(HIGGONS, Book II. Part I. § 8.)

Thus have I briefly run through his two books, and answered whatsoever concerneth myself in the same; and so might pass presently to his Appendix; but that towards the end of the Second Part of his Second Book, he once again wrongeth that renowned divine Dr Humfrey, in such sort as is not to be endured; for he chargeth him with unfaithfulness in his relations', digressions from the matter, a general imbecility of his whole discourse, obscurity, uncertainty, notorious depraving of St Augustine, and other unfaithful practices, against the same father; and saith, the detection of his falsehood ministered the first occasion of his change. If Master Higgons were not better known than trusted, some man happily would be moved to think that some very gross and inexcusable oversights are found in Dr Humfrey, against whom he so clamorously inveigheth; but seeing all the world taketh notice what manner of man he is, by that description of him which is found in a letter of a worthy knight, lately written to him, and another of his own father, written to the same knight, I think there is no man of any sense that will regard his words any more than the braying of an ass, or the bellowing of an ox when he lacketh fodder: yet, to make it appear that he hath calumniated and wronged a worthy person, without all cause or shew of cause, I will briefly set down the sum of Dr Humfrey his discourse. Whereas Campian objecteth to us that we have begged certain fragments of opinions from Arius and others, condemned as heretics; first, he answereth, that we have not received our faith from heretics, but from the apostles and their successors. Secondly, he saith, that we condemn all the heretical positions of Arius, and yet admit whatsoever he held rightly, and agreeable to the holy scripture; in which saying Master Higgons telleth us the papists will concur with him. Thirdly, he alloweth a commemoration of the saints and holy ones departed, and, consequently, disliketh Arius for condemning the same. Fourthly, he condemneth that abuse in

1 Pag. 167-172.

2."Nisi forte gaudent majoribus illis, quos hæreticos fuisse liquet, ut Aerio, Joviniano," &c.-Campian. Ratione iii. [p. 19. 12mo. In goldst. 1584.]

praying for the dead which Arius condemned. Fifthly, he saith, the commemoration of the departed is not commanded in scripture, but holden by custom of the Church. Sixthly, that if we die not in a true and lively faith, all the prayers in the world cannot help us, contrary to the error of those men, who thought that not only a suspension or mitigation, but a total release, of the punishments of men dying in mortal sins may be procured; which error Augustine refuteth', by the evidence of the words of the apostle, that unless we here sow unto the spirit, we cannot reap immortality. And again, that we must all stand before the tribunal-seat of Christ, that every one may receive according to the things he did in this body, whether good or ill. Whence he saith is inferred, that unless men depart hence in state of grace, all the world cannot relieve them afterwards. These being the principal and most material parts and circumstances of Dr Humfrey his discourse touching Arius, let us see what are the exceptions that Master Higgons taketh against him. The first is, that he saith there is no scripture for that prayer for the dead that was anciently used in the Church, and that Augustine seemeth to confess as much, which he goeth about to improve 2, because Augustine allegeth the Book of Maccabees for the practice of praying for the dead. But for answer hereunto, 1. We say, that Dr Humfrey denieth that there is any precept requiring us to pray for the dead found in scripture, and speaketh nothing of examples; and therefore the allegation of the Book of Maccabees is impertinent. 2. That the prayer of Judas Maccabeus mentioned in that book was not for the relief of the dead, but for the remission, or not imputing of their sins to the living, lest God should have smitten them for the trespass committed by those wicked ones that displeased God, and perished in their sin, though the author of that book make another construction of it. 3. That the Book of Maccabees is not canonical; and though Augustine seem to incline to an opinion that it is 3, yet he is not resolved that it is so: yea, some are of opinion that he thought it canonical only in respect of the canon of man

