Christ and his apostles. And, therefore, there can be no question, whether the faith of the church of England be apostolic or primitive; it is so, confessedly: but the question is concerning many other particulars, which were unknown to the holy doctors of the first ages, which were no part of their faith, which were never put into their creeds, which were not determined in any of the four first general councils, revered in all Christendom, and entertained every where with great religion and veneration, even next to the four Gospels and the apostolical writings.

Of this sort, because the church of Rome hath introduced many, and hath adopted them into their late creed, and imposes them upon the people, not only without, but against the Scriptures and the catholic doctrine of the church of God, laying heavy burdens on men's consciences, and making the narrow way to heaven yet narrower by their own inventions; arrogating to themselves a dominion over our faith, and prescribing a method of salvation, which Christ and his apostles never taught; corrupting the faith of the church of God, and "teaching, for doctrines, the commandments of men;" and lastly, having derogated from the prerogatives of Christ, who alone is the author and finisher of our faith, and hath perfected it in the revelations consigned in the holy Scriptures; therefore it is, that we esteem ourselves obliged to warn the people of their danger, and to depart from it, and call upon them to stand upon the ways, and ask after the "old paths," and "walk in them;" lest they partake of that curse which is threatened by God to them, "who remove the ancient land-marks, which our fathers in Christ have set for us."

Now that the church of Rome cannot pretend that all which she imposes, is primitive and apostolic, appears in this; that in the church of Rome there is pretence made to a power, not only of declaring new articles of faith, but of making new symbols or creeds, and imposing them as of necessity to salvation. Which thing is evident in the bull of pope Leo X. against Martin Luther, in which, amongst other things, he is condemned for saying, " It is certain, that it is not in the power of the church or pope to constitute articles of faith." We need not add that this power

is attributed to the bishops of Rome by Turrecremata, Augustinus Triumphus de Ancona, Petrus de Ancorano, and the famous abbot of Panormo, that the pope cannot only make new creeds, but new articles of faith; that he can make that of necessity to be believed, which before never was necessary; that he is the measure and rule, and the very notice of all credibilities; that the canon law is the Divine law; and whatever law the pope promulges, God, whose vicar he is, is understood to be the promulger. That the souls of men are in the hands of the pope; and that in his arbitration religion doth consist; which are the very words of Hostiensis, and Ferdinandus ab Incisok, who were casuists and doctors of law, of great authority and renown amongst them. The thing itself is not of dubious disputation amongst them, but actually practised in the greatest instances, as is to be seen in the bull of Pius IV. at the end of the council of Trent; by which all ecclesiastics are not only bound to swear to all the articles of the council of Trent, for the present and for the future, but they are put into a new symbol or creed, and they are corroborated by the same decretory clauses that are used in the creed of Athanasius: That "this is the true catholic faith;" and that" without this no man can be saved."

Now since it cannot be imagined, that this power, to which they pretend, should never have been reduced to act; and that it is not credible they should publish so invidious and ill-sounding doctrine to no purpose, and to serve no end; it may, without further evidence, be believed by all discerning persons, that they have need of this doctrine, or it would not have been taught; and that consequently without more ado,

e Quod sit metrum et regula, ac scientia credendorum. Summæ de Ecclesia, lib. ii. c. 203.

f Novum Symbolum condere solum ad Papam spectat, quia est caput fidei Christianæ, cujus autoritate omnia, quæ ad fidem spectant, firmantur et roborantur. q. 59. a. 1. et art. 2. sicut potest novum symbolum condere, ita potest novos articulos supra alios multiplicare.

Papa potest facere novos articulos fidei, id est, quod modo credi oporteat, cum sic prius non oporteret. In cap. cum Christus de hæret. n. 2. h Papa potest inducere novum articulum fidei. In idem.

Super 2. Decret. de jurejur. e. nimis. n. 1.

* Apud Petrum Ciezum, t. 2. institut. per cap. 69.

it may be concluded that some of their articles are parts of this new faith; and that they can, therefore, in no sense be apostolical, unless their being Roman makes them so.

To this may be added another consideration, not much less material, that besides what Eckius told the elector of Bavaria, that the doctrines of Luther might be overthrown by the fathers, though not by Scripture; they have also many gripes of conscience concerning the fathers themselves, that they are not right on their side; and of this, they have given but too much demonstration by their expurgatory indices. The serpent, by being so curious a defender of his head, shows where his danger is, and by what he can most readily be destroyed. But besides their innumerable corruptings of the fathers' writings; their thrusting in that which was spurious, and like Pharaoh, killing the legitimate sons of Israel'; though in this, they have done very much of their work, and made the testimonies of the fathers to be a record infinitely worse, than of themselves uncorrupted, they would have been (of which divers learned persons have made public complaint and demonstration); they have at last fallen to a new trade, which has caused more disreputation to them, than they have gained advantage, and they have virtually confessed, that, in many things, the fathers are against them.

