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§. 3. Traditions.
With their framing of the Creed before their parting, hath Baronius joyned also their delivery of Traditions. Sicut symbolo, saith he, ita etiam aliis absque Scriptura traditioni∣bus Ecclesiae imperitis, diviserunt sibi ad quas singuli proficiscerentur orbis terrae provincias. Having thus imparted the Creed, and also traditions without Scripture to the Church, they par∣ted among themselves what Country every one of them should go unto.
These Traditions the a 1.1 Councel of Trent divideth into those which were received by the Apostles from the mouth of Christ; or delivered from hand to hand, from the Apostles to our times; the Holy Ghost dictating them unto them. And these those Fathers hold of equal authority with the Scriptures, and the Councel curseth them that shall willingly and knowingly contemn them. And well do they deserve it, if they did but certainly and assuredly know that they came from such hands. Bellarmine b 1.2 hath stretched the name and piece of Traditions to one tainterhook higher. For Traditions, saith he, are Divine, Apostolical and Ecclesiastical. Divine, are those which were received from Christ him∣self teaching his Apostles, and yet are not to be found in the Scriptures; such are those which concern the matter and form of the Sacraments. Apostolical are those which were instituted by the Apostles, not without the assistance of the Holy Ghost, and yet are not to be found in their Epistles. Ecclesiastical traditions are properly called certain old customs, begun either by Pre∣lates, or by people, which by little and little by the tacit consent of the people obtained the power of a Law. Under these heads, especially under the two first, hath he placed these particulars c 1.3 The perpetual Virginity of Mary, the number of the Canonical books, Bapti∣zing of Infants, blessing the water before, bidding them renounce Satan and his works, sign∣ing them with the sign of the cross, anointing them with oyl, not re-baptizing after Heretiques, Lent, Ember week, inferior Orders in the Church, worshipping of Images, &c. To which d 1.4 others add, The oblation of the Sacrament of the Altar, Invocation of Saints, Prayer for the dead, the Primacy, Confirmation, Orders, Matrimony, Penance, extreme Unction, Merits, necessity of Satisfaction, Auricular Confession, &c. Into which controversie not to enter, concerning the thing it self, which so many grave and learned pens have handled sufficiently, reckoned by Bellarmine, though with small good will, in his entry upon this question; let but reason and indifferency censure, concerning that which is more proper to this discourse, namely, the time of delivering these Traditions, whether this or any other: And here in the first place let the Reader but consider that at this time, there was no more of the New Testament written, than the Gospels of Matthew and Mark, if so be that those also were written at this time. And then let him judge how sensless a thing it is to speak of delivering unwritten Traditions to the Church, when almost all the New Testament was yet to be written. Or take it at the Councel at Jerusalem, which was divers years hence, when all the Apostles were all together, and giving rules to the Church, or take it at Pauls apprehension at Jerusalem, when imagine all the Apostles to be together again, and even at either of those times, will the same absurdity follow still for no more of the New Testament was written, or very little more than now. And then how ridiculous doth it appear, That the Apostles should offer to give rules to the Church by unwritten Tradition, when they had all their Epistles for rules of the Church yet to write: If they would leave the Church to be regulated by unwritten Traditions, why should they write after? And if they would have her regulated by their writings, why should they give her unwritten Traditions before? A quick wit will nimbly answer, that they left her such Traditions as were not to be expressed in their writings, but let an honest conscience and an unprejudicate judgment censure whether this will abide the test, yea or no. For is it within any compass of likelihood that these Apostles did know what things Paul would not write of in his Epistles, that they should deliver such things be∣fore-hand for Tradition, when as yet they hardly knew whether he was to be an Apostle of the Gentiles or no, when they did not know whether he would write any Epistles or no, much less did they know what Epistles he would write? Appello conscientiam, and so much for Traditions.
Vers. 3. He proceeded to take Peter also, &c.