out of Paradise and by a Virgin we have found eternal Life 12. That he did not believe we ought to have recourse to the Intercession of Saints can be invincibly demonstrated from hence because he did not believe that the Faithful should see the Face of God before the Day of Judgment lib. 5. c. 3. 13. He plainly asserts that the Apostolical Succession is of no Consideration without the Truth of Doctrine Lib. 4. c. 43. so far was he from making it a bar to hinder Believers from examining the Doctrine propounded to them 14. He maintains that the Gates of Heaven were open'd to Jesus Christ because of the Assumption of his Flesh so far was he from believing that his glorified Body could penetrate Bodies Lib. 3. c. 18. lib. 4. c. 66. He asserts that Jesus Christ at his being born opened the Blessed Virgin 's Womb lib. 4. c. 66. which the Church of Rome condemns for divers Reasons And for as much as he holds the Holy Ghost to be the Food of Life lib. 4. c. 75. accordingly he maintains c. 2. lib. 5. that our Bodies are nourished by the Creatures of God received in the Eucharist and that they receive growth by them He distinctly asserts that the Sacrament of the Eucharist as to its Substance consists of Bread and Wine which are the Creatures of God which he receives as Oblations of a different kind from the Sacrifices of the old Testament and indeed in case he had otherwise conceived the matter he would have favoured the Opinion of the Gnosticks who pretending that the Work of the Creation was not the Work of the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ could never have lighted upon a more comfortable Doctrine than that of Transubstantiation by means of which the Nature of Bread and Wine would be destroyed by Jesus Christ in the Sacrament and nothing left but the Accidents that is to say meer Fantomes without any thing of Reality L. 4. c. 34 57. In like manner we find him asserting lib. 5. c. 33. that what Jesus Christ gave to his Disciples in the Cup was the Generation or Product of the Vine 15. We see clearly from what Eusebius has preserved of St. Irenaeus that the Variety in observing a Fast before Easter was very great and that there was no Law of the Apostles or of Jesus Christ injoining it every one using it according to his own free Will and Devotion We find also that whatsoever Respect St. Irenaeus had for the Church of Rome he was no more inclined to be led by her sole Authority than St. Polycarp was whom he much commends and if he considered her as an Apostolick Church yet he never attributed to her any Authority over the other Flocks of the Lord. I will not dissemble that St. Irenaeus seems somewhat at a loss about the state of Believers after Death but to this it is sufficient to say 1. That we find in St. Irenaeus an Abridgment of the Faith almost in the same form that we find it in the Apostles Creed as it is called 2. That if we do not agree to all the Opinions of St. Irenaeus about the State of Souls after Death 't is certain that the Doctors of the Church of Rome do at least reject as many Articles as we do yea and more too From what I have said we may however perceive what was the State of the Christian Religion in Gaul a little after the middle of the second Century which is the time wherein St. Irenaeus lived and flourished I wish I could produce for the following Century as Authentick a Witness concerning the State of the Churches in this part of Gaul but indeed though there were diverse famous Writers whose Works are cited by St. Jerome yet there is in a manner nothing of them left to us I know there are some who believe that Victorinus was Bishop of Poictiers in the third Century but this is not found true for it is certain that he was Bishop of Passau Patavionensis and not Pictaviensis so that we must proceed to those who can inform us of the State of this part of Gaul during the fourth Century CHAP. III. The Faith of Gallia Aquitanica and Narbonensis in the Fourth Century ST Hilary Bishop of Poictiers a famous Confessor in the Persecution which the Arians stirr'd up against the Orthodox can afford us much Light concerning the State and Faith of these Diocesses This great Man was married as he who published his Works at Paris owns after the famous Baptista Mantuanus observing that the Law for the Celibacy of the Clergy was not yet introduced and that before that time as St. Jerom expresseth it they rather made choice of married Persons than unmarried because the former were judged more proper for the Functions of the Holy Ministry But this is not the only Article wherein he differ'd from Popery as well as the Church of Aquitain 1. He counts the Canonical Books as we do and plainly holds them for Apocryphal which we reject as we find in the Preface to his Commentary upon the Book of Psalms 2. He lays it down for an Error and piece of Impiety to look upon the Scripture as imperfect in Psalm 118. Lit. Vau. 3. He asserts that Ignorance is not capable of excusing Men seeing the Scripture is proposed to us as the Rule of our Faith and Manners Non habet veniam ignoratio voluntatis quia sub scientiae facultate nescire repudiatae magis quam non repertae scientiae est reatus Ob id enim longe à Peccatoribus salus quia non exquisierint Justificationes Dei Nam utique non ob aliud consignatae literis manent quam ut ad universorum scientiam notionemque defluerent Ignorance of the Divine Will gives no Excuse because to be ignorant when we may learn makes us guilty of rejecting Knowledg rather than missing of it For therefore is Salvation far from Sinners because they search not after that which justifies before God and which indeed is for no other reason preserv'd in Writing but that it might be derived to the Knowledg and Understanding of all This is a Stile and these are Maxims very different from those of the Church of Rome 4. He affirms that we are to be ignorant of whatsoever the Scripture doth not teach us and after having asserted that it is the Character of Hereticks to conceal the Holy Scripture fol. 204. he maintains that it is another Mark of Heresy to believe beyond what the Gospel teacheth us Tu qui ultra Evangelium sapis necesse est ut aliis alibi arcanorum doctrinis cognitionem Paterni nominis adeptus sis Thou who art wise beyond the Gospel it must needs be that thou hast elsewhere by other secret Doctrines attained the Knowledg of God the Father fol. 132. 5. He asserts that it was the Will of God that the Scripture should be plain and clear Quantae enim potuit Dominus verborum simplicitate
