gaynst her, she tooke away euen his naturall eloquence from him. MarginaliaNote what it is a man to labour agaynst his knowledge.Notwithstandyng Panormitane and the Byshop of Burgen, shewed this example of modestie, that albeit they would not confesse or graunt the last conclusions to be verities of fayth: yet they would not that any man should folow or leaue vnto their opinion, whiche were but meane diuines, but rather vnto the opiniōs of the diuines. But the kyng of Aragons Amner, beyng a subtill and crafty man, did not directly dispute vpon the conclusions: but picking out here and there certaine argumentes, sought to let and hinder the Coūcell. Against whom an Abbote of Skotland, a man of an excellent wit disputed very much: and Thomas de Corcellis a famous diuine, alledged much agaynst him out of the decrees of the sacred Councell, and with a certaine modest shamefastnes, alwayes beholdyng the ground, did very largely dispute in the defence of the conclusions. MarginaliaThe conclusions of the disputation.But now to auoide tediousnes, I wil onely procede to declare argumentes, wherby the conclusions were ratified and confirmed: not mindyng to intreat of the. v. last conclusiōs, whiche concerne the person of Eugenius, but onely vpon the thre first, whereunto I will adioyne certeine probable argumentes gathered out of the disputation of the fathers. MarginaliaThe first conclusion.In the first conclusion is the greatest force, and first to be discussed: touchyng the whiche, ij. thinges are to bee required, and examined. The one whether the generall Councell haue authoritie ouer the Pope. The other, whether the catholicke faith commaundeth it to be beleued. As touching that the Pope is subiecte to the generall Councell, it is excellentlye well proued by the reason before alledged by the Byshop of Burgen. For the Pope is in the churche, as a kyng in his kyngdome: MarginaliaA kyng is not of more autoritie then is his kingdome.and for a kyng to be of more authoritie then hys kyngdome, it were to absurde: Ergo neyther ought the Pope to be aboue the Church. For like as oftentymes, kinges whiche doe wickedlye gouerne the common wealth, and exercise cruelty, are depriued of their kyngdome, euen so it is not to be doubted, but that the Byshops of Rome may be deposed by the Churche, that is to say, by the generall Councels. Neither doo I herein allow them which attribute so ample & large authoritie vnto kyngs, þ^t they will not haue thē bound vnder any lawes: For such as so do say, be but flatterers, MarginaliaThese kind of flatterers came nowe in our dayes.whiche do talke otherwise then they thincke. For albeit þ^t they doe say þ^t the moderation of the lawe is alway in the princes power: that do I thus vnderstand, that when as reason shall perswade, hee ought to digresse from the rigour of the law: MarginaliaWhat a king is.for he is called a kyng, whiche careth and prouideth for the common wealth: taketh pleasure in the commoditie and profite of the subiectes, and in all his doings hath respect to the commoditie of those, ouer whom he ruleth: which, if he do not, he is not to be counted a kyng but a tyraunt, whose propertie it is onely to seeke his owne profite: for in this point a kyng differeth from a tyraunt that the one seketh the commoditie and profite of those whom he ruleth, and the other onely his own. The which to make more manifest, the cause is also to be alledged, wherfore kinges were ordeined. At the begynnyng (as Cicero in hys offices sayth) it is certaine, that there was a certaine time whē as the people liued w^tout kynges. MarginaliaThe institution of kynges.But afterward when landes & possessions began to be deuided accordyng to þ^e custome of euery nation, then were kynges ordeyned for no other cause, but only to exercise iustice. For whē as at the beginning, þ^e cōmon people were oppressed by rich & mighty men, they ran by & by to some good & vertuous man, which should defend þ^e poore frō iniurie, & ordeine lawes wherby the riche and poore might dwell together. But when as yet vnder the rule of kinges, the poore were oftentymes oppressed, lawes were ordeined and instituted the whiche should iudge neither for hatred nor fauour, and geue like eare vnto the poore as vnto the rich: wherby we