The auncient ecclesiasticall histories of the first six hundred yeares after Christ, wrytten in the Greeke tongue by three learned historiographers, Eusebius, Socrates, and Euagrius. Eusebius Pamphilus Bishop of Cæsarea in Palæstina vvrote 10 bookes. Socrates Scholasticus of Constantinople vvrote 7 bookes. Euagrius Scholasticus of Antioch vvrote 6 bookes. VVhereunto is annexed Dorotheus Bishop of Tyrus, of the liues of the prophetes, apostles and 70 disciples. All which authors are faithfully translated out of the Greeke tongue by Meredith Hanmer, Maister of Arte and student in diuinitie. Last of all herein is contayned a profitable chronographie collected by the sayd translator, the title whereof is to be seene in the ende of this volume, with a copious index of the principall matters throughout all the histories

CAP. XXV.

Of suche as from the beginning impugned the heresie of Artemon, the behauiour of* 1.1 the hereticke and his presumption in reiecting and corrupting the scriptures.

AMong these bookes there is found a volume written against the heresie of Artemon▪ which Paulus Samosatenus in our daies endeuored to reuiue: wherin is cōtained ah history worthy to be published, among these our histories, diuersly & from euery where collected▪ whē this* 1.2 boke had cōfuted y^• said presūptuous heresy, which affirmed Christ to be a b••••e & naked mā, & that the authors therof had gloried of it, as an auncient opiniō after many lynes, & leaues, to the cōfu∣••acion of this blasphemous vntrueth, he writeth thus: They affirme that all our aun••••••ours▪ yea and the Apostles them selues vvere of that opinion, and taughte the same vvith them, and that* 1.3 this their true doctrine (for so they call it) vvas preached & embraced vnto the time of Victor the thirtenth bishop of Rome, after Peter, & corrupted by his successour Zephyrinus. this peraduen∣ture might seeme to haue some likelyhoode of trueth, vnlesse firste of all, the holy scriptures re∣clamed, next the bokes of sūdry mē, lōg before the time of Victor, vvhich they published against the gentiles, in the defence of the trueth, & in the confutation of the hereticall opinions of their time. I meane Iustinus, Meltiades, Tatianus, and Clemens, vvith many others in all vvhich Christ is preached and published to be God. VVho knovveth not that the vvoorkes of Irenaus,

