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…

And do you mark what you say / when you say that these are but suspected? ⟨p. 93⟩Thus much you say / that it is suspected / or in doubt / whether the whole body of popery and antichristianitie were in the Apostles time / or soon after or no / for Clement was in the Apostles time / and their scholar / and so you leave it in doubt, whether the apostles appointed and were the authors of popery or no. I think if ever you had red the Epistles / you would never have cited their authorities / nor have spoken so favourably of them as you do.

And do you marke what you say / when you say that these are but suspected? ⟨p. 93⟩Thus much you say / that it is suspected / or in doubt / whether the whole body of poperie and antichristianitie were in the Apostles time / or sone after or no / for Clement was in the Apostles time / and their scholer / and so you leaue it in dout, whether the apostles appoynted and were the authors of popery or no. I thinke if euer you had red the Epistles / you woulde neuer haue cited their authorities / nor haue spoken so fauourably of them as you doe.

You come after to the council of Nice / wherein I will not stick with you / that you say it was holden the .CCC. xxx. year of the Lord / when as it may appear by Eusebius his Computation / that it was holden. Anno Domini CCC xx. and here you take so great a leap / that it is enough to break the archbishops neck / to skip at once .CCC. years / (that is / from the time of the apostles / until the time of the council of Nice) without any testimony of any / either father / or story of faith and credit / which maketh once mention of an archbishop. What no mention of him in Theophilus / bishop of Antioch? none in Ignatius? none in Clemens Alexandrinus / none in Justin Martyr / in Ireneus / in Tertullian / in Origen / in Cyprian / none in all those old Historiographers / out of the which Eusebius gathereth his story? Was it for his baseness and smallness / that he could not be seen amongst the bishops / elders / and deacons / being the chief and principal of them all? can the Cedar of Lebanon be hid amongst the box trees? Aristotle in his Rhetoric ad Theodecten, sayeth / that it is a token of contempt / to forget the name of an other / belike therefore if there were any archbishop / he had no chair in the church / but was as it seemeth / digging at the metals. For otherwise they that have filled their books with the often mentioning of bishops / would have no doubt remembered him. But let us hear what the council of Nice hath for these titles.