A reproufe, written by Alexander Nowell, of a booke entituled, A proufe of certayne articles in religion denied by M. Iuell, set furth by Thomas Dorman, Bachiler of Diuinitie: and imprinted at Antvverpe by Iohn Latius. Anno. 1564. Set foorth and allowed, according to the Queenes Maiesties iniunctions

Dorman. Fol. 14.

Tell them that you haue seen them thriue so euell apon that presumption of theirs, so many heresies, so many schismes and leude opinions, broughte in there∣by, that you are at a poincte with your selues to leaue them, and take that waie that Saincte Hierome in the like case hath doen before you: who although his know¦ledge

in the tongues were suche, as by the reporte of moste men, it passed any others in his tyme: yet would not he take vpon hym, in the discussyng of doutes, to * 1.1 leane to that rule of theirs, to la••e and conferre toge∣ther one texte with an other, but referryng hymself to the see of Rome he alwaies protested, that by that seate and faithe praised by the Apostles owne mouth would he be counceled and ruled. Beatitudini tuae id est cathedrae Petri communione consocior, To your holines [saieth he wri∣tyng * 1.2 * 1.3 to Damasus then the Bishoppe of Rome] that is to saie to Peters chaire am I ioigned in communion: and he addeth a cause whie, Super illam Petram aedificatam * 1.4 ecclesiam scio, I knowe that on that rocke [Peters chaire] the Churche is builded.

Nowell.

The Pope and Papistes haue thriuen so well vpon their striuyng againste the truthe of Goddes woorde, that I trust all the worlde shortly will be at a poinct to leaue them. Saincte Hierome saieth no where that he would not compare the scriptures together for the dis∣cussyng of doubtes (as M. Dorman would beare vs in hande) and S. Augustine saieth, he would dooe it, and exhorteth other to dooe the same. S. Hieromes woordes to Damasus Bishop of Rome make nothyng againste vs, nor with M. Dorman. For what meruaile is it, if * 1.5 that sainct Hierome, borne in a coaste of Italie, Christe∣ned at Rome, brought vp at Rome, and made priest at Rome, would in the faith of the blessed Trinitie, rather ioigne himself in communion with Damasus Bishop of Rome, a learned and godlie man, then with Vitalis, and Meletius (whom M. Dorman calleth Miletus) and Paulinus, who were Antiochian bishops, and therefore straungers to him, and also not cleare from the Arrian heresie? What argument can M. Dorman frame here∣of?

Hierome a Prieste of Rome &c. ioigned hymself in communion to his owne bishoppe Damasus, Ergo we Englishemen musie ioigne our selues likewise to the bishoppe of Rome that now is, beyng bothe a forainer and an enemie. Againe, Hierome ioigned in commu∣nion with Damasus a godlie bishoppe of Rome, Ergo we must submit our selues to a false vsurper, and ene∣mie of God, and all godlinesse. Naie, it foloweth rather thus: As saincte Hierome refused to ioigne hymself to Vitalis bishoppe of Antiochia, and an Arrian, bothe be∣cause he was a straunger, and also an heretike, and ioi∣gned hymself to Damasus his owne Bishoppe, and a godlie Bishop: so ought wée to refuse the Pope, beyng bothe a foraine vsurper, and a false heretike, & to ioigne againste hym, with our owne godlie bishops at home. But (will M. Dorman saie) saincte Hierome addeth a cause (whiche is the pith of the matter) saiyng thus: Super illam petram, &c. I knowe that vpon that rocke [Pe∣ters chaire] the Churche is builded: whiche is the cause why S. Hierome ioigned with Damasus, will he saie. But he maie be ashamed, had he any shame at al, thus shamefully by a false parenthesis to intermingle these woordes [Peters chaire] in this sentence of S. Hierome, and so to falsifie it, as though S. Hierome had saied, or ment in this place, that the Popes chaire is the rocke, whereon the Churche is builded. And now maie ye see to what ende all M. Dormans long former drifte com∣meth, to witte, to bryng vs from the scriptures to Pe∣ters chaire, that is, the Popes consistorie, there to bee iudged, whiche now at the laste, after so long suspensiō and delaie, vnder S. Hieromes name, but moste falsly, he hath vttered. For the more plain declaration wher∣of, I will report here sainct Hieromes woordes a little more largely, then M. Dorman hath dooen: whiche are

