opposed herein the commands of the visible church, that is, of a great part of it: yet the reformers had reason, nay necessity, to do so, the church being then corrupted with damnable errors; which was not true of the church, when it was opposed by the Novatians and Donatists. And therefore, though they, and the reformers, did the same action, yet doing it upon different grounds, it might in these merit applause, and in them condemnation.

112. Ad §. 43. The next section hath in it some objections against Luther's person, and none against his cause, which alone I have undertaken to justify, and therefore I pass it over. Yet this I promise, that when you, or any of your side, shall publish a good defence of all that your popes have said and done, especially of them whom Bellarmine believes, in such a long train, to have gone to the devil, then you shall receive an ample apology for all the actions and words of Luther. In the meantime, I hope, all reasonable and equitable judges will esteem it not unpardonable in the great and heroical spirit of Luther, if, being opposed and perpetually baited with a world of furies, he was transported sometimes, and made somewhat furious. As for you, I desire you to be quiet, and to demand no more, whether God be wont to send such furies to preach the gospel? Unless you desire to hear of your killing of kings, massacreing of people, blowing up of parliaments; and have a mind to be asked, whether it be probable, that that should be God's cause, which needs to be maintained by such devilish means.

113. Ad §. 44, 45. In the two next particles, which are all of this chapter that remain unspoken

to, you spend a great deal of reading, and wit, and reason against some men, who, pretending to honour and believe the doctrine and practice of the visible church, (you mean your own) and condemning their forefathers, who forsook her, say they would not have done so, yet remain divided from her communion. Which men, in my judgment, cannot be defended: for if they believe the doctrine of your church, then must they believe this doctrine, that they are to return to your communion. And therefore, if they do not so, it cannot be avoided but they must be αὐτοκατάκριτοι, and so I leave them; only I am to remember you, that these men cannot pretend to be protestants, because they pretend to believe your doctrine, which is opposite in diameter unto the doctrine of protestants; and therefore, in a work which you profess to have written merely against protestants, all this might have been spared.

CHAP. VI.

That Luther and the rest of protestants have added heresy unto schism.

1. "BECAUSE vice is best known by the contrary virtue, we cannot well determine what heresy is, nor who be heretics, but by the opposite virtue of faith, whose nature being once understood, as far as belongs to our present purpose, we shall pass on with ease to the definition of heresy, and so be able to discern who be heretics. And this I intend to do, not by entering into such particular questions, as are controverted between catholics and protestants, but only by applying some general grounds, either already proved, or else yielded to on all sides.

2.

66

Almighty God having ordained man to a supernatural end of beatitude by supernatural means, it was requisite that his understanding should be enabled to apprehend that end and means by a supernatural knowledge: and because if such a knowledge were no more than probable, it could not be able sufficiently to overbear our will, and encounter with human probabilities, being backed with the strength of flesh and blood; it was further necessary, that this supernatural knowledge should be most certain and infallible; and that faith should believe nothing more certainly than that itself is a most certain belief, and so be able to beat down all gay probabilities of human opinion. And because the aforesaid means

*

and end of beatifical vision do far exceed the reach of natural wit, the certainty of faith could not always be joined with such evidence of reason, as is wont to be found in the principles or conclusions of human natural sciences, that so all flesh might not glory in the arm of flesh, but he 'who glories, should glory in our Lord.' Moreover, it was expedient, that our belief or assent to Divine truths, should not only be unknown or inevident by any human discourse, but that absolutely also it should be obscure in itself, and (ordinarily speaking) be void even of supernatural evidence, that so we might have occasion to actuate and testify the obedience which we owe to our God, not only by submitting our will to his will and commands, but by subjecting also our understanding to his wisdom and words, captivating (as the apostle speaks) the same understanding † to the obedience of faith; which occasion had been wanting, if Almighty God had made clear to us the truths which now are certainly, but not evidently, presented to our minds: for where truth doth manifestly open itself, not obedience, but necessity, commands our assent. For this reason, divines teach, that the objects of faith being not evident to human reason, it is in man's power, not only to abstain from believing, by suspending our judgment, or exercising no act one way or other; but also to disbelieve, that is, to believe the contrary of that which faith proposeth; as the examples of innumerable arch heretics can bear witness. This obscurity of faith we learn from Holy Scripture, according to those words of the apostle, faith is

* 2 Cor. x. 17.

+ 2 Cor. x. 5.

*

the substance of things to be hoped for, the argument of things not appearing.' And, 'we see now by a glass † in a dark manner: but then face to face.' And accordingly St. Peter saith, which you do well attending unto, as to a candle shining in a dark place.'

3. "Faith being then obscure, (whereby it differeth from natural sciences) and yet being most certain and infallible (wherein it surpasseth human opinion), it must rely upon some motive and ground, which may be able to give it certainty, and yet not release it from obscurity. For if this motive, ground, or formal object of faith, were any thing evidently presented to our understanding; and if, also, we did evidently know, that it had a necessary connexion with the articles which we believe, our assent to such articles could not be obscure, but evident; which, as we said, is against the nature of our faith. If, likewise, the motive or ground of our faith were obscurely propounded to us, but were not in itself infallible, it would leave our assent in obscurity, but could not endue it with certainty. We must, therefore, for the ground of our faith, find out a motive obscure to us, but most certain in itself, that the act of faith may remain both obscure and certain. Such a motive as this can be no other but the Divine authority of Almighty God, revealing or speaking those truths which our faith believes: for it is manifest, that God's infallible testimony may transfuse certainty to our faith, and yet not draw it out of obscurity; because no human discourse or demonstration can evince, that God re

* Heb. xi. 1.

+ 1 Cor. xiii. 12.

2 Pet. i. 19.