THE HUNTING of the Romish Fox. Presented to the pope's holiness, with the kiss of his disholy foot, as an odoriferous & redolent posy very fit for his gravity, so often as he walketh rightstately, in his goodly Palace Bel-vidêre. Mat. 3. 2. Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand. EST PERI●T ET NVENTA Imprinted at London by Richard Bradocke. Anno. 1598. To the right worshipful M. William Cardinal, M. Humphrey Porfrie, M. Edward Sianope, and M. john fern Esquires, and four most worthy pillars of her majesties Counsel, established in the North paerts of England. DEcay of pure religion, and dissolute life (right worshipful,) have ever been so great an eyesore to the Godly and well affected magistraites; as none can be ignorant, or stand in doubt thereof, that will seriously peruse the holy Scriptures, and histories ecclesiastical. Holy Moses was so Exod. 32. ver. 8. 19 fervent in Gods true religion, that when he saw the Israelites worshipping and dancing before the molten Calf, his wrath waxed so hot against them, that he cast the two tables of the testimonies out of his hands, and broke them in pieces; even the tables of stone, which were written with the finger of God himself. King Ezechias brack in pieces the brazen Serpent, which God himself commanded 2. Reg. 18 Numb. 11 8, Moses to set up. And this he did for this sole and only respect, because even unto his days, the children of Israel did burn incense to it. For which and the like religious facts, it is said of him in holy write, that he walked uprightly in the sight of God, so that after him was none like him among all the kings of juda, neither were there any such before him. The Prophet Elias was so constant and courageous. in true religion, that he was not afraid to tell Achab that idolatrous 1. Reg, 18, vers. 18, king, that he and his father's house did trouble Israel, in that they had forsaken the Lord, and followed after Baalim. In which courageous spirit, he procured fire to come from heaven, and to consume the messengers, which the 2. Reg. 1. v. 2. 10. 12. wicked king Ahazias sent out against him, because he reproved his adolatry done to the Idol Beel-Zebub, that god of Ekron; in which spirit the psalmoghaphe David cried out, that the zeal of God's Psal. 69. vers. 9 house had eaten him up, and that the rebukes of them that rebuked God and his truth, were fallen upon him. In which spirit, S. Paul sharply reproved the sorcerer Bar-Iesus, calling him the Act. 13. vers. 10. child of the Devil, because he sought to avert Sergius Paulus the proconsul, from the faith of Chrisi jesus, in which spirit, S. Peter smote Ananias with sudden death, because he told a leasing to the holy Act. 5. vers. 5. 2. Tlm, 4. vers. 14 joan Ep, 20 Ghost. In which spirit. S. john forbiddeth to receive him into our house, or once to salute him that is an enemy to the word of God. Which being true as it is true indeed, I cannot but from the depth of my heart, lament the iniquity & apostasy of these latter days, in which days, they who profess the faith of Christ in show of words, do indeed deny Esay. 29. 13. Mat, 15. 8. 1. joan. 5, 18, Mat. 7, 15. the faith, do indeed crucify again the son of God, and make a mock of him, in which days, false prophets come in sheeps clothing, but are inwardly ravening wolves, in which days, as S. Bernard saith, the beast mentioned in Bernerd, ad Gars, ep. 125. the reuclation, to whom a mouth was given speaking blasphemies, sitteth in Peter's chay●e at Rome, as a Lion ready to take his prey, in regard whereof, that I may in some measure of my small talon, concur with others of better skill, for the redress of intolerable errors of late years crept into the Church; I have with great watchings, painful studies, and nightly lucubrations, found out the secret Caves, Dens, and holes, to which the Romish Fox, that devoureth the innocent Lambs of Christ's fold, resorteth usually, and hideth himself therein from time to time covertly. For the profitable hunting of which Fox, in way of Christian merry disport: I have provided fourteen couple of well mouthed Romish hounds, who all follow the sent roundly with a lusty cry, even to the gates of Rome. Which treatise I have principally compiled, for the common good of the vulgar sort, and of other young students, who either for want of books, or for lack of time, or other defects, can not so easily espy the subtle ways, of this Romish Fox, or find out his secret dens. In it the ignorant shall easily find much necessary Doctrine for their better instruction in the truth; In it the wavering and doubtful sort, shall find enough for their confirmation; in it the constant and found Christians, shall not want matter for their spiritual consolation in it the Papists themselves, if they will read it, shall find enough, either for their speedy conversion, or for their greater condemnation: all which I have comprised in so small a room, as every one may carry the same in his bosom, which treatise I dedicate to your worships for these two special causes. First, because I would give some external sign of a grateful mind, for your manifold kind christian courtesies towards me; again, for that your worship's zeal in favouring all faithful subjects and good christians, specially the preachers of Gods holy word; hath worthily deserved far greater things, if my small power could afford the same, & I do it the rather, because your rare zeal in furthering Gods true religion & virtue, and in punishing vices & disloyalty, doth this day show itself as a lantern in these North parts, where none are more contemned, none more hardly dealt withal, whether in court or county, (if never so small a surmise can he pretended against them,) then the preachers of Christ's holy gospel; where none are less regarded, none less favoured, even with some placed in authority, than those that are sound in religion, & for ward in her majesties affairs; where malcontents and disloyal recusants, shall find more favour in one hour, then zealous christians & true hearted subjects in a whole year. Happy therefore is this Realm of England, that bath a princess so zealous for the maintenance of God true religion's; so careful, for the peace of her people; so merciful, to all offenders; so bountiful to all well deserving subjects; most noble Queen Elizabeth. And happy yea thrice happy are these North-Parts, which in these latter days are blessed, with such zealous, prudent, painful, & well affected governors. Go forward therefore as ye happily have begun, most faithful servants to God and the Queen. Let nothing be more dear to you, than the love of God and his religion, nothing more joyful, than the faithful service of your natural sovereign; nothing more laborious, then to minister justice indifferently, as well to the poor as to the rich, so shall God be glorified, your Prince honoured, and your native country receive comfort in your well doing. Accept this small present I pray your worships, with such mind as I do exhibit the same. And so I humbly take my leave. Your worship's most bounden, Thomas Bell. The names of the Hounds, that hunt the Romish Fox. Victoria. Covarruvias. Aquinas. Vignerius, Fumus. Lyra, Gerson, Sylvester. Rhenanus. Grelerius. Polydorus. Soto. Caietanus. Gratianus. Roffensis. Socrates, Alphonsus, Panormitanus, Durandus. Platina. Carranza. Bellarminus, Sigebertus. Palmerius. Bergomensis. Polanchus, Philaster, (sianus Dionysi: Carthu▪ Glossa decretalium. ❧ THE HVNting of the Fox. The first Hound. Give me leave O holy father of Rome, to tell you in the way of charity, what your own beloved vassals, have in printed books reported of your holiness, God's spirit no doubt enforcing them thereunto. Thou O disholy Pope, fearing that thy Antichristian usurped primacy, would in time be turned upside down, if every man might freely examine thy doctrine & tyrannical constitutions, according to God's sacred word the true touchstone of verity; hast by an abominable decree in thy detestable canon-law, made it flat sacrilege to dispute of thy power, I will forge nothing of mine own brain, I will deal sincerely in every point, even as I will answer at the dreadful day of doom, and therefore do I exhort the gentle readers, to mark well what I say. Franciscus a victoria, one O pope, of thy dominican Friars, and the learnedst divine that ever Spain brought forth doth constantly thus report the matter; non spectat ad subditos determinare aut examinare Victoria rel●ct, 4. de potest. papae & concilii, propos. 