Apoſtles in the new teſtament: Such Idols of indignation doth the Romiſh harlot aduance againſt the ſoueraigne maieſty of God, to prouoke him withall: for what is it but an Idoll of indignation, that not a creature only, but the very Image of a creature ſhould be made pertaker of the deuine power and maieſty of God?
The time was when Iſaiah the Prophet durſt ſay of God, I am the Lord, this is my name, Eſay 42.28and my glory I will not giuegive vntounto another, nor my praiſe to grauen Images: but how ſoeuer that might be tollerable doctrine in thoſe daies had he liued in theſe, he muſt hauehave bene taught that a part of the glory and praiſe of God, may daily be giuen to grauen Images, and yet the glory of God not at all thereby impeached, but rather augmented: Loe what Idols of indignation and abhominations lye hid vnderunder this miſtery of iniquity.
Ezech.And yet good Reader (as God ſaith vntounto the prophet) turne thee a little and thou ſhalt ſee greater abhominations then theſe.
It is yet ſcarce 3 yeares agoe ſince the tale of our Lady of Hall, was forged by ſome Ieſuit, and publiſhed by Lipſius, when withall, a faire picture grauen in braſſe was prefixed vponupon the firſt page before the booke of our Lady holding her Sonne in her armes.
And beholde, the Ieſuits as though the Mother were a woman and the Sonne but an Infant: or as though they had gained mercy by Chriſt already, and would now ſee what they could get by the Mother, began to call in queſtion his merits and mediation, and the dignity of his wounds and ſufferings, & at laſt pronounce that his wounds and her paps, his blood and her milke, are either all one, or els that the milke is better.
And yet before we enter into the perticular, let the reader obſerue, that though the Image be both of our Lady (as they call her) and of her ſonne Ieſus our Lord, yet notwithſtanding the miracles are all aſcribed to her and her picture, and none to Ieſus Chriſt: for the colouring of which impiety, what they can ſay I ſee not, vnleſſe they dare affirme that the ſonne will doe no miracles in the preſence of his mother, to which end, it may well be noted, that generally in all places where the mother and the ſonne, the virgin Mary, and our Lord Ieſus be pictured together in their Churches, ſhe is alwaies ſet forth as a woman and a mother, and he as a childe and infant, either in her armes or in her hand, that ſo the common people might hauehave occaſiō to imagine, that looke what power of ouerruling and commaunding the Mother hath ouer her little childe, the ſame hath ſhe ouer her ſonne Ieſus: and that ſeeing the ſonne is but an infant in his mothers armes, therefore they might not wonder why her picture doth all the miracles, & his none; for its likely, Chriſt did no miracles whilſt he was a child: into theſe ſuperſtitious and euen blaſphemous conceits do they indeuour to driue their people, not caring what they derogate from Chriſt, ſo they giuegive it to their Saints: Is it not admirable that ſtill they will make him an infant, ſtill in his mothers armes, ſtill vnderunder her power, and ſtill all miracles muſt be wrought by her, and at her picture, as though either he could not, or in his mothers preſence would not, or (at the leaſt) as though ſhe had many enemies, and therefore needed miracles, and Chriſt none? But alas who ſeeth not that the Athiſme and prophaneſſe of the world cauſeth euen the name and religion of Chriſt to be blaſphemed, that if miracles might lawfully be expected, we ſhould thinke them as needfull as euer ſince the firſt planting of the Goſpell: it is therefore a ſtrange peice of Popiſh doctrine, that there is more cauſe that the virgin Mary and her picture ſhould hauehave miracles for them, then Chriſt and his religion.
But yet this, and all other their ſuſpicious and impious ſpeeches and practiſes againſt the honour of Chriſt & his religion, are in my iudgement inferiour, and may all ſtoupe to this newe impiety of the Ieſuits, wherby the Mother is compared to the Sonne, not as being a childe, or a man, but as the Sauiour and mediator: and the pappes of a Woman equalled with the wounds of our Lord, and her milke with his bloud.
If this were written by Proteſtants, ſome might ſay we might report partially, or if it were a matter of olde, the age might yeild ſuſpition that it were made worſe in the carriage: But when it is a matter of yeſterday and comes from themſelues, partiallity it ſelfe cannot cauill againſt it.
And the perticular is this Clarus Bonarſcius a Ieſuit or the Ieſuits Patron, publiſhed this preſent yeare to the world a volume large enough, in defence of the whole order of Ieſuits, the booke bears this title.
CLARI BONARSCII, AMPHITHEATRVM HONORIS.
In quo CALVINISTARVM IN SOCIETATEM IESV, criminationes iugulatae.
Editio altera, libro quarto auctior. PALAEOPOLI ADVATICORVM, Apud ALEXANDRVM VERHEIDON. 1606.
