them were banished out of Italy by the Imperial Law and deposed by the decrees of the Synods and that some of them having acknowledged their Error were received and confirmed by the Holy See Mercator adds That Pelagius and Coelestius had been already condemned by Innâ—cent Zosimus's Predecessor and to prove it he goes back to the Original of the cause of the Pelagians Pelagius saith he retired into Palastine after the taking of Rome His Writings falling into the Hands of some Bishops they found many things in them contrary to the Catholick Faith and they sent them into Africa where they were read and examined in three Councils who wrote them to the Holy See The Bishop of Rome condemned these Books and excommunicated Pelagius and Coelestius Pelagius was also accused to a Synod held at Jerusalem but he escaped the Condemnation which he deserved by deceiving the Bishops with his Subtletics and Shifts He was condemned in a second Synod wherein Theodotus Bishop of Antioch was President as the Letter written in the Name of this Bishop and Prailus Bishop of Jerusalem convinces us He then recites the particular Errors of Pelagius condemned in this Synod and ends his Commentary with an earnest request to Julian and his Adherents to condemn Pelagius and Coelestius who have been convicted of so many Errors The third Work of M. Mercator is another Commentary against the same Hereticks written after the death of S. Austin In it he describes the Original of the Error of Pelagius of which he makes some Syrians and principally Theodorus of Mopsuesta the Authors He adds That Rufinus who was a Syrian also who brought it first to Rome not daring to publish it there taught it to Pelagius * A Welch-Man an English Monk who inserted it in his Commentaries upon S. Paul That Coelestius a Person of Quality and Wit but who was born an Eunuch had joyned himself to Pelagius and had comprized his Doctrine in 6 Articles which he dispersed among the People That altho' his Errors had been condemned Julian had undertaken to defend them in large Books to which S. Austin had opposed long and effectual Answers That after he had read these Works he had also made some short Observations upon the Writings of Julian which he had collected and made publick to satisfie the desire of Pientius the Priest He chiefly opposes 4 Errors of Julian in it 1. That Concupiscence is not the consequent or effect of the Sin of the first Man but it is natural to Man 2. That Death entred into the World by the Sin of Adam but that it passed upon other Men only because they imitate the Sin of Adam 3. That the Sin of the first Man hath not descended to his Posterity 4. That Baptism pardons the Sins of those who have them and as for Infants that have none it perfects their Natures by the Gifts of Grace M. Mercator recites the Passages of Julian where he expresly lays down these Propositions and then confutes them by close Notes in which he mixes sharp and biting Expressions against Julian He passes not over any suspicious Sentence and whereas he uses the word Innovation for Renovation he blames him for it tho' S. Austin hath made use of both He observes that the Orthodox do not assert That Sin is natural to Man but that Original Sin cleaves to the corrupted Nature of Man He shews him That he contradicts himself in saying That Death passed upon all for Adam's Sin and yet it hath Dominion over them only who imitate his Transgression Lastly he proves by all that is said in Holy Scripture concerning the Redemption of Jesus Christ and of Baptism that it necessarily supposes That all Men yea Infants themselves are in Sin before they are renewed and regenerated by that Sacrament M. Mercator is not contented to oppose the Authority of the Church against Julian and the Pelagians but he also brings the Testimony of Nestorius against them who received them so well and wrote in their favour to Pope Coelestine and sent a consolatory Letter to Coelestius Next he produces with the 3 Letters of Nestorius written for them the Extracts of 4 Sermons preached by that Bishop in the presence of the Pelagians wherein he affirmed 1. That the fall of Adam hath been the cause of all the Miseries to which the nature of Man is subject and of the bondage by which it hath been brought under the Tyranny of Satan 2. That Jesus Christ is come to redeem Man from his Sins to blot out the Hand-writing that was against him and set him at liberty 3. That it is by the Sacrament of Baptism that he works these things and that Catechumens are always subject to the Curse of Sin till they have received this Sacrament The Third of these Sermons is in Greek among the Works of S. Chrysostom of Savil's Edition Tom. 7. And F. Garner hath caused it to be printed with the Extracts of Marius Mercator But because Julian might brag That Theodorus of Mopsuesta Bishop of Cilicia was for him M. Mercator undertakes to shew That this Bishop had Heretical Opinions about the Incarnation And to prove it he translates a Creed attributed to Theodorus of Mopsuesta and at the end annexes an Observation shewing That the Doctrine contained in that Creed is Heretical and that it supposed That Jesus Christ is made of two Natures and not of two Natures united in one and the same Person He confutes that Error and proves the Doctrine of the Church by Texts of Holy Scripture He demonstrates also in another Writing the agreement there is between the Error of Nestorius and of Paulus Samosatenus And for the more full Conviction of Nestorius and his Followers he rehearses long Extracts of Nestorius's 5 Sermons a Letter to S. Cyril and the Extracts of his Books and he opposes to them the two Letters of S. Cyril to Nestorius and a third Letter of the same Person to the Clergy of Constantinople He also examines the Aphorisms of Nestorius opposed to S. Cyril's and when he hath consuted them in order he delivers briefly the Faith of the Church concerning the Incarnation and discovers the different Errors of those that have opposed it For the confirmation of what he was about to propound he produces out of the Acts of the Council of Ephesus whatsoever is most direct and convincing against the Heresie of Nestorius He joyns to this a Translation of S. Cyril's two Apologies made for the defence of his Anathema against the Orientals He endeavours to render the Doctrine and Person of Theodoret odious by reciting the Extracts of his Treatises and Letters He treats him as an Heretick and a wicked Man altho'he owns That he did at last approve of S. Cyril's Doctrine tho'he would not condemn Nestorins He relates a Fragment of the Council against Domnus of Antioch where Theodoret is accused to have spoken against the Memory of S. Cyril saying That the Aegyptian Heresie was buried with
Pope Innocent II. to desire him to confirm the Sentence which they had pass'd against the Errors of Abaelard and to intreat him to prevent his teaching any Longer and his having any Countenance at the Court of Rome Their Letters are the hundred and Ninety first and the three hundred and thirty seventh among the Letters of Saint Bernard who doubtless compos'd them himself He wrote likewise in his own Name to the Pope the hundred and Eighty Ninth Letter wherein he earnestly exhorts him to proscribe the Errors of Abaelard and to hinder him from having any Countenance in the Court of Rome He likewise sent him the Heads which he had found fault with in Abaelard's Book with an Ample Refutation of his Errors This is the hundred and Ninetieth or Ninty first Opuscule Lastly to prevent Abaelard from making use of that Credit which he had at Rome in his favour he wrote to three Cardinals his Friends to do what they could that Abaelard might not succeed in his Designs This is the Subject Matter of the hundred and second the hundred and third and three hundreth and thirty Eighth Letters The Pope return'd Answer to the Prelates of the Council of Sens and to Saint Bernard that he The Confirmation of the Sentence pass'd by the Council of Sens by the Pope commended the Zeal which they had express'd against the Errors of Abaelard That after he had advis'd with the Bishops and Cardinals he had condemn'd the Heads which they had sent him and all the Errors of Peter Abaelard with the Author of them on whom he impos'd a perpetual silence as on a Heretick and that he had adjudg'd that all the Followers and Defenders of his Errors ought to be Excommunicated This Letter which is the hundred and Ninty fourth among Saint Bernard's bears dare July the 16th in the Year 1140. In an Order of the same or the foregoing day directed to the same Bishops and Saint Bernard he joyns Peter Abaelard to Arnulphus of Bresse and orders the Bishops to imprison them and to burn their Books where-ever they found them Abaelard to justify himself compos'd an Apology or rather a Confession of Faith wherein after Abaelard's Apology he had taken Notice that it was a hard matter when one writ to avoid reproach he protests in the presence of God that he is not at all sensible of being guilty of those things whereof they accus'd him and that if he were satisfied of his having advanc'd any Error he was resolv'd to maintain it no longer That it might happen that by carelessness he might have writ what he ought not to have writ but that he calls God to Witness that as to those Points whereof he was accus'd he had advanc'd nothing out of an ill Design or Pride That he always spoke in Publick and never conceal'd his Writings That if in that great Number of Lectures which he had held he had faln into any extravagancies he would never be stiff in the Maintenance of them but would be always ready to give satisfaction by Correcting or blotting out what he might have advanc'd improperly But that as it was his Duty to correct the faults which he had committed he was likewise oblig'd to refute those Accusations of Error which had been fasly laid to his Charge because as Saint Augustine says he who is negligent of his Reputation is an Enemy to himself and silence is a kind of Confession That 't is for this Reason that he Answers those Heads which are publish'd against him to let all the Faithful know that he is a true Son of the Church that he receiv'd whatever it receiv'd that he rejected whatever it rejected and that he always continu'd in the Union of the Church tho' he were not equal to others in the sanctity of his Life He thereupon in this Apology rejects the Errors whereof he was accus'd and professes the Contrary Truths by declaring 1. That he abhorr'd the Proposition which had been maliciously imputed to him That the Father had a perfect Power that the Son had only a Certain Power and that the holy Ghost had no Power at all and he professes that he believes that the Son and Holy Ghost are of the same Substance with the Father and that they have the same Power and the same Will and pretends that it was either out of Malice or Ignorance that they had accus'd him of having said that the Holy Ghost was not of the same Substance with the Father 2. That he professes to believe that the Only Son of God was made man to deliver us from the Slavery of Sin and from the Bondage of the Devil and to open an Entrance to us to Heaven by his Death 3. That Jesus Christ is the true and only Son of God Born of the Substance of the Father before all Worlds and that the holy Ghost is the third person of the Trinity who proceeded from the Father and the Son 4. That the Grace of God is so necessary to all men that neither Nature nor Free-will are sufficient to Salvation because Grace Prevents us that we may Will follows that we may do what we Will and accompanies us that we may persevere 5. That God cannot do any thing but what is agreeable to his Nature for him to do and that he has indeed Power of doing a great many things which he will never do 6. That there are sins of Ignorance especially when it proceeds from an Omission of having learn'd what we are oblig'd to know 7. That God often hinders Evils either by preventing the Evil Wills of Wicked men or by changing them 8. That we have All contracted the Guilt and Punishment of Adam's Sin which has been the Cause and Original of all our Sins 9. That those who crucified Jesus Christ committed a notorious sin by nailing him to the Cross. 10. That the Perfection of Charity was in Jesus Christ. 11. That the Power of Binding or Unbinding was granted to the Apostles and their Successors and that all Bishops be they Worthy or Unworthy have that Power so long as the Church acknowledges them as Bishops 12. That all those who are equal in Charity are equal likewise in Perfection and Merit 13. That the Father is as Wise as the Son and the Son as Beneficent as the holy Ghost because the Glory of the three persons of the Trinity is coequal 14. That one cannot Attribute to the Father the last Judgment or Advent 15. That the Soul of Jesus Christ did not only descend into Hell in Power but likewise really and substantially 16. That he had not maintain'd that neither Action nor the Will nor Lust nor Pleasure were sins and that we ought not to pray for the quenching of our Lusts. Lastly he asserts that they did him wrong attributing a Book of Sentences to him which he had never compos'd and conjures all the Faithful not to injure his Innocence which the Truth shelters from all the faults ascribed
