excessiue vsing of authoritie by the Pope, yet woulde be haue the same iurisdiction to remaine to his Seniors s〈1 line〉〈1 line〉il, whome be vnderstādeth by the name of the Church, as appeareth in that which he spake before of these words of Christ Dic Ecclesiae: so that he woulde haue the Prince, subiect hir selfe to the Seniors of the Churche, and throw downe hir crowne before them, that is, to be con〈1 line〉〈1 line〉ent to be ruled and gouer∣ned, to be punished and corrected, to be excommunicated and absolued by their discre∣tion, and at their pleasure. This no doubt is his meaning, neyther can it otherwise be: for if this kind of gouernment be once admitted, the Prince must néedes be of some peculiar Church and congregation, and therefore subiect to the Seigniorie of that Churche, except it please master Pastor (who is the chéefe) and the rest of hys neighbours the parishioners, to elect the Prince into the Seigniorie, and make hym one of them: and yet must the Pastor be his superior, and haue authoritie to cal him to consultations, and to direct him in matters of discipline, and whether he will or no he must be ordered and ruled by the Pastor and most part of the Seniors. And yet now I remember my selfe, the Prince cannot be of the Seigniorie, for T. C. al〈1 line〉〈1 line〉ttle after graūteth that his Seniors be no lay men but Ecclesiastic〈1 line〉〈1 line〉ll: so that indeede the Prince must be a seruant no master a subiect no Prince, vnder gouernment no go∣uernoure in matters perteyning to the Church.
And least any man should thinke that this is but my collection, (though it be most true, and I will iustify it so to be) I haue she wed before that whiche M. Gualter affir∣meth vpon the. 1. Cor. 5. as he also doth vpon the. 12. Chapter of the same Epistle say∣ing, there be some which according to the example of the old and primitiue Church wold haue Seniors, and an Ecclesiasticall senate, that should haue authoritie ouer magistrates, if they at any time do not their duty. And in deede this is one of the chiefe causes why our men would so gladly haue a Seigniorie: for they would gladly be in hand with ma∣gistrates to make them stoupe and bow downe vnto them.
The third point is in this, that he would haue, the gouernment of the common wealth and the common wealth it selfe, framed to the Churche, and the gouernmente thereof, as the han∣gings are made fit for the house, whereby as it may seeme he would haue all monarchies ouerthrowen and reduced eyther to a popular or an Aristocraticall estate: for these two kinds of gouernment he only alloweth of, in the Church, as it appeareth by that which he hath thereof oltener than once or twise spoken before.
Now the lawes of man will beare this, I knowe not, but I am well assured the law of God will not suffer it. For Christe came not to ouerthrow kinds of gouern∣ment, and ciuill policie, neyther doth the Gospell dissolue kingdomes, for S. Peter sayth. 1. Epist. 2. Proinde subditiestote cuiuis ordinationi 〈1 line〉〈1 line〉umanae propter dominum, siue Reg 1. &c. Submit yourselues vnto all manner ordinance of man for the Lords sake, whether it be vnto the king, as to the superior. And so Paule. 1. Tim. 2. to the exhorte him to pray for kings, which he would not haue done if the state of a kingdome could not agrée with the state of the Church.
But I will not amplify this matter. Let such consider of it, to whome it doth spe∣cially perteine. This is your reason to proue that the gouernmente of the common wealth, ought to be framed according to the gouernmente of the Churche: bycause there was a Church before there was a common wealth: but I denie the argumente: and your similitude (of house and hangings) dothe not proue it. All the Examples in the Scripture of common wealthes, being also the Churches of God, declare the con∣trary, neyther can you she we any state altered in thys manner, but only among the Anabaptists.
Of like weyghtis your other reasō, which is this: Good men, that is the Church, are as it were the foundation of the worlde, the common wealth is builded vpon that foundation, there∣fore the gouernmente of the common wealth must be framed according to the gouernmente of the Churche. This gere is to subtile for euery body to vnderstand: but the argumente is without all fashion, and it is neyther true in matter nor forme. For how pr〈1 line〉〈1 line〉e y〈1 line〉〈1 line〉u