mislike and refuse somewhat in their writings, if we find that they haue thought otherwise than the truth may beare. Such am I in the writings of others, and such would I wish others to be in mine.' Some things I beleeue, and some things which they write, I cannot beleeue. I weigh them not as the holy and Canonicall Scriptures. Cyprian was a doctor of the Church, yet he was deceiued: Hierome was a doctor of the Church, yet he was deceiued: Augustine was a doctor of the Church, yet he wrote a booke of Retractations, he acknowledged that he was deceiued. God did therefore giue to his Church many doctors, and many learned men, which all should search the truth, and one reforme another, wherein they thought him deceiued. S. Augustine saith: Take away from amongst vs any our own bookes: let the Booke of God come amongst vs: heare what Christ saith: hearken what the truth speaketh.' He is the wisedome of his father, he can not deceiue vs. Again he saith: 'Heare this, The Lord saith: heare not this, Donatus saith, or Rogatus, or Vincentius, or Hilarius, or Ambrose, or Augustine saith.' All these were learned, most of them were holy yet saith Augustine, we may not yeeld to that which is said by learned men: but we must yeeld our full consent and beleefe to the word of God. Origen saith: 'We must needs call to witnesse the holy Scriptures: for our iudgements and expositions, without those witnesses, carrie no credit.' Marke well: our words and expositions and constructions, unlesse they be warranted by the Scriptures, are not enough, they carry not credit. Augustine saith: We offer no wrongs to S. Cyprian, when we seuer any his letters or writings from the Canonical authoritie of the holy Scriptures.' Thus speaketh Augustine, a doctor of the Church, of Cyprian another doctor also of the Church. Cyprian was a bishop, a learned father, a holie man, and a Martyr of Christ: yet saith Augustine, his word is not the gospell: his word is not the word of God:

there is no wrong done to him, though his writings carry not like credit as the holy Scripture.

I could shew many the like speeches of the ancient fathers, wherein they reuerence the holy Scriptures, as to which only they giue consent without gainsaying: which can neither deceiue nor be deceiued. In this sort did Origen, and Augustine, and other doctors of the Church speake of themselues and of theirs, and the writings of others, that we should so read them, and credit them, as they agreed with the word of God. "This kind of writings is to be read, not with a necessitie of beleeuing them, but with a liberty to iudge of them.' S. Paul saith: Though that we, or an angell from heauen preach vnto you otherwise, than that which we haue preached vnto you, let him be accursed. Out of which place, S. Augustine speaketh thus: Whether it be of Christ, or of his Church, or of any thing else whatsoeuer, pertaining either to our life, or to our faith I will not say, if I my selfe, but if an angell from heauen shall teach vs otherwise than ye haue receiued in the bookes of the law, and in the gospels, hold him accursed.'

Now to conclude this matter, the same father saith: 'The iudges or doctours of the Church, as men, are often deceiued.' They are learned: they haue preheminence in the Church: they are iudges: they haue the gifts of wisdome and vnderstanding; yet they are often deceiued. They are our fathers, but not fathers vnto God: they are starres, faire, and beautifull, and bright; yet they are not the sunne: they beare witnesse of the light, they are not the light. Christ is the sunne of righteousnesse, Christ is the light, which lightneth euery man that commeth into this world. His word is the word of truth. He is the day-spring which hath visited vs from on high: he came downe from the bosome of his Father: he shall guide our feet into the way of peace. Of him God the Father spake : This is my welbeloued Sonne in whom I am well pleased,

heare him. He is the Lambe without spot, out of his mouth goeth a two edged sword. This is he in whom all the ends of the world shall be blessed, heare him, giue heed to his saying, embrace his gospell, beleeue his word. Thus much touching the credit and authority which is to be giuen to the writings of ancient fathers."-A Treatise of the Holy Scriptures, p. 36. Bishop Jewel's Works.

"In the fifth and last place, the Church of England is at the greatest distance possible from the Church of Rome, in reference to the authority on which they each found their whole religion. As to the Church of Rome, she makes her own infallibility the foundation of faith. For,

1. Our belief of the Divine authority of the Holy Scriptures themselves, must, according to her doctrine, be founded upon her infallible testimony.

