free and safe frō the Citation of this most reuerent Bull. O ye miserable verlettes, which are so confounded with the truth & with your own conscience, that neither ye can lie handsomly, neither dare ye speake the truth, & yet neither cā ye so kepe your selues quiet, to your perpetual ignomie and confusion.

Furthermore, here in this Bull is brought in a straūge fashion of stile, not heard of before. For where Augustine would haue sayd, þ^t he would not beleue þ^e Gospel, except he had ben moued by þ^e authority of þ^e church, now cōmeth in this goodly Bull, & maketh this catholicke church to be a few reuerent Cardinals hys brethren, and Priours of regular orders, Maisters of Diuinitie and Doctours of the law, out of whose counsell the sayd Bull boasteth her self to be borne and brought forth, a blessed Babe (for sooth) of such an vniuersall Church. MarginaliaA new vniuersall Church of the Popes making.O happie trauell (no doubt) of thys catholicke Church, neuer seene nor heard of before, and such as Augustine the valiant impugner of sectes, if he did see, would not doubt to call it the Sinagoge of the Deuill. See therfore the madnes of these Papistes. The vniuersall Church is a few Cardinals, Priours, and Doctours, scarcely perhaps twentye persons in all, when also it is possible enough that neuer one of them all is the member of one Chappell or Altar. And where as the Church is the communion of Saintes, as we say in our Creede, out of this communion of saintes, that is, MarginaliaThe vniuersall Church bound to xx. persons.out of this vniuersall Church, all they then must needes be excluded, who so euer be not in the number of these twentie persons: and so what so euer these holy men do thinke or iudge, by and by the vniuersall Church must needes hold and beleue the same, albeit they be lyers, heretickes, and Antichristes, thinking and iudging nothing but that which is abominable.

Would there euer any man thinke such doltishnes & madnes to be in Rome? Is there anye brayne in these mens heades thinke ye, or hart in their bodies? MarginaliaWhat Austine calleth the vniuersall Church.Austine speaketh of the church dispersed through þ^e whole world, confessing the Gospel with one consent. MarginaliaNo vniuersall catholicke boke, but onely the Scripture.Neither would God that any booke els should bee receiued wyth such a consent of the whole world as the holy scripture (as the sayd Augustine in hys confessions affirmeth) lest by the receauing of other bookes, schismes might take occasion to ryse, according as the wicked Sea of Rome hath long sought by her decrees, & hath, for a great parte, brought þ^e same to passe already. But yet the vniuersal church dyd neuer agree therto. For in the East, West, & South there haue bene Christians, which beyng content onely wyth the Gospell, haue not regarded how Rome hath gone about of a particuler church, to make her selfe a vniuersal church, and accuseth other churches as schismaticall, whē as she hath cut of her selfe from the vniuersall Churche, and stryueth in vayne to drawe the whole vniuersall Churche to her, being the mother and fountayne of all schismes, and all by the meanes of thys tyranny.

MarginaliaThe catholicke church, and the church of Rome, are two thynges.Let no man therefore euer thinke that thys true Catholike church aforesayd, wyll beleue or mayntaine those things whych thys detestable Bull here pratleth, when as neyther that whych is the very true church of Rome, in deede doth her selfe so thinke, neyther taketh that by and by to be Catholicke, what soeuer is knowen to procede from the Church of Rome. For as I sayd, there is no boke which shall be called catholike hereafter, as neyther it hath bene heretofore, besides only the holy scripture. For the church of Rome it may suffice to glory her self to be a little parcell or peece of the vniuersall church, and so let her vexe her self onely wyth her own decrees.

Neither let anye man thinke thys to bee the Bull of þ^e catholike church, but rather to procede out of the Court of Rome. For such wysdome and religion may wel beseme that Seate of Sathan, whych seeketh to be counted for the whole vniuersall Church, and obtrudeth her foolishe and wicked Bulles most arrogantly and vaynly to the whole world in þ^e stede of sincere catholicke doctrine. MarginaliaThe pride and presumption of the Church of Rome.Whose pride and presumption hath growne so farre, that she trusting vpon her own power, without all learning and holynes of lyfe, taketh vpon her to prescribe lawes to all men of all their doinges and sayinges, MarginaliaDominion and power maketh not the church.as though for dominion only and loftines of spirite, she were to be counted the house and church of Christ, where as by thys meanes Sathan also the Prince of þ^e world, or the Turk might be counted the church of Christ. Agayne, neither the Monarchies of the Gentiles cā abide mighty Princes to raygne ouer them without wysdome and goodnes. Marginalia1. Cor. 2.Furthermore, in the church the spirituall man onely iudgeth all thinges, and is iudged of no man, and not the Pope alone or the court of Rome, vnlesse they bee spirituall.

