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YF purgatory were propounded onely as a thing indifferent, which a man might be∣leue or not beleue, and yt were in our cho∣is, whether we would pray for the dead or no: yet this liberty is nawght: wherefore, your answer, that purgatory is made necessary to saluation, is insufficient. But, as purgatory ys vnlawful, with what sauce soeuer yow set yt before vs: so
the keping of Saintes dayes holy, can by no glos be made good. your confounding therefore of Saintes dayes, with holy dayes, as yf there were one case of them boeth: is no simple dealing.
Vuhat force there ys, in the name of saintes dayes, to ma∣ke men beleue, that they are instituted to their honour: let the reader iudg, of that which I a haue written. How mu∣ch more, doe they confirm this: when boeth the corrupt custome, and doctrine, in popery, hath forestalled the peo∣ples mindes with that opinion. whereunto his answer, that I might much better reason against the names of Sonday and Moneday: ys vntrue. For first, the vse of such thinges, is not so free in ec∣clesiastical matters: as in ciuil affaires. Secondly, our people hath not bene nusled vp, in that filth of worshipping the Sun and Mone, as they haue bene of the saintes: in so much as (the learned set apart) there are few, which know that th∣ere were euer any dayes, obserued in the honour of the Sun or Mone. Yf they had bene so nusled, who seeth not, but th∣at yt had bene moste cōuenient, for the rooting owt of that Idolatry: to haue made a change, of these names. Thirdly, yt ys knowen, that good men after the example of Dauid (which would not once defile his lippes with naming the Idols or Idolatrous thinges, except yt were with detestati∣on): boeth absteyn from such names, as much as the com∣mon vse wil suffer, and desire the abolishment of them.
To my reason, that as the lordes holy dayes, are taken to be instituted to his honour, so the saintes holy dayes may easely be thovught of the ruder sort, to be instituted to their honour: he answereth, that the lords holy dayes, are so called especially, because the scriptures concerning hym, are then red: which is no answer. For, yf hys answer were true: yet, yt confessing by the way, that they are taken in part, to be instituted to the lords honour, graūteth forthwith, that there ys occasion gi∣uen to the ruder sort, to think that the Saintes dayes are in part, instituted to their honour. As for hys sentence owt
of Augustin, yt ys a meer abusing of the tyme: as yf euery thing instituted to the honour of god, were a sacrament, or that a thi∣ng doen in remembrance of the lord, may not, or rather ys not, doē to hys honour. And here, yt is to be noted, that the D. ys taken, in hys own nettes. For he defendeth the keping holy, of these Saintes dayes, as they were vsed in the elder churches, and as Ierome and Augustin mayntein thē. Now, hym self, hath for hys defence alledged owt of Ierome, that these dayes are obserued to the Martyrs: and owt of August∣in, that in them we honour the memoryes of martyrs. Therefore hys escape, that no man ys so mad, as to think, that by these dayes we doe any honour vnto the Saintes: ys not onely an opē vntruth, but directly contrary to that hym self maynteyneth.
Vuhat ignorance is in the land, for want of teaching: I leau to the readers iudgment, of that which hath bene said. To that I alledged, that althowgh there vuere teaching, yet yt vuere good, that these names should not help to vnteach: he answereth not. Howbeit, he goeth further, asking whet∣her for euery particular mans ignorance or abusing of yt: the churchis order, must be changed. He may wel know, that yf there be one man which abuseth yt throwgh ignorance, there are moe then a thowsand: and yf there were but one onely, yet, seing that man ys in danger to wrake hym self at this rok, owght not the church rather to change this name, then to giue oc∣casion of destroying hym, for whome Christ hath died? cō∣sidering, that of naming those holy dayes, Saintes dayes, there can be no fruit, or profit assigned.
Hys exception against Augustins complaint, of the multitude of Ceremonies, that he speaketh not of holy dayes: ys vnworthy of answer, considering that he speaketh generally of al kinde of ceremonies: likewise, that he saith he speaketh of vnprofitable ceremonies. For, he disputeth simply against the multitude of Ceremonies vnder the gospel. whereas, yf th∣ey had bene but a few, and yet vnprofitable, he would there∣fore, haue condemned them. As for that he saith, that ours are profitable, and appoued by the custome of the whole church: the first ys an asking of that in question, the other ys an vntruth, as
doeth after appear. Now, whereas I said, that in this ceremo∣ny of holy dayes, vue excede euen the Iues: he maketh hys accountes so, that they (as he saith) had the greater numbre. But what Auditor wil alow, these accountes of yours. First of al therfore, yow must strike of the supposed holy day of Iudith, for the reason, shewed in a another place: likewise, those of the Ma∣kabites, as those whereof there is no certeinty: and boeth Iudi∣ths, and the Makabites togither, as those which, yf euer they we¦re houlden, were houlden many hundreth yeares after the giuing of the law. For the which cause, the two dayes of He∣sther, althowgh they differ as far from the other, as heauen from earth: owght not to come, into this account.