2. As to that prodigious deal which she hath added of her own to the doctrines and precepts of the Holy Scriptures, and which she makes as necessary to be believed and practised, as any matters of faith and practice contained in the Scriptures (and more necessary too than many of them) the authority of those things is founded upon her unwritten traditions, and the decrees of her Councils; which she will have to be no less inspired by the Holy Ghost, than were the Prophets and Apostles themselves.

But contrarywise, the Church of England doth,

1. Build the whole of her religion upon the sole authority of Divine Revelation in the Holy Scriptures; and therefore she takes every jot thereof out of the Bible. She makes the Scriptures the complete rule of her faith, and of her practice too, in all matters necessary to salvation, that is, in all the parts of religion; nor is there any genuine son of this Church, that maketh any thing a part of his religion that is not plainly contained in the Bible. Let us see what our Church declareth to this purpose, in her Sixth Article, viz., "That Holy

Scripture containeth all things necessary to salvation; so that whatsoever is not read therein, nor may be proved thereby, is not to be required of any man, that it should be believed as an article of faith, or be thought requisite or necessary to salvation.' So that, as Mr. Chillingworth saith, THE BIBLE, THE BIBLE IS THE RELIGION OF PROTESTANTS: so you see the Bible is the religion of the Protestant Church of England: nor doth she fetch one tittle of her religion either out of unwritten traditions, or decrees of Councils. Notwithstanding she hath a great reverence for those Councils which were not a company of Bishops and Priests of the Pope's packing, to serve his purposes, and which have best deserved the name of General Councils, especially the four first: yet her reverence of them consisteth not in any opinion of their infallibility: as appears by Article Fourteen. General Councils may not be gathered together without the commandment and will of princes: and when they be gathered together (forasmuch as they be an assembly of men, whereof all be not governed with the Spirit and Word of God) they may err, and sometimes have erred, even in things pertaining unto God. Wherefore things ordained by them as necessary to salvation, have neither strength nor authority, unless it may be declared (that is, manifestly proved) that they be taken out of Holy Scripture.'

Let us see again how our Church speaks of the matter in hand, Article Twenty. 'The Church hath power to decree rites or ceremonies, and authority in controversies of faith: and yet it is not lawful for the Church to ordain any thing that is contrary to God's Word written; neither may it so expound one place of Scripture, that it be repugnant to another. Wherefore although the Church be a witness and keeper of Holy Writ'-(that is, as the Jewish Church was so of the Canon of the Old Testament, by whose tradition alone it could be known, what books were Canonical, and what not;

so the Catholic Christian Church, from Christ and his Apostles downwards is so, of the Canon of the new ;) 'yet as it ought not to decree any thing against the same, so besides the same ought it not to inforce any thing to be believed for necessity of salvation.' If it be asked who is to judge what is agreeable or contrary to Holy Writ? It is manifest that our Church leaves it to every man to judge for himself. But it is objected, that it is to be acknowledged that if the Church only claimed a power to decree rites and ceremonies; (that is, according to the general rules of doing all things decently and orderly, and to edification, which power all Churches have ever exercised) this may well enough consist with private persons' liberty to judge for themselves: but it is also said in the now cited Article, that the Church hath authority in controversies of faith; and accordingly our Church hath published Thirty-nine Articles, and requires of the Clergy, &c. subscription to them. To this we answer, That we shall make one Article egregiously to contradict another, and one of the same to contradict itself, if we understand by the authority in controversies of faith, which our Church acknowledges all Churches to have, any more than authority to oblige their members to outward submission, when their decisions are such as contradict not any of the essentials of our religion, whether they be articles of faith, or rules of life; not an authority to oblige them to assent to their decrees, as infallibly true. But it is necessary to the maintaining of peace, that all Churches should be invested with a power to bind their members to outward submission in the case aforesaid; that is, when their supposed errors are not of that moment, as that it is of more pernicious consequence to bear with them, than to break the peace of the Church by opposing them. And as to the fore mentioned subscription that is required to the Thirtynine Articles, it is very consistent with our Church's giving all men liberty to judge for themselves, and not exercising