The Ancient Doctrine of the Church of England, Part 1 · Section 6
Concerning Prayer in an unknowne tongue. Spectacles, Sect. 6. a pag. 259. uſ que ad 283.
THe Knight falſly chargeth the Councell of Trent with approving prayer in the vulgar tongue: for though the Councell ſaith that the Maſſe containeth great inſtruction, yet it doth not ſay that it ought to bee in the vulgar tongue: nay contrarily it pronounceth an anathema againſt any whoſoever ſhall ſay that the Maſſe ought to bee celebrated in the vulgar tongue.
It hath beene the generall practiſe and cuſtome in the Church of God, of having the Maſſe, and the publike office in Latine, all over the Latine and Weſterne Church, both in Italie, Spaine, France, Germanie, England, Africa, and all other places, and ſo likewiſe in Greeke in the Graecian or Eaſterne Church, though it were as large in extent, and had as much varietie of languages in it as the Latine Church hath.
Vniformitie which is fit to be uſed in ſuch things and unitie of the Catholique Church is excellently declared, and alſo much maintained by this unitie of language in the Church office.
The uſe of vulgar tongues in the Maſſe or Church office would cauſe not only great confuſion, but breed an infinite number of errours by many ſeverall tranſlations.
The uſe of vulgar language in ſuch things would breed a great contempt of ſacred things, with prophaneneſſe and irreligioſitie, beſides the danger of hereſie, which commeth no way ſooner then by miſunderſtanding of holy Scripture.
The place of Scripture alledged by the Knight concerning announcing our Lords death, is not underſtood by words but by deeds, as is moſt plaine by the circumſtances.
The text of S. Paul where he asketh how hee that underſtandeth not the prayers ſhall ſay Amen, is not of the publike prayers of the Church which no man can doubt of, either for the truth or goodneſſe, and therefore he may confidently ſay Amen to them, but of private prayers made by private and Laye men extempore in an unknowne tongue.
Haymo requireth not that all that are preſent at Divine ſervice ſhould underſtand, but only that he that ſupplieth the place of the idiot or Laye-man in anſwering for the people, ſhould bee ſo farre able to underſtand, as to anſwer Amen at the end of every prayer.
Iuſtinian the Emperour is ordinarily taxed for taking too much upon him in Eccleſiaſticall matters: yet all that hee ſaith may bee well maintained without prejudice to the preſent practiſe of the Roman Church, for in the Decree alledged by the Knight, hee requireth nothing more, but that Biſhops and Prieſts ſhould pronounce diſtinctly and clearely that which according to the cuſtome of the Eaſterne Church was to bee ſpoken aloud.
The Canon law capite quoniam in pleriſ que requireth only that where divers Nations are mingled, that the Biſhop of the Citie ſhould ſubſtitute one in his roome to celebrate the divine Office, and adminiſter the Sacraments according to their ownerites and language: for indeed it is a matter of neceſsitie in adminiſtration of ſome Sacraments to uſe the vulgar language, as in Mariage and Penance, but not ſo of other things.
Lyra, Belithus, Gretzer, Harding, Caſſander, and the reſt of the Authours quoted by the Knight ſay indeed, that in the beginning, Prayers were in the vulgar tongue, but the reaſon was becauſe thoſe three holy languages, Hebrew, Greeke, and Latine dedicated on the croſſe of Chriſt, were then moſt vulgar, none of them ſpeake a word of any Precept.
There is no precept in the Scripture commanding prayers in a knowne tongue, or forbidding in an unknowne, whoſe authority or example can you bring for your ſelfe in this matter? name him if you can.
It was more needfull in the Primitive Church that the people ſhould underſtand, becauſe they were to anſwer the Prieſt, which now is not ſo as Bellarmine noteth, becauſe that belongs only to the Clarke.
That the Knight contradicteth himſelfe in one place, ſaying That the alteration of the Church ſervice was occaſioned by certaine Shepheards, who in the dayes of Honorius having learned the words of Conſecration by heart, pronounced them over their Bread and Wine in the fields, and thereby Tranſubſtantiated them into fleſh and bloud, and for this prophane abuſe were ſtrucken dead by the hand of God. In another place hee ſaith, that the alteration was brought in by Pope Vitalian about the year 666. which cannot well agree with his former obſervation, for Honorius the firſt was the ſixt Pope before Vitalian, by which computation the alteration muſt have beene foureſcore, or a hundred yeares before Vitalian.
The Hammer.
AMong the knowne errours of the Roman Church, there is none more groſſe or palpably abſurd, then this concerning Prayers in an unknowne tongue; For as Velleius the Epicure in Tully, goeth about to maintaine by reaſon that it had beene better a man had not beene indued with reaſon then with it: ſo in this argument our Adverſaries in good earneſt ſtrive cum ratione inſanire, to prove by reaſons, that it is beſt to exhibit to God an unreaſonable ſervice to ſpeake underſtandingly for ſpeech without underſtanding, and that in the publike worſhip of God: to perſwade civill men that in their prayers the Prieſt ought to bee a Barbarian to the people, and the people to the Prieſt; In a word, to enforce the people inſtead of offering the calves of their lippes to God, to offer to him the lippes of calves bellowing without underſtanding. The Knight therefore upon very juſt reaſon taketh the Church of Rome to taske for this unſufferable abuſe, and undeniable aberration from the Primitive, and catholique Church. Wherein he confoundeth all Papiſts not only with pregnant teſtimonies of Scripture, and ancient Fathers, but alſo with the confeſſion of the learnedeſt of their ſide. Yea, but Flood the Ieſuit maketh great brags that he will reckon with him for it; and reckon he doth according to his beſt skill in Arithmeticke, but to halves, for the Knight preſſeth the Romaniſts with the hiſtorie of the Councell of Trent, and the contradictions of their Biſhops there, and other paſſages of moment which the Ieſuit liſently paſſeth by, being willing to charge himſelfe with no more then he thought he was fairely able to put off. What he ſaith either by way of objection againſt the practiſe of the reformed Churches, or in anſwer to our arguments ſhall be particularly diſcuſſed in my replie to his particular heads.
