Exomologesis, or, A faithfull narration of the occaision and motives of the conversion unto Catholick unity of Hugh-Paulin de Cressy, lately Deane of Laghlin &c. in Ireland and Prebend of Windsore in England now a second time printed with additions and explications by the same author who now calls himself B. Serenus Cressy, religious priest of the holy order of S. Benedict in the convent of S. Gregory in Doway.

CHAP. XII.

After what manner I judged it neces∣sary for my purpose to examine Mr. Chillingworth's reasonings and ar∣guments.

1. TH••se preparatory grounds being thus premised, way was made for the nea∣rer approach to the examination of Mr. Chilling∣worth's reasons and proofs before alleged, for the maintaining of the maine foundation of all Schisme, viz. That the Scripture, yea any one Go∣spell, conteines in it expresly all things necessary to salvation, either for belief or practise. In the examination whereof (as likewise of other Protestants grounds which follow, and are set downe and prosecured more clearely, more subtily, and I am sure more to the satisfaction of English Protestants, by Mr. Chillingworth, then by any other) I must professe that my intention is not to consider Mr. Chilling∣worth's discourses as precisely opposed to his adversaries, for I have neither the vanity to be∣leive that so learned and practis'd a Catholique-controvertist should be willing to accept of any one, and much lesse of such an ignorant Neo∣phyte as my selfe to defend his excellent booke;

neither have I the impudence without leave from him to undertake such a taske: But since upon mine owne knowledge Mr. Chilling∣worth believed that his booke, as concerning the Positive grounds, conteined as much as any Protestant could reasonably say; so for the destructive part, that it was an unanswe∣rable conviction not onely of what his adversa∣ry in particular had said, but of what any Ca∣tholique could alledge concerning either the Rule of Faith, or Judge of Conteoversies: Seeing likewise I found it not onely very reasonable in it selfe, but absolutely necessary for me, con∣sidering the condition in which I then was, for finding repose unto my mind to inform my selfe, not what some particular learned Catho∣liques taught to be their sense of the Churches beliefe in these points (for that would have been a labour insupportable to me, who was much pressed with a desire to be no longer a∣lone without any Church to joyne withall) but to enquire what the Roman Church her selfe believed, and in what language, and with what latitude She her self expressed her thoughts and beliefe: Upon these grounds I conceived it requisite to exact and apply M. Chilling∣worth's positions and arguments to the simple doctrines and decisions of the Catholique-Church; Resolving that if I found that what She said, and in the latitude that She expresseth her self, was just and reasonable, and withall able to stand firme notwithstanding any of Mr. Chil∣lingworth's oppositions, to rest contented there∣with; For, for the present it would be happi∣ness enough for me to get onely within the pre∣cincts

of a Church, though no farther then the door-keepers place, I might afterwards, if need were, at leisure make choice there of what ranke or company I would range my selfe unto.

2. Coming therefore to the consideration of M. Chillingworth's conclusion, together with the reasons and proofes of it which he beleived of force sufficient to destroy the doctrine ne∣cessarily to be believed by all Roman-Catho∣liques, I must needes say that this his Conclu∣sion, (The Scripture conteines all necessary points of beliefe and practise, and the Creed all necessary points of beliefe) is so expressed, that in severall respects it may and ought to be assented to by any Catholique: For (as I shewed be∣fore) if the word necessary in respect of the object, relate to necssity absolute, and in re∣spect of the subject, to any person though con∣sidered in a desperate estate for want of means or space to inform himselfe further, then not only the Scripture, or the Creed, or one Gospell, but perhaps this one verse in a Gospell. This is eternall life to know thee the only true God, & Iesus Christ whom thou hast sent, may be instruction sufficient to salvation: and so arising propor∣tionably to other circumstances, in respect of other single persons more truths and in∣structions are necessary, and more yet to persons enjoying sufficient means to information, to Clergy-men, to Congregations, to well-or∣dered Churches. Besides, if the same Con∣clusion be considered in another sense (without altering the expression) a sense obvious enough & not improper, in which among other ancient

Fathers S. Aug. explaines it as he was before quoted cap. 38. viz. that the Scripture here (as likewise the Creed) is to be taken as joyned with the Churches authority, to which, saith hee, we are expresly referr'd in Scripture, then it not onely conteines whatsoever is necessary to salvation in some qualifyed degree of ne∣cessity, and to some certaine persons consi∣dered in some certaine circumstances, but like∣wise in the most exalted importance of the word necessary, and to all persons considered either as single, or in actuall Communion &c. Lastly if the same Conclusion be so understood that the words of Scripture may be (I doe not say, supplyed, but even) interpreted by the Tradition of the ancient Church and au∣thority of the present, so many Catholiques will subscribe to it.

