each one of the inhabitants, and so to receive them into his friendship. Even so will the Pope pluck from us the holy Scripture, the Gospel of our salvation, and all the confidence which we have in CHRIST JESUS, as the eye from our head; and upon other condition can he not agree upon peace with us. Sect. 10. For whereas some use to make so great a vaunt, that the Pope only is Peter's successor-as though thereby he carried the HOLY GHOST in his bosom, and could not err: this is but a matter of nothing, and a very trifling tale. God's grace is promised to a good mind, and to any one that feareth Him; not to sees and successions. "Riches," saith S. JEROME, " may make one bishop to be of more might than the rest: but all bishops," whatsoever they be, "are the successors of the apostles." If so be the place and consecration only be sufficient: why then Manasses succeeded David, and Caiaphas succeeded Aaron; and it hath been often seen, that an idol hath been placed in the temple of God. 6 In old time Archidamus the Lacedæmonian boasted much of himself, how he came of the blood of Hercules; as the Pope this day boasteth himself of the succession and place of Peter. But one Nicostratus in this wise abated his pride: Nay,' quoth he, thou seemest not to descend from Hercules: for Hercules destroyed evil men, and thou makest good men evil.'-And when the Pharisees bragged of their lineage, how they were of the kindred and blood of Abraham: "Ye," saith CHRIST, "seek to kill me, a man that hath told you the truth, which I have heard of GOD: this did not Abraham. Ye do the deeds of father.-Ye your the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do." are of your father Sect. 11. Yet notwithstanding, because we will grant somewhat to succession; tell us, Hath the Pope alone succeeded Peter? And wherein, I pray you? In what p 1 Sam. xi. 1, 2. Ps. xxv. 9, 12. "Potentia divitiarum, et paupertatis humilitas, vel sublimiorem, vel inferiorem episcopum non facit. Cæterùm omnes apostolorum successores sunt." HIERON. ad Evagrium. • John viii. 40, 41, 44. ' ["For that ye tell us so many fair tales of Peter's succession, we religion, in what office, in what piece of his life hath he succeeded him? What one thing, tell me, had Peter ever like the Pope, or the Pope like unto Peter ?— Except, peradventure he will say thus: That Peter, when he was at Rome, never taught the Gospel-never fed the flock-took away the keys of the kingdom of heaven-hid the treasures of his Lord-sat him down only in his castle of St. John Lateran," and pointed out with his finger all the places and chambers of Purgatory, and kinds of punishments; committing some poor souls to be tormented, and other some again suddenly releasing thence at his own pleasure, taking money for so doing: or that he gave order to say private masses in every corner or that he hanged up the Sacrament in every temple, and on every altar; and carried the same about before him, whithersoever he went, upon an ambling jennet, with lights and bells: or that he consecrated with his holy breath oil, wax, wool, bells, chalices, demand at you, Wherein the Pope succeedeth Peter? You answer, 'He succeedeth him in his Chair: as if Peter had been sometime installed in Rome, and had sat solemnly all day with his triple crown, in his pontificals, and in a chair of gold! And thus, having lost both religion and doctrine, ye think it sufficient at least to hold by the Chair; as if a soldier that had lost his sword, would play the man with the scabbard! But so Caiaphas succeeded Aaron: so wicked Manasses succeeded David: so may Antichrist easily sit in Peter's chair.— CHRYSOSTOM saith: 'It is not the chair, that maketh the bishop: but it is the bishop that maketh the chair. Neither is it the place, that halloweth the man: but it is the man that halloweth the place.' (CHRYSOST. [as quoted in the Canon Law] Dist. 40. Multi.) [Op. Imp. Hom. 43 ad Matth. xxiii.] Likewise S. JEROME saith: 'Non sanctorum filii sunt, qui tenent loca sanctorum.' 'They are not always the children of holy men who occupy the places of holy men.' (HIERON. [quoted in] Dist. 40. Non est facile.) [Ep. 1 ad Heliodor.]"-Defence, p. 634.] [The Lateran, a palace at Rome formerly belonging to the emperors, was given to the bishop of Rome by Constantine, and continued to be the habitation of the Popes, until their removal to Avignon in the fourteenth century. It is called St. John Lateran, from a church dedicated to St. John the Evangelist, built by Constantine, contiguous to the palace.] [He alludes to the chrism, or holy oil, used in the administration of Baptism, Confirmation, and Holy Orders, according to the Romish rites, and in the pretended sacrament of Extreme Unction.] W [Used in the consecrated tapers, and in the formation of the toy called Agnus Dei.] [Pure white wool is blessed by the Pope, for the purpose of being woven into palls.] [The baptism of bells has been already remarked on, as a usage d churches, and altars: or that he sold jubilees, graces, liberties, advowsons, preventions, first fruits, palls, the wearing of palls," bulls," indulgences, and pardons: or that he called himself by the name of the Head of the having the sanction of the Roman Church. It was introduced in the tenth century-the very midnight of the dark ages.] [As the rite of Consecration of churches, or solemnly setting them apart, with appropriate forms of worship, to the use and service of ALMIGHTY GOD, has never been disused or disapproved by the Church of England, and has the highest sanction from Scripture, reason, and the practice of the Church so soon as its circumstances permitted; JEWELL must be understood as censuring not the thing itself, but its abuse. The consecration of a church according to the Romish form is accompanied with a multitude of trifling and superstitious ceremonies: -one of the most weighty accusations brought against the unfortunate Archbishop Laud, was his introduction of many of these puerilities into his own practice.] a [See Note 2, page 173.] [By graces and liberties JEWELL means the Papal dispensations, so notoriously made an article of sale, even to this day. By these the Pope grants, to those who by political influence or the payment of a sufficient sum can make it appear his interest so to do, permission to violate some one or more of the laws of GOD or the Church, without liability to pain or penalty. Formerly, these were even extended to positive breaches of the Ten Commandments. Now, they are ordinarily confined to such cases as marriage within the degrees prohibited by the Canon Law, departure from monastic rules and dress, the use of flesh in Lent, &c.] C [The right to confer an ecclesiastical benefice; either for a single vacancy, or in perpetuity.] [By preventions, JEWELL doubtless intends what are now called reversions; the right of succession to some ecclesiastical charge or benefice upon the death of the present holder. To the disgrace and most serious injury of the Church of England, neither of these abuses were removed from her precincts at the Reformation. Advowsons and reversions are to this day a notorious branch of traffic and barter.] e [A certain proportion, or the whole, of the first year's proceeds of an ecclesiastical benefice, paid by the person preferred, in some cases to his immediate ecclesiastical superior; in those of the higher dignitaries, to the Pope. The first fruits of the English bishoprics are still paid, but to the monarch, instead of the Pope.] f [See Note, p. 217,-The procuring of the pall from Rome, was attended with the payment of enormous fees, both to the officers of the ecclesiastical court, and to his Holiness himself. The remission of these fees was occasionally made an article of special favour.] [The grant of the right to wear a pall to the incumbent of a particular see (which was attended with certain immunities and prerogatives) was repeatedly made the subject of treaty and traffic between the court of Rome and bishops in foreign lands.] [See Note y, page 173.] Church, the highest bishop, the bishop of bishops, alone most holy or that by usurpation he took upon himself the right and authority over other bishops' Churches : or that he exempted himself from the power of any civil government: or that he maintained wars, and set princes together at variance: or that he, sitting in his chair, with his triple crown full of labels, with sumptuous and Persian-like gorgeousness, with his royal sceptre, with his diadem of gold and glittering with stones, was carried about, not upon a palfrey, but upon the shoulders of noblemen.-These things, no doubt, did Peter at Rome in times past, and left them in charge to his successors, as you would say, from hand to hand for these things be now-a-days done at Rome by the Popes; and be so done, as though nothing else ought to be done. Or, contrariwise, peradventure they had rather say thus: That the Pope doth now all the same things that we know Peter did many a day ago: that is, that he runneth up and down into every country to preach the Gospel, not only openly abroad, but also privately, from house to house; that he is diligent, and applieth that business, in season and out of season-in due time and out of due time; that he doth the part of an evangelist; that he fulfilleth the work and ministry of CHRIST; that he is the watchman of the house of Israel" receiveth answers and words at GoD's mouth, and even as he receiveth them, so delivereth them over to the people; that he is the salt of the earth;" that he is the light of the world; that he doth not feed himself, but his flock; that he doth not entangle himself with the worldly cares of this life; that he doth not use a sovereignty over the LORD's people; that he seeketh not to have other men minister unto him, but himself rather ministereth unto others; that he taketh all bishops as his fellows and equals; that he is subject to princes, as to persons sent from God; that he giveth to Cæsar that which is Cæsar's ;" and that he-as the i Acts ii. 46. v. 42. xx. 20. 12 Tim. iv. 5. n Matth. v. 13. P Acts xx. 28, 29. 1 Pet. v. 2. r 1 Pet. v. 3. Rom. xiii. 1—4, 2 Tim. iv. 2. m Ezek. xxxiii. • Matt. v. 14. a 2 Tim. ii. 4. Matt. xx. 26-28. old bishops of Rome did, without contradiction-calleth the emperor his gracious Lord.'-Unless, therefore, the Popes do the like now-a-days as Peter did, there is no cause at all, why they should glory so much of Peter's name, and of his succession. Sect. 12. Much less cause have they to complain of our departing, and to call us again to be fellows and friends with them, and to believe as they believe. Men say, that one Cobilon a Lacedæmonian, when he was sent ambassador to the king of the Persians, to treat of a league, and found by chance them of the court playing at dice, he returned straightway home again, leaving his message undone. And when he was asked why he had slacked to do the things which he had received by public commission to do; he made answer, he thought it should be a great reproach to his commonwealth to make a league with dicers. But if we should content ourselves to return to the Pope and to his errors, and to make a covenant, not only with dicers, but also with men far more ungracious and wicked than any dicers be; besides that this should be a great blot to our good name, it should also be a very dangerous matter, both to kindle GOD's wrath against us, and to clog and condemn our own souls for ever. For, of very truth, we have departed from him, who we saw had blinded the whole world this many a hundred year; from him, who too far presumptuously was wont to say He could not err,' and whatsoever he did 'No mortal man had power to condemn him-neither king, nor emperor, nor the whole clergy, nor yet all the people in the world together--no, though he should carry away with him a thousand souls into hell:' from him who took upon him power to command, not only men, but even the angels of GoD, to go, to return, to lead souls into purgatory, and to bring them back again when he list himself: who, GREGORY saith, without all doubt is the very forerunner and standard-bearer of Antichrist, and hath utterly forsaken the catholic faith: from whom also these ringleaders of ours, who now with might and main resist the Gospel and the truth, which they know to be the truth, have ere this departed every one of their own accord and good will; and |