A treatise of liturgies, power of the keys, and of matter of the visible…A treatise of liturgies, power of the keyes, and of matter of the visible…

And seeing our Brethren otherwise minded make much use of similes in this dispute: we hope it will not be amiss for us to illustrate what we say by a similitude, partly to make our conceivings the more plain to all whose edification we seek; and partly, to discover the invalidity of many discourses of this nature; and because similia arguunt fidemque faciunt, (as he saith) viz. so far as rightly applied) we will therefore propound it in way of argument. The similitude is this, genus humanum, or mankind in general is the subject of Civill government in general, and of all the privileges thereof, as the object and the end: and let the question be, whether this Catholic number of all mankind is the first subject of all power of Civill government, and the privileges thereof; and if so, whether such consequences will follow as our Brethren deduce from the unity, visibility, and priority of the Catholic Church. Now we reduce what we intend into an Argument, thus: If all that can be said from Scripture and Reason concerning the unity, visibility, and priority of the Catholic Church, may as truly be affirmed upon like grounds of the Catholic body of mankind, then à p•ri it will follow that there is no more one Catholic visible instituted totum, that is the first subject of Church power and privileges in the actual exercise and enjoyment of the same, then that there is such a Catholic body of mankind that is the first subject o• Civill power, &c. and that actually doth or ought to govern and be governed as one Catholic body in communion: but it will appear from Scripture and Reason, that the same things may be said of mankind¹ that can be said of the other; Ergo,

And seeing our Brethren otherwise minded make much use of similies in this dispute: we hope it will not be amisse for us to illustrate what we say by a similitude, partly to make our conceivings the more plain to all whose edification we seek; and partly, to discover the invalidity of many discourses of this nature; and because similia arguunt fidemque faciunt, (as he saith) viz. so far as rightly applyed) we will therefore propound it in way of argument. The similitude is this, genus humanum, or mankinde in generall is the subject of Civill government in generall, and of all the priviledges thereof, as the object and the end: and let the question be, whether this Catholick number of all mankinde is the first subject of all power of Civill government, and the priviledges thereof; and if so, whether such consequences will follow as our Brethren deduce from the unity, visibility, and priority of the Catholich Church. Now we reduce what we intend into an Argument, thus: If all that can be said from Scripture and Reason concerning the unity, visibility, and priority of the Catholick Church, may as truly be affirmed upon like grounds of the Catholick body of mankinde, then à pri it will follow that there is no more one Catholick visible instituted totum, that is the first subject of Church power and priviledges in the actuall exercise and enjoyment of the same, then that there is such a Catholick body of mankinde that is the first subject o Civill power, &c. and that actually doth or ought to govern and be governed as one Catholick body in communion: but it will appear from Scripture and Reason, that the same things may be said of mankind