Bishoprick we know not written to Eucherius recited by F. Sirmondus in his Notes upon the 2d Book of Sidonius's Letters p. 34. Two Letters of Lupus Bishop of Troyes of which one is in the 4th Tome of the Councils and the other in the 5th Tome of M. Luke d' Acherius's Spicilegium a Letter of Leontius Bishop of Arles to Pope Hilarius in the same place and in the Appendix of the 4th Tome of the last Edition of the Councils and the Testament and Epitaph of Perpetuus Bishop of Tours in the 5th Tome of the Spicilegium BASILIUS Bishop of Seleucia BASIL Bishop of Seleucia a City of Isauria flourished in the time of the Contest of Eutyches He was present at the Council of Constantinople held under Flavian in 448. Basilius of Seleucia and at the Council of Chalcedon where after he had begged Pardon for what he had done in the Council of Ephesus held under Dioscorus he was restored and believed as others We have at this day * Dr. Cave reckons 43 viz. 17 upon the old and 26 upon the new Testament 40 Homilies of this Bishop Photius had seen but 15 of them but the other being of the same Stile and Coherence it cannot be doubted but that they are the same Authors The first of these Homilies is upon the first words of Genesis In the beginning God created the Heaven and the Earth It seems to have been preached at the beginning of the solemn Fast of Lent He therein describes very elegantly the Production of all Creatures and the admirable Order of the Universe Speaking of the Creation of Man he observes That the words which the Scripture uses being in the Plural Number Let us make Man in our Image is an Argument of a Trinity of Persons He makes the Likeness of Man with God to consist in this that he considers upon the Heavens but doth his Works upon Earth and that he establisheth Government and Laws In the 2d Homily he explains more particularly the Creation of Man and the Formation of Woman In the 3d. he describes the Estate of Adam in the Earthly Paradise and his unlucky and miserable fall He had an absolute freedom He might take all sorts of innocent Pleasures because Pleasure was not then infectious and deadly All the Creatures were subject to him he could make use of them without Sinning except one Fruit only But the Devil envying his Happiness took on him the Form of a Serpent and perswaded the Woman to eat the forbidden Fruit. She gave it to her Husband and they immediately knew that they were naked God called them upbraided them with their Disobedience and condemned them to different Punishments both them and their Posterity but he must not for all that despair of his Salvation Jesus Christ is come to cure Man of that old Wound He hath brought Medicines contrary to those things which were the cause of his Fall He opposeth Solitude to Paradise Fasting to Delights the Trophee of the Cross to the Deceit of the Devil a Virgin conceiving without the Curse of Sin to the first Woman a Child born of a Virgin and free from the old Disease to the miserable Children of Adam The new Adam is entred again into Paradise from whence the first was driven and from thence he sends forth his Darts to wound the Serpent Cain and Abel are the subject of the 4th Homily Moses sets down their History as a dreadful Example to teach Men to love Vertue and hate Vice The Stories of the old Testament have all no other end This teaches us That God debaseth himself to Men That he accepts their Sacrifices tho' he hath no need of them to instruct them who offer them to him and that he hath care of good Men after their Death Abel is the first just Man slain wrongfully The Vengeance which God inflicted upon his Death gives cause to hope for a Resurrection Cain is the first Child of Eve a wicked Man an Enemy of Nature whose Crimes and Punishments are there painted in a lively manner The 5th Homily is concerning Noab and the Flood 'T was Man's sins that brought it upon him he delayed it as long as he could he admonished them several times he invited them to Repentance but Men not growing better by his Admonitions were all overwhelmed with a Deluge except Noah and his Family who were saved in the Ark. The Wood which was the instrument of Man's Destruction in Adam was the Instrument of their safety in the times of Noah The 6th is also about some Question which might be made concerning the Deluge He observes there That the Sons of God of whom 't is said that they had Commerce with the Daughters of Men are not the Angels but the Posterity of Seth who had Commerce with the Race of Cain He gives the reason of the difference of Clean and Unclean Beasts He saith That God commanded it that he might make the Jews afraid to eat of those Creatures which they were forbidden to eat as also that they might not adore them He believes That Noah was not obliged to hunt after all those Creatures that went into the Ark with him and catch them but that they came thither of themselves He teaches us to admire Noah's Dexterity in building the Ark and the Providence of God in the course of the Flood In the 7th he propounds to our observation the ready Obedience of Abraham and the blind submission which he yielded to the Command of God in preparing himself to sacrifice his Son He describes this History in a very affecting manner The 8th gives us the perfect History of Joseph and makes a faithful Description of his Vertues The 9th manifests to us the Providence of God in the Life of Moses The 10th compares Elisha to Jesus Christ and the Son of the Shunamite raised from the dead by that Prophet with the Gentiles The 11th contains some Reflections upon the Life of the Prophet Elias In the 12th Basil uses the History of Jâ—… and the Conversion of the Ninevites to prove how great the merâ—â— and goodness of God 〈◊〉 towards Sinners In the 13th he explains the resemblances of Jonas to Jesus Christ. The 14th 15th 16th and 17th are upon King David In the three first he extolls the special Favours which God bestowed upon that 〈◊〉 King In the â—â—st he discourses of his Sin and of his Repentance In the 18th he endeavours to create a 〈◊〉 of the Action of Herod and Herodias The 19th is upon the History of the Câ—…on The 20th is upon the Woman of Canaan The 21st is upon the Healing of the Lame Man who lay at the Gate of the Temple The 22d is upon the Storm appeased by Jesus Christ. The 23d is upon the Cure of him that was 〈◊〉 with the Legion of Devils The 24th is upon those words of the Mother of Zebedee's Children Grant that these my two Sons may fit the one on thy Right Hand and the other on
Manners ibid. they are condemned 247. Council of Constantinop'e under Flavian 219. Council of Ephesus under Dioscorus the unjust Proceedings of that Council against Theodoret 77. Council of Chalcedon its Authority 102. the History of things that preceeded it and for what it was called together 218 c. Council the absolute Authority of a general Council 99 Council of Ephesus History of this Council 196 c. An History of what passed after it until the Bishops returned to their Diocesses 200. the trouble consequent upon it 201 c. the Negotiation for Peace and its conclusion 205. several opposed 207. they were banished and expelled 210. the renewing of the Contest between the Aegyptian and Eastern Bishops ibid. who called it 212. who was President 213. Objections against this Council answered ibid. Councils Provincial the Decree of the Council of Ephesus for the holding of Provincial Councils revived in the Council of Chalcedon 241. Concupiscence is an effect of Sin 13. cannot be eradicated in this Life ibid. Concubine Concubines and Wives forbidden 85. it is a virtuous action and not Adultery to forsake them ib. Confession it ought to be made to a Priest in private and Sinners ought not to be obliged to confess in publick 104. How such as confess their Sins are to be dealt with 185. Confession of secret sins ibid. Constantine or Constantius a Priest of the Church of Lyons the Author of the Life of S. German Bishop of Amisiodonum 144. Constantinople the raising of that See 76 77. the Prerogatives of that Church opposed by S. Leo 96. the rights granted to the Church of Constantinople by the Council of Chalcedon notwithstanding the Opposition of the Popes Legats 241. a Council held in this City in 459. against Simony 248. S. Cornelius Bishop of Imola 119. Causin the President his Translation of Theodoret into French with a Learned Preface 64. Creation of the first Man what the Breath of Life is which was inspired into him by God 32. how he was made in the Image of God ibid. how he became mortal ibid. Creed what we are to understand by the Quick and the Dead in the Apostles Creed 4. a Rule of Faith 14. It is not permitted to make a new Creed nor add any thing to the Nicene Creed 200 226 232. S. Cyril Patriarch of Alexandria for what and by whom reproved 7. his Life and Writings 27 c. Gennadius judges amiss of S. Cyril 156. he opposes Nestorius 191 c. wrote against him to Rome 193. condemned him in a Synod of Egypt 194. was present and presided in his own name in the Council of Ephesus See the History of the Council particularly p. 213. and the foll about the Presidency He was condemned by the Eastern Bishops though absent from the Council V. History of the Council of Ephesus He was apprehended by the Emperors Order but at length dismissed and sent into his Bishoprick ibid. S. Cyril's Doctrine justified 215. his Chapters ambiguous 216. his Disposition 34. his Death ibid. D. DAmiata a City of Egypt 2. Daniel an Abbot 11. Dead Ceremonies used at their Interment 190. Prayers for them how used ibid. Deluge the cause of it 139. Demetrias the Epistle to Demetrias whose 136. Devils their Nature corporeal according to Cassian 12. they cannot constrain or force the Soul of Man to sin ibid. they know not Man's thoughts but only guess at them 11. where we may communicate with Persons possessed 12. they are not Sinners in their Nature 71. Dionysius Books falsly attributed to him 188. Desert a fine Description of a Desert by S. Eucherius 117. Diviners Excommunicated 248. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the Explication of it 4. Deaconness none to be Ordained until they be 40. Years old 241. Deaconnesses their Ordination allowed and defended 245. Deacons are the Bishops Eye 6. not to be put to publick Penance 84. not subject to the Law of Continence ibid. what respect they owe to the Priests 247. when obliged to Caelibacy 245 248. Diapsalma what it is 60. Dictinius his Books forbidden 93. Diogenes his Ordination by Alexander Bishop of Antioch though he had two Wives 77. Dioscorus Bishop of Alexandria Theodoret's Enemy 76 c. Discipline of the Church Canons about it 85 c. Divorce not allowed but upon the account of Adultery 7. Domnus Bishop of Antioch a Defender of Theodoret 56. History of him 237. The Action of the Council of Chalcedon about Domnus ibid. c. Donatus a Novatian Bishop converted with his People 83. Donec until explained 4. Dorotheus Bishop of Martianople a Bishop of the Nestorian Party deposed in the Council of Ephesus and thrust out of Constantinople the number of his Letters 44. V. the History of the Council of Ephesus Dorotheus a Monk 101. Dorus Bishop of Beneventum 94. Dracontius a Spanish Priest a Censure upon his Poem 142. E. EClane a City situate between Campania and Apulia 38. Easter the Day when it ought to be kept 53. the fittest time of administring Baptism 93. the Differences about the Feast of Easter in the Year 455 99 101. Differences about the Day on which the Easter ought to be celebrated 157. Edesius a Poet 112. Election a new way of electing Bishops 247. Ember-Week why appointed 109 c. Emperors called Bishops by some Councils 98. Evagrius the Author of a Dispute against a Jew 153 a different Person from Evagrius Ponticus ibid. The Eucharist the Vail that covers the Eucharist covers the Body of Jesus Christ 6. It is the Body and Blood of Christ 19. the Ceremonies used at the Celebration of it 189. Qualifications necessary for receiving of it 186. S. Eucherius his Life and Writings 117. his Style and Genius ibid. his Death 118. the Books that go under his Name are not his ibid. S. Blandina's Sermon is apparently his 119. S. Eucherius another holy Man of the same Name different from the Bishop of Lyons 118. Eudocia the Empress her Writings 142. a remarkable accident concerning her 143. Eugenius Bishop of Carthage his Confession 154. Euphemius Patriarch of Constantinople his Endeavors to reunite with Gelasius 175. Euphronius Bishop of Augustodunum 85. S. Euprepius a Monk 40. Eusebius Bishop of Damiata reproved by S. Isidore of the same City 7. Eusebius a Monk 66. Eusebius Bishop of Ancyra 76. Eusebius Bishop of Milan 96. Eusebius a French Bishop Author of a great Number of Sermons 118. Eusebius Bishop of Dorylaeum the Accuser of Eutyches was condemned by Dioscorus but absolved by the Council of Chalcedon V. the History of the Council of Chalcedon an Enemy to Nestorius 41. his Petitions 138 Eusebius the true Author of the Sermons attributed to Eusebius Bishop of Emesa 118 119. Eustathius his Translation of S. Basil's Homilies 153. Eutherius of Tyana his Writings 44. his opposition to the Peace 208. he yielded at last V. the Council of Ephesus Eutrychius the Praefect Eutropius a Priest a different Person from him that made the Abridgment of the History his Letters 153