doo vnderstand and knowe, not onely the people, but also the kyng to be subiect to the lawes. For if we do see a kyng to contempne and despise the lawes, violently robbe and spoyle his subiectes, deflowre virgines, dishonest matrones, and do all thinges licenciously and temerariously: do not the nobles of the kyngdome assemble together, deposing him from his kyngdome, set vp an other in his place, whiche shall sweare to rule and gouerne vprightly and be obedient vnto the lawes? Verely as reason doth perswade, euen so doth the vse therof also teach vs. It semeth also agreable vnto reason that þ^e same should be done in the churche, that is to say, in the Councell, whiche is done in any kyngdome. MarginaliaThe pope ought to be subiect vnto the councell.And so is this sufficiently apparant which we haue before sayd, þ^t the Pope is subiect vnto the Councell. But now to passe vnto the argumentes of diuinitie, the foundation of the matter whiche we do intreate vpon, are the woordes of our Sauiour Iesu Christ in diuers places, but specially where as hee speaketh vnto Peter: Tu es Petrus & super hanc petram edificabo ecclesiam meam, & portæ inferi nō præualebunt aduersus eam. i. Thou art Peter and vppon this rocke will I builde my Churche, & the gates of hell shall not preuaile agaynst it. MarginaliaThys place Tu es Petrus &c. expoūded.Vpon whiche wordes it semeth good to begyn thys disputation, for so much as some were wont to alledge these woordes to extolle the authoritie of the bishop of Rome. But (as it shal by and by appeare) the wordes of Christ had an other sense and meanyng then diuers of them do thinke, for he saith: and the gates of hell shal not preuaile against it. Verely this is a great promes, and these wordes of the Lord are of great importance. For what greater worde could there haue bene spoken, then that the gates of hell should not preuayle agaynst the church? MarginaliaSinnes are the gates of hell.These gates of hell, as S. Hierome sayth, do signifie sinnes. Wherfore if sinnes cā not preuaile agaynst the Churche, neither can any maligne spirites preuayle agaynst the same, whiche haue no power at all ouer mankynd, but only thorow sinne. And for that cause, where as it is said in Iob, that there is no power vpon the earth þ^t may be cōpared vnto the power of the maligne spirite, wherby it followeth þ^t the power of the Churche is aboue all other power. MarginaliaAgaynst the papistes opiniō that the pope can not erre.Wee may also vpon the same saying, reason after an other sorte: for somuch as þ^e gates of hell, that is to say, sinnes can not preuaile agaynst the churche, the Churche therby is declared to be without sinne: the which can not be spoken of the Pope which is a mortall man, for somuch as it is written, seuen tymes in the day the iust mā doth offende. If the churche be without spot because it cā not be defiled with sinne, who is it that will preferre a sinnefull mā, before an vndefiled church? Neither let vs geue eare vnto those whiche will not referre these wordes of Christ vnto the churche, where as he sayth: Oraui pro te Petre, vt non deficiat fides tua. MarginaliaThe interpretatiō of thys place, Oraui pro te Petre, is ment of the church.That is to saye, Peter I haue prayed for thee, that thy faith should not faile, thee. For as S. Augustine saith in the exposition of the Psalmes, certaine thynges are spoken as though they semed properly to pertayne vnto the Apostle Peter, notwithstandyng, they haue no euident sense but when they are referred vnto the Churche, the person wherof he is vnderstanded figuratiuely to represent. Whereupon in an other place in the questions of the new and olde Testament, vpon these woordes: Rogaui pro te Petre, I haue prayed for thee Peter: What is doubted? Dyd he praye for Peter, and did he not praye for Iames and Iohn, beside the rest? It is manifest that vnder þ^e name of Peter, all other are conteyned. For in an other place of S. Iohn he saith: I pray for them, whom thou hast geuen me, and I will that wheresoeuer I am, they shall be also with me. Wherupō we do oftentymes by the name of Peter vnderstand the churche, whiche we do nothing at all doubte to be done in this place: otherwise the truth could not consiste, for somuch as within a while after,