16. quid possit Papa aut quid non possit, & quomodo teneantur parerevel non, quia sacrilegium est disputare de poteutia principis, & praecipuè Papae. It belongeth not to popish vaslals, to determine or examine what the pope may do, or what he may not do, and wherein they ought to obey, or not; because he hath made it sacrilege by his law, to reason & dispute of his power. Consonant hereunto is a decree of the late counsel of Trent, by which it is made unlawful aswell to the clergy as to the laical people, to read either the old or the new Testament translated into the vulgar tongue; and that under the pain of the Pope's curse, unless such person or persons be by him Pius. 4. in bulla synod, Trident. licenced thereunto. Yea, it is strictly inhibited by the said counsel, that no person or persons whosoever, shall print, read, keep, or lend any book at all; save such only as are not oriously known to be allowed by the Pope, and why I pray your holiness, did you make this most cruel law? doubtless, because if learned books might be allowed publicly, your heathenish late Romish religion, would soon receive a deadly wound. For notwithstanding this your tyrannical law, & many other decrees of like sort, your own dearest hounds do still hunt your holiness, even to very death. The second Hound. THy hellish glosses O Pope of Rome, do tell us manifestly that thou canst change the nature of things, that thou canst apply the substantial parts of one thing to another, and that thou canst make of nothing something; & consequently, that thou canst make thyself another God. For although it may seem a wonder, that any not bewitched by the master Devil of Hell, would ever utter such folly and open blasphemy; yet do I neither say any thing of malice, neither urge any one jot against thee O Pope, but those very things, which thine own The Pope's treachery is discovered by his own darlings. dear Doctors, have in printed books published to the world, and this I observe to my great comfort, wishing all Christian readers to note the same seriously; that thou O Pope with thy late predecessors, wouldst long sithence have musseled the mouths of these hounds, if the holy Ghost for the good of his elect had not appointed the contrary to be done, thus therefore O Pope writeth thine own approved gloss, even upon thine own decretals; sic Papa dicitur habere caeleste arbitrium, et ideo etiam G●●sa, ●iq. 1 decretal tit, 7, Cap, 3. naturam rerum immutat, substantialia unius rei applicando alij; et de nihilo potest aliquid facere. So is the pope said to have celestial arbitrement, & therefore doth he change the nature of things, by applying the substantial parts of one thing to an other; and he can make that which is nothing, to be something. Behold here most execrable blasphemy, that ever was or henceforth can be, for it is proper to God alone to make something of nothing by his peculiar work of creation. This to be so, neither ever did, or can any divine deny. The third Hound Tell me O Pope, have not thy sworn vassals written of you, that Christ himself hath engraven in thy thighs, that thou art king of kings, & Lord of Lords? as this also, O sweet jesus, that though thou carry a thousand souls to hell, yet may noman say to thee, why dost thou so? sundry I know have so written, but johannes Gerson shall speak for himself and the rest; I will not alter one word or syllable that he saith. Thus doth he write; Sicut Christo collata est omnis potest as in caelo et in terra, siceam Christus omnem joan: Gerson de potest ate ecclesiae concls. 12. part. 3. Petro suisque successoribus dereliquit, undo nec Constantinus Siluestro papae contulit, quod non esset prius suum, sed reddidit injust detentum. Porro; sicut non est potestas nisi a Deo, sic nec aliqua temporalis vel ecclesiastica, imperialis vel regalis, nisi a Papa; in cuius faemore scripsit Christus, Rex regum, dominus dominantium; de cuius potestate disputare, instar sacrilegij est; cui neque quisquam dicere potest, cur it a facis? mentior, sinon inveniantur haec scripta, ab illis etiam qui sapientes sunt in oculis suis. As all power was given to Christ, in heaven and on earth; so Christ left all that power, to Peter and his successors (for ever.) Wherefore the Emperor Constantine gave nothing to Pope Sylvester, which was not his own before, but he only restored that, which was unjustly kept from him. Further, as there is no power but of God, so is there neither any temporal nor ecclesiastical, neither imperial nor regal, but only of the Pope; in whose thighs Christ hath written, the King of Kings, the Lord of Lords; of whose power to Behold, here the blasphemy of Antichrist. dispute; it is even as sacrilege; to whom no man may say, why dost thou so? Let me have the lie if these things be not found written, even by those that seem wise in their own conceits. Thus writeth Master Doctor Gerson, who though he lived in the altitude of Popedom, yet could he neither digest nor conceal these antichristian blasphemies, ascribed to the Pope against the Son of God. Nevertheless, the Popes themselves did challenge the same, & took no small delight therein. For thus writeth Pope Gregory the ninth of that name; ad firmamentum caeli, hoc est, universalis ecclesiae, fecit deus duo magna luminaria, idest, duas instituit Gregor. 9 lib. 1. decret, tit, 33. Cap, 6. dignitates, quae sunt pontificalis authoritas & regalis potestas; sed illa quae praeest diebus, idest, spiritualibus, maior est; quae vero carnalibus, minor, ut quanta est inter solemn & lunam, tanta inter pontifices & reges differentia agnoscatur. To the firmament of heaven, that is, of the universal Church, God made two great lights, to wit, he ordained two great dignities, which are the authority of the Pope, & the power Mark here the Pope's goodly sermon. of the King; but that power which ruleth spiritual things, is greater, & that which ruleth things carnal, is lesser; that there may be as great difference known between Popes and Kings, as there is between the Sun and the Moon. The fourth Hound. TEll me O Pope, is not thy romish Purgatory so sotted and senseless a thing, as it can neither be proved by the scriptures, nor yet by the ancient writers? have not thine own renowned children, Sylvester Prieras, who was sometime master of thy sacred palace, and for his profound knowledge surnamed Absolutus Theologus, as also thy glorious so supposed Martyr john Fisher our late bishop of Rochester, uttered so much in printed books to the view of the world? I wot it is so, and that all the world may know the vanity and abomination of late Romish religion, I will set down their express words. Thus therefore writeth Sylvester; Indulgentia nobis per scripturam minime innotuit, licet inducatur illud apostoli, (si quid donavi Sylvester de indulg. vobis,) sed nec per dicta antiquorum doctorum sed modernorum, the Pope's pardons were not known to us by the holy scriptures, although some do allege S. Paul for that purpose; neither known by the ancient father, but only by the late writers. Loc, pardons, and consequently purgatory being the ground thereof, cannot be proved out of the scriptures. My Lord of Rochester hath these express Roffensis con, assert, Luther, arti 18. prope initium. words; sed & graecis ad hunc usque diem, non est creditum purgatorium esse. Legat qui velit graecorum veterum commentarios, et nullum quantum opinor, aut quam rarissimum de purgatorio sermonem inveniet. Sedneque Latini simul omnes, at sensim, huius reiveritatem conceperunt: & paulo post; non absque maxima sancti spiritus dispensatione factum est, quod post tot annorum curricula purgatorij fines, & indulgentiarum usus ab Orthodoxis sit receptus; quamdiu nulla fuerat de purgatorij cura, nemo quaesivit indulgentias, nam ex illo pendet omnis indulgentiarum existimatio. Si tollas purgatorium quorsum indulgentiis opus erit? his enim si nullum fuerit purgatorium, nihil indigebimus, contemplantes igitur aliquandiu purgatorium incognitum fuisse, deinde quibusdam pedetentim, Partim ex revelationibus, partim ex scripturis fuisse creditum, atque ita tandem generatim eius fidem ab orthodoxa ecclesia fuisse receptissimam, facillime rationem aliquam indulgentiarum intelligimus. Quum itaque purgatorium, tam sero cognitum ac receptum ecciesiae fuerit universae, quis iam de indulgentijs mirari potest, quod in principio nascentis ecclesiae nullus fuerat carum usum; caeperunt igitur indulgentiae, post quam ad purgatorij cruciatus aliquandiu trepidatum erat. The Greeks to this day, do not believe there is a purgatory. Read who will their commentaries, Loc, a great learned man and a famous popish bishop and Martyr, doth plainly tell us, the vanity and late birth of Romish pardons. and he shall find either very seldom mention of purgatory, or rather none at all, for neither did the Latin Church, conceive the verity of this matter all at once, but lay surely by little and little; neither was it done without the great dispensation of the holy ghost, that after so many years Catholics both believed purgatory, and received the use of pardons generally; so long as there was no care of purgatory, no man sought for pardons. For of it dependeth all the estimation, that we have of pardons. If thou take away purgatory, to what end shall we need pardons. For if there be no purgatory, we shall need no pardons. Considering therefore how long purgatory was unknown, them that it was believed of some by little and little, partly by revelations, and partly by the scriptures, and so at the last believed generally of the whole Church, we do easily understand the cause of pardons, since therefore purgatory was so lately known, and received of the whole Church; who can now admire pardons, that there was no use of them in the Primitive Church. Pardons therefore began after the people stood in some fear of purgatory. Thus O Pope, writeth thine own dear bishop, whose testimony must needs be of great credit with thee. Whose words notwithstanding, if they be well marked with the due circumstances thereof, are able of themselves without more ado, to persuade any man living, to detest all popish religion. For first we learn here, that the 1 Greeks never believed purgatory, no not to the days of this bishop, who lived within these three score years last passed. Secondly, that the church of Rome 2 (now the mother of all superstition,) did not believe the said purgatory, for many hundreds of years after S. Peter's death, whose successor for all that, thou O Pope, boasts thyself to be. Thirdly, that 3 this purgatory, which is now the foundation of papistry, crept by little and little, not all at once, into the Latin 