66

For first, the king of Spain gave a commission to the inquisitors to purge all catholic authors; but with this clause, lique ipsi privatim, nullisque consciis, apud se indicem expurgatorium habebunt, quem eundem neque aliis communicabunt, neque ejus exemplum ulli dabunt:" "that they should keep the expurgatory index privately, neither imparting that index, nor giving a copy of it to any.”—But it happened, by the Divine providence so ordering it, that about thirteen years after, a copy of it was gotten and published by Johannes Pappus, and Franciscus Junius; and since it came abroad against their wills, they find it necessary now to own it, and they have printed it themselves. Now by

1 Johannes Clemens aliquot folia Theodoreti laceravit, et abjecit in focum, in quibus contra transubstantionem præclare disseruit. Et cum non ita pridem Origenem excuderunt, totum illud caput sextum Johannis et quod commentabatur Origenes omiserunt, et mutilum ediderunt librum propter eandem causam.

these expurgatory tables, what they have done is known to learned men. In St. Chrysostom's works printed at Basil, these words, "The church is not built upon the man, but upon the faith," are commanded to be blotted out: and these, "There is no merit, but what is given us by Christ;” and yet these words are in his sermon upon Pentecost, and the former words are in his first homily upon that of St. John, "Ye are my friends," &c. The like they have done to him in many other places, and to St. Ambrose, and to St. Austin, and to them all; insomuch that Ludovicus Saurius, the corrector of the press at Lyons, showed and complained of it to Junius, that he was forced to cancellate or blot out many sayings of St. Ambrose, in that edition of his works, which was printed at Lyons, 1559. So that what they say on occasion of Bertram's book, "-In the old catholic writers we suffer very many errors, and extenuate and excuse them; and finding out some commentary, we feign some convenient sense when they are opposed in disputations"-they do indeed practise, but esteem it not sufficient; for the words which make against them, they wholly leave out of their editions. Nay, they correct the very tables or indices made by the printers or correctors; insomuch, that out of one of Froben's indices they have commanded these words to be blotted, "The use of images forbidden :"-" The eucharist no sacrifice, but the memory of a sacrifice:"-“ Works, although they do not justify, yet are necessary to salvation”Marriage is granted to all that cannot contain"-" Venial sins damn"—"The dead saints, after this life, cannot help us:" nay, out of the index of St. Austin's works by Claudius Chevallonius at Paris, 1531, there is a very strange deleatur; Dele, "Solus Deus adorandus," "that God alone is to be worshipped," is commanded to be blotted out, as being a dangerous doctrine". These instances may serve instead of multitudes, which might be brought, of their corrupting the witnesses, and razing the records of antiquity, that the errors and novelties of the church of Rome might not be so easily reproved. Now if the fathers were not against them, what

m Sixtus Senensis epist. dedicat. ad Pium Quin. laudat Pontificem in hæc verba: expurgari et emaculari curasti omnium Catholicorum Scriptorum, ac præcipue veterum patrum, scripta.

n Index expurgator. Madrii, 1612, in indice libror. expurgator. p. 39.

need these arts? Why should they use them thus? Their own expurgatory indices are infinite testimony against them, both that they do so and that they need it.

But besides these things, we have thought it fit to represent, in one aspect, some of their chief doctrines of difference from the church of England, and make it evident, that they are indeed new, and brought into the church, first by way of opinion, and afterwards by power, and at last, by their own authority, decreed into laws and articles.

SECTION II.

FIRST, we allege that this very power of making new articles is a novelty, and expressly against the doctrine of the primitive church; and we prove it, first, by the words of the apostle, saying, "If we, or an angel from heaven, shall preach unto you any other Gospel,” (viz. in whole or in part, for there is the same reason of them both) " than that which we have preached, let him be anathemaa:" and secondly, by the sentence of the fathers in the third general council, that at Ephesus: "That it should not be lawful for any man to publish or compose another faith or creed than that which was defined by the Nicene council: and that whosoever shall dare to compose or offer any such to any persons willing to be converted from Paganism, Judaism, or heresy, if they were bishops or clerks, they should be deposed; if laymen, they should be accursed." And yet in the church of Rome, faith and christianity increase like the moon; Bromyard complained of it long since, and the mischief increases daily. They have now a new article of faith, ready for the stamp, which may very shortly become necessary to salvation; we mean, that of the immaculate conception of the blessed Virgin Mary. Whether the pope be above a council or no; we are not sure, whether it be an article of faith amongst them or not: it is very near one if it be not. Bellarmine would fain have us believe, that the council of Constance approving the bull of pope Martin V. declared for the pope's supremacy. But John Gerson, who was at the council', says,

a Gal. i. 8. b Part ii. act. 6. c. 7.

e De Potest. Eccles. Concil. 12.