Deputies of the University of Oxford who gave a publick and authentick Testimony of his Piety and his Purity in the Faith 4. The University of Oxford had espoused his Quarrel with the Church of Rome so far that after his having been attack'd by a Council at London in 1382 and after having maintain'd his Doctrine from the year 1367 with publick applause his Writings continued recommended by a Decree of the University to all the Students both in the Publick Schools and Colledges and were not forc'd from them till after his Condemnation which happened at the Council of Constance 28 years after his Death We see the Esteem Wicklef had in that University by the Testimony they gave in 1406 against those that endeavour'd to blemish the Memory of this great Man for after they had spoken of his Piety and Probity as of a Thing known to all Men after they had declared that he was a couragious Defender of the Faith they add Qui singulos mendicitate spontaneâ Christi Religionem blasphemantes sacrae Scripturae sententiis catholicè expugnavit That he had in a Catholick Way by Texts of Scripture overthrown all those who by a voluntary Poverty blasphemed the Religion of Christ And since the Romish Party had not at that time a more formidable Enemy than Wicklef they were not wanting to muster all their Forces in order to suppress his Doctrine In the Year 1396 William Woodeford a Cordelier was chosen by Thomas Arundel Archbishop of Canterbury to write against Wicklef's Trialogue which he did accordingly refuting 18 Articles of his Doctrine This Book is printed in the Fasciculus In the Year 1411 Thomas Walden an English-man deputed to the Council of Constance dedicated his Doctrinal to Pope Martin V against Wicklef where he accuseth him of above 800 Errors This Monk as able as he was was really one of the most passionate Disputers that ever writ but withal it is true also that to follow his Measures we can scarcely imagine a more particular Discussion of the Errors Superstitions and false Suppositions which the Church of Rome makes use of to maintain her Errors and false Worship than that which Wicklef made use of In the Account that Walden gives of it we meet with a great Knowledg of Holy Scripture and great Skill in Antiquity whose Authority he makes use of to confound the Romish Novelties we discover there a great strength in his way of reasoning and an extraordinary Method in his Consequences so that he seems to have fully penetrated the Weakness of the Romish Cause and overthrown its whole Foundations One may plainly discover this by running over the Titles of the Doctrinal of Thomas Walden upon Matters of Faith upon the Sacraments upon those which he calls sacramental things or that belong to Sacraments for we scarcely meet with any Articles controverted between the Church of Rome and the Protestants which Wicklef hath not touched and handled and that with sufficient Exactness too This hath obliged the Papists with so much Care to reprint Walden's Works against Wicklef as containing a Body of their Controversies against the Protestants I am not ignorant that Walden objects some very harsh and impious Opinions to him and that the Council of Constance has mingled several of that Nature amongst the 45 Articles of Wicklef which are there condemned But here I must desire my Reader to call to mind four things 1 st That Woodeford hath objected no such thing to Wicklef which shews that he never taught any like Doctrine but that they are only Consequences drawn by a scholastical Divine who was used to carry things too far 2 dly That Walden wrote at a time when the Popish Party had the upper-hand in the Court of Henry V who had condemned the Wicklefites as guilty of high Treason which Walden takes notice of in his Dedication to Martin V. 3 dly That it is very probable that this Catalogue of 45 Articles was drawn up by Walden himself who was present at the Council of Constance on purpose to promote Wicklef's Condemnation 4 thly That the Council of Constance was the first where by publick Consent that Maxim That Faith is not to be kept with Hereticks was ever put in Practice Now let any one judg what Equity or Truth can be expected from Villains of such profligate Principles who think it an Honour to act in every thing according to them After all this I might well excuse my self from setting down the Opinions of Wicklef or from saying any thing for his Justification but I am willing to do both the one and the other for the Honour of this great Man and for the Readers Satisfaction The Opinions of Wicklef with relation to the Doctrine of Protestants are these CHAP. XXIV Of the Calumnies that have been unjustly charged upon Wicklef by the Papists 1. WIcklef owns but 22 Canonical Books of Scripture excluding all the rest which he calls Apocryphal 2. He teaches that the Scripture contains all things necessary to Salvation Forasmuch saith he as in Scripture all Truth is contained it is evident that all Disputes that take not their Rise thence are prophane We are not to admit any Knowledg or Conclusion which hath not its Testimony from Scripture 3. He affirms that every well-disposed Christian may understand the Holy Scripture God hath appointed the common sensible Scripture to the comprehending of the Catholick Sense whereof God can never be wanting because he always enlightneth some particular Men to which Illumination Holiness of Life conduceth very much and it is the Duty of Divines to continue it in our Mother the Church which ought to keep within her Bounds so that it is not lawful for Divines to frame strange Doctrines besides the Faith of Catholick Scripture For which End he lays down several Rules for the Understanding of the Scriptures 4. He asserts that the Scriptures ought to be translated into the vulgar Tongue The Truth of God saith he is not more confined to one Language than to another Jesus Christ delivered the Lord's Prayer in a known Language Why then may not the Gospel and other parts of Scripture be writ in English The Clergy ought to rejoice that the People know the Law of God It was for this Reason that he translated the whole Bible whereof several Copies are still to be found in the King's Library and in several other Libraries in England We may easily know what he thought of Tradition from these Words We have a perfect Knowledg of all things necessary to Salvation from the Faith of Scripture Decrees Statutes and Rites that are added according to humane Traditions are all inseparably sinful because they make the Law of God more difficult to be kept and hinder the Course of God's Word Traditions are hateful to God and the Church except only so far as they are grounded on Scripture Mens own Inventions are chiefly to get Money