4 Church. Fourthly, that purgatory was found out by revelation from heaven, 5 (or if you had rather so think, from the devil of Hell,.) Fiftly, that pardons came not up, until purgatory was found out: the reason hereof saith our popish bishop, is this; because forsooth, if there be no purgatory, all popish pardons are needless. Sixtly, that pardons were not 6 heard of, nor known to the primitive 7 Church. seventhly, that pardons than began, when men began to fear the pains of purgatory: but of this matter I have written more at large, in my book of Motives. The Fift Hound. TEll me O Pope, hast thou not imposed upon thy Monks, Friars, and Nuns, such an heavy yoke, as they are not able to bear? Is not the prohibition of matrimony, contrary to Christ's institution, to the doctrine of the apostles, & to the practice of the Primitive church? was not Pope Syritius the first man, that made any settled law for that purpose? was not the marriage of priests allowed in the Church, for one thousand years after christ? doth not thine own Gratianus tell us, even out of thine own approved decrees, that many priests sons have been Popes of Rome? Doth he not name, Bonifacius, Agapitus, Theodorus, Syluerius, Faelix, Hosius, Gelasius, Densdedit, and many others? Doth not thine own gloss upon the same text, think it better to say they were all bastards, then to grant them to be legitimate children, lawfully begotten in holy wedlock? doth not the same gloss allege for his excuse, that vit in tollitur per successionem, the fault is taken away by virtue of their holy succession; cometh not the same Gratian roundly upon the gloss, and affirmeth plainly, that priests might marry lawfully every where, until the late inhibition made by Siritius? doth not Socrates that famous Greek historiographer tell us, that Bishops of the east Church, did in his time beget children of their lawful wives, and that even in the time of their priestly function? This thing I have proved so effectually in my book of Survey, as all the papists in Europe are not able to disprove the same. Here only I will add the flat testimony of Socrates out of his ecclesiastical history, whose express words are these; non pauci illorunt (Episcoporum) Socrates, hist, lib, 5, Cap, 21. dum Episcopatum gerunt, liberos ex uxore legit tima procreant; Many of them saith Socrates speaking of bishops, do beget children of their lawful wives, even in time of their Episcopal or Byshoplike functions. these words are so plain, that they need no gloss. The sixth Hound. TEll me O Pope, do not so many intolerable excommunications, & so many dissolute dispensations, come daily and hourly from the church of Rome, as thereby the state of us Christians is now become more servile, then was of old the condition of the jews. I wot it is so, thine own doctors, Uictoria, Sylvester, Fumus, Gerson, Rhenanus, and Geilerius affirm the same, as I have proved at large in my book of Survey. One only Victoria I will here allege, whose express words are these: videmus quotidie a Romana curia tam largas, imò omnino tam dissolutas dispensationes profectas, ut orbis ferre non possit, Victoria de potest, Papae et con, relect, 5, pag, 139, non solum in scandalum pusillorum, sed maiorum. We see daily so large, yea altogether so dissolute dispensations come from the court of Rome, that the world cannot endure it, neither is this dissolution to the scanned all only of the weak, but even of the perfect sort, and those that are the wisest among the rest. Again he writeth thus; ego ubisupra Pag. 149. nullam dispensationem in particulari condemno, sed video duo; primunm, quid in fine anni sunt tot dispensationes factae, ut nescio an sint tot qui legem servant, secundo, video quod omnes qui petunt adferunt dispensationes. I condemn no dispensation in particular, but I see two things; First, that in the end of the year there are so many dispensations gotten, that I know not if so many keep the law: secondly, I see all that ask, bring dispensations with them. In another place, the same Victoria hath these words; Paulatim ad have i●temporantiam deventum est, ubisupra pag. ●51. & hunc tale in statum, ubi nec mala nostra, nee reme●●a pati possumus. Da mihi The Church of Rome is now brought to a most miserable state. Clementes, L●●s, Syluestros, & omnia permittam arbitrio eorum. Sed ut nihil gravius dicatar in recentiores Pontifices, certe multis partibus sunt priscis illis inferiores. By little & little we are brought to these inordinate dispensations, and to this so miserable state, where we are neither able to endure our own griefs, nor the remedies which should mitigate the same. Yet give me Clements, Lines, Sylvester's, and I will commit all things to their charge. But to speak favourably of our late Popes, they are doubtless far inferior to Popes of old time Lo, the Church of Rome is not now, as it was in old time. The seventh Hound. TEll me O Pope, have not thy predecessors made their beginning like Foxes and thieves and in the end died like dogs? have not thine own religious Friars, made report of this verity? I wot it is so, and Carranza together with thy sweet Platina shall witness the same with me. Platina hath these express words; qua quidem bearitudine joanes caruit, fur certain pontificatu●, & latro; non enim ut par fuerat, per ostium intravit. Which happy life Pope john Platina in vit●● joan, 18. wanted, as who was a these and a robber, for he entered not in by the door, as he should have done. Again, in an other place the same Platina writeth in this manner eo enim tum pontificatus devenerat, ut qui plus largitione & ambitione, non dico Platina in vita Syl, 3. sanctitate vitae et doctrina valeret, is tantum inde dignitatis gradum, bonis oppressis & reiectis obtineret, quem morem utinam aliquando non retinuissent nostra tempora. For to that pass was the Popedom now brought, that who so could excel others in giving bribes, & in ambition, I say not in godly life & sound doctrine, Extortion and ambition is the life of popery. (for that was far from them,) he only should have the degree of honour, and good men should be rejected; which usage would to God it had never been in our time. hearken O Pope, is it not now with your Bishops of Rome, as it was with Annas, Caiphas, & others of old time among the jews? thy holiness can it not deny, but let Carranza bite thee in the haunch, whose express words are these: intravit ut Vulpes, regnavit ut Lupus, mortuus est ut Canis. He entered as a fox, he Carranza in summa con. sol. 369 reigned as a Wolf, he died as a dog. He spaketh of Pope Boniface, the eight of that name. This Carranza, albeit he were one of the Pope's dear Friars, is for all that a well mouthed Hound. The eight Hound. TEll me O Pope, can not thy holiness with plenitudine potestatis, evacuate hellish purgatory, and deliver all souls tormented there, & send them straight away to heaven? nay, canst thou not free all men from all punishment due to their sins here on earth? I am sure thou canst, for thy dear doctors Fumus, Sylvester, & Vignerius, have so affirmed to me. Fumus shall speak for all, whose express words are these; Papa posset liberare omnes animas purgaporij, etiam si plures essent, si quis pro sis faceret Fumus in verbo, Papa, 11. quod iuberet, peccaret tamen indiscretè concedendo; & in hoc sensis dicunt Doctores, quod non potest spoliare Purgatorium. The Pope could deliver all the souls out of purgatory, albeit they were very many, if one did that which he appointed to be done, marry the Pope should sin, for his undiscrete dealing therein. Thus writeth our holy friar, who addeth well in the ending, that the Pope wanteth sometime his cap of discretion, to which The Pope doth sometime want his cap discretion. I will make another addition, if percase it may stand with the Pope's good liking, to wit, that since as Popery telleth us, the fire of purgatory is the self same in nature with the fire of Hell, if therefore his holiness had but one drop of charity, he would never suffer so many souls to abide that doolfull misery. Yet I must needs grant, that in so doing his holiness should want discretion; because forsooth, if there were no souls in purgatory, then for trentals, diriges, and Masses, men would not bestow one quatrine upon his vassals. The ninth Hound. TEll me O Pope, canst not thou Free a man by thy plenary pardon; from all punishment due in this life and in the life to come? I know thou canst do it, because thine own dear Sylvester so affirmeth. These are his express words; qui plenariam indulgentiam rite assecutus Sylvester. de indulg, par. 33 est, si eo instanti moreretur, evolaret statim ad caelum. He that hath orderly gotten the Pope's plenary pardon. if he should die presently, he should fly to heaven out of hand. Thus writeth Sylvester the Pope's Theologus absolutus. Where now, if it were not sacrilege to dispute of the Pope's power, as I have proved it to be; I would ask this one question, why; any souls abide in purgatory, since a plenary is sufficient for their discharge, Pardon my boldness I pray your holiness. which for all that, the Pope grauntteth usually, as a thing very frequent during mine own abode at Rome, Is it because he cannot? that is contrary to his own doctrine. Is it because it standeth not with discretion, there is as much discretion to do it for the dead, as for the living. Is it because he will not? so it seemeth, and then he wanteth charity, as I have already said. The tenth Hound. TEll me O Pope, doth not thy sottish religion tell us, that thou mayest err as a private man, but not as