sciences quieted. For these, lo! be the orient colours and precious savours of Christian religion: these things doth GoD look upon, and accepteth them thankfully: these must come in place to be honoured, and must put quite away the institutions of CHRIST, and of his Apostles. And like as in times past, when king Jeroboam had taken from the people the right serving of GoD, and had brought them to worship the golden calves; lest perchance they might afterward change their mind, and slip away, getting them again to Jerusalem, to the temple of GOD, there he exhorted them with a long tale, to be steadfast, saying thus unto them: "Behold thy gods, O Israel;" in this sort commanded your God you should worship him: for it should be wearisome and troublous for you to take upon you a journey so far off, and yearly to go up to Jerusalem, there to serve and honour your GOD.-Even after the very same sort, when these men had once "made the law of God of none effect through their own traditions," fearing that the 'people should afterward open their eyes, and fall another way, and should somewhence else seek a surer mean of their salvation; how often have they cried out, This is the same worshipping which pleaseth GoD, and which he straitly requireth of us, and wherewith he will be turned from his wrath ;-that by these things is conserved the unity of the Church ;-that by these all sins be cleansed, and consciences quieted;-and that whoso departeth from these, hath left unto himself no hope of everlasting salvation! For it were wearisome and troublous, say they, for the people to resort to CHRIST, to the Apostles, and to the ancient fathers, and to observe continually what their will and commandment should be. This, ye may say, is to withdraw the people from the weak elements of the world, from the leaven of the Scribes and Pharisees, and from the traditions of men.

["AUGUSTIN STEUCHUS, one of your special and worthy doctors, saith: Aquas sale,' &c. 'We hallow water with salt and prayers, that by the sprinkling thereof our sins may be forgiven.' (In Lib. Num. c. 19.) Read your own Pontifical, and ye shall find in the hallowing of your water, your ashes, your palms, your candles, &c. this clause evermore in the end: 'Ut sint nobis ad salutem animæ et corporis.' 'That they may be to us to the salvation of body and soul." Defence, p. 491.] 1 Kings xii. 28. • Gal. iv. 3, 9. f Matth. xvi. 6.

It were reason, no doubt, that CHRIST's commandments, and the Apostles', were removed, that these their hests [injunctions] and devices may come in place! O just cause, I promise you, why that ancient and so long allowed doctrine should be now abolished, and a new form of religion be brought into the Church of God!

CHAPTER X.

The Charge of Innovation.

Sect. 1. And yet, whatsoever it be, these men cry still, that nothing ought to be changed: that men's minds are well satisfied herewithal: that the Church of Rome, the Church which cannot err, hath decreed these things. For SYLVESTER PRIERIAS saith that the Romish Church is "the square and rule of truth ;" and that the holy Scripture hath received from thence authority and credit. "The doctrine," saith he, "of the Roman Church, is the infallible rule of faith, from which the holy Scripture taketh her force. And indulgences and pardons," saith he, "are not made known to us by the authority of the Scriptures; but they are made known to us by the authority of the Roman Church, and of the bishops of Rome, which is greater than the Scriptures." PIGHIUS also letteth not to say, that without the license of the Roman Church, we ought not to believe the very plain Scriptures. Much

[See Note on page 26, and Note P on page 119.

"In his book entitled Contra presumptuosas Martini Lutheri Conclusiones de Potestate Papa, the words of PRIERIAS, amongst others, be these; 'Quicunque non innititur doctrinæ Romanæ Ecclesiæ, ac Romani Pontificis, tanquam regula DEI infallibili, a qua etiam sacra Scriptura robur trahit et authoritatem, hæreticus est.' 'Whosoever dependeth not on the doctrine of the Romish Church and of the Roman Pontiff, as the infallible rule of GOD, from which even the holy Scripture derives force and authority, is a heretic.' " Defence, p. 493.]

h["That which is here alleged of PIGHIUS, it is the very sound and sense of the greatest part of his common place, De Ecclesia."

like as if any of those that cannot speak pure and clean Latin, and yet can babble out quickly and readily a little some such Law Latin as serveth the court, would needs hold, that all others ought also to speak after the same way that MAMMETRECTUS and Catholicon spake many years ago, and which themselves do yet use in pleading in court; for so may it be understood sufficiently what is said, and men's desires may be satisfied: and that it is a fondness, now in the latter end to trouble the world with a new kind of speaking, and to call again the old fineness and eloquence that CICERO and CÆSAR used in their days in the Latin tongue. So much are these

men beholden to the folly and darkness of former times. "Many things," as one writeth, "are had in estimation oftentimes, because they have been once dedicated to the temples of the Heathen gods:" even so we see at this day many things allowed and highly set off by these men, not because they judge them so much worth, but only because they have been received into a custom, and after a sort dedicated to the temple of GOD.

Sect. 2. Our Church,' say they, 'cannot err.' They speak that, I think, as the Lacedæmonians long since used to say that it was not possible to find any adulterer in all their commonwealth; whereas, indeed, they were rather all adulterers, and had no certainty in their marriages, but had their wives in common among them all : or as the Canonists at this day, for their bellies' sake, use to say of the Pope, that for so much as he is lord of all benefices, though he may sell for money bishoprics,

"Likewise saith JOHN MARIA VERRACTUS: 'Humiliter confitemur, Ecclesiæ authoritatem esse super Evangelium.' 'We humbly confess that the authority of the Church is above the Gospel.' Defence, p. 494.-See Note p. 128, and note h p. 134.]