same time several places of the Apostle Photius has cited these Explications all along and added besides what the same Author has delivered about those Persons that were raised up to Life before Jesus Christ about the Apparitions of the Dead and the Parable of Dives and Lazarus in which he concludes that Souls keep the Form of their Bodies in another World and are there punished and rewarded before the Day of Judgment There still remains a certain Passage of it which is supposed to belong to the same Work quoted by St. John Damascene in his Third Oration concerning Images wherein he says That Christians make Golden Images representing Angels for the Glory of God But I very much question whether this Passage belongs to Methodius or if it does it must be taken in another sence than that in which Saint John Damascene understood it and that by Angels Principalities and Powers he means the Kings of the Earth as the Words that immediately precede seem to intimate The Treatise of Free-Will was composed in Form of a Dialogue or Dispute between a Valentinian and a Catholick The former affirms That Matter which is Eternal was the cause of Evil or of Sin On the other hand the Orthodox Christian makes it appear that there could not be two Eternal Principles that if Matter were Eternal yet Evil would not be Eternal because the qualities of Matter could not be Eternal that Matter is not the cause of Evil and that God is not the cause of Evil because Evil consists not in a real thing but in the ill use that we make of our Liberty that Man having been created with a Liberty either to obey or not to obey the Commandments of God he sins when using this Liberty the wrong way he does things contrary to the Law of God These are the Works of Methodius which St. Jerome mentions Photius has made an Extract of a Treatise about created things written by Methodius In the First he says That these words of Jesus Christ Cast not Pearl before Swine ought not to be understood of Doctrine but of Vertues and that the meaning is not that we must conceal Mysteries from the Infidels but that we must not prophane the Christian Vertues such as Chastity Temperance and Justice with the Pleasures of the World that are signified by the Swine In the Second he confutes those that thought the World had no beginning an Opinion which he attributes to Origen In the Third he says That the Church is so called because it calls Men to fight against Pleasures In the Greek Ecclesia which signifies a Church or any Assembly of Men comes from 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 to call because the Publick Assemblies were convened by publick Cryers who called the People together In the Fourth he says That there were two Vertues or Powers that concurred to the Creation of the World the Father that created it of nothing and the Son that polished and compleated the Work of the Father The Son says he who is the Almighty hand of the Father In the Fifth he asserts That Moses was the Author of the Book of Job and he explains the first Words of the Book of Genesis In principio in the beginning of the Wisdom of God He observes that God the Father begot the Word or the Wisdom which was in Him before the Creation of the World that this Wisdom being a Principle without Beginning became the Principle of all things which is a Catholick way of speaking and far remote from the Arian Opinion though it does not seem to be altogether conformable to the Expressions of our Age. To conclude In the last Fragment he cites a Passage of Origen who would endeavour to prove by Allegories That the World existed long before the Six Days that preceded the formation of Adam Methodius looks upon this as a trifling Opinion Theodoret in his first Dialogue cites a Passage taken out of a Sermon of Methodius concerning the Martyrs where he says that Martyrdom is so admirable and so much to be desired that Jesus Christ the Son of God would honour it himself and that he who was equal to his Father was willing to Crown Humane Nature to which he himself was united with that excellent Gift The Sermon composed upon the Nativity of Jesus and upon his being presented in the Temple entituled Simeon and Ann published by Pantinus in the Year 1598 and afterwards Printed by Father Combefis amongst the rest of the Works of Methodius is neither cited by any of the Ancients nor mentioned by Photius though it is written in Methodius's Style The Author of it endeavours to confute the Errours of Origen and calls himself the Author of the Banquet of Virgins in the beginning of his Discourse which shews that it belongs to Methodius Though we must own that he speaks so clearly of the Mysteries of the Trinity of the Incarnation of the Divinity of the Word whom he calls in several places Consubstantial to the Father of the Hymn called the Trisagion of the Virginity of Mary even after her Delivery and of Original Sin that it gives us some reason to doubt whether some thing has not been since added to this Sermon Besides the Style of it is more swelling and fuller of Epithets than that of Methodius Besides all this Father Combefis upon the Authority of a Manuscript in the King's Library has restored to Methodius another Sermon upon Palm-Sunday that was formerly Printed under the Name of Lucian St. Chrysostom by Sir Henry Savil upon the Authority of another Manuscript It is certain that it approaches nearer to the Style of Methodius than of St. Chrysostom but he explains the Mystery of the Trinity so clearly in one place and opposes the Hereticks so very plainly that there is some reason to believe that either this place has been since added or that this Homily was not written by Methodius Father Combefis has likewise collected some other Fragments attributed to Methodius cited by St. John Damascene and by Nicetas drawn out of his Books against Porphyrie But besides that we cannot intirely depend upon the Authority of these two Authors who are not very exact these Fragments have nothing considerable and we think it not worth the while to say any thing more concerning them We shall not take any notice of some Latin Prophecies about Antichrist attributed to Methodius that are Printed in the Bibliotheca Patrum since it is agreed on all hands that they are not his The Style of Methodius is Asiatick that is to say diffuse swelling and full of Epithets His Expressions are Figurative the turn of his Sentences affected he is full of Comparisons and far-fetched Allegories his Thoughts are mysterious and he says a few things in abundance of Words Setting these things aside his Doctrine is sound and free from some Errours that were common to the Ancients particularly concerning the Virginity of Mary concerning Original Sin concerning Guardian Angels and several other
their Letter 366 The Book against Auxentius Bishop of Milan is a Manifesto against this Bishop and against those that maintain him Who because they cover'd themselves chiefly under the Cloak of procuring Peace and Unity St. Hilary says That we can have no other true Peace but that of Jesus Christ and the Gospel and that this Peace cannot take place in a time when the Ministers of the Church are become Anti-Christs by opposing the Doctrine of Jesus Christ and the Gospel while they pretend to preach it He complains That they make use of Temporal Power to maintain a False Doctrine He endeavours to prove that Auxentius fosters Heretical Opinions he recites the Conference that he had with him and exhorts the Catholicks to take heâ—d of Anti-Christ and to separate themselves from Auxentius After this Book follows a Letter of Auxentius to the Emperour wherein he endeavours to purge himself from the Heresy of Arius yet without approving the Term Consubstantial or rejecting the Creed of Ariminum The Commentaries of St. Hilary upon St. Matthew are very excellent for there he had made many very useful Historical and Moral Observations The Chief of them are these following In the 1st Canon he endeavours to reconcile the two Genealogies of Jesus Christ by saying That St. Matthew describes the Royal Race of Jesus Christ by Solomon and St. Luke the Sacerdotal Race by Nathan He maintains That the Virgin was of the same Tribe and the same Family with Joseph and that she continued a Virgin after her Child-bearing and that the Persons who are call'd in Scripture the Brethren of Jesus Christ were indeed the Children of Joseph that he had by a former Wife He says That the Wise-men acknowledg'd the Royal Power of Jesus Christ by presenting him with Gold his Divinity by offering him Incense and his Humanity by giving him Myrrh He observes That Rachel who mourn'd for her Children is a Figure of the Church which having been a long time barren became afterwards fruitful He says That the Innocents were made partakers of Eternal Life by the Martyrdom which they suffer'd In the 2d Canon he says That Jesus Christ did not cause St. John to Baptize him for the Purification of his Sins since he was without Sin but that Water might Sanctify us by Jesus Christ. Then he speaks of the Effects of Baptism After Baptism says he the Holy Spirit descends upon the baptiz'd he fills them with a Caelestial Unction and makes them the adopted Children of God In the 3d. Canon he explains the Temptations of Jesus Christ and speaks of his Fast for Forty Days He says That the Devil was ignorant of the Incarnation In the 4th he explains the Beatitudes He says That none but the perfect Man who is wholly purified from his Sins shall enjoy the Vision of God He observes That Adultery is the only cause for which married Persons can be Divorc'd He condemns Oaths Revenge and Vanity In the 5th he sends the Reader to a Book of St. Cyprian for the Explication of the Lord's Prayer He also mentions Tertullian but he says of this last Author That his following Errors depriv'd his First Books of that Authority which he could otherwise have allow'd them He occasionally says That the Soul is Corporeal In the 6th Canon he particularly recommends Good Works without which all other things are unprofitable to Salvation In the 7th he explains allegorically the Cure of the Leper and of St. Peter's Mother-in-Law understanding those places of the Curing of Sinners He compares the Church to a Ship tost with a Tempest and towards the latter End he observes That we ought not to mention the Names of Dead Infidels in the Commemorations of the Saints In the 8th he Discourses particularly of the Fall of humane Nature by the Sin of the first Man and of the Reparation of Mankind by Jesus Christ. In the 10th he Advises Catholicks not to enter into the Churches of Hereticks He observes That nothing in the Ecclesiastical Ministry ought to be sold for Money and that the Ecclesiastical State ought not to be ambitious of obtaining Temporal Authority He says That at the End of the World the Jews that shall be then alive shall believe in Jesus Christ and be saved He assures us That Man was created Free but that the Sin of Adam enslav'd him to Sin and Vice and that in Baptism we are deliver'd by the Word from Sins contracted by our Birth Towards the latter End of the 11th he explains wherein the Easiness of Christ's Yoke consists excellently and in a few Words What is more Easy says he than the Yoke of Christ and what is more Light than his Burthen It is only to be obliging to all the World To abstain from committing Sin To desire that which is Good not to desire that which is Evil To Love our Neighbour To Hate no Body To lay up for Eternity Not to addict our selves to things present Not to do to another what we would not they should do unto us In the 12th he explains after the same Manner as St. Athanasius the Blasphemy against the Holy Ghost by saying That it is the denying of Jesus Christ to be God In the 13th he observes That those who are out of the Church cannot understand the Word of God In the 14th speaking of St. Joseph he says That he was a Lock-Smith and not a Carpenter as is commonly believ'd In the 15th he observes that those who are to be baptiz'd make profession of their Faith in Jesus Christ and of being firmly persuaded of his Death and Resurrection and that their Actions may be agreeable to their Words they pass all the time of the Passion of Christ in Fasting that so in some measure they may suffer with Jesus Christ. He speaks in the 16th of the Prerogative that St. Peter receiv'd when Jesus Christ gave him the Keys of his Church after this manner O happy Foundation of the Church says he in the change of your Name O Rock worthy of the Building of Jesus Christ since it was to abrogate the Laws of Hell to break its Gates and to open all the Prisons of Death O happy Porter of Heaven to whom are entrusted the Keys of admission into it and whose Judgment on Earth is a fore-judging of what is done in Heaven since whatsoever he binds or looses upon Earth shall be bound or loosed in Heaven In the 18th Canon he concludes with these Words of Jesus Christ The Angels of these Children see the Face of my Father From whence says he it may be concluded That the Angels rejoyce at the Sight of God and that they preside over the Prayers of the Faithful which they offer continually to God He says that those who are bound on Earth by the Ministers of Jesus Christ that is says he those whom the Ministers of Jesus Christ leave bound in their sins and that those who are loosed by receiving them unto the Grace of Salvation upon
