Saint Augustines Religion, Title page – To the reader
SAINT AVSTINS RELIGION.
VVHEREIN IS MAnifeſtly proued out of the Works of that Learned Father, that he diſſented from Popery, and agreed with the Religion of the Proteſtants in all the maine Points of Faith and Doctrine.
Contrary to that Impudent, Erronious, and Slanderous Poſition of the bragging Papiſts of our Times, who falſely affirme, we had no Religion before the Times of Luther and Caluine.
LONDON, Printed by A. M. and are to be Sold in Saint Dunſtons Churchyard. 1624.
To all ſeduced Papistes.
SVch is the groſſe ignorance of moſt Papiſts in theſe their times, that they neither know what they do, or ſhould beleeue: much like the aHoſt in P…o…. Bren. l. 3. p. 146 Pig. Hierat. li. … ca. 5. par. 38. lac. de graf. deciſ. p. li. 1. ca. 26. n. 34. Auton. p. 1. T. 5 ca. 2. apol▪ tran▪ by S…apel.Colliar, that told the deuil, he beleeued as the Romane Church did. Being asked againe what that faith was, anſwered, the ſame faith that hee beleeued in. Surely the bMath. 4. 6, 8, 29. acts 19, 15.deuils gaue better teſtimony of their faith and knowledge, and the cIam. 2. 19.Apoſtle witneſſeth it, and yet the dFides implicita eſt credere ſecundum qd eccleſia credit▪ vnde nō omnis chriſtianus tenetur, illos articul▪ fidei ſ…ir… explicite, ſed tantum clerici. Ia de graf. eccl. … 2. ca. 8. n. 16.Popiſh Prelates will hauehave their people learne no Creed but this, which is to beleeue they eFides per ignorant ā melins …efinitur, quam per no…itiam. Bel de luſtif. lib. 1. cap. 7.know not what.
No maru…ll then, that the Romiſh Impoſtors hauehave taken away the fLuke 11. 52key of knowledge; nay they iudge it a gMart. Pereſ. de trad. pa. 44.meere inuention of the Deuill, that lay men ſhould reade the Scripture; and they ſay that hThyr. de Dimoniac. cap. 2…ſome Ploughmen for reading of it, were iuſtly poſſeſſed of the Deuill, and therefore ignorance of the word is beſt. And as iConf. Petric. cap. 14. pa. 18.Hoſius ſaith, To know nothing, is to know all things, and inſtead of Bibles, they hauehave inuented Images and Crucifixes, (wherwith too many Dames (in theſe conniuing dayes) adorne their ſhameleſſe breaſts) and Maſſe bookes, commonly imprinted with a mixture of red letters to ſignifie the die of their Religion, but as for the Scripture, they are farre more dangerous, then the l Fran… ▪ Ouan. Mogol. breu. in 4. Sent. d. ….ribaldry of Terence, the villany of Machiauel, or the fabulous lies of their Legends, lFranc Ouan. Mogol. breu. in 4. Sent. d. 1….being the maine and principall cauſe of all hereſies, and the very beholding of them is enough to infect ſilly Catholickes; therefore mIndex l. proh. reg. …. L…nw. in conſ…t. prov. l. 5much leſſe may they read them: and if any be permitted to ſtudy the Scripture, it muſt bee ſuch a part thereof as hath bin hallowed with their Expurgatory gloſſe, & thoſe perſons muſt be ſuch, which the Confeſſor knowes to be ſtiffe and obſtinate Papiſts▪ vponupon whom that iudgement is already fallen, nEſay 7. ….They ſhall heare with their eares, but ſhall not vnderſtand: they ſhall ſee with their eyes, but not perceiue: And all this is not ſufficient, but they muſt hauehave the permiſſion of the Inquiſitor, & the pariſh Prieſt too: this is the oC…n. … re.Canon of the Conuenticle of Trent, commended by the pEccleſia opt. … quo…o. … quando & … Dom. mune…a impart end. ſine ergo nec ſimp… ter permit…t qd noceret indignis, nec …impliciter prohib…t qd dignis multu… prode…et in praei▪ tranſ.Rhemiſts, & ſeconded by qNegamus tamen ab ijs laic. requi…i ſtudium Script. imo ſalu briter d…cimus … a Script. lectione arceri, …u…ficere que iis v… ex pre cript. pa ſt…rū & Doct. Eccle. vitae cur. lum moderent. Ioh. Mol. …o…a. de pract▪ T…eol. …ract. …. c. 27 Bel l…. …. ca. 1…. Ho… c…n▪ prae fauonē Monhem. San. vi. Monar. l…. ….Molanus, Bellarmine, Hoſius, Sanders, and others.
