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IF there arise among you a Prophete, or a drea∣mer* 1.1 of dreames (and giue thee a signe or wonder.
And the signe and wonder which he hath tolde* 1.2 thee, come to passe) saiyng, let vs goe after other Gods, which thou hast not knowen, & let vs serue
theim.
Thou shalt not hearken vnto the wordes of the prophete,* 1.3 or vnto the dreamer of dreames.
Heare not the woordes of the Prophetes, that prophecie* 1.4 vnto you, and teache you vanitie: they speake the vision of their owne harte, and not out of the mouth of the Lorde.
Let hym speake my wordes faithfully: what is Chaffe to* 1.5 the Wheate, saieth the Lorde?
Saie thou vnto theim that prophecie out of their hartes,* 1.6 heare the worde of the lorde.
Wo vnto the foolishe prophetes, that followe their owne* 1.7 spirite, and haue seen nothyng.
Whosoeuer therefore shall breake one of these least com∣maundementes,* 1.8 and teache men so, he shall be called the least in the kyngdome of heauen.
In vaine they worship mee, teachyng for doctrines, mens* 1.9 preceptes.
Nowe this I saie, that euery one of you saieth, I am* 1.10 Paules, I am Apollos, and I am Cephas, and I am Christes.
Is Christe deuided? Was Paule crucified for you? Either* 1.11 were ye baptised in the name of Paule?
Let no man reioyce in men.* 1.12
Who is Paule then? And who is Apollos? but the mini∣sters* 1.13 by whō ye beleued, and as the lorde gaue to euerie man.
I haue planted, Apollos watred, but god gaue the encrease.* 1.14
So then, neither is he that planteth, any thyng, neither hee* 1.15 that wattereth, but God gaue the encrease.
I beséeche you bretheren, marke theim diligentlie whiche* 1.16 cause diuision and offences, contrary to the doctrine whiche ys haue learned, auoide theim.
Though that we, or an Augell from heauen, preache vnto* 1.17 you otherwise then that whiche we haue preached vnto you, let hym be accursed.
Dearely beloued, beleue not euery spirite, but trie the spi∣rites* 1.18 whether they are of God: for many false prophetes are gone out into the worlde.
Whosoeuer transgresseth, and abideth not in the doctrine* 1.19
of christe, hath not God.
He that continueth in the doctrine of christe, he hath both* 1.20 the father, and the sonne, if there come any vnto you, and bryng not this doctrine, receiue hym not to house, neither byd hym god speede,
For he that biddeth hym god spéede, is partaker of his euill* 1.21 deedes.
My bretheren, haue not the faithe of our glorious lorde Ie∣sus* 1.22 christe, in respect of persons.
For if there come into your company, a man with a golde* 1.23 Kyng, and in goodlie apparell, and there come i•…•… also a poore man in vile raiment.
And ye haue respecte to hym that weareth the gaie clo∣thyng,* 1.24 and saie vnto hym, sit thou here in a good place, and saie vnto the poore, stande thou there: or sit here vnder my footestoole.
Are ye not partiall in your selues, and are become iudges* 1.25 of euill thoughtes?
AMong you, the right of God is weighed by* 1.26 the iudgement of men.
It is not lawfull for vs to flatter our sel∣ues,* 1.27 with any thynge of our iudgemente and discretion, nor to choose that which any man hath brought in of his owne head, wee haue the paterns of the Apostles for vs: whiche tooke nothyng to bryng in after their owne pleasure, but faithfully assigned to the Nations, the doctrine that they had receiued of Christe.
Whosoeuer speaketh any thyng more then is written, al∣though* 1.28 he bee worthy credite, although he faste, although he kéepe his virginity, although he do myracles, although he pro∣phicie, yet let him séeme to thée a woolfe in the flocke of shéepe.
After the Apostles of christe, notwithstandyng some man* 1.29 be holy, notwithstandyng he be eloquent, yet he wanteth au∣cthoritie.
I thinke that the auncient father Origene, in respect of his* 1.30 learnyng, maie be read some tymes, as Tertullian, Nouatus, Arnobius, Appollinarius, and sundrie other Ecclesiasticall writers, as well Gréekes, as Latines: that in theim we maie take the good, and flee the contrarie.