Pope or a public Person? as if it were said, thou mayest sit in thy pontificalibus, O monster of the world. thou mayest ride upon thy white Palfrey, thou mayest talk and write they pleasure, and that even while thou art Pope, and so utter heresies and blasphemies whatsoever, and yet for all that canst thou never teach or define any error or heresy, as being Pope indeed. I wot it is so, thy chiefest Doctors have so told me. Vignerius hath these express words; si dicatur, summus pontifex errare potest, & vigner de potest, condendi symbolum, pag, 337. in animo suo concipere aliquem articulum Orthodoxa fidei contrarium, & etiam privatim proffer, ut legitur de Anastasio secundo. Si ergo posset nowm symbolum edore, fides ecclesiae unius hominis periculo subiaceret; dicendum, quod summus pontifex ut privata persona errare potest, non tamen ut est summus pontifex. Ideo si ut privata persona symbolum edere tentaret, non esset symbolum; maximè ubi a vera fide deviaret. If any say, that the Poop may err. and conceive in his heart any article contrary to the Catholic faith, and also utter the same privately, as we read of Pope Anastatius the second: If therefore he could make a new creed the faith of the Church should be subject to the hazard of one man. We answer saith (Vignerius,) that the Pope may err as a private person, but not as Pope or the high bishop. Therefore if he should make a creed as a private man, it should be no creed at all; especially, where he swerved from the right faith. Behold here gentle reader, upon what rotten stuff the Papists would have us to ground our faith. We must say they, believe that the Pope cannot err, and yet are we sure that he can err, and that he hath already erred in very deed. We must likewise believe, that he cannot but teach the truth; and yet must we also believe, that he can both teach heresy, and be an heretic himself. We must furthermore believe, ●hat heart will not dearest Popery. as you have already heard; that it is sacrilege to dispute of the Pope's power, and yet must we both dispute of his power, and straightly examine his doctrine, as also know constantly, whether he speaketh publicly as a public man, or privately as a private man. And nevertheless when we have done all that we can, we know no more what to think or say of his doctrine, then when we have an E●le by the tail. For when he shall tell me, I must believe this and that; then if he speak as a private man, where is my saith? but let us here the cry of some other hounds. That famous papist Ioh●ures Gerson, sometime the chancellor john Gerson in serm, de pasch. part. 3. of Paris, hath these express words; hoc fecit latroni, qui verisimiliier nondum complever at paenitentiam pro omnibu peccatis suis, qui fuit illa hora propria beatificatus, & vidit deum facie ad faciem, sicut sanctiin Paradiso. Propter quod insuper apparet falsitas doctrinae papae joannis 22. quae damnata fuit cum sovo buccinarum coram rege Philippoper Theologos Parisienses, & credidit potius Theologis Parisiensibus, quam curiae. This he did to the thief, who by likelihood had not yet accomplished penance for all his sins, who was blessed in that very hour, and saw GOD face to face, as do the Saints in Paradise, by reason whereof, further appeareth the falsehood of the doctrine of Pope john, which was condemned with the sound of Trumpetes, before king Phillippe by the divines of Paris, and the king believed the divines of Paris, rather than the court. In which words we have to note. First, that Master Gerson avoucheth the thief crucified with Christ, to have seen God face to face in that hour, and so to have been blessed. Secondly, that he reproveth the false doctrine of Pope john. Thirdly, that his doctrine was condemned with the sound of trumpets, in the presence of the king of France Fourthly, that the king gave more credit to the divines of Paris, then to the judgement of the (Pope,) or court of Rome. Fifty, that neither the king, nor the learned Papists, did at that time grant to the Pope such power and authority, as the Pope this day doth insolently challenge to himself. Sixtly that the Pope taught false doctrine even in a weighty matter of saith. Which thing not only Gerson affirmeth, together with the divines of Paris, as you have heard; but Pope Adrian himself testifieth the same, as the zealous papist Alphonsus de castro, Alphonsus, lib. 3. adubaeres, prope finem. reporteth in these express words; sexta haeresis docet nullam animam ante diem judicij, esse beatam, quum ut ait, nulla anima an●e illum diem videt deum. Huius haeresios authores sunt Armeni, eandem etiam tuentur Greci, post istos surrexit johannes, 22. huius nominis pontifex. Sed ne verbis meis aliquis in hac part deroget, verba Adriani papae referam, qui in suo quarto sententiarum, in calce cuiusdam quaestionis de sacramento confirmationis, it a ait; nonissime fertur de joanne, 22. quod publice docuit, decla ravit, & ab omnibus teneri mandavit, quod a nimae purgata aute finale indicium non habent solan, quae est clara & facialis visio dei; & universitatem Parisiense ad hec induxisse dicitur, quod nemo in ea poteraet gradum in Theologia adipisci, nisiprimitus hunc errorem iurasset se defensurum, & per petuo ei adhaesurum. Haec Adrianus. The sixth heresy teacheth, that no soul is in eternal bliss before the day of doom, because as it saith, no soul before that day, seethe God, the Armeni are the authors of this heresy, and the Greeks' hold the same. After these rose up Pope john, the 22. of that name. But least any man distrust my words in this point, I will receipt the words of Pope Adrian, who in his fourth book of sentences, in the end of a certain question of the sacrament of confirmation, saith thus; last of all, it is reported of Pope john the 22. that he publicly taught, declared, & commanded The Pope commandeth his Vassals, to swear to false doctrine. all men to held (this opinion) that the souls of the just, have not before the day of doom, the sole, which is the clear and facial sight of God. And it is said, that he induced the University of Paris to this; that no man should take degree in the same, but, he that first did swear to descend this error, & to maintain the same for ever. Thus saith Adrian, who was himself the bishop or Pope of Rome, and the most excellently learned bishop, that ever was in that sea. And it will not serve the turn to say as the jesuite Bellermine doth, in the defence of popish faith: to wit, that Pope john erred as a private man, but not as Pope, for that distinction doth not only want a good foundation, whereupon it should be built, but also it flatly destroyeth the plain text: the reason hereof is most evident, even to every child. First, because 1 Pope Adrian saith, (docuit,) he taught. Secondly, because he saith, 2 (publice,) publicly. Thirdly, because 3 he saith, (mandavit,) he commanded all to hold it. Fourthly, because none could be made graduate, save only he that held 4 this opinion. Fiftly, because every graduate 5 did swear, to hold & defend it forever. So then, the Pope may err, not only as a private man, but also in the public decree of faith, & that even by the consent & testimony of Adrian, who was Pope himself; yea, who for learning & knowledge as the papists themselves confess, was one of the rarest Popes that ever came at Rome. But of this point, I have spoken more largely, in my book of Motives. The eleunth Hound. TEll me O Pope, do not thy Doctor's dear, wrist the scriptures most clear, that so they may serve thy turn? thou must for shame confess it, for thine own sworn vassal Polydorus Virgilius, doth witness it to be so; these are his express words; Non secus isti iurisconsulti Polydorut. lib. 4 cap. 9 aliquoties detorquent sacras literas quo volunt, ac sutores sordidas solent dentibus extendere pelles: These popish Legistes and canonists, do now and then so wrest and writhe the holy scriptures; even as Cobblers do gnaw with their teeth, and stretch out their filthy skins. Out of these words I note first, that this 1. Polydore was a great papist himself, and so this testimony must needs be of great force against the papists. I note secondly, 2. that he speaketh not of the meanest and basest sort of papists, but even of the best, and of their renowned Doctors; because he meaneth Hostiensis, their grand and famous Canonist. I note thirdly, that their mangling and wresting of the holy scriptures, is most intolerable; The papists wrist the scripture, and that without the same, they cannot possibly maintain their wicked doctrine. The 12. Hound. TEll me O Pope, doth not Dominicus Soto thine own Dominican Friar, tell us with open mouth, that no souls abide in Purgatory above ten years? Dost not thou for all that, give pardons Soto in 4. lib sent. dist. 19 q. 3. arg 2. for ten thousand years? do not thy Romish priests take money, to say Masses for those that were dead and buried, seven thousand years ago? the usual practice which myself have known, doth prove it to be so; I have also proved the same in my book of Motives and more at large in my book of Survey. The 13 Hound. TEll me O Pope, dost not thou teach thy children, that they are justified by their own merits, and by their works of supererogation? and yet doth not thy dear Friar johannes de Combis, oppose himself roundly against that wicked heresy, God's holy spirit moving him so to do? I wot it is so, for these are his express words; Hoc patet, quiae Deus semper remunerat supra joan▪ de Combis lib; 5. theolog. verit. cap. 1● meritum, sicut punit citra condignum. All this is evident, because