This volume he erected, as a theater, yea an Amphitheater of Honour, in defence of the Ieſuits, wherein after he had aſſa…ed with much ſleight of wit, and in a ſtrange ſtile, to wipe away many foule blots, with which that Atheiſticall broode hath ſtained the holy name of Ieſus, and adorned it ſelfe (for generally that which diſhonors God adornes them) and after he had ranged ouer al the reformed Churches, and raked vp all rotten ſlaunders, and reuiued the callumniations that were anſwered, dead and buried, 40. 50. and 60. yeares agoe, and rayled vponupon the liuing and dead Caluin, Beza, Pareus Stenius, Toſſanus, Faius, and many other holy and learned men, with that bitterneſſe and virulency as neuer was before him: yea, moreouer after that he had laid high and horrible imputations vponupon this whole ſtate, and (like a true Ieſuits Impe) ſlaundered the whole gouernement, with foule iniuſtice, and monſtrous cruelty in many perticulars,ſee for theſe perticulars of our Queene and ſtate. lib. and had in Ieſuiticall pride, dared to defile the name and honour of renowned Queene Elizabeth, (whoſe memory for euer will be bleſſed) with words vnworthy the mouth of a man (if he were not a Ieſuit:) at laſt from the defence of Ieſuits, he falls in to defend Lipſius, (a good friend of theirs) and his two ſtories of our Lady of Hall, and our Lady of the craggy Rocke, and not onelyonly labours to make good all his fancies and fables, but further (to ſhew that a Ieſuit hath one tricke of impiety beyond all, and is anointed by the diuell with the oyle of miſchiefe aboue al his fellowes) addeth a number of verſes directed to that picture, which he calleth our Lady of Hall, fraught with ſo fearefull blaſphemies againſt the blood and merits of the Mediator, as no Chriſtian eares to this day did euer heare, and doubtles no Chriſtian heart can patiently endure: and certainely if the bleſſed Virgin Mary, to whoſe picture he hath cō ſecrated them, may be his Iudge, without doubt both he and his blaſphemy will be condemned to hell:Luke. and ſhe whoſe ſoule reioyced in God her Sonne and Sauiour, her ſoule I ſay will reioyce in the iuſt damnation of him who ſhal match the milk of her a creature, with the blood of him her Sauiour: But ſhall we heare them? no will ſome ſay, let blaſphemy rather be buried in the depth of obliuion, darken not the Sunne, defile not the heauens, poyſon not the ayre burden not the earth with it, amaze not the mindes, and terrifie not the conſciences of weake Chriſtians: and aſſuredly could I bury it ſo that it might neuer liue, and quench it ſo as it might neuer flame againe, and if my Booke were the onelyonly Copie in the world, I would rather chooſe to couer this ſhame of the ſhameleſſe whore of Babilon, then by diſcouering it to cauſe good mens eares to tingle, and their hearts to tremble: But ſeeing the ſtrumpet hath the whores forehead, and glorieth in her owne ſhame, & founded out this blaſphemy (as with a trumpet) in the eares of all Chriſtendome by publiſhing it in a booke which he calls the great theater of the Ieſuits Honour, euen bringing ſo feareful blaſphemy vponupon the ſtage, & dare diuulge it in a ſecond impreſſion, leaſt the worlde ſhould want it;
Let vsus therefore craue leaue of our Lord Ieſus, to diſcouer her ſhame wherein ſhe glorieth, and that wee may without impeachment of his honour, repeate ſo foul blaſphemie, that ſo the world may both perceiue what a religion popery is, and that we for our parts hauehave no fellowſhip with ſuch abhominable workes of darknes.
The title he giues them is this: Ad Diuam Hallenſem, & Puerum Ieſum.
THAT IS, To our Lady of Hall, and The Childe Ieſus.
See firſt the impiety lurking in this title. She is a Queene or Lady, Ieſus a Childe or infant: compare this with holy ſcriptures, they indeede ſpeake both of him and her, but of him as God and a Sauiour, of her as a creature; the mother onelyonly of his humanity (although the mother of him that was God) and exerciſing power onelyonly ouer his humanity, and that onelyonly during his infancy and priuatenes, but not after he tooke vponupon him the Propheticall office of the mediator,Iohn. 2.4. for then he ſaid (in a certaine caſe) woman what hauehave I to doe with thee? and againe, being tolde ſhee was without to ſpeake with him, hee anſwered that hee had more Mothers, tho not in the ſame,…ath. 12. V…t. yet in a better ſence: for whoſoeuer did the will of his father, the ſame ſaith he is my mother: thus the ſcripture proceeds to deſcribe him in his propheticall, and afterward in his prieſtly office, and leaues him not till at laſt he be aſcended into heauen, and hauehave taken poſſeſſion of his kingdome, and then the ſcripture leaues him in his glory.
Is all this true? and yet muſt he now after 1606. yeres be an infant in his mothers armes? and for her the holy ſcriptures ſpeak no more of her, but as of a creature, a woman, a beleeuing Iewe, a holy ſaint, ſaued by faith in her ſauiour Ieſus Chriſt, and ſo leaues her, with little mention (after Chriſt was baptiſed, and entred his propheticall office) her body to goe the way of all fleſh, and her ſoule to enter into that great glory which Chriſt had purchaſed for her, and all that ſpirituall kindred of his, whome with his owne mouth he had pronounced more bleſsed for hearing his word and keeping it, Luke 12then they could hauehave beene by being the mother of his fleſh:
And yet now after 1600. yeares, ſhe muſt ſtill be a commaunding mother, and muſt ſhew her authority ouer him, Monſtra te eſſe Matrem ſumat per te preces. ſo are the miſſals, Breuiaries & offices that are reformed.and he muſt receiue our prayers by her meanes, and ſtil ſhe muſt beare him in her armes, or lead him in her hand, and her picture muſt worke all the miracles, but his none: and ſhe muſt be ſaluted as a Lady, a Queene, a Goddeſſe, and he as a childe: If this be not ſo, let this Title iudge: Ad Diuam Hallenſem, & puerum Ieſum. But let vsus leaue the Title, and not ſtand long at the gates, but enter this Citty of confuſion.
And now all good Chriſtians hearken with griefe of heart to that which I rather wiſh you might neuer hauehave heard; but if your eares tingle, your haire ſtand vp, and your hearts tremble at the blaſphemy following, blame the heart that indighted it, the hand that wrote it, the Religion that allowes it, and not the pen that diſcouers it.
Thus then begins the Ieſuits Goſpell.