of the sacraments, which yet are points of so main importance, that protestants make the due administration of them to be necessary and essential to constitute a church) answereth, that the sacraments are to be reckoned rather among the agenda of the church than the credenda, they are rather Divine rites and ceremonies than doctrines; m he either grants that we affirm, or in effect says, of two kinds of revealed truths which are necessary to be believed, the Creed contains one sort only; ergo, it contains all kinds of revealed truths necessary to be believed. Our question is not de nomine, but re, not what be called points of faith or of practice, but what points indeed be necessarily to be believed, whether they be termed agenda or credenda; especially, the chiefest part of Christian perfection consisting more in action than in barren speculation, in good works than bare belief, in doing than knowing. And there are no less contentions concerning practical than speculative truths; as sacraments-obtaining remission of sin— invocation of saints-prayers for the dead-adoration of Christ in the sacrament, and many other; all which do so much the more import, as on them, beside right belief, doth also depend our practice, and the ordering of our life. Though Dr. Potter could therefore give us (as he will never be able to do) a minute and exact catalogue of all truths to be believed, that would not make me able enough to know whether or no I have faith sufficient for salvation, till he also did bring in a particular list of all believed truths, which tend to practice, declaring which of them be fundamental, which not; that so every man might know, whether he be not in some damnable error, for some article of faith, which further might give influence into damnable works.

14. "These observations being premised, I come to prove that the Creed doth not contain all points of faith necessary to be known and believed. And

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to omit that in general it doth not tell us what points be fundamental or not fundamental, which, in the way of protestants, is most necessary to be known; in particular, there is no mention of the greatest evils from which man's calamity proceeded; I mean, the sin of the angels, of Adam, and of original sin in us; nor of the greatest good, from which we expect all good, to wit, the necessity of grace for all works tending to piety. Nay, there is no mention of angels, good or bad. The meaning of that most general head (Oportet accedentem, &c. It behoves him that comes to God, to believe that he is, and is a remuneratorTM) is questioned by the denial of merit, which makes God a giver, but not a rewarder. It is not expressed whether the article of remission of sins be understood by faith alone, or else may admit the efficiency of sacraments. There is no mention of ecclesiastical, apostolical, Divine traditions, one way or other; or of Holy Scriptures in general, and much less of every book in particular; nor of the name, nature, number, effects, matter, form, ministry, intention, necessity of sacraments; and yet the due administration of the sacraments is with protestants an essential note of the church. There is nothing for baptism of children, nor against rebaptization. There is no mention in favour or against the sacrifice of the mass, of power in the church to institute rites, holydays, &c., and to inflict excommunication, or other censures; of priesthood, bishops, and the whole ecclesiastical hierarchy, which are very fundamental points; of St. Peter's primacy, which to Calvin seemeth a fundamental error; nor of the possibility or impossibility to keep God's commandments; of the procession of the Holy Ghost from the Father and Son; of purgatory, or prayer for the dead, in any sense. And yet Dr. Potter doth not deny but that Aerius was esteemed a heretic, for denying all sort of commemoration for the dead. Nothing of the church's visibility

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or invisibility, fallibility or infallibility, nor of other points controverted betwixt protestants themselves, and between protestants and catholics, which to Dr. Potter seemed so heinous corruptions, that they cannot without damnation join with us in profession thereof. There is no mention of the cessation of the old law, which yet is a very main point of faith. And many other might be also added.

15. "But what need we labour to specify particulars? There are many important points of faith not expressed in the Creed, as, since the world's beginning, now, and for all future times, there have been, are, and may be, innumerable gross damnable heresies, whose contrary truths are not contained in the Creed. For every fundamental error must have a contrary fundamental truth; because of two contradictory propositions in the same degree, if the one is false, the other must be true. As for example, if it be a damnable error to deny the blessed Trinity or the Godhead of our Saviour, the belief of them must be a truth necessary to salvation; or rather, if we will speak properly, the error is damnable, because the opposite truth is necessary; as death is frightful, because life is sweet; and, according to philosophy, the privation is measured by the form to which it is repugnant. If therefore the Creed contain in particular all fundamental points of faith, it must explicitly, or by clear consequence, comprehend all truths opposite to innumerable heresies of all ages past, present, and to come, which no man in his wits will affirm it to do.

16. "And here I cannot omit to signify how you applaud the saying of Dr. Usher, That in those propositions, which without all controversy are universally received in the whole Christian world, so much truth is contained, as, being joined with holy obedience, may be sufficient to bring a man to everlasting salvation; neither have we cause to doubt, p Page 255.

but that as many as walk according to this rule (neither overthrowing that which they have builded, by superinducing any damnable heresies thereupon, nor otherwise vitiating their holy faith with a lewd and wicked conversation) peace shall be upon them, and upon the Israel of God. Now Dr. Potter knows that the mystery of the blessed Trinity is not universally received in the whole Christian world, as appears in very many heretics in Polony, Hungary, and Transylvania, and therefore, according to this rule of Dr. Usher, approved by Dr. Potter, the denial of the blessed Trinity shall not exclude salvation.

17. "Let me note, by the way, that you might have easily espied a foul contradiction in the said words of Dr. Usher, by you cited, and so much applauded. For he supposeth that a man agrees with other churches in belief, which, joined with holy obedience, may bring him to everlasting salvation, and yet that he may superinduce damnable heresies. For how can he superinduce damnable heresies who is supposed to believe all truths necessary to salvation? Can there be any damnable heresy, unless it contradict some necessary truth, which cannot happen in one who is supposed to believe all necessary truths? Besides, if one believing all fundamental articles in the Creed may superinduce damnable heresies, it followeth, that the fundamental truths, contrary to those damnable heresies, are not contained in the Creed.

18. "According to this model of Dr. Potter's foundation, consisting in the agreement of scarcely one point of faith, what a strange church would he make of men concurring in some one or few articles of belief, who yet for the rest should be holding conceits plainly contradictory; so patching up a religion of men who agree only in the article, that Christ is our Saviour, but for the rest, are like to the parts of a chimera; having the head of a man, the neck of a

horse, the shoulders of an ox, the foot of a lion, &c. I wrong them not herein. For in good philosophy there is greater repugnancy between assent and dissent, affirmation and negation, est, est, non, non, (especially when all these contradictories pretend to rely upon one and the selfsame motive-the infallible truth of Almighty God,) than between the integral parts, as head, neck, &c. of a man, horse, lion, &c. And thus protestants are far more bold to disagree, even in matters of faith, than catholic divines in questions merely philosophical, or not determined by the church. And while thus they stand only upon fundamental articles, they do by their own confession destroy the church, which is the house of God. For the foundation alone of a house is not a house, nor can they, in such an imaginary church, any more expect salvation, than the foundation alone of a house is fit to afford a man habitation.

19. "Moreover, it is most evident that protestants, by this chaos rather than church, do give unavoidable occasion of desperation to poor souls. Let some one who is desirous to save his soul repair to Dr. Potter, who maintains these grounds, to know upon whom he may rely in a matter of so great consequence: I suppose the Doctor's answer will be, upon the truly catholic church. She cannot err damnably. What understand you by the catholic church? Cannot general councils, which are the church representative, err? Yes, they may weakly or wilfully misapply, or misunderstand, or neglect Scripture, and so err damnably. To whom then shall I go for my particular instruction? I cannot confer with the united body of the whole church about my particular difficulties, as yourself affirms, that the catholic church 'cannot be told of private injuries.' Must I then consult with every particular person of the catholic church? So it seems by what you write in these words; The whole militant church (that is, all the 9 Page 167. r Page 27. Page 150, 151.

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