[MAMMETRECTUS, or MAMMOTREPTUS is the strange name given to an obscure and ignorant Franciscan friar, who, in the middle of the fifteenth century, compiled for the instruction of his still more ignorant brethren a rude vocabulary of the barbarous Latin then in use by ec. clesiastics. His own name is lost in that which he affixed to his work, to indicate that by handling it the babes in literature might obtain the milk of knowledge !]

[If the things themselves were indifferent, it would be hard to show that such reception and dedication was not a sufficient reason for their retention.]

monasteries, priesthood, spiritual promotions, and part with nothing freely; yet because he counteth all his own, he cannot commit simony, though he would never so fain. But how strongly and agreeably to reason these things be spoken, we are not as yet able to perceive; except perchance these men have plucked off the wings from the truth, as the Romans in old time did proine [prune] and pinion their goddess Victory, after she had once gotten her home, to the end that with the same wings she should never be able to flee away from them again."

Sect. 3. But what if Jeremiah tell them, as is afore rehearsed, that these be lies? What if the same prophet say in another place, that the self same men who ought to be keepers of the vineyard, have brought to nought, and destroyed, the LORD's vineyard? How if CHRIST say that the same persons who chiefly ought to have care over the temple, have made the house of GOD a den of thieves? If it be so, that the Church of Rome cannot err, it must needs follow, that the good luck thereof is far greater than all these men's policy. For such is their life, their doctrine, and their diligence, that for all them, the Church may not only err, but also utterly be spoiled and perish. No doubt, if that Church may err which hath departed from God's word, from CHRIST'S Commandments, from the Apostles' ordinances, from the primitive Church's examples, from the old fathers' and Councils' orders, and from their own decrees, and which will be bound within the compass of none, neither old or new, nor their own, nor of others, nor man's law, nor GoD's law; then it is out of all question, that the Romish Church hath not only had power to err, but also that it hath shamefully and most wickedly erred in very deed.

Sect. 4. But say they, 'Ye have been of our fellowship, but now ye are become forsakers of your profes

1 Summa Angelica, in dict. Papa.-THEODORICUS de Schismate inter Urbanum et Clementem, Lib. I. c. xxxii.-['This assertion is supported at considerable length, from several authors of acknowledged authority in the Church of Rome, in the Defence, p. 497-499.] Jer. xii. 10, 11. • Matth. xxi. 13.

PLUTARCH.

sion, and have departed from us.' It is true. We have departed from them: and for so doing, we both give thanks to ALMIGHTY GOD, and greatly rejoice in our own behalf. But yet for all this, from the primitive Church-from the Apostles-and from CHRIST, we have not departed. True it is, we were brought up with these men in darkness, and in the lack of the know

P ["For that we say, 'we were brought up among you in darkness,' ye enter out of reason into a needless discourse of comparison of learning. It was not our meaning to call the bright beams of your liberal learning into question.-We meant only the knowledge of GOD, and the open profession of his holy word: in comparison of which knowledge, all other knowledge whatsoever is mere 'darkness.'—Howbeit, touching any kind of the liberal and learned sciences, there was no great cause why ye should either so highly rouse yourself in your own opinion, or so greatly disdain others. Ye may remember, that your Provincial Constitutions* begin with these words, 'Ignorantia Sacerdotum: The Ignorance of Priests.'-Of THOMAS SCOTUS, Hugo, and others, of whom ye seem to make so great account, your own friend CATHARINUS [an eminent Romish divine of the sixteenth century] saith: 'Scholastici multa inerudite comminiscuntur.' 'These school doctors imagine many matters unlearnedly.' (Adv. Dom. a Soto.) ERASMUS saith: Portenta quæ nunc,' &c. The monstrous follies that we commonly read in the commentaries of the late interpreters (whereby he meaneth the very crop and the worthiest of all your scholastical learned doctors) are so far without shame, and so peevish, as if they had been written for swine, and not for men.' (In Schol. in Hieron. ad Marcellam.)-One of your doctors saith: 'Apostolus dicitur ab Apos,' &c. Apostolus is derived from Apos, meaning an argument, or pre-eminence, and Stolon, which is a mission: namely, to signify a pre-eminent mission.' (Extr. de Elect. et elect. Potest. in Glossa.) Another saith: Apocrisarii, means the Nuntii (or messengers) of our Lord the Pope. For crisis means secret; and apos means a messenger.' (Manipul. Curat. p. 101.) Another saith: Cathedra is a Greek name, and is compounded of Cathos, which is faith, and Edra, which is a couch.' (inter Decret. Felicis P.)-Of your liberal learned clergy one saith thus: 'Nec verba,' &c. "They neither understand the words of their Canons, nor know what are the words of consecration.' (HERM. RIDDUS.) And therefore he that forged the Rule of monks under the name of S. JEROME, chargeth them in any wise to pronounce every word distinctly and warily, lest by their foolish utterance they should make the angels to fall a laughing! (HIERON. in Reg. Monach.)-These few may serve you for a taste. Hereby it may appear your clergy hath no great cause to make such triumph of their learning. Howbeit, we upbraid you not herewith nor was this the cause of our departure.—Would GOD ye would humble your know、

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[The Constitutions or Regulations of fourteen Archbishops of Canterbury, of the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries; collected and published by WILLIAM LYND WOOD.]