Marcellus likewise was vrged of Maxentius to renounce his bishoprick & religion,MarginaliaEuseb. in Chro. & to sacrifice with them to idols. which when he constantly refused, was beaten with cudgels, and so expelled the city. Then he entring into þ^e house of Lucina a widow, assembled there the cōgregation, which when it came to the eares of Maxentius the tiraunt, he turned the house of Lucina into a stable, and made Marcellus the keeper of the beasts, and so with the stinch thereof and miserable handling was put to death. Eusebius late byshop of Rome, as Euseb. in Chron. saith. 7. monethes: Marianus Scotus saith 8. months. Damasus affirmeth 6. yeares, SabellicusMarginaliaAuthors different. Ex Sabel. Enead. 7. Lib. 8. alledgeth certaine authors that say, that he was slayne by Maximinianus: but correcteth that himselfe, affirming that Maximinianus died before him.

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Miltiades by the testimony of Platina, and other that follow him sat 3. yeares, & 7. moneths, & suffred vnder Maximinianus. But that semeth not to be true, as both Sabellicus doth rightly note,MarginaliaSabel. ibid. affirming that the same cannot stand by the supputation of time: Forasmuch as the saide Galerius Maximinus raigned but 2. yeares, and died before Miltiades. MarginaliaA place of Platina confuted.Also Eusebius manifestly expresseth the example of a letter of Constantine written to this Miltiades Byshop of Rome, playnely conuicting that to bee false, which Platina affirmeth.

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MarginaliaThe order and proceeding described in iudgement agaynst the Bishop of Rome.In the booke collected of general councels among the decretal epistles, there is a long tractation about þ^e iudgement and condemnation of Marcellinus: wherof the Maysters & Patrones of popery, in these our daies, take great hold to proue the supremacy of the pope to be aboue al generall councels, and that he ought not to be subiect to the condemnation of any person or persons, for that there is written: Nemo vnquam iudicauit Pontificem, nec Præsul sacerdotem suum, quoniam prima sedes non iudicabitur a quoquā. &c.  

MarginaliaAn obiection of the Papistes answered vnto. Although this sentence of Miltiades seemeth apparantly to be patched in, rather by some Heldibrandus, then by Miltiades: both for that it hangeth with little order of sense, vpon that which goeth before: & againe bicause that prima sedes here mentioned, was not yet ordained nor attributed to the sea of Rome before the councell of Nice, where the order and placing of byshops was first established. But to let this sentence passe, yet notwithstanding the circūstance & proceding of this iudgement, if it be rightly weyed, maketh very little to the purpose of these men. Neither is it true that the bishops of this councell of Sinuesse, did not condemne Marcellinus: for the wordes of the councell bee plaine. Subscripserunt igitur in eius damnationem & damnauerunt eum extra ciuitatem. That is: they subscribed therfore to his comdemnation, and condemned him to be expelled out of the citie. Moreouer by þ^e sayd councell were brought in, the 42. witnesses against Marcellinus. In the saide councell the verdit of the same witnesses was demaunded and also receiued. Furthermore, Quirinus there, one of the Byshops openly protested, that he would not depart þ^e councell, before the malice of the bishops were reuealed: what doth al this declare, but that the bishop of Rome was called there, and did appeare before the iudgement seat of the Councell,MarginaliaThe Byshop of Rome cyted vp and appeareth before the councell. and there stoode subiecte to their sentence & authoritie, by the which he was expelled out of the City? As for the wordes of the councell, whereupon our Papistes stand so much. Non enim nostro, sed tuo ipsius iudicio cōdemnaberis, &c. Item: Tuo ore iudica causam tuā. &c.   These words import not here the authority of the Romane bishop to be aboue the councel, neither do they declare what the councell could not do, but what they would and wished rather to be done, that is, that he should rather acknowledge his crime before God & them, with a voluntary yelding of his hart, then that the confession of such an hainous fact should be extorted from him through their condemnatiō: for that they saw to be expedient for hys soules health. Otherwise their cōdemnation should serue him to smal purpose. And so it came to passe. For he being vrged of thē to condemne himselfe, so did: prostrating himselfe and weeping before them. MarginaliaThe Byshop of Rome condemned by the Councell.Wherupon immediatly they proceded to the sentēce against him, condemning & pronouncing him to be expelled the city. Now whether by this may be gathered, that þ^e Byshop of Rome ought not to be cited, accused, and condemned by any person or persons, let the indifferent Reader iudge simply.

