Anti-Socinianism, Part 14
Franciſcus Stancarus Mantuanus.
Mantua te genuit, ſed tu, Stancare, venenum
Ex Orco petitum, Spargis ubi que tuum.
WE had to do even now with a downright mad-man, and if we look well about us, we would think every head frantick with a ſtrange opinion, and t…at ſome wild-fancy doth poſſeſſe all we meet with; For behold here is another this Frano ſcus Stancarus a Mantuan cannot be quiet, if the Churches of God newly ſetled in Polonia enjoy any peace and tranqu…llity, but muſt needs buſy himſelf to ſupplant them, i. poſſible, even in the…r firſt planting, by an upſtart opinion of his own, namely, that Chriſt was our Mediatour only in, or according to his humane nature, and not (as the reformed Churches do hold and profeſſe) according …o both, his humane and Divine, hypoſtatically united in one perſon; Which he urged upon this ground, but God knows 'tis but ſand, that if Chriſt were a Mediatour according to his Divine nature, then he ſhould be leſſe then the Father, which ſeemed to him to be meer Arianiſme, and therefore he durſt not hold otherwiſe; Thus poor man, being ignorant of the truth, he drove out one Devil by or with another, the Devil of Arianiſme, with the Devil of Socinianiſme, and the latter may prove the worſer: This opinion Blandrata liked well, and did both defend it, and confirm it; But reverend Calvin took great pa…ns to ſtifle it, if it could have bin, as very obnoxious to the truth, by ſending over a timely admonition to the Churches, wherein alſo he adviſed them, as well how they might prevent, and turn off the cavillations of Stancarus, as alſo how they ſhould avoid another errour into which they might run themſelves, namely, to imagine a three-fold eſſence in God, by being diſtinguiſhed into three perſons; which was taken kindly by the Churches, and for a time did ſome good among them. But the folly of Stancarus reſted not here, but beſides this corrupt opinion of his, he laboured to confound the Doctrine of the Trinity, imagining or framing out to himſelf, which he would preſſe upon the belief of others, that there is one God in a confuſed Trinity, among whom the man Chriſt performeth the office of a Mediatour. He traduced all perſons and Churches, which were not of his judgment, as Arian, as appears by the letters of the Miniſters of Polonia, written from the Pincovian Synode to the Divines at Straſburge, to which they added an Orthodox confeſſion of the faith, fully cleering the Doctrine of the Trinity, and the Deity of Christ againſt the Arians, as they were then called, ſubſcribed among others by Georgius Paulus, ſuperintendent of the Churches in the Dioceſſe of Cracovia, and Francis Liſmanninus, whom this very hereſy, not long after, diverted from the truth. Stancarus did many times offer a diſputation before the Synode, and was very importunate to have the grant thereof, refuſing none, that would undertake to oppoſe him; ſuch was his delight in, and confidence of his own abilities: But the Synode, wiſely refuſed it, not thinking it fit to call in queſtion by publick diſputation, the common received faith of the Church, to pleaſe the fancy, or ſatisfie the humour of one turbulent and arrogant perſon. I would al men, that profeſſe the truth, would take the ſame courſe, and we ſhould quickly ſee errour and hereſy dye of the ſullen; becauſe none will trouble themſelves to meddle with, or take notice of them, that make it their buſineſs to broach the ſame. This Synode took rather another courſe with him, cenſured him for an heretick, condemned his books, and committed them to the fire, there to be conſumed as they juſtly deſerved. He wrote ſomething, but very vainly, as our Socinians uſe to do, of the Doctrine of Juſtification; That you may ſee what an arrogant Spirit he had, and how highly he thought of himſelf, as all hereticks do, hear the proud vaunt he makes in his wonted manner. One Doctor, ſaith he, brought up in my ſchool, is of more account or worth, then an hundred Luthers, then two hundred Melanchtons, three hundred Bullingers, four hundred Peter Martyrs, and five hundred Calvins; all which, quoth he, if any one would take the pains to beat in a mortar, there could ſcarce begotten one ounce of Divinity from them all. But that ſtone which ſlander caſts at another, ever in the end lights on herſelf; and wounds herſelf inſteed of another.
So Stancarus, overvaluing himſelf, and his Diſciples, was juſtly undervalued by the Profeſſors of the Truth, and lived and dyed without that reputation which he expected; yea went out like the ſnuffe of a Candle, leaving an horrible ſtench behend him.