Fruit of the Vine at the Lord's Supper and mentions not so much as one Word of Transubstantiation in a place where he particularly explains the Institution of the Eucharist Can. 30. in Matth. To speak the Truth how could he have any other Thoughts who maintains that Jesus Christ is no longer on the Earth in respect of his Body because it is impossible for a Body to be in more places than one Adest enim cum fideliter invocatur per naturam suam praesens est spiritus enim est omnia penetrans continens non enim secundum nos corporalis est ut cum alicubi adsit absit aliunde sed virtute praesenti se quâcunque est porrigenti cum replente omniae ejus spiritu in omnibus sit tamen ei qui in eum credat adsistit For he is present by his Nature when he is call'd upon with Faith he being a Spirit penetrating and containing all things for he is not like us corporeal so as that when he is in one place he should be absent from another but he is in all places by the Presence of his Power which extendeth it self where-ever he is and his Spirit that filleth all things yet he is in a more peculiar manner with him that believes in him 21. He was so far from approving the Romish Inquisition that he calls the Emperor Constantius Antichrist for persecuting those that were not of his Opinion lib. in Constant August Yea he judg'd all Force to be so contrary to the Spirit of the Christian Religion that he maintains that there can be no Religion where Force is made use of Lastly He was so far from believing that the Antichrist whereof St. John speaks was already come that he maintains that he would be revealed in the Churches that were then possessed by the Arians and that the Faith being thus attack'd the true Believers would be forced to look out for Shelter amongst the Mountains in Woods and Caves leaving the Antichrist Master of the publick Places consecrated to the Worship of God This is the Sum of what may be gathered from the Writings of St. Hilary I make no mention of some Errors of this great Man because Claudianus Mamertus having confuted them about the end of the fifth Century has made it appear that they were only some particular Opinions of this great Confessor and that we cannot look upon them as the common Faith of the Diocess where he was setled But the same cannot be said of the Articles I have noted Claudianus is so far from blaming them that he approves them by his Silence and shews that his Doctrine in this Respect was the Doctrine of the Church of Gaul We have nothing left us of the Works of Rhodanius Bishop of Tholouse who was contemporary with St. Hilary But it appears clear to us that this Holy Confessor having been sent into Banishment with St. Hilary after the Council of Beziers by the Cabal of Saturninus Bishop of Arles Favourer of the Arians we are to consider Rhodanius as a Defender of the same Faith and an illustrious Witness of the Belief of his Diocess And we ought to make the same Judgment of Phaebadius Bishop of Agen who was so much engaged in the same Quarrel and who acquired so great a Name by the vigorous Opposition he made against the Errors of Arius But Providence has preserved us none of his Works In effect this great Man who wrote in the Year 357. as appears by his Book against the Arians gives us sufficiently to understand what his Faith was in divers Articles and what was the Doctrine of the Diocess 1. He maintains that the Catholick Faith is found with those who speak according to the Holy Scripture and not amongst those who only make use of Prejudices After having quoted several places of Scripture to prove against the Arians the Eternity of the Son he concludes in this manner B. Patr. T. 4. p. 174. Volentes igitur à Patre Filium scindere infra Deum ponere de Evangelio praescribunt Those therefore who would rend the Father from the Son and place him below God give Law to the Gospel He expresseth himself yet more strongly to this purpose towards the end of his Book ib. p. 180. Hoc credimus hoc tenemus quia hoc accepimus à Prophetis hoc nobis Evangelia locuta sunt hoc Apostoli tradiderunt hoc Martyres in passione confessi sunt in hoc mentibus fidei etiam haeremus contra quod si Angelus de Coelo annuntiaverit Anathema sit Ergo ut supra diximus praejudicatae opinionis authoritas nihil valebit quia contra semetipsam ipsa consistit This we believe this we hold fast because 't is this we have received from the Prophets this the Gospels have declared to us this the Apostles have left us this the Martyrs in their Sufferings have confessed and to this we adhere with our Minds by Faith so that if an Angel from Heaven should preach contrary to this let him be accursed Wherefore as was said before the Authority of a prejudicate Opinion can be of no force because it stands against it self 2. He makes it appear that the Name of Catholick was not sufficient to be a true Christian when he represents that Arianism had so far seized the Minds of all the World that it was necessary to espouse the Arian Heresy to procure the Name of being Catholicks ib. p. 169. Sed quia aut Haeresis suscipienda est ut Catholici dicamur aut verè Catholici non futuri si Haeresin non repudiamus ad hanc tractatûs conditionem necessitate descendimus But because we are either to become Hereticks that we may be called Catholicks or cease to be Catholicks indeed by becoming Hereticks we are necessitated to write this Treatise 3. He asserts that the Revelation of Holy Scripture is so perfect with respect to the Divinity of our Saviour that Anathemas are to be pronounced against all those that advance any other Doctrine This appears from the great number of Passages which he quotes from thence p. 173 178. to which he joins the Anathema whereof I have already spoke before 4. He observes expresly that the same Honours rendred to Jesus Christ in the Liturgy as to God do demonstrate his Equality with God p. 174. Quod si ita est saith he quotidie blasphemamus in gratiarum actionibus oblationibus sacrificiorum communia haec Patri filio confitentes c. If it be so we blaspheme daily in our Thanksgivings and Offerings of Sacrifice in confessing these things common to Father and Son Thus doth he implicitly overthrow the first Principles of the Church of Rome viz. the Imperfection of the Holy Scripture in Matters of Faith the Authority and Necessity of Traditions which are the compleating of it and other such like Doctrines We should now proceed to examine what the State of these Diocesses was in the following Century
