dicitur infernus, evocare, sinat eas tamen usque ejulare, ac torreri crudelissimè; nec omnes thesauri sui cumulos, tot captivorum spirituum spirituale pretium, piâ manu profundat? Infelix, quod de divite Ambrosius', cujus in potestate est tantorum animas a morte defendere, et non est voluntas. Quorsum illi indulsisset Deus hanc Indulgentiarum potestatem, ni aliis beneficam voluisset? Et ubi paterfamilias largusest, dispensator non debet esse tenaxk. Porrigat ilicet hasce siliquas porcis suis Circe illa Romana. (7.) Præ se quidem ferunt Indulgentiæ notissimam Peccati Mortalis et Venialis discriminationem; quam nec Deus admittere unquam voluit; nec, ipso reclamante, Evangelici. Gradus esse quosdam mali, agnoscimus nos æquè ac docemus: ut meritò hîc Campiani, Duræi, Coccii, Burdegalensium, qui Stoicæ cujusdam et Jovinianicæ paritatis opinionem nobis exprobrârint, et fidem et frontem desideremus: etiam desiderârit ante nos Bellarminus. Atrociora quædam sunt aliis delicta; lætifera tamen naturæ suæ malignitate universa: ut, e venenis, quædam lentiùs mitiùsque, celeriùs quædam et impetuosiùs enecant; mortem tamen accersunt omnia. Sed et ratione immensæ Dei misericordiæ, quin et subjecti verè fidelis ac poenitentis, habitâ ; nullum non peccatum, Prudentii verbo, veniabile: ipsius vero avoμías, nullum non æternâ morte dignissimum. Omne peccatum vipera est'. Nulla vipera non morsu interimit, modò ipsam bestiolæ naturam spectes: at si qua fortè in Pauli manum inciderit, in ignem inulta excutitur. Nemo minùs fugiat noxium animal, quòd incolumem Apostolum intuetur. Pariter se habet fideli peccatum. Symbolum est Joannis, Peccatum omne avoμía; 1 Joh. iii. 4. Symbolum Pauli, oyóvia peccati mors; Rom. vi. 23. Conjiciantur hæc duo; naturalis peccati venia evanescit. Rhemenses nostri', acuti homines, conversionem propositionis non magis ferunt, quàm suam. "Est quidem," inquiunt, "omne peccatum àvopía, sed non omnis avouía peccatum." Convertit, ergo, ipsemet Apostolus: Tâσa adiκía éσTiv áμapтía; 1 Joh. v. 17. "Omnis autem àvoμía, ådıñía est," teste Augustino"; In 1 Johan. iii. m Com. in locum. "place; for the Law is the rule of righteousness: therefore, the prevarication of the Law is unrighteousness." Yea, their very own word shall stop their own mouth: for, how is sin univocally distinguished into venial and mortal, if the venial be no sin? And the wages of every sin is death. That, therefore, which the Papists presume to say, That this kind of sin deserves pardon, in itself; unless they will take the word merit catachrestically, with Stapleton: and that, which Bellarmin and Navarrus add, That venial sins are not against, but beside the Law: and, lastly, that, which Franciscus à Victoria writes, That a Bishop's blessing, or a Lord's Prayer, or a knock on the breast, or a little holy-water, or any such like slight receipt, without any other good motion of the heart, is sufficient to remit venial sin: is so shamefully abhorring from all piety and justice, that these open panders, both of nature and sin, must be eternally defied of us. It is an old, and as true a rule, "Easiness of pardon gives encouragement to sin." And, beside, what manner of sins do they put in the rank of venials? Drunkenness, adultery, angry curses or blasphemies, covetousness, yea, stealing, lying, cursing of parents, (horrible offences!) shroud themselves, with them, under this plausible title of venial. He must needs be shamelessly wicked, that abhors not this licentiousness. Surely Socrates, the historian, prophesied, I think, of these men, "There are some," saith he, "that let go whoredom, as an indifferent matter; which yet strive for a holy-day, as for their life." The ordinary, and not slight controversy, as Cassander thinketh, of the name, nature, condition, punishment of " the first sin," as Chrysostom calls it, I willingly