these, Facessat inuidia, Romani culminis recedat ambi∣tio, cū successore piscatoris & discipulo crucis loquor. Ego nullum primum, nisi Christum sequens, Beatitu∣dinis tuae, id est, Cathedrae Petri communione conso∣cior: super illam Petram aedificatam Ecclesiam scio. Quicunque extra hanc domum agnum comederit, pro∣phanus est. Si quis in Arca Nohae non fuerit, peribit regnante diluuio. That is to saie, Let enuie auoide, let the ambition of the height of Rome departe, I speake to the successour of the fisher, and a disciple of the crosse. I folowyng no chief or head, but Christ, am ioigned in communion to your holines, to saie, Peters chaire: v∣pon that rocke, I knowe the Churche to bee builded: whosoeuer eateth the Lambe without this house, he is prophane or vnholie. If one be not in the arke of Nohe, he shall perishe when the floud is aloft. Thus farre S. Hierome. Now if a manne would aske of M. Dorman why he left out those twoo lines, wherein S. Hierome admonisheth Damasus, as the successour of the poore fisher Peter, to laie aside all ambitiō, whiche the great∣nesse of the citie of Rome might mooue hym too, and withall affirmeth that he will folowe no chief head but Christe (whiche woordes are ioigned, and by a partici∣ple dependyng to that, whiche M. Dorman alleged) whatsoeuer he shall answere thereto, I knowe the true answere: M. Dorman did of falsehood, and corruption of the meanyng of sainct Hierome, thus detrunke and mangle his sentence: for he did sée that S. Hierome ad∣monishing Damasus of humilitie, and withall profes∣syng hymself to folowe no chief or head but Christ, not exceptyng Damasus case, but rather affirmyng hym not to be Primum, the chief, maketh clearely with vs, who in this controuersie of the Popes vsurped supre∣macie saie the same: We folow no head but Christ: we

ioigne in communion with none, but suche as folowe hym &c. Furthermore he did see that the woordes of S. Hierome folowyng (vpō this rocke I know the church to bee builded) might and ought to bee referred vnto Christe, mentioned by S. Hierome so nere before, and by Peter cōfessed to be that rocke, wheron the churche is builded: and therefore M. Dorman left out of saincte Hieromes sentence the mētion of Christ, that he might most falsly and blasphemously referre the rocke to Pe∣ters chaire, as though Peters rotten chaire, or ruinous Rome were the rocke, whereon the churche of our sa∣uior Christ is builded. And to make the purposed wic∣kednesse of these aduersaries of the verie rocke Christe and his truthe (who care not what thei allege for the maintenaunce of their desperate cause of the Popes su∣premacie, though thēselues dooe knowe it serueth no∣thing for their purpose at all) more manifeste to all the worlde, I lette the reader vnderstande, that Erasmus in his scholies or annotations vpon this epistle (whiche M. Dorman were he not asleape muste needes see) did warne him that he should not after this sorte so falsifie S. Hierome in this place. For though he cōfesse that S. Hierome might seeme by this place to thinke, that all churches ought to be vnder the Romaine see, or at the leaste not straungers from it, yet when he noteth vpon these woordes: I knowe the churche is builded vpō that rocke, he saieth. Super illam Petrā &c. Non super Ro∣mam, vt arbitror: nam fieri potest vt Roma quo{que} de∣generet: sed super eam fidem quam Petrus professus est, & quam hactenus Romana seruauit ecclesia, qua non a∣lia minus laborauit haeresibus. That is to saie, Vpon this rocke, not vpon Rome I trow: for it maie come to passe, that Rome also goe out of kinde: but vpon the faith, whiche Peter professed, and the whiche hither to

the Romain churche hath kept, then the whiche church no other hath been lesse infected with heresies. Thus farre Erasmus, cleane contrary to M. Dorman and all Papistes, who would haue the Romaine see, to bee the rocke wheron Christes churche is builded, and that the said see can not possibly erre. Yea and further the same Erasmus in the beginnyng of his argument vpon his treatie againste the Luciferians, whiche is nexte to his * 1.6 twoo epistles to Damasus, hath these woordes. Nulla haeresis grauius afflixit totius orbis ecclesias, quàm Arrianorum: adeò vt Romanum quoque pontificem, & ipsos inuoluerit imperatores. That is to say: No he∣resie hath more greuouslie afflicted the Churches of all the worlde, then the Arrians: in so muche that it hath wrapped in the Bishop of Rome, and the Emperours themselues. Thus farre Erasmus. It pleaseth M. Dor∣man sometyme to allege Erasmus against vs, whose authoritie if it bee good, doune goeth the Pope, and all Poperie: for if the bishoppes of Rome haue been infec∣ted with heresie, their Chaire is not that vnmoueable rocke, as M. Dorman would haue it. Now if M. Dor∣man did not see these notes of Erasmus vpon the place by hym alleged out of S. Hierome, I praise his dili∣gence, he maie of Dorman bee called Dormitantius, as sainct Hierome (whom he falsely allegeth) called Vigi∣lantius, and more iustlie bothe by nature and sounde of name maie M. Dormā be so called, then euer was Vi∣gilantius by sainct Hierome. But if M. Dorman did see Erasmus note, and dissembled it, as he did see these S. Hieromes woordes (I folowyng no heade but Christe) nexte and moste necessarilie ioigned to the sentence by hym alleged, and yet of purpose cutte them of by the necke, then is M. Dormans candor, and sinceritie, v∣suall to hym throughout all his booke, moste woorthie