Johannis de Wyndsour nova per supra scriptos Augustinum Stere Henricum Benet Willielmum Brigger Richardum Hignell Willielmum Priour Richardum Goddard xxviii die mensis Januarii anno Domini millesimo cccc nonagesimo praesentibus tunc ibidem venerabilibus viris magistris Laurencio Cokks Edmundo Martyn Johanne Mayhowe decretorum doctoribus Daye sacrae theologiae professore Radulpho Hethcote Canonico Ecclesiae Cathedralis Sarum Willielmo Thynlawe Vicario perpetuo Ecclesiae praefatae Briano Willielmo Birley artium magistris Thoma Clerke in legibus baccalareo Johanne Wely scriba Registrario per dictum Reverendum Patrem in hac parte assumpto multis aliis Quibus quidem die loco idem Reverendus Pater injunxit praefato Augustino Stere in parte poenitentiae suae quod ipse Augustinus nudus tibias pedes caput corpore toga camisia ac foemoralibus lineis tantummodo indutus unum fasciculum sive fagotum super humerum suum unum facem anglicè a bronde in manu ejus gestans diebus locis infra scriptis viz. die sabbati xxix die mensis Januarii anno praedicto circa mercatum ville de Wyndesour nova ubi quando fuerit populi multitudo die dominica extunc sequenti viz. ultimo die mensis ejusdem circa Ecclesiam parochialem beatae Mariae Rading die Sabbati quinto die Februarii circa mercatum de Newbery die dominica extunc sequenti circa Ecclesiam parochialem ibidem die dominica prima quadragesime in Ecclesia Cathedrali Sarum die martis extunc sequente circa mercatum ibidem caeterisque diebus diversis per loca scil per Monasteria de Serne Milton Abbottesbery Abyndon Shirborn necnon circa Mercatum ibidem Sarum Diocaeseos coram processionibus circa Ecclesias Monasteria loca praedicta aut in eisdem locis prout aeris temperies permiserit ut moris est faciendis more humilis poenitentis incederet finitisque hujusmodi processionibus vel cum ab aliquo Curatorum hujusmodi Ecclesiarum sive locorum proceditur ad pulpitum quibusdam literis in Anglico scriptis errores opiniones dampnabiles praedicti Augustini ipsius Abjuracionem in se continentibus lectis declaratis per ipsum Augustinum alta intelligibili voce sua declarando exponendo recitando ac confitendo publicè prout in eisdem literis continetur de qua quidem poenitentia per ipsum Augustinum bene fideliter peracta prout sibi mandatum fâ—erit per curatos alios de quibus supra sit mencio praefatus Reverendus Pater Dominus plenarie sufficienter fuerit certificatus unde postea idem Reverendus Pater in tempore certificationis hujusmodi sibi factae in complementum poenitentiae suae injunxit quod singulis diebus vitae suae coram Ymagine crucifixi genuflectendo diceret devote quinquies oracionem Dominicam quinquies salutationem Angelicam semel Symbolum Apostolorum quod injuncto die parassephes vigiliis beatae Mariae per unum annum integrum immediate sequentem in pane aqua Item quod lapso termino ...... dierum per dictum Reverendum Patrem assignato ad villam de Newbery vel ad aliquem locum situatum infra septem milliaria à villa de Newbery praedictâ non accideret nisi ex licentia praefati Reverendi Patris petita primitus obtenta FINIS Books lately printed for Richard Chiswell THE fifteen Notes of the Church as laid down by Cardinal Bellarmin examined and confuted by several London Divines 4 to With a Table to the whole The Texts which the Papists cite out of the Bible for Proof of the Points of their Religion examined and shew'd to be alledged without Ground In twenty five distinct Discourses by several London Divines with a Table to the whole and the Authors Names The Lay Christian's Obligation to read the Holy Scriptures By Dr. Stratford now Lord Bishop of Chester Some Remarks upon the Ecclesiastical History of the Ancient Churches of Piedmont By Peter Allix D. D. 4 to Reflections upon the Books of the Holy Scripture to establish the Truth of the Christian Religion In two Parts 8 vo By the same Author The Judgments of God upon the Roman Catholick Church from its first rigid Laws for universal Conformity to it unto its last End With a Prospect of these near approaching Revolutions viz. 1. The Revival of the Protestant Profession in an eminent Kingdom where it was totally suppressed 2. The last End of all Turkish Hostilities 3. The general Mortification of the Power of the Roman Church in all Parts of its Dominions Geologia Or a Discourse concerning the Earth before the Deluge wherein the Form and Properties ascribed to it in a Book intituled The Theory of the Earth are excepted against And it is made appear That the Dissolution of that Earth was not the Cause of the Universal Flood Also a new Explication of that Flood is attempted By Erasmus Warren Rector of Worlington in Suffolk 4 to The present State of Germany or an Account of the Extent Rise Form Wealth Strength Weaknesses and Interests of that Empire The Prerogatives of the Emperour and the Priviledges of the Electors Princes and Free Cities adapted to the present Circumstances of that Nation By a Person of Quality 8 vo Memoirs of what past in Christendom from the War begun 1672 to the Peace concluded 1679. 8 vo V. CL. Gulielmi Camdeni illustrium virorum ad G. Camdenum Epistolae Cum Appendice varii Argumenti Accesserunt Annalium Regni Regis Jacobi I. Apparatus Commentarius de Antiquitate Dignitate Officio Comitis Marescalli Angliae Praemittitur G. Camdeni vita Scriptore Thoma Smitho S. T. D. Ecclesiae Anglicanae Presbytero Euseb l. 4. c. 20. Praefat. in Zechariam T. 7. B. P. pag. 170. Pag. 173. Pag. 210. Pag. 211. Pag. 212. Pag. 219. cap. 8. Ibid. cap. 9. Pag. 234. Dial. c. 1. Pag. 235. Dia. c. 3. ad finem Pag. 253. Pag. 254. Ibid. T. 4. B. P. pag. 72 73. Pag. 78. cap. 39. Ibid. Pag. 79. c. ante penult Ibid. Institut Caenob lib. 4. cap. 10. Ibid. lib. 7. cap. 1. Lib. 7. cap. 16. Collat. 8. cap. 3. Inst Caenob l. 5. cap. 14. Ibid. lib. 5. cap. 34. De incar lib. 7. cap. 4. Collat. 20. c. 8. Collat. 21. cap. 30. Lib. 3. pag. 64. T. 5. B. P. Ibid. pag. 68. Pag. 72. Lib. 6. pag. 103. Lib. 5. pag. 94. Lib. 8. pag. 125. Lib. 7. pag. 114. Pag. 142. ad Ec. Cath. Lib. 1. Pag. 148. ad Ec. Lib. 2. Comment de Ordine Rom. pag. 139. B. P. T. 1. pag. 134. Pag. 141. Pag. 147. Pag. 157. Pag. 153. Cod. 54. T. 1. disp 91. cap. 11. Dimid Temp. cap. 6. Vpon Psal 120. T. 2. B. P. pag. 148. Rom. 8. Book 2. chap. 4. Pag. 726. Lib. de Creat Pag. 598. Pag. 278. Homil. 8. pag. 282. T. 3. B. Patr. pag. 381. Ep. 3. ad
