XI. A Letter of King Henry's to Tonstall, Bishop of Duresme, against Auricular Confession being of Divine Institution. An Original. (Cott. Libr. Cleop. E. 5.) SINCE me thought (my Lord of Durham) that both the Bishops of York, Winchester, and your Reasons and Texts were so fully answered this other day, in the House, as to my seeming and supposal, the most of the House was satisfied; marvelled not a little why eft-soons you have sent to me this now your writing, being in a manner few other Texts or Reasons than there were declared both by the Bishop of Canterbury and me, to make smally or nothing to your intended purpose: but either I esteem that you do it to prove my simple judgment alone, which indeed doth not much use (tho not the wisest) to call in aid the judgments of other learned men, and so by mine ignorant answer, seem to win the Field; or else that you be too much blinded in your own fansy and judgment, to think that a Truth, which by learning you have not yet proved, nor I fear me cannot by Scriptures, nor any other Directors probable grounds, though I know mine unsufficiency in learning, if the matter were indifferent, and that the ballance stood equal, since I take the verity of the Cause rather to favorize the part I take than yours; it giveth me therefore great boldness, not presuming in Learning, but in justness of the Cause, seeing by writing you have provoked me to it, to make answer to your Arguments: Therefore I, beginning now to reply to your first Allegation, shall essay to prove, if I can, that your own Author in place by you alledged, maketh plain against your Opinion; for as you alledg him, St. Chrysostom saith, Quod sufficit solus pudor pro pana, then Auricular Confession is not by commandment necessary; for if it were, this word (Solus) is by your Author ill set; therefore your Author in this place furdereth you but little. To your Fallax Argument, I deny your consequent, founded only upon small Reason, which is the ground of your Fallax Argument: which Reason I need not take away, for your alledged Author doth shew too plainly, in his 5 Homily, Tom. 5. that you gather wrong sense upon his words; for he saith, with much more touching this matter, these few words, Non hominibus peccata detegere cogo; then this other Text before rehearsed, is not to be understood as you will by writing it. Further, me thinketh, I need not (God thank you) too greatly study for Authors to conclude your wrong taking of Texts, for those your self alledg serveth me well to purpose: for all your labour is to prove that Auricular Confession were by God commanded, and both your Authorities of Bede and Paul, sheweth nothing but that they did confess their sins, and yet do not they affirm that it was by commandment; wherefore they make for mine Argument and not for yours. Your other Texts of John 21, and Matthew 10, were so thoroughly answered this other day, and so manifestly declared not to appertain to our grounded Argument, that I marvel you be not ashamed eft-soons to put them in writing, and to found your Argument now so fondly on them; for what fonder Argument can be made to prove therby a necessity of Confession, than to say, If you confess not, I cannot forgive? Would a Thief which committeth Felony, think himself obliged by the Law to disclose his Felony, if the Law say no more, but if thou confess not I cannot forgive thee? or would theft the sooner therefore be forgiven? This is matter so apparent, that none can but perceive except he would not see. As touching Origens places by you alledged; as the first, in Leviticum, sheweth that we be as much bound lavare stratum lacrimis, as dicere Sacerdoti, which no man, I think, will affirm that we be bound to do; and yet he affirmeth not that any of them is commanded: the Text also whereby ye would approve his so saying, doth not yet speak quod pronunciabo justitiam meam Sacerdoti, but Domino: The other of James seemeth better to make for extream Unction, than for Confession; for when was ever the use, that Folk coming only to Confession, were wont to be anointed with Oil, therefore this makes nothing to your Argument. As touching Origen in Psal. 37, he saith not, quod obligamur dicere Sacerdoti, but si confiteantur; and seemeth rather to perswade Men that they should not parvi pendere Confessionem, (as all good Folk would) than that they were obliged to confess them to a Priest. Though Cyprian