Spiritual and the Angels are active Spirits whom God makes use of to assist the weakness of Men. In his Commentary upon Psalm 132. he observes That the Woman which anointed the Head of Jesus Christ was different from her that anointed his Feet He takes notice that some have said That it was upon Mount Hermon the Angels descended to have commerce with Women but he rejects this Imagination because we cannot trust those things but to that which is written in the Book of the Law In Psalm 135. he reproves those that are not Attentive to what is Read in the Church In the Comment on Psalm 137. he observes That true Repentance consists in refraining from all those Sins which we know our selves to have formerly committed and in doing them no more In the Comment upon the following Psalm he blames the Ministers of Jesus Christ who addict themselves wholly to the Affairs of this World that they may purchase Temporal Riches He says That we are permitted to hate the Enemies of God that 's to say as far as they are the Enemies of God according to that excellent Saying That we should hate the Vices and love the Persons Upon Psalm 140. he distinguishes Four sorts of Prayer Deprecation Oration Petition and Thanksgiving And he says That it belongs to our Humility to Pray to the Majesty of God to be Pray'd unto it belongs to our Faith to Petition and to our Gratitude to Thank God for his Benefits He describes the Easiness and Danger of offending God by the Sins of the Tongue He observes that the Book of Wisdom which the Latins attribute to Solomon passes among the Greeks and Hebrews for Jesus the Son of Syrach's An infinite number of other Remarks might yet be drawn from these Commentaries but these are sufficient for our Design For if we should give an Account of all the Commentaries of Authors upon the Scripture and all that they contain we should never have done Wherefore we pray the Reader that he would be content with these Extracts which we have made from the Commentaries of St. Hilary which cannot but be too long already 'T is plain That these Commentaries are almost wholly taken out of Origen They contain many Allegories and many Moral Thoughts There is much Wit and Learning observable in them He advertises the Reader often that the Latin does not fully express the sence of the Greek word which also discovers that this Work was taken from a Greek Commentary and that he follow'd the Emphasis of the Greek words the sence whereof the Latin Translator was oblig'd to express St. Jerom calls St. Hilary the Rhosne of Latin Eloquence Latinae Eloquentiae Rhodanum alluding not only to the Country where he was Born but also to the Genius of his Stile which is violent and rapid like the Course of the Rhosne for as this River by the Violence of its Waters carries all before it that hinders its course so St. Hilary ravishes the Mind and Judgment and extorts a Consent by the Vehemence of his Expressions His manner of expressing things smites astonishes overthrows and perswades His Periods are commonly long and intricate which renders him every-where obscure and almost unintelligible in some places He often uses barbarous terms and there are some places in his Works where there is no Syntax He is full of Figures and Antitheses his Reasons though solid yet are much improv'd by the lively and smart turn that he gives them He does not spare his Adversaries but he speaks to Powers and of Powers with an unparallell'd freedom He is partial to none but is a rigid Censor of Manners and a severe defender of the Faith Though St. Jerom says in his Seventh Epistle to Leta That one may read St. Hilary's Works without meeting any thing that is offensive to Piety and Religion inoffenso decurrat pede yet it must be confess'd that there are some Errors and some Expressions which are not agreeable to the Doctrine of the Church One of the principal is his Opinion concerning the Passion of Jesus Christ. He thinks that he had no sense of Pain though he received upon his Body the Wounds and Blows which cause Pain The Schoolmen have endeavour'd to give a good sence to this Expression Some have said with the Master of the Sentences That he does not deny but Jesus Christ felt Pain but he denies that the Pain he had was the Effect of Sin as it is in other Men. Others have said That he does not exclude his Sufferings but the Necessity of Suffering Some have affirm'd That he speaks in this place of the Divinity of Jesus Christ and not of his Humanity But all these Solutions appear to me to be groundless and if one would excuse St. Hilary it might better be done by saying That the words Pain Suffering Fear and Sorrow are not to be understood precisely of the perception that is in the Senses but of the trouble that results from thence in the Soul and Spirit of the uneasiness of Pain or the sensible Commotions of Fear or Sorrow And in this sence it may be said That Jesus Christ had no Pain nor Fear because his Soul continued in a perfect Tranquillity St. Hilary had not very clear Notions concerning Spiritual Beings for in the Fifth Canon of his Commentary upon St. Matthew he says That all Creatures are corporeal and that the Souls which are in Bodies are corporeal Substances He held also an intolerable Error concerning the Last Judgment I do not insist upon some smaller Errors as when in Canon 31st and 32d upon St. Matthew he excuses the Sin of St. Peter when he says in Canon 16th That the Words of Jesus Christ Get thee behind me Satan were not address'd to this Apostle when he affirms in Canon 33d that the Divinity of Jesus Christ was separated from his Humanity at the time of his Death upon Psalm 119. That the Virgin shall be Purg'd by the Fire of the Day of Judgment In Canon 14th and upon Psalm 129th That God created the Soul of the first Man before his Body In Canon 17th That the World shall not continue above 6000 Years In Canon 20th That Moses did not Die and that he shall come again at the Day of Judgment But if this Father had some Errors of this Nature yet it must also be acknowledg'd that he held a very Orthodox Doctrine about the chief Mysteries of Faith He speaks of the Attributes of God in a Sublime and Noble manner He explains the Mystery of the Trinity with wonderful clearness and exactness Every time that he speaks of the Mystery of the Incarnation he uses the most proper terms to express the Hypostatical Union of the two Natures in Jesus Christ. He explains the different Orders of the Angels and their Ministry He makes Happiness to consist in the Vision of God and says expresly That the Good and Evil are Happy or Miserable before the Day of Judgment He thinks that on
that ye do not dig down to Hell where ye will find your Masters Corah Dathan and Abiram So pleasantly does Optatus ridicule the folly of the Donatists But from this Raillery he quickly passes to most bloody Accusations Ye have also redoubled your Sacrileges in breaking the Chalices which carried the Blood of Jesus Christ ye have melted them down to make Ingots of Gold or Silver which you have Sold in the Markets to every one indifferently that offer'd to buy them Sacrilegious Persons as you are you have not shown the least respect to those Chalices wherein you your selves have offer'd Perhaps infamous Women bought them for their own use Perhaps the Pagans took them to make Vessels wherewith they might offer Incense to their Idols O enormous Crime O unheard of Impiety This Declamation of Optatus clearly shews what is the Reverence that we ought to pay to the Sacrament of the Eucharist and evidently proves that it was not consider'd merely as Bread and Wine but that it was believ'd to be the Body and Blood of Jesus Christ. The Donatists answer'd to these Accusations That those Vessels having been touch'd by polluted Persons were thereby become unclean as 't is said by the Prophet Haggai That which is touch'd by an impure Man becomes unclean From whence they concluded that they had reason to make no further use of them but to consider them as common and ordinary Vessels As if a belief that the Eucharist was instituted for a Remembrance of the Death of Christ and of the Benefits which we receive thereby had not been sufficient to have commanded Reverence to those Instruments with which it was perform'd Optatus answers them by shewing That the Catholicks were not defil'd with any Crime that they had not Sacrific'd to Idols That no such Accusation could be prov'd against them That the only thing that could render them odious to the Donatists was their Love of Peace and their endeavours after Union That they are united by Communion with all the Churches of the World and that they cannot be accus'd of being defil'd but supposing that even the Catholicks were unclean yet the Vessels which they touch'd at the Invocation of the Name of God would not be so because that Sacred Name Sanctifies even that which is unclean That the touch of an unclean Person has less Power to render a Vessel impure than the Invocation of God has to purify it since 't is the Invocation and not the Touch that Sanctifies it The Second Accusation that Optatus makes against the Donatists is their putting under Penance the Virgins Consecrated to God and making them leave off the Signs of their former Profession and forcing them to desire a New one and doing violence unto them In this place he speaks of a little Mitre of Cloth which they put upon their Heads and of the Veil wherewith they cover'd them and says That those Ornaments were Signs that they had profess'd Virginity and that the Donatists by taking them away from those Virgins to put them under Penance had given occasion to many Persons to Ravish and Marry them He adds that the Donatists had carried away by force the Ornaments of Churches and the Holy Books and that they had wash'd the Vestments the Walls and the Floors of the Churches with Salt-Water He laughs at their folly and asks them Why they wash'd the Vestments and did not also wash the Books of the Gospel Why they wash'd the Walls which are only look'd upon And why they did not also wash the Pavement of the Streets and how they would make use of that Water wherewith the Catholicks had wash'd themselves At last he accuses them of invading the Coemiteries and hindering the Interment of the Catholicks Wherefore do you abuse the Dead says he to them that you may terrify the Living Why do you deny them Burial If you have any Differences with your Brother while he is alive yet Death should put an End to them all Why do you insult over him after Death Why do you refuse him Burial Why do you quarrel even with the Dead But says he if you could hinder his Body from being Interr'd among other Christians yet you cannot separate his Soul from the Company of those Holy Souls that are with Jesus Christ. At last Optatus says That the Donatists were so extravagantly wicked that they corrupted all those that came over to their Party So those that were Patient says he by going over to you become Furious of the sudden those that were Faithful become Perfidious those that were Peaceable become Quarrelsome their Simplicity is chang'd into Cheating their Modesty into Impudence their Humility into Pride Those who are gone over to your Party sollicite others to come after them and accuse of Sloth and Stupidity all those that are yet in the Bosom of the Church they lay Traps for them and make them to fall into the same precipice with themselves The last Book which is commonly attributed to Optatus is a Recapitulation of some Points that have been handled in other places particularly he refutes the Objection of the Donatists who say That they cannot re-unite themselves to the Catholicks because they are the Sons and Successors of Traditors The Author of this Book extenuates as much as he can the Enormity of this Crime and shows that tho' it were much greater and that those to whom the Catholick Bishops succeed were guilty of it yet they have no share in that Guilt neither can it be imputed to them nor alledg'd against them as a just Cause of Separation He shews that we ought sometimes to suffer sinners in the Church and to dissemble the Sins of our Brethren for the good of Peace He observes That there is no Man free from Sin and that if any one were so yet he ought not to separate from his Brethren though they were Sinners That the Apostles did not separate from the Communion of St. Peter after his Sin but on the contrary the Keys were given him that he being a Sinner might open the Gates of Heaven to the Innocent and teach those that are Innocent that they should not shut them against Sinners Besides these there are many other Repetitions of what had been said by Optatus concerning Macarius and the Persecution that he rais'd against the Donatists Optatus at the End of his Books had plac'd many authentick Instruments to justifie the Matters of Fact which he had propos'd against the Donatists we have none of those which Optatus plac'd there extant but many other Monuments concerning the History of the Donatists have been added to his Books The First is a part of the Acts of the Conference between the Catholick Bishops and the Donatists held at Carthage by the Order of the Emperour Honorius in the Year 411 which belongs to another Century The Second is part of the Verbal Process made by Zenophilus who had been Consul on the 30th of December in the Year 320 by which it