To the firſt. The Knight ſaith not that the Councell of Trent approveth in expreſſe and direct words the practiſe of our Church,Concil. Trent. Seſſ. 22. c. 8. but that by conſequence it doth ſo in ſaying the Maſſe containeth great inſtruction for the common people, and commanding that the Maſſe Prieſt, or ſome other ſhould frequently expound or declare unto them the myſteries of the Maſſe: for if the Maſſe containe as the Councell ſaith great inſtruction for the people, and for that end ought to bee expounded unto them, by the ſame reaſon it ought to be tranſlated into the mother-tongue, and ſo read unto them; Unleſſe they will ſay that the people receive as much inſtruction form that they underſtand not, as from that they underſtand. Which none will ſay but he that were a degree below S. Pauls idiot. In 1. ad Cor. c. 14. melius ad edificationem eccleſiae eſt orationes publicas quae audiente populo dicuntur dici lingua communi clericis & populo quam dicilatinâ.. Contar. in catec. interrogat ult. populus linguâ non intellect â orans caret eo fructu quem perciperet, ſiorationes eas quas ore proferunt, etiam intelligerent nam & ſpeciatim intenderent animum, & mentem in deum, ut ab eo impetrarent etiam ſpeciatim ea quae ore petunt, & magis aedificarentur ex ſenſu pio earum oraftonum quas ore proferunt.Doubtleſs that which was written and appointed to bee read before the people for their inſtruction, and edification, ought to be delivered unto them in a language which they underſtand: but the Maſſe was written and appointed to beeread before the people for their edification and inſtruction (as the Councell agnizeth) therefore it ought to be celebrated in a knowne tongue. This reaſon alone prevailed ſo far with two Roman Cardinals, Cajetan and Contarenus, that they ſubſcribed to the doctrine of the reformed Church in this point. The former his ſubſcription is in theſe words, It were better for the edification of the Church, that the publique prayers which are made in the audience of the people ſhould bee ſaid in a tongue common to the Prieſt and people, then that they ſhould bee ſaid in Latine. The other in theſe words, The people that prayeth in an unknowne tongue wanteth that fruit which they might reape, if they underſtood thoſe things which they pronounce with their lips, for they would in a ſpeciall manner apply their mind to God, that they might obtaine of him thoſe things which they pray for eſpecially, and they would bee more edified by a godly feeling of thoſe prayers which they utter with their mouth.
To the ſecond. The generall practiſe and cuſtome of the Weſterne Church, having their publike ſervice in Latine, and of the Eaſterne Churches, having their ſervice in Greeke, maketh for us, not againſt us. For the Latine ſervice was generally underſtood in the Weſterne Church, and the Greeke in the Eaſterne; when and where it was not ſo generally underſtood they had their ſervice in their Mother-tongue, as namely among the Syrians, Armenians, Ruſſians, Egyptians, Aethiopians. While the Roman Empire flouriſhed, and the Imperiall lawes bare the ſway, as namely in It alie, Spaine, France, Germanie, England, Africa, and whereſoever the divine ſervice was celebrated in the Latine tongue, the people generally underſtood the Latine. If the Ieſuit ſpeake of later times after the inundation of Gothes and Vandals, when the Latine tongue was corrupted and degenerated into ſeverall languages, as Italian, Spaniſh, and French, in ſuch ſort, that the people in thoſe parts underdood not the Latine: God ſtirred up in theſe Weſterne parts many religious and learned men, who turned the Bible, and the common prayers into the vulgar tongue, and the Biſhops of Rome were very much to blame, who commanded not the like to be done throughout all their juriſdiction, and it is worth the obſervation that Irenaeus teacheth,L. 5. c. 30. that the number 666. containeth the name latinus, and that in that very yeare of our Lord Pope Vitalian commanded the Latine ſervice generally to be received in the Weſterne Church, though at that time in moſt parts few of the people underſtood it.
To the third. We are not ſo much to regard uniformitie in the Church. ſervice, as conformitie to the will and word of God, which requireth that all things in the Church bee done to edification, 1 Cor. 14.15, 16.26.that we pray with the ſpirit, and with underſtanding alſo, that the people joyne with the Prieſt in all parts, as well prayers as giving of thankes and teſtfie it by ſaying Amen, Which cannot be done if prayers be ſaid in a tongue which people underſtand not. Moreover, as diverſitie of inſtrumentstuned together marreth not the muſicke, but maketh it ſweeter: ſo diverſitie of languages, in which the ſame prayers are ſaid, breeds no deformitie at all, but uniformitie rather. Sith it is not the different ſound of words, but of ſenſe that makes a difference either in the beliefe or practice of the Church. There was never more unitie then in the Apoſtles time,Acts 2.46. when all the be leevers were of one mind yet then they praiſed God in divers languages,Acts 2.9. Parthians and Medes, and Elamites, and the dwellers in Meſopotamia, and in Indaea and Cappadocia, in Pontus and Aſia, Phrygia and Pamphylia, in Egypt and the parts of Lybia, about Cyrene and ſtrangers of Rome, Iewes and Proſelites, Creets and Arabians, wee doe heare them ſpeake in our tongues the wonderfull workes of God.
