The suruey of popery vvherein the reader may cleerely behold, not onely the originall and daily incrementes of papistrie, with an euident confutation of the same; but also a succinct and profitable enarration of the state of Gods Church from Adam vntill Christs ascension, contained in the first and second part thereof: and throughout the third part poperie is turned vp-side downe.

The answere.

I say first, that what the late churche of Rome beleeueth, is not much materiall; because it is become the whore of Ba∣bylon, [ 1] as I haue prooued copiously.

I say secondly, that though the blessed virgin had great grace and sanctification bestowed on her, as who was not onely the [ 2] mother of man, but of God also; yet was she conceiued in origi∣nall sinne vndoubtedly. For so the holy scripture doth conuince, so the auncient fathers affirme, so the best approoued popishe doctors graunt, and so right reason doth euidently conclude. As by one man (saith the apostles) sinne entered into the world, and death by sinne, and so death went ouer all men, in whom all men haue sinned. Againe, as by the offence of one,* 1.1 the fault came on all men to condemnation, so by the iustifying of one,* 1.2 the benefite abounded towarde all men to the iustification of life. And in another place, there is none righteous, no not one.Againe, in another place;* 1.3 the scripture hath concluded al vnder sin, y^t the promise by the faith of Iesus Christ, should be giuen to them that beleeue. And the holy Psalmographe saith▪ Enter not into iudgement with thy seruaunt,* 1.4 for in thy sight shall none that liueth be iustified. All which textes and such like are gene∣rally spoken of all, no one nor other is exempt.

S. Ambrose hath a long discourse, in which he prooueth that none but onely Iesus Christ is void of sinne.* 1.5 These among o∣thers are his wordes. Omnes intra retia erant, imò adhuc intra retia sumus; quia nemo sine peccato nisi solus Iesus, quem non cognoscentem peccatum peccatum pro nobis fecit pater. Infra; ve∣nit ad laqueos Iesus, vt Adam solueret; venit liberare quod peri∣erat Omnes retibus tenebamur; nullus alium eruere poterat, cum seipsum non possit eruere.

All were in the nettes, yea we are yet in the nets; because none is without sinne but onely Iesus, whom when hee

knewe no sinne, the father made him a sacrifice for sinne, in our behalfe. Iesus came to the snare, that hee might loose A∣dam; he came to deliuer, that which was lost. We were al ta∣ken in the net, we could not deliuer one another, when no man could deliuer himselfe.

S. Augustine teacheth the same veritie in many places of his workes, but I wil content my selfe with one or two. Thus therfore doth he write vpon the 34. Psalm; sic ergo peccatum domini quod factum est de peccato, quia inde carnem assumpsit, de massa ipsa quae mortem meruerat ex peccato.* 1.6 Etenim vt cele∣rius dicam, Maria ex Adam mortua propter peccatum Adae, A∣dam mortuus est propter peccatum, & caro domini ex Maria mortua est propter delenda peccata.

Euen so therefore (is it called) the sinne of the Lord, which is made of sinne; because hee tooke flesh from thence, of that masse which had deserued death by reason of sin. For to speake more brieflie; Mary descending of Adam, is dead by reason of Adams sinne; Adam is dead for his owne sin; and our Lords flesh of Mary, is dead to put away sinne.

* 1.7S. Augustine in another place hath these wordes; Proinde corpus Christi quamuis ex carne foeminae assumptum est, quae de illa carnis peccati propagine concepta fuerat; tamen quia non sic in ea conceptum est, quomodo erat illa concepta, nec ipsa erat caro peccati, sed similitudo carnis peccati.

Therefore Christes body, although it were assumpted of the flesh of a woman, which was conceiued of the stocke of the flesh of sinne, yet because it was not so conceiued in it, as it was conceiued: therefore was it not the flesh of sinne, but (only) the similitude of the flesh of sinne.

The same S. Augustine in another place, writeth in this maner;* 1.8 Sine dubio caro Christi non est caro peccati, sed similis carni peccati; quid restat vt intelligamus, nisi ea excepta omnem reliquam humanam carnem esse peccati? & hinc apparet illam concupiscentiam per quam Christus concipi noluit, fecisse in ge∣nere humano propaginē mali; quia Mariae corpus quamuis inde venerit, tamen eam non traiecit in corpus, quod non inde con∣cepit.

