true.

Neither will it avail you to say, that the said principles are not evident by natural discourse, but only to the eye of reason cleared by grace,' as you speak. For supernatural evidence no less (yea rather more) drowns and excludes obscurity, than natural evidence doth; neither can the party so enlightened be said voluntarily to captivate his understanding to that light, but rather his understanding is by a necessity made captive, and forced not to disbelieve what is presented by so clear a light: and therefore your imaginary faith is not the true faith defined by the apostle, but an invention of your own.

32. "That the faith of protestants wanted the third condition, which was prudence, is deduced from all that hitherto hath been said. What wisdom was it to forsake a church confessedly very ancient, and besides which there could be demonstrated no other visible church of Christ upon earth? a church acknowledged to want nothing necessary to salvation; endued with succession of bishops, with visibility and universality of time and place: a church, which if it be not the true church, her enemies cannot pretend to have any church, ordination, scripture, succession, &c., and are forced, for their own sake, to maintain her perpetual existence and being.) To leave, I say, such a church, and frame a community, without either unity, or means to procure it; a church, which at Luther's first revolt had no larger extent than where his body was; a church without universality of time or place; a church, which can pretend no visibility or being, except only in that former church, which it opposeth; a church void of succession of persons or doctrine. What wisdom was it to follow such men as Luther, in an opposition against the visible church of Christ, begun upon mere passion? What wisdom is it to receive from us a church, ordination, scriptures, per

sonal succession, and not succession of doctrine? Is not this to verify the name of heresy, which signifieth election or choice? Whereby they cannot avoid that note of imprudency, or (as St. Austin calls it) foolishness, set down by him against the Manichees, and by me recited before: 'I would not,' saith hes, believe the gospel, unless the authority of the church did move me. Those therefore whom I obeyed, saying, Believe the gospel, why should I not obey the same men saying unto me, Do not believe Manichæus (Luther, Calvin, &c.)? Choose what thou pleasest: if thou say, Believe the catholics, they warn me not to believe thee: wherefore if I believe them, I cannot believe thee. If thou say, Do not believe the catholics, thou shalt not do well in forcing me to the faith of Manichæus, because by the preaching of catholics I believed the gospel itself. If thou say, You did well to believe them, (catholics,) commending the gospel; but you did not well to believe them, discommending Manichæus; dost thou think me so very FOOLISH, that without any reason at all I should believe what thou wilt, and not believe what thou wilt not?' Nay, this holy Father is not content to call it foolishness, but mere madness, in these words: 'Why should I not most diligently inquire what Christ commanded, of those before all others, by whose authority I was moved to believe that Christ commanded any good thing? Canst thou better declare to me what he said, whom I would not have thought to have been, or to be, if the belief thereof had been recommended by thee to me? This therefore I believed by fame, strengthened with celebrity, consent, antiquity. But every one may see that you, so few, so turbulent, so new, can produce nothing which deserves authority. What MADNESS is this? Believe them, (catholics,) that s Cont. ep. Fund. c. 5. t Lib. de Util, Cred. c. 14.

we ought to believe Christ; but learn of us what Christ said. Why, I beseech thee? Surely if they (catholics) were not at all, and could not teach me any thing, I would more easily persuade myself that I were not to believe Christ, than I should learn any thing concerning him from any other than those by whom I believed him.' Lastly, I ask, what wisdom it could be to leave all visible churches, and consequently the true catholic church of Christ, which you confess cannot err in points necessary to salvation, and the Roman church, which you grant doth not err in fundamentals, and follow private men, who may err even in points necessary to salvation? Especially, if we add, that when Luther rose, there was no visible true catholic church besides that of Rome, and them who agreed with her; in which sense she was and is the only true church of Christ, and not capable of any error in faith. Nay, even Luther, who first opposed the Roman church, yet coming to dispute against other heretics, he is forced to give the lie both to his own words and deeds, in saying", 'We freely confess that in the papacy there are many good things worthy the name of Christian, which have come from them to us: namely, we confess that in the papacy there is true scripture, true baptism, the true sacrament of the altar, the true keys for the remission of sins, the true office of preaching, true Catechism, as our Lord's Prayer, Ten Commandments, Articles of Faith,' &c. And afterward, 'I avouch, that under the papacy there is true Christianity, yea, the kernel and marrow of Christianity, and many pious and great saints.' And again he affirmeth, that the church of Rome hath the true.spirit, gospels, faith, baptism, sacraments, the keys, the office of preaching, prayer, holy

6

u In epist. cont. Anab. ad duos Parochos, t. 2. Germ. Wit. fol. 229 et 230.

scripture, and whatsoever Christianity ought to have.' And a little before, I hear and see, that they bring in anabaptism only to this end, that they may spite the pope, as men that will receive nothing from Antichrist, no otherwise than the sacramentaries do, who therefore believe only bread and wine to be in the sacrament, merely in hatred against the bishop of Rome; and they think, that by this means they shall overcome the papacy. Verily these men rely upon a weak ground; for by this means they must deny the whole scripture, and the office of preaching. For we have all these things from the pope, otherwise we must go make a new scripture.' 'O truth, more forcible' (as St. Austin says) to wring out confession than is any rack or torment! And so we may truly say with Moses x, Inimici nostri sunt judices, Our very enemies give sentence for us.

33. "Lastly, since your faith wanteth certainty and prudence, it is easy to infer that it wants the fourth condition, supernaturality. For being but an human persuasion or opinion, it is not in nature or essence supernatural. And being imprudent and rash, it cannot proceed from Divine motion and grace; and therefore it is neither supernatural in itself, nor in the cause from which it proceedeth.

34. "Since therefore we have proved that whosoever errs against any one point of faith loseth all Divine faith, even concerning those other articles wherein he doth not err; and that although he could still retain true faith for some points, yet any one error in whatsoever other matter concerning faith is a grievous sin; it clearly follows, that when two or more hold different doctrines concerning faith and religion, there can be but one part saved. For declaring of which truth if w Cont. Donat. post collat. c. 24. x Deut. xxxii. 31.

catholics be charged with want of charity and modesty, and be accused of rashness, ambition, and fury, as Dr. Potter is very free in this kind; I desire every one to ponder the words of St. Chrysostom, who teacheth, that every least error overthrows all faith, and whosoever is guilty thereof, is, in the church, like one who in the commonwealth forgeth false coin. Let them hear,' saith the holy Father, what St. Paul saith"; namely, that they who brought in some small error had overthrown the gospel. For to shew how a small thing ill mingled doth corrupt the whole, he said, that the gospel was subverted. For as he who clips a little of the stamp from the king's money makes the whole piece of no value; so whosoever takes away the least particle of sound faith is wholly corrupted, always going from that beginning to worse things. Where then are they who condemn us as contentious persons, because we cannot agree with heretics; and do often say, that there is no difference betwixt us and them, but that our disagreement proceeds from ambition to domineer?' And thus having shewed that protestants want true faith, it remaineth that, according to my first design, I examine whether they do not also want charity, as it respects a man's self.

THE

ANSWER TO THE SIXTH CHAPTER:

That Protestants are not Heretics.

Ad §. 1. HE that will accuse any one man, much

more any great multitude of men, of any great and horrible crime, should in all reason and justice take care, that the greatness of his evidence do equal, if not

c Gal. i. 7.