TETRASTYLON PAPISTICVM , That is , THE FOVRE PRINCIPAL PILLERS of Papistrie , the first conteyning their raylings , slanders , forgeries , vntruthes : the second their blasphemies , flat contradictions to scripture , heresies , absurdities : the third their loose arguments , weake solutions , subtill distinctions : the fourth and last the repugnant opinions of New Papistes With the old ; of the new one with another ; of the same writers with themselues : yea of Popish religion with and in it selfe .

Compiled as a necessarie supplement or fit appertinance to the Authors former worke , intituled Synopsis Papismi : To the glorie of God for the dissuading of light-minded men from trusting to the sandie foundation of poperie , and to exhort good Christians stedfastlie to hold the rockie foundation of faith in the Gospell .

Printed by Robert Robinson for Thomas Man dwelling in Pater noster row at the signe of the Talbot . 1593.

IT is the common and vsuall practise of wrangling and cauilling spirites , who to preuent other mens accusations , doe themselues first begin to accuse and challenge others of the same crimes , which they are guiltie of : Thus Sathan the accuser of the brethren , sometime dealt with Iob , Iob. 1 saying vnto God , that if he would but stretch foorth his hand a little , and touch all he had , hee would not spare to blaspheme God to his face , whereas nothing is more common with that old Serpent , then to curse and blaspheme God . Thus our aduersaries of the Popish religion ( which indeed is no religion , but meere superstition ) haue subtillie sought to vndermine vs , crying out against vs , that wee are lyers , Idolaters , blasphemers , and such like , which are titles and epithetes fitter and more proper to themselues . They charge vs with rayling : Harding Confut. apolog. cap. 16. diuis . 2. with lying : Defens . apolog. pag. 597. with corrupting and altering of scripture : Rhemist . 2. Corinth . 2. sect. 8. with fables . Rhemist . 1. Timoth. 1. sect. 4. with execrations and blasphemies : Iud. 3. with heresies , Bellarm. de notis eccles. lib. 4. cap. 9. They obiect against vs the weaknes of our proofes , and arguments : Harding . defeus . apolog. p. 625. often innouating and changing of Religion . Rhemist . 2. Corinth . 2. v. 8. Diuisions & dissensions among ourselues : Harding . defens . apolog. p. 239. Yea that wee may see how true their other accusations are , they are not ashamed to charge vs with Idolatrie , and worshipping of Idols , Rhemist . 1. Corinth . 10. sect. 9. Wherfore that it may appeare to the world , how vniustly they haue accused vs , & how subtilly they would vnburden & exonerate themselues of those crimes which are theirs & not ours , to this ende I haue vndertaken this labour in this treatise , to detect and bewray their guiltines in this behalfe , that we may bee purged from their slaunders , and our cause iustified , and that the shame & blame may fall vpon them , that haue deserued it .

As for vs , wee raile not , neither vse reuiling speech , yet sometime we tell them roundly their owne , and this may bee done without rayling : vnlesse they will say Christ rayled , when he tolde the Iewes , that they had made his fathers house a denne of theeues . But their rayling , and venemous dartes , which they shoot at vs , are notoriouslie knowen and cannot be hide . It is the grace of popish writers both old and new , to stuffe their bookes full with cursing & rayling : Stapleton , that blacke-mouthed Sophister of Louaine , hath of late set foorth a booke against D. Whitakers , wherein beside the badnesse of his cause , he hath disgraced his profession , with bitter and filthie tearmes , calling that learned and godly man , Rusticum , fatuum , asinum , asininum professorem , morionem , stolidum : Foole , clowne , asse , doit : yea he is so impudent , that he spareth not to reuile the deade , Lib. 1. cap. ● . sect. 8. most shamefully calling Caluine , that worthie Minister of the Gospel , Egregium Nebulonem , a notable knaue : I thinke Stapletons owne friendes and patrones here in England , will blush and be ashamed of him , when they find such stuffe in his booke .