dead Bodies to be unclean as if Christians still lived under the Law Whereas Vigilantius blamed the Custom of honouring them in the Churches because it was a piece of Superstition in a Place dedicated to religious Worship to bestow any Veneration upon Creatures though the most holy and most excellent that might be St. Jerom is forced to prevaricate upon this Charge his way of defending this matter is such as would never please the Palat of the Church of Rome Nos autem non dico Martyrum reliquias sed ne Solem quidem Lunam non Angelos non Archangelos non Cherubin non Seraphim omne nomen quod nominatur in praesenti saeculo in futuro colimus adoramus ne serviamus Creaturae potius quam Creatori qui est Benedictus in saecula Honoramus autem reliquias Martyrum ut cum cujus sunt Martyres adoremus honoramus servos ut honor servorum redundet ad Dominum qui ait qui vos suscipit me suscipit Ergo Petri Pauli immundae sunt Reliquiae ergo Moysi corpusculum immundum erit quod juxta Hebraicam veritatem ab ipso sepultum est Domino quotiescunque Apostolorum Prophetarum omnium Martyrum Basilicas ingredimur toties Idolorum templa veneramur accensique ante tumulos eorum cerei Idololatriae insignia sunt But we neither worship nor adore I do not say the Relicks of Martyrs but not so much as the Sun and Moon c. nor any Name that is named in this World or in that which is to come lest we should serve the Creature rather than God who is blessed for ever But we honour the Relicks of the Martyrs in worshipping him whose they are we honour the Servants that their Honour may redound to the Lord who saith He that receives you receives me What are the Relicks then of Peter and Paul unclean Is the Body of Moses unclean which according to the Hebrew Truth was buried by the Lord himself and as often as we enter the Churches of the Apostles Prophets and Martyrs do we worship the Temples of Idols and shall we say that the Tapers which burn before their Monuments are the Marks of Idolatry What a fine Application doth St. Jerom make here of that Passage He that receives you receives me and how solid an Answer doth he return to a solid Objection when he tells us We honour the Servants in worshipping him whose they are What a Consequence is this Is there any other Honour due to Relicks besides that of being interred Was not this the Custom used to the Christians of old before the time of Constantius It is well enough seen that the good Father skips over the Difficulty and under a general Protestation of worshipping nothing but God he endeavours to shelter a Custom which had been introduced after the Emperor Constantius's time that is to say about 60 Years before Vigilantius blamed the Custom which but a little before had been introduced of lighting Tapers before the Tombs of Martyrs and passing the Night by them in Prayer wherein he followed the Maxims of the Council of Elvira held under the Empire of Constantine about 90 Years before After what manner doth St. Jerom refute these Complaints of Vigilantius he tells us of the Presence of the Angels at the Grave of Jesus Christ he relies upon the Example of the Apostles who buried the Body of St. Stephen He produceth the Custom of Daniel and the Apostles who spent the Night in Prayer and all this without doubt extreamly to the purpose and the Protestants are much in the wrong to prefer the Opinions of Vigilantius to such solid Reasonings as these But it may be replied That St. Jerom disputed only slightly and for Argument's sake in his Epistle to Riparius not having then seen the Writing of Vigilantius and therefore handled the matter only as a Declaimer This indeed is the best Excuse that can be alledged to make the Reader digest the furious Transports and Invectives of this famous Monk who treats Vigilantius no otherwise than as another Julian the Apostate and seems very willing to have had him destroyed by the Law mentioned in the 13 th of Deuteronomy And after all this St. Jerom is the same in his Book against Vigilantius which follows this Epistle After a Preface which out-does all the Monsters that either the Scripture or Fables speak of he begins thus Exortus est subito Vigilantius seu verius Dormitantius qui immundo spiritu pugnet contra Christi spiritum Martyrum neget sepulcra veneranda damnandas dicat esse Vigilias nunquam nisi in Pascha Alleluja cantandum continentiam Haeresin Pudicitiam Libidinis seminarium quomodo Euphorbus in Pythagora renatus esse perhibetur sic in isto Joviniani mens prava surrexit ut in illo in hoc Diaboli respondere cogamur insidiis Here is suddenly started up one Vigilantius or rather Dormitantius who with an unclean Spirit fights against the Spirit of Christ and denies that any Veneration ought to be given to the Sepulchres of Martyrs condemns the Watchings at them affirms that Alleluja's ought to be sung at no time except Easter calls Continence Heresy and Chastity the Nursery of Lust so that as Euphorbus was said to be born again in Pythagoras in like manner in him seems to be revived Jovinianus's Wickedness in whom as we were forced to oppose our selves against the Wiles of the Devil so likewise are we now equally obliged to oppose this Man's Errors What Ciceronian Eloquence is this What a strange Account of things is here But there is something worse behind see what Stories he tells of Jovinian Ecclesiae Authoritate damnatus inter Phasides aves carnes suillas non tam emisit spiritum quam eructavit iste Caupo Callaguritanus in perversum propter nomen viculi mutus Quintilianus Miscet aquam vino de pristino artificio suae venena perfidiae Catholicae fidei sociare conatur impugnare virginitatem odisse pudicitiam in convivio saecularium contra sanctorum Azemia proclamare dum inter phialas philosophatur ad placentas liguriens Psalmorum modulatione mulcetur ut tantum inter Epulas David Idithum Asaph filiorum Core cantica audire dignetur Surely the good St. Jerom did not think of what he said so extreamly was he transported with an inconsiderate Zeal for Celibacy but however this Zeal of his had a reasonable Motive Prohnefas said he This is the first Heresy of Vigilantius he would have it allowed to Ministers to marry whereas in the ten Provinces subject to the Pope in the seventeen Provinces of the Jurisdiction of Ephesus and in the five Provinces of Egypt they followed a contrary Custom This without doubt was a crying Heresy and yet it appears from the Decretal of Pope to Hymerius Bishop of Tarracona that it had made so little Impression upon the Minds of Men that Innocent I. was fain to write
