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.

Saie vnto them (as, saincte Hierome, saied vnto the Ibidem.

heretikes, Vitalis, and Miletus) because thei are aduer∣saries to this seate that you knowe them not, that thei scatter & are schismatikes altogether out of the chur∣che, that gather not with Peters successour.

Nowell.

By your leaue sir you saie vntruelie, that saincte Hierome saieth he knoweth not Vitalis and Meletius, (whom you call Miletus) because thei were aduersa∣ries to the seate of Rome, but because thei were aduer∣saries to the true doctrine of the moste blessed Trinitie, which Damasus did defende. Saincte Hieromes woor∣des are these. Non noui Vitalem, Meletium respuo, ignoro Paulinum. Quicun{que} tecum non colligit, spar∣git: hoc est, qui Christi non est, est Antichristi. That is to saie, I knowe not Vitalis, I refuse Meletius, Pauli∣nus I knowe not. Whosoeuer dooeth not gather with thee, he scattereth: that is, he that is not of Christe, is of Antichriste. Thus farre sainct Hierome. I praie you maister Dorman, what is in these woordes, but thei maie as well bee spoken to saincte Augustine bishoppe of Hippo in Afrike, or to saincte Ambrose Bishoppe of Milane, or to any other godlie Bishoppe, holdyng the truthe of the blessed Trinitie, againste Vitalis, Mele∣tius, and Paulinuus, teachyng erronious doctrine, and vsyng vnfitte termes thereof. Here is neither mention made of this seate or that, or the aduersaries thereto, as causes why sainct Hierome should not knowe these menne: but because thei taught false doctrine, and Da∣masus taught true, and therefore gathered not with hym, but scattered, and were not of Christe, but of An∣tichriste, * 1.1 therefore did saincte Hierome not knowe thē: he beeyng a Romaine, would not acknowledge their errours, cloked vnder a straunge and newe inuented Greeke ternie. But beeyng a Romaine prieste, he well

knewe Damasus the Romaine Bishoppe, and so con∣sequentlie his owne bishoppe (as euery man is bounde to knowe his owne godlie Bishop) he knewe his true doctrine, and plaine Latine termes, whereby he vtte∣red the plaine truthe plainelie: and therefore so know∣yng hym, and his doctrine, he ioigned with hym in communion, not for the seates sake, or for that he was Peters successour therein, but for the truthes sake, whiche he (beeyng Peters successour in truthe of do∣ctrine, more then in seate, or Chaire) did professe. A∣gaine, the cause why saincte Hierome did not knowe, but reiected, Vitalis, Meletius, and Paulinus, was not for that thei did not submitte them selues to Damasus as to the supreme head of the Churche, or for that cause tooke them to bee enemies, as maister Dorman would haue it seeme (for there was no suche matter then in question) but because thei did not agree with Dama∣sus in the truthe, but taughte falselie of the greateste poinctes of our religion, and would haue wrapped the same in obscure and strange termes, therby to deceiue the more, therefore did sainct Hierome not knowe thē. This is the true sense of this place, good readers, as al learned, that wil reade it, shall easily perceiue. Wher∣fore maister Dorman thus corruptyng and falsifiyng Saincte Hierome, by takyng awaie from hym, and ad∣dyng to hym, what he liste, and drawyng the woordes of sainct Hierome concernyng the doctrine of the moste blessed Trinitie, to the Popes vsurped supremacie, minglyng vs in lente vnguentum, to witte, matters moste impertinente, together, might moste iustlie bee blamed in this place therefore, sauyng that he dooeth so in all places. Finallie I would haue thee (good reader) to note, that as S. Hierome would not knowe Vitalis and Meletius, for that thei were forainers, and not his

owne bishops: for that they taught false doctrine, and therefore were not of Christ, but of Antichrist: and for that they were of a straunge language: so haue we the same causes altogether, not to knowe, but to refuse the bishop of Rome, and moe too: as this specially, that he, being a forainer, would vsurpe suche a supreame au∣thoritie, or rather cruell tyranny ouer vs, with whom of right he hath nothing to doo.

Notes

• * 1.1

  Hiero. Trium hypostaseon nouellū nomē à me homine Romano exi∣gitur.