A detection of sundrie foule errours, lies, sclaunders, corruptions, and other false dealinges, touching doctrine, and other matters vttered and practized by M.Iewel, in a booke lately by him set foorth entituled, a defence of the apologie. &c. By Thomas Harding doctor of diuinitie.

Iewel.

Touching the Church of Rome, I vvil say no more at this present, but only that vvas spoken openly by Cornelius the Bisshop of Bitont•• in the late Councel of Trident. Vtinam non à religione ad superstitio∣nem, à fide ad infidelitatem, à Christo ad Antichristum velut prorsus vnanimes declinassent. VVould God they vvere not al gonne by consent together from religion, to superstition, from saith, to infidelitie, from Christ to Antichrist. These fevv vvordes, considering either the speaker, or the place vvhere they vvere spoken may seme sufficient.

Harding.

If you had considered either the speaker, or the place, so as you ought to haue donne, you might haue benne ashamed, to haue alleged the woordes of a Catholike Prelate for your purpose. For what soeuer

he meant by them, you may be wel assured, he meant not to say, that the Catholique Churche was gonne from faith to infidelitie, or from Christe to Antichrist. Other∣wise he him selfe would not haue stil continued in that Catholique Churche, which had seemed to him to haue lacked faith, and Christe. But nowe the man is knowen in al Italie, and is aliue to this daye, who stil continueth in dayly preaching, and in exhorting al men to flie from your heresies to the Catholike faith, and to keepe them in the Churche: so that his deedes do wel shewe, what he meant by his wordes.

The whiche rule S. Augustine would haue kepte in the vnderstanding of what so euer Writers, and speci∣ally touching religion. And who so euer doth not so vn∣derstand mennes wordes by their deedes, vpon his blind∣nesse he cryeth out in this sorte. Incredibilis est coecita hominum, & omnino nescio quemadmodum credi posset esse in hominibus tanta peruersitas, nisi experimento verborum suorum factorúmque patesceret, vsque adeo se clausos habere cordis oculos, vt commemorent sanctae Scripturae testimonia, nec intueantur in factis prophetarum, quemadmodum in∣telligenda sint verba Prophetarum. It is an incredible blindnesse of menne: and verely I knowe not howe it might be beleeued, that there is suche frowardnesse in menne, onlesse by the proufe of their wordes and deedes it appeared openly, that the eyes of their harte were so fast closed, that they allege the testimonies of holy scri∣pture, and do not consider by the doinges of the Pro∣phetes, how the wordes of the Prophetes are to be vn∣derstanded.

And straight after where S. Augustine saith those

wordes, he sheweth by example, what he meant. Hie∣remie had written, what hath Chaffe to doo with the Wheate? The Donatistes thereupon reasoned, that the Catholikes were Chaffe, and them selues Wheate: but, saith S. Augustine by waie of exposition there, did Hie∣remie, that said, the Iewes were Chaffe, forsake their Church and fellowship? No verely. How so euer then Hieremie the prophete meant, we ought to vnderstand his wordes according to his deedes. And seing as concer∣ning his deedes he liued in one Temple, and faith with them, whom he called Chaffe, we may be wel assured, that by the name of Chaffe, he meant not, that the Iewes had not true Faith and Religion, but only that they had not true Charitie and Obedience.

Euen so if M. Iewel would consider, that the Bishop of Bitonto goeth not from Italie to Geneua, nor to Ger∣manie, nor to England, but both abideth stil in his Bis∣shoprike, and hath so much preached against these pre∣sent Heresies of Luther, Zuinglius, and Caluin, that now three whole Volumes of his eloquent Italian Sermons are extant in print: if he would haue considered this, he might haue benne ashamed with such a great brauarie and so ofte to haue alleged a Catholike mannes woordes against Rome the mother Churche of al Catholikes.

S. Augustine calleth it an incredible blindnesse so to doo, and suche as no man would beleeue, except he saw it vsed. But by whom? Verely by Heretikes, who ha∣uing no truth for them, doo stil make vaine bragges and shewes of woordes, when the very deedes of them, whose woordes they bring, are against them. Which thing I stand the longer vppon, bicause M. Iewel hath

vsed this practise aboue a thowsand times in his pre∣tensed Defence. Aboue a thousand tymes I say, he hathe alleged the woordes of Schoolemen, Gloses, Summistes, and Canonistes for his purpose, whereas he wel knoweth, they beleeued al suche, as he is, to be detestable Heretiques, and for suche condemned them. Yet must they be brought in, and that so often, so seriouslie, and with suche Preambles, as though he woulde beare the worlde in hande, they were cleare of his side.

Neither did Cornelius the Bisshoppe of Bitonto speake of the Bisshoppes of Rome specially, as M. Ie∣wel would beare the Readers in hande, but generally of the Christians, saying, that they haue wandered like sheepe in hilles, and feeldes, and that the chiefe of them are turned from authoritie, vnto Lordlynes, from right, vnto wronge, and would God (saith he) they were not vtterly as it were with one consent, bowed from Reli∣gion, to superstition, from faith to infidelitie, from Christ to Antichrist.

Neither doth he say, they are al gonne, as M. Iewel englisheth the woordes. The woorde (al) is not there. Againe he saith not, they are gonne by consent altogether, but, velut prorsus vnanimes, as it were vt∣terly of one minde. The worde velut, as it were, doth temper his woordes: but M. Iewel hath leafte out ve∣lut, and hath put in this worde al, lest if the sentence of that Bishop should be thus tempered, it should not seeme greuous inough.

His meaning was to complaine, as euery good man dayly doth, vppon the vices of menne, who liue as

if they had neither Faithe, nor Religion. And that woulde haue appeared most plaine, if M. Iewel had not cutte of the later woordes of Cornelius, vncour∣teously stopping him from telling out his whole tale. For in the very same sentence it foloweth, A Christo ad Antichristum, quin à Deo ad Epicurum, vel ad Py∣thagoram, velut prorsus vnanimes declinassent. Would God they had not as it were vtterly with one consent gonne a side, from Christe, to Antichriste, yea rather from God to Epicure, or to Pythagoras. These last woordes, whiche made al plaine, were omitted by M. Iewel, as his custome is, and the authours tale is fal∣sified, and his woordes abused. For any man woulde soone iudge, that they goe not to Epicure, or Pytha∣goras, to the ende to mainteine the doctrine and opi∣nions, that those Philosophers helde.

Pardonne me good Reader, if herein I seeme to long. For at this tyme I doo but as it were geue thee a shewe, what and howe muche might be said in euery other Article of the Booke, if I thought it labour worthe to discusse them particularly. For I assure thee, in my conscience, there is not any thing in this pretensed Defence, whiche might not be wel and ea∣sily answered, were not that it seemeth to me a thing both superfluous so to answere suche heapes of lyes, and gloses, and also an vnprofitable bestowing of good time.

Notes

• Cornelius episcopus Bitōtinus
• A lesson hovv to vnder∣stande mennes vvordes in matter of Reli∣gion Contra epist. Par∣men. li. 3. cap. 4.
• Hier. 2.
• M. Ievvel euery vvhere allegeth their vvordes for him, vvhom by their deedes he vvel knoweth to be against him.
• Bitōtinus in oratio∣ne habita in Concil. Tridentino
• Hovv M. Ievvel falsifieth his alle∣gation.