first made use of a Canon of the Council of Sardica which gave them Power to send Legats into the Provinces to examine the Processes and the Depositions of any Bishops in Cases where any complaint was made After that they had thus accustomed the French Bishops to admit their Legats in this Case they by little and little gain'd another Point when the Princes were weak which was to send some amongst them without any Complaint or Appeal at all and at last after they had submitted to the Yoak Alexander II. established it as a Rule that the Pope ought to have the Government and Administration of all Churches Of these Legats some had a whole Kingdom under their Jurisdiction others some part only they came thither with full Power to depose Bishops yea the Metropolitan himself when ever they pleased to assemble the Councils of their District and to preside therein with the Metropolitan but taking place of him to make Canons to send the Decision of those Matters to the Pope to which the Bishops would not give their Consent as likewise all the Acts of the Council whereof he disposed at his Will and Pleasure And it is to be observed that their Suffrages outweigh'd those of all the Bishops together and that oftentimes by their simple Authority they judg'd and determin'd the Causes of the Elections of Bishops of Benefices of the Excommunications of Lay-men and the like Insomuch that these Assemblies which before were so Sacred and so Soveraign for the supporting and maintaining of Discipline having no Power any longer were to speak properly rather Councils to authorize and ratify the Will and Pleasure of the Pope than any lawful or free Councils So that it was not till the Papacy of Alexander II. and Gregory VII that the Churches of Aquitain saw themselves in danger of losing their Liberty by submitting to the Papal Yoak as well as the rest of the French Churches We are now to see how they avoided this Yoak which was thus imposed upon them in some measure CHAP. XIII Of the Opposition that was made by a Part of these Churches to the Attempts of the Popes and of their Separation from the Communion of Rome before Peter Waldo IT is difficult precisely to set down the Year wherein a considerable Part of these Diocesses rejected the Power of the Pope's Legats and lowdly condemned the Errors which they would have introduced under the Name of Councils which the Popes had so often assembled against Berengarius But we have great reason to conclude that it happened under Gregory VII when he undertook to oblige the Bishops of France to swear an Oath of Fidelity to him in much a like Form as Vassals swear to the Lords of the Fee for in reality it is the very same this strange Piece of Novelty which at one Blow destroy'd all the Rights of the Church excited both Pastors and People to defend their Liberties and to reject this imperious Yoak Then it was also that he endeavour'd to change the Common Service of the Church by striking out all that was not agreeable to the Roman Service which was very proper to inflame the Minds of the People and make them more watchful for the Preservation of the Doctrine and Ceremonies of Religion which they had received from their Ancestors For instance It is certain that in the 11 th Century they changed the Collects which concern'd the Prayer for the Dead We have an Example of it that was inserted in the Decretal of Gregory IX 'T is an Answer of Innocent III. to John de Beauxmains Archbishop of Lions who at that time was retired in the Abby of Clairvaux It contains the Question which that Archbishop who was the Persecutor and Condemner of Peter Waldo propounds to Innocent III. together with the Pope's Answer Your Brothership has enquir'd why there was a Change made in the Service of Saint Leo so that whereas the antient Books express the Prayer thus Grant to us Lord that this Offering may be of advantage to the Soul of thy Servant Leo in the modern Books it is exprest thus Grant to us O Lord we beseech thee that by the Intercession of St. Leo this Offering may be of advantage to us To which we answer saith the Pope That since the Authority of Scripture assures us that he doth an Injury to a Martyr who prays for a Martyr we are by a Parity of Reason to judg the same of other Saints because they need not our Prayers as being perfectly happy and enjoying all things according to their Wishes but it is we rather that stand in need of their Prayers who being miserable are in continuable trouble by reason of the Evils that surround us Wherefore such Expressions as these That such an Offering may be of advantage to this or that Saint for their Glory and Honour which we meet with in most Prayers are thus to be understood That it may conduce to this end that he may be more and more glorified by the Faithful here on Earth Though most suppose it a thing not unworthy of the Saints to assert that their Glory is continually encreased until the Day of Judgment and therefore that the Church may in the mean time lawfully wish for the encrease of their Glorification But whether in this Point that Distinction may take place which teacheth us that of those who are dead some are very good others very bad others indifferently good and others indifferently bad and therefore whether the Suffrages of Believers in the Church for the very good are Thanksgiving for the very bad Comforts to the Living for those who are indifferently good Expiations and for the indifferently bad Propitiations I leave to your Prudence to enquire Moreover the Popes Nicholas II and his Successors undertook to defend the Celibacy of the Clergy by which means a great many Pastors were depriv'd of the Functions of their Ministry which obliged also a vast number of them to separate themselves from the Communion of the Pope whose Creatures after the Decree was past for authorizng Celibacy look'd upon the married Clergy to be no more than simple Lay-men not to mention now that the Multiplicity of Schisms and Anti-popes had reduc'd most of the Diocesses of France into a strange Confusion some holding for one Pope others for another But though we cannot assign the precise Epocha of the beginning of this couragious Opposition to the See of Rome which had no other Original but the just Defence of their Liberties and the Desire of preserving their antient Truths yet thus much seems to be certain as far as we can gather from the poor Remainder of Records which the Barbarity of the Inquisitors hath suffer'd to come down to us 1. That this publick Opposition against the Efforts of Popery was made about the beginning of the 12 th Century 2. That without great Ignorance both in History and Chronology it cannot be supposed that the Albigenses were the Disciples of