To the fourth, The diverſitie of tranſlations either of the Scriptures or the Church office breedeth no inconvenience at all, provided care betaken that the tranſlations bee reviſed by the learned, and licenced by authoritie: nay on the contrarie the Church reapeth much benefit by it for languages have beene therby improved, and the Scriptures much opened. For oftentimes that which is obſcure in the originall, is cleared in a good tranſlation. An unknowne tongue is like a vaile before a beautifull picture, or a filme before the eye, which by a good tranſlation is taken aaway. If it were either unlawfull or inconvenient to tranſlate the holy Scriptures, or choyce parts of them in the Church Liturgie into vulgar languages; why did Severus tranſlate them into the Syrian, S. Ierome into the Dalmatian, S. Chryſoſtome into the Armenian, Vlphila into the Gothian, Methodius into the Slavonian? Bede into the Britiſh, and the Divines of Doway and Rhemes of late into the Engliſh?Aeneas Sylbiſt. Bohem. c. 30. Nay, why did the Pope himſelfe ſigne and ſubſcribe unto the Petition of Cyrill, and Methodius Monkes ſent to convert the flaves, and Dalmatians who in behalfe of their Converts, deſired of his holineſſe, that he would give leave to ſay ſervice unto them in the Slavonian tongue, which the Pope conſented unto upon their much preſſing him with that text of holy Scripture,Pſ. 150. v. ult. Let every thing that hath breath praiſe the Lord, and let every tongue confeſſe unto him.
To the fift. If there were any force in the Ieſuits reaſon at all, it would prove that neither the Scriptures of the Old Teſtament ſhould have beene delivered to the Iewes in the Hebrew, nor the New Teſtament to the Greekes in the Greek. For Hebrew was then the vulgar tongue of the Iewes, and the Greeke to the Gentiles, yet wee find that neither the writing the Old Teſtament in the Hebrew, nor the New in the Greeke, which were then the vulgar languages to thoſe people, bred any contempt of ſacred things with prophaneſſe and irreligiouſneſſe, but the cleane contrarie effects. The uſe of Scripture in a vulgar tongue is not the cauſe why any diſeſteeme or undervalew it, but want of inſtruction in heavenly myſteries, and careleſſe and ſuperficiall reading without ſearching into the bottome of the ſpirituall meaning, where Orient Pearles lie. A counrerfeit ſtone if it bee often handled is diſcovered to be falſe, and thereby looſeth its valew, whereas a rich Diamond though it be worne every day on the finger, loſeth nothing of the price, or valew of it. If the publike uſe of Scriptures would have derogated any thing from the worth and valew of it, God would never have commanded the children of Iſrael to rehearſe the booke of the Law continually to their children, Deut. 6.7, 8, 9to talke of it when they tarried in their houſe, and when they walked in the way, when they lay downe, and when they roſe up, to bind the words of the law for a ſigne upon their hand, and as frontlets between their eyes to write them upon the poſts of the houſe, and upon the gates. Worldly wiſe men ſeeke to improve their knowledge by concealing it, or at leaſt impropriating it to ſome few: but God contrariwiſe valeweth his wiſdome by making it common. Earthly commodities the rarer the dearer, but heavenly Iewels the more common they are, the more pretious: of other liquour the leſſe wee taſt, the more we thirſt after it, but heavenly wiſedome thus ſpeaketh of her ſelfe, Hee that drinketh of me, the more he drinketh the more hee ſhall thirſt. As the comfortable beames of the Sun which ſhineth daily upon us are not leſſe valewed, then the raies of thoſe ſtarres that ſeldome appeare in our horizon: ſo the word of God which is the light of our underſtanding iſſuing from the Sunne of righteouſneſſe loſeth nothing of the reverend eſtimation, and religious reſpect due unto it by the frequent irradiation thereof at the preaching and reading of Scripture, nay it gaineth rather with all hearers in whom there is any ſparke of grace. As for danger of hereſie,Rain.l 1. de Idol. indeed Claudius Eſpenceus writeth, that a friend of his in Italie told him, that in that countrey they made ſhie of reading Scripture, for feare of being made heretiques thereby, but by heretiques hee meaneth ſuch as S. Paul was, who after the way which they call hereſie worſhip the God of their Fathers, Acts 24.14.beleeving all things which are written in the Law and the Prophets, for otherwiſe if hereſie bee taken in the proper ſence for erroneous doctrine in point of faith, it is as abſurd to ſay, that the ſtequent uſe of Scriptures is a cauſe or occaſion to bring men into hereſie, as that the often taking of a ſovereigne antidote againſt poyſon, is the ready meanes to poyſon a man.foreign. Chryſ. tom. 5. Matth. 22.29. S. Chryſoſtome in his Homilie de Lazaro exhorteth all his Chriſtian hearers to the frequent reading of Scriptures, as a ſpeciall meanes to preſerve them from errours and hereſies. For all errours in point of faith ariſe from the ignorance of Scriptures, as our Saviour teacheth the Saduces, ſaying, Yee erre, not knowing the Scriptures. Aſſuredly there is leſſe danger of falling into hereſie by reading Scriptures, then any other booke whatſoever, partly becauſe they alone are free from all poſſibilitie of errour, partly becauſe God promiſeth a bleſſing to thoſe that reade and meditate on them: yet our Adverſaries ſuffer all other bookes to bee tranſlated out of the learned Languages into the vulgar, only they forbid the tranſlation and publike uſe of the Scriptures, which containe in them moſt wholſome receipts, not only againſt all the maladies of the will, but of the underſtanding alſo: not onelyonly againſt all morallvices, but alſo all intellectuall errours in matters of faith which wee call hereſies.
