A view of the marginal notes of the popish Testament, translated into English by the English fugitiue papists resiant at Rhemes in France. By George Wither

The answer.

If your doctrine be true in this point, then Christ did a worke of Supererogation, when he suffered death for vs, that is to say, a worke more then he néeded to do. For if we can do more then is commaunded, we may haue life by our déedes, and so Christ might haue spared his paines he tooke for vs: besides, it were strange, if any thing that maketh to the glorie of God, and salua∣tion of mens soules, should be a worke more than néedeth, or not within compasse of Gods commaundements. But Augustine saith that Paul did a worke of Supererogation, when he serued as Christs souldier without taking wages as he might: you do great violence to Augustine in that place, by grating vpon a word to make him serue your purpose against his will, when his whole scope is nothing els, but to shew that Paul abstained from that, which was frée for him to take for his paines, and that hée laboured for his liuing, whereupon he concludeth, the labour of monkes to be lawfull against idle monkes, which because they would liue on the sweat of other mens browes, not onlie refu∣sed to labour, but also maintained, that it was vnlawfull for them to labour.