God evermore rewardeth us above our merits, and also doth ever punish us, less than we deserve. For which respect, Saint Austen saith gravely, Ue etiam laudabilvitae hominum, si remotae misericordiae discutias eam. Woe, even to the best liver of all, if thou (O GOD) Aug. lib. 9 confess. cap. 13. shall examine his life, thy mercy set apart. The 14. Hound. TEll me O Pope, doth not thy famous Canonist and most reverend Bishop, Couarruuias, tell us without blushing, that albeit the doctrine of thine Angelical Doctor Aquinas, be confirmed for Authentical by sundry Popes afore thee, The Pope's doings & doctrine, must needs be defended. yet must the contrary opinion be defended of necessity? because forsooth saith Couerruuias, the life of popery cannot otherwise saved be. These are his express words; Nec me latet D. Thomam praevia maxima deliberatione afferere, Covern. To. 1. ca 20 part. 11. in ●ed. col. prima. Rom. pontificem non posse propria dispeae satione continentiae solemn votum monathorum tolere, & paulo post, oportet tamen primam opinionem defendere, neque passim fiant, evertantur omnino. Neither am I ignorant, saith Coverruvias, that Saint Thomas affirmeth after great deliberation, that the Bishop of Rome cannot with his dispensation, take away from monks their solemn vow of chastity, this notwithstanding, we must defend the first opinion, lest the common practice of the Pope be turned upside down. Out of these words, sundry very necessary 1 observations may be gathered. First, that the best learned Papists, do not agree 2 about the Pope's Authority. Secondly, that great learned papists among whom Aquinas is one, do deny the Pope's resolution, judgement, and authority, and that even in the highest points of doctrine. Thirdly, that false and absurd opinions 3 must be defended, for the credit and safeguard of the Pope's religion. What a beggarly thing is popery. fourthly, that most miserable is the Pope's religion, which must have such beggarly shifts, for the maintenance of the same. The 15. Hound. TEll me O Pope, dost thou not reject the sixth general synod, because it prescribeth limits to thy holiness? dost thou not like wise reject one part of the general counsel of Constance, for that it preferreth the authority of the counsel against thee? doth not thine own jesuite Bellarmine, reject the Epistle of Damasus to Hierome, and an other of Hierome to Damasus? doth Lo, how roundly the papists reject the fathers. not thy renowned canonist Navarre, reject the common opinion, so often as he disliketh the same? doth not Cardinal Caietanus contemn a whole multitude of Fathers, when they seem to him to hold against the scriptures? doth not Melchior Canus a most learned papist, oppose himself against the Thomistes and the Scotistes? Against all both old and new writers? all this is true, I know it well, and I haue proved it, in my book of motives. One or two testimonies I will here set down, because they are very profitable for the Reader. Caietanus hath these express words; Si quando occurrerit nows sensus textui consonus, Caietan. in praefat. in quin que lib. Mos. nec à scriptura sacra, nec ab ecclesiae doctrina dissonus, quamuis à torrent doctorum sacrorum alienus, aequas se praebeant censores. Memineriut ius sum unicuique tribuere, solis scripturae saecrae authoribus reseruata est authoritas haec, ut ideo credimus sic esse quod ipsi ita scripserunt, nullus itaque detestetur nowm sacrae scripturae sensum, ex hoc quod dissonat à priscis doctoribus. Sed scrutetur perspicatius textum ac contextum scripturae, & si quadrare invenerit, laudet Deum, qui non alligavit expositionem scripturarum sacrarum priscorum doctorum sensibus, sed scripturae ipsi integrae sub catholicae ecclesiae censurae. alioquin spes nobis ac posteris tolleretur exponendi scripturam sacram, nisi transferendo (ut ainnt) de libro in quinternum. If at any time a new sense occur, which is consonant to the text, & not dissonant from holy writ or doctrine of the Church, although it swarm from the opinion of never so many fathers; yet let the Readers judge there of indifferently, and according to equity. Let them remember to give to every one his right, because this privilege is only granted to the writers This testimony of Caieta●●, is worthy to be noted. of the holy scriptures, that we must therefore believe it to be so, because they have written so, Let none therefore loath a new sense of holy scripture, because it dissenteth from the old Doctors, but let him exactly consider the text and context of the scripture, and if he find it to agree, let him praise God, who hath not tied the exposition of the holy scriptures, to the opinions of the old Doctors, but to the integrity of the scripture itself, under the censure of the Catholic Church. For otherwise, neither we nor our posterities shall have any hope to expound the scripture, but only to translate out of one book into another. Thus we hear the cry of a well mouthed hound; to wit, the verdict of our learned captain, our great Thomist, our religious The holy scripture ought to be the trial of every doubtful question. friar, our Cardinal of Rome. By whose grave resolution, well worthy to be written in golden letters, it is evident to every child, that no sense, though neverso new; no exposition, though never so strange, no opinion, though different from never so many fathers, must, or aught to be rejected, if it be agreeable to the holy scriptures. And consequently it followeth by the said resolution, that every truth is to be tried by the scriptures, and none at all by the fathers. Melchior Canus an other learned papist, is of the self same opinion. These are his express words; Vbi ego si Thomistae Canus de locis, lib. 8. cap. 5. Ep. 245 omnes cum Scotist is existant, si cum antiquis iuniores vellent contra me pugnare, tamen superior sim necesse est, non enim ut nonnulli putant, omnia sunt in the logorum authoritate. Wherein, though all the Thomistes stand with the Scotists, though the old writers with the young fight against me, yet shall I of necessity have the upper hand over them. For all things do not as some think, rest in the authority of divins. And why should any man, depend upon the judgement of men, seeing O Pope thine own sweet jesuite Bellarmine, doth tell us plainly, that all Bishops do so dissent among themselves, and so serve from the truth of the scriptures, as he knoweth not in the world whom to follow. These are his express words; At sine dubio singuli episcopi Bellarm. lib. 2. de conc. cap. 2. errare possunt, & aliquando errant, & inter se quaudoque dissentiunt, ut nesciamus quisnam eorum sequendus sit. But without all doubt, all Bishops may err one after an other, and they sometime do err, and sometime dissent one from an other, so as we cannot in the world tell, whom it is best to follow. Out of these words, I note first, that God 1 who caused Balaams' Ass to speak, hath enforced our jesuite against his will to Nurse, 22. 28. confess the truth. I note secondly, 2 that there is no Bishop in the world, but he both may err, and sometime doth err, and consequently, that the Pope of Rome is either no Bishop at all by his own jesuits grant, or else that he both may err, and doth err in deed. Of which testimony I make the the greater account, because it proceedeth from a jesuits mouth. For none more forcible weapons can be used against Popish doctrine is most forcible against itself. the papists, then to beat them with their own sword. I note thirdly, that by our jesuits confession, every 3 Bishop hath so many errors, that the people cannot tell whom to follow. I note fourthly, that since every ancient 4 father both may err and doth err, and that by popish grant, there is no reason, why the papists should urge us as they do, to stand to the censure of the fathers in every thing, Nay they ought to give us leave to examine their writings, Ad amussim scripturarum, according to the true meaning of the scriptures: because the great papists, Caietanus, Canus, and Bellarminus, do all three grant the same, as is already proved. Add hereunto the scent of the next hound. The 16. Hound. TEll me O Pope, dost not thou take away all freedom and liberty granted of old time to all assemblies and synods. Dost not thou deny voices, and definitive sentence, to all persons in all counsels, even to the Emperor himself, admitting none, though never so learned, but Bishops only, to judge of doubts in faith or religion? dost not thou absent thyself from all counsels, and yet reservest all judgement to thyself, sitting in thy chair at home? dost thou not with all this, take thy Bishops sworn, even when they are made Bishops, to defend thy papal Tyranny and laws whatsoever? I wot it is so, and I have proved it in my book of Motives. I will nevertheless in this place briefly show the same, by the testimony of three Romish Hounds. The first hound is Gregory, who was himself the late Bishop of Rome. His express words in his decreetals, are these; Ego N. episcopus, Greg. lib. 7. decret. lit. 24. cap. 4. ab hac hora sidelis ero S. Petro, sanctaeque Romanae ecclesiae, dominoque meopapae N. eiusque successoribus Canonicè intrantibus. sequitur; papatum Romanae ecclesiae, & regulas sanctorum patrum, adiutor ero ad defendendum & retinndum contra omnes homines; sic me Deus adiwet, & haec sancta evangelia. I (john Fisher) Bishop, will from this day forward be faithful to saint Peter and to the holy Church of Rome, and to my Lord (Boniface) the Pope, and to his successors chosen canonically, and I will be an helper to defend the popedom or