“As children think their babies live to be,
        Do they these brazen images they see.”

And whilst the ruder sort are so carried headlong with blind zeal, are so gulled and tortured by their superstitions, their own too credulous simplicity and ignorance, their epicurean popes and hypocritical cardinals laugh in their sleeves, and are merry in their chambers with their punks, they do indulgere genio, and make much of themselves.  The middle sort, some for private gain, hope of ecclesiastical preferment, (quis expedivit psittaco suum [Greek:  chaire]) popularity, base flattery, must and will believe all their paradoxes and absurd tenets, without exception, and as obstinately maintain and put in practice all their traditions and idolatrous ceremonies (for their religion is half a trade) to the death; they will defend all, the golden legend itself, with all the lies and tales in it:  as that of St. George, St. Christopher, St. Winifred, St. Denis, &c.  It is a wonder to see how Nic.  Harpsfield, that Pharisaical impostor, amongst the rest, Ecclesiast.  Hist. cap. 22. saec prim, sex., puzzles himself to vindicate that ridiculous fable of St. Ursula and the eleven thousand virgins, as when they live, [6580]how they came to Cologne, by whom martyred, &c., though he can say nothing for it, yet he must and will approve it:  nobilitavit (inquit) hoc saeculum Ursula cum comitibus, cujus historia utinam tam mihi esset expedita et certa, quam in animo meo certum ac expeditum est, eam esse cum sodalibus beatam in coelis virginem. They must and will (I say) either out of blind zeal believe, vary their compass with the rest, as the latitude of religion varies, apply themselves to the times, and seasons, and for fear and flattery are content to subscribe and to do all that in them lies to maintain and defend their present government and slavish religious schoolmen, canonists, Jesuits, friars, priests, orators, sophisters, who either for that they had nothing else to do, luxuriant wits knew not otherwise how to busy themselves in those idle times, for the Church then had few or no open adversaries, or better to defend their lies, fictions, miracles, transubstantiations, traditions, pope’s pardons, purgatories, masses, impossibilities, &c. with glorious shows, fair pretences, big words, and plausible wits, have coined a thousand idle questions, nice distinctions, subtleties, Obs and Sols, such tropological, allegorical expositions, to salve all appearances, objections, such quirks and quiddities, quodlibetaries, as Bale saith of Ferribrigge and Strode, instances, ampliations, decrees, glosses, canons, that instead of sound commentaries, good preachers, are come in a company of mad sophisters, primo secundo secundarii, sectaries, Canonists, Sorbonists, Minorites, with a rabble of idle controversies and questions, [6581]_an Papa sit Deus, an quasi Deus?  An participet utramque Christi naturam_?  Whether