Neither doth Stapleton thus take on in his moode , as carried away with some intemperate heate , but being in his wittes ( if in his right wittes ) and well aduised , and of purpose he falleth into this cogging vaine : giuing M. Whitakers warning thereof aforehande , age Whitakare ●t ad patientiam te compone : willing him to take patiently , what Admonit . ad Whi●●● . he saith . Indeed M. Stapleton your counsell is good , for shoote out your venemous dartes as long , as yee will , wee care not , wee haue a sense for them , and a buckler to latch them , as Augustine saith verie well : Quaeso mi frater , quasi has diaboli sagittas , ad petram , quae est De ●alu●● . docum , c. 12. Christus , allidens , sume scutum fidei . I giue thee counsel ( my brother ) to rebound these arrowes of Sathan , vpon the rocke , which is Christ , taking the shield of faith : And such patience is in this case necessarie for M. Whitakers , and the rest of vs protestantes , as the same father speaketh of else where : Quemadmodum parentes a filis vel pueris , De ser in monto ca. 〈◊〉 . vel phreneticis multa patiuntur , donec infantia , vel aegritude transeat , ita Christianus ab impijs tanquam phreneticis multa pati debet : Like as parents De ser in monto . cap. 34. do suffer manie things at their sons hands , while they are children or phrentick , til their childishnes or phrensie be past : thus Christians must patiently beare manie things of the wicked , as of men taken with phrensie . Such intemperate and railing speeches then of Papistes , we attribute either to their childish ignorance or phrentike malitiousnes .

Concerning the other accusations , of heresie , blasphemie , lying , corruption of scriptures and such other , it shal appeare , I trust , in this discourse , that they are the men , & none other , that are faultie herein . As for fables , they do vs great wrong to cast them vpon vs : their owne legend of lies and infinite fabulous stories , do plaintie tell vs , that poperie is fuller of fables , then the heresies of the Valentinians or the Manichees . Their other charge concerning iunouation and dissention is returned vpon themselues : for who knoweth not , that the Iesuites of these daies , haue innouated and changed in the most pointes , the old popish profession , and haue cast it into a newe mould , and brought in a new forme of Pope catholike doctrine : But we in substance retaine the same Religion , which at the first reuiuing of the Gospel was maintained 40. yeares ago by the Protestants . As for dissensions in fundamental pointes and articles concerning faith , we haue none . In other matters , there haue bene some contentions among vs , more we graunt then needed , & more hotely pursued of some then was requisite : yet they are neither in weight so great , or in number so many , nor so egerly prosecuted , as dissentions among papistes haue beene , for anno . 1509. wee reade that the Franciscane friers pursued the poore Dominicks to death : and the contention began about the conception of the Virgin Marie . Fox . pag. 802. Such rigour and fiercenes hath not yet beene seene among protestantes , neither I trust , shall .

But in saying that Protestants are Idolaters , they make too lewd a lie , for it is wel knowen vnto them , that we haue no Images or Idols of brasse , woode , stone , siluer , at all in our Churches , as they haue nor any pictures , carued , painted or grauen , set vp to bee worshipped : If two men shoulde bee set before vs : the one lifteth vp his , eyes to heauen , and calleth vppon the name of God , hauing no similitude or resemblance before him , the other praieth before a stocke or stone Image : is anie man so senseles , as to say the other is an Idolater , rather then this ? But thus blinde and sottish are the papistes in their iudgement . Take heede ye English pope catholickes , doe ye not see , how your ghostly fathers goe about to make fooles of you ?

Now then , to the intent our aduersaries slaunderous mouthes should be stopped , and their falsehoode descried , I haue giuen a seuerall taste in this worke , in euerie kinde of their fraudulent dealing with vs , and of their vnseemely behauiour , & vngodlie shifts , which they vse in oppugning of the trueth , and defense of their bad cause . The whole booke I haue deuided into 4. partes , shewing the foure principall pillers of papistrie , and euerie piller conteineth diuerse partes beside , as it is set foorth in the title of this booke : I trust , throughout this treatise , that our aduersaries shall not iustly challenge me for dealing vntruely or deceiptfullie with them , seeing I haue set downe their sayings and opinions , as I find them , quoting the places , and citing the authors , whence I haue them : so that I doubt not to say with Augustine , Ego omnia , quòd bona fide coram deo dixerim , sine vllo studio contentionis , sine aliqua dubitatione veritatis , sine aliquo praeiudicio diligentioris tractatus exposui : I trust I may say , with a good Lib. 2. de genes cap. 29. conscience before God , that I haue set downe all things without desire of contention , or doubting of the trueth , and without preiudicing other mens more exact labours herein . If sometime I shall seeme to speake somewhat roundlie or sharply , I hope the discreete reader will iudge it to bee done , not without cause , & to say , as that good father in the like case : Noui fratrem meum , si quid in disputatione August . epist. 14 . pro side sua dixit feruentius , non illa contumacia , sed fiducia dicenda est : I know if our brother bee sometime seruent and hote , in the defence of saith , that it proceedeth not of contumacie , but his full resolution in the trueth .