For this comparison, is not instituted betwene vs, and any estate of the Iues vnder the law: but with the ordinary e∣state, and with that which was giuen in mount Synay, by the ministery of Moses. For, that is boeth S. Augustins meani∣ng, and yt is a fowl wart in the churches face vnder the go∣spel: to be so ceremonius, as the ordinary estate of the chur∣ch was vnder the law. There remayn onely, three feastes of the Pasouer whitsontyde and the Tabernacles: vnto euery one whe∣reof, yow ascribing seuen, raise the sum of one and twenty ho∣ly dayes. But here also, yow are fowly ouer reckened. For, the first onely, and the last day, of euery of those three seuēs, we∣re holy: in the rest, which were betwene them, althowgh the∣re were extraordinary sacrifices, yet men might, after diuine seruice, folow their ordinary vocations. Oneles therfore, yo¦w make a far other rowl of the Iuish holy dayes, then yow haue doen hether toward: yow see that my saying, that vue haue more thē dubble as many holydayes as they, ys mayn∣tenable, and deserueth no such censure, as yow giue yt.
For any thing that I could euer learn, we are by the lawes as much bownd from labour vpon the saints dayes, as vpon the lor∣ds day: wherein, I report my self to that which may be kno∣wen hereof: the rest ys answered. In the next diuision, there is nothing but a manifest piller of popery, with shameful owtrage vnto the holy gost: in that he calleth the appeal to the scriptures and example of the Apostles, from certeyn
customes of the churches, which were more then a hundre∣th yeares after Christ, an vnlearned shift: which is a before tow∣ched.
In the next, the testimony of Socrates, ys faithfully cy∣ted of me. As for that he answereth, that by euery one, he meaneth not euery person, but euery countrey or people, alledgi∣ng to that purpose another place in the same chapter, where (saith he) ys put euery particuler people: he ys abused. For there is no more mention of people in that b place: then, in that which I alledged. Beside that, in saying that yt was no law, but a custome, and that yt was not penal to those vuhich did not kepe yt: Socrates confirmeth the indifferency, which I affir∣med, to haue bene in in the beginning.
For the alowance of Saintes dayes, whereof the questi∣on is here, althowgh he hath onely M. Bullingers testimo∣ny, which ys retracted and condemned by M. Bullingers o∣wn self: yet he marcheth forward stil as bouldly, as yf he had a whole legion of learned men, of hys side. what dealing th∣is ys, let the world iudg. But they be (forsooth) his own wordes, which he hath alledged: so are these yours, Basil in his book of offices, yet, I suppose, yow wil be loth, that yt should be now acco∣unted your iudgment, after yow haue corrected your self. Here also, to the iudgment of such a c number of reformed churches vuhich haue condemned the keping of these da∣yes as vnlavuful: he not onely answereth nothing, but wal∣keth stil in his ould path of bould and vntrue affirmation, that the custome of the whole church confirmeth them: as thowgh the reformed churches now, were no churches at al. And, that the reader may further know, hys importunity in this behalf: he may vnderstand that beside M. Bullingers con∣sent in general, with the rest of the churches: the disalowan∣ce of that particular church of Zurich, and consequently of hym towching these Saintes dayes, doeth appear in a book a part. And if the learned reader look, the later edition of M. Bullingers commentary vpon the Romanes: he may, per∣aduenture,
finde his former iudgment, alledged by the D. corrected.
Hetherto also, commeth Musculus iudgment in parti∣cular: which affirmeth, that there can be no defence for the saintes dayes, vuhatsoeuer be pretended: likewise M. a Hop∣ers, which condemneth them, notwithstanding their gray heares, yea the very first institution of them, and that vpon credit of that, which the D. calleth an vnlearned shift: that ys to say, by opposing the autority of the word of god, and the examples of the churches, gouerned by the Apostles and Prophetes. In the next diuision, in Caluins iudgment, tow∣ching the three feastes dedicated to the lord, I wil procede no further: considering that yt appeareth in his epistles, th∣at he was not the cause of the abrogating them. As for the saintes dayes, whereof onely (in deed) the question is in th∣ys place: considering that which hath bene alledged, I think the D. hym self wil make hym no patrone of. Althowgh, throwg•• the multitude of our papistes, the obseruation of these dayes, as of Easter &c. amongest vs, vuould haue in∣conueniences, vuhich yt should not haue vuith them, vu∣here there are none, as I haue also before obserued. The rest in this chapter, is answered.
Diuis. 1. pa. ••43.
Diui. 2. pa. 544.
In the first booK. p. 61. sect. 3. & 4. and pa. 62. sect. 1. 2. al∣so in the for¦mer part of this p. 408. lin. 37.
Psal. 16.
pag. 546.
In the for∣mer part Tract. 5.
Diuis. 3. pa. 545. Augu. Epi. ad Ianuar. ••9.
In the for¦mer part p. 400.
Leuit. 23. vers. 7. 8. &c.
pag. 549.
Socrat. 5. li. cap. 22. 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉
〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉.
Diuis. 6. p. 549.
Cōfess. Ec∣cles. Tigur. & aliarum ••cc. cap. 24.
pag. 545.
Lauaterus de ritibus eccles. Tigu. cap. 8.
Muscu. com¦mon places vpon the 4 commande¦ment. Hoper vpō the same cō¦mandemēt.