And now you poore ſeduced ſoules, why do your holy Fathers conſtrain you to beleeue ye know not what? and reſtraine you from the knowledge of Scripture? (whence your faith if it be ſound▪ muſt be truly collected) and the ignorance wherof is the root of all rMath. 2…. 29.error, & the cauſe of vnbeliefe: is it not becauſe they would hauehave your ſoules to depend on their lips? (vnderunder whoſe tongue is the poyſon of aſps is it not becauſe they would carry their helliſh poſitions & practiſes as in a cloud out of your ſight? Is it not becauſe they know that the ſplendor of Gods word wil ſoone diſperſe that Egyptian darkneſſe they keepe you in? is it not becauſe like Sathan they would ſ2. Tim. …. 2….take you at their pleaſure?
But yet ſuch is the impudency of your falſe prophets, that notwithſtanding, they will tell you, that they teach nothing without the ſpeciall warrant of Scripture, and that all the Fathers were Papiſtes, and helde their opinions: both which are their owne fictions, and falſe. For the firſt, they will neither abide the triall of our faith by the Word of God, (which was the reaſon that tSee the Fisher caught in his ovvne net.Fiſher in his laſt Conference, neither could nor would deny, that the Proteſtants profeſſed the ſame faith which Chriſt and his Apoſtles taught) nor yet of their owne religon; and the reaſon is, becauſe it wholly depends vponupon the Traditions of the new Romiſh Church, which is confirmed by uCan. Greg. d. 40. in an. marg.Gregorie the thirteenth, where hee ſayth, Let men receiue with more reuerence, what the Pope teacheth, then the Scriptures. And xCanus loc. l. 3 cap. 3. pag. 131Canus confeſſeth, that moſt poynts of the Romane Faith, are not contained in the Scripture: And yAndrad. Orthod. expl. li. 2.Andradius ſpeakes plainly, that many poynts of their Faith muſt needes reele and totter, if they were not ſupported by the helpe of Tradition; and this is the cauſe your Maſſe-prieſtes will not endure, that the Reſolution of the now depending Controuerſies betweene vsus and them, ſhould be by the authoritie of the Scriptures, but runne from them to the Fathers, from them to the Church, fromthence to the Pope, from him to Councels, and from theſe to their owne Iudgements.
Now for the ſecond, If the Fathers were Papiſtes, as they ſay, why doe their chiefe Doctors condemne, and contemne them? zBellar. Purg. lib. 2. cap. 8.Bellarmine ſaith, That Saint Origen was burnt in Hell with Arrius, and Neſtorius; and that aBellar. Rom. pont. li. 4. ca. 8Tertullian was a Montaniſt. bAlphonſ. adv. Haereſ.Alphonſus, that he will beleeue Anacletus, better then Saint Ierome, or Saint Auguſtine. cTolet. Rom. 9. pag. 421.Tollet the Ieſuite ſayeth, That hee will beleeue neither Auguſtine, nor Ambroſe, nor Chryſostome, nor Theodoret, nor Photius: the like …ſteeme they hauehave of Cyprian, Gregorie, Beda, and the reſt, i… in any poynt they make againſt them, and their doctrine.
And no maruell, for the d…rro… A…tic. Paris. c. …. p. 1…0▪Doctors of Paris profeſſe boldly, that they will not beleeue either Gratian, or Aquinas, or Lumbard, or Anſe…me, or Hugo, becauſe they were erronious. eBell. d… grat. & lib. … lib. …. cap. 4.Bellarmine againe condemneth Scotus, Durand, Gabriel, Ariminenſis, Capreolus, and Marſi…ius in the poynt of Free will: and yet all theſe were Popiſh Writers, famous and moſt eminent in their times.