of plentifull Popishe praise. But if Erasmus iudge∣mente, and authoritie be nothyng woorthe, but onelie when he seemeth to speake againste vs, then I will yet in Christes quarell, that he is the Rocke, & not Peters rotten chaire, bring foorth one witnesse, not onely grea∣ter then Erasmus, but also equall with S. Hierome, and aboue all Papistes in creadite and authoritie. S. Augustine in his. 13. Sermon vpon the Gospell of Ma∣thewe, * 1.7 hath these woordes. Quia tu dixisti mihi [inquit Christus Petro] Tu es Christus filius Dei viui, & ego tibi, tu es Petrus (Simon quippe antè vocabatur) hoc autem nomen, vt Petrus appellaretur, ei à domino im∣positum est, & hoc, vt ea figura significaret Ecclesiam. Quia enim Christus Petra: Petrus populus christianus. Petra enim principale nomen est, ideo Petrus à Petra, non Petra à Petro: quomodo non à christiano Christ{us}, sed à Christo christianus vocatur. Tu es ergoūquit Pe∣trus, & super hanc Petram quam confessus es, super hāc Petram quā cognouisti dicens: tu es Chrstus filius dei viui, aedificabo ecclesiam meam, id est, super meipsum filium dei viui aedificabo ecclesiam meam. Super me ae∣dificabo te, non me super te. Nā volentes homines ędi∣ficari super homines, dicebant: ego quidem sum Pauli, ego autem Apollo, ego verò Cephae, ipse est Petrus: Et alij qui nolebant aedificari super Petrum, sed super Pe∣tram, ego autem sum Christi. Apostolus autem Paulus vbi cognouit se eligi, & Christum cōtemni: diuisus est, inquit, Christus? Nunquid Paulus pro vobis crucifixus est: aut in nomine Pauli baptizati estis? Quomodo nō in Pauli, sic nec in Petri, sed ī nomine Christi: vt Petrus edificaretur super Petrā, & non Petra supra Petrū. &c. That is to saie, Because thou haste saied to me (saieth Christe to Peter) Thou art Christe the sonne of the li∣uyng God: I dooe also saie to thee, thou art Peter: (for

before he was called Simon) but this name, that he should be called Peter, was geuen him of the Lorde: to th'ende, that by that figure he might signifie y^e churche. For because Christe is Petra, the Rocke: Petrus is the Christian people. For, Petra is the principal name: and therefore Petrus cometh of Petra, and not Petra of Pe∣trus: as Christus, Christe, is not named à Christiano, of a Christian, but Christianus, a Christian, is named of Christus, Christ. Therefore saith Christ, Thou art Pe∣ter, and vpon this rocke which thou hast confessed, vpō this rocke whiche thou hast knowen, saiyng, Thou art Christe the sonne of the liuyng God, I will builde my churche: that is, vpon my self, beyng the sonne of the li∣uyng God will I builde my churche. I will builde thée vpon me, not me vpon thee. For men y^e would be buil∣ded vpō men, did saie: I am of Paule, I of Apollo, and I of Cephas, that is of Peter. And other who would not bee builded vpon Petrum, Peter, but vpon Petram, the rocke, did saie: I am of Christe. And the Apostle Paule whē he did knowe that he was chosen or preferred, and Christ despised by some men, saied: is Christe diuided? Was Paule crucified for you? Or were you Baptized in the name of Paule? And as not in Paules name, no more were ye baptized in the name of Peter, but in the name of Christ, that Peter might be builded vpon the rocke, not the rocke vpon Peter, and so foorthe. Thus farre S. Augustine. And the same interpretation, and * 1.8 defence, that Christ is the rocke, and not Peter, doeth sainct Augustine againe in his Retractations repete, and maintaine. Wherefore you see, maister Dorman, by saincte Augustine, that Christe is that rocke where∣on the Churche is builded, and not Peter, nor Peters chaire, vnlesse you take Peters confession made before be came at Rome, to be his Chaire, and then ye make

