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.

Al other thinges here by you touched, M. Hardinge, I wil passe ouer: thin∣kinge it sufficient, to note a fewe woordes of the possibilitie, and perfourmance of the Lawe: and so mutche the more, for that ye seeme therein in somme parte, to renewe the Pelagian Heretiques Olde condemned erroure.

As touchinge that ful and perfite Obedience, that is required of vs by the Lawe, ye answeare, there are sundrie sortes of Perfection: namely, that there is Perfection in Children: Perfection in Menne: Perfection in Angels: and Perfection, in God. And further ye saie, that in this life wee cannot fulfil sutche Perfection, as is required of the Angels of God in Heauen. And this answeare ye make, touchinge the Obedience, and perfourminge of the Lawe: As if ye would saie, The Lawe of God was geeuen to Angels: and is to be perfourmed, not in the Earth, but Onely in Heauen: And, as if God had said to those Blessed Sprites, Thou shalt not Kil: Thou shalt not commit aduouterie: Thou shalt not steale: Thou shalt not couete, &c.

In your sundrie Perfections, of Children, Menne, Angels, and God, I haue no skil. The Apologie meante onely of that Perfection, that is required in Man. How be it, in euery kinde they saie, Perfectum est, cui nihil deest: That thinge is Perfite, that is ful, and absolute, and wanteth nothinge.

And here, leste ye shoulde deceiue your selfe by wronge measure, God him selfe hathe shewed you,* 1.1 what Perfection he requireth. Thus he saithe, Thou shalt loue the Lorde thy God with al thy Harte, with al thy Soule, with al thy Power: Ye shal not turne, neither to the Right hand, nor to the Lefte: Accursed is he, that standeth not in euery thinge, that is written in the Lawe, to perfourme the same. And S. Iames saithe, VVho so offendeth in one Commaundemente, is guilty of al. And Christe saithe, Be ye Perfite (not measuring your selues by your owne habilitie, but) as your Father is Perfite, whiche is in Heauen. And yet hereby he meaneth not the Perfection, that is in God, and his Angels, but onely that Perfection, that is required in Man.

S. Hierome saithe, The Pelagian Heretiques in Olde times vsed the same shiftes, that you vse nowe. For where as the Catholique Learned Fathers saide, Noman is Perfite, and voide of Sinne, they answeared then euen in sutche sorte, as you doo nowe,* 1.2 Noman is Perfite in sutche degree of Perfection, as God is Per∣fite. S. Hieromes woordes be these, Aiunt, ad Comparationem Dei, nullum esse

Perfectum:* 1.3 Quasi Scriptura hoc dixerit: They saie (euen as you, M. Hardinge, saie) that in Comparison of God, noman is Perfite: Asthough this were the saieinge of the Scriptures. And therefore he saithe vnto them, Nunquid Praecepit mihi Deus, vt essem, quod Deus est? Vt nihil inter me esset, & Dominum Creatorem? Vt maior essem Angelorum fastigio? Vt haberem, quod Angeli non habent? I beseeche you, hathe God Commaunded me, that I shoulde bee the same, that God is? That there shoulde be no difference (in Perfection) bitweene me, and my Lorde the Creatoure? That I shoulde be aboue the Highnesse of Angels? Or that I shoulde haue, that the Angels haue not? It was in vaine therefore, M. Hardinge, thus to borrowe the Pelagians Weapons, and to make mater of this Perfection. For wee speake not of An∣gels, but onely of Menne.

Further, tointreate of the Perfite fulfillinge, and accomplisshinge of the Lawe, I meane, so farre as the Lawe requirethe, the Pelagian Heretiques here∣in also saide,* 1.4 euen as you saie: and none otherwise. S. Augustine thereof repor∣teth thus: Magnum aliquid Pelagiani se scire putam, quando dicunt, Non iuberet Deus, quod Sciret ab homine non posse fieri. Quis hoc nesciat? Sed ide•• iubet aliqua, quae non possumus, vt nouerimus, quid ab ipso petere debeamus: The Pelagians thinke them selues Cunninge menne, when they saie, God vvoulde not commaunde that thinge, that he knovveth, a man is not hable to doo. And who is there, that knoweth not this? But therefore God Commaundeth vs to doo somme thinges, that vvee are not hable to doo, that wee maie vnderstande, what wee ought to craue of him.

S. Hierome saithe vnto one of the same Pelagians,* 1.5 Facilia esse dicis Dei mandata: & tamen nullum proferre potes, qui vniuersa compleuerit: Ye saie, Goddes Commaundementes be easy: And yet ye are hable to shewe vs noman, that euer fulfilled them al togeather.

Therefore againe he saithe vnto them,* 1.6 Noli ponere in Coelum os tuum, vt per Esse, & Esse posse, stultorum auribus illudas. Quis enim tibi concedit, posse homi∣nem facere, quod nullus vnquam hominum potuerit? Sette not thy face againste Heauen, to mocke fooles eares with these woordes, Be, and Can be. For who wil graunte you, that a man can doo that thinge, that noman euer vvas hable to doo?

