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THAT we may find out the true sense of these wordes, we must first re••ute the f••lse expositions of our Aduersaries. The Lutherās by the seed of the womā will needes haue Christ only to be mean••: we confesse in∣deed
that he is principally meant therby, and that therefore the place may be well vnderstood of Christ, as many auncient Fathers haue expounded it, but that Christ alone is meant hereby, and not his members we deny to be the literall sense for the reasons following.
2. First it is euident that the seed of the Serpent which is opposed against the seed of the woman, doth not signify any one Serpent, but a multitude: it is therefore very probable, that by the seed of the woman a multitude also is signi∣fied, vnlesse we will haue the Scripture in so few wordes speak ambiguously. Moreouer semen is a Nowne collectiue properly signifying a multitude, neyther is there any thing in this sentence that forceth vs to departe from the proper si∣gnification of the Word. This reason is of so great a force, that C••luin was mo∣ued therby to forsake the exposition of the Lutherans, which he would other∣wise willingly haue imbraced the more strongly to assault vs, for thus he wri∣teth: Some make no doubt but Christ alone is meant by the seed of the woman, whose exposition I could willingly approue,* 1.1 but that I see they offer too great violence to the word (seed) for who will graunt, that a Nowne collectiue is to be taken for
one man only? Thus Caluin. So strong is the truth, that it extorteth a true confession from her greatest enemy.
3. Secondly it is said of the seed of the woman, that it shall crush, and bruze the head of the Serpent, but this crushing and bruzing the Scripture doth not attri∣bute to Christ alone, but to all that lead a godly life in him, for to euery iust man the holy Ghost speaketh, saying: thou shalt walke ouer the Addar and Basiliske,* 1.2 and thou shalt tread vnder thy seete the Lyon and the Dra∣gon. And Christ saith vnto his Disciples: Behold I haue giuen you power to tread vpon the Serpents and Scorpions,* 1.3 and vpon all the power of the enemy. And the Apostle to the Ro∣mans prayeth saying. The God of peace crush Satan vnder your feete quickly. And lastly in very many places of Scripture the faith∣full are said to ouer come the Diuell,* 1.4 and to get victories against him, which is all one as to crush him. Seing therefore the proper worke of this seed agreeth al∣so to the members of Christ,* 1.5 the Word seed is not to be limited to Christ alone.* 1.6 Ad hereunto that God in these wordes intended to comfort not only Eue decea∣ued by the craft of the Diuell,* 1.7 but all her posterity. Now the comfort is more ge∣nerall, if all the faithfull should be able
by Christ to ouercome the Diuell, then if that Christ alone should ouercome him, euen as our comfort is greater that we to∣geather with Christ shall rise againe, then if Christ only should rise, and he alone attayne to eternall life.
4. Thirdly. Albeit we should graunt our Aduersaries, that Christ alone doth crush the head of the Diuell, which is the former part of the sentence: yet the latter part can by no meanes be applyed to Christ alone, where it is sayd, that the Diuell shall crush this seed, for Christ in his owne person cannot be crushed by the Diuell: we must therefore needes by this seed vnderstand also the members of Christ, for in the Hebrew text it is thus word for word, ipsa, velipsum, cōteret te in ca∣pite, & tu contere•• cum, vel eam, in calcaneo, for the Hebrew word is the same in both places both in the first and in the later part of the sentence, and signifyeth c••nterere.
5. As for Caluins exposition inter∣preting by the seed of the woman all man kind;* 1.8 it is not to be receaued, for God in this place denounceth emnity betweene the seed of the Serpent,* 1.9 and the seed of the woman, but infidells and vngoodly per∣sons haue no emnity with the Diuell, and his seed, but are rather the seed and sonnes
of the Diuell, according to those words of Christ:* 1.10 You are of your father the Diuell; they therefore cannot appertayne to this seed of the woman.
6. But whereas Caluin in another place sayth,* 1.11 that Christ and his members are signifyed by the seed of the woman, wee like well of that his saying, for it is the exposition of the Catholike and auncient Fathers, and indeed the true litterall sense.
7. For in that sentence God sayth, first that he will put emnity, wherefore he speaketh not of any naturall emnity, as Caluin insinuateth, but of a supernaturall pro∣ceeding from God. Moreouer God signi∣fyeth betweene whome this emnity shal∣be, to wit, betweene the Serpent and woman. Now as by the Serpent the Diuell is meant, whome that naturall Serpent represented, and in whome God layed his curse vpon the Diuell: so by the woman Eue, is meant the spouse of Christ, or his true Church re∣presented by Eue, whose force and victory against the Diuell was therefore foretold by God:* 1.12 for that Eue represented the Church, as Adam did Christ, the Apostle plainely teacheth in his Epistle to the Ephes. and the same Apostle doth therfore else∣where expound this place of Satan, and
the Church,* 1.13 as doth S. Iohn in his Apocalyps where he declareth this emnity betwene the woman and the Serpent, to be indeed the emnity betweene the Church of Christ and the Diuell: wherfore here by the Ser∣pent is signifyed the Diuell by the woman the Church, by the seed of the Serpent the Chil∣dren of the Diuell, and all the wicked who are aliens from Christ and his Church, but especially such as seduce others and oppugne the Church.* 1.14 The seede of the woman are the Children of the Church,* 1.15 especially such as keep Gods commaund∣ments, and haue the testimony of Iesus Christ, as S. Iohn speaketh.
