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It is a common manner of this Defender, what he must needes graunt, to make a shewe in wordes, as though it were free gifte. So many times beggers wil seme gentilmen, and paiers of debte wil seme geuers. Let the Bishop of Rome, (saithe he) alone be aboue al coūcels.‡ 1.1 Sir, he is so: no thake to you. Yet speake you like a liberal gentilman: That is to saie, let some one parte be greater then the whole.
No sir,* 1.2 maugre your scoffinge heade, parte shal not be greater then the whole, but parte shal be greater then parte.* 1.3 In a right sense is not the heade greater then the body, the Bishop then his cleregy, the * maister of a house more then his familie? Neither is the Councel the whole pardy, excepte your me∣ry witte can deuise vs a whole body without a heade. Let him be of greater power, saie you. And so he is. Let him be of more wisedome, then al his. VVe saie not so. It maie be, that his Councel hath more learninge,‡ 1.4 more knowledge and more wisedome, then his onely person. Albeit, when we speake of that wisdome of the See Apostolike, whiche is sure, infallible, and cannot erre: we meane not onely the Popes singular person, but the heade Pastoure and Bishop, as he doth those thinges, whiche perteine to that chaire: that is to saie, in asmutche as he procedeth not vpon his owne priuate iudgemente,* 1.5 but by the instincte of the Holy Ghoste, promised by Christe to his vicare. VVhere you saie, And in spite of Hieromes heade, let the Authoritie of one Citie be greater them the Authoritie of the whole world: we tel you, that this you speake more spitefully, then learnedly. For S. Hierome in his epistle to Euagrius speaketh‡ 1.6 onely of a particular matter, blaminge the custome of Rome, where contrary to the custome of the whole world, deacons in certaine cases were preferred before Priestes, whereof we haue spoken before.
Vntruthe. O∣thervvise shevve vs, by vvhat Au∣thoritie he is so.
The Pope aboue Gene∣ral coū∣celles.
Ful vvisely. As if the Pope vvere the Heade, & the vvhole Churche vvere his Body: Or, As if the Pope vvere the Mai∣ster, & the Churche his Familie.
The Councel hathe more VVisedome, and Learninge, then the Pope: yet the Pope is in VVisedome, and Learning aboue the Councel.
O fonde folie. For so any sim∣ple creature, so longe as he is leadde by the Holy Ghost, can neuer erre.
Vntruthe, vaine, and chil∣dish. For S. Hie∣rome speaketh plainely of Au∣thoritie: Si Au∣thoritas quae∣ritur, Maior est Orbis Vrbe.