A reply to an answer made of M. Doctor Whitgifte Against the admonition to…A replye to an ansvvere made of M. Doctor VVhitgifte Against the admonition to…

I will not enter now / to discus / whether it were well done to fast in all places according to the custom of the place. You oppose Amb. & Aug. I could oppose ¹Ignatius and Tertullian / whereof the one saith it is (nefas) a detestable thing to fast upon the Lords day / the other / ye it is to kill the Lord / & this is the inconvenience that cometh of such unlearned kind of reasoning / S. Ambrose saith so / & therefore it is true. And although Amb. and Aug. being strangers and private men at Rome would have so done / yet it followeth not / that if they had ben citizens & ministers there y• they would have don it / & if they had don so to / yet it followeth not but they would have spoken against the appointment of days / & nomothesian, of ²fasting / whereof Eusebius saith / that Montanus was the first author. I speak of that which they ought to have done / for otherwise I know they both thought corruptly of fasting: when as the one saith / it was remedy or reward to fast other days / but in Lent / not to fast / was sin: and the other asketh / what salvation we can obtain / if we blot not our sins by fasting / seeing that the scripture saith / ye fasting & alms doth deliver from sin / & therefore calleth them new teachers / that shut out the merit of fasting. Which I therefore recite / because you would seem by Aug. & Ambrose judgements / to allow of the weekly and commanded fasts. What you mean to cite this place ad Januarium. 118. I can not tell / you charge the authors of the admonition to be conspired with the papists / I will not charge you so / but will think better of you / until the contrary do more appear. But I appeal to the judgement of all men / if this be not to bring in popery again / to allow of s. Aug. saying / wherein he saith that the celebrating of the day of the passion. &c. is either of some general council / or of the Apostles commanded & decreed / whereby a gate is open unto the papists to bring in / under the colour of traditions / all their beggary whatsoever. For you plainly confirm / that there is some thing necessary to be observed / which is not contained any ways in the scripture. For to keep those holy days / is not contained in the scripture / neither can be ⟨p. 31⟩concluded of any part thereof / and yet they are necessary to be kept / if they be commanded of the Apostles.