Concerning our aduersaries , I would haue them thinke , that I haue vndertaken these labours for their good , if they could so construe it , that seeing now the nakednes of their cause , they may at the length be better aduised : We haue not cast off all loue and care of our enemies : We say of them , as Augustine did sometime of Pelagius the heretike , Nos non solum diligimus , sed dileximus eos , sed aliter Aepist . 1●6 . vunc diligimus , aliter aliquando dileximus , tunc , quia nobis rectae fidei videbantur , nunc vt ab errore liberentur : Wee both loue them now , and loued them before , but otherwise now then before , then we loued them , because we thought they were of a right faith , but now we loue them , to the end they might bee deliuered from errour . Now vnto my brethren of the same faith and religion , thus much I say , that whatsoeuer blasphemies , heresies , absurdities , they reade here to bee affirmed and maintained by papistes , they would take no offence thereby , nor seeme to stumble thereat : Sed facite inde quod fecit dominus , Aug. tract ▪ in Ioh. 6. cum illi obtulerunt amarum potum , gustauit , & respuit , sic vos audite & abijcite : But doe ye as Christ did , when they offered him vineger to drinke , he tasted and refused it , so giue you the hearing and reading of these things , but in iudgement cast them away , and reiect them .

Thus I haue , by the Lords assistance finished my taske , & ended my trauell for this time : I will now sit me downe a while and rest my wearie penne , and giue place to others . This I haue done , partly to discharge my duetie to God , and debt to his Church ; partly to prouoke others by this example to put foorth their talent : who for skill are more able , for their leasure more fit , for outwarde helpes haue better incouragement , & in respect of their reward are more bound : I would we might now at the length spare our selues at home , and forbeare to prouoke one another by writing , and ioyne our strength against the common aduersarie . If our wittes want whetting , our pennes exercise , our bodies labour , our aduersaries abroad can and may afford vs worke enough : we need not hew one at another . Let vs do as Moses did , slay the Aegyptian , it is not seemely for one Hebrew to striue with another . The timber , that must make the house , should be prepared and hewen in the fielde , Prouerb . 24. 27. when it commeth to be set together , not so much as the noise of an hammer should be heard , as we read of Salomons temple : so we should labour to hew and cut off popish superstition & corruption of manners as in the field abroad , but we ought to build peaceably , & without noyse among our selues . One saith well , Omnia alia bona , aurum , argentum , diuitiae diuidi possunt ; non potest diuidi ( pacem meam do vobis : ) Al other goods , gold , siluer , riches , may be deuided ; this inheritance onely cannot be deuided , my peace I leaue with you . And therefore , saith he , Christus noluit fiers iudex ad diuisionem : Christ refused to be a iudge or deuider of the inheritance . God grant , that we may at the length , learne , as carefull children , or faithfull stewardes , to keepe whole Christes inheritance lent vnto vs , that rich patrimonie of brotherly loue and peace : that we may one yeeld to another in the trueth , euerie one to studi● to amend what is amisse , and all ioyne together to seeke Gods glorie .

Thus shall we be sure to imbrace and enioy peace : for what else is the cause of contention among vs : Nisi ( as one saith ) quia displicet mortalibus angelica illa partitio , qua gloria deo , pax hominibus nuntiatur : quonam Bernard . epist. 127. modo stabit pax hominum coram deo , si deo apud homines non potest tuta esse sua gloria ? Because mortall men like not that Angelical partition , when they pronounced glorie vnto God , and peace in earth : for howe can the peace of men stand in force before God , when Gods glory is not kept safe and sound amongst men ? This then is the way to procure peace , and to nourish it , to remoue and auoid dissention , euery one in his seuerall place and calling to labour to amend what is amisse , to restore what is decayed , to supplie what is wanting , and to redresse what is out of order , and so to seeke chiefly to aduance Gods glorie . Thus shall we haue peace at home , & peace abroad , our dissensions shall slacke within , and by our peace our strength and courage shall increase against our enemies without . We shal runne vpon them , as one man : ten shall chase an hundred , and an hundred a thousand . Thus the Gospell by Gods grace shall still florish in this land , superstition shall decrease and weare away , and poperie shall bee weeded and rooted out , which God grant for his welbeloued and onely begotten Sonnes sake Iesus Christ our Lord , to whom bee praise for euer ,