were frequent Disputes held with the Hereticks several times at Viride Folium and at Pamiers but the famous Disputation was at Montreal where two Noble-men were chosen Arbitrators Bernardus de Villa nova and Bernardus Arrensis and two of the Commons Raimond Godius and Arnoldus Ribera but they who were accounted Hereticks could not agree about any thing the Names of the chiefest of them were these Ponticus Jordanus Arnoldus Aurisanus Arnoldus Othonus Philibertus Casliensis Benedictus Thermus They all constantly affirmed that the Church of Rome was not the Holy Church nor the Spouse of Christ but a Church that had imbibed the Doctrine of Devils that she was that Babylon which St. John describes in the Revelation the Mother of Fornications and Abominations cover'd over with the Blood of the Saints That what the Church of Rome approved of was not approved by the Lord That the Mass was neither instituted by Christ nor by his Apostles but was meerly a human Invention The same hath been owned by Carolus Molineus the Glory of the Bar of France who declares that the Albigenses of Provence taught this very thing expresly in the Reign of Lewis XII which was afterwards taught by those of the Reformed Religion in France This Testimony is alledged by Camerarius in his Historical Account of the Brethren of Bohemia This obliged Vignier in his Historical Library to contemn all the Calumnies cast upon the Albigenses In his Account of the year 1206 he relates that a Gascon a Man of Reputation assured him that he had read one of their Confessions in the old Gascon Language which was preached before the late Chancellor de l' Hospital a little before the second Troubles of France which had not one word of these Opinions but only those Articles which we formerly ascribed to the Waldenses Amongst which they expresly declared that they received the Canonical Books of the Old and New Testament and that they rejected every Doctrine that was not grounded upon or authorized by them or was contrary to any one Point of Doctrine that may be found there According to which Maxim they confessed that they rejected and condemned all the Ceremonies Traditions and Ordinances of the Church of Rome which they declared to be a Den of Thieves and the Whore that is spoken of in the Revelation Upon which account also the Colloquies Disputes and Conferences which the Legats of the Pope and their Commissioners had together were only upon these Points as we shall prove by the Testimony of James de Ribera in his Book entituled His Collections about the City of Tholouse The third Thing that we are to observe is that this Conformity of Faith between the Waldenses and the Albigenses has made many People take them for the very same I suppose there is no Reader that is ever so little just but will allow me to make a very great difference between the Accounts of the Inquisitors and the Truth The Inquisitors make the Albigenses guilty of the Errors of the Cathari and Manichees as if they had been all one and that they had exactly answered the Description which is given us of them in the Directory of the Inquisitors by Emericus But we have other ways of knowing from their own Confessions of Faith that they were not at all polluted by Manicheism and the most part of those Authors that have writ with any degree of Honesty call them Waldenses because they held the same Faith and Opinions The same Authors acknowledg that it was against the Waldenses that St. Bernard preached in Languedock and that it is with them whom they promiscuously call Albigenses that those Conferences were held which the Bishop of Meaux owns to have been held with the Albigenses This is acknowledged by James de Ribera Counsellor of State in his Collections concerning the City of Tholouse that are set down in the Catalogue of the Witnesses of the Truth This is owned by Gretzer the Jesuit in his Prolegomena to the Authors who have written concerning the Sect of the Waldenses where he acknowledgeth that the Waldenses and Albigenses were the same and were called insabbatati because of their Shoes And that the Albigenses and Waldenses differ only in their Names Cardinal Hosius also had the fame Notion of them in his Book concerning the Sacrament of the Eucharist where he speaks of the Henricians and Petrobusians This was the Opinion of Andrew Favin in his History of Navarre where he saith that the Heresy of the Albigenses is otherwise termed the Heresy of the Waldenses Genebrard in his Chronology saith expresly that the Fathers of the Calvinists were the Petrobusians the Henricians and the Albigenses and it is well known that the Calvinists are no Manichees Catel in his History of Tholouse acknowledgeth that the Henricians were the Forerunners of the Albigenses and that they had not this Name till after the Council of Alby in the year 1178. CHAP. XIX Whether the Albigenses were Manichees because they accused the Pope of being the Antichrist AS one Day gives Light to another so the Bishop of Meaux hath at last discover'd that the Accusation charged upon the Pope by the Albigenses as being the Antichrist was a Character of Manicheism He thought fit to reveal this great Secret to the World in his History of the Variations and afterwards he makes it an express Character of Manicheism in his Explication of the Revelation But saving the Reverence due to this Prelate there is nothing falser nothing that seems more to be raving For 1. Hath he found this Character of the Manichees in the Writings of Archelaus Bishop of Mesopotamia which the late Mr. Bigosa hath communicated to the Publick or in St. Cyril of Jerusalem who confutes the Manichees in his Catechetick Lectures 2. Hath he found any thing like it in the Writings of St. Epiphanius who hath given us so large a Catalogue of their Heresies 3. Hath he found any thing to this purpose in St. Augustin who hath writ so many Books against these Mad-men or in St. Leo in his Epistle to Turribius Bishop of Tarracon 4. Hath he found any such thing in the Treatise of Predestinatus concerning Heresies published by Sirmondus 5. Hath he found this Character of the Manichees in any of those Authors that have written since as in Isidore of Sevill in Johannes Damascenus in the Catalogue of Heresies published by Cotelerius 6. Hath he found any thing to this purpose in Petrus Siculus who lived in the 9 th Century and who conversed and disputed at Tibrica with the Manichees whose Opinions he sets down All the Greek Authors which speak of the Manichees before and after the 9 th Century and all the Latin Authors without so much as excepting one only know of no such thing who could therefore discover this Character of Manicheism to the Bishop We must conclude that the Bishop who hath made a Discovery which none of the Antients no nor
Nature from superfluous corporal Food 7. Concerning Monks and their Vows he speaks thus Friars studien to be rich they rob Men by begging Touch a great Cup of Gold or Silver but not a Penny or Farthing They magnify more Obedience to sinful Men than to Christ 8. He approved the Marriage of Priests 9. He disapproved the Practice of the Church of Rome in the Matter of Divorces To make Divorce common innumerable Subterfuges are invented 10. He blamed the Custom of the Church of Rome in granting Dispensations for marrying in case of Propinquity of Blood Such Dispensations as these bring Confusion into the Church 11. He condemned all Equivocation which so many Casuists of the Church of Rome pretend to justify 12. He maintains that the King ought not to be subject to any foreign Jurisdiction For otherwise saith he Kings would not be able fully to keep the Peace in their own Kingdoms 13. He blamed the too frequent Use of Excommunication 14. He maintained That a true Christian ought not to believe implicitly but with an explicit Faith that expresses the Particulars more or less according as they are more or less obliged by God and his Gifts and the Opportunity of time 15. He had no great Veneration for the Doctrine of Purgatory when he saith Whatsoever is said of Purgatory is only spoke threatningly as so many pious Lies Thus we see what was Wicklef's Faith and what his Judgment was concerning the Superstitions and Corruptions of the Church of Rome from whence we may gather that he came very near to the Belief of the Protestant Churches It was no difficult matter therefore for Dr. James to justify him against the horrid Calumnies of Walden by consulting his manuscript Works which are to be found in several Libraries in England 1. They objected against him that he taught that if a Priest or a Bishop ordains or consecrates the Sacrament of the Altar or administers Baptism whilst he is in mortal Sin it can do him no Service But the Falshood of this Objection appears from Wicklef's own Words which assure us of the contrary Except a Christian saith he be united to Christ by Grace he hath not Christ the Saviour nor without Falshood can he pronounce the Sacramental Words Tho they may do good to those who are capable of them for it behoves the Priest that consecrates to be a Member of Christ and as some holy Men express it to be in some sort Christ himself They objected against him that he had asserted that it was not lawful for any Ecclesiastical Person to have any temporal Râ—venue But nothing is more false for Wicklef only saith that the Goods of the Clergy are temporal Things what way soever they come by them and that the Possession of them is to be regulated by the Laws as well as the Estates of Laymen The Goods of spiritual Men saith he be temporal in what manner soever they come to them and must be ordered after the temporal Law as the Goods of temporal Men must be They said that it was his Opinion that no Prelate ought to excommunicate any Person whatsoever unless he knew that God himself had excommunicated him But Wicklef only speaks of those rash and precipitate Excommunications which never fail to produce bad Effects and which are only discharged from carnal Respects They like the High-Priests Scribes and Pharisees do not only eat the Flesh but the very Bones too they do not water what is dry with the Word of God but endeavour to cut and break what is fat and full of Marrow He saith also that Excommunications are the Fruit of Pride to terrify poor Laymen They accus'd him of teaching that a Man could not be either a Bishop or Priest as long as he continued in Mortal Sin But no such thing can be inferr'd from Wicklef's Words for he still aiming at the Reformation of the Clergy which was very corrupt in his time did not carry it too far when he said That it is not the Name that makes a Bishop but the Life Whosoever has only the Name of a Priest or Bishop and does not endeavour to add to that Name the reason of it he is in truth neither Bishop nor Priest They affirm'd that he had taught that Soveraigns might deprive the Clergy of their Possessions if they thought good as often as they committed any Fault But Wicklef never pretended that the Clergy ought to be deprived of the Goods they possessed for slight Faults True it is he did not think the Government was obliged to maintain so many useless Monks but as to the Bishops and Priests he never taught that they ought to be deprived of their Benefices except they made themselves unworthy of them by a perfectly scandalous Life He taught say they that Tithes were only Alms and that the Parishioners might keep them back and put them to what other Uses they pleased I own that Wicklef often said that Tithes were nothing else but meer Alms but it is false that ever he asserted that the Parishioners might keep them back on the contrary he saith It belongs to Parishioners for the good of their Souls to minister Tithes and Oblations to whom they are due The Priests of Christ ought to withdraw the Word of God from those who are not rightly dispos'd for it that is if the People should be so obstinate and disobedient to Holy-Mother the Church as either to forbid or not to minister the Necessaries of Life to him who preaches the Gospel to them They object against him that he despised temporal Things too much for the Love which he had for those that are eternal and that he join'd himself to the Mendicant-Friars approving their Poverty and commending their Perfection A strange Crime indeed It is a surprizing Thing to see them accuse Wicklef upon this account but it is no less astonishing to hear them assert that he had great inclination for the Begging-Friars to be convinc'd of the Falsity whereof we need only read the complaint he made to the Parliament and his Treatise against the Order of Begging-Friars He held say they that Church-men ought to beg Whereas on the contrary he maintained that God had condemned Beggary in the Old and New Testament See the fifth Chapter of his Book against the Order of Friars Mendic They accuse him for condemning lawful Oaths But this is for want of having read his Works for it appears by his Latin Exposition of the third Commandment and by his Book of the Truth of Scripture that he condemns all manner of Equivocations and ambiguous Expressions whether with Oaths or without He will not have any one to lie for a World or to save an infinite number of Souls and much less to swear falsly He taught say they that all Things come to pass by an absolute Necessity We may easily see what Wicklef believ'd concerning