To the ſixt. Had the Ieſuit but an ounce of diſcretion and common underſtanding hee would never tranſlate foreign to announce, which is no Engliſh word at all, neither is hee of ſufficient authoritie to coyne new words at Doway or Saint Omers, and make them currant in England. For the matter it ſelfe it is falſe which hee ſaith, that the Actions at the Lords Supper without the words ſhew forth, or as he ſpeaketh, announce the death of our Lord, for Bread is broken, and Wine poured out at common meales, yet our Lords death is not thereby declared: both muſt concurre, myſterious rites, and ſacred formes of words lively to preſent Chriſts death. The Knights argument therefore ſtandeth firme. The Sacraments ought ſo to bee celebrated, that by them the Lords death might bee ſhewed forth: but it cannot be ſhewed forth, unleſſe the Evangelicall ſtorie, and eſpecially the words of the Inſtitution be pronounced in a language that may be underſtood. For to ſpeake Latine to the people that underſtand it not, is ſurdo narrare fabulam, to tell a tale to a deafe man, or to ſet a beautifull picture before him that is blind, or in the Knights phraſe to ſpeake to a wall; at which notwithſtanding the Ieſuit ridiculouſly carpeth, ſaying, I never heard before, that it was all one to ſpeake Latine, and to ſpeake to a wall, were hee according to our Engliſh proverbe as wiſe as a wall, hee could not but underſtand what was the Knights meaning, to wit, that to ſpeake Latine prayers and exhortations, as Papiſts doe at their Maſſe to thoſe who underſtand them not, is no better then to ſpeake to ſo many walls, when the Apoſtle touching upon the ſame ſtring the Knight doth,1 Cor. 14.9. tearmeth the uttering words in an unknowne tongue, as ſpeaking into the ayre; This Ieſuit in the ſpirit of Lucian might in like manner have jeared at the Apoſtle, ſaying, I never heard that to ſpeake in an unknowne tongue, bee it Greeke, Latine, or Hebrew, is to ſpeake to the ayre. The meaning of both phraſes, to ſpeake to a wall, and to ſpeake into the ayre, is all one to loſe a mans breath to ſpeake idlely and unprofitably, or to no end and purpoſe, when no man is the better for it, as the Ieſuit afterwards confeſſeth, ſaying, The other reaſon from the Apoſtle is, that thoſe which heare a prayer in a ſtrange language, are nothing the better for it, nor can ſay Amen unto it. What then can the common people bee the better for hearing popiſh Mattens or even-ſong, which are chaunted in Latine, a language which they underſtand not?
To the ſeventh. Admit the Apoſtle in that place ſpake not of publike prayers, but rather of private extemporarie devotion: yet the reaſons he there uſeth againſt prayer in an unknowne tongue, are as forcible againſt publike as private ptayers. For if wee may not pray without underſtanding, or ſpeake into the ayre in our private devotions, much leſſe in our publike. But the truth is, the Apoſtle ſpeaketh evidently of publike prayers, and all the parts thereof; firſt of petitions v. 15. ſecondly, of giving of thanks v. 17. thirdly, of prophecying and interpreting of Scriptutes v. 4. fourthly, of ſinging Pſalmes v. 15. and all this when the whole Church bee come together in one place v. 23. Moreover, he ſpeaketh of prayers made in the Church, v. 19. of the edification of others, v. 12.26. and of bleſſings alſo wherein the people are to joyne with the Prieſt v. 16. and what can ſuch prayers, benedictions, hymnes, and thankeſ-givings bee other then parte of the publike Liturgie in the Church in thoſe dayes? Yea, but ſaith the Ieſuit, hee cannot ſpeake of the publike prayers of the Church which no man can doubt either for the truth or goodneſſe of them, and therefore hee may confidently ſay Amen to them, though they bee uttered in an unknowne tongue. I anſwer, that the Apoſtle here ſpeaketh not of confidently ſaying Amen, but underſtandingly ſaying it, which no man can doe, who is utterly ignorant of the tongue in which the Prieſt prayeth.Hoſ. de verb Dei. I beleeve what the Church beleeveth, the Church beleeveth what I beleeve. And howſoever none of the coliers implicite circnlar faith can make any doubt of the truth or goodneſſe of the prayers ſaid in the Maſſe: yet thoſe whoſe eyes are not put out with the Romiſh coale duſt, may very well doubt of them; firſt they may well doubt whether the Church of Rome which appointeth them may not erre as other Churches have done, eſpecially conſidering what the Apoſtle ſpeaketh expreſly of that Church,Rom. 11.22. Vid. Bull. praefix breviar. Rom. Melcbior loc. theol. l. 11. c. 5. nec enim animus eſt meri omnes historias quae paſſim in ecclcſiâ loctitantur. Claudius Eſpen. in 2. ad Tim. c. 4. digreſ. 2. noſtri quantum me pigeant falſa in eccleſia Dei cantica canentes quantae nugae canore mihi audibiles? in uno hymno praeter ineptitudinem ſententiarum mendacia ad minus 24. reperi. Petrus Pictau: ep. 31. conqueritur inepta ac falſa in laudem Sancti Mauri ſuper aquas currentis afficta. that if ſhee continued not in her goodneſſe, ſhee ſhould be cut off. Secondly, hee may doubt whether all thoſe corruptions and abuſes which the Fathers in the Councell of Trent complaine to have crept into their Maſſe are reformed. Thirdly, he may doubt whether the Prieſts booke may not bee ſome-where falſe printed. Laſtly, he may doubt whether the Prieſt alwayes reades true; ſurely that Prieſt who baptized a child, in nomine patria filia, & ſpiritua ſancta; and another who read in the Doxologie glia pni: flo: & ſpui ſco ſcutrat in primpo ſcla ſclorum, Amen, ſaid Maſſe by rote, and could not have skill of brachygraphy, nor well ſpell Latine, and can no man then doubt of the truth and goodneſſe of any of the prayers that are ſaid by your Maſſe-prieſts?
