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 first conclusion.

Man albeit hee was so created as hee might sinne and die, (which thing the euent it selfe declared;) yet was he so adorned and beautified, with supernaturall giftes and graces, aswel ex∣ternal as internal, that he might haue liued eternally, and haue eschewed all sinne world without end. This conclusion I thus proue. That man might haue liued euer if he had not sinned, is euident by Gods owne wordes, when he saith; Thou shalt eate freely of euery tree of the garden, but of the tree of knowledge of good and euill, thou shalt not eate of it; for in the day that thou eatest thereof,* 1.1 thou shalt die the death. And againe in ano∣ther place, after that he had pronounced the earth cursed for A∣dams sinne, he vttered these words; For out of it wast thou ta∣ken, because thou art dust, and to dust shalt thou returne. By which wordes it appeareth,* 1.2 that if hee had not transgressed, he should not haue died.* 1.3 S. Austen confirmeth the same in these wordes; Quapropter fatendum est primos homines ita fuisse in∣stitutos,

vt si non peccassent, nullum mortis experirentur genus. Wherefore wee must confesse that our first parentes were so created, that vnlesse they had sinned,* 1.4 they shoulde haue felt no kinde of death, (neither of soule nor of body.) Death (saith S. Bernard) shoulde neuer haue followed, if sinne had not gone be∣fore. S. Chrysostome gathereth this conclusion, out of the ex∣presse text of Genesis. These are his wordes; Factus enim est mortalis propter praeuaricationem, vt ex hoc mandato & his quae sequuta sunt, claret. Sequitur, ita{que} ante praeuaricationem immortales erant, alioqui post cibum non hoc sup••licij loco im∣posuisset. For he became mortall, by reason of transgression, as is euident by this commandement, and that which followeth after. Therefore they were immortal before the transgression; otherwise after the eating thereof, this punishment should not haue been imposed vpon them. He confirmeth the same in ano∣ther place, where he writeth thus; Cum Adam peccasset, corpus illius confestim mortale ac passibile factum est, plurimos{que} re∣cepit naturales defectus. So soone as Adam had sinned,* 1.5 his bo∣die forthwith became mortall and passible, and receiued many natural defects. That Adam might haue liued without al kind of sin, is likewise manifest by y^e scripture,* 1.6 which saith that God made man righteous, or right. His rectitude consisted in this, that his reason was subiect to God, his inferiour powers to his superiour, his body to his soule. There was no rebellion to be found, in any part of the whole man. For otherwise it would follow hereupon, y^t God were vniust; which yet to auouch, were y^e greatest blasphemie in the world. The reason is euident,* 1.7 be∣cause if it had not been in Adams power to haue auoided al sin▪ God should haue charged him with an impossibilitie, and with∣all haue condemned him for not performing the same.* 1.8 But our Lord is a iust iudge, as witnesseth his apostle.

This whole processe▪* 1.9 S. Austen sheweth both pithily & brief∣ly, in these right golden wordes; Posteaquam praecepti facta est transgressio, confestim gratia deserente diuina, de corporum suorum nuditate confusi sunt. Senserunt enim nouum mot••m ino∣bedientis carnis suae, tanquam reciprocam poenam inobedientiae suae; & quia superiorem Dominum suo arbitrio deserue∣rat, inferiorem famulum ad suum arbitrium non tenebat:

non omnino habebat subditam carnem sicut semper habere potu∣isset▪ si Deo subdita ipsa mansisset. After that Gods lawe was transgressed, Gods grace did incontinently forsake them, and they beholding their owne nakednesse were confounded. For they felt a new motion in their disobedient flesh, a punishment correspondent to their disobedient heartes. And because he vo∣luntarily disobeied his superiour Lord, hee coulde not haue his inferiour seruaunt, subiect to his word. Neither was his flesh in subiection, as he might haue had it for euer, if it had re∣mained obedient to Gods lawes.