3. This conclusion therefore being so vari∣ously applicable, and by consequence capable of being orthodox or erroneous according to severall applications: in the next place I was to reflect upon my present condition, to try whether it befitted mee or no. Now for the present I was in quest of a Church, that Church wherein I had been bred e're this time being almost ready to expire: I lived in an age wherin there was no want of meanes of lear∣ning and instruction, even to excesse, for the overmuch light made many men too too wan∣ton and curious: I had been bred after such a manner that I was capable in some reasonable degree not only of information, but likewise of an ability to judge what instructour could approve himselfe to be the fittest to be followed

and beleived, and for that purpose I endea∣voured all I could to free my mimd from all prejudices and partiality: in these circum∣stances, two parties invited me to their com∣munion. (and a Communion some where or other I knew was necessary:) The one sayd, You may without inevitable danger perhaps take your choice of ei••her, but certainly your best and safest way is to come to us, for we will propose to your beleife nothing but the acknowledged written word of God, and that wee have for this hundred yeares beleived to conteine all things necessary not only for your salvation, but any mans else: You shall have the satisfaction to bee freed from all visible authority interpreting that Word, The Spirit will teach you to interpret it as truly as wee doe, for otherwise we shall not suffer you in our Communion. The other party on the con∣trary protested aloud, that if I joyned not with them I was utterly lost; that they would pro∣pose to me nothing but Divine Revelation con∣teined not onely in bookes written, but Tradi∣tions unwritten; both conveyed by the same hand and with the same authority, and there∣for if either, both to be received; that the for∣mer inviters were a new faction for worldly in∣terests divided from the whole world, and ap∣parently from a Church, which had continued ever since Christs time in an un-interrupted suc∣cession of instructers and Doctrine, of Tea∣chers appointed for Guides not onely by testi∣monie of all ages, but likewise of the same Scri∣ptures upon which their adversaries pretended to ground their Schisme•• that these Guides had

continually preserved the Church in a perfect unity of beliefe; whereas the other party within one age that they have appeared, have been torne into near an hundred Sects, All of them with equally-no•• Justice pretending to the same Rule, and with the same Rule fighting with one ano∣ther without the least effect of union, not one controversy among them having been to this day cleared.

4. In these circumstances coming to the ex∣amination of this fundamentall ground of Pro∣testantisme That the Scriptures conteine all points of beliefe and practise necessary to salvation, I found it necessary, without any change made in the words, to apply the termes necessary to salva∣tion not to one or more persons ignorant, destitute of meanes of knowledge, and in some particular unavoydable exigence, but to my self considered in the conditions before mentioned, yea further, to all Christians in generall, and to the exigence of Churches well ordered and setled, as on all sides they pretended to be: And having done thus, I found that no Anti∣quity ever delivered this Conclusion in so large a sense; yea on the contrary that generally all Antiquity protested against it: I found that no reason could require that writings evidently in∣tended for sepciall uses, and confuting three or foure Haeresies should be made use of, or how∣ever should be accounted sufficiently and ex∣pressly convictive against Opinions not named in them, and not them thought upon by the Authours, as if they had been entire Systemes of Christianity: In a word, I found that after I had applyed this conclusion to the present use

and Hypothesis, the arguments and reasons produced by Mr. Chillingworth, &c. d••d not evince or conclude that which would give me, in the case I was, any satisfaction at all: especially considering that if the Prote∣stants had gained the better in this particu∣lar concerning a Rule, yet I should be far from being at rest in their Churches, unlesse they could further demonstrate, that the Scripture conteined all these things so ex∣presly and clearely to all eyes, naming those particular necessary doctrines in contradi∣stinction to others unnecessary, or but profitable, or perhaps requisite onely and applying them to the persons respectively to whom they are necessary, and all this after such a manner that no honest reasonable man could remaine in doubt, or be in danger of quarrelling with others (a thing which mine owne eyes confu••ed, since I apparently saw earnest conten∣tions and separations about points not onely by my selfe, but by the whole Christian world for above thirteene hundred years together esteem∣ed necessary, And since by my small reading, I had found that there was not one Article of the Creed which had not been questioned and contradicted) Or unlesse they could de∣monstrate that there was no particular point at all necessary; Or lastly that there was some visible authority to decide unappealeably what was to be acknowledged for the true sense of Scripture, and in it, what was onely true, what usefull, what requisite, and what necessary: But these were conditions such as that the Pro∣testants had not confidence enough to promise

the former, and they were too proud and con∣fident of themselves to allow the latter.