with S. Augustine and vs, against the Pope: for Rome was not his chaire, before he was bishop there. You see that Peter is here the figure of the whole Churche, in makyng his confessiō, not of the churche of Rome one∣ly: you see that as Christe is the rocke, so representeth Peter the christian people, and not the people of Rome onely, muche lesse the Pope onely: you see that Petrus, to saie, the Churche, is builded vpon Petra, Christ: and not Petra, Christe, builded vpon Petrus, Peter: you see that suche as will haue Peter beyng a man, to be their rocke to builde vpon, bee sectaries and heretikes, diui∣dyng them selues from Christe, despisyng hym, and choosyng men: and that thei onely be true Christians, whiche wil not builde vpon Peter, nor vpon any other man, but vpon the rocke onely, whiche is Christ hym∣self: you see, thei that builde vpon Peter maie saie, I holde of Cephas, whiche is Peter: but thei that builde vpon the rocke maie saie, I holde, or I am of Christe. Wherefore I conclude, that all that builde vpon the Pope, or his chaire, as it were vpon the rocke, as thei bée called, so bee thei in deede Papistes, not Christians: as were all those false orders of hypocrites, who forsa∣kyng to builde vpon the rocke Christ, and buildyng v∣pon men woorse then Peter, Paule, or Apollo, a thou∣sande tymes, forsooke to saie, Ego sum Christi, I am of Christ, I am a Christian: and saied, Ego Franciscanus, ego Dominicanus &c. I am of Francisce, I am of Do∣minike, a Franciscane, a Dominicane, a Bernardine, yea an Augustinian, cōtrary to this doctrine of S. Au∣gustine: whiche argueth, that those hypocrites were neuer of his institution, as thei falsely feigned thē sel∣ues to be. And as S. Augustine witnesseth with Eras∣mus, that Christe is Petra, and not Peter, nor Rome * 1.9 Peters chaire, or see, so hath Erasmus felowe witnes∣ses

enough of the auncient doctours of the churche, yea * 1.10 and generall Councelles too, that Popes were he∣retikes, and therefore their chaire was not the rocke, but waueryng and vncertaine sande, the buildyng whereon did runne to the ruine of heresie. Nowe you maie see, good readers, the cause why M. Dorman hath thus alleged vnto you sainct Hieromes sentence head∣lesse, leauyng out the mention of Christ, whom onely S. Hierome acknowledgeth for the head, that the wor∣des of the rocke nexte folowyng, might seme to be spo∣ken of Peters rotten chaire, or of ruinous Rome, and not of our Sauiour Iesus Christe, who liueth and rei∣gneth for euer. With like fraude did M. Dormā leaue also that, whiche nexte foloweth in S. Hierome, of the house, without the whiche, he that eateth the Pascall lambe, is a prophane, or vnholie man: and the arke of Noe, without the whiche all that bee, perishe by the floudde. For though that place might seeme to make for M. Dormans purpose, concernyng the supremacie of the bishop of Rome (as Erasmus hath noted) yet he knowyng, or some manne warnyng hym, that it is in deede nothyng to his purpose, for that the house, with∣out the whiche the Pascall lambe maie not bee eaten, the Arke, without the whiche no man can bée saued frō the floude, by all olde doctours is interpreted to bee the one vniuersall churche of Christ, and by none to be the churche of Rome: and therefore like a wise man, orels a false Fore, hath he let that folowyng alone also, as he cutte of * 1.11 Christe the head goyng and ioigned nexte before, and so he hath tolde you a tale bothe without head and taile, thereby to proue the Pope, who is An∣tichriste, to be the head of Christes churche.

Notes

• * 1.1

  S. Herome in doutes refer∣red himself to Peters Seate.
• * 1.2

  Borowed out of Hosius lib. 2. Folio. 76. b.
• * 1.3

  Tom. 2. epist. ad Damasum.
• * 1.4

  The churche builded on Peters chaire.
• * 1.5

  Erasmus. Hieronymus in Italiae regi∣one natus: Ro∣mae baptizat{us}: Romae educa∣tus: presbyter Romanus.
• * 1.6

  Tom. 2. contra Luciferianos.
• * 1.7

  Tom. 10. col. 58. b.
• * 1.8

  Retract. lib. 1. cap. 21.
• * 1.9

  Athanafius &. Hiero. de Li∣berio Papa.
• * 1.10

  Cōcil. Sextum Const. & Basil. de Honorio, Iohanne. 23. Engenio. 4. Papis.
• * 1.11

  Hieron. Ego nullum primū nisi Christum sequens.