To the eighth. The ſhaft which the Knight draweth out of Haymo his quiver, flieth home. For firſt he expreſly teacheth that S. Paul ſpeaketh of publike prayers,1 Cor. 14. and among other reaſons uſed by the Apoſtle againſt the conceiving of prayers in an unknowne tongue, hee inſiſteth upon that v. 16. when thou ſhalt bleſſe with the ſpirit, how ſhall hee that occupieth the Roome of the unlearned ſay Amen at the giving of thankes, ſeeing he underſtandeth not what thou ſayeſt? adding if one knoweth that onelyonly tongue wherein hee was borne and bred; if ſuch an one ſtand by thee whileſt thou doſt ſolemnly celebrate the myſterie of the Maſſe, or make a Sermon, or give a bleſsing, how ſhall hee ſay Amen at thy bleſsing, when hee knoweth not what thou ſayeſt? for aſmuch as hee understanding none but his mothers tengue, hee cannot tell what thou ſpeakeſt in that ſtrange and barbarous tongue. Hereunto the Ieſuit anſwereth, that if wee take Haymo altogether, wee ſhall find hee doth not require, that all that are by, ſhall underſtand, but that hee that ſupplieth the place of the idiot, or laye-man in anſwering for the people ſhall underſtand. An anſwer befitting an idiot indeed, for doth not S. Paul, 1 Cor. 14.16.and after him Haymo ſpeake indefinitly of any that occupie the place of the unlearned, or ſtandeth by at Service or Sermon in an unknowne tongue? or is it leſſe abſurd for any other man to be preſent at a prayer which he underſtandeth not, then for a Pariſh-Clarke whom alone hee will have here to be underſtood. Who is very much beholding to him for beſtowing the name of idiot upon him, and truly ſuch a Clarke as the Ieſuit here defineth, may very well take the idiot in the worſt ſence to himſelfe. For he requireth no more in a Clarke then that hee underſtand the Service ſo farre, P. 265.as to bee able to anſwer Amen. But it ſeemeth the Ieſuit tooke his holy orders per ſaltum, and skipt over the Clarke. For if hee had well conſidered what belongs to the Clarkes office, he ſhould find that he hath more in his part then to ſay only Amen; for in all ancient and later Liturgies that I have ſeene, many ſhort ſentences or reſponds are to be ſaid by him, as namely Chriſte eleeſon & cumſpiritn tuo, & habemus ad Dominum, and the like, neither can hee ſay Amen to any prayer in the Apoſtles ſence, unleſſe hee perfectly underſtand it: for to ſay Amen, is not only to utter the word which a Parret or Popenjay may doe, but to joyne in prayer with the Prieſt, and to give his aſſent to every clauſe.
To the ninth. The Ieſuits anſwer to Iuſtinian is lame on both feet. For whereas hee taxeth him for taking too much upon him, it will appeare to any who peruſeth the Code & Digeſts, that hee taketh no more upon him then God commendeth to Princes, to wit, the cuſtodie of both tables: he did no more then S. Auſtine affirmeth appertaineth to Chriſtian Kings, to command thoſe things that are juſt and honeſt not only in civill affaires, but alſo in matters of religion; for what he did, hee had many excellent preſidents before him in David, Salomon, Hezekiah, and Ioſiah, Kings of Iudah; and Conſtantine and Theodoſius, and other Chriſtian Emperours, as is declared at large by B. Bilſon in his defence of the oath of ſupremacre, and Doctor Crakenthorpe in his moſt learned Apologie of this Emperour. Next what hee ſaith that the Decree of this religious Emperour may well ſtand with the preſent practiſe of the Roman Church is moſt falſe.Novel. conſtit. 123. For the words of the Emperour are generall, commanding all Biſhops and Prieſts to celebrate the ſacred oblation of the Lords Supper, and prayer uſed in Baptiſme, not in ſecret, but with a lowd and cleare voyce, that the mindes of the hearers might bee ſtirred up with more devotion, to expreſſe the prayſes of God. Now I would faine know to what end all Biſhops and Prieſts are commanded to pronounce their words clearely and diſtinctly, both at the adminiſtration of Baptiſme, and the Lords Supper; but that their hearers might undetſtand what they ſay, and bee affected with thoſe things they heare; which cannot beif the Prieſt ſpeak to them in an unknown tong? For how can the lowd pronouncing of words in a ſtrange language ſtirre up the devotion of the people to praiſe God for his benefits, which the Emperour here requireth under a great penaltie, ſaying? Let the Biſhops and Prieſts know that if they neglect to doe according to our princely command, they ſhall yeeld an account in the dreadfull judgement of the great God for it, and wee having information of them will not leave them unpuniſhed.
To the tenth. After the Imperiall Decree the Knight alledgeth a text out of the Canon law, not to ſhew his skill in both lawes, as the Ieſuit would have it, but to demonſtrate that the practiſe of the Roman Church in this point of prayer in an unknowne tongue, is againſt all law both Eccleſiaſticall and civill,Tit. 3. de Offic. and that the walls of the Romiſh Babell are battered by her owne canons; for though the Decree of Pope Gregorie were made upon a ſpeciall occaſion: yet it is grounded upon this generall rule, that Service and Sacraments muſt bee ſaid and adminiſtred to the people in a language they underſtand, which the Ieſuit himſelfe confeſſeth in part, ſaying, that it is a matter of neceſsitie in the adminiſtration of ſome Sacraments to uſe the vulgar tongue, as in Mariage and Penance; as for the Councell of Lateran, and the Pope in his Decree, they ſpeake indefinitely of holy Service and Sacraments, and the Logitians rule is that indefinite propoſitions in materia neceſſaria are to be taken for univerſals, and by the ſame reaſon, which the Ieſuit alledgeth for Penance and Mariage to be celebrated in a knowne tongue wee may conclude, that Baptiſme alſo, and the Lords Supper ought to bee ſo celebrated. For in both, queſtions are put to the people, to the god fathers in the one, and communicants in the other, and anſwers are expected from them.