de Lapsis, doth praise them which do confess their Faults to priests, yet doth he confess that we be not bound to do so; for he saith in the highest of his praise these words, " How much be they then higher in Faith, and better in fear of God, which though they be not bound by any deed of Sacrifice, or Book, yet be they content sorrowfully to confess to the Priest sins!" He knowledgeth no bond in us by neither fact of Sacrifice or Libel, why alledg you (tho he praise Auricular Confession) that we should be bound by God and Law thereto? This is no proof thereof, neither by Reason nor by Scripture, nor any good Authority. And whereas he saith fur ther, Confiteantur singuli, quæso vos fratres, delictum suum; this doth not argue a precept: nor yet the saying of Esay, cap. 43. secundum Septuaginta; nor Solomon in the Proverbs 10, for these speak rather of knowledging our Offence to God in our Heart, than of Auricular Confession; after David the Prophets saying and teaching, when he said, Tibi soli peccavi, that was not to a Priest. By the text also which you alledg, beginning, circa personas vero ministrorum, &c. you do openly confess that the Church hath not accepted Auricular Confession to be by God's Commandment; or else by your saying and Allegation, they have long erred: for you confess that the Church hath divers times changed both to whom Confession should be made, and times when; and that also they have changed divers ways for divers Regions; if it were by God's Commandment they might not do thus: Wherefore, my Lord, since I hear no other Allegations, I pray you blame not me tho I be not of your Opinion; and of the both, I think that I have more cause to think you obstinate, than you me, seeing your Authors and Allegations make so little to your purpose. And thus fare you well. XII. A Definition of the Church, corrected in the Margin by King Henry's own hand. An Original. (Cotton. Lib. Cleop. E. 5.) De Ecclesia. ECCLESIA præter alias acceptiones in Scripturis duas habet præcipuas: Unam, qua Ecclesia accipitur pro Congregatione Sanctorum et vere fidelium qui Christo capiti vere credunt, et sanctificantur Spiritu ejus hæc autem una est, et vere Sanctum Corpus Christi sed Soli Deo* cognitum, qui hominum corda solus intuetur. Altera acceptio est, qua Ecclesia accipitur pro Congregatione omnium Hominum qui baptizati sunt in Christo, et non palam abnegarint Christum, nec sunt excommunicati: quæ Ecclesiæ acceptio congruit ejus Statui in hac vita duntaxat, ubi habet malos bonis simul admixtos, § et debet esse cognita per Verbum et legitimum usum Sacramentorum ut possit audiri; + Juste. *Sponsa Christi cognita. + Aut obstinati. Et cognitio hujus Ecclesiæ pervenit per usum Verbi et Sacramentorum, acceptione, perfecta, unitate, ac unanimi consensu acceptata. sicut docet Christus, Qui Ecclesiam non audierit. Porro ad veram unitatem Ecclesiæ, requiritur ut sit consensus in recta Doctrina Fidei et administratione Sacramentorum. Traditiones vero et ritus atq; Cæremoniæ quæ vel ad decorem, vel ordinem, vel Disciplinam Ecclesiæ ab hominibus sunt institutæ, non omnino necesse est, ut eadem sint ubiq; aut prorsus similes: hæ enim et variæ fuere et variari possunt pro regionum atq; morum diversitate et commodo,t sic tamen ut sint consentientes Verbo Dei : et quamvis in Ecclesia secundum posteriorem acceptionem mali sint bonis admixti, atq; etiam Ministeriis Verbi et Sacramentorum nonnunquam præsint, tamen cum ministrent non suo sed Christi nomine, mandato et authoritate, licet eorum ministerio uti tam in verbo audiendo quam recipiendis Sacramentis, juxta illud, Qui vos audit me audit; nec per eorum malitiam imminuitur effectus aut gratia donorum Christi rite accipientibus, sunt enim efficacia propter promissionem et ordinationem Christi etiamsi per malos exhibeantur. * Modo rectoribus placeant quibus semper obtemperandum est, tamen ut eorum institutio atq; Lex Verbo Dei non adversetur. + Ista est Ecclesia nostra Catholica et Apostolica, cum qua nec Pontifex Romanus, nec quivis aliquis Prælatus aut Pontifex, habet quicquid agere præterquam in suas Dioceses. END OF THE ADDENDA. A TABLE OF THE RECORDS AND PAPERS THAT ARE IN THE COLLECTION, With which the Places in the History to which they relate are BOOK I. 1. THE record of Cardinal Adrian's oath of fide- lity to King Henry VII, for the Bishop- ...... BOOK II. 1. The bull for the King's marriage with Queen 124 |