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MarginaliaThe decretall Epistles and constitutions of these Byshops of Rome examined. The chief scope of the constitutions decretall, to magnifie the Church of Rome.As touching þ^e decretal epistles, which be intituled vnder the name of these foresaide bishops: who so well aduiseth them, and with iudgement will examine the stile, the time, the argument the hanging togither of the matter, & the constitutions in them contained (little seruing to anye purpose, and nothing seruing for those troublous dayes then present) may easely discerne them: either in no part to be theirs, or much of the same to be clouted and patched by the doings of other, which liued in other times: speciallyeseing al the constitutions in them for the most part tend to the setting vp and to exalt the sea of Rome aboue al other, Bishops and churches, and to reduce all causes & appeals to the said sea of Rome. MarginaliaThe Epistle of Caius. A great part of the Epistle of Caius, taken out of the Epistle of Leo, to Leo the Emperour.So the epistle of Caius beginnyng with the commendation of the authoritie of his sea, endeth after the same tenor, willing and cōmaunding all difficult questions in al prouinces whatsoeuer emerging, to be referred to the sea Apostolicall. Moreouer, the greatest part of the said epistle from this place. Quicunque illi sunt ita obcæcati. &c.  

to the ende of this periode: Quoniam sicut ait. B. Apostolus Magnum est pietatis. &c. is conteyned in the epistle of Leo, vnto Leo the Emperour: & so rightly agreeth in al poynts with the stile of Leo, that euidēt it is the same to be borrowed out of Leo, out of the epistle of Caius, or to bee patched into the epistle of Caius taken out of Leo.

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MarginaliaThe Epistle of Marcellinus.Likewise the epistle of Marcellinus to get more authoritie with þ^e reader, is admixed with a great part of S. Paules epistle to the ephesians, worde, for worde. And howe is it like that Marcellinus which died in the 20. yeare of Dioclesian coulde write of consubstantialitie of the diuine persons, when that controuersie and terme of Consubstantialitie, was not heard of in the Church, before Nicene councell, which was 23. yeares after him? MarginaliaThe epistles decretall of Marcellus.But especially the two epistles of Marcellus bewray themselues, so that for the confuting therof needeth no other probation, more then onely the reading of the same. Such a glorious stile of ambition therein doth appeere, as it is easie to be vnderstoode, not to proceede either frō such an humble Martir, or to sauour any thing of the misery of such a time. His wordes of hys first epistle written to the brethren of Antioche and alleaged in the popes decrees by Gratianus are these:Marginalia24. q. 1. Rogamus vos fratres.

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We desire you brethren that ye doe not teach nor conceiue any other thing, but as yee haue receiued of the blessed Apostle S. Peter, and of the other Apostles and fathers. For of him ye were first of all instructed. wherefore you must not forsake your owne father and followe others. For hee is the head of the whole Church to whom the Lord sayd: Thou art Peter and vpon this rocke I will build my church. &c. whose seate was first with you in Antioche: which afterward by the commaundement of the Lord was trāslated frō thence to Rome,MarginaliaIn what chapter or leafe in all the Byble doth the Lord commaund the sea of Peter to be translated from Antioche to Rome. of the which church of Rome I am this day placed (by the grace of god) to be the gouernour. Frō the which church of Rome, neither ought you to separate your selues, seeing to the same church all maner causes ecclesiasticall, being of any importance (Gods grace so disposing) are commonded to be referred: by the same to be ordered regularly, from whence they tooke their first beginning. &c. And followeth consequently vpon the same. And if your Church of Antioche, which was once the 1. wil now yeld her self vnto the sea of Rome, ther is no other Church els, which will not subiect it selfe to our domonion:MarginaliaThe church of Rome sueth to the Church of Antioche to yeld vnto her. to whom all other Byshops, who so euer listeth, and as they must needes do (according to the decrees of the Apostles and of their successors) ought to flee vnto, as to their head, and must appeale to the same, there to haue their redresse, and their protection from whence they tooke their first instruction and consecration. &c.

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Whether this be like matter to proceed from the spirit of Marcellus that blessed martyr, in those so dreadfull dayes, I say no more, but onely desire thee (gētle reader) to iudge.

MarginaliaThe second Epistle of Marcellus written to Maxentius.In hys second Epistle moreouer, the sayd Marcellus, writing to Maxentius, the bloudy tyraunt, first reprehendeth him for his crueltie, sharpely admonishing him howe & what to do: to learne and seeke the true religion of God, to mayntayne hys Churche, to honor and reuerence the Priestes of God, and specially exhorteth him to charitie, and that he would cease from persecution. &c. All this is possible, and like to be true: but now marke (good reader) what blanched stuffe here followed withall:MarginaliaThe Epistle of Marcellus to Maxentius blanched. as where hee alledging the statutes and sanctions of hys predecessors declareth and discusseth that no byshop nor minister ought to be persecuted, or depriued of hys goodes. And if they be, then ought the to haue their possessions and places againe restored (by the law) before they were bound (by the law) to aunswere to their accusations layd in agaynst thē. And so after that, in conuenient tyme, to be called to a councell. The which councell notwithstanding, without the authoritie of the holy sea, cannot proceede regularly (albeit it remayne in hys power to asemble certayne Byshops together.) Neyther can he regularly condemne any Byshop, appealing to this hys Apostolicall sea, before the sentence diffinite do proceede from the foresayd sea. &c. And it followeth after: and therefore (sayth he) let no Byshop of what crime soeuer he be attached, come to hys accusation or be heard, but in hys owne ordinary Synode at hys conuenient time: the regular and Apostolicalll authoritie beyng ioyned withall. Moreouer in the sayd Epistle writing to Maxentius, hee decreeth that no lay men, or any suspected Byshop, ought to accuse Prelates of the Church: so that if

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