But agaynst all this their rash presumption, I boldly set the inuincible Champion of the church saint Paule, who 1. Cor. 14. sayth: If any thyng bee reueiled to an other that sitteth by, let the first man holde hys peace. Marginalia1. Cor. 14.Here haue ye playnly that the Pope or any other Elder, what soeuer he be, ought to keepe silence, if anye thing be reueiled to other in the church, that is inferiour. I therfore vpon this authoritie cōtemnyng the presumptuous procedyng of this swellyng Bull, do confidently take vpon me to defend the Articles, caryng nothyng for the bare cōdemnation of any person, yea of þ^e Pope him selfe with hys whole Churche, vnlesse hee shall enforme me by the Scriptures. Wherof the first Article is this.

MarginaliaThe first article.It is an hereticall sentence and also common to say, that Sacramentes of the new lawe do giue grace to them, which haue no obstacle in them selues to the contrary.

MarginaliaAunswere of M. Luther to the first sentence.I acknowledge this Article to be myne, and I aske of you, good Maisters Respectiuistes, whiche make these Articles respectiuely, some to be hereticall, some erroneous, some sclaūderous. &c. whether respecteth this Article I pray you? To heresie, to errour, to sclaūder & offence? Or els whether respected you in condemnyng the same? To the holy Scripture? to the holy fathers? to fayth? to the Churche? To which of these I beseche you tell me. Neither do I here put you to the labour of prouyng, but onely require you to shewe your iudgement, what you thinke, that I may know wherein I say amysse. Will you that I should tell you (you babyshe infantes and noddies) whether this Article respecteth? I will. MarginaliaTwo respectes noted in thys Article.This Article hath ij. respectes. Whereof the one respecteth the Papistas the condemners hereof, amongest whom it respecteth some to be mules, some to be horses, which haue no vnderstandyng & be voyde of all sense, and yet notwithstandyng they will nedes condemne all thinges. An other respect it hath to the holy Scripture, whiche sayth Rom. 14. VVhat so euer is not of fayth is sinne. MarginaliaRom. 14.Wherupon consequētly it foloweth that the Sacramentes of the new lawe can giue no grace to the vnbeleuers (forsomuch as the sinne of infidelitie is the greatest obstacle) but onely to the beleuers. For onely fayth putteth no obstacle: all other thynges be obstacles, although they put not the same obstacles which the Sophisters vnderstād, meanyng onely of the actuall purpose of externall sinne. MarginaliaThe obstacle letting Sacramētes to geue grace, is the actuall purpose of sinning, say the Papistes. The onely obstacle letting Sacramentes to geue grace, is vnbeliefe, sayed Luther, speakyng after hys tyme. But the truth is, that Sacramētes neyther with obstacle nor without obstacle, do geue grace to the beleuers or vnbeleuers, but onely do signifie grace geuen by Christ.I confesse therfore this Article not onely to be myne, but also to be the Article of the Catholicke and Christian veritie: and the Bull whiche confesseth the same, to bee twise hereticall, impious, and blasphemous, with all them whiche folow the same,. Who litle regardyng the sinne of incredulitie, foolishely and madly do hold that the obstacle is taken away if a man ceasse from synnyng, although the vnbeleuer can thinke no good thyng. But these thynges I haue discussed more at large in my bookes, and will more discusse if these pratyng Romanistes dare at any tyme proue their opinion and confute myne.

To denye that sinne remayneth in a child after his Baptisme, is as much as to treade downe Christ and Paul together vnder foote.

MarginaliaAunswere of M. Luther to the second Article.I would also require of them to shewe the cause why this Article is condēned, if they were not so blynded in their phātasticall respectes, that they are not hable to perceyue why they would haue this Article cōdemned. And yet I can not tell whether it be hereticall or els erroneous. And no maruell, when as the condemners them selues can not tell me. I holde therefore this Article also by the Apostle: Roman. 7. I my selfe in my mynde do serue the lavve of God, and in my fleshe the lavv of sinne. MarginaliaRom. 7.Here the Apostle confesseth playnly of hym self that in his flesh he serueth sinne. And also. 1. Cor. 1. Christ is made to vs of God our righteousnes, our vvisedome, sanctification & redemption. Marginalia1. Cor. 1.And how thē doth he sancitifie them that be sāctified already, vnlesse it be as the Apocalyps saith: He that is holy, let hym be holy stille? MarginaliaApoc. 22.To be sanctified, is as much as to be purged from sinne. But what haue these our respectiuistes to do with the Apostle Paul, seyng they are the whole vniuersall Church, by whose authoritie Paule either standeth or falleth, beyng but a member onely and a parte of the Church. The Lorde rebuke thee Sathan and these thy Sathanicall Papistes.

MarginaliaThe 3. Article.The originall roote of sinne, although no actuall sinne doe