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[ I] THe first that occurres vnto me (and for the Authors antiquitie first to be discus∣sed) isi 1.1 Origens, who hath sensed the bo∣die to be the Church; the Eagles the Doctors; the gathering together, sensus, and consensus; the harmonie, vnitie, and consent in points of faith. And to that ink 1.2 Matthew, this is very probable:
where Christ premonisheth his Disciples; Take heed that no man deceiue you, vers. 4. Many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ, and shall de∣ceiue many, vers. 5. Many false Prophets shall arise, and deceiue many, vers. 11. Then our Lord pre∣scribes rules how to auoyd them: If any man shall say, Loe here is Christ, or there is Christ, beleeue it not, vers. 23. If they shall say, Ecce in deserto; behold he is in the desart, Goe not forth: behold he is in the secret chambers; beleeue it not, vers. 26. Then hee demonstrates as it were with a finger, where he is, that is, where the Eagles are: marke their flight, it guides you to the light: for vbi∣cunque fuerit corpus, &c.
Secretae Scripturae rectè Solitudines appellantur: Scripture secretly expounded is a secret wilder∣nesse. Basilides (saith Origen) tells me Christ is here: Marcion, he is in the secret chambers: Va∣lentinus, behold he is in the desart: and bring Scripture with solitarie expositions to confirme their singular opinions. But I beleeue them not,s 1.3 and repaire for the Catholike veritie to the Church, where the pasturing Eagles are.
No Scripture (saitht 1.4 S. Peter) is of a priuate interpretation; which is to be vnderstood, not ratione personae, but ratione modi: A priuate man may expound, but not in a priuate manner; by stamping new expositions vpon holy writ, diuers ab Ecclesiae consortiou 1.5. It is profane to eat the Paschall Lambe out of this house; to gather the flowers of interpretation without the limits of the Churches garden. If any Father, or Doctor,
shall broach any solitarie exposition against the Torrent of the Church; we reiect it;x 1.6 it being the property of the faithfull, to receiue the Eagles with the body; the Doctors with the Church; and not to forsake the faith of the Church with the Doctors.
Ex personis probamus fidem, an ex fide personas? Doth the faith depend vpon the persons; or the credit of the persons vpon the faith? We ought therefore to embrace, what the Church holdeth; The Church to hold, what the Apostles haue de∣liuered; The Apostles hauing deliuered, what Christ taught; who taught nothing but what he receiued of the Father; asy 1.7 Tertullian iustly prescribes.
Origen himselfe, whose house was* 1.8 illustrata martyrio, famous for martyrdome, himselfe ador∣ned totius doctrinae magnificentia, with all the magnificence of learning; yet when hee began to set on foot priuate Tenets, and Glosses:z 1.9 As, that the paines of the damned should not be eternall; and that Christ should be crucified in the ayre againe for the deuils; as he was on earth for man; herein we reiect this Eagle, because hee was not gathered to the body.
* 1.10Tertullian a worthy Ancient, famous for his Apologies for the Christians; for his writings for the Christian faith; whom S. Cyprian reuerently esteemed as his master;* 1.11 yet when this Eagle be∣gan to doate in his old age vpon the dreames of Montanus, and his associates; who held them∣selues equall to the Apostles in diuine reuelati∣ons;
we say; Hic magister non tenetur; and here∣in reiect this Eagle, as gone out from the body.
But when the lightning shall shine from the East vnto the West, when the West and Easterne Eagles, the Doctors of the Greeke, and Latine Church shall meet in one harmonicall center of agreement; as they did in the foure first Generall Councels; we thinke it more then common in∣solencie to dissent from them: But when the lightning hath shone in the West, and darknesse vpon the face of the East: and when the Westerne Eagles shall decline from the Church, wee leaue those, and cleaue to them that are gathered to the bodie.
S. Hierome in his time complaines to Dama∣sus, how thea 1.12 Eagles of the East had degenerated: nothing but weeds, sowre grapes, thornes, and thistles growing in their garden: therefore hee had his recourse to the Sunne, that then shone in the Westerne Church: not the depth of the seas, not the length of the earth, could separate him from this light, for sayes he, Wheresoeuer the body is, thither will the Eagles be gathered together.
But as his complaint was of the corruption of the East; we iustly resume it, bewayling the now declined estate of the Westerne Church: That the Eagle of Rome, the Patriarke of the Occiden∣tall Church, hath taken her flight from her body; lamentably musing with the Prophet; How is the faithfull Citie become a harlot. Rome, ancient Rome,b 1.13 famoused more for thy religion, then conquests: sacked thou art of thy pretious mar∣garite
of faith, and veritie: That thy Pope isc 1.14 alius à Christo, another from Christ, we doubt not: But if alius ab Antichristo, another from Antichrist, we deseruedly call it into question.
The like complaint make we of the inferiour Eagles of Rome, of their new deuised expositi∣ons to vphold their drooping, and dying cause: To instance but in one, (who is in stead of all) Cardinall Bellarmine, who hath translated Christ into the Pope: That Stone, that corner Stone, that pretious corner Stone, and sure found••tion, whichd 1.15 Esay the Prophet foretold: ande 1.16 Peter the Eagle applyed vnto Christ,f 1.17 Bellarmine hath squared it for the Pope: He can conuert omnes into solos: Christ saith of the Chalice,g 1.18 Drinke you all of this; that is, (saith hee)h 1.19 the Priests alone: and manducationem in Monarchiam;i 1.20 Peter kill and eat, ergo Peter was Head of the Church: Therefore wee reiect this, and such Eagles; be∣cause they haue not kept them to the body.