papal authority, and the rules of the holy fathers against all people; so God me help, and the holy Gospel. Out of these words, it may be easily gathered, that the decrees of late Romish counsels, are in these our days of no force at all. The reason is evident, because none but Bishops have definitive voices in the said counsels, neither can the said Bishops decree any thing, against either the Pope or the Church of Rome. For as we see by the Pope's tyrannical constitution now alleged, all Bishops are sworn to be faithful to my Lord the Pope, and to defend whatsoever he hath set down, against all people in the world. Te second hound is Bellarmine our Romish jesuite, whose express words are these; Istum juramentum non tollit Episcoporum libertatem, Bellarm. lib 1. de conc. cap. vlt. quae in conciliis necessaria est, iurant enim se fore obedientes summo Pontifici, quod intelligitur donec Pontifex est, & dum jubet ea quae secundum Deum & sacras canones jubere potest; sed non iuràt se non dicturos quod sentiunt in concilio, vel se non deposituros ei● si haeretioū esse convincant, This oath taketh not away the liberty of bishops, which in counsels is necessary. For they swear that they will be obedient to the Pope, which is to be understood, so long as he is Pope, and while he commandeth those things, which he may command, agreeable to God and the holy cannons; but they swear not, that they will not speak what they think in the counsel, or that they will Mark this doctrine of our jesuite. not depose him, if they prove him to be an heretic. Out of these words of 1 the jesuite, I note first, that he saw right well, that this oath bringeth no small discredit, to the late Romish religion; in regard whereof he seeketh many shifts, to save the Pope's credit if it might be. I note secondly, 2 that all clergymen admitted to give voices in counsels, are sworn wholly to obey the Pope's constitutions. 3 I note thirdly, that the said persons are sworn to believe, that the Pope cannot err in his judicial decrees of faith or manners, that no counsels are of force, without the Pope's confirmation; that all counsels confirmed by him, are approved by the holy Ghost: that he can excommunicate and depose, all Emperors, Kings, Queens, and Bishops in the Christian world: that he can deliver by his free pardons, all souls out of purgatory, and a thousand other things, of like homely quality, for all such matters are contained, in the Pope's holy holy cannons, and consequently, in their most lamentable oath. I note fourthly, that they 4 are sworn to admit his decrees, who as they believe, may be an heretic. I note fifthly, that they are sworn 5 to admit his judgement in all matters of faith, whom yet themselves may judge and depose for heresy. (Fie, fie upon all filthy popery.) I note sixtly, that the popish fundamental article, in appointing the Pope judge over all controversies; is quite overthrown & turned upside down in this Bellarminus his explication. For when he saith, (while he commandeth &c.) he granteth every Bishop freedom, to examine and to judge of the Pope's constitutions. Which liberty, if they would constantly perform, all true christians would agree with them. For none that believe rightly Would to God this were observed amongst the papists. in God, will deny obedience to the Pope, When soever he preacheth or teacheth any thing, which is agreeable to God & holy cannons. But true christians finding his canons to be disholy & his decrees to be against God; think as Bellarmine here teacheth them, that they may judge his bad dealing, and are not bound to obey him. The third hound is Melchior Canus, whose Canus, lib. 5. de author, conc. cap. 5. pag. 102. express words are these; Decreta quoe a legatis contra sedis apostolicae traditionem apprebentur, non habent Romanae ecclesiae authoritatem, nec aliter se habent, quam si a consilio sine legatis prodijssent. Sequitur, solidam auctoritatem, quam in confirmandis & fratribus & dogmatibus Petrus habet, in legatos transferre non potest. The decrees which the legates shall approve against the tradition of the Church of Rome, have no authority from the Church of Rome, neither are they of any more force, then if they had proceeded from the counsel without consent of the Legates. The sound authority which Peter hath in confirming his brethren and decrees, he can not transfer unto his Legates. Thus writeth Canus, that great pillar of Popish Doctrine. Out of whose words I note first, that decrees of counsels 1 be of no force, without consent of the Pope's Legates. I note secondly, that 2 the decrees of counsels, even when they have the consent of the Legates, are for all that of no force, when the Legates condescend to any thing against the Pope's mind. I note thirdly, that the 3 Pope cannot give or translate his authority to the legates; and consequently, that the Pope doth no little abuse the whole world, when he calleth together Late Popish counsels are of no authority. all bishops in the world. and yet will allow nothing that they do, unless it be the same that he decreth in his chair at home. The 17 Hound. TEll me O precursor of Antichrist, if thou be not that Antichrist himself? dost not thou take upon thee to depose Kings, and to dispossess them of their Sceptres and regalities? dost not thou challenge authority to make Kings? dost not thou tell them, that they have not their power from God, but through thee and thy means? I wot it is so, thy domicican Friar Sylvester reproveth it, thy jesuite Bellermine confirmeth it, and thy sworn Vassals, Campion, Ballard, and their complices, did put the same in execution. Sylvester hath these express Sylvester. de papa, par 2. words; nec obstat, quod potestas imperialis est adeo concessa secundum multa iura, quia est a deo mediant Papa; quia eam concedit non ut homo, sed ut vicarius dei. Nec sunt sic distinctae potestates, spiritualis scilicet & temporal●s, quin una alteri subaliernetur ad instar solis & Lunae; nec sunt distinctae, quasi semper sint in diversis, sed quia sunt ordinata ad distincta, scilicet spiritualia & temporalia; & in uno eodemque summo pontifice, est utraque in summo. It skilleth not that many laws affirm imperial power to be of God. For it is but from God doth not make kings but by the Pope's means. GOD, by the Pope's means who granteth it not as man, but as the Vicar of God. Neither are the two powers, the spiritual and the temporal so distinct, but that they remain subordinate the one to the other, after the resemblance of the Sun & the Moon. Neither are they distinct as being always in divers subjects, but as ordained to distinct things, spiritual and temporal. For they both are in one and the same Pope, even in the highest degree. These words gentle Reader, need no interpretation, they are full of open blasphemy, as all that have eyes may see. Bellerminus hath these words; Childericum deposuit Papa, & in eius locum Pipinum Caroli magni patrem Bellerm, de tom, pontifice, lib, 5, cap, 8, &, lib, eod, cap, 7. regem creari jussit. The Pope deposed Childericus, and commanded to place Pipinus father to Charles the great, in his throne. Again in an other place, the same Bellermine hath these express words; at si isti ijdem principes conantur avertere populum a fide, omnium consensu possunt & debent privari suo dominio. But if these princes go about, to avert the people from the faith (of the Church of Rome, for so he meaneth,) then by the consent of all, they may and must be dispossessed, of their sceptres & Regalities. Again, in the second Chapter he saith Bellerm, cap, eodem. thus; quod si Christiani elim non deposuerunt Neronem, & Dioclesianum, & julianum apostatam, ac valentem Arianum, & similes; id fuit, quia deerant vires temporales Christianis. If the Christians in time past, did not depose Nero, Diocletian, julian, Valens, and such like Emperors; the cause thereof was this, because they wanted power and force, and were not strong enough for that attempt. Again, a little after he hath these words; at non tenentur Christiani, imò Bellermin. cap, eodem. nec debent cum evidenti periculo religionis, tolerare regem infidelem. But Christians are not bound to tolerate a King that is an infidel, (or not a papist, as the je suit understandeth the word, who will have none to be christians: but papists;) nay, they must not tolerate such a one, with the evident peril of religion. And our je suit hath this reason, to persuade us thus to think; because forsooth saith he, de iure humano est, Bellerm. ubi super. quod hunc aut illum habeamus regem. It is by the law of man, that we have this or that man to be our King. This is the doctrine of our jesuite, and consequently of the Pope himself. Out of which disloyal and most unchristian assertion, I infer. First, that the Pope and his 1 jesuits would most willingly, depose our most gracious Sovereign from her royal throne and regality, if they were of force and power so to do. I infer secondly, that our jesuite doth here approve 2 peremptorily, many naughty & abominable facts; aswell in the sight Lo, the fruits of popery is flat & open treason of god, as in the eyes of the world. First, the diabolical excommunication of Pope Pius. Secondly, the disloyal fact of Murton, who brought the same into this Realm. Thirdly, the publishing thereof by Felton. Fourthly, the practising of the curse or excommunication, by Sanders, Fitz-Morice, Ballard, and others their seditious complices. Fiftly, the renewing of the print, & the dispercing of the copies at Rome, by our jesuits, Persons and Campion, which thing was done during mine own abode at Rome, as a very compendious preparative, for their more commodious entrance into this land. I infer thirdly, that all subjects are by this doctrine, stirred up and encouraged to manifest rebellion, as also to have no scruple of conscience in so doing, the reason hereof is evident, because if kings receive their authority from man, as this jesuite avoucheth; then may kings indeed be displaced by man, as Romish parasites & irreligious politics, do bear the world in hand. But God himself telleth us another tale, by his anointed king Solomon the wise; per me reges Pro, cap, 8 vers. 15. regnant, & legum conditores justa decernunt. By me king do reign, & Princes decree justice. By me princes rule, and all nobles, and judges of the earth, And the apostle saith, non est potestas nisi a Deo. There is no power but of Rom. 13. 