Likewise S. Augustine saithe,* 1.7 Dixi fieri posse, vt sit homo sine peccato, si Voluntas ei non desit, ope Diuina adiuuante: Sed tamen Praeter Vnum, in quo omnes ui∣uificabuntur, neminem vel fuisse, vel fore, in quo hîc viuente esset ista Perfectio: I saide, It is possible, that a man maie bee vvithout Sinne, if he wante not wil, the Power of God assistinge him: And yet I saide, that bisides Onely Christe, in whom al menne shalbe quickened to Life, there vvas neuer man, nor neuer shalbe, who beinge in this life, shal haue this Perfection. S. Augustine saithe, Noman can atteine to this Perfection: and he speaketh of the Perfection, that is required, not of Angels, but of Menne.

Ye wil saie, as the Pelagians did, wherefore then doothe Christe saie, Be ye Perfite?* 1.8 Wherefore doothe S. Paule saie, As many of vs, as be Perfite? &c. Here∣to S. Hierome answeareth thus: Quid ergo sapimus? imo quid sapere debemus, qui Perfecti non sumus? Imperfectos nos esse Confiteri, & nondum comprehendisse, nec dun acccepisse. Haec est hominis vera Sapientia, imperfectum esse se nosse. At{que}, vt ita loquar, Cunctorum in Carne Iustorum Imperfecta Perfectio est: VVhat then doo wee thinke, or what ought wee to thinke, that be not Perfite? Wee ought to Confesse, that vvee are Vnperfite, and that wee haue not yet gotten, nor taken (that Perfection) that is required. This is the true wisedome of a Man, to knowe him selfe to be Vnperfite. And, as I might saie, the Perfection of al Iuste menne liuinge

in the Pleashe is Vnperfite.* 1.9 Againe he saithe, Iusti appellantur, non quòd omni Vitio careant,* 1.10 sed quòd Maiori parte Virtutum commendentur: They are called Juste menne, not for that they be voide of al manner Sinne, but for that they are furnisshed with the greatter parte of Vertues. So likewise saithe S. Augustine, Virtus, quae nunc est in homine Iusto, hactenus Perfecta nominatur, vt ad eius Perfectionem pertineat etiam ipsius Imperfectionis, & in Veritate agnitio, & in humilitate Confessio: The Vertue, that is nowe in a iuste man, so farre foorthe is called Perfite, that it perteineth to the Perfection thereof, bothe in truthe to knovve, and in hu∣militie to Confesse, that it is Vnperfite. Againe he saithe, Omnia mandata facta deputantur,* 1.11 quando, quicquid non fit, ignoscitur: Al the Commaundementes of God are accoumpted to be donne, when that thinge, that is not downe, is forgeeuen. To con∣clude, he saithe, Multùm in hac vita ille profecit, qui quàm longè sit à Perfectione Iustitiae, proficiendo cognouit: He hathe mutche profited in this life, that by his profitinge hathe learned, howe farre he is from the Perfection of Righteousenesse.

Yet neuerthelesse wee maie truely vse S. Hieromes woordes, vttered in the defence, and right of this same cause: Haec dicentes, non adulamur vitijs: sed Authoriratem sequimur Scripturarum,* 1.12 quòd nullus homo sit absque Peccato. Sed conclusit Deus omnia sub Peccato, vt Omnium misereatur: Notwithstandinge we saie thus, yet wee flatter not Vices: but wee folowe the Authoritie of the Scriptures, that there is nothinge vvithout Sinne. But God hathe shutte vp al thinges vnder Sinne, that he maie haue Mercie of Al.* 1.13 Againe he saithe, Perspicuum est, omnem homi∣nem, quamuis ad Perfectionem venerit, tamen indigere Misericordia Dei: & plenam Perfectionem ex Gratia, non ex Merito possidere: It is moste certaine, that euery man, yea although hee be growen to Perfection, yet needeth the Mercie of God: and that he enioieth ful Perfection, not of his ovvne Deseruinge, but of Grace.

Euen so S. Augustine saithe,* 1.14 Ipsa Iustitia nostra tanta est in hac vita, vt po∣tius peccatorum Remissione constet, quàm Perfectione Virtutum: Our very Righteousenesse it selfe is so greete in this Life, that it standeth rather in Forgeeuenesse of Our Sinnes, then in Perfection of Righteousenesse.

Notes

• * 1.1

  Deuter. 6. Matthae. 22. Deuter. 17. Deuteron. 27. Calat. 3. Iacob. 2. Matthae. 5.
• * 1.2

  Hieronym. ad C••esiphons. con∣tra Pelagianos.
• * 1.3

  Possibili∣tie of the Lavve.
• * 1.4

  Augustin. De ••••ati. & libero Arbitr. Cap. 4.
• * 1.5

  Hieronym. ad Ctesiphont. con∣tra Pelagianos.
• * 1.6

  Hieronym. cōtra Pelagianos. li. 1.
• * 1.7

  Augustin. De Spiritu, & Li∣tera, Cap. 1.
• * 1.8

  Matthae. 5. Philip. 3. Hieronym. Ad∣uersus Pelagian Lib. 1.
• * 1.9

  Vnperfite Perfectiō.
• * 1.10

  Hieronym ad C••esiphont. Augustin. ad Bo∣nifacium Li 3. Cap. 7.
• * 1.11

  Augustin. Re∣tracta. li. 1. ca. 19. Augustin. De Spiritu, & Li∣tera, Cap. 35.
• * 1.12

  Hieronymus. ad A••gasiam.
• * 1.13

  Hieronym. in E∣zechiel. li. 14. Cap. 46.
• * 1.14

  Augustin. De Ciuita Lib 19. Cap. 27.