The defense of the aunsvvere to the Admonition against the replie of T.C. By Iohn VVhitgift Doctor of Diuinitie. In the beginning are added these. 4. tables. 1 Of dangerous doctrines in the replie. 2 Of falsifications and vntruthes. 3 Of matters handled at large. 4 A table generall.

Io. Whitgifte.

Augustine speaketh not of holydayes in that place, but of other vnprofitable ce∣remonies* 1.1 vsed in particular Churches, neyther grounded of the Scriptures, deter∣mined by Councels, nor confirmed by the custome of the whole Churche. But the holydayes that we reteyne, béeing not onely confirmed by the custome of the whole Churche, but also profitable for the instruction of the people, and vsed for pub∣like prayer, administration of the Sacramentes, and preaching the worde, can not be called burdens, except it be a burden to serue God in praying, in celebrating his sacraments, and in hearing his worde.

And whereas you say, that if theyr holydays & ours be accounted, we shal be found to haue* 1.2 more thā double as many holydays as they had, you speake that whiche you are not able to iustifie. In the. 23, of Leuiticus there is appoynted vnto the Iewes the feast of Ea∣ster: the feast of vnleuened bread: the feast of first fruites: Whitsontide: the feast of trumpets: the feast of reconciliation, and the feast of Tabernacles: whereof the feast of vnleuened bread, and the feast of Tabernacles had eche of them seuen dayes annexed vnto them. And if you wyll adde to these, Iudiths feast, chap. 16. the Macha∣bies feast. 1. Macha. chap. 4. whiche continued eyght dayes togither, and Hesters feast, chap. 9. whiche continued two dayes, you shall finde that our holydayes be some what short in number of theirs: so far are we from hauing more than double as many as they had. But your spirite is acquaynted with suche vntrue assertions.

But you saye, we mighte haue all these commodities without all those daungers. &c. and why not as well this waye whiche the whole Churche hathe from tyme to tyme al∣lowed, as that way whiche certayne particular persons, of their owne heades haue deuysed? There is nothing that you haue to saye agaynst these dayes, but onely their names, and that those memories of Martyrs strayghten our consideration of them vnto those dayes, &c. and that men be inhibited from bodily labour, to serue God: al which I haue answered before, and the latter in parte you confesse: for you woulde haue cer∣tayne dayes appoynted for publike prayer, the celebration of the sacraments, & hea∣ring the worde, and you seeme not to deny but that the remembrance of Saincts and Martyrs may be kepte, onely you mislike, that in the rest of the day men should be debar∣red from their bodily labours, & exercising their dayly vocations. Wel I perceeue that some∣thing

you woulde finde faulte with, if you knewe what. They are not so bounde from labour (as it appeareth in the lawes of this Churche) but that they may doe their necessarie businesse: and in déede they are so farre from scrupulositie in thys poynte, that all the punishmentes appoynted can not kéepe a number of them from their worldly affayres, not in the very time of publike prayers, and preaching of the worde: and yet I sée no cause why they maye not iustly be wholly debarred (ex∣cepte some vrgent occasion require sometime the contrarie) from their bodily la∣bours in suche dayes: for are not the housholders bounde of duetie as well to instruct their families, as the Pastor is bounde to instructe them? and when is there a more conuenient tyme than in suche dayes? If you haue suche a regarde to their world∣ly affayres, is it not more commodious for them to abstayne wholly from worke vpon these Holydayes, when they fall, than twice or thrice euery wéeke halfe the daye? Therefore this reason of yours as it is worldly, so is it weake, bothe in the respect of God, and of the worlde also.

Your imagination that the kéeping of Easter dothe fetter the meditation of Easter to a* 1.3 fewe dayes. &c. and so likewyse the reste of the Holydayes, I haue answered before, it is a moste vayne reason, and you mighte as well saye, that there oughte to be no cer∣tayne tymes appoynted for the receyuing of the holy Communion, bycause the me∣ditation of the death and passion of Christe, and the application of the same, is fet∣tered to these certayne dayes, whiche shoulde continually be thoughte of, and dayly as long as we lyue. The same mighte you saye likewyse of the Sabboth daye. But you oughte to knowe that the especiall celebrating of the memorie of Chri∣stes resurrection, once in the yeare, is no more a fettering of our meditation there∣of to that daye onely, than the receyuing of the Communion once in the moneth, is a strayghting of our consideration of the deathe and passion of Christe, to that time onely, wherein we receyue the holy Sacrament: By this reason of yours we muste eyther haue suche memories celebrated at all times, or at no time. But wyse men can consider howe farre you wander for want of reason.

Notes

• * 1.1

  Epist. ad la. 119.
• * 1.2

  The Iewes had me holy∣dayes than we.
• * 1.3

  A bayne rea∣son.