Original Douay–Rheims Annotations2 Timothy 3

Men shall be.

All these words S. Cyprian expoundeth of such as by pride and disobedience resist God's Priests. Let no faithful man, saith he, that keepeth in mind our Lord's and the Apostle's admonition, marvel if he see in the later times some proud and stubborn fellows and the enemies of God's Priests, go out of the Church or impugn the same: when both our Lord and the Apostle foretold us that such should be. Cypr. ep. 55. nu. 3.

Women loaden.

^◦ Women loaden with sins, are for such their deservings, and through the frailty of their sex, more subject to the heretics' deceits, than men: the enemy attempting (as he did in the fall of our first parents) by them to overthrow men. See S. Hierom upon the 3. chapter of Jeremie. Where he addeth that every heresy is first broached propter gulam & ventrem, for gluttony and belly-cheer.

• ◦ Women easily seduced by heresy.

Folly manifest.

^◦ All heretics in the beginning seem to have some shew of truth, God for just punishment of men's sins permitting them for some while in some persons and places to prevail: but in short time God detecteth them, and openeth the eyes of men to see their deceits: in so much that after the first brunt they be maintained by force only, all wise men in a manner seeing their falsehood, though for troubling the state of such common-weals where unluckily they have been received, they cannot be so suddenly extirped.

• ◦ The folly of Heretics in time appeareth.

All that will live.

^◦ All holy men suffer one kind of persecution or other, being grieved and molested by the wicked, one way or another: but not all that suffer persecution, be holy, as all malefactors. The Church and Catholic Princes persecute heretics, and be persecuted of them again, as S. Augustine often declareth. See ep. 48.

• ◦ Persecution.

Prosper.

Though heresies and the authors of them be after a while discovered & by little and little forsaken generally of the honest, discreet, and men careful of their own salvation, yet their authors and other great sinners proceed from one error and heresy to another, and finally to plain Atheism and all Devilish disorder.

All Scripture.

^◦ Besides the Apostles' teaching and tradition, the reading of holy Scriptures is a great defence and help of the faithful, and specially of a Bishop, not only to avoid and condemn all heresies, but to the guiding of a man in all justice, good life and works. Which commendation is not here given to the books of the new Testament only (whereof he here speaketh not, as being yet for a great part not written) but to the Scripture of the old Testament also, yea and to every book of it. For there is not one of them, nor any part of them, but it is profitable to the end aforesaid, if it be read and understood according to the same Spirit wherewith it was written.

• ◦ The great profit of reading the Scriptures.

^◦

The Heretics upon this commendation of holy Scriptures, pretend (very simply in good sooth) that therefore nothing is necessary to justice and salvation but Scriptures. As though every thing that is profitable or necessary to any effect, excluded all other help, and were only enough to attain the same. By which reason a man might as well prove that the old Testament were enough, and so exclude the new: or any one piece of all the old, and thereby exclude the rest. For he affirmeth every Scripture to have the foresaid utilities. and they might see in the very next line before, that he requireth his constant perseverance in the doctrine which he had taught him over and about that he had learned out of the Scriptures of the old Testament, which he had read from his infancy, but could not thereby learn all the mysteries of Christian religion therein. Neither doth the Apostle affirm here that he had his knowledge of Scriptures, by reading only, without help of masters and teachers, as the Adversaries hereupon (to commit the holy Scriptures to every man's presumption) do gather: but affirmeth only that Timothee knew the Scriptures and therefore had studied them by hearing good readers and teachers, as S. Paul himself did of Gamaliel and the like, and as all christian students do, that be trained up from their youth in Catholic universities in the study of Divinity.

• ◦ The Heretics' foolish argument: All Scripture is profitable, ergo only Scripture is necessary & sufficient.