A replie vnto M. Hardinges ansvveare by perusinge whereof the discrete, and diligent reader may easily see, the weake, and vnstable groundes of the Romaine religion, whiche of late hath beene accompted Catholique. By Iohn Iewel Bishoppe of Sarisburie.

The B. of Sarisburie.

It were more for M. Hardinges purpose, for proufe of these maters, to goe ra∣ther to Diuinitie, then to Law. How be it, the state of his case beinge so féeble, and so deadly diseased, it were good Counsel for him, to leaue bothe Professions, & to goe to Phisicke.

But here once againe in his impatient heates he vttereth his inordinate, and vnaduised Choler, & thinketh to prooue him selfe a good Catholike man, onely by comparinge others with Turkes, and Infidelles. Notwithstandinge herein wée shal neede no longe defence. For, Goddes Holy Name be blissed, it is nowe open to the hartes, and consciences of al men, that bothe in life, and Doctrine wée professe the same Gospel of Iesus Christe, that they of M. Hardinges side haue of longe time oppressed, and burnte for Heresie.

Neither doo wée refuse the Iudge, either after Sentence, or before. Him onely wée refuse,* 1.1 as no competent Iudge in these cases, that teacheth the Commaunde∣mentes, and Doctrines of men,* 1.2 and hath infected the Worlde with the Lcauen of the Scribes,* 1.3 and Pharisies: and wee appeale vnto Christe the onely Iudge of al Iudges,* 1.4 vnto whom God the Father straitely bade vs to geue eare: Ipsum audite, Harken vnto him:* 1.5 Vnus est Magister noster Christus. Christe is our onely Maister, and onely Iudge.

As for the Determinations of the Churche, they are sundrie, and variable, and

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vncertaine, and therefore sometimes vntrue: and for that cause may not alwaies stande of necessitie, as mater of iudgement. The Greeke Churche neuer vsed the Priuate Masse, but onely the Communion: The Latine Churche hath vtterly a∣bolished the Holy Communion, sauinge onely at one time in the yéere, when also shée vseth it with foule disorder, and, as Gelasius saith, with open Sacrilege, and vseth onely the Priuate Masse. The same Latine Churche, for the space of sixe hun∣dred yeeres, and more from the beginninge, onlesse it had benne vpon greate occa∣sion of many Communicantes, vsed onely one Communion, or, as M. Hardinge ra∣ther deliteth to cal it, one Masse in one Daie: But the Latine Churche, that nowe is, hath in euery Corner of the Temple erected Aultars, and therefore nowe is ful of Corner Masses. In the Olde Latine Churche it was not lawful, to saie the Se∣conde Communion, but onely when the Churche was ful of people: In M. Har∣dinges Newe Latine Churche, there be oftentimes moe Masses saide togeather, then there be hearers of the people, to gase vpon them. Thus the iudgement of the Latine Churche disagreeth from the Greeke: & the Newe Latine Churche likewise disagreeth in iudgement from the Olde. Touchinge this Newe Latine Churche S. Bernarde mourneth, and complaineth thus,* 1.6 Nunc ipsi Christum persequuntur, qui ab eo Christiani dicuntur. Amici tui Deus, & proximi tui aduersus te appropinqua∣uerunt, & stererunt. Coniurasse videtur contrate vniuersitas populi Christiani, a minimo vsque ad maximum. A planta pedis vsque ad verticem non est sanitas vlla. Egressa est iniquitas à senioribus Iudicibus Vicarijs tuis, qui videntur regere populum tuum. Arcem Sion occupauerunt, apprehenderunt munitiones, & vniuersam deinceps liberè, & potesta∣tiuè tradiderunt incendio Ciuitatem. They are nowe become the persecutours of Christe, that of his Name are called Christians. O God, thy frendes that are ne••rest aboute thee, ap∣proache neare, and stande against the. The whole Vniuersal Bodie of Christian people seemeth to haue conspired against thee, euen from the lowest vnto the highest. Wickednes proceedeth forth from thy Vicares the elder Iudges, that seeme to gouerne thy people. (Like heathens and Infidelles) they haue inuaded thy Castel of Sion, (whiche is thy Holy Churche) and haue taken al her holdes, and freely, and by authoritie haue throwen thy whole Cittie into the fier. Againe he saith,* 1.7 There remaineth nowe nothinge, but that Antichrist the Man of sinne, the Childe of perdition be reueled.

Seeinge therefore the Resolution of these Iudges is oftentimes vncertaine, & doubtful, I wil not saie, as S. Bernarde seemeth to saie, vngodly, and wicked, we maie the more indifferently, and the better saie nowe to M. Hardinge, as S. Augustine sometimes saide to the Heretique Maximinus:* 1.8 Nec ego Nicenam Syno∣dum tibi: nec tu mihi Ariminensem debes tanquam praeiudica••urus obijcere. Nec ego hu∣ius authoritate, nec tu illius teneris. Scripturarum authoritatibus, nō quorumcunque pro∣prijs, sed quae vtriusque sint communes, res cum re, causa cum causa, ratio cum ratione de∣certet. Neither wil I prescribe against thee by the Councel of Nice: nor m••ist thou prescribe against mee by the Councel of Ariminū. Neither am I bounde to this Councel, nor thou to that. By the authoritie of the Scriptures, whiche are neither thine, nor mine, but indifferent, and common to vs both, let vs compare mater with mater, cause with cause, and reason with rea∣son. Againe he saith in like sorte to the Heretique Cresconius:* 1.9 Non debet se Ec∣clesia Christo praeponere &c.* 1.10 Cum ille semper veraciter iudicet: Ecclesiastici autem Iu∣dices; sicut homines, plerunque fallantur. The Churche, saith S. Augustine, maie not set her self aboue Christe &c. For Christe euermore iudgeth truely: but the Ecclesiastical Iudges, as beinge menne, are often d••ceiued. Therefore wée appeale from the Churche, to Christe: From the partie, to the Iudge: From the Churche defourmed, to the Churche Refourmed: From a Churche particular, to the Churche Catholi∣que: From the False, to the True: From the Newe, to the Olde: From a doubt∣ful, variable, vncertaine, vnaduised sentence, to a Sentence most firme, most sta∣ble, most certaine, most constante, that shal stand for euer.