Doubtlesse Christes flesh is not the flesh of sinne, but only

like to the flesh of sinne; what therefore must wee vnderstande, but that all other mens flesh besides it, is the flesh of sinne? And heereuppon it is cleare, that that concupiscence by which Christ would not be conceiued, dispersed sin throughout man∣kind, because the body of Marie though it came from thence, yet could it not conuey that into the bodie, which was not con∣ceiued thereupon, (but of the holy ghost.) These words of S. Austen and Saint Ambrose are so plaine and easie, as they neede no declaration,

Thomas Aquinas, albeit hee constantly defendeth, that the blessed virgin was neither borne in sinne, nor yet sinned actu∣ally after hir birth more or lesse, graunteth for all that, that shee was conceiued in originall sinne: and hee prooueth it by two euident reasons, whereof this is one.* 1.9 Sanctificatio de qua loquimur, non est nisi emundatio à peccato originali, culpa au∣tem non potest emundari nisi per gratiam, cuius subiec∣tum est sola creatura rationalis, & ideo ante infusionem ani∣mae rationalis B. virgo sanctificata non fuit.

Sanctification whereof we now speake (saith the cheefest popish doctour,) is nothing else but a clensing from origi∣nall sinne, but sinne cannot bee purged without grace, whose subiect can be nothing but a reasonable creature, and therefore the blessed virgin could not be sanctified from sin, before a rea∣sonable soule was infused into her bodie. This argument of Aquinas is so inuincible in popish manner of proceeding, as no Iesuite in the world (though they all hold the contrarie) can inuent a sufficient solution for the same.

Deuout and holy Bernarde (whose authoritie is great with all Papists) holdeth the same opinion with Aquinas.* 1.10 For al∣beit hee sharply reproue the practise of the cathedrall church of Lions for keeping the festiuitie of the conception of the blessed virgin, calling that practise the noueltie of presumption, the mother of temeritie, sister of superstition, and the daughter of leuitie: yet doth he hold that shee was borne without sinne, and 〈◊〉〈◊〉 continued all her life.

All learned men that euer wrote before our seditious lately hatched Iesuites, confesse the conception of the blessed virgin, to haue beene polluted with sinne: and I prooue it by an irre∣fragable

demonstration. First, because the blessed virgin, if she had euer beene free from sinne,* 1.11 should haue needed no Sa∣uiour, nor had anie Sauior, and so Christ should not haue bin her Iesus: which to say, is both against the scripture, and a∣gainst the honour of that holy virgin. Bernardus and Aquinas saw the force of this reason, and grauely vrged the same. Yea, the holy virgin renounceth flatly their hereticall and hypocri∣ticall doctrine, in her humble thankes to God for her saluati∣on.* 1.12 My soule (saith she) doth magnifie the Lord, and my spi∣rit reioyceth in God my sauiour. For this cause Bernard cry∣eth out in these words;* 1.13 Non est hoc virginem honorare, sed ho∣nori detrahere. The virgin is not this way honored, but great∣ly dishonored. Secondly, because as Bernard saieth, Where lust is, there must needs be sinne: and therefore since the virgin was conceiued with lust, or else (as they dare not say) by the holy ghost; it followeth, that she was conceiued in sinne. O∣ther reasons the same Bernard hath, but these may suffice.

Notes

• * 1.1

  Rom. 5. v. 12.
• * 1.2

  verse 18.
• * 1.3

  Rom. 3. v. 1••. Gal. 3. v. 22.
• * 1.4

  Psal 143. v. 2.
• * 1.5

  Ambro. in Psal. 118. circa med.
• * 1.6

  Aug. in Psal. 34. conc. 2. tom. 8.
• * 1.7

  Aug. de Genes. ad literam, libr. 10. c. ••8. tom. 3.
• * 1.8

  Aug. cont. Iul. Pelag. libr. 5. c. 9. tom. 7.
• * 1.9

  Aquina p. 3 q. 27 ar. 2. in. corpore
• * 1.10

  Bernard. epist. 174. ad Canon. Ludg.
• * 1.11

  Mat. 1.21. 1. Tim. 4.10.
• * 1.12

  Luc. 1.46.
• * 1.13

  Bernard. vbi sup.