Anti-Mortonus or An apology in defence of the Church of Rome. Against the grand imposture of Doctor Thomas Morton, Bishop of Durham. Whereto is added in the chapter XXXIII. An answere to his late sermon printed, and preached before His Maiesty in the cathedrall church of the same citty..

SECT. I. Whether any Protestants haue held, that the Catholike Church before Luthers fall, was wholly extinguished.

YOur first Thesis is(p): Many Papists in their aduersnesse to Protestant, whom they seeke to traduce, do impute vnto them

this faythlesse Paradoxe, as to say, that the Catholike Church is some∣times extinguished: A false doctrine (say you) which Protestants neuer taught.

If Protestants neuer taught this faithlesse doctrine, why did Luther when he began to erect your new Church, say(q), He had none to assist him, but was left alone, and alone stood in the battaile forsaken of all? Why did Caluin say(s), It is absurd, that since we haue bene enforced to diuide our selues from all the world, we shold now in our very beginnings disagree among our sel∣ues? Why did he say,(t), It is publike, and notorious to all, learned and vnlearned, that when the Principality of the B. of Rome was ere∣cted, the kingdome of Christ was prostrated, his glory extinguished, Religion abolished, the Church destroyed, and hope of saluation vtterly ouerthrowne? Why did Milius say(x), If there had byn right belieuers before Luther, there had bene no need of a Lutheran reformation? Why Morgensterne(y); It is ridi∣culous (to thinke) that in the time before Luther, any had the pu∣rity of Doctrine, and that Luther should receaue it from them, and not they from Luther: It being manifest to the whole Christian world, that before Luthert time, all Churches were ouerwhelmed with Cy∣merian darknesse, and that Luther was diuinely raised vp to discouer the same, and to restore the light of true doctrine? And in regard therof Luther boasted, saying(z): Christum à nobis primò vul∣gatum audemus gloriari. Why did Camierus say(a), That error did not only possesse a part of the Church, as in time of the Arians, but that the whole body of the Church by Apostacy was fallen from Christ? Why did Simon de Voyon a Geneuian Minister in his Ca∣talogue of Doctors(b) say, That in the yeare 605. falshood pre∣uailed, and then was the whole world ouerwhelmed in the dregs of Antichristian filthinesse, abhominable traditions, and superstitions of the Pope? And of our English Protestants, why did Iuel say(c), The truth was vnknowne at that time, and vnheard of, when Martin Luther, and Hulderick Zuinglius first came vnto the know∣ledge, and preaching of the Ghospell? Why Perkins(d), That du∣ring the space of 900. yeares, the Popish heresy spread it selfe ouer the whole world, and for many hundred yeares an vniuersall Aposta∣cy ouerspread the whole face of the earth?

I conclude therfore, that when you deny, that the Church

of Christ was extinguished before Luthers time, you out-face, and cōtradict your best learned brethren, domestick, & forraine. Nor is it a sufficient answere, to tell vs(e), of a sentence of Caluin, in which he acknowledgeth the Church not to be perished in Africke, Aegypt, Asia, and among the Gre∣cians: for you haue heard the testimonies not of Caluin on∣ly, but of many others. If Caluin deny that, which toge∣ther with them he affirmed, he contradicteth himselfe, And since both he, and you hold the Church to be inuisible, I desire to know, how you came to find out, and see in A∣frica, and Greece, a Church that is inuisible, and indeed that is not in being? for in those nations, there is no Church but of Roman Catholikes, all the rest which in them beare the name of Christians, being absolute heretikes(f).

But you say(g), To charge Protestants with holding a decay, & error from fayth in the whole Catholike Church, vnto Bellarmine see∣med in effect to be a lewd slander. You vnderstand not Bellar∣mine, or els wittingly misinterpret his meaning. He rightly obserueth(h) that Protestants hold two Churches; the one visible, the other inuisible: wherof you speaking, say(i) that by some you are slandered with making two Churches. But this to be no slander Bellarmine proueth out of the Centurists, whose doctrine it is. And the same I proue a∣gainst you, out of other Protestants: We say (quoth Whita∣ker(k) there are two societies of men in the world, that is, two Churches: To the one the predestinat belong, to the other, the Re∣brobate. The one of these he affirmeth to be wholly inuisi∣ble; the other, visible(l). The same is stifly mantained by Fulke(m). When Caluin and other Protestants say, The Church cannot perish, they speake of the inuisible Church, which Bellarmine and all Catholikes hold to be a Platoni∣call idea, and a mere Chimaera, no where existent but in your deluded fancies. The true Church of Christ all Catholikes with the holy Councell of Nice hold to be One: and that Bellarmine proueth to be visible. And you (sayth he) hold that to haue perished, and your inuisible Church only to haue remained, which in his doctrine, and in verity, is to say, that the true Church of Christ on earth wholly perished, no∣thing

remayning, but a Chimaera of a supposed inuisible Congregation, which hath no reall existence, but only fan∣tastike in your imaginations. And that you wrong Bel∣larmine, in producing him as a witnesse, that an absolute de∣cay of the Catholike Church was neuer taught by Protestants, you may not deny: for afterwards(n) you confesse, and proue out of his words, that he (as also Bozius) parifieth you with the Donatists, which held the Catholike Church to haue wholly perished throughout the world, and to haue re∣mained only in a few Professors of their Sect in a corner of Africa: which doctrine differeth not from yours, who hold the Catholike-Church to haue bene vtterly destroied for many yeares, and now to haue no being, but where your Protestant professors are. Wherfore I aske you, as S. Augustin(o) did the Donatists: How can you vaunt to haue any Church; if the haue ceased for so long time? And againe(p): If the Church were perished so long time, from whence did Donatus (or Luther) appeare? From what earth is he sprung vp? From what sea is he come forth? From what heauen is he fallen? I conclude ther∣fore, that we may iustly exclaime against you, as S. Augu∣stine did against the Donatists(q): Gods Church of all nations is no more, she is perished: so say they that are not in her. O impudent Voyce! They say the whole Church is perished, and the relickes re∣maine only on Donatus (on Luther, or Caluin) his side. O proud, and impious tongue(r)!

Notes

• (p)

  Pag. 364.
• (q)

  Praef. in 1. tom. & cont. Reg. Angl. fo. 497.
• (s)

  Ep. 141.
• (t)

  Respons. ad Sadolet.
• (x)

  August. Confess. explic. art. 7. de Eccl. pag. 137.
• (y)

  Tract. de Eccles. p. 141.
• (z)

  Ep. ad Argentin. anno 1525.
• (a)

  Ep. Iesuit. part. altera Geneu. 1601.
• (b)

  Praefat. ad Lect.
• (c)

  Apol. part. 4. c. 4.
• (d)

  Expos. of the Creed. pag. 307.
• (e)

  Pag. 406.
• (f)

  See aboue Chap. 41. sect. 4.
• (g)

  Pag. 369.
• (h)

  L. 3. de Eccles. milie. c. 11.
• (i)

  Pag 10. fin. 11. init.
• (k)

  Cont. 2. q. 1. c. 14. fol. 125.
• (l)

  Ibid. q. 2. c. 1. & q. 1. c. 3.7.8. & q. 4. c. 1.3.
• (m)

  In cap. 3. Math, sect. 3. & in c. 22. sect. 3.
• (n)

  Pag. 406.
• (o)

  L. 3. con∣tra Parmen. c. 3.
• (p)

  De bapt. l. 3. c. 2.
• (q)

  In Psal. 101.
• (r)

  Aug. de agon. Christ. c. 29.