The second reply of Thomas CartwrightThe second replie of Thomas Cartwright

But yet it appeareth, that there were things in the church, not expressed in the word: I grant: and more then that / things contrary: but by what right it doth not appear. And in deed if the answerer had light upon some wayward adversary / that would have debated this question with him: these places would have given him great advantage / considering that both the ceremonies / are for a great part naught / and the opinion off the necessity off them a great deal worse. And Jeromes words also / in tying the later churches / unto the customs off the ancient which are not against faith / (albeit they be smoothed / by translating praesertim namely, and with his exposition of matters off faith) yet even as they are set down off him / overthrow the churches liberty in things indifferent. For although they should be inconvenient / and uncomely yet the matter off inconvenience / and uncomeliness / being (by the Ans.) no matter off faith: the church must still be clogged with them / nether can it by that rule / shake them off.

But yet it appeareth, that there were thinges in the churche, not expressed in the worde: I graunte: and more then that / thinges contrarie: but by what right yt doothe not appeare. And in deede iff the answerer had light vppon some weywarde aduersarye / that woulde haue debated this question with him: these places wolde haue giuen him greate aduantage / considering that bothe the ceremonies / are for a greate parte naught / and the opinion off the necessitie off them a greate deale wors. And Ieromes wordes also / in tying the later churches / vnto the customes off the ancient which are not against faith / (albeit they be smoothed / by translatinge praesertim namely, and with his exposition of matters off faith) yet euen as they are set downe off him / ouerthrowe the churches libertie in thinges indifferent. For althowgh they should be inconuenient / and vncomely yet the matter off inconuenience / and vncomelines / being (by the Ans.) no matter off faith: the churche must still be clogged with them / nether can it by that rule / shake them off.

There are a fourth sort of places out of the ancient fathers / wherein he putteth the greatest confidence / and upon which he hath laid greatest weight: and therefore by hands set over against them / moveth the reader to lay sure hold on them. Thes places drawn out off Ambrose upon the Ephes. and of Tertull de virginibus velandis. that of Ambrose being (as hath been showed) very corrupt / is also a counterfeit / as shall after be noted. The other off Tertull / is a flat and a plain Montanist. it is not unknown / that Montanus held / that there was no sufficient instruction given by the Apostles unto the church / but that there were only certain principles off Religion given by them being unperfect / and were afterward to be finished / and polished / by the comforter which himself did forge. This poison Tertullian having drunk / he left the Savour off it in divers places / but in no place more brimly then in this. which may appear / by the comparisons he useth / off likening the church off God in the Apostles time / unto a tree whose fruit was not bloomed / and unto one which is in his base age: and the churches after the Apostles times / through revelations (such as he imagineth the Apostles were not able to bear) always marching forward towards a greater ripeness in fruit / and perfection in age. And if the D. had been a little awakened / he might have smelt the fraud even in thes words / which he hathe bene ab used by. For when he imagineth another rule off conversation / and leading of life of a Christian / then that which hath been given: he might have justly suspected the sentence: seeing the rule off conversation / comprehended in the commandments / is unchangeable. And when he addeth / that that should be done by the grace off God / receiving increase daily unto the end: he did not obscurely touch / the head off his error / which is / that there shall be still unto the worlds end / greater graces off the spirit off God given to the church generally / then hath been before in the Apostles times. Whereby appeareth / that the places which the A. will have the reader lay so fast hold of / are thorns not to be once touched