1 De Cura pro Mortuis. [cap. 1. Tom. vI. col. 516.]

2 Pag. 169.

3 Contra Gaudent. Epist. Lib. I. cap. 31. [Tom. ix. col. 655.] 4 Cajetan.

ners, and not of faith: but Master Higgons will prove that, in the judgment of Augustine, prayer for the dead is plainly expressed, or sufficiently deduced, from the scriptures of the New Testament, in that St Augustine, having alleged the books of Maccabees, to prove that prayer was made for the dead, saith, if this were nowhere read in the old scriptures, the authority of the Church were greatly to be regarded, which shineth in this custom; which is a very silly inference. For neither doth it follow that if it be not in the Old it must be in the New; neither would Augustine have presently urged the authority of the Church, upon the supposition of not finding it in the old scriptures, but the books of the New Testament, if he had thought it to be found in the New; seeing he seeketh first and principally to prove it by scripture. His second exception is, that Augustine urgeth the custom of the universal Church for the commendation of the dead, and pronounceth that, without intolerable insolency and madness, this authority cannot be rejected: whence he inferreth that both these must inevitably fall upon Dr Humfrey and his Church: but the poor fellow that chargeth other men with madness, if he were in his right wits, might easily have found that Dr Humfrey doth not condemn the commemoration and commendation of the dead; for he saith expressly: "We retain it in our colleges." I observed before that we must carefully distinguish the general practice and intention of the whole Church from private conceits; the whole Church commemorated the dead, offered the sacrifice of praise for them, prayed for them in the passage, and for their resurrection and consummation: all which things we allow so that neither Dr Humfrey nor we condemn the universal Church, but think it were madness so to do: but the private fancies of such as extended their prayers farther, thinking they might ease, mitigate, suspend, or wholly take away the pains of men damned in hell (for of purgatory no man thought in the primitive Church) we reject. This erroneous conceit and practice Arius rightly condemned, and Dr Humfrey and we all agree with him in the same dislike: but he did ill to impute this error to the whole Church, and to condemn that which was good and laudable upon so weak a ground. Of the difference which Master Higgons would fain make between our commendation of the dead used

in colleges, and that used anciently, whereof St Augustine speaketh, I have spoken before; wherefore let us come to his last exception against Dr Humfrey, which is, that he "handleth the matter artificially, to make a credulous reader believe that St Augustine himself doth convel the use of prayer for the dead by those sentences of the apostle', that we cannot reap if we sow not here,' and that 2 we must all stand before the judgment-seat of Christ, that every one may receive according to the things he hath done in the body, whether good or evil."" This imputation is nothing else but a malicious and impudent charging of him with that he never thought of. For the only thing he saith Augustine held, proved by these sentences, is, that unless we depart hence in a true faith, we cannot be relieved by any devotion of other men after we are gone. Which is so undoubtedly true, that I think Higgons himself dareth not deny it. But that Augustine thought that men dying in the state of grace and faith of Christ may be holpen by the prayers of the living, he neither made question himself, nor ever sought to make his reader believe otherwise. Neither do we dissent from Augustine in this point, if the prayers he speaketh of be made respectively to the passage hence and entrance into the other world, as I have shewed before. The only thing that is questionable between us and our adversaries being, whether prayers may relieve men in a state of temporal affliction after this life, whereof Augustine never resolved anything, whatsoever this prattling apostate say to the contrary. These things being so, let the reader judge whether the detection of falsehood and ill-dealing in Dr Humfrey could possibly occasion Master Higgons his change, as he would make the world believe; there being nothing found in his whole discourse that is not most true and justifiable by all course of learning. But because he is sufficiently chastised by others, and knoweth too well the true cause of his running away to be things of a far other nature than those he pretendeth, I will prosecute this matter no farther against him.

1 Gal. vi. 8.

2 2 Cor. v. 10.

(HIGGONS, Appendix, Part I.)

Now it remaineth that I come to the Appendix, which he addeth to his book', which he divideth into two parts, whereof the first concerneth me, the second D. Morton, which he hath answered already. In that part which concerneth me, he undertaketh to prove2, that I "notoriously abuse the name and authority of Gerson, Grosthead, &c. to defend the reformation" made by princes and prelates in our Churches. Wherefore that the reader may perceive I have not abused these reverend and worthy men, but that he wrongeth both them and me, I will take the pains to examine his whole discourse; though it will be very tedious so to do, by reason of the confused and perplexed manner of handling of things in the same, without all order and method. In the first chapter he doth but lay the foundation of his intended building; and therefore gathereth together a great number of positions and sayings out of my book, miserably mangled, and torn one from another; all which shall be defended when he cometh to say anything against them, in such sort as that it shall evidently appear that there is no falsehood or collusion in any part of my discourse, as this false and treacherous fugitive is pleased to say there is. Only one thing there is here that may not be passed over, because it hath no farther prosecution in that which followeth. His words are these3: Whereas Bellarmine doth object the intestine divisions and conflicts of the pretensed gospellers, the Doctor turneth him off with this answer1: "We say that these diversities are to be imputed wholly to our adversaries; for when there was a reformation to be made of abuses and disorders in matters of practice and manifold corruption in many points of Christian doctrine, and in a council by a general consent it could not be hoped for, as Gerson long before out of his experience saw and professed, by reason of the prevailing faction of popes' flatterers, it was not possible

1 ["Try before you trust, or an Admonition unto the credulous. and seduced Protestants, to examine the fidelity of their writers; and particularly of two principall Doctours; viz. D. Field, and D. Morton, by T. H., Maister of Arts, and lately Minister. Added by way of Appendix unto his 'First Motive.'"]