To the eleventh. The Ieſuit is like them taxed by the Apoſtle who knew not what they ſpake, nor whereof they affirme. Our queſtion is not, whether divine Service ought alwayes to bee ſaid in the mother tongue, for wee our ſelves doe other wayes in divers Colledges: but the point in controverſie is, whether the ſervice ought alwayes to beſaid in a tongue underſtood by thoſe that are preſent: this all the Authours alledged by the Knight affirme, and therefore they make for us, and aſſuredly if for ſeven or 800 yeares the publike prayers of the Church were offered to God in a language underſtood by the people, as is confeſſed: queſtionleſſe in many places the prayers were turned into vulgar languages. For it cannot be imagined that all the people in the Chriſtian world before Pope Vitalians time underſtood Hebrew,Lyra in 1 Cor. 14. in primitiva eccleſia bene dictiones, & coetera fiebant in linguâ vulgari. Gretz. def. Bel. l. 2. de verb. Dei linguâ auditoribus non ignotâ omnia peragebantur, & conſuetudo tunc ferebat ut omnes pſallerent. Harding. apud Iewel. ia 3. art. diviſ. 28 Verely in the primitive Church prayers were made in a common tongue knowne to the people. Liturg. canonicam precem, & in primis dominici corporis, & ſanguinis conſecrationem ita veteres legebant, ut à populo intelligi, & Amen ucclamari poſſint. Ioban. Belit. in ſum. de divin. offic. in primitiva ecclcſia prohibitum erat ne quis lo queretur ling u is niſi eſſet qui inter pretaretur quid enim prodeſſet, &c. Wald. in doct. art. eccieſ. tit. 4. c. 31. fuit ergo ratio talis benediction is in eccleſiâ tempore Apoſtoli cui reſpondere ſolebat non tantùm clerus ſed omnis populus. Aquin as lect. 4. ideò erat inſania in primitivâ eccleſiâ quia erant rudes in ritu eccleſiaſtico. Greeke, or Latine, neither is it a point much materiall, whether the Authours alledged by the Knight ſpeake of any Precept of praying in a knowne tongue or not, it is ſufficient, that they confeſſe that it was the generall practice of the Primitive Church, to performe their devotions in the vulgar tongue. For certainly what they generally practiſed in their divine Service, they thought to be fitteſt and moſt agreeable to Gods commandement. If wee had nothing but their practiſe for us, it alone would prove the viſibilitie of our Church in this maine point, wherein wee ſtand at a bay with the Roman Church; but the truth is, though the Ieſuit would bee loath to heare it, his owne witneſſes Caſſander, Belithus, Waldenſis, and Aquinas ſpeake home to the point even of a Precept; the words of Caſſander are, the Canonicall prayers, and eſpecially the words of Conſecration of the body and blood of our Lord; the Ancients did ſo read that all the people might underſtand it and ſay Amen according to the precept intimated by the Apoſtle, 1 Cor. 14. 16. The words of Belithus are, that in the Primitive Church it was forbidden that any ſhould ſpeake with tongues, unleſſe there were ſome to interpret; for what ſaith hee, ſhould ſpeaking availe without underſtanding? Waldenſis ſaith more then that, in the Apoſtles time, the giving of thankes was in a knowne tongue, he confirmeth the practiſe with a reaſon, ſaying, There was reaſon it ſhould bee ſo, becauſe in thoſe times not only the Prieſts, but the people alſo were wont to anſwer Amen. Aquinas goeth a ſtep farther, that it was madneſſe in the Primitive Church for a man to have prayed in an unknowne tongue, becauſe then the people were rude and ignorant in Eccleſiaſticall rites. Now if the Ieſuit thinke that it was not prohibited in the Apoſtles time, to doe any madde act in time of divine Service, he himſelfe is bound for the Anticyrae. Now for that the Ieſuit addeth for the imbelliſhing of his former anſwer, that none of the vulgar languages but the three learned, to wit, the Hebrew, Greeke, and Latine, were Dedicated on the croſſe of Chriſt, and conſequently that they being the beſt and perfecteſt of all languages were fitteſt for divine Service to be ſaid in them: it is more plauſible then ſubſtantiall. For though I grant that every devout ſoule ſo affecteth the perſon of our Lord and Saviour, that ſhee loveth the very ground hee trod upon, and honoureth thoſe languages above all other in which his titles were proclaimed, for the greater advancement of his kingdome: yet the reaſon holdeth not in our preſent caſe. For though a golden key bee ſimply better then a key of iron, yet a key of iron which will open to us a casket of moſt pretious Iewells, is better for that uſe then a key of gold which will not open the lock. Admit the originall languages of Greeke and Hebrew are ſimply perfecter, and better then any other which are derivatives from them, yet the Mother-tongue, or vulgar language, is better and fitter for the congregation in time of divine Service, becauſe it anſwereth the wards of their underſtanding, and openeth to their capacity the Divine myſteries then celebrated, which the learned languages cannot doe. As for Pilats writing over the Croſſe, it is certaine he had no end therein to honour the three Languages, with this title: but to diſhonour our Saviour thereby, and put a ſcorne upon him; and therefore that inſcription in the three languages was rather a pollution then a Dedication of thoſe tongues. If Pilats action herein bee of any force it maketh rather againſt then for our Adverſaries. For Pilat therefore commanded the title to be written in thoſe three languages, that it might be underſtood of all, or the greater part of thoſe that then were at Ieruſalem. By which reaſon people of divers languages ought to have their myſteries (for ſo the Ieſuit calleth this title) celebrated in their owne ſeverall langurges.Praef. in pſal. his maximè tribus linguis ſacramentum voluntatis Dei, & beati regni expectatio praedicatur ex eo que illud Pilati fuit, ut in his tribus linguis regem Iudaeorum Dominum noſtrum Ieſum Chriſtum eſſe praeſcriberet. S. Hilarie who is alledged by Baylie the Ieſuit for the conſecration