A vindication of the Animadversions on Fiat lux

the body of the Church having only a name to live, being truly and really dead, as to any acts of Spiritual life, wherein our Communion with God consists. And do you make it so strange, that whereas the Churches that were planted and watered by the Apostles themselves and enriched with many excellent Gifts and Graces, should within the space of less then forty years, by the Testimony of the Lord Christ himself, so decay and fall off from their first purity, faith and works, that other Churches who had not their advantages, should do so within the space of four hundred years, of which season I speak? I fear your vain conceit of being rich and wanting nothing, of Infallibility and impossibility to stand in need of any Reformation, of being as good as ever any Church was, or as you need to be, is that which hath more prejudiced your Church in particular then you can readily imagine. And what I affirmed of those other Churches, I know well enough how to prove out of the best and most approved Authors of those days. If besides Historians which give sufficient Testimony unto my observation, you will please to consult, Chrysostome Hom. 3. de Incomprehens. Dei natur. Hom. 19. in Ac. 9. Hom. 15. in Heb. 8. and Augùstin. lib. de Fid. & bon. op. cap. 19. you will find that I had good ground for what I said. And what if I had minded you of the words of Salvian ⟨p. 432⟩de provid. lib. 3. Quemcunque invenies in Ecclesia non aut •briosum, aut adulternus, aut fornicatorem, aut raptorem, aut ganeonem, aut latronem, aut homicidam, & quod omnibus potius est, prope haec cuncta sine fine? Should I have escaped your censure of giving you a story false and defamatory, loaden with foul language against all Nations, ages and conditions, that none can like who bear any respect either to modesty, Religion or Truth: ne saevi magne Sacerdos. What ground have you for this intemperate railing? What instance can you give of any thing of this nature? What expression giving countenance unto this severity? If you will exercise your self in writing Fiats, you must of necessity arm your self with a little patience to hear sometimes things that do not please you, and not presently cry out, defamations, false, wrath, foul language, &c.

the body of the Church having only a name to live, being truly and really dead, as to any acts of Spiritual life, wherein our Communion with God consists. And do you make it so strange, that whereas the Churches that were planted and watered by the Apostles themselves and enriched with many excellent Gifts and Graces, should within the space of less then forty years, by the Testimony of the Lord Christ himself, so decay and fall off from their first purity, faith and works, that other Churches who had not their advantages, should do so within the space of four hundred years, of which season I speak? I fear your vain conceit of being rich and wanting nothing, of Infallibility and impossibility to stand in need of any Reformation, of being as good as ever any Church was, or as you need to be, is that which hath more prejudiced your Church in particular then you can readily imagine. And what I affirmed of those other Churches, I know well enough how to prove out of the best and most approved Authors of those dayes. If besides Historians which give sufficient Testimony unto my observation, you will please to consult, Chrysostome Hom. 3. de Incomprehens. Dei natur. Hom. 19. in Ac. 9. Hom. 15. in