'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 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

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

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 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, 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 x Cont. Donat. post collat. c. 24.

y Deut. xxxii. 31.

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 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 show 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 showed 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.

z Gal. i. 7.

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 exceed, the quality of the crime. And such an accusation you would here make show of, by pretending first, "to lay such grounds of it, as are either already proved, or else yielded on all sides;" and after to raise a firm and stable structure of convincing arguments upon them. But both these I find to be mere and vain pretences, and having considered this chapter also without prejudice or passion, as I did the former, I am enforced, by the light of truth, to pronounce your whole discourse a painted and ruinous building, upon a weak and sandy foundation.

2. Ad § 2, 3. First for your grounds: a great part of them is falsely said to be either proved or granted. It is true indeed, that “ man by his natural wit or industry could never have attained to the knowledge of God's will to give him a supernatural and eternal happiness," nor of the means, by which his pleasure was to bestow this happiness upon him. And therefore your first ground is good, "that it was requisite his

VOL. II.

2 F

understanding should be enabled to apprehend that end and means, by a knowledge supernatural." I say this is good, if you mean by knowledge an apprehension or belief. But if you take the word properly and exactly, it is both false; for faith is not knowledge, no more than three is four, but eminently contained in it,so that he that knows, believes, and something more, but he that believes, many times does not know, nay, if he doth barely and merely believe, he doth never know; and besides, it is retracted by yourself presently, where you require, "that the object of faith must be both naturally and supernaturally unknown." again, in the next page, where you say, "Faith differs from science in regard of the object's obscurity." For that science and knowledge, properly taken, are synonymous terms, and that a knowledge of a thing absolutely unknown is a plain implicancy, I think, are things so plain, that you will not require any proof of them.

And

3. But then, whereas you add, "that 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; and therefore conclude, that it was further necessary, that this supernatural knowledge should be most certain and infallible : to this I answer, That I do heartily acknowledge and believe the articles of our faith to be in themselves truths, as certain and infallible, as the very common principles of geometry and metaphysics. But that there is required of us a knowledge of them, and adherence to them, as certain as that of sense or science;

a faith be.-Oxf.