Truely, wheresoeuer I expounde not the Scriptures, but* 1.31 freely speake of my owne selfe: let any man that liste reproue mee.
We must be partakers of other mens saiyngs, wholy after* 1.32 the maner of the Bées: for thei flee not a like vnto all flowers: nor where they sit, they croppe them quite awaie: But snat∣chyng so muche as shall suffice for their honie makyng, take their leaue of the rest, euen so we, if we be wise, hauyng gotte of other so muche as is sounde, and agreeable to trueth, will leape ouer the rest.
I woulde not ye shoulde beleue vs: but reade the sciptures:* 1.33 I saie not of myselfe, in the beginnyng was the worde: but I heare it, (I make it not) but I reade it.
We maie argue, and doubte of the writynges of any Bis∣shop, whosoeuer he be: But we maie not so doo of the holy scri∣pture.
We receiue not the disputations or writinges of any men, be thei neuer so catholique, or praise worthy, as wee receiue the canonicall scriptures: But that, sauing the reuerence due* 1.34 vnto theim, we maie well reproue or refuse some thynges in their writinges, if it happen wee finde they haue otherwise thought, then the trueth maie beare theim. Such am I in the writinges of others: and suche would I wishe others to be in mine.
I recken not, my brethren, that ye woulde haue vs so to* 1.35 reade your bookes, as if thei were written by the Apostles, or Prophetes.
Other writers or Fathers I reade in this sorte, that bee their learnyng or holinesse neuer so greate, I will not thinke it true, bicause thei thought soe: but bicause they are able to perswade me so, either by other Canonicall writers, or ells by some like reason.
Heare this the lorde saieth: heare not this Donatus saieth,* 1.36 Rogatus saieth, Vincentius saieth, Hilarius saieth, Ambrose saieth, Augustine saieth, but hearken to this: the lorde saieth.
In steede of all these learned Fathers, or rather aboue* 1.37 theim all, Paule the Apostle commeth to my minde, to him I runne: to hym, I appeale from all maner writers that thinke otherwise.
The Iudges or Doctours of the Churche, as beyng men,* 1.38 are often deceiued.
The verie generall councels are often corrected, the for∣mer by the later, as often as by trial and experience the thing* 1.39 is opened, that before was shutte.
This kinde of writinges must be read, not with necessitie to beleue eche thyng, but with libertie to iudge eche thyng.
We may not consent vnto the Bishops. notwithstanding* 1.40 they be catholique, if thei iudge contrarie to the holy Canoni∣call scriptures.
Whether it be of christe or of his churche, or of anythyng* 1.41 els whatsoeuer perteinyng either to our life, or to our faithe, I will not saie, if I my self, but if an Angell from heauen shall teache vs otherwise, then we haue receiued in the bookes of the lawe, and in the gospell, hold hym accursed.* 1.42
Thei shal bring forth thy voice from the middes of stones. If that I should saie now vnto you, beleue mée, for Tully saide this Plato said this, Pithagoras saied this, which of you would not mocke mee? For I shall be a byrde which bring not foorth my voice from the stone, what ought euery one of you saie vnto mee? if any man bryng any glad tidynges besides it that ye haue receiued, accursed be he. Wherefore speake ye to mée of Tully, Plato, & Virgill? Thou haste before thée the stones of the mountaines, bryng forth thy voice out from the middes of* 1.43 the stones, for christe was the stone.
We offer no wrong to sainct Ciprian, when we seuer anie his letters, or writinges, from the Canonicall aucthoritie of the holy scriptures.* 1.44
Be not bounde vnto my writinges, as vnto the canonicall scriptures: But when thou shalt finde in the scriptures that
whiche thou diddest not beleue, beleue it without any doub∣tyng* 1.45 or delaie, but when thou findest that in my writynges, whiche thou diddest not knowe certainly before, excepte thou shalt certainly vnderstande it, do not stiffely affirme it.
There is extante with vs the aucthority of holy scripture,* 1.46 from the whiche our mynde ought not to swarne, nor leauyng the substanciall grounde of Gods worde, run headlong on the perils of our owne surmises, where wee haue neither sence of body to rule vs, nor apparant reasons of trueth to direct vs.