't is impossible to read his Writings but one must feel himself Instructed and Convinced of the Truth and he cannot but conceive a Love for Vertue and a Hatred of Vice His Discourses are not void of Thoughts and full of Words as for the most Part those of Orators are but Eloquence is there joyn'd with Doctrine they Instruct they Divert and they Move at once His Stile is Pure and Significant his Expressions are Lofty his way of Writing Elegant Clean and Persuasive his Discourses appear always Natural flowing Gently and without Affectation He persuades Pleasantly he explains things with great Clearness he knows how to give them so probable a turn that he may be taken for a Pattern and he comes near Demosthenes and the ablest Orators of Antiquity in the Judgment of the Learned Photius and even in the Judgment of Erasmus he excells the Ancient Greek Orators and is free from their Faults He was fit for all kinds of Writings His Commentaries upon Scripture are most Instructive and most Natural He excells in his Panegyricks The Force and Subtilty of his Reasoning appear in his Treatises of Controversy his Discourses of Morality are Instructive and Moving In short tho' his Asceticks have not the same Loftiness as his other Works yet there one may find the same Purity of Phrase and the same Clearness but his Method renders them sometimes a little obscure In a word Whatever Subject he treats of he does it always very Learnedly He had all the Properties of a Divine Understanding perfectly the Holy Scripture the Tradition of the Fathers and the Canons of the Church He was a very able Rhetorician a very profound Philosopher and a very subtil Logician He understood also the Mathematicks and his own continual Sickness made him a Physician He understood Philological Learning to Perfection and made use of it to very good purpose He knew all that was most Curious in the Poets the Historians and profane Orators as may appear from many places of his Writings and chiefly from his little Tract of reading profane Authors In a word that which is indeed admirable is that he joyn'd with this Learning a profound Piety and a singular Prudence He was Sweet and Affable to all the World Charitable towards the Poor and Compassionate to others in Misery He was accus'd of being Proud but St. Gregory Nazianzen who suspected him of this Vice vindicates him from it in his Panegyrick He was of a very infirm Health and subject to many Diseases he speaks of them in the most part of his Letters and also in some of his Homilies St. Gregory Nazianzen informs us that he was pale that he wore always a great Beard that he was reserv'd in his Speech often thoughtful and pensive had a particular way in his Apparel in his Bed and his Meat which some would imitate after his Death The Doctrine of St. Basil is very Pure and Orthodox He has explain'd the Mystery of the Trinity against the Hereticks clearly and beyond Contest tho' at the beginning he was reserv'd in his Expressions about the Divinity of the Holy Spirit yet he always own'd it and never spoke contrary to what he thought He never us'd any other Precaution but to be silent upon that Point when he thought it not necessary to speak of it or that it would be to no purpose He was one of those who troubled himself most to distinguish the Three Hypostases in God that 's to say to prove that Hypostasis and Person signify the same thing As to the Mystery of the Incarnation he acknowledg'd in Jesus Christ two Natures without Confusion and yet united in one and the same Person He rejected the Error of the Apollinarians and Thâ—â—pâ—ssiâ—â—s and maintain'd with the Church that the Properties of the humane Nature do by no means agree to the Divinity He affirm'd several times That the Cause and Reason why the Son of God was made Man was the Salvation and Redemption of Mankind polluted by the Sin of Adam He knew the Greatness of that Fall and the miserable Effects which it produc'd as Concupiscence Sickness Death c. He establish'd the Necessity of the Grace of Jesus Christ without which it is impossible to do Good He is the only Person of the Greek Fathers who spoke most clearly of it and attributed least to Free-will tho hâ— own'd it He admitted the Efficacy and Necessity of Baptism Yet he believ'd that this Sacrament might be supplied by Faith and Charity and by the Baptism of Blood and that it signified nothing at least to those that had not Faith and were not well dispos'd to receive it He mentions the Unction that accompanied it and approves the Ceremonies that were joyn'd with it He call'd the Eucharist the Body and Blood of Jesus Christ Tho' he was of Opinion that we should Communicate often yet he requires Holy Dispositions in those who receive this Mystery He speaks of the Ceremonies and Prayers that were made use of for the Offering and of the Manner in which it was distributed to the Faithful He observes That they carried it and kept it in their Houses and that they believ'd it was always Consecrated He commends Fasting and speaks of Lent as a Fast to which we are oblig'd He has also observ'd That it was attended with Abstinence from Meat He speaks of the Usage of Invocating Saints and Martyrs He is perswaded that they pray for us and that their Intercession is very profitable He preferrs Celibacy to Marriage He approves of Vows and a Monastick State He acknowledges the Authority of Traditions as well as that of Scripture However he has some particular Opinions as when he maintains in the First Homily of the Creation That the Angels were created long before the World and when he affirms in another place That all Men shall be Purified at the Day of Judgment by Fire But there are very few of this sort of slight Errors in this Author There were also some Expressions objected to him which appear'd Hyperbolical or less Exact but 't is easy to give them a good Sence I shall not stay to make a larger Enumeration of his Opinions which I have explain'd at length in the Extracts out of his Works I conclude therefore with giving a Catalogue of the Translations and Editions of the Works of this Father The First Edition of the Works of St. Basil in Greek is that of Frobenius printed at Basil in the Year 1532. It contains the Homilies upon the Creation and the Psalms 29 different Homilies the Book of the Holy Spirit and some Letters After it followed the Edition at Venice made by Sabius in the Year 1537. in which are added the Three first Books against Eunomius At last in the Year 1551 almost all the Works of St. Basil were printed in Greek at Paris by the Care of Janus Cornarius who also printed them in Latin by Frobenius in the Year 1549. Wolfgangus Musculus made a New
for governing the Church of Constantinople by describing the wonderful Effects he had produc'd in that Church he prays them to grant him a Successor with as much Earnestness as others desire the Greatest Sees The Reasons which he alledges for obtaining Permission to retire are First his great Age the Quarrels of Churches and Bishops the Envy that some bore to him the Division of the East and the West and his Love of Retirement and Solitude He adds some other Reasons which tend to the Confusion of his Enemies such as the Persecutions which he had endur'd with Patience his Frugality his Modesty his Humility At last He conjures them to create another Bishop who should be more agreeable to the relish of the World Here he represents very naturally the Luxury Ambition and Arts which were but too common among the Bishops of the Great Sees At last He bids Adieu to his Dear Anastasia to the other Churches of Constantinople to the Council the Clergy the People and to the Court These Adieu's are pathetical to those that had an Esteem of him and are very picquant to those that were his Enemies and wish'd that he would abdicate his Charge 'T is plain that this Discourse is the last of those which he spoke at Constantinople The Five following Discourses are Entitled Of Theology because St. Gregory Nazianzen explains there what concerns the Divine Nature and the Trinity of Persons There he treats of the Rules which ought to be observed in the Administration of the Word of God He says First That this Function does not suit all Men That he who discharges it must be pure in Heart and Mind That he should not apply himself to it but with a sedate Temper and Lastly That he ought not to treat of those Matters before Pagans nor before those who have no sence of Religion and who think of nothing but Pleasures He adds many fine things about the Dispositions and Qualifications that are necessary to a Divine He blames those who having their Hands tied that is who do no Good Works yet have a wonderful Itch to prate and those who think to be great Divines because they understand the Subtilties of Aristotle's Logick and the Gentile Philosophy which they make use of nothing to the purpose when they Discourse about Mysteries In the 2d Discourse he enquires what may be conceiv'd concerning the Nature of God He says That his Existence is known by the Creatures That his Immensity Spirituality and his other Attributes are known but that it does not follow from hence that his Essence and Nature can be comprehended which he proves against Eunomius in the second Discourse of Theology which contains many great Notions concerning the Nature and Attributes of God In the 3d. he proves the Equality of the Three Persons of the Divinity and the Son and answers the most part of Eunomius's Sophisms The 4th continues the same subject and in the 5th he proves That the Holy Spirit is a Divine Person distinct from the Father and the Son That he proceeds from the Father and that he is not begotten as the Son tho' he be of the same Substance and the same Nature He observes towards the End of this Discourse That under the Old Testament the Father only was distinctly known That the Son is clearly Reveal'd in the New That in it also there are found Passages enough to prove the Divinity of the Holy Spirit but that it was fully clear'd by the Tradition of the Church These Discourses seem also to have been spoken at Constantinople And thus we are come to the 38th Sermon upon the Festival of the Birth of Jesus Christ. In it St. Gregory admires the Wonders of the Mysteries of the Incarnation He describes the Fall of the first Man which he supposes to have been the Cause of the Incarnation of Jesus Christ and reckons up the Advantages which Mankind receiv'd by this Mystery At last He teaches Christians to Celebrate the Festival of Christmas by purifying themselves from their Sins by imitating the Vertues of Jesus Christ and particularly his Patience and Humility The 39th Discourse is a Sermon upon the Festival Of Lights that is upon the Feast of Epiphany on which also the Solemnity of the Baptism of Jesus Christ is observ'd There he speaks of the Wonderful Effects of this Baptism which had the Vertue of purifying us He distinguishes many sorts of Baptism viz. The Baptism of Moses the Baptism of St. John the Baptism of Jesus Christ the Baptism of the Martyrs and the Baptism of Penance which he calls a Laborious Baptism and taking occasion from this last he Discourses against the Error of the Novatians Last of all He adds also to this Baptism which we have already mentioned the Baptism of Fire wherewith he says one may be baptiz'd in another Life The following Discourse was spoken the next Day 'T is an Instruction about Baptism to those that are to be baptiz'd There he observes the Excellence of Baptism and its marvellous Effects He sets down and explains the different Names that are given to this Sacrament He observes That it consists in Two Things the Water and the Spirit That the washing the Body with Water represents the Operation of the Spirit in purifying the Soul He says That Baptism is a Compact which we make with God by which we oblige our selves to lead a New Life That 't is very dangerous to break the Promise which we made at Baptism for there is no more Regeneration nor perfect Renovation to be hop'd for afterwards That we may indeed cover the Wound by a multitude of Tears and Sighs but that it would be much better not to need this Second Remedy because it is very difficult and troublesome and that we can have no assurance but Death may surprize us before our Penance be finish'd You says he addressing himself to the Ministers of Jesus Christ you can as the Gardener mention'd in the Gospel pray the Lord to excuse the barren Fig-tree yet a little longer you can desire him that he would not cut it down and that he would permit you to dung it that 's to say to impose as a Penance upon it Weeping Watching lying upon the hard Ground Corporal Mortifications and making humble Satisfaction but what certainty have you that God will pardon him Wherefore my Brethren being buried by Baptism with Jesus Christ let us rise with him let us descend with him into the Waters that we may ascend with him into Heaven He proves afterwards that we ought not to delay the Receiving of Baptism and refutes the vain pretences of those who delay it He says that Infants are to be Baptiz'd to consecrate them to Jesus Christ from their Infancy He distinguishes Three Sorts of Persons that are Baptiz'd the First are those who do Evil wilfully and with Delight the Second are those who commit Sin with some reluctancy and without approving it the Third are those who live well