of theſe tongues, neither ſaith that theſe tongues were conſecrated by that inſcription, not that Chriſts kingdome is to be proclaimed in them only. His words are in theſe three languages, eſpecially the myſterie of Gods will, and the expectation of his bleſſed kingdome is preached; and hence it was that Pilat wrote our Lord Ieſus Chriſt King of the Iewes in thoſe three tongues. This teſtimonie cutteth the throate of our Adverſaries, for the adverbe maximè or chiefly implieth that the myſteries of Chriſts kingdome were to be preached in other tongues, though in theſe eſpecially, becauſe theſe were then, and are ſome of them at this day moſt generally knowne and underſtood.Inc. 15 Marc. Deus voluit ut cauſa mortis Chriſti varijs linguis ſcriberetur quo ab omnibus intelligeretur. Et Hieron. ib. hae tres linguae in crucis titulo conjunctae ut omnis lingua commemoraret perfidiam Iudaeorum. Baron. tom. 10 Anno Chriſ. 880. ep. 147. liter as Slavonicas, à Conſtantino philoſopho repertas quibus Deo laudes debitas reſonent jure laudamus, & ut in cadem lingua Chriſti Dei noſtri praeconia, & opera enarrentur, jubemus: neque enim trilus tantùm linguis, ſed omnibus Dominum laudare authoritate ſacrâ monemur, quae praecepit dicens, laudate Dominum omnes gentes: nec ſanè fidei vel doctrinae allquid obſtat five miſſas in eadem Slavonica lingua canere, ſive ſacrum evangelium, vel lectiones divinas N. & V. Teſtamenti benè tranſlatas, & interpretatas legere, out alia horarum officia pſallere quoniam qui fecit tres linguas principales Hebraeam ſcilicet Graecaem, & Latinam, ipſe creavit & alias omnes ad laudem & gloriam ſuam. Lyra and S. Ierome harpe upon this ſtring, God would have ſaith Lyra, that the cauſe of Chriſts death ſhould bee written in divers tongues that every tongue might declare the trecherie of the Iewes, and which marreth all the Ieſuits muſick, the Popes Diapaſon ſoundeth out the ſame note, for ſo wee reade in Bope Iohns Epiſtle to the King of Moravia, we commend the Slavonian letters found out by Conſtantine the Philoſopher, whereby thoſe of that countrey ſet forth the due prayſes of God, and we command that the preaching and workes of Chriſt our God bee declared in them, for we are admoniſhed by the Divine authoritie which commandeth, ſaying, Prayſe the Lord all yee Gentiles, to prayſe the Lord not in three tongues only, but in all, for hee who made the three principall languages, Hebrew, Greeke and Latine; hee created alſo all other for his glorie.
To the twelfth. To this inſolent interrogation of the Ieſuit wee anſwer, that in generall, prayer in an unknowne tongue is commanded in all thoſe texts of Scripture, which require us to come neere unto God, and pray unto him with our heart. For by the heart the underſtanding as well as the will and affections are meants, as appeareth by that prayer of Solomon, Da mihi cor intelligens? in particular and expreſſe words it is commanded in the 1 Cor. 14. chapter through the whole, out of which wee thus argue, if it be better in the Church to ſpeake five words with underſtanding, that by our voyce wee may teach others, then a thouſand words in an unknowne tongue: then certainly the publike Service of the Church ought to be in a knowne tongue; but it is better in the Church to ſpeake five words with underſtanding to inſtruct others thereby, then a thouſand words in an unknowne tongue, v. 19. Therefore the publike Service of the Church ought to bee in a knowne tongue. If all things ought to be done in the Church to edification, then ought the publike Service to bee in a knowne tongue; (for hee that ſpeaketh in an unknowne tongue edifieth not, v. 5.) but in the Church all things ought to bee done to edification, v. 26. Ergo, the publike Service ought to bee in a knowne tongue: If in the prayers of the Church the people are to joyne with the Prieſt, and teſtifie their conſent with him by ſaying Amen to his prayers, and giving of thankes: then ought the publike Service to be in a knowne tongue: But in the prayers of the Church, the people ought to joyne with the Prieſt, and teſtifie their conſent by ſaying Amen to his prayers, and giving of thankes. Ergo, the publike Service ought to bee in a knowne tongue. If in the Church prayers wee ought to pray and ſing with underſtanding, then ought Church ſervice to bee in a knowne tongue (for if wee pray in an unknowne tongue our ſpirit prayeth, but our underſtanding is unfruitfull, v. 14.) But in the prayers of the Church wee ought to pray and ſing with underſtanding, v. 15. Ergo, the publike Service ought to bee in a knowne tongue. Neither can the Ieſuit ſhift off theſe paſſages with a wiſh, ſaying that S. Paul indeed adviſeth and wiſheth, that when any prayer is made in an unknowne tongue, there ſhould bee ſome to interpret, but that hee requireth no ſuch thing to bee obſerved as a divine precept: for v. 37. hee addeth, if any man thinke himſelfe a prophet or ſpirituall, let him know that the things which I write unto you, are the commandements of God. To conclude, when S. Iames commandeth, that whoſoever prayeth, Iames 1.6.aske in faith, nothing doubting but that hee ſhall receive what he asketh, hee neceſſarily implieth, that wee ought to pray to God in a knowne tongue. For how can hee beleeve that hee ſhall receive what he prayeth for, if he knoweth not what himſelfe ſaith in his prayers, or what an other prayeth for him, to whoſe prayers hee ſaith Amen. To the Ieſuits ſecond quaere, where prayer in an unknowne knowne tongue is forbidden. I anſwer, Eſay 29.13. and Marke the 7.10. Well Eſay propheſied of you hypocrites, this people honoureth mee with their lips, but their heart is farre from mee: and 1 Cor. 14. where the Apoſtle profeſſedly diſputeth againſt ſpeaking in the Church in an unknowne tongue. But the Ieſuit excepteth, that S. Paul in that chapter condemneth not ſimply prayers in an unknowne tongue, though hee preferreth prophecie. By which his ignorant exception, it ſhould ſeeme that hee read that