And hereby we descry the Brownists, and Se∣paratists to be no Eagles: those erring starres that haue no fixed motion in the Churches orbe; who in stead of reso••ting to the body, doe cut off themselues from vs by a schismaticall rent.
k 1.21S. Chrysostome obserueth, that our Sauiour saith not, exite; but nolite credere: goe you out; but beleeue them not: But like an expert Cap∣taine, prohibites all excursions from the Chur∣ches bounds, nolite exire, goe not out: Beleeue them not, auoid heresie: Goe not out, take heed of schisme: Say our Church be deformed, yet
shee is not infectious: Say the chaffe is mingled with the wheat; Do we for the chaffes-sake for∣sake the threshing floore of the Lord? Saintl 1.22 Gregory notes, that our Lord in the Gospell ioynes salt, and peace together;* 1.23 Haue salt with your selues, and peace one with another: Sal sinc pace, non virtutis est donum, sed damnationis argu∣mentum. Let your salt of doctrine season the Church with a peacefull vnion: for the one with∣out the other, is not virtuous, but vitious.
But most of all that Father, Bishop, Martyr, S. Cyprian, in th••t admirable Treatise of his, De vnitate Ecclesiae, h••th battered this forlorne er∣ror:m 1.24 The vnitie of the Church he that holdeth not, doth he thinke he holdeth the faith? Many beames issue from the Sunne, yet but one Sunne: diuers Riuers streame from the fountaine, yet but one head: many branches arise from one root, yet but one tree; breake off a branch, fractus ger∣minare non potest, it withereth, it dyeth: sepa∣rate a Riuer from the fountaine, praecisus are∣scet, it dryeth vp: and so no hauing of God for our Father, vnlesse we take the Church for our Mother.
Let not Novatian a Separatist boast of his morall gifts, and rectitude of faith, which other∣wise may be in him: Christianus non est, qui in Ecclesia Christi non inest: He is no Christian, that is not in the Church of Christ: He may giue all his goods to the poore, and his body to be bur∣ned, yet* 1.25 occidi potest, coronari non potest: If he die without the Churches limits, killed he may
be, crowned with martyrdome he cannot be. Hitherto Cyprian. Certes this sequestration shew∣eth them to be no Eagles, who are not gathered to the body. All this while haue I fought vn∣der Origens banner; I leaue him now, and pro∣ceed to the second exposition.
Origen. tract. 30. in Matth.
Matth. 24 28.
Sed nos illis cre∣••ere non debe∣mus, nec exire à prima, & ecclesi∣astica traditione, nec aliter credere; nisi quemadmodia Ecclesiae tradide∣runt nobis. Ori∣gen: vt supra, & tract. 29. sub fine.
2 Pet. 1.20.
Quicunque extra hanc do∣mum agnum comederit pro∣fanus est: Si quis in arca Noe non fuerit, peribit regnante diluvio. Hieron. epist. ad Damas. pap.
Noverint Ca∣tholi•• se cum Ecclesia Doctores recipe e, non cum Doctorio is ••c∣clesia fidem se deserere debere. Vincent. Lyr. con¦tra Nov••t. c 23.
Quod E••cle∣sia ab Apostol••s, Apostoli a Chri∣sto, Christus a Deo accepit, sine dubio tenendum. Tertull. praescript. advers. haereses.
Vincent. Lyr. vt supra.
Origenes in acre dom••num gloria pro daemo∣nibus impudenti crucifigit men∣dacio. Bernard. ser. 54. in Cant.
Vincent. ••yr.
Da magistram.
Hieron ad Da∣mas. pap. testatia vasa, vel lignea. Non vastitas Elementi liquen∣tis, & interia∣cens longitud•• terrarum &c. Nunc in Occi∣dente Sol Iustitiae oritur, in Oriente Lucifer ille, qui ceciderit, posuit thronum suum. Idem vt supra.
L••tius praesi∣deres religione divina, quam do∣minatione ter∣rena. Leo in Na∣tal. Apostolorum Petri, & Pauli, ser. 1.
Reverendiss. Episcopus Win∣ton. in respons. Apol. pro Iura∣mento Fidelita∣tis contra Bellar.
••say 28.16.
1 Pet. 2.6.
Jn Histrionica sua praes••t••o•••• affix in ••••o••••e l••b. de Rom Pont••f.
Matth. 26.27.
Clarissimè pa∣tet verba illa ad s••los Apost••lo•• pertinere. Bellar. de Sacram. Eu∣char. lib. 4. c. 25. §. Re••••at••igit••r.
Acts 10.13.
Expos. in Matth 24.
Greg pastoral. part. 3. admo∣nit. 23.
Mark. 9.50.
Hanc vnita∣tem qui non te∣net, tenere se fi∣dem credit? Solis multi radij, sed lumen vnum. Ra∣mi arboris multi, sed robur vnum: de fonte vno rivi plurimi defluunt, numerositas licet diffusa videatur, vnitas tamen ser∣uatur in origine. Cypr. de vnit. Ec∣clesiae nu. 4.
Non erit illa fidei corona, sed poena perfidia. Idab. nu. 12.