not rather encrease the Evil than diminish it But this Censure which he wrote when he was vex'd with the Council of Constantinople which had not treated him very favourably ought not to pass for a Rule but only for a Testimony of his resentment which came from St. Gregory in his Passion The 59th and 71st wherein he exhorts his Brother and Posthumianus to make Peace between the Bishops The 63d wherein he exhorts a Particular Person to embrace the Christian Philosophy and to despise the things of this World The 64th 66th 67th and 70th wherein he exhorts another Person to bear his Pains and Sickness patiently The 81st is an Excellent Exhortation to Patience and some others But the most considerable of them all is the 219 to Theodorus the Bishop of Tyanea which might be plac'd amongst the Canonical ones The Bishop to whom By Canonical Epistles here those are meant which were written to determine some particular Question in Discipline as the Canons of Councils usually did Of this Nature were St. Basil's Letters to St. Amphilochius mentioned above he writes had consulted him about an Oath or an Asseveration made in Writing in a certain Affair He who made this Agreement not willing to hold it longer cited him with whom he had agreed before a Judge and made void the Compact in Court Now it was ask'd whether this Man should be treated as a perjur'd Person since he had not made a Solemn Oath according to the ordinary Forms St. Gregory answers in this Letter That he is not at all of their Opinion who think that no Oaths but those which are made with the Mouth and according to the usual Forms by laying their Hands upon the Holy Gospels do oblige in Conscience and that Asseverations made in Writing do not bind after the same manner For says he if Contracts made in Writing do more bind a Debtor than bare verbal Promises Why shall not Oaths set down in Writing have at least as much Force as those which are spoken with the Mouth In a word Is an Oath any thing else but the Affirmation of him who promises or who assures any thing From whence he concludes That this Man who had brought his Action in Law to have this Compact dissolv'd which he was obliged by Oath to fulfil tho' he gain'd his Cause yet was guilty of Perjury and ought to do Penance for his Sin This is a very useful Admonition in our time wherein there is scarce any heed given to Oaths and Affirmations that are made in Writing as if they were nothing but mere Formalities of Law and not truly and properly Oaths St. Gregory teaches the same thing in the Poem made against those who Swear often where he says upon this Subject Is one less oblig'd by writing than by his Words and tho' he should not have touch'd the Gospels yet does he owe ever the less Reverence for God The Letters of St. Gregory are in number 242 if we comprehend in that number the 10 last published by Sirmondus but there are some of St. Basil's which are mix'd among them as the 30th the 206th and 207th His Testament tho' Ancient and Genuine relates only to his Domestick Affairs and contains nothing but the Disposal of his Estate This is all that we have to say in particular of the Works of Gregory Nazianzen The Judgment which may be made of them in general is this It cannot be doubted but this Author won the Prize of Eloquence from all the rest of his Age for he does certainly excell them for the Purity of his Words the Nobleness of his Expressions the Ornament of his Discourse the Variety of his Figures the Justness of his Comparisons the Beauty of his Reasonings and the Sublimity of his Thoughts St. Jerom and Suidas say That he imitated an ancient Author call'd Polemon but we may say That his Stile approach'd very near to that of Isocrates How lofty soever it be it is Natural flowing gently and pleasantly his Periods are full and hold up to the End he has a wonderful abundance of Words an unparallell'd easiness of Expression and a most agreeable turn of Wit His Orations are compos'd with much Art and Method for in them he uses such Characters as are most agreeable to his Subject and his Auditors so that one may say of him That he was one of the most perfect Orators of Greece yet he affected too many Antitheses Allusions Similitudes Comparisons and certain other Finenesses of Oratory which seem to render it Effeminate Sometimes also his Thoughts and Reasonings are false but then 't is cover'd with the sparkling of his Expressions and involv'd in the multitude of his words He is extremely Copious and says but few things in many Periods There are great numbers of Philosophical Thoughts interwoven in his Sermons and they are full of Illustrations taken from History and Fables He teaches Morality in such a manner as is more proper for Philosophers than the common People but he is very Sublime and very Exact in the Explication of Mysteries a Quality which made him deserve the Name of The Divine by way of Excellency He had much Piety but little skill in Managing of Business He was so passionate a Lover of Retirement that he could not for a considerable time apply himself to any Employment that hindered him from it He easily undertook great things but he quickly repented of his Undertakings He had in his Life-time three Bishopricks and yet it cannot be said that he was lawful Bishop of any one of them For he would not have that of Sasima to which he was Ordain'd and he did not accept of that of Nazianzum but only for a time to be Coadjutor to his Father but upon Condition that he should not Succeed him When he came to Constantinople he had no design to be Bishop of that Church neither did he take the Title upon him 'T is true that he was afterwards plac'd upon the Episcopal Throne by the Emperor and some Bishops but he was at last forced to leave it He was of a Morose and Satyrical Humour he lov'd Raillery and spar'd no body but chiefly the Bishops that were not worthy of their Ministry or that did not lead a Life agreeable to their Holy Orders These are the Editions of the Works of this Father In the Year 1504 Aldus Manutius a Printer at Venice publish'd one part of his Greek Poems In the Year 1516 he publish'd Sixteen Orations and Nine more in 1536. Afterwards all the Works of St. Gregory Nazianzen were collected together and printed in Greek at Basle by Hervagius in the Year 1550. The ancient Version of Ruffinus was printed at Leipsick about the Year 1522 without any Name The Translation of Billibaldus Pircheymerus was Printed at the same time with the Greek at Basle by Hervagius in 1550. In 1571 Leunclavius translated 19 Orations which were printed by the same Printer But all these Versions being very imperfect
contempt of Riches but I cannot forget that place where he says That he broke in pieces the Sacred Vessels to redeem Captives He justifies himself in this Action or rather he draws from it a great deal of Glory The Church says he was founded without Gold if she has it now 't is to give it and not to keep it 't is for assisting the Poor with it in their great Necessities What would be said of a Bishop who to preserve the lifeless Vessels would suffer the living Members of Christ to perish Would he say I am afraid lest the Temple of the Lord should be spoil'd of its Ornaments Might it not be answered to him That 't is not necessary that the Sacraments of the Altar should be administred in Gold or Silver That the Redemption of Captives was an Ornament much more pleasing in the sight of God That those Vessels could not be put to a nobler Use than when they are employ'd to redeem the Lives of Christians That the true Treasure of the Lord is that which has the same effect with his Blood That then a Vessel is known to be truly the Lord's when there is a double Redemption to be observ'd in it that is when the exteriour Vessel redeems from the Enemy those whom the Blood of Jesus Christ had redeem'd from Sin He justifies also this Conduct by the Example of St. Laurence who show'd the Poor when the Treasures of the Church were demanded of him At last He concludes That tho' it be a Crime to break the Vessels of the Church to turn them to our own Profit yet on the contrary it is an Act of Charity and Vertue to do it to distribute them to the Poor to redeem Captives or to build a Church when such things are necessary He adds That he used that Precaution as to take first the Vessels which were not Consecrated and afterwards to break and melt those that were lest any should turn the Sacred Chalices to profane Uses He concludes this Book with recommending to the Clergy to keep with Faithfulness and Courage what is deposited in the Churches by Widows and relates some Examples of the Boldness wherewith some have defended these things against those who came to invade them And here I must resume the 24th Ch. of which I have said nothing St. Ambrose there describes the chief Duties of Clergy-men towards others in a few Words We must says he prepare our selves by good Actions and by a good Intention to receive Offices and chiefly those of the Clergy We must not carry our selves proudly in them nor estrange our selves from them by negligence we must equally shun Ambition and the Affectation of refusing them Simplicity and Uprightness comprehends all and these are of themselves commendable enough In the Exercise of his Ministry he must neither be too severe nor too remiss lest he should seem either to exercise his Authority with Dominion over the Flock or else to neglect the Duties of his Ministry he must endeavour to oblige all the World A Bishop should consider and protect the Priests and the other Clergy-men he should not be offended if they purchase Esteem either by their Charity or their Fasting or their Piety oâ— their Learning But these ought not to exalt themselves much less employ their own Merits to diminish the Reputation of their Bishop The Wicked must not be defended nor Holy Things given to those that are unworthy of them but neither are we to reprove and condemn any Person till he be convicted of a Fault For if Injustice be otherwise above all things offensive it is insupportable in the Church where every thing should be regulated according to Equity where Impartiality should be observed The Powerful and Rich ought to have no more Authority than the Poor because the Rich and Poor are all one in Jesus Christ. The most Holy should attribute nothing more to himself than others for the more Holy he is the more Humble he ought to be When we Judge we ought not to have any respect of Persons Favour should have no place in our Judgments but only the Justice of the Cause Nothing does more wound the Reputation and Credit which we may have than to betray the Cause of the weak in Favour of those that are more Powerful to reprove a Poor Man that is Innocent severely and to excuse a Rich Man that is Guilty 'T is true that we are naturally inclin'd to favour Great Persons lest they find that Injustice has been done them and afterwards revenge themselves upon us But First if you be afraid of making your self Enemies do not meddle with judging or opposing You can say nothing when a Matter of Interest is under debate tho' it were better done to protect Justice but when the Cause of God lies at stake or it is to be fear'd that the Impious will be admitted to the Communion of the Church then it is a very heinous Sin for Clergy-men to use Dissimulation In the First Chapter of the Third Book St. Ambrose shows That this Maxim of Scipio That he was never more busy nor less alone than when he was by himself was ancienter than Scipio and that it was verified in a more Illustrious manner in Moses Elias Elisha and the Apostles who did so many wonderful things when they seem'd to mind nothing He adds That a Just Man is never alone because he is always with God That he is never idle because he is always meditating That he seems to be unknown and yet is Famous That when he is thought to be Dead he then enjoys a more happy Life That he is never more joyful than when others think him to be under Affliction That he is never richer than when he is poor because he places all his Happiness in Justice and Honesty He observes afterwards That the Comparison which the Philosophers make between the Good of Honesty and of Profit has no place among Christians because they acknowledge nothing Profitable to be Good which is not also Honest. He distinguishes two sorts of Good and of Duty that which is more and that which is less perfect In short he maintains That a Just Man ought never to seek his own Profit by doing Injury to others but on the contrary that he ought to seek the Good of others above his own He enlarges upon this Maxim and proves that for any Man to do Injury to his Neighbour for his own Profit is contrary to the Example and to the Law of Jesus Christ to the Law of Nature to the Dictates of Conscience and to the Civil Laws Pursuant to this Principle he determines that a Christian in a Shipwrack ought not to snatch from his Brother the Plank which he has taken to save himself and that he ought not to fight against a Robber who would set upon him and lays it down for a General Maxim That 't is never lawful to preserve our own Life by putting another to Death The Philosophers
