The crosse is commaunded of God to be made and vsed by
diuers Reuelations from heauen. Nay by the diuell from
hell, and yet if Angels from heauen had taught the
crosse to be made and vsed as another Gospell, as it is
accounted of the Papists, as great as circumcisiō was of
ye Iewes, not preached by the Apostles, not conteyned
in the Scriptures, we might safely accurse them.
But now to the reasons: the first is: Why should not
such external meanes as Christ and his Apostles vsed, & scrip∣ture
mentioneth, be had in administration, rather then the idle
deuice of man, of which there is no lawfull president. Martiall
answereth, the crosse is no idle deuise, but a tradition
of the Apostles, whereof they haue lawful presidentes.
But seeing no president is lawfull to builde our faith
vpon, but the holy scriptures, which the Papistes haue
not for their crosse, the reason standeth vntouched.
The second reason, If miracles were done by the signe of
the crosse, yet not onely by it, therefore the crosse should not only
be magnified without the rest. Martial affirmeth that hee
would not haue the crosse magnified without the rest,
as prayer and faith. How doeth he then magnifie the
crosse in Iulians storie, which was without prayer and
faith?
The third reason. If miracles were done by the crosse, yet
it should not be had in estimation, except all other thinges by
which miracles were wrought, as the he•• of Christes garment,
the spitle and clay, the shadowe of Peter and napkins of Paule,
were likewise honoured and esteemed. Martial aunswereth,
this is but his assertion, for which he hath neither scrip∣ture,
councel, nor Doctor. As though an argument A
paribus, were not good except the conclusion were ex∣pressed
in Scriptur, doctor, or councel. Yet he replieth,
that the crosse is the principall meane, by which mi∣racles
haue ben wrought. But the Scripture is against
that, for Christ wrought no miracle by the signe of y•
crosse. Nay I slander him, for he reasoneth not ad idem,
but the crosse is the cheefe and principal instrumente
of our redemption, yet not holier then the speare, the