It had been greate folly for Saincte Paule, hauyng recei∣ued* 1.47 his doctrine from God hymselfe: afterwardes to conferre thereof with men.
I beseeche you all, weigh not what this man, or that man* 1.48 thinketh: but touching al these thinges, search the scriptures.
Wee maie not beleue Paule hymselfe, if hee speake anie thyng of his owne, or o•…•… worldly reasons: But wee must be∣lei•…•…* 1.49 the Apostle, bearyng aboute Christe speakyng with in hym▪
For as much as the worde it self, is come to vs from hea∣uen,* 1.50 wee maie not nowe any more séeke vnto the doctrine of man.
We are not bounde vpon the necessitie of saluation, to be∣léeue,* 1.51 not onely the Doctours of the churche, as Hierome, or Augustine: but also, neither the churche it selfe.
We ought to geue more credite to one priuate laye man, then to the whole counsell, and to the Pope, if he bryng better* 1.52 aucthoritie and more reason.
Wee ought rather beléeue the saiyng of any teacher, ar∣med with the Canonical scriptures, then the Popes determi∣nation. More credite is to bee geuen to a man that is singu∣larly* 1.53 learned in the Scriptures, bringyng foorthe catholique aucthoritie, then to the generall counsels.* 1.54
Naie, we ought to beleue a simple plaine husbandeman, or a childe, or an olde woman, rather then the Pope, and a thousande Bishoppes, if the Pope and the Bishoppes speake against the gospell, and the others with the gospell.
Pope Pius the second saieth, we are bounde to withstande* 1.55
any man to the face, be it Peter, be it Paule, if he walke not to the trueth of the gospell.
Deut. 13. •…•….
Ierem. 23. 16.
28.
Ezechiel. 13. 2.
Math. 5. 19.
Matth. 15. 9.
1. Cor. 1. 12.
13.
1. Cor. 3. 21.
•…•…. Cor. 3. 5.
Rom. 16. 7.
Gala. 1. 8.
•…•…. Iohn. 4. 1.
•…•…. Iohn. 1. 9.
10.
11.
Ian. •…•…. 2. 1.
Tertullian in Apologetico.
His prescriptiō against the he∣retiques.
Ignatius in his Epistle to Hier.
Hierom. vpon the. 86. Psalm
In his secon•…•… Tome to Tran quillinus.
In his seconde Tome against Iouinia•…•…
Easile.
Ambrose in his kooke of the incarnatiō of our Lorde the. 3. chapiter. Augustine in his. 2. booke of onely Bap∣tisme.
In his. 198. E∣pistle vnto Fortunatianus.
In his. 19. Epi∣stle to Hierom.
In his. 4•…•…. Epi∣stle.
In his. 19. Epi∣stle.
In h•…•… 〈◊〉〈◊〉 boke and. 21. Chap. against Cre∣sconius.
In his. 2. booke and. 3. Chap. a∣gainst the Do∣natistes.
In his. 11. boke and. 5. Chap. against Fau∣stus.
In the. 10. cap. of his booke, of the vnitie of the Churche.
In his. 3. boke and. 6. Chap. against the let∣ters of Petilian. Vpō the. 103. Psalme.
In his. 2. boke and. 29. Chap. against Cre∣sconius the grammarian.
In his Pro∣heme of his. 3. boke of the Trinitie.
In his. 7. Epist.
In his. 3. boke and. 11. Chap. of the Trinity.
Chrisostome vpon the. 1. Chap. to the Galath.
In his. 3. Ho∣mily vpon the 2. to the Cor.
In his. 2. Ho∣mily vpon the 2. Epistle to Timoth.
Clemens Ale∣xādrinus in his oration to the people.
Thomas of A∣quincin quod∣libet. 9. & laste Article.
Abbas panor∣mitane, de ele∣ctio. Chap. Si∣gnificasti.
Gersone.
Pycus Myran∣dula in the question wher the Pope be a∣boue the Coū∣sell
Abbas Vsper∣gensis. pagina 443.