Nay, which is more worthy obſeruation, though they teach, that the Scriptures and Fathers muſt hauehave their authoritie from the Pope, and that wee fAlua Pe…ag. Planct. l. … art. 6ought to ſtand rather to his iudgement, then the iudgement of the whole world; gGreg. a Val tom 3. pa. 2…9.and that when Queſtions cannot be fitly decided by the Doctors, then it is free for him to interpoſe his Authoritie, hTu…r…cr. ſum. lib. 3, ca▪ 44. Bel. de concil. lib. 2, cap. 17.that he is aboue Church and Councels, iQuanto de tranſ…. Epiſc. in Gloſſa.and that hee may make that to bee the meaning of things, which indeed is not (as they affirme:) yet notwithſtanding they will not ſubmit themſelues in opinion and iudgement to the Pope: and therefore the Venetians boldly publiſhed Concluſions againſt Paulus Quintus, and his Supremacie; kCath. de cert. grat. aſ…ent. 13Catharinus holds it vnmeet, that wiſe men ſhould bind themſelues to the iudgement of the Pope, ſeeing hee is not alwayes aſſiſted by the Spirit of God. lAlm. in Veſp. pag. 133. poſt Moral. in 8Almaine ſaith, That it is not neceſſary to beleeue what the Pope determineth. mBel. de Rom. pont. l… 2. ca. 29. arg 3. Ca…et. de author Pap. & Cone cap. …7.Bellarmine and Caietan hold it lawfull to reſiſt him; nVict. relect. 4 de poteſt. Pap. & Conc.Franciſcus Victoria, that it were good a Councell would bridle him; and oBoz. de ſign. Eccleſ. …om 2. lib. 18, cap. 6.Bozius ſaith, he may be an Her…tike, and both teach and write Hereſies; and pDriedo de ſcript. & dog… Eccl. l. 1. ca vlt. Sigon. coment. in …ev. …ulp. Sixtus S…nenſ. Bib. lib. …. pag. 41.many learned Papiſtes hauehave written againſt his Decrees in Councels.
Theſe things being apparent and true (if we may beleeue your owne Writers, here only cited) what good acceptance can this Booke expect from you? although it doe truely ſet forth vntounto you the mind and iudgement of an holy and learned Father, diſagreeing from your opinions in ſixtie two ſeuerall poynts? If your Teachers will bee tryed neither by Scriptures, nor Fathers, nor Pope, Saint Auguſtine will hardly preuaile: yet becauſe they boa… to you, that all the Fathers were Papiſtes, and eſpecially Saint Auguſtine, ye ſhall doe well for your better ſatiſfaction, and the triall of their ſpirits, to read this inſuing Treatiſe, moſt faithfully and painfully collected from his writings, and for your eaſe digeſted into a few ſheetes of paper.
To conclude, ſearch the Scriptures, ſtudie the Fathers, and read the Antiquaries, and ſee if in them yee can finde Rabbies comparable to your Clerkes, or whether a…y Chriſtian or Pagan e…er taught or did as they, whether any of their Prieſtes like them, did ſeeke to ſtrangle the vitall ſpirits of humane ſocietie, teaching qHaereticis licitū eſt auferri, quae habent Dec…. … pud …at … 1….neighbours to rob one another of their goods, rS…m…ncha Ep…ſc. … Cathol. tit. 46. Tolet inſtruct. Sacerd.debtors not to pay what they hauehave promiſed, ſS…mancha quo ſupra.ſeruants to yeeld no ſubiection & fidelity to their maſters, t…dem quo ſupra.wiues no obedience to their husbands, uAlan. …ar….fathers no louelove to their children, x…am … …p…er … aer…i… p…tr…s, f…l. eſt …u…iuris. S…m… c. Alanus Par…us.children no honor to their parents, yl aer…i, nec fil…j, nec con…an… u…nei dicūtur ſed iuxta legē, ſit manus tua ſuper eos, … v… …un… as ſanguinem …pſcrū. ex D…cr. Greg. 9. cauſ. 23.and you Catholicks, …ot to preſerue, but to ſeeke the blood and life of your parents, brethren, kindred, and countreymen.
Did yee euer heare or read of any Churchmen, that hauehave imployed Poynadoes, Poyſon, or Saltpeter, as they hauehave done? or can you find, or they prooue, that euer any Proteſtant Biſhop, like Pope Sixtus the fourth, with his Legat, did murder two zVolateran ſaith, they vvere Princes of Medices.Princes in the Church at Maſſe? (much like to aLuke 13. 1.Pilate, that mingled the blood of the Galileans with their ſacrifice) did euer any of our Prieſtes, mixe poyſon with the powder of Adamant, in a Communion Cup, with the precious blood of Chriſt, to poyſon an Emperor, as bRom. concl.Bernard a Frier did, when therewith hee deſtroyed Henry the 7. at Bonconuent? Were there euer ſuch Artizans, and Engines of villany of our Religion, that with a poiſoned knife did ſtab a King, as Clement a Fryer did Henry the third of France? or with a ſpark of fire would hauehave blowne vp the whole body of a kingdome, as Garnet the Arch-prieſt with his fellowes attempted not long ſince? And yet theſe are your holy Fathers and Confeſſors, whom you follow and adore; take heed therefore what you learne of theſe, let them not alienate your ſoules from God, and your hearts from your countrey, and aſſure your ſelues, that ſo long as ye follow them, ye ſhall neither get ſound comfort, nor a good conſcience. cDeut. 32. 29Oh thar ye were wiſe, then would ye vnderſtand this, ye would conſider your latter end.