chapter in an unknowne tongue; for hee ſpeaketh ſo wide from the matter as if hee underſtood never a word in it. It is true that the Apoſtle in that chapter comparing the gift of tongues, and prophecie together condemneth neither of them, but preferreth the gift of prophecie; and in proſecution of the compariſon falleth upon thoſe who uſed the gift of tongues in publike prayers in the Church, and hee expreſly condemneth that practiſe of them, becauſe they that prayed in ſuch ſort uttering words that were not underſtood, ſpake not to men, becauſe no man underſtood them, v. 2. ſpake into the ayre, v. 5. edified. not by thoſe prayers, v. 12.17. becauſe others could not joyne with them in their prayers, nor ſay Amen to their thankes, v. 15. Now if the Apoſtle reproved the uſe of the miraculous gift of tongues (which redounded ſo much to the honour of God) in the Church, without an interpreter, v. 28. ſaying, if there bee no interpreter, let them keepe ſilence in the Church; How much more may wee conceive would he have ſorbidden the uſe of an unknowne tongue acquired by humane induſtrie? To his third quaere, what authoritie we can bring for our ſelves, or example? I anſwer, that the Knight hath brought the authoritie, and example of the catholique Chriſtian Church for 700. yeares at the leaſt, and becauſe he calleth upō us to name any Father, who teacheth as we do, that the ſervice of the Church ought to bee in a knowne tongue,Expoſit. in pſal. 18. vult ut quod conamus intelligamus ac humana ratione non quaſi avium voce canamus nam, & pſittaci, & corvi, & picae, & hujuſmodi volucres ſaepè abhominibus docentur ſonate quod neſciunt ſciunter autem cantare naturae hominis divina bonitate conceſſum eſt. I name S. Chryſoſtome, who in his Commentarie upon the 14. chapter of the firſt to the Corinthians ſaith that the Apoſtle teacheth, that we ought to ſpeak with our tongues, and withall to minde what is ſpoken, that wee may underſtand it; and S. Auſtine willeth, that wee underſtand what wee ſing like men indued with reaſon, and not chatter like birds, for ouſels, parrats, crowes, pies, and ſuch other birds, are often taught by men to ſound out that which they know not, but to know what they ſing, or ſing with knowledge and underſtanding, is by Gods will peculiarly given unto man. I name alſo Iuſtine Martyre, and S. Baſil, and many other ancient Doctours, whoſe teſtimonies are plentifully alledged by Biſhop Iewell, Article the third, and Bilſon of Supremacie, part the fourth, and not yet anſwered by any Papiſt to my knowledge.
To the thirteenth. The obſervation of Cardinall Bellarmine concerning the different cuſtome of the ancient Church, and the preſent Roman, maketh rather againſt the Ieſuits then for them. For who will not attribute more to the uniforme practiſe of the primitive Church, then to the heteroclyte practiſe of later Churches? aſſuredly the practiſe of the primitive Church wherein the people anſwered the Prieſts, and not the Clarke only, is moſt agreeable to the doctrine of S. Paul, and conſonant to reaſon. For publike prayers were inſtituted eſpecially for three ends, firſt, for the moſt ſolemne worſhip of God, when thouſands of hands are at once lifted up to him, and as many tongues confeſſe his name: ſecondly, for the ſtirring up of greater devotion, when many hundreds praying and bleſſing, and ſinging together, like ſo many coales on the ſame hearth kindle one the other, and increaſe the flame. Thirdly, for more prevalencie with God, when we offer violence, as it were to heaven, and ſend up our united devotions like a vollie of ſhotte to batter the walls of it; They who pray in a tongue which the people underſtand not, and therefore cannot joyne with them in their prayer, faile of all theſe ends. Yet to ſodder all, the Ieſuit beareth us in hand, that the Maſſe being the ſame continually, the people underſtand it ſufficiently for the exerciſe of their devotion, though not to ſatisfie vaine curioſitie; which ſpeech of his is partly ſenceleſſe, and partly blaſphemous: it is ſenceleſſe to imagine that a man who never learned his Grammar, nor ever was taught Greek or Latine, by hearing onelyonly the Maſſe read over, though a thouſand times ſhould come to underſtand it; ſecondly, it is blaſphemous to ſay that to deſire to underſtand the particular contents of the Epiſtles and Goſpels read in the Maſſe, or the pſalmes of David, ſung in the Church is vaine curiofitie, or hereticall pride. Loe here Flood his channell falleth againe into the Stygian lake.
To the fourteenth. There is no contradiction at all in the Knights obſervations. For though this ſtory of the ſhepheards abuſing the words of Conſecration, and ſtrucke dead for it, might peradventure occaſion ſome alteration in thoſe Churches, where it was beleeved, yet there was no generall command for the practiſe of the Latine Service, in all Chriſtian Churches before Vitalians time; who in the yeare 666. verified the number of the name of the beaſt in himſelfe, which according to the interpretation of S. Irenaeus, who flouriſhed within two hundred yeares after Chriſt, is lateinos, as before I noted. But for mine owne part I have no faith at all in that legendarie fable of the Sheepheards; Firſt becauſe thoſe that coyned it, agree not in their tale, for ſome ſay, that the Bread and Wine were tranſubſtantiated into fleſh and bloud, and the ſheepeheards for their prophane abuſe ſtrucke dead: others tell it otherwiſe,Caſſand. liturg. c. 28. Honorius in Gem. animae, Bellar. l. 2. de Miſ. c. 22. that neither the Bread nor the Wine were tranſubſtantiated, but conſumed by fire from heaven, nor the ſheepheards ſtrucken dead, but onelyonly laid for dead. As for the Authour of the booke called Pratum ſpirituale, hee is of no credit at all. For in his Spirituall meadow, as hee tearmeth his worke, there are many ſuch Eutopian flowers, as this is, where I leave the Ieſuit to gather him a noſegay, till I have leiſure to meete with him in the next Section.