The condition of mans free will, from the creation of the protoplaste Adam, vntil our regeneration; Christ himselfe see∣meth to set down most liuely,* 1.10 in that parable which he propoun∣ded to the lawyer. A certaine man (saith Christ) went downe from Hierusalem to Iericho, and fell among theeues, who rob∣bed him of his raiment, and wounded him, and departed, lea∣uing him halfe dead. Which is to say allegorically (as y^e fathers write,) that mankinde went out from the paradise of peace, to the mutabilitie of misery, & fell among the powers of darknes, who robbed him of his supernatural gifts of innocency and im∣mortalitie, wounded him in his naturall giftes, of will and reason, and departed leauing him halfe dead; that is, dead in respect of Gods fauour, though liuing to the eyes of the world. Semiuiuus (inquit Augustinus) habet vitalem motum, id est, li∣berum arbitrium vulneratū,* 1.11 quod ad aeternam quam perdiderat vitam non sufficiebat. Et ideo iacebat, quia vires ei propriae ad surgendum non sufficiebant, vt ad sanandum medicum .i. deum requireret. In that he was halfe aliue, (saith S. Austen) he had vitall motion; that is, free will so wounded, as it could not re∣turne to eternall life, which it had lost. And therefore did he lie; because he wanted proper strength to seeke God, the phisition that could cure his maladie. Ludolphus alluding to mans crea∣tion,* 1.12 setteth downe this matter verie finely in these wordes; Fecerat Deus hominem ad imaginem suam secundum rationem, ad similitudinem secundum dilectionē, vt per vtrum{que} Deo adhae∣reret, & in haerendo beatus esset. Sed diabolus humanae beatitu∣dini inuidens, contra duo bona praedicta duo homini in originali intulit praecipua mala. In eo namque quod factus erat ad ima∣ginem

Dei secundum rationem, vulnerauit eum per ignoran∣tiam boni; in eo verò quod factus est ad similitudinem Dei se∣cundum dilectionem, vulnerauit eum per concupiscentiam mali. God made man after his own image according to reason, after his owne similitude according to loue; that by them both hee might adhere to God, and by adhering to him attaine eternall beatitude. But the deuill enuying mans felicitie,* 1.13 bestowed on him in steede of these two blessings, the double mischiefe of ori∣ginall sinne. For in that man was made after Gods image in reason, he wounded him with the ignorance of good▪ and in that he was made after his similitude in loue, he wounded him with the concupiscence of euill.

Al this is liuely comprehended in the essence, nature and de∣finition of free will, which after Saint Austen is this,* 1.14 Liberum arbitrium est facultas rationis & voluntatis, qua bonum eligi∣tur gratia assistente; malum eâ desistente: Free will is the fa∣cultie of reason and will, by which good is chosen, when grace is present; and euill, when grace is wanting.* 1.15 For this cause saith the apostle, that we are not able to think any good thought of our selues, as of our selues;* 1.16 neither yet to say that Iesus is the Lord, but in the holy ghost.* 1.17 For it is God (saith he) that worketh in vs, both to do wel, and to wil wel. This verity was defined aboue a thousand and one hundred yeers ago, by the an∣cient, holy, and learned councel of Aransica, in these words, Haeretico fallitur spiritu non intelligens vocem Dei,* 1.18 dicentis in Euangelio; Sine me nihil potestis facere; whosoeuer (saieth the holy synode) thinketh he can do any act which pleaseth god, or perteineth to eternal life▪ by force of his free will, that man is deceiued with an heretical spirit, not vnderstanding the voice of god whē he saith in his gospel,* 1.19 Without me ye can do nothing (that is good.) Out of this discourse, two things are cleare & euidēt; the one, that our first parent Adam before his fal, might by force of his free-wil holpen with supernaturall grace, make free election aswel of good as of euil, & withal put that his free choise in execution: thother, that y^e posterity of Adam hath free wil to nothing saue to sin only, vntill the time of regeneration.

Notes

• * 1.1

  Gen. 2. v. 17.
• * 1.2

  Gen. 3. v. 19.
• * 1.3

  August. de ciuit. dei, lib. 13. cap. 3.
• * 1.4

  Bernard serm. ad milit. cap. 11. de caena domini ser. 10. Chrysos. hom. 16. in Gen.
• * 1.5

  Chryso. hom. 12. ad Rom.
• * 1.6

  Ecclesiast. 7. v. 31
• * 1.7

  Aug. de lib. arbit. lib. 2. cap. 1.
• * 1.8

  2. Tim. 4. v. ••.
• * 1.9

  August. de ciuit. libr▪ 13. cap. 13.
• * 1.10

  Luc. 10. v. 30.
• * 1.11

  Aug. ap. Ludolp.
• * 1.12

  Ludolph. de vita Christi.
• * 1.13

  The double euill of ignorance an•• concupiscence.
• * 1.14

  Aug. apud Lu••••••
• * 1.15

  2. Cor. 3.5.
• * 1.16

  1. Cor. 12.••.
• * 1.17

  Philip. 2.13.
• * 1.18

  Con•• Ara••. can. 7.
• * 1.19

  Ioan. 155.