Lastly he declares That the trouble he was in when they spake of making him Bishop made him resolve to hide himself He sets forth this trouble by two Comparisons the one by describing the vexation which a Princess incomparable both for Beauty and Vertue might be in who being passionately beloved by a Prince should be forced to marry a mean and contemptible Man the other by describing the astonishment of a Clown that was forced to take upon him the Conduct of both a great Land-Army and of a Navy that was ready to give Battel to a dreadful Enemy He concludes by comforting Basil who was afflicted to see himself ingaged in so hard an Employment and loaded with so heavy a Burden Some say that he writ these excellent Books when he was very young which is not likely Others think with Socrates That he composed them while he was a Deacon but it seems rather that he made them in his Retirement before he was ordained Deacon about the Year 376. The three Books in defence of a Monastical Life against those that blamed that state were the first fruits of S. Chrysostom's Retreat In the first he argues for a Monastical way of life because of the usefulness and necessity of separating from the World In the Second he answers the Gentiles who complained that their Children forsook them to retire into desart places and then he comforts the Christians who were troubled to see themselves bereaved of their Children that embraced a Solitary Life to dwell in Wildernesses He affirms in these Books That a Monk is more glorious more powerful and richer than a Man of the World representing the great difficulty of saving our selves in the World and how hard it is to bring up Children to Christianity and comparing the condition of a Monk with that of Saints and Angels The short Discourse upon the comparison of a Monk with a Prince is upon the same Subject He shews That Men are mistaken who preferr the condition of Kings before that of Monks and retired Men. First Because the greatness of Kings ends with them whereas the advantages of a retired Life continues after death 2. Because the advantages of Retirement are much more considerable than the Fortune of Great Men. 3. Because it is more glorious for a Man to command his Passions than to rule whole Nations 4. Because the War of a Monk is nobler than that of a great Captain and his Victory more certain the one fights against invisible Powers and the other against mortal Men the one engages for the defence of Piety and the honour of God the other for his own Interest or Glory 5. Because a Prince is a charge to himself and to others by reason of those many things which he needs whereas a Monk wants nothing does good to all and by his Prayers obtains those Graces which the most powerful Princes cannot give 6. Because the loss of Piety may sooner be repaired than the loss of a Kingdom Lastly Because after death a Monk goeth in splendor to meet Jesus Christ and entreth immediately into Heaven whereas tho' a King seems to have ruled his Kingdom with Justice and Equity a thing very rare yet they shall be less glorious and not so happy there being a great difference in point of Holiness between a good King and a holy Monk who hath bestowed all his time and care upon praising God But if this King hath lived ill who can express the greatness of those punishments that attend him He concludeth in these words Let us not admire their Riches nor preferr their happiness before that of these poor Monks Let us never say that this rich Man is happy because he is cloathed with sumptuous Apparel carried in a fine Coach and followed by many Footman These Riches and great Pomps last but for a time and all the Felicity that attends them ends with the Life whereas the Happiness of Monks endures for ever It was likewise in his Solitude that he writ the two Books of Compunction of Heart whereof the first is dedicated to Demetrius and the second to Stelechius In these Books he discourses of the necessity and conditions of a true and sincere Repentance affirming That Christians ought to have their sins always in view to abhorr them with all their Heart to lament and continually beg of God the forgiveness of them That this sorrow ought to be a motion of that Charity which the Holy Ghost inspireth into our Hearts and to be animated with the fire of a Divine Love which consumeth sin and is accompanied with a Spirit of Mortification and Disinteressedness from the Goods of this World with an esteem of the Treasures of Heaven and of Spiritual Vertues He saith in the first Book That it is not Grace only which makes us do good since we ought our selves to contribute on our part all that depends upon our Wills and Strength wherefore saith he God's Grace is given to every one of us but it abideth only in the Hearts of them that keep the Commandments and departeth from them that correspond not with it neither doth it enter into their Souls who begin not to turn to the Lord. When God converted S. Paul he foresaw his good Will before he gave him his Grace The Three Books of Providence were composed by S. Chrysostom when he came out of his Solitude and returned to Antioch There he comforteth a Friend of his one Stagirius who having quitted the World was so tormented with an Evil Spirit that he was ready to fall into Despair exhorting him to look upon that affliction as a Grace of God rather than a Punishment for as much as it appears by the most notable Examples both of the old and of the new Law that from Adam to S. Paul Troubles and Afflictions have commonly been the lot of the Saints and Righteous Men For this reason these Books are intituled Of Providence because they clear that great Question which so much perplexed the learned Gentiles Why the Righteous are afflicted and persecuted if there be a Providence over-ruling the things of the World He sheweth there that this Question hath no difficulty if Men believe that there is another Life a Heaven and a Hell For saith he since every one is punished or rewarded in another World to what end are we concerned at what happens in this If wicked Men only were persecuted here we should easily believe that out of this World there is neither Punishments nor Rewards and were there none but good Men in affliction Vertue might be looked upon as the cause of Adversity and Crimes the reason of Prosperity Of necessity therefore there must be in this World righteous and wicked Men some happy and others unhappy He adds That by God's permission the Righteous are afflicted to expiate their sins and to correct them for their faults He saith further That God makes use of the Righteous Man's Fear to oblige others to look to themselves and to
Asterius speaks against this Practice after this manner If these Persons will believe me let them sell those clothes and honour the true Images of God Do not paint Jesus Christ it is enough that he humbled himself by taking voluntarily a Body for us .... Paint not the Paralytick upon your Garments but seek for the poor to succour them It is to no purpose to look upon the Woman having the Issue of Blood but it is very necessary to help this poor Widow It signifies nothing to behold the sinful Woman at the feet of Jesus Christ but it will signifie much to bewail your own sins What good will the Picture of Lazarus his Resurrection do you endeavour rather to rise spiritually To what purpose do you wear upon your Backs the Image of him that was born blind Ease this blind Man rather Why do you draw the Shrines of Relicks rather feed the poor And wherefore do you carry about you the Representation of those Water-pots at the Marriage where our Saviour made Wine while you suffer the poor to die for thirst This passage hath been alledged by the Iconoclasts as favouring their Opinions The Catholicks on the contrary have quoted another taken out of an Homily of the same Author concerning the Woman afflicted with the Issue of Blood where he speaks of the Statue of Jesus Christ erected by the same Woman in Paneas a Town of Palaestine But neither of these passages belong to the question betwixt the Catholicks and the Iconoclasts for this which we have transcribed is not against Images placed in Churches but against the Fancy of particular men who trimmed their Habits with Figures representing some Histories of the Bible and that of the Statue of Jesus Christ set up by the Woman that was afflicted with an Issue of Blood hath no Relation to the publick Service of Images But to return to our Sermon Asterius Amasenus pursuant to his Subject saith that Christians should beware of Luxury and Pleasures because none can live in Pleasure without Riches But saith he It is impossible to heap up much Riches without Sin He excellently describes all the things that are necessary to those that seek their Pleasure and having numbred them he adds To have these things how many poor Men must suffer how many Orphans must be ruined how many Widows must have weeping Eyes and how many Persons must be brought to the utmost Misery A Soul taken up with these forgets her self remembers not what she is thinks not upon Death nor a Resurrection nor Eternity And when the fatal and unavoidable moment comes that the Soul is ready to separate from the Body then a remembrance of the Life past will be of little use she then will think of Repentance but it will be to no purpose For then only will Repentance be available when there is a Resolution of correcting our former Life And regret and sorrow for sin seem to be of no use when a Man is not in a condition either to do good or to practise Vertue The rest of this Homily is a literal and moral Explication of that parable full of solid Notions and natural Reflections There is not less Eloquence in the Second Sermon of this Author upon another Parable of S. Luke's Gospel concerning that Steward whom his Master called to an Account for his Administration and for his Goods It beginneth with this Maxim That most Men's sins proceed from an opinion that the Goods which they possess are their own and that they are absolute Masters of them That this false perswasion is that which makes us go to Law Quarrel and make War for the wealth of this World looking upon it as proper and convenient for us and deserving our Love and Esteem Yet saith he it is nothing so on the contrary we are to look upon all which we have received as none of ours we are not Masters of the things which we have at home we are like Pilgrims Strangers Banished and Captives carried whither we would not at a time when we expect it least and at once we are stript of all when the Soveraign Dispenser of our fortune pleaseth This Notion he inlargeth upon in his Exposition of the Parable of the unjust Steward There one may find excellent Sentences upon the Contempt that Men should cast upon Riches and upon the uncertainty of this present Life He insists particularly upon proving that Men are not Owners but Stewards of their wealth and from this Principle he concludes That as many as have received of God such good things ought to distribute them faithfully and be always ready yea even desirous to give God an Account And at last he observes That after Death there will be no time for Repentance that this Life is the proper time to keep God's Commandments in as the other is of enjoying the Reward of good Works The Third Sermon against Covetousness was preached by S. Asterius in one of those Assemblies which were made in Churches to celebrate the Festival of some of the Martyrs This Homily is full of very natural Descriptions of the Hard-heartedness of covetous Men. Covetousness in his Opinion doth not consist only in the unjust desire of having that which is anothers but in a desire of having more than we ought to have According to this Notion it is easie to find in the Scriptures several Examples of covetous Men and having produced them he sheweth that all other Vices waste with time but that the older a Man grows the more covetous he is This Remark is followed by a Description of a covetous Man where he omits none of those Characters that can make him appear miserable and render him odious to all the World He proveth that Covetousness is the Spring and Cause of all the Crimes and Sins committed in the World And in short he shews that it is to no purpose to be concerned for this World's Goods but far better to put all our trust and confidence in God's providence and mercy The Fourth Sermon is against the profane Festival of the first day in the Year and against the custom of New-years-gifts Asterius Amasenus declaimeth against that Practice He saith That the Liberalities of that day have no rational ground That they cannot be called Tokens of Friendship because true Friendship is not grounded upon Interest That neither can they be called Alms since the Poor partake not of them That they are not of the Nature of Contracts seeing there is neither loan nor exchange in that Traffick In a word That they are not pure Gifts since there is a necessity of giving them What Name then saith he can be given to the Expense of that day The Church gives a reason for all the Feasts which it celebrates It keeps the Feast of Christmas because upon that day God made himself known unto Men. At Candlemas it rejoyceth because we are drawn out of the obscurity of Darkness wherein we lay Lastly we celebrate with Joy Pomp and