1. God. The 18, Hound. TEll me O holy disholy father of Rome, how thou hast aspired to thy lords titles? wilt thou hold thy peace? must I needs speak for thee? doubtless the glossers of thy Canons, gave thee all thy Lordle titles, themselves being blind bayards, and very beggarly fellows. For by reason of their poverty, they flattered and sought to please; and by reason of their ignorance, they writ many things, which they did not understand. The great papist Franciscus a Victoria, hath these express words; sed glossatores juris hoc dominium dederunt papae, cum ipsi essent pauperes rebus & doctrina. But the glossers Victor, de potest: ecclae, relect. 1 sect, 6. pag, 39 of the popish Canon-law, gave this dominion and these royal titles to the Pope, when themselves were blind bayards and beggarly fellows. O noble birth of Popery. The 19 Hound. TEll me O three headed Cerberus, who blasphemously namest thyself the Vicer universal of Christ jesus; who was he that first gave thee, the primacy Popish primacy began with blood & is maintained with fire. and the headship of the Church? was it not that bloody Phocas the parricide? did he not ravish many godly matrons, and murder the godly Emperor Maur●ius together with his wife & children? didst not thou shortly after obtain of him, that the church of Rome might be called the head of all churches? I am sure it was so: for so write thine own zealous Papists and renowned Cronographerss; Sigebertus, Plalmerius, Bergonensis, Polidorus, and others. Sigebertus hath these very words; post quem Bonifacius Romanae ecclesiae presidet. Hic obtinuit Sygebert, in cron. apud Phocam ●mperatorem, ut ecclesia Romanacaput esset omnium ecclesiarum, cumprius Constantinopolitana id usurpare tentasset, After whom Boniface governed the Church of Rome. He obtained of the Emperor Phocas, that the Church of Rome should be the head of all Churches; and this he did, because the Church of Constantinople writ itself the head of all Churches. by whose testimony it is most evident, as ye see, that the Church of Rome never sought for the primacy over other Churches, until the church of Constantinople proudly challenged that name. For which proud appellation. S. Gregory surnamed the great, that holy and learned bishop of Rome, stoutly withstood john the bishop of Constantinople, terming him Antichrist, and the Gregor. lib. cap. pe. 6 194. name Antichristian. And because his own assertion plainly recited, is most forcible to persuade the reader, I will set down his own express words, which are these; ego autem fidenter dico, quia quis quis se universalem sacerdotem vocat, vel vocari desiderat, in elatione sua, Antichristum praecurrit. I speak boldly, that whosoever either calleth himself universal Priest, or desireth so to be called, is for his intolerable pride, become the precursor of Antichrist. So then, the Church of Rome for the space of six hundred years after Christ, continued in equality and uniformity with other Churches; even until the year of our Lord, 607. at which time Bonifacius A. D. 607 the third of that name, was proudly exalted by Phocas as is already said. The 20 Hound. TEll me O Pope, thou that makes thyself the foundation and rock, upon which the Church is built; do not thine own dear darlings affirm boldly, that the church is neither built upon Peter, nor upon thee, but upon the faith and confession that Peter made? I wot they do so, and thou shalt hear their express words: Dyonisius carthusianus Dionysius Carthus. in 16. cap. Math. hath these words: super hanc petram quam confessuses, hoc est, super meipsum lapidem angularem, montem altissimum, de quo ait apostolus, fundamentum aliud nemo potest ponere, praeter id quod positum est, quod est Christus jesus. Upon this rock which thou hast confessed, that is, upon mine own self the cornerstone, the 1. cor. 3. 11. high mountain of which the Apostle speaketh: another foundation can no man lay, then that which is laid, which is jesus Christ, upon this rock I say, will I build my church, that is, the congregation of the faithful. Thus writeth thine own Friar, and thy dear Doctor. Nicholaus de Lyra confirmeth this verdict in these express words: & ego dico tibi, pro te & pro socijs tuis, quin tis es Petrus. 1. confessor verae petrae quae est Christus. Et super hanc petram quam confessus es, id est, super Christum, aedificabo ecclesiam meam, & portae inferi, id est, persecutiones tyrannorum et tentationes spirituum malignorum non praevalebunt ad versus eam, a vera fide subvertendo. ex quo patet, quod ecclesia non consistit jyran, in 16, cap. Mat. in hominibus ratione potestatis vel dignitatis ecclesiasticae velsecularis, quiamulti principes, & summi pontifices, & alij inferiores, inventi sunt apostatasse a fide; propter quod ecclesia consistet in illis personis, in quibus est notitia verae, & confessio fidei, & veritatis. And I say to thee for thee and for thy fellows, that thou art Peter that is to say, the confessor of the true rock which is Christ. And upon this rock which thou hast confessed, that is, upon Christ, will I build my Church, and Helgates, that is, the persecutious and temptations of wicked spirits, shall not prevail against The Church is built upon Christ, & confiteth not of wicked Popes, but of those persons that confess the faith of Christ. it in subverting it from the true faith. Whereby it is evident, that the Church doth not consist in men, by reason of power or dignity, either ecclesiastical of secular; because many both Princes and Popes, and others of the inferior sort, are found to have revolted and made an appostasie from the faith, for which cause, the Church, consisteth in those persons, in whom there is true knowledge, and confession of the faith and verity. Lo, by the verdict of Lyra a great learned papist, that which was spoken to Peter, was spoken to him, not as to himself alone, but to him for, and in the behalf of his fellows. And the rock upon which Christ promiseth to build his Church, is not Peter, but his own person, even our Lord jesus. But this point is handled atlarge, in my book of Survey. To which as also to my book of Motives, the papists would ere this, have framed some answer, if they knew in the world, how to devise the same. But the truth must needs in time, have the upper hand. The 21 Hound. TEll me O pope, thou that bearest the world in hand, that the particular Church of Rome can not err? is not that Church which cannot err, the whole congregation of the faithful? I wot it is so, and thine own children do testify the same against thee. Panormitanus a famous popish archbishop, & thyrenowmed canonist, hath these express words; ecclesia universitatis errare non Panormit. apud Silu. decide, s. 9 potest, scilicet in fide vel articulis fidei; & pro hac tantum christus in evangelio oravit ad patrem. The church universal cannot err, to wit, in the faith, or in the articles of our belief; and for this church only was Christ's prayer when he prayed to his Father in the Gospel. Sylvester hath these words: & sicintellige glossam dicentem, quodecclesia quae errare non potest, dicatur non papa, sed congregatio fidelium, Siluefter, de eccles. 5, 4. quae silicet tenet fidem, quam Petrus cum aliis populis docuit. And thus must we understand the gloss which saith, that the church which cannot err, is not the Pope: But the congregation of the faithful, that is, such as hold that faith firmly, which S. Peter with other (godly) people taught. By which testimony, every one may see that hath eyes, that all the ancient writers, even the papists themselves, did ever more both think and write, that the church which could not err, was only and solely the whole company of the faithful, which thing our jesuite Bellermine, as one that forgetteth himself, confesseth, unawares in these express words: secunda opinio est, pontificem etiam ut pontifex, posse esse baereticum & Peller, lib. 4 de rome, pont cap. 2. docere haresim. sequitur, hanc opinionem tuentur aliquot Parisienses, ut Gerson & Almain in libris de potestate ecclesiae, nec non Alphonsus de Castro, libro primo, cap. 2. contra haereses, et Adrianus sextus papa. The second opinion is, that the Pope even as Pope, may be an heretic and teach heresy. Certain doctors of Paris follow this opinion, as Gerson and Almain, Alphonsus also & pope Adrian himself. Lo both papists & the Pope himself tell us, that the Pope even as Pope, may be an heretic & teach us a false The Pope as pope may teach a false faith, and flat heresy. faith, & yet must we believe, that whatsoever he desireth or teacheth as Pope, is as true as the Gospel, or else be reputed heretics for our refusal in that behalf, and if it rest in the Pope's power, be also burned at a stake. The 22 