A replie to Iesuit Fishers answere to certain questions propou[n]ded by his most gratious Matie: King Iames By Francis White D: of Div· deane of Carlile, chaplaine to his Matie. Hereunto is annexed, a conference of the right: R:B: of St Dauids wth the same Iesuit*

ANSVVER.

Saint Augustine in the place obiected, Lib. d. vtil. Cred. cap. 14. confuteth the Manichees, who condemned Faith, and affirmed, That people ought to credit nothing, but that which is demonstrated by reason a: And hee argueth against these Heretikes, first, out of some of their owne grounds; for they [ C] were compelled to beleeue something in their Religion, vpon report of others, and they required people to giue credit to certaine Narrations, which could not be demonstrated by rea∣son onely.

Secondly, This Father prooueth the necessitie of Faith, be∣cause without giuing credit to some report, it was impossible to receiue the knowledge of Christ.

Thirdly, Whereas the Manichees required, that men should learne to know Christs word from them: Saint Au∣gustine saith, That if he had no better Guides to follow, than [ D] such new and turbulent Companions, as those Heretikes were, he should sooner persuade himselfe not to beleeue in Christ, than to beleeue vpon their bare report, or to receiue this Faith from any other, than from those by which he first beleeued.

But Saint Augustine in this place treateth not of the sense of the Scripture, neither doth he say absolutely, that he would sooner refuse to beleeue Christ, than to admit any interpretati∣on contrarie to them by whom he was brought to beleeue in [ E] Christ: but he speaketh comparatiuely, and according to hu∣mane reason, hee should more easily be persuaded to beleeue nothing, than forsaking the authoritie and testimonie of his first Teachers, yeeld credit to these men, vpon their Hereticall grounds.

It is cleare, that Saint Augustine did not alwayes tye him∣selfe, [ A] to the same exposition of Scripture, which those that were before him had deliuered. For in the questions of Grace and Free-will, he found out many expositions, by searching the Scriptures, which both himselfe, and other men, before him were ignorant of, vntill the heresie of Pelagius arose a: and in his worke, De Doctrina Christiana b, he makes twofold charitie, the modell of expounding Scripture, and not the authoritie of Ecclesiasticall Teachers, whom hee oftentimes expoundeth with mitigation, or reiecteth with modestie c, and hee is most constant in aduancing the authoritie of Scripture, before any [ B] Ecclesiasticall authoritie whatsoeuer d.

Notes

• a

  Christo cre∣dendum esse ne∣gant, nifi indubita∣ta ratio reddita 〈◊〉〈◊〉, &c.
• Vos autē tam pau∣ci, & tam turbulen∣ti, & tam noui, 〈◊〉〈◊〉 dubium est, quin nihil dignum authoritate praefe∣ratis.
• a

  Aug. d. praed. sanct. c. 14.
• b

  Lib. 1. c. 36.
• c

  Epist. 111. & Epist. 112.
• d

  Aug. c. Cresc. 2. c. 31. &c. Faust. Ma∣nich. l. 11. c. 5. & d. Ciu. Dei. l. 11. c. 3. & l. 14. c. 7.