8. Furthermore, this woman, to wit the Church shall crush the head of the Ser∣pent,* 1.16 as we haue proued by many places of Scripture. But on the other side the wo∣mans heele shalbe crushed by Satan, for the Church ouercōmeth the Diuell by her chiefe and more excellent members, but she is ouercome in such her members as are base and worldly giuen, which set vp their rest heere vpon earth, and tast no other things but such as are terrene & earthly,* 1.17 worthily therefore signified by the heele of the Church; let vs not therefore, sayth S. Ambrose, walke by loue and affection v∣pont he earth, and the Serpent cannot hurt vs.
In the first combat is that the Church o∣uer cometh by open warre, and therefore it is expressed by crushing of the head. In the later combat in which a part of the Church is ouercome, the enemy procee∣deth by guiles and deceites, and therefore that combat is signifyed by crushing the heele, for the Hebrew word signifying cal∣caneum,* 1.18 doth signify also properly insiaiari, & ex insidijs aggredi, as appeareth by many places of Scripture. And out of ignorance heerof Caluin without cause reprehendeth the vulgar interpreter, for otherwise ex∣plicating this combat in the later part of the sētence then he had in the former, for the Emphasis, or force of the Hebrew word required that he should interprete the la∣ter part as he did by these wordes, tu insi∣diaberis calcaneo eius, which is as much to say, as thou shalt crush her heele, not by open warre, but by taking her at vna∣wares. See further of this matter in this Chapter in the Latin Edition the 8. §. And you shall see that our Aduersaries make a great adoe about a matter of small moment, if the wordes be rightly vnder∣stood. For whether we reade ipsa, and so referre it to the Church, or ipsum, that it may be referred to the children of the Church, the sēse is all one, for it is all on to
say, the seed of the woman shall crush the head of the Serpent, or the Children of the Church shall doe it. And heerehence it i••, that the auncient Fathers, whether they read ipse, as S. Hierome,* 1.19 and S. Chrysostome do, or ipsa, as read S. Ambrose, S. Augustine, S. Gregory,* 1.20 and other Latin Fathers, all of them ex∣pound this place of the Church.
9. Howsoeuer it be,* 1.21 the reading of the vulgar Edition is to be preferred be∣fore the other, for this victory is rather to be attributed to the Church,* 1.22 as to the Mother of all the faithfull, and to her who continueth for euer, according to that promise of Christ, the gates of hell shall not preuaile against her, then to her children or mēbers, which are euery day changed, for this promise is an explication of the promise made by God in Genesis, for the head of the Serpent, and the gates of hell signify one and the same thing.* 1.23 And if the victo∣ry be attributed to the woman, that is, to the Church, all thinges are better expli∣cated, for God first did foretell the emnity that was to be betweene the woman & the Serpent, and afterward he maketh mention of the seede of the woman, and the Serpents seede, so as the woman is opposed to the Ser∣pent, and the seede of the one to the seede of the other; but the victory pro••••sed, is
sayd to be gotten against the Serpent him∣selfe, and not against the seed: wherefore the same appertaineth rather to the woman her selfe then to her seed, for the words fol∣lowing (betweene thy seed and her seed) do not properly signify any new combat, but a continuance of that combat which was betweene the woman and the Serpent, and are put in by way of parēthesis, for the combat of the Church and of her childrē is all one combat.
10. But the chiefe cause that moued the Church to retayne at this tyme rather the word ipsa, then ipsum, or ipse, was to controle the error of the Lutherans, for if the reading had byn ipsum, or ipse, one might haue thought this promise to haue appertayned only to Christ, as they (though erroneously) would haue it, but by reading ipsa, this promise must needes be vnderstood to haue byn made to the whole Church. For such is the custome of the holy Church, whether she interprete the Scripturs or administer the Sacraments to do all as is most profitable and most for the edification of the faith∣full. Neyther is Christ hereby excluded but he is rather included in the name of the Church, as is also the holy Ghost, for the true Church of Christ cannot consist
or do anything that is good without the help of her supreme head Christ and the assistance of his holy spirit. That the rea∣ding according to the Hebrew text i•• ipsa, or ipsissima, and not ipsum, or ipse is lear∣nedly proued in the next Chapter of the Latin Edition of this Controuersy, to which I referre the Reader, and to the Chapters following, in which other places of the vulgar Edition are defended.
Calu. in Gen. loco citato.
Psal. 90▪ v 13.
Luc. 10. v. 19.
Rom. 16. v. 20.
1. Ioan. 2. v 13.
Apoc. 12. v. 11.
1. Cor. 15. v. 57.
In Gen. Io∣co citato & l. 2.
Instit. c. ••3. sect. 2.
Ioan. 8. v. 44.
Caluin l. 1. Instit. c. 14. sect. 18.
Ephes. 5. v. 32. 2. Cor. 11. v. 2. & 3.
Apoc. ••. v. 13. 17.
Matt. 13. v. 38.
Apocal. 12. v. 17.
Psal. 90. v. 13. Luc. 10. v. 19. Rom. 16. v. 20.
Defuga. saeculi c. 7.
Oleoster in c. 3. Gen.
Hier. in tradit.
Hebraicis. Homil. 17. in Gen.
Amb. de fuga saeculi c. 7.
Greg. in Iob. c. 38.
Matt. 1••. v. 18.