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.

M. Hardinge, as wel here, as els where, thinkethe it an easy mater, with a bolde Asseueration to smoothe his vnlearned simple Reader, specially sutche a one, as hathe no eies to looke after him. These woordes of S, Augustine, saithe he, per∣teine onely vnto the mater he had then in hande, and therefore maye not be forced to any other. And here he remembrethe vs of a profounde pointe in Logique, that a Negatiue Cōclusion from the Special to the General cannot holde. Here it were a mater woorthy the hearinge: firste, howe M. Hardinge coulde enter so déepely, to knowe so mutche of S. Augustines meaninge: next, for as mutche as in respecte of him selfe, he euermore fansiethe vs to be vnlearned, howe he were hable to teache vs to knowe the same. He assuerethe vs vpon his woorde, that these woordes of S. Augustine muste néedes be pounded, and restreined to that one onely mater, & maie not in any wise be stretched farther: & this, he imagineth, was S. Augustines mea∣ninge. Thus, good Reader, by M. Hardinges handlinge, thou haste here a mea∣ninge of S. Augustines, that S. Augustine himselfe neuer meante. For S. Au∣gustine in the same mater, and against the same Heretique Petilian, although not in the same Booke, writethe thus:* 1.1 Siue de Christo, siue de eius Ecclesia, siue de qua∣cun{que} re alia, quae pertinet ad Fidem, vitam{que} nostrā, nō dicam, Si Nos, Sed, si Angelus de Coelo nobis annuntiauerit, praeterquàm quod in Scripturis Legalibus, & Euāgelicis acce∣pistis, Anathema sit: VVhether it bee of Christe, or of his Churche, or of any thinge els what so euer, perteininge either to our life, or to our Faithe, I wil not saie, If I mee selfe, but if an Angel from Heauen shal teache vs otherwise,* 1.2 then wee haue receiued in the Bookes of the Lawe, and in the Gospelles, holde him accursed.

M. Hardinge saithe, S. Augustine meante onely of one mater: S. Augustine him selfe saithe, he meante of al manner maters, touchinge either Faithe, or Life.

M. Hardinge saithe, S. Augustine meante this onely of him selfe: S. Augu∣stine him selfe saithe,* 1.3 be meante it of any other, yea euē of the Angels of God. And shal wee thinke, M. Hardinge knoweth S. Augustines meaninge, and S. Augu∣stine him selfe knewe it not?

Verily S. Augustine in an other case concerninge the Arians, as I haue touched

twise before, likewise refuseth the Determinations of al Councelles, and Fathers, and standeth onely to the Scriptures:* 1.4 Neither wil I, saithe he▪ allege againste thee, the Councel of Nice: nor shalt thou allege againste mée the Councel of Arimi∣num, &c.

Neither dothe S. Augustine onely saye thus, but also yeeldeth a reason, why he saithe it. These be his woordes: Auferantur de medio, quae aduersus nos inuicem, non ex Diuinis Canonicis Libris,* 1.5 sed aliundé recitamus. Quaerer fortasse aliquis, Cur vis ista auferri de medio? Quia nolo humanis Documentis, sed Diuinis Oraculis Ec∣clesiam Sanctam demōstrari: Haue away al those Authorities, that either of vs allegeth against the other, sauinge sutche onely, as be taken out of the Heauenly Canonical Scriptures. But perhaps, somme man wil aske me. Wherefore would ye haue al sutche other Authorities put away? I answeare, Bicause I would haue the Holy Churche to he proued, not by the Doctrines of menne, but by the VVoorde of God.

So saithe S. Augustine vnto other the Donatistes:* 1.6 Auferantur de medio Char∣tae nostrae: procedat in medium Codex Dei. Audi Christum dicentem: audi Veritatem lo∣quentem: Take a waie from emongst vs any our own Bookes: Let the Booke of God comme emongste vs. Heare, what Christe saithe: Herken, what the Truthe speaketh.

Againe he saithe, Audi, dicit Dominus: Non, dicit Donatus, aut Rogatus, aut Vin∣centius,* 1.7 aut Hilarius, aut Ambrosius, aut Augustinus: sed, dicit Dominus: Heare this: The Lorde saithe. Heare not this, Donatus saithe, Rogatus saithe, Vincenius saithe, Hilarius saithe, Ambrose saithe, Augustine saithe: But herken to this, The Lorde saithe.

In like fourme of woordes saithe S. Ambrose: Nolo nobis credatur: Scriptura recitetur.* 1.8 Non ego dico à me, In principio erat Verbum, sed audio. Non ego effingo: sed lego: I would not, ye should beleeue vs: But reade the Scriptures: I saye not of mee selfe, In the beginninge was the Woorde: But I heare it. I make it not: but I reade it.

Likewise saithe Chrysostome, Oro vos omnes, vt relinquatis, quid huic, aut illi vi∣deatur: & de his à Scripturis haec omnia inquirite: I beseeche you al, weigh not, what this man, or that man thinketh: but touching al these thinges searche the Scriptures.

Nowe, where as it pleaseth M. Hardinge, to telle vs of an Argumente Nega∣tiue from Special to General, and so to cal vs to the remembrance of our Logique: pleaseth it him also to remēber. that the Argument, that wee grounde of S. Augu∣stines woordes, holdeth not, as it is here imagined, frō Special to General: but frō the imperfection, and weakenesse of the wisedome of man, to the stabilitie, and cer∣tainetie of Goddes Holy Woorde. And therefore the Olde Learned Father Origen saithe,* 1.9 as it is alleged before, Sensus nostri, & Enarrationes fine his testibus non habent fidem: Our iudgementes, and Expositions without these witnesses (of the Scriptures) haue no credite. In like sorte S. Hierome, Quamuis Sāctus sic aliquis post Apostolos, quam∣uis disertus sit, non habet Authoritatem: After the Apostles of Christe, notwithstandinge somme man be Holy, notwithstandinge he be eloquente, yet he wanteth Authoritie. Therefore S. Augustine saithe,* 1.10 Cedamus, & consenuamus Scripturae Sacrae, quae nec falli potest, nec fallere: Let vs yeeld, and consente to the Holy Scripture, whiche can neither deceiue, nor be deceiued. For this cause, M. Hardinge, S. Augustine not onely in the mater that laye bitweene him and Pettlianus, but also in al other maters what soeuer, so of∣ten appealed from al Fathers, and Councelles vnto the Scriptures.

Notes

• * 1.1

  Augusti. contra Liter. Petilian. Lib. 3. Cap. 6.
• * 1.2

  Gala. 1.
• * 1.3

  De quacun∣qúe re. Si Angelus de Coelo.
• * 1.4

  Augusti. contra Maxi. Li. 3. ca. 14
• * 1.5

  Augu. Devnita. Iccle. contra Pe∣tilian. Cap. 3.
• * 1.6

  Augu. in Psal. 57
• * 1.7

  Augu. in Epist. 48
• * 1.8

  Ambros. De In∣carnat. Domin. Sacramen. ca. 3. Chrysost. in 2. ad Corinth. Homi. 3
• * 1.9

  Origen. in Hie∣remi. Homi. 1. Micro. in Psal. 86
• * 1.10

  August De Pec∣cator. Merit. & R••mis. li. 1. ca. 22.