Rhemes against Rome: or, The remoouing of the gagg of the new Gospell, and rightly placing it in the mouthes of the Romists, by the Rhemists in their English translation of the Scriptures. Which counter-gagg is heere fitted by the industrious hand of Richard Bernard ...

Contraried by Antiquitie.

S. Augustine, l. 3. c. 1. de doct. Christ. A man that feareth God, doth diligently enquire after his will in the Scriptures. And in Serm. 55. it is not sufficient, that ye heare the Diuine Scrip∣tures in the Church, but also in your houses, either reade them your selues, or else desire some other to reade them, and giue you diligent eare thereto.

The Nicene Synod (saith Corn. Agrippa. lib. de van. Scient.) decreed, that no Christian should be without the Bible in his house.

Chrysost. exhorteth men to get the Bible, the most whole∣some remedie for the soule, if not all, yet some part; to take the holy bookes into their hands, before and after meate at home, and not in the Church onely; Yea, he telleth his hearers, that, to think Gods Word needlesse, cōmeth of the deuill, & y^e it was as an infecting Pestilence for the people, to thinke that it appertained to men of the Church to reade them, and not to o∣thers, whereas he telleth them that it was much more necessa∣rie for them, then for the other. See for these his speeches at large, Hom. 10. on Gen. & 29. Hom. 1. on Ioh. Hom. 13. on Mat. Hom. 2. on 2. Thess. Hom. 3.

S. Ierome, on Col. 3. 16. We see heare (saith he) that lay peo∣ple should not haue onely knowledge of the Scriptures suffici∣ently, but aboundantly, that so one might be able to teach ano∣ther: many of his writings were written to women, as to Paula, Eustochium, Saluina, Demetria, Furia, Celantia, and others, commending them for their reading and studie of Scriptures: yea, he instructed one Laeta, how she should bring vp her daughter in holy Scriptures, to learne the Psalter, thē Prouerbs,

then Ecclesiastes, then Iob, and so to go to the Gospels; after these, the Prophets, Moses, and Historicall bookes. He herein was then no Papist.

S. Basil regul. contract. q. 95. It is necessarie and consonant to reason, that euerie man learne that which is needfull, out of the Scriptures, whose Nurse (one Macrina) taught himselfe the Scriptures from a child, Bas. Epist. 74.

Theophylact on Eph. 6. Say not (saith he) that it belongeth onely to Religious men to reade the Scriptures: for it is the du∣tie of euery Christian, and most of all, of such as deale in world∣ly affaires, because they being as it were shaken with a tempest, haue greater need of spirituall succour. And Theodoret writeth of his times, that Coblers, Smiths, Websters, and all kind of Artificers, all the women, not onely such as could reade, but Semsters, Maidseruants, and waiting-women, Citizens, Hus∣bandmen, Ditchers, Neatheards, Woodsetters, vnderstood the points of faith, and could discourse of them. What can be more cleare then this, that in former ages from the beginning, euery one had libertie to reade the Scriptures? & for their helpe were they translated into vulgar tongues into all languages. For the truth of this, see Aug. de doct. Chri. lib. 2. cap. 5. Theo∣doret in his forenamed Booke. Beda, Hist. lib. 1. cap. 1. Chrysost. Hom. 1. in Iohan. Yea, do we not know, how Lay men, for their diuine Knowledge, were chosen to be Teachers in the Church? Nectarius a Iudge, made Bishop of Constantinople; Ambrose, a deputie, Bishop of Millan; with other moe.

Notes

• Epist. 8. 9. 10. 12. 14.
• Epist. ad Laetam.
• Lib. 5 de cu∣rand. Graec. af∣fect.
• See also, Euseb. lib. 1 cap. 6. de demonstrat. E∣uangel.
• Socrat. lib. 4 cap 33.