after his return into Africa about the Year 389. In the First Book he speaks of Musick in general In the Second of Syllables and Feet In the Three following he discourses of Measure Harmony and Verses In the Last he shows That Musick ought to raise up the Mind and Heart to a Divine and Heavenly Harmony St. Augustin's Discourse of a Master was written about the Year 395. It is a Dialogue betwixt himself and his Son Adeodatus wherein he shews That it is not by Men's Words that we receive Instruction but from the eternal Truth viz. Jesus Christ the Word of God who informeth us inwardly of all Truth The First of the Three Books of Free-Will was composed at Rome in 387. and the Two others in Africa in 395. In the First St. Augustin resolves that hard Question touching the original of Evil And having explained what it is to do Evil he shews That all manner of Evil comes from the Free-Will which readily followeth the Suggestions of Lust adding That our Will makes us either happy or unhappy That if we are not happy though we desire to be so it is because we will not live conformably to the Law of God without which it is impossible to be Happy In the Second Book the Difficulty alledged by Evodius VVhy God hath left in Man a Liberty of Sinning which is so prejudicial to him hath started these Three other Questions How we are sure that there is a God Doth all Good come from him Is the VVill free to do Good as well as Evil St. Augustin clears all these Difficulties proving That Free-VVill was given for a good End and that we received it of God that there is a Being more perfect than our Soul that this Being is Truth it self Goodness VVisdom it self that every good and perfect Thing cometh from it and that Free-VVill is to be reckoned among the good Things That there are Three sorts of Goods The greatest are the Vertues that make us live VVell the Idea's of Corporeal Objects without which we cannot live VVell are the least and the Power of the Soul are the middle Ones That the First cannot be abused but both the Second and the Last may be put to ill Uses That Free-VVill is of the Number of these middle Goods When the VVill adheres to the sovereign Good it renders Man Happy but when it departeth from that to cleave to other Objects then Man becometh Criminal and so Unhappy VVherefore neither the VVill nor the Objects it embraceth are Evil but it is a Separation from God that makes all Evil and Sin but God is not the Author of this Separation From whence then is this Principle of Aversion This St. Augustin clears in the Third Book It is not Natural since it is Guilty It is Free and Voluntary and it is enough to say That we may chuse whether we will follow it or no to justifie God's Justice But how can this Liberty agree with the fore-knowledge of God Nothing is more easie according to St. Augustin in this Place VVe are Free when we do what we please But Prescience doth not take away our Will on the contrary it supposes it since it is a Knowledge of our Will But are not the Creature 's Faults to be imputed to the Creator Why did he not make it impeccable Had not Men been more perfect if they had been created at first in the same condition with the Angels and the glorified Saints that cannot be separated from the love of God But St. Augustin replies Doth it therefore follow That because we may conceive a more Perfect State therefore God was obliged to create us in that State Should we not rather believe that he had his Reasons why he did not create us more Perfect There are several sorts of Perfections If the State of a Creature that enjoyeth God makes Soveraign Felicity then the State of a Creature that is subject to Sin which liveth in hope of recovering the Happiness which it lost is also in God's Order and exceedingly above that of a Creature that lies under the necessity of sinning eternally The Condition of these last is the worst of all and yet God cannot be accused of Injustice for giving a Being to Creatures which he knew would be eternally miserable He is not the Cause of their Sin That Being which he gave them is still a Perfection their Sins and their Misery contribute to the Perfection of the Universe and to exalt the Justice of God by the Punishment of their Sins What then is the Cause of Sins There is none but the Will it self which freely and knowingly inclineth to do Evil. For if Sin could not be resisted it were impossible to know or to avoid it and then there would be no Sin Wherefore then doth God punish Sins of Ignorance How cometh it to pass that he blameth those Actions that are done out of Necessity What mean those words of the Apostle I do not the Good that I would but the evil that I would not All that saith St. Augustin is spoken of Men born since Mankind was condemned to Death because of the First Man's Sin For were this Natural to Man and not a Punishment for his Sin it is certain there would be no Sin of Ignorance nor Necessity But when we speak here of Liberty we speak of that which Man had when God created him Here St. Augustin answers the greatest Objection that can be urged against Original Sin Though say they both Adam and Eve have sinned yet what had we done wretched Persons that we are to be thus abandoned to Ignorance and to Lust Must we therefore be deprived of the knowledge of the Precepts of Righteousness and when we begin to know them Must we see our selves under a kind of Necessity not to keep them by reason of the resistance of Lust St. Augustin confesseth That this Complaint were just if Men were under an impossibility of overcoming their Ignorance and Lust. But God being present every where to call his Creature to his Service to teach him what he ought to believe to Comfort him in his hopes to confirm him in his Love to help his Endeavours and to hear his Prayers man cannot complain That that is imputed to him which he is unavoidably ignorant of but then that he must blame himself if he neglects to seek after that which he knows not It is none of his fault that he cannot use his broken Members but he is guilty if he despiseth the Physician that proffers to cure him for none can be ignorant that Man may profitably seek for the Knowledge of what he knows not and which he thinks to be necessary And it is well enough known that Men ought humbly to acknowledge their Weakness to obtain Help In a word If Men do that which is Evil out of Ignorance or if it so happens that they cannot do the Good which they would there is Sin in that because it is in consequence
the Nature of Bodies after the Resurrection and of that of Angels It is incertain whether they have Boâ—…s or whether they are pure Spirits These Letters are of the Year 408. The 96th Letter is an Excellent Example shewing How little Bishops in St. Augustin's time were given to Interest Paulus Bishop of Catagnae had bought an Estate in the Church's Name with a Summ which he recovered though he had Surrendered his own Estate for what he owed to the Royal Treasure Boniface his Successor not willing to benefit himself by that Fraud declared the thing as it was chusing either to have nothing or to receive the whole from the Emperor's Liberality rather than keep a thing gotten by Fraud St. Augustin writeth this Letter to Olympius Surveyor of the Buildings to obtain by his means this Gratification from the Emperour in the behalf of Boniface Olympius not being in that Employment before the Death of Stilico which happen'd in August 408 this Letter cannot have been written till towards the latter end of that Year To the same Magistrate and at the same time was the following written whereby he prayeth him to see the Laws maintained that were Published in Africa in the time of Stilico his Predecessor and to let the Church's Enemies know That these Laws having been Enacted freely by the Emperour himself they were in full force after Stilico's Death In the 98th to Boniface St. Augustin resolves a Question that was made to him by that Bishop namely How the Faith of Parents can serve for their Children that are admitted to Baptism though the incredulity of Parents can be no Prejudice to their Children when they offer them to Daemons St. Augustin Answers That it is most certain that after a Child is born he partakes no longer of other Men's Sins but before he is partaker of Adam's Sin from which he is delivered by the Operation of the Holy Ghost in the Sacrament of Baptism That Water represents outwardly both the Mystery and Grace but the Holy Spirit produces the Effect That neither the Faith of Parents nor yet of Godfathers is the cause of this Grace but the Prayer of the whole Church that begets Christ in each Member In which sence the God-fathers Answer for the Child that he believes and resolves to live Christianly because he receiveth the Sacrament of Faith and of Conversion to God He explains this last Notion by several Examples and among the rest he alledgeth that of the Eucharist saying That as the Sacrament of Christ's Body is in some sort the Body of Christ so the Sacrament of Faith is Faith it self and in this sence it is said That whosoever hath the Sacrament of Faith hath Faith it self This Comparison would not be very Just if St. Augustin did not consider something else in the Eucharist besides the external and sensible part The 99th is written to the Lady Italica on the occasion of the first Siege of Rome by Alaricus in 408. In the 100dth Letter St. Augustin intreateth Donatus Proconsul of Africa to restrain the Donatists but not to punish them with Death And having expressed himself with the most Pathetical terms that can be used to oblige him to Meekness he concludes with these curious words It is a more troublesome than profitable Labour to compel Men to forsake a great Evil rather by Force than by Instruction This Letter was written at the time when they published new Edicts against the Donatists in 408. The 101st Letter to Memorius a Bishop was joyn'd to the Sixth Book of his Treatise of Musick which St. Augustin sent by it self to that Bishop because he could not find his other Books upon the same Subject that Memorius desired This Memorius was Father to Julianus who writ afterwards against St. Augustin who was now a Deacon St. Augustin gives him great Commendations in that Letter The 102d is placed in the Retractations amongst the Books composed before the Year 411. There St. Augustin answereth Six Questions proposed by an Heathen to a Priest called Deogratias The First is concerning the Resurrection Whether that which is promised to us shall be like that of Jesus Christ or like that of Lazarus And whether after the Resurrection Men shall be Subject to the Infirmities and Necessities of the Flesh. St. Augustin answereth That our Resurrection shall be like that of Jesus Christ and that after the Resurrection we shall be freed from all cares and inconveniencies of corruptible Flesh. The Second Question is If none can be Saved but by Jesus Christ what is become of those that died before his coming What is become of so many Millions of Souls against whom nothing can be objected since Christ had not yet appeared among Men Why did not the Saviour come sooner Let it not be said that the Jewish Law supplied that want for there was already an infinite number of Men upon Earth when it was given and yet it was neither known nor practised but in a small corner of the World St. Augustin having shewed That the Pagans were not less perplexed with that Question than the Christians answers That Jesus Christ being the Word of God who Governed the World from the beginning all those that knew him and lived according to his Precepts might be saved by the Faith which they had that he was in God and should come upon the Earth He adds That Jesus Christ would not appear in the World and cause his Doctrine to be Preached but at such a time and in such Places where he knew that there were those who should believe in him and that he foresaw that in all other Places or at any other Times Men would be such as they have been though the Gospel had been Preached to them This Notion was very favourable to the Semipelagians and they failed not to make use of it as appears by Hilary's Letter to St. Augustin But this Father answered them in the 9 Chap. of the Book of the Predestination of the Saints That he did make use of the Word Fore-knowledge only because he thought it was sufficient to convince the Infidelity of the Pagans who made this Objection and therefore he omitted to speak of that which is hid within God's Counsels of the Motives of that Dispensation And so when he said That Jesus Christ would not show himself nor cause his Doctrine to be Preached but in those places and at such a time he knew those Persons liv'd who should believe in him It is as if he had said That Jesus Christ did not show himself unto Men nor suffer his Doctrine to be Preached but in those places and at that time when he knew that those should live who were Elected before the Creation He expounds again in the same place what he had said in this Letter That the Christian Religion never failed of being Preached to those that were worthy and that if it failed any it was because they were not worthy of it Saying That he had not
Church of Rome and Africk yea and of all Orthodox Christians in the World That the cause why these Persons acted in this manner was That they could not