Melito and all other Christians do confesse Christ to be both God and man? to be shorte hovve many psalmes and hymnes, and Canticles, vvere vvritten from the beginninge, by the faythfull Christians, vvhich ••ounde and singe Christ the vvorde of God, for no other then God in deede? hovv then is it possible accordinge vnto their report, that our auncetors vnto the time of Victor, should haue preached so? vvhen as the ecclesiasticall censure, for so many yeares is pronounced for certeine, and knovven vnto all the vvorlde. and hovve can they chuse but be ashamed, thus* 1.4 vntruely to reporte of Victor, vvhen as they knovve for suretie that Victor excommunicated The∣odotus a tanner, the father and founder of this Apostasie, vvhich denyed the diuinitie of Christ? because that he firste affirmed Christ to be but onely man. if Ʋictor (as they reporte) had bene of their blasphemous opinion, hovv then could he haue excōmunicated Theodotus, the author of that heresie. but Victor was thus affectionated. when he had gouerned y^• ecclesiasticall function* 1.5 the space of tenne yeares Zephyrinus succeeded him, about the tenth yere of the raigne of Seuerus. The same author which wrote the aforesaid booke against the founder of this heresie, declareth a certeine historie that was done in the time of Zepherinus after this maner. Therfore to the ende I may aduertise diuerse of the brethren, I vvil rehearse a certaine historie of our time, vvhiche as I suppose if it had bene in Sodome, they vvold haue fallen to repentāce. There vvas one Natalius, vvho not lōg before, but euē in our time becam a cōfessor. this Natalius vvas on a tyme seduced by Asclepiodotus, & an other Theodotus an exchaūger, they both vvere disciples of Theodotus the tāner, vvho thē being author of this blasphemous opiniō (as I sayd before) vvas excōmunicated by Victor bishop of Rome. for Natalius vvas persvvaded by thē for a certeine hire, & revvarde, to be called a bishop of this heretical opiniō, to vvete: a hūdreth & fifty pēce, monethly to be payd him. Novv he being thus linked vnto thē, the Lord vvarned him oft by visions. for God and our Lord Iesus Christ full of mercy & compassion, vvold not that the vvitnesse of his passiōs, should perishe vvithout the churche. & for that he vvas altogether carelesse, & negligēt in marking the visions frō aboue being novv as it vvere hooked vvith the svveete baites of primacie, & honour, & filthy lucre, vvherby thousands do perishe: at lēgth he vvas scurged by an Angel of the Lord.* 1.6 & for the space of a vvhole nyght chasticed not a little, so that vvhen he rose earely in the mor∣ning couered in sackcloth, & sprinckled in ashes, vvith much vvoe, & many teares, he fel dovvn flatte before the feete of Zephyrinus bishope of Rome, not after the manner of a cleargie man, but of the laye people, beseaching the churche (prone alvvayes to compassion) vvith vvatrishe eyes, and vvette cheekes, for the mercie of Christ, to tender and pitie his miserable case, so that vsinge many petitions, and shevvinge in his bodie the printe of the plaguye stripes, after muche adoe he vvas receaued vnto the communion. We thinke best to adde vnto these other relations of the same author, for thus he writeth. They corrupted the holye & sacred scriptures, vvithout* 1.7 any reuerence: they reiected the canon of the auncient faith: they haue bene ignorant of Christ: not searching vvhat the holie scriptures affirmed, but exercisinge them selues therein, & siftinge it to this ende: that some figure or forme of a syllogisme myght be founde to impugne the di∣uinitie of Christ: and if any reasoned vvith them out of holie scripture, forthvvith they demaund vvhether it be a coniuncte, or a simple kinde of syllogisme. layenge asyde holye scripture, they practise Geometrie, as beynge of the earth they speake earthlye and knovve not him vvhiche came frome aboue. Euclides amonge a greate many of them measureth the earth busielie. Ari∣stotle* 1.8 and Theophrastus are hyghlye esteemed. Galen is of diuerse vvorshipped. but vvhat shall I saye of these, vvho (beynge farre from the fayth) abuse the arte of infidels to the establyshinge of theyr hereticall opinion, and corrupt the simplicitie of holy scripture, through the subtle craft of sinfull persons? for to this purpose they put their prophane handes to holie scripture, sayinge: they vvolde correcte them. and that I reporte not this vntruely of them, or parciallie agaynste them, if any man please he may easily knovve it. for if any vvill peruse their copies, and conferre one vvith an other, he shall finde in them great contrariety. The bookes of Asclepiades agree not vvith them of Theodotus. there is found betvvene them great difference, for their disciples vvrote obscurely such things as their masters had ambiciously corrected. againe vvith these the copies Hermophilus do not consent. neither are the copies of Apollonius at concord among thē selues. if their alligatiōs be cōferred vvith their trāslatiōs, & alteratiōs, there shalbe found great diuersity.* 1.9 belike they are altogether ignorāt vvhat presumptiō is practised in this levvd fact of theirs. ether they persvvade them selues, that the holie scriptures vvere not endited by the instinct of the holy ghost, & so are they infidels: or else they thinke thē selues vviser thē the holy ghost, & vvhat other

thing do they in that, then shevv thē selues possessed of a deuill? they cā not deny this their bold enterprise, for they haue vvrittē these things vvith their ovvne hands. they can not shevv vs vvho instructed them, vvho deliuered them such scriptures, & vvhence they trāslated their copie•• di∣uerse of them voutchsafe not to corrupt the scriptures, but flattly they denie the lavve, and the prophetes, vnder pretense of their detestable, and impious doctrine of fayned grace, they fall into the bottomlesse gulfe of perdition. but of them thus muche shall suffice.

Notes

• * 1.1

  Cap. 28. after the Greeke.
• * 1.2

  The opinion of Artemon the hereticke▪
• * 1.3

  An auncient writer (as I suppose Maximus) in the confuta∣tion of the sect of Arte∣mon.
• * 1.4

  Theodotus a tanner and an hereticke.
• * 1.5

  Zephyrinus b. of Rome. Anno Dom. 203. A worthy historie of Natalius an hereticall bi∣shope repen∣ting him selfe
• * 1.6

  God sendeth his Angell to scourge by night.
• * 1.7

  The practises of the hereti∣call secte of Artemon.
• * 1.8

  Euclides. Aristotle. Theophrast▪ Galen. Heretickes presume to correct, alter & trāslate ho¦ly scripture.
• * 1.9

  A notable dilemma.