Hound. TEil me O monstrous Pope, do not all thy priests in all their absolutions, ascribe remission of sins & eternal life, to the merits of man's works? I wot they do so, I know your practice right Polanchus de modo audience. onsess. well, and Polanchus our jesuire hath published the same in print. These are his express word; passio D. N. I. Christi, merita, B. V Mariae, & omnium sanctorum, & quicquid bonifeceris, vel mali sustineris, sit tibi in remissionem peccatorum tuorum, in augmentum gratiae, & praemium vitae aeternae. The passion of our Lord jesus Christ, the merits of the blessedvirgin Marie, & of all Saints, whatsoever good thou shalt do, & what punishment soever thou shalt suffer, be to thee for remission of thy sins, for increase of grace, & for reward of eternal life. Thus doth our jesuite truly set down, the usual practice of the Romish Church, & of all popish Priests dispersed wheresoever. This practice is agreeable to the hymn made of Thomas Becket late Bishop of Canterbury. In hymn Tho Caut. These are the words; Tu, per Thomae sanguinem quem pro te impendit, fac nos christ scandere, quo Thomas ascendit. By the blood O Christ, which Thomas for thee did spend make us come thither, whither Thomas did ascend. Which doubtless, is blasphemy intolerable. The 23. Hound. TEll me O Pope, if it like your holiness; what malice, hatred, and dissension, hath been among you Popes, and that in most weighty and important matters? even in matters of faith, & fundamental points of your religion? did not Pope Stephanus the sixth of that name, persecute the very name of Formosus? did he not disannul his giving of orders? did he not degrade them, that had received orders by him? did not Pope Romanus, abrogate the whole Acts of Pope Stephanus? did not Sergius the third persecute the very Carranza, in summa council. Fol. 354. & fo. 355 name of Formosus? did he not cause his head to be cut of, after his body was laid in the grave? Carranza and Platina do so write of thee & thy brethren, O holy father of Rome. The 23. Hound. Confess the truth O cruel Pope; disssemble no longer with the world. Do not thy wicked laws, charge all men, women, & children of mature age, to make auricular confession of all their Caietan. in summual. Pag. 590: thoughts, words, & deeds? doth not for all that, thine own Cardinal Caietaeine tell thee, that it is a thing impossible to be done? did not johannes Geilerius a very grave and reverend divine, who was a long time the preaher at Argentoratum, complain, oftentimes to his trusty friends that it was impossible for men to make their confessions, as the Pope's law required? I wot he did so, and thine own dear friend Beat us Rhenanus doth so affirm. I have set down his express words, in the 12. chapter of my Survey. And here I note by the way, that there were ever some good men amongst the The truth is & ever was confessed by some, even among the papists. papists, as this Godly Geileirus, who disliked and reproved as far as they durst; the absurdities and abomination, of late Romish doctrine. The 24 Hound TEll me O Pope, is not thy late Romish religion, like to a patched beggars cloak, with clouts upon clouts? do we not know, how every clout was put one to an other, by whom and at what time? I wot we know it, and myself have proved it; in my book of Survey. If any papist can deny it; let him answer that, that I have written there. The 25. Hound. TEll me O pope, dost not thou make havoc of Christ's gospel? dost not thou dissolve that matrimony, which Christ himself pronounceth to be indissoluble? dost not thou dispense with persons lawfully married, that the husband may take an other wife, and the wife an other husband? I wot thou dost it, and thine own dear Doctors Navarrus and Coverrunias, do testifiye the same against thee Navarre hath these express words, Dividitur (matrimonium) ante consummationem per dispensationem Papaeinsta de can sa factam. Matrimony is dissolved before Na●arr. in. 〈◊〉. cap. 22. par. 21. consummation (or carnal copulation) by the Pope's dispensation, if it be granted upon just cause. And the same Navarre avoucheth boldy in the place already quoted, that Paulus the third, and Pius the fourth late Bishops of Rome, did give such dispensations in his time to certain married persons, at the same Navarrs' request; Coverrunias hath these words; Nec me latet Paulum quartum summum ecclesiae pontificem, an: 1558. hac usum fuisse dispensatione Covarrau. t●m 1 cap. 7 par 4. ●. 3. 〈◊〉. quibusdam ex causis, quas iustissimas esse idem summus ecclesiae praesul existimavit; idem paulo ante julius tertius fecerat in eodem matrimonio, cum ecclesiae uninersali presideret. Neither am I ignorant, that Pope julius the fourth put this dispensation in practice, for certain causes which the same Pope thought to be most just. The Pope doth dissolve ●●●trimony at his pleasure. julius the third likewise when he was Bishop of Rome, granted the same dispensation in the same matrimonial contract See more hereof, in my book of Motives. The 26. Hound. TEll me O Pope, dost not thou teach us, that the Virgin Mary was conceived without sin hast not thou for that end appointed the feast or festival day of her conception? doth not thine own sweet Behold flat Idolatry, inpopish solemnity. Bernard forsake thee herein; doth not he sharply reprove the Carhedrall Church of Lions, for the self same thing? doth not he term that practice, the novelty of presumption, the mother of temerity, the sister of superstition, & the daughter of levity? do not S. Austin, S. Ambrose, S. Chrisostome S. Bede, Eusebius, Remigius, Anselmus, Bonaventura, Aquinas, Hugo, and all the resti, sing the self same song? are any with these idolatrous Pope) in this point of doctrine, save only thy late hatched jesuits and Seminaries? few or none I The Pope and his jesuits, are against all the fathers assure thee, as I have proved in my Survey, and in my book of motives. To which books I earnestly wish, that some of thy vassals would once frame some answer The 27. Hound. TEll me O pope, thou that commandest thy church-service, to be said and sung in a unknown language which the common people, & the greater part of the priests cannot understand; were not all prayers & other service of the Church, in the vulgar tongue as well in the primitive Church, as many hundred years after Christ, I wot it was so, & I have proved it in my book of Survey. But hearken O Pope what thine own Lyra telleth thee he is a well mouthed hound, take heed lest he bite thee, for these are his words; (Cae●erum si benedixerit.) 1. Tu sacerdos vel episcope (spiritu) 1. absque hoc quod populus intelligat (qui Lyra. in 1 cor. 14. supplet locum idiotae quasi diceret, quid proficit populus simplex & non intelligens q. d. nihil aut modicum, quia nescil se comformare tibi qui estainister ecclesiae, respondendo Amen. Propter quod in primitiva ecclesia, benedictiones & cetera communia fiebātin vulgari. But if thou shalt bless, that is, thou that art priest or Bishop; (in spirit,) that is, so as the people understand not what thou sayst, what pro fit shall the simple & igno●●● people have? truly either very little or none at all, because they cannot conform themselves to thee, who are the minister of the Church, in saying Amen to thy giving of thanks. For which cause both prayers & other common the church service ought to be in the vulgar tongue. things, were done in the vulgar tongue in the primitive church. Out of which words I note first, that the church-service in old time, was made in the vulgar tongue, which all the people understood. I note secondly that the church service ought to be in the vulgar tongue, according to S. Paul's doctrine. I note thirdly, that the people receive no profit by the church service, when it is made in a tongue, which they do not understand. I note four, that the people ought to pray together with the minister & to answer Amen to this blessings. I note fifthly, that the people in the Romish church, cannot this day perform that which their own Lyra a learned man indeed, avoucheth very constantly to be the doctrine of S. Paul. I note sixtly that the late Romish religion is far different & nothing like, to the old catholic religion and practice of the primitive Church. The supplement, for the solace of the well affected Reader. FIrst, the church-service was made in the vulgar tongue, in the old ancient, and primitive Church. Secondly popish primacy began, in the year, 607. by the tyranny of the Emperor Phocas, at the earnestsuit of Boniface the bishop of Rome & third of that name. Thirdly, the Pope's pardons were never heard of, until the year 1300. Fourthtly, the marriage of priests was not prohibited, till the year 385. at which time Syritius then Bishop of Rome, made a wicked law in that behalf. Fiftly, popish purgatory took no root in the Romish Church, till the year 250. sixthly, popish pilgrimage began in the year, 420. seventhly, the merit of works, de condigno, was disputable about the year, 1081. eightly, the invocation of saints & adoration, was not known or hard of, till the year, 370. ninthly, the communion under both kinds was never thought unlawful, till the year, 1414. tenthly, the Pope's Bulls were not authentical, till the year 772. eleventhly, auricular confession was not established, till the year, 1215. twelftly, general counsels were ever summoned by the Emperors. These & many other important matters, are proved at large in my book of Survey; & here noted briefly for the help of the simple vulgar sort. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉.