Page images
PDF
EPUB

against her; to outface all ancient truths; to foist in Gibeonitish witnesses, of their own forging and leaves nothing unattempted against heaven or earth, that might advantage her faction, and disable her innocent adversary.

Lo, this is your choice. If the zeal of your loss have made me sharp; yet not malicious, not false. God is my record, I have not, to knowledge, charged you with the least untruth: and, if I have wronged, accuse me: and, if I clear not myself and my challenge, let me be branded for a slanderer. In the mean time, what spiritual frenzy hath overtaken you, that you can find no beauty, but in this monster of errors? It is to you and your fellows, that God speaks, by his Prophet: 0 ye heavens, be astonished at this, be afraid and utterly confounded, saith the Lord; for my people hath committed two evils; they have forsaken me, the fountain of liv ing waters, to dig them pits, even broken pits, that can hold no water. What shall be the issue? Et tu, Domine, deduces eos in puteum interitús: Thou, O God, shalt bring them down into the pit of destruction. If you will thus wilfully leave God, there I must leave you: but, if you would not rather die, return; and save one. Return to God: return to his truth: return to his Church: your blood be upon my head, if you perish.

AN

ADVERTISEMENT TO THE READER,

THE reader may please to take notice, that, in the former edition, there was added unto this Discourse, a just volume of above Three Hundred Contradictions and Dissensions of the Romish Doctors, under the name of "The Peace of Rome;" which, because it was but a collection out of Bellarmine and Navarre, and no otherwise mine, but as a gatherer and translator, I have here thought good to omit.

NOTE, BY THE EDITOR.

The edition, to which the Author refers in the preceding Advertisement as containing the Tract entitled "The Peace of Rome," is a small 4to. printed at London, in 1609 [misprinted in the title-page 1069.] with the following Title:→ "The Peace of Rome : proclaimed to all the World, by her famous Cardinal Bellarmine, and the no less famous Casuist Navarre: Whereof, the one acknowledgeth and numbers up above Three Hundred Differences of Opinion, maintained in the Popish Church: the other confesses near Threescore Differences amongst their own Doctors, in one only point of their Religion. Gathered faithfully out of their writings, in their own words, and divided into Four Books, and those into several Decades. Whereto is prefixed a Serious Dissuasive from Popery. By J. H."

The following Dedication to Prince Henry, is prefixed to the volume: "To the High and Mighty Prince, Henry, Prince of Great Britain; the Second Joy and Hope of our Times; all Happiness.

Most gracious Prince:

GOD calleth your Highness, by just inheritance, to defend his Faith. This divine royalty accompanies your Princedom, in a blessed society. Wherein your challenge js not more true, than your pattern admirable. He, that gives you right to the suceession of this claim, gives you such an example, as what Father ever gave a Son? His sceptre hath not more defended it, than his pen. We bless God, and wonder. In this right, then, all propugnations of truth are yours. How much more from Him, whose glory it is to have sworn your service! Yet here I offer to your Highness not so much any fight of ours against them of Rome, as theirs against themselves; and, therein, for us, What can be more advantage to us, or shame to them? One blow of an enemy dealt to his brother, is more worth than many from an adverse hand. All our Apologies cannot hurt them so much, as their own divisions. Behold, here your Highness shall sit still, and see all the Romish Doctors, after all their brags of peace, scuffling and grappling together before you; and, which is most worth, in Bellarmine's own theatre. No adversary can give them more deep wounds. And, if civil discord can give us hope of their ruin, Rome

I

cannot stand *. Lo, these are the men, that gloried in their unity; and upbraided us, not once, with our dissensions; and have warned the world, because we differ in one point, not to trust us in any. The confidence of their secrecy made them peremptory; not either their innocence or our guilt. If God have not now opened their mouths to convince them of bold falsehood, let them have no accusers. know the view of this Popish fray could not, in their conceits, fall more unhappily into any eyes than your lighness's: whom they grieve to see, in this early spring of your age, so firmly rooted in the truth; and, before Hannibal's years, threatening hostility to error. So let your Highness still move their envy and our joy. So much shall God more love you, as you hate their abominations. Neither shall it, I hope, ever be forgotten, that, in their bloody project, your limbs also should have flown up to heaven with your soul. That God, which hath reserved you his Second Hope and Stay of his Christian World, go on to prosper your gracious proceedings, but according to the promise of their entrances; that we may be still happy in your Highness, and you in Him for ever! So be it! Yea, so will it be: how can it be, that so many and faithful prayers of all God's faithful ones through the world should have other success? Amongst the rest are vowed, and duly paid to this purpose, the daily poor devotions of your Highness's unworthy, yet loyal

servant,

JOS. HALL."

for

After this Dedication follows the "Serious Dissuasive from Popery;" and then "The Peace of Rome," which last occupies nearly two hundred pages, and is preceded by the following

"Advertisement to the Reader :”— "UNDERSTAND, good reader, that, in all these passages following, I have brought in C. Bellarm. speaking in his own words; except in some few plain references, where I mention him in the third person. 2. That the edition of C. Bellarmine which I have followed, and quoted in every page, is that in octavo, (the commonest, I think) set forth at Ingolstadt, from the press of Adam Sartorius, in the year M.D.XCIX. 3. That all those authors, which thou seest named over the head of every section, are Papists of note: whose quarrels C. Bellarmine confesseth. 4. That such great Doctors could not be singular in their judgments; but must needs, in all probability, (which yet is not confessed) be attended with many followers, in every point of variance. Every master hath the favour of his own school. The sides taken by their scholars is not more secret than likely. 5. That one Doctor Pappus, a learned German, hath undertaken the like task; but somewhat unperfectly. For my 303 Contradictions, he hath noted but 237. The edition followed by him was not the same, and therefore his trust could not be so helpful to me. Besides, that two or three of Card. Bellarmine's works are since pub. lished. 6. That I have willingly omitted divers small differences, which, if I had regarded number, might have caused the sum to swell yet higher. 7. That thou mayest not look to find all these acknowledged differences main and essential. All religion consists not of so many stones in her foundation. It is enough, that deep and material dissensions are intermingled with the rest; and that scarce any point is free from some. 8. That Card. Bellarmine acknowledges those dissentions only, which fall into the compass of his own Controversies (if all those): omitting all others. For instance: of all those sixty and two differences in the matter of Penance, which I have here gathered out of Navarre and Fr. à Victoria, he hath not confessed above five or six; so that, by the same proportion, whereas three hundred and three Contradictions are acknowledged, there cannot but be many hundreds wittingly by him concealed. Gen. xi. 7. Venite igitur descendamus, et confundamus ibi linguam eorum; ut non audiat unusquisque vocem proximi sui: atque ita divisit eos Dominus, ex illo loco, in universas terras; et cessaverunt adificare civitatem; et idcirco vocatum est nomen ejus Babel, &c."

• Suis et ipsa Roma viribus ruit. Hor.

NO PEACE WITH ROME.

WHEREIN IS PROVED,

THAT,

AS TERMS NOW STAND,

THERE CAN BE NO RECONCILIATION

OF THE

REFORMED RELIGION

WITH THE

ROMISH:

AND THAT THE ROMANISTS ARE IN ALL THE FAULT.

WRITTEN FIRST IN LATIN,

BY

JOSEPH HALL,

AND NOW ENGLISHED.

« PreviousContinue »