omit. Neither do I meddle with their Evangelical perfection of vows; nor the dangerous servitude of their rash and impotent votaries; nor the inconveniences of their monkery: which yet are so great and many, that the elect Cardinals of Paul the Third doubted not, with joint consent, to affirm, "All the Orders of Convents we think fit to be abolished." But, for the condition of that single and solitary life, let that be done, which Cassander and Clingius the Franciscan advise in this case: that is, let all false conceit and preposterous confidence be removed from it; that the trust, which should only be put in the merit of Christ, be not placed upon these courses: and, let no man think, that hereby he deserves righteousness, remission, grace: and, lastly, which I add, remove but idleness, superstition, necessity, from this kind of life, and we do not, we will not disallow it. » Τὸ ἐπιτυχεῖν. Fr. à Vict. Summa Sacr. Poenitentiæ. nu. 100. p. 63. "regula enim justitiæ Lex: prævaricatio ergo Legis injustitia." Sed et ipsum nomen os illis planè obstruit: quomodo enim peccatum univocè vel veniale vel mortale est, si veniale peccatum non est? Peccati verò stipendium mors. Quod ergo ogganniunt Pontificii, Mereri in se veniam peccatum hoc (nisi meritum kaтaxpηoτikos solummodo consecutionem interpretemur", cum Stapletono): quod Bellarminus et Navarrus, Venialia non esse contra, sed præter Legem: quod Franciscus à Victoria, Benedictionem Episcopi, Orationem Dominicam, tunsionem pectoris, aquam benedictam, et similia, sine quocunque alio motu bono, sufficere ad venialia remittenda: ita nimium ab omni et pietate et justitiâ videtur abhorrere, ut nobis necessum sit, ab his naturæ, immo peccati, lenonibus æternùm dissentire. Vetus illa regula est, et æquè profectò vera: "Facilitas veniæ incentivum tribuit delinquendi P." Sed et (bone Deus!) quæ illis audiunt vulgò venialia? Ebrietas, adulterium, irati hominis blasphemia, avaritia; quin et furari, mentiri, maledicere parentibus (quanta flagitia!) istuc accenseri solent. Insignitè sit improbus oportet, qui istanc licentiam non perhorrescat. De istis vaticinatum puto Socratem historicum, dum ait'; "Nonnulli scortationem rem quidem indifferentem arbitrantur, sed tamen de diebus festis tanquam de vitâ decertant." Mitto quæ περὶ τῆς πρωτῆς ἁμαρτίας, ut appellat Chrysostomus, nomine, re, conditione, ac pœnâ, utrinque non levi verborum lite, ut Cassandro visum, disceptari solent. Nec attingo Evangelicam votorum perfectionem, nec periculosissimam temerè voventium servitutem, nec incommoda monachatûs; quæ tot ac tanta sunt, ut delecti illi à Paulo Tertio Cardinales unanimiter pronuntiârint, "Conventuales Ordines abolendos putamus esse omnes". Quod ad ipsam tamen vitæ conditionem attinet, fiat modò quod monent Cassander et Clingius ille Franciscanus: removeatur falsa opinio, et præpostera fiducia; ne in his operibus fiducia collocetur, quæ in solo Christi merito collocanda est: nec quis inde putet se promereri justitiam, et remissionem peccatorum, et gratiam: addo etiam, absit otium, superstitio, et necessarii ligaminis imperium, nos non adeò improbandam judicamus. P Decr. 23. q. 4. Est injusta, &c. 4 Peter Alagona. Comp. Manual. Navarri, p. 91. p. 267. p. 140. p. 191. p. 352. p. 400. Adulteria, et alia leviora peccata. Pontificale. r Socr. 1. v. c. 22. * Osiand. Papa non Papa. Neither do we take our Colleges for any other, than certain sacred aσκηтýpia, Monastical Academies; wherein, according to the precept of Pelagius the Pope, we may be maturely fitted for these holy services of God and his Church. Such were the Monasteries of the Ancients: insomuch as Possidonius can witness, that St. Austin, out of one little house, sent forth ten labourers into the Church. II. Those which principally respect God: (1.) Concerning Scripture:-[1.] Its Canon: [2.] Its Insufficiency: [3.] Its Authority. (2.) Concerning the Person and Offices of Christ:-[1.] Against his Person, are (a) Transubstantiation: (b) The Multi-presence of his Body. [2] Against his Priestly Office, are (a) The Sacrifice of the Mass: (b) The Number of Mediators, and the Invocation of Saints. (3.) Concerning the Superstitious, Heathenish, and Ridiculous Worship of the Papists. Now, lest I be too tedious, it is time for me, from these points, which do directly concern ourselves; to hasten unto those, WHICH DO MORE CLOSELY TOUCH THE MAJESTY OF GOD, and do, as it were, send plain challenges into heaven. And those do either respect the Scripture, which is his expressed word; or Christ, which is his natural and substantial Word; or, lastly, the Worship due unto his name. (1.) And, first, the Scripture complains justly of three main wrongs offered to it. The first, of Addition to the Canon: the second, of Detraction from the Sufficiency of it: the third, of Hanging all the Authority thereof upon the Sleeve of the Church. For, of that corrupt translation of Scripture, which the Trent Divines have made only and fully authentical, I forbear purposely to speak: although it were easy to shew, (that which Reuchlin, following the steps of Jerome, hath averred) “That the Hebrews drink of the well-head, the Greeks of the stream, and the Latins of the puddle." Neither will I so much as touch the injurious inhibition of those holy books to the laity. [1.] Who can endure a piece of new cloth to be patched unto an old garment? or, what can follow hence, but that the rent should be worse? Who can abide, that, against the faithful information of the Hebrews; against the clear testimonies of Melito, Cyril, Athanasius, Origen, Hilary, Jerome, Ruffinus, Nazianzen; against their own Doctors, both of the middle and latest age; six whole books should, by their Fatherhoods of Possid. in Vitâ Aug. * Ep. ad Ones. cit. ab Eus. "Hier. advers. Helvidium. Nec alia putamus Collegia nostra, quàm sacratiora quædam donτýρia; in quibus, juxta Pelagii Papæ præceptum, sacris Dei ac Ecclesiæ muneribus obeundis maturè instrui et aptari possimus. Talia fuêre et Veterum monasteria: ut vel ex unâ ædiculâ decem in Clerum emisisse Augustinum, author sit Possidonius'. II. Quæ pricipuè ad Deum : (1.) De Scripturæ―[1.] Canone: [2.] Insufficientiâ : [3.] Authoritate. (2.) De Persona et Officiis Christi:-[1.] Contra Personam, sunt (a) Transubstantiatio: (b) Multi-præsentia Corporis. [2.] Contra Sacerdotale officium, sunt (a) Sacrificium Missæ: (b) Numerus Mediatorum, et Sanctorum Invocatio. (3.) De Cultu Superstitioso, Ethnico, Ridiculo, Pontificiorum. NUNC demum (ne nimius sim) ab his, quæ nosmetipsos non obliquè spectare mihi visa sunt, festino ad ea, QUÆ DEUM IPSUM PROPIUS ATTINGUNT, hastamque in cœli terminos minaciter conjiciunt. Ea verò sive Scripturam, verbum Dei πродóρikov; seu Christum, Verbum euovтov; seu denique Cultum divinæ majestati debitum, respiciunt. (1.) Et Scripturæ quidem dica triplex impingi solet, eaque profecto gravis grandisque. Prima, Aucti Canonis: secunda, Negatæ avтaρKelas: tertia, Suspensæ ab Ecclesià Authoritatis. Corruptissimam enim Sacrarum Literarum versionem, Tridentinis unicè authenticam, (de quâ, jure bono Reuchlinus, Hieronymi vestigia premens, "Hebræi fontes, Græci rivos, Latini paludes bibunt"), sciens prudensque prætereo. [1.] Inprimis quis ferat ἐπίβλημα ῥάκους ἀγνάφου adsui panno veteri? aut quid hinc, nisi xeípov oxioua? Quis ferat, ut, contra Hebræorum fidem; contra Melitonis, Cyrilli, Athanasii, Origenis", Hilarii", Hieronymic, Ruffini, Nazianzeni clarissima testimonia; contra Doctores medioxumos nuperosque, vel suos'; sex integri libri, sub anathematis pœnâ, Deo ipsi Ath. in Synops. b Lib. 6. et Præf. in Ps. d Ruf. Symb. a Orig. cit. ab Eus. c Hier. Prol. in Gal. Recensuimus hæc largiùs, Præf. ad Pacem Romæ. |