Government of these Churches the Succession whereof we cannot distinctly set down but this ought not to surprize any Body the Captains of the Croisade and the Inquisitors can best satisfy the World in this Point wherein we must acknowledg our Inability As for their Morals and Behaviour who ever will but reflect upon the Debauchery and general Corruption which reigned in the 11 th Century will easily judg that those who renounced the Communion of the Church of Rome and who call'd her the Mystical Babylon because of her false Worship and the horrid Corruption of her Ministers must needs be more pure in their Morals and more orderly in their Behaviour and indeed we find it true in the Albigenses as well Pastors as People The Pastors recommended to the People the having of the Books of the New Testament in their Mother-Tongue and pressed the Reading thereof with so much Care and Application that Raymond Earl of Tholouse never stirred any whither without taking that holy Book with him This was the certain Badg and Mark of all these Hereticks and that whereby they defended themselves For which reason the Council of Tholouse fearing lest their Croisades should not be able to exterminate the Albigenses as long as they had the Bible in the vulgar Tongue took care to prohibit the having of it in these Terms We prohibit the Permission of the Books of the Old and New Testament to Laymen except perhaps they might desire to have the Psalter or some Breviary for the Divine Service or the Hours of the Blessed Virgin Mary for Devotion expresly forbidding their having the other Parts of the Bible translated into the Vulgar Tongue It was by means of this Purity of their Morals that as Petrus Cluniacensis witnesseth the Petrobusians found so much favour with many of the Clergy of the Bishops of the Princes and of the Laity at the same time when they preached openly that the Church of Rome was not the Church but that they were the true Church as being truly Apostolical Indeed a cursory Reflection upon the Nature of the enormous Crimes laid to their Charge as if those Abominations had been the general Character of their Religion is sufficient to discover the Imposture of their Accusers For they are Crimes that overturn the Foundations of all Society by destroying the Honour of Families and filling every Place with abominable Adulteries and Incests Can any Man imagine that such a Sect as this could ever have been able to propagate it self throughout all Europe as Wilhelmus Newbrigensis declares the Waldenses did if the Manners of those that profess it had been founded upon Principles that trample upon the Laws of Nature which have always been respected even amidst the thickest Darkness of Paganism We do not find that Manicheism went so far even then when it caus'd the greatest Disturbance in the World nor that the Corruption into which it plunged those that were tainted with it had any very great influence upon others whereas we find that the Religion of the Albigenses hath spread its Roots far and near and even procur'd Esteem and Affection from those of the Romish Party that were not wholly transformed into the Nature of Brutes and Madmen being natural Consequences of that insulting Spirit which has animated the Popes and the Clergy in these latter Ages What I say here is evident from the Testimony of William of Puylaurens in his Chronicle who owns that the Albigenses had a shew of Godliness though saith he they denied the power of it that they were had in extream Veneration by the People and that more Legacies were left to them than to Church-men whereas on the other hand the Romish Clergy were fall'n to that extream Contempt that Lay-men instead of the common Wish I had rather be a Jew us'd to say I had rather be a Chaplain The Case must needs have been very evident since Pope Innocent III who left nothing unattempted to root it out yet could not but do them the justice to own that they were very free from several Vices Indeed we may easily judg of their Morals and Demeanour by their Constancy in suffering the most cruel Torments in the defence of the Truth Matthew Paris tells us of one Robert an Inquisitor who buried alive or burnt 50 of them in two Months time and yet not one of them rerenounced his Faith in the midst of the greatest Violence of their Torments Perrin and Chassagnon give us great Numbers of parallel Examples as well as the Acts of the Inquisition of Tholouse Lucus Tudensis who endeavours to ridicule this Constancy of their Martyrs is at the same time a Witness for it beyond all manner of Controversy Mezeray was juster than the Bishop of Meaux for though he was not ignorant of the Slanders cast upon them yet he hath given this Testimony of the Albigenses whom he calls Waldenses he saith There were two principal Sorts of them the one of them were very ignorant and given to Lewdness and Villany these Men maintain'd gross and filthy Errors and these were indeed a kind of Manichees The others were more learned and less disorderly and keeping themselves at the greatest distance from the Filthinesses now mention'd maintain'd much the same Opinions with the Calvinists and to speak properly were Henricians and Waldenses This Testimony so agreeable to Truth may well make those blush who copy the Forgeries of the Jesuit Mariana who to make the Albigenses pass for Atheists and Epicureans has changed the Title of Lucus Tudensis his Book which was only in these terms Concerning another Life and Controversies of Faith by adding to it against the Errors of the Albigenses CHAP. XXI Concerning the Persecutions which the Albigenses have suffered from the Pope and his Party MY Design is not to enlarge here upon a particular Description of their Persecutions This would be too vast a Field to enter upon in a Work of this kind which I have undertaken but withal I should think my self to blame if after having shewed with how much Zeal the Albigenses maintained the Truth of the Gospel by their Preaching and practis'd the Morals thereof in their Conversation I should not give a short Account of what Persecutions they have suffered and with what Constancy by their Martyrdom they have born witness to the same Truth We have already taken a view of the Persecutions exercised against Peter de Bruis and Henry his Disciple at the Sollicitation of Peter de Clugny and Bernard Abbot of Clairvaux who caused them to be sacrificed to the Interest of the Church of Rome which after the 11 th Century begun to persecute with Sword and Fire all those who durst be so bold to oppose her Greatness by undervaluing her Decrees It was in compliance with this Method that Petrus Cluniacensis writing to the Archbishop of Arles and Ambrun and to the Bishops of Die and Gap concerning the Petrobusians and Henricians tells them It is
Those of the Church of Rome only know not what it is to disown the Rage and Slanders of their Predecessors She has accused the Albigenses of Manicheism and has done it on purpose to inspire her Votaries with a barbarous Cruelty against a People who refus'd to bear the Yoak of her Tyranny And 't is to please her that her Ministers must still go on to tear the Memory of those faithful Servants of God for the utter Extirpation of whom she formerly armed the Hands of all the furious Zealots of her Communion And as in handling the History of the Waldenses I thought needful for the Satisfaction of the Reader to make some Remarks on their Original their Succession their Separation from the Church of Rome and their Ministry so I intend now to follow the same Method exactly in these Observations on the History of the Albigenses and I hope this will be equally useful to shew what care God hath taken to preserve these other illustrious Witnesses of his Truth notwithstanding all those Corruptions that overspread the Churches of the West I have set down the Character of the Manichees both Antient and Modern in my Remarks upon the History of the Churches of Piedmont so fully that it will not be necessary to repeat what I say there in this Treatise 1. Because it is certain that it was rather Humour in the Bishop of Meaux that he did not accuse them of Manicheism than any due regard to Truth the Waldenses having been as much accused of Manicheism as the Albigenses neither are there any more solid Proofs to convict the Albigenses of those Errors than the Waldenses 2. Because this new Hypothesis of the Bishop of Meaux wherein he asserts that to accuse the Pope of being Antichrist is a Character of Manicheism is so excessively ridiculous that it is hard to guess how even the Bishop himself could ever give Entertainment to it It is a very surprizing thing to see the Bishop maintain in his new Commentary upon the Revelation that the Prophecies of St. John concerning Antichrist were actually accomplished above 1200 Years since Antichrist then must have made his escape in the Crowd without being at all perceiv'd for the greatest Lights of the Church and those who had their Eyes most open to discover him never perceiv'd any thing of all this Vega and Ribera who have written on the Revelations with as much Learning as the Bishop of Meaux were never able to make any Discovery in antient History that could be applicable to the Apocalypse and all the Romish Writers of Controversy must have been a Company of Asses not to stumble upon so easy an Answer which would eternally have stopp'd the Mouths of the Protestants in so ticklish and tender a Point But 't is no matter since two Protestant Authors and those of the first Rank too Grotius and Hammond have handed this Notion to the Bishop it being very probable that the Bishop did for this Reason hinder the Clergy from putting the Works of Grotius in the Catalogue of Books which they forbad a little before the Revocation of the Edict of Nantes and he would have been as civil to Dr. Hammond too if his Commentary upon the New Testament had been known to him any where else than in Pool's Synopsis And really these great Men very well deserv'd that a particular Regard should be had to them their Mistake in the point of Antichrist having prov'd as advantageous to the Church of Rome as their learned Works can be profitable to the Protestants But it is yet a more surprizing thing to see the Bishop make this Charge of the Albigenses against the Pope a Character of their being Manichees which none that have ever writ against them before have taken the least notice of Whatever the Success may be of so groundless a Charge I shall make it appear that the Bishop of Meaux could not accuse the Albigenses without making great Numbers of his best Catholicks suspected and Abettors of the Manicheism of the Albigenses in this Point I thought it was my Duty to clear Wicklef and his Disciples from the Slanders cast upon them by the Bishop of Meaux I know very well that he has done nothing but repeat the old Calumnies wherewith the Papists formerly endeavoured to blacken that great Man without taking the least notice of the Apologies that have been made in his behalf But either Men must resolve never to write against these Gentlemen or be content to undergo the Drudgery of repeating publickly those solid Answers that have been returned to their Accusations before which the Writers of the Romish Party always think fit to dissemble I hope however that seeing the Matter I undertake to treat of naturally engaged me to take notice of great Numbers of Matters of Fact which were necessary to be examined towards the clearing of this Subject and that the Malice and Cruelty of the Enemies of these antient Christians have robb'd us of what might be most material for their Justification the Reader will not expect I should put these Remarks into any other form than that in which I wrote my Remarks upon the Ecclesiastical History of the Churches of Piedmont For I could neither write a continued History nor dispense with the Examination of several Matters of Fact which could not be cleared so well as they ought without some critical Enquiries that will be unpleasant to all those who search for any thing else but Truth I have confined my self here entirely to the enquiry after and illustration of that alone and I am persuaded that those who will take the pains to weigh what I have said in these following Sheets with care will be of the same Opinion And I heartily wish that it may triumph over Falshood and Innocence prevail against all the Assaults of Obloquy and Slander CORRIGENDA THe Reader is desired to make Allowances for these Alterations in the first 100 Pages because the Publisher had not the Original French Copy till those Sheets were wrought off and he thinks that all Men will sooner excuse him for annexing them to the Preface where they may appear not so beautiful than if he should have suffered them to pass unregarded since that might have led the Reader into Mistakes and at last reflected upon himself He says this the more willingly because he is confident that no Man will charge the Author with it in the least since his Unacquaintedness with our Language easily justifies him from any manner of Imputation upon that Account Page 6. Line 20. read Gauls which they remained p. 7. l. 21. for Photinus r. Pothinus p. 10. l. penult r. by Feuardentius p. 19. l. 31. r. preserved us one of his Books p. 24. l. 24. r. trusting Chastity with any p. 27. l. 20. r. Pope Syricius to Hymerius p. 30. l. 1. r. But the pleasantest thing of all is that St. Jerome l. 11. f. Deum r. Diem p. 31. l. 11. for Deo read
that time to treat the Albigenses as Manichees and to confound them with those Hereticks whereas their Faith was very opposite to that of the Manichees for in his Refutation he huddles them altogether without almost any Distinction though their Principles were very different It seems he made use of this way that he might make use of his common places the better or else he did it to avoid frequent Repetitions In the first place therefore Alanus refutes the Manichees who asserted that there were two Principles whereof the one was Good the other Evil and maintained that the evil God had created the World of whom also some affirmed that the Souls of Men were Apostate Angels who should be saved after their Abode in humane Bodies and that the Souls of the Patriarchs had no share in the Salvation of Jesus Christ They held likewise that Jesus Christ did not take upon him a true Body and that he never eat or drunk They believed that the Body of Man was the Workmanship of the Devil and that it should not rise again and they seemed to think that Souls perished with their Bodies He refutes some who though they believed the Flesh of Jesus Christ yet denied him to be the Son of God others who maintained that Jesus Christ had taken a celestial Body that the Virgin had been created in Heaven and had neither Father nor Mother He takes up the first 34 Chapters of his first Book in confuting these Opinions Afterwards in his 35 th Chapter he refutes the Opinion of those who pretended that the Law of Moses was published by the Devil and that the Fathers of the Old Testament were all damned As to the Sacraments whereof he treats from the 39 th Chapter he owns that some of those Hereticks whom he opposeth in general absolutely rejected Baptism these were Manichees that others denied the Efficacy of it to Infants denying Original Sin that others again believed it unprofitable to Children and only useful for those of riper Years and he disputes against every one of these Opinions In Chapter 45 he disputes against those who denied Baptism to be useful without the Imposition of Hands Afterwards he confutes those that maintained that we ought not after having obtained the Pardon of our Sins in Baptism hope to obtain the same Grace a second time by Repentance which obliged them to excommunicate those who relapsed into their Sins after Baptism which they proved from the 6 th and 10 th Chapters of the Epistle to the Hebrews and because Penance was no more to be reiterated than Baptism or Orders It seems that these Albigenses had a Discipline like that which prevailed in the Church before the Council of Carthage in Tertullian's time where they never admitted to the Communion those who had committed any great Crimes after their Baptism In the 50 th Chapter he attacks other Hereticks who asserted that Penance did not procure Remission of Sins because it is God alone that can pardon Sins One sees plainly enough what they meant especially because he adds that they believed it was sufficient to confess their Sins to God which they proved by the Authorities of St. Ambrose St. Maximus and St. Chrysostom He says that these Hereticks denied Transubstantiation 'T is worth observing to see with what Force and Subtilty they disputed against this Doctrine I shall produce the Arguments themselves of the Albigenses which Alanus endeavours to confute Et hoc sic probare conantur Si singulis diebus panis in corpus Christi mutaretur illud in infinitum augeretur Quaerunt etiam utrum ille panis desinat esse si desinit esse adnihilatur ita etiam corrumpitur Item quaerunt quomodo corpus tantae quantitatis intrat per os hominis Item si corpus Christi comeditur dentibus atteritur ita in partes dividitur Item panis fit corpus Christi ergo erit corpus Christi ita aliud quam sit Item panis fiet corpus ergo de pane fiet corpus Christi sic de pane erit materia corporis Christi Item post Transubstantiationem remanent accidentia ergo in alio subjecto vel in Aēre sed si in Aëre aliqua pars Aëris est rotunda sapida secundum quod illa forma defertur per diversa loca mutant accidentia subjectum Item in eadem parte Aëris manent illa accidentia illa soliditas est in Aëre cum illa sint solida sic Aër solidus est Ex his videtur quod accidentia illa non sint in Aëre sed nec in corpore Christi sunt nec est assignare aliquid corpus in quo sint ergo non videntur remanere accidentia Item cum forma illa sub quâ latet corpus Christi dividatur in partes sub illa formâ desinit corpus Christi quomodo ergo sub singulis portionibus illius Hostiae datur corpus Christi Item si corpus Christi latet sub illâ exiguá formâ ubi est Christi caput vel pes Et ita indistincta sunt membra illius Item Christus dedit suum corpus discipulis ante Passionem sed dedit eis mortale vel immortale si immortale dedit sed tunc erat mortalis ergo quando erat mortalis immortalis erat quod est impossibile Item ponatur quod aliquis celebraverit divina tempore passionis Christi corpus existens Romae passum fuisset Romae quia ubicunque erat patiebatur tempore passionis sic non patiebatur tantum in Hierusalem sed in multis aliis locis Item ponatur quod mus accedat ad Pyxidem in quâ est Christi corpus mus aliquid comedit ergo Aëra vel accidens vel corpus sed quòd comedat Aëra vel accidens absurdum est magis absurdum quod comedat corpus Christi Item cum sanguis Christi glorificatus sit nec faciat localem distantiam videtur quod Calice repleto sanguine alius liquor possit infundi Item Christus ait in Evangelio Omne quod in os intrat in secessum emittitur Ergo Christi corpus non intrat quando ad manducandum datur nec in secessum emittitur And this they endeavour to prove thus If the Bread every Day should be changed into the Body of Christ it would be infinitely increased They inquire also whether the Bread cease to be If it ceaseth to be then is it annihilated and so it is spoiled Also they ask How a Body of so great a Bulk can enter into the Mouth of a Man Whether the Body of Christ be eaten chew'd with Teeth and consequently divided into parts Whether the Bread becomes the Body of Christ because then it will be the Body of Christ that is to say something else than it is Whether the Bread becomes the Body and if so then Bread is the Body of Christ and so Bread will be the matter of Christ's Body Also after Transubstantiation the Accidents do
remain if so they must be in another Subject in the Air for Instance but if there then some part of the Air must be round savoury and white and as this Form is carried through divers places so the Accidents change their Subject Again these Accidents abide in the same part of the Air and thus Solidity will be in the Air because they are solid and consequently the Air will be solid Hence it appears that these Accidents are not in the Air neither are they in the Body of Christ neither can any other Body be assigned in which they are so that the Accidents do not seem to remain Again when the Form or Figure in which the Body of Christ lieth hid is divided into Parts the Body of Christ continues no longer in that Figure which it had before how therefore can the Body of Christ be in every part of that Host Again if the Body of Christ be hid in that little form where is the Head or Foot and consequently his Members must be indistinguish'd Again Christ gave his Body to his Disciples before his Passion Now he gave it them either mortal or immortal if he gave it immortal yet it is certain that then it was mortal and consequently whilst it was mortal it was immortal which is impossible Again suppose we that some one or other had celebrated the Communion at the time that Christ suffered the Body that was suppose at Rome would have suffered there because wheresoever it was it suffered at the time of the Passion and so Christ would have suffered not only at Jerusalem but in many other places Again suppose that a Mouse should come to the Pix in which the Body of Christ is and eat some part of it the Mouse would eat either Air or Accidents or the Body of Christ but it is absurd to say that the Mouse should eat either Air or Accidents and much more absurd it is to say that it eats the Body of Christ Again Seeing that the Blood of Christ is glorified and does not fill a Place it seems to follow that when the Cup is full of Blood some other Liquor may be poured into it Again Christ saith in the Gospel whatsoever enters in at the Mouth is cast forth into the Draught whence it will follow that the Body of Christ doth not go in at the Mouth when it is given to be eaten or if it does it must be cast forth into the Draught In the 59 th Chapter he relates this Objection of the Albigenses concerning the same Matter Quaerunt etiam Haeretici utrum sit Articulus fidei Christianae panem transubstantiari in Corpus Christi cum de hoc non fiat mentio in aliquo Symbolo non enim in Symbolo Apostolico scilicet Credo in Deum vel in Nicaeno Credo in Unum c. vel in Symbolo Athanasii Quicunque vult c. Cum in his Symbolis de omnibus Articulis Christianae fidei fiat mentio cur non fiat mentio de illo ineffabili Sacramento cui magis videtur obviare humanae Ratio The Hereticks also demand whether it be an Article of the Christian Faith that the Bread is transubstantiated into the Body of Christ seeing there is no mention made of it in any Creed for we do not meet with it in the Apostles Creed that is Credo in Deum nor in the Nicene that is Credo in Vnum nor in the Athanasian Quicunque vult and since in these Creeds are contained all the Articles of the Christian Faith why is there no mention of this ineffable Sacrament which of all things seems most contrary to Reason I have set down these Arguments in order 1 st because it is visible to any one that will take the pains to examine them that they are the same that were urged by Berengarius as appears by the Extracts of his Book which Lanfrank has preserv'd and afterwards by those who in the 12 th Century endeavour'd to qualify and defend the Absurdities of the Confession which they made Berengarius sign 2 dly Because it plainly appears that those who admitted the three Creeds the Apostles the Nicene and the Athanasian did not reject the use of Matrimony which yet he lays to their charge there being nothing more remote from Manicheism Neither doth he impute it save only to some of these Hereticks which makes it manifest that he hath confounded all these People together and that he only pursued his Matter and his common Places without giving us particularly the Opinions of every one of these Hereticks We find that he charges them with rejecting the Sacrament of Confirmation because there is no mention made of it neither in the Gospel nor in the other Books of the New Testament as an Institution of Christ They rejected also the Sacrament of Orders as it was believed in the Church of Rome See what Alanus saith of it Dicunt etiam fidei Catholicae inimici Ordinem ut Diaconatum vel Sacerdotium non esse Sacramentum quod sic probare conantur Non legitur in aliquâ Canonicâ Scripturâ Apostolos ordinatos fuisse in Sacerdotes cur ergo corum Vicarios sic ordinari oportet Item Apostoli qui majores Sacerdotes dicti sunt non leguntur uncti fuisse Chrismate cur ergo unguntur eorum Vicarii Praeterita merita faciunt suffragantur ut quis sit dignus aliquo Officio quid ergo confert Ordo Besides the Adversaries of the Catholick Faith affirm that the Order of Deacons or Priests is not a Sacrament which they endeavour to prove thus We do not read in any part of Canonical Scripture that the Apostles were ordained Priests and therefore what necessity is there that their Vicars should be so Again The Apostles who are said to be the higher Priests were never anointed and why then are their Vicars anointed It is forepast Merit and true Worth that makes one fit for any Function what need therefore is there of Orders Concerning extream Unction they believe after this manner Dicunt etiam extremam olei Vnctionem quae datur infirmis nec esse Sacramentum nec aliquem habere effectum quia hoc Sacramentum Vnctionis infirmorum ab Apostolis institutum non legitur They say that Extream Unction which is conferr'd upon sick Persons is neither a Sacrament nor otherwise of any efficacy because this Sacrament of Anointing the Sick is not found to be of Apostolical Institution As to Churches we find that they follow'd the Opinions of Henry the Disciple of Peter de Bruis Non desunt qui dicant locum materialem non esse Ecclesiam sed conventum fidelium sanctum quia ut aiunt locus ad orationem non pertinet sicut enim ubique est Deus sic ubique adorari vel orari potest Hoc autem probare nituntur Authoritate Christi dicentis Samaritanae Mulier crede mihi venit hora quando nec in Monte hoc nec in
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
Modern Writers neither whether Papists or Protestants have been able to make must have had it from the Revelation of some Angel albus an ater nescio since he speaks so very positively of this new Character of the Manichees But saith he the case is plain the Albigenses were Manichees and they called the Pope the Antichrist and with an invincible Obstinacy have maintain'd that this Title belongs to him wherefore it must follow that this Accusation of the Pope must be a Character of Manicheism If the Bishop had reflected never so little upon what he here asserts this single Character of the Albigenses who accused the Pope of being the Antichrist would have made him draw a quite contrary Consequence that is to say that the Albigenses could not be Manichees For it is most certain that the Manichees never taught any such thing this Heresy which sprung up in the East never attack'd the Bishop of Rome in particular but the whole Body of Christians who received the Books of the Old Testament and who owned the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ to be the Creator of the World But whence comes it then may some say that the Albigenses have peculiarly affected to call the Pope Antichrist which certainly must be look'd upon a Character of the Albigenses unless we should find it to be a Character of the Manichees as the Bishop of Meaux pretends The question would not have been so difficult to resolve had not the Bishop affected to appear ignorant in a Question which he ought to have enquired into since he hath undertaken to handle it in a Commentary on purpose In a word France which first bestowed upon the Popes the temporal Dominions they now enjoy long since owned the Pope to be the Antichrist For Gregory I having declared in twelve several Letters written against the Patriarch of Constantinople who assumed the Title of Universal Bishop that whoever claimed that Title for himself was either the Antichrist or the Forerunner of him It was not long after that Pope Boniface III persuaded Phocas to give him the Title of Universal which all his Successors took up afterwards with joy and affected to use it For which reason the French fearing lest they should fail of the respect which they had for St. Gregory if they should accuse themselves of having so often made use of a false Way of reasoning at last called the Pope Antichrist They were not therefore Manichees that were come from the East in the 11 th Century to settle themselves in the West who first set on foot this Accusation but they were the French who in a full Council at Rheims after the 10 th Century called the Pope Antichrist Seguinus Archbishop of Sens having maintained that Arnulphus Bishop of Rheims could not be deposed without the consent of the Pope Arnulphus Bishop of Orleans who had the greatest Reputation of any Man of his Time solidly maintained from the Canons and Customs of the Church that the Pope's Sentence was not to be waited for in that Case Ab eo responsa petere marmora consulere est To desire an Answer from him is to consult the Stones speaking to the Assembly of the Council He further saith Who do you think that Man is who sits in his high Chair he is answers he the Antichrist who sits in the Temple of God and shews himself as God And the rest of his Discourse is a sufficient Evidence that he took the Pope to be the Antichrist and that he acknowledged that the Mystery of Iniquity was then coming in upon the Church It was Gerbertus afterwards Pope that digested the Acts of that Council and who in an Epistle to Seguinus Archbishop of Sens makes it appear that in his time they were not much concerned for the Pope's Excommunications and that it was not pretended that he was the Center of Christian Communion Non est ergo says he danda occasio nostris aemulis ne Sacerdotium quod ubique unum est sicut Ecclesia una est ita uni subjici videatur ut eo pecuniâ gratiâ metu vel ignorantiâ corrupto nemo sacerdos esse possit nisi quem hae virtutes commendaverint We ought not therefore to give an Opportunity to our Rivals lest the Priesthood which is every-where one and the same as the Church is one should come to be so subjected to one as that he being corrupted with Money Favour Fear or Ignorance no Man should be able to obtain that Order except he had these Vertues to recommend him Here we see the true Stile of the Albigenses before ever any Manichee was come from the East into France Now after this was once set on foot it was maintained from Century to Century by those who were brought up and that died in the Communion of the Church of Rome It would be an easy matter to give a Catalogue of those who have spoke at this rate to show what heed there is to be given to the most positive Assertions of the Bishop of Meaux If the Bishop of Meaux in the least desired to undeceive himself he need only read what Aventinus says in his Annals of Bavaria of Pope Gregory VII who there is termed Antichrist by Persons who were very far from being Manichees he need only read in the Acts of the Life of Paschal II what the Bishop of Florence openly preached concerning this Matter or to read in the Life of Richard I written by Roger Hoveden what Abbot Joachim maintained before Richard I without being ever accused of Manicheism or he may take notice in Matthew Paris upon the year 1253 what Notions Robert Grosthead Bishop of Lincoln one of the greatest Bishops of his time maintained or he may peruse the Revelations of St. Brigit and the 16 th Epistle of Petrarch in his second Tome And yet never were any of these Persons accus'd of Manicheism But this has been treated of at large already by Wolfius in his Various Lections and besides this would lead us too far from the Subject we are upon at present I shall content my self therefore with observing three things concerning this matter The 1 st is That nothing was more common with the Popes and Anti-Popes than mutually to brand each other with the Title of Antichrist And the Writers of both Parties kept always close to this Stile and yet all of them lived and died in the Bosom of the Church of Rome and never were thought to be the Disciples of the Manichees 2 dly That there are many Authors and even several of those that have been canonized who have made use of the same Notions in speaking and writing of the Church of Rome and yet none have ever condemned them of Manicheism The 3 d is That ever since the Reformation though the Bishop pretends that the Prophecy concerning the Beast hath been already fulfilled there is scarcely if you except the Bishop any one Popish Author who doth not own that Rome
a chief Man of that Sect was burnt at Collen in the Year 1323 as Trithemius tells us in his Chronicle of the Monastery of Hirsaugen in the Diocess of Spires Nothing can be imagined more horrid than these Calumnies and we need not doubt but they were supported by many pretended Convictions made by the Inquisitors of Germany but it is easy to demonstrate that there is scarce any ground for all these Accusations which therefore is a plain Proof of what I have elsewhere maintained concerning these persecuted Persons who used it for a Proverb in England He lies like a Monk We have an authentick piece of the Lollards which Roger Dimmock a Jacobite Friar hath confuted in a Manuscript whereof there are two Copies at Cambridg the one in the publick Library and another older than that in Trinity Colledg They presented this Confession of theirs to the Parliament which gave occasion to this Monk to insert it in English together with his Latin Translation into a Book which he dedicated to King Richard II. I need only set down the Original with the Latin Translation of Roger Dimmock which will be sufficient to confound all the Calumnies of the Inquisitors The Petition of the LOLLARDS NOS pauperes homines thesaurarii sive thesaurus Christi Apostolorum ejus denunciamus vobis Dominis Communibus praesentis Parliamenti certas Quaestiones Veritates pro Reformatione sanctae Ecclesiae Anglicanae quae caeca extitit leprosa annis plurimis per manutenentiam superbae praelaciae supportatae adulationibus privatarum religionum sive privatae religionis multiplicatae ad magnum onus est effectus populisonerosus in Anglia Secunda Conclusio hanc continet Sententiam Quando Ecclesia Anglicana incoepit delirare in possessione temporalium secundum novercam suam magnam Romanam Ecclesiam Ecclesiae mortificatae erant sive occisae per appropriationem diversorum locorum fides spes caritas coeperunt fugere extra Ecclesiam nostram quia superbia cum sua prole perversa peccatorum mortalium vendicabant Ecclesiam nostram titulo haereditario Ista quaestio est generalis probata ut dicunt experientia more ut audies in sequentibus Haec est secunda Quaestio Sacerdotium nostrum usuale quod incoepit in civitate Romana ficta altioris potestatis potestate Anglica non est Sacerdotium à Christo suis Discipulis ordinatum Probatur sic haec quaestio Sacerdotium Romanum fictum cum signis ritibus ac Episcoporum Benedictionibus est pravae virtutis nullibi in sacra Scriptura exemplatum quia Ordinalia sine rubricae Episcoporum pravae sunt fidei vel autoritatis in novo Testamento nescimus videre quod spiritus sanctus dat dona sua propter aliqua talia signa quia ipse nobilia dona sua stare non possunt cum peccato mortali in aliquâ unâ personâ Corrolaria hujus quaestionis est quod valde extraneum sive novum est pluribus hominibus sapientibus videre Episcopos ludere cum spiritu sancto in suorum ordinum collatione quia coronas conferunt in caracteribus loco servorum alborum illa est liberata Antichristi sive ejus signum in istam Ecclesiam introductum ad otium palliandum Tertia quaestio dolorosa est ista Lex continentiae sacerdotio annexa quae in praejudicium foeminarum fuit primitus introducta inducit Sodomiam in universalem sanctam Ecclesiam sed per Bibliam excusamus nos propter suspectum decretum quod dicit quia nemâ— non deberemus nominarâ—â—d peccatum ratio experientia hanc probat quaestionem quia deliciosi cibi potus Ecclesiasticorum requirit necessariam purgationem naturalem vel pejorem experientia occultae probationis talium ergo non habent delectationem in mulieribus cum talem repereris nota enim bene quia ipse estunus exillis Correlaria hujus quaestionis est quod dignum valde esset adnullare privatas religiones hujus peccati incoeptores sed Deus ex sua magna potestate de peccatis privatis manifestam sumat vindictam Quarta quaestio quae plus damnificat populum innocentem est quia fictum miraculum sacri panis inducitomnes homines paucis exceptis ad Idolatriam quia ipsi aestimant quod corpus Domini quod nunquam exibit Coelum virtute verborum sacerdotis sit in exiguo pane quem ipsi populo ostendunt sed utinam vellent credere quod Doctor Evangelicus dicit in suo Trialogo quia panis altaris est habitudinaliter corpus Christi quia supponimus quod isto momento potest quilibet vir foemina in lege divina conficere Sacramentum panis sine aliquo tali miraculo Correlarium hujus quaestionis est quod si corpus Christi sit dotatum gloria aeterna officium corporis Christi compositum per Sanctum Thomam non est verum depictum plenum falsis miraculis hoc non est mirum quia frater Thomas illo tempore tenens cum Papa voluit fecisse miraculum de ovo gallinae bene novimus quod quodlibet mendacium aperte praedicatum cedit illi in verecundiam injuriam qui semper est fidelis sine defectu Quinta quaestio est haec Exorcismi sanctificationes consecrationes sive benedictiones factae in Ecclesia sancta vini panis aquae olei salis cerei incensi sive thuris mensae altaris murorum Ecclesiae vestimentorum mitrae baculi pastoralis baculorum peregrinorum hujusmodi vera practica sunt Nigromanciae potius quam sanctae Theologiae Haec quaestio probatur sic per tales exorcismos consecrationes creaturae sunt oneratae esse altioris virtutis quam sunt ex natura propria nihil mutationis videâ—us in hujusmodi creaturis exorcizatis vel consecratis nisi per falsam fidem quae est principale in omni arte diabolica Correlarium si liber qui exorcizat aquam benedictam aspersam in Ecclesiam Dei esset totus verus nobis videtur veraciter quia aqua benedicta in sancta Ecclesia usitata optima esset medicina cujus contrarium experimur Sexta quaestio quae sustentat multam superbiam est quod Rex Pontifex in eadem persona Praelatus Judex temporalis causae Curatus Officiarius in servicio mundiali quod libet regnum reddit sine regula debita vel convenienti regimine Haec quaestio probatur sic potestas temporalis spiritualis sunt duae partes totius sanctae Ecclesiae in eo qui se uni eorum deputavit non deberet se interponere cum altero quia nemo potest duobus dominis servire nobis videtur quod Hermefodrita vel Ambidexter esset conveniens nomen talibus hominibus duplicis status Correlarium nos procuratores Dei in ista causa instamus prosequimur ac petimus in isto Parliamento quod omnesmodi curatores tam alti quam bassi
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
speaking of the Power of St. Peter saith That the same is also granted to those who imitate him because all those that follow the Foot-steps of St. Peter can also lawfully bind and loose Lastly It is said in Malachy Chap. 2. I will curse your Blessings And in Ezekiel Chap. 13. Wo to those that quicken the dead Souls and who declare those dead that don't die If God say the Hereticks do curse the Blessing of wicked Pastors and declares that the Souls which they pretend to quicken do not live how can he communicate his Grace through their Channel The ninth Heresy is professed by the same Hereticks who maintain that it is neither the Office nor the Order but only the Merit of a good Life which confers the Power of binding and loosing of consecrating and blessing so that this is their Conclusion the Merit of a good and holy Life say they is of greater Efficacy to confer upon any one the Right of consecrating and blessing of binding and loosing than the Order or Office and therefore they have not received any Orders yet they believe themselves to be just and to have the Merits of the Apostles and so they take upon them to bless as the Priests do and say That they can consecrate bind and loose because it is the Merit and not the Office that confers this Power And because they pretend to be the Apostles Vicegerents they say that their Merit gives them this Charge In this it is that they chiefly oppose the Faith of the Church and declare themselves to be Hereticks But they endeavour to defend their Heresy by the Authority of Esicius who saith That the Priests do not bless by their own Authority but only because they represent Jesus Christ and that it is because Christ is in them that they can bestow their plenary Benediction And they say moreover that not only a Priest but every one that hath Christ in himself and represents him in his Life as Moses did has the Power of conferring Blessings The tenth Heresy is likewise taught by the same Hereticks who maintain that the Dispensations or Indulgences which a Bishop grants at the Consecration of a Church or upon any other occasion are not of any Value Their Reason is this Suppose say they that a Man be obliged to a Penance of three Years at the Consecration of a Church and one Bishop releases him of a third part of his Penance a second and third Bishop may do the like and thus for three Half-pence a Man shall be released of this three Years Penance And which is more these sorts of Dispensations are unjust for there is no Proportion between a Half-penny or a Crown and one whole Years Penance The eleventh Heresy is That the Prayers which are made for the Dead by those who are in any mortal Sin are unprofitable For say these Hereticks how can these Prayers do any Service to the Dead since they can do none at all to those who make them Can Prayers which are hurtful to them that make them be of any Advantage to the Person for whom they are designed Item in 3 q. in gravioribus it is said When a Judg is sollicited for his Favour to a Malefactor by any one that he hath no liking to it serves only to incense him so much the more and to make him pronounce a more severe Sentence So in like manner if any Man prays without Devotion it is the same thing as if he desired his own Condemnation for how can any Man whose very Prayer is Sin obtain by that Prayer any good thing for his Neighbour Or how can he whose Prayer deserves nothing at the Hand of God but Punishment pray profitably for another seeing God saith to the Sinner Psalm 49. What hast thou to do to declare my Statutes or why dost thou take my Covenant into thy Mouth They call also Reason to their Assistance When a Priest say they celebrates the Mass he being in mortal Sin the Action that he doth is evil and deserves eternal Punishment and by Consequence he cannot merit for another the Pardon of his Sins because it is impossible to merit Good and Evil Reward and Punishment by the self-same Action They quote the Canon-Law also which forbids us to assist at the Mass of a Priest who we are sure keeps a Concubine They prove likewise by another Authority that Men ought not to pray or sing Psalms in the Church as long as they are under mortal Sin The twelfth Heresy is of those who deny Purgatory and who say that it is a meer Invention of the Church to make the People give Alms and Offerings and to be at the charge of pompous Funerals for the Souls of the deceased or other things of that Nature I confess he does not mention the Albigenses by Name and that he confounds these pretended Heresies of the Albigenses with others that are much more hainous and some that were peculiar to some few Monks and that he attributes some of them in particular to the Vaudois as if they had been proper to them only But one may justly imagine that this Monk who compiled this Work from the Writings of other Monks or Doctors of the Church of Rome had his Eye upon the Albigenses because he acquaints us that he follows Alanus and that he copies his Arguments Now we know that Alanus wrote against the Waldenses and Albigenses as the manuscript Titles of his Books inform us though like the Author of the Fortalitium fidei he confounds them in his Treatise with the Arians Manichees and other pernicious Hereticks to render the Waldenses and Albigenses suspected of defending all those Heresies which he opposes It may be thought strange perhaps that this Monk did not imitate Alanus in attributing to the Albigenses the rejecting of Transubstantiation and the Consequents thereof but the Wonder will cease if we consider that he designed hereby to deprive the Jews against whom he disputes of an Advantage which they might reasonably draw from some Christians rejecting that Opinion though they owned Jesus Christ to be the Messiah and the Books of the New Testament to be of Divine Authority at the same time and therefore he rather chose to refute the Arguments against Transubstantiation as coming from the Mouths of the Jews than as Objections made by the Albigenses And indeed except the tenth Argument of the Jews against Transubstantiation which supposes the Christians who teach this Doctrine to be no better than brute Beasts as not having Sense enough to know that Jesus Christ being a Jew by Birth could not by the Circumstances of his Institution of the Eucharist intend any thing but a figurative meaning as opposed to a real and that his Apostles being Jews likewise could not form any other meaning in all this Ceremony but such as was figurative there is scarce any other which this Monk hath not borrowed from the Disputes which the Albigenses and Vaudois have held with those