A defence of the Apologie of the Churche of Englande conteininge an answeare to a certaine booke lately set foorthe by M. Hardinge, and entituled, A confutation of &c. By Iohn Iewel Bishop of Sarisburie.

The B. of Sarisburie.

Marcus Varro was woonte to saie, Vtile est Ciuitatibus, vt se viri fortes, etiamsi

falsum fit,* 1.1 Dijs genitos esse credant: It is very behoueful for Cities, and Common Weales, that menne of Valiante courage beleue thē selues to be y^e Children of y^e Goddes, yea although in deede it be vntrue.* 1.2 Vnto whiche woordes S. Augustine addeth these: Haec Sententia, cernis, quàm latum locum aperiat falsitati Ye see, howe large a scope this saieing dooth open to the Mainteinance of Falsehedde. Many vaine menne, to auance the Nobilitie of theire bloud, haue fette their petite degrées, somme frō Achilles, somme frō Aeneas, somme from Hercules, and somme from the Arke of Noe. The Heretique Dios∣corus, to geate somme credite to his Doctrine, woulde séeme to bringe the descente thereof from al the Ancient Fathers of the Churche. For thus he saide in the open Councel,* 1.3 Ego testimonia habeo Sanctorum Patrum, Athanasij, Gregorij, Cyrilli, in multis locis. Ego cum Patribus eijcior: Ego defendo Patrum Dogmata: Non trāsgre∣dior in aliquo: Et horum Testimonia, non simpliciter, ne{que} transitoriè, sed in Libris habeo: I haue the witnesse of the Holy Fathers, Athanasius, Gregorius, cyrillus, in many places. I am throwen foorth with the Fathers: I defende the Fathers Doctrine: I swarue not frō thē in any pointe: I haue theire witnesse, not barely, nor by the waie, but in theire Bookes.

So saide the Heretique Eutyches, Ego legi Scripta Beati Cyrilli, & Sanctorum Patrum,* 1.4 & Sancti Athanasij: I haue readde the Bookes of Cyrillus, of the Holy Fathers, and of Athanasius. So saide the Heretique carosus, Ego secundum expositionem trecentorum decem & octo Patrum, sic Credo: sic Baptizatus sum: Thus doo I beleue, and thus was I Baptized, according to y^e Exposition of the three hundred, and eighteene Fathers in the Councel of Nice. Thus y^• Arian Heretiques alleged the Authoritie of y^• An∣cient Father Origen: thus the Pelagian Heretiques alleged the Authoritie of S. Augustine. As, vpon occasion, it hath benne saide before.

Euen with sutche truthe, M. Hardinge, are you woonte to blase the Armes of your Religion. There is no toie so vaine, or so fabulous, but ye are hable by your conninge to bring it lineally, either from Christe him selfe, or from his Apostles, or from one, or other of the Ancient Fathers. The Bishop of Sidon in y^• Late diete of the Empiere holden at Augusta,* 1.5 auouched openly that ye had your whole Ca∣non from the Apostles of Christe, woord by woord, euen as it is péeuishely written in your Masse Bookes. Andreas Barbatius proueth the Antiquitie of y^• Cardi∣nalles of Rome,* 1.6 by these woordes written in the firste Booke of the Kinges, Domini sunt Cardines Terrae: Et posuit super eos Orbem: The Corners of the Earth be the Lordes: and vpon them he hath sette the world, Abbate Panormitane saithe, Cardinalatus est de Iure Diuino: Quia Papa per Sacerdotes Leuiticos intelligit Cardinales: The Cardi∣nalship standeth by the Law of God:* 1.7 For the Pope by the Leuitical Priestes vnderstandeth his Cardinalles.* 1.8 Hosius séemeth to saie, that Monkes haue theire beginning euen from the Apostles, meaninge thereby, as one of your Companions there doothe, in fauoure, I trowe, of Religion, that Christe him selfe vvas the Abbat. For thus he saith,* 1.9 Christus Dux, & exemplar vitae Monasticae: Christe was the Captaine, and samplar of Monkes life. And yet the same man afterwarde, as hauinge forgotten his former dreame, vtterly displaceth Christe, & geueth the whole honoure hereof vnto Elias, & Elizaeus: These be his woordes, Elias, & Elizaeus Duces instituti Bene∣dictini: Elias, and Elizaeus were y• Captaines of S. Benettes order, y^• is to saie, thei were Blacke Monkes? By like wisedome ye would séeme to fetche your Holy Water from S. Augustine. This was sommetime a ioily good waie to winne credite, spe∣cially whiles, what so euer ye said, y^• people was ready to geue you care. So y^• olde Arcades saide in commendation of theire Antiquitie, y^• thei were a daie, or twoo elder then the Moone. Saturnus* 1.10 beinge in Italie, for y^• he was a stranger, & no man knew, frō whēce he came, therefore was called Filius Caeli, & was thought to come frō Heauen, Romulus, & Alexander, for that thei were borne in bastardie, & neuer knewe theire owne Fathers, therefore to magnifie the nobilitie of theire bloude, woulde be called the Children of the Goddes: the one of Mars, y^• other of Iuppitter.

With sutche Truthe,* 1.11 and Fidelitie, M. Hardinge, your woonte is, to painte out al the partes, and members of your Doctrine. For, be it neuer so vaine, or childishe, or lately diuised, yet ye beare vs in hande, that your Predecessours re∣ceiued the same, as you saie, of theire Bishoppes: and they of others theire Prede∣cessours by order, vntil they reache to your Augustine the Monke of Rome, whom ye haue ful woorthily made a Sainte: your Augustine yée saie receiued the same of Gregorie: Gregorie of others before him: and they al, one of an other by continual ascente vnto S. Peter: and Peter of Christe: and Christe of God his Father.

No Heralde coulde lightly haue saide more in the mater. I trowe ye woulde proue by this Ascente, and Descente, that God the Father made Holy VVater, and said Masse.

In deede, as wel herein, as also in your emptie names of Augustine, Hierome, Chrysostome, Ambrose, Basile, Cyprian, Dionyse, &c. as I tolde you once before, ye bringe vs onely a vaine shewe of painted boxes, and nothinge in them. For in al these Holy Fathers, where finde you either your Priuate Masse: or your halfe communion: or your Accidentes without Subiecte: or the reste of your like Va∣nities, wherewith ye haue so longe time deceiued the worlde? Leaue your dissimu∣lation: set aparte your Confectures, and blinde gheasses: and for your credites sake, once shewe vs these thinges in the Ancient Holy Fathers: and shew them plaine∣ly, and in déede: that wée maie thinke there is somme weight in your woorde.

But your owne Glose speakinge of the Ministration of the Holy Commu∣nion, whiche now in your Churches in a manner is wholy abolisshed, saith thus: Hoc Antiquum est.* 1.12 Nam hodiè videtur esse relictum: This was the Olde order. For, as it seemeth, nowe it is leafte. Doctoure Tonstal saithe, It was no Heresie to denie your Transubstantiation, before your late Councel of Laterane. Erasmus, whoes iudgement, I thinke, ye wil not refuse, saith thus, In Synaxi Transubstantiationēe ser ò definiuit Ecclesia: In the Holy Ministration, it was longe, ere the Churche deter∣mined the Article of Transubstantiation. Al this notwithstandinge, M. Hardinge, ye blusshe not to saie, that bothe these, and al other your fantasies, haue benne con∣ueighed vnto you by moste certaine Succession, from hand to hand: from your En∣glishe Augustine: from Gregorie: from the Fathers: from the Apostles: from Christe: and from the bosome of God him selfe.

Notes

• * 1.1

  Pretense of Anti∣quitie.
• * 1.2

  Augusti. De Ci∣uitate, Li. 3. ca. ••.
• * 1.3

  Concil. Chalced. Actio. 1. Pa. 767.
• * 1.4

  Concil. Chalced. Actio. 1. Pa. 793. Concil. Chalced. Actio. 4. Pa. 877.
• * 1.5

  Anno. 1548.
• * 1.6

  1. Regum 2. Polydorus De Inuentorib. Li. 4 Cap. 9.
• * 1.7

  Extra, Qui Filij sint Legitimi. per Venerabilē. Abb.
• * 1.8

  Mutche hereof is alleged before.
• * 1.9

  Hosius in Con∣fessione Petri∣couien. Cap. 88. Copus, Dialo. 2. Pag. 194.
• * 1.10

  〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉.
• * 1.11

  Pretense of Anti∣quitie.
• * 1.12

  De Conse. Dist 2. per acta. In Gloss. Doc. Tonstallus, De Eucharistia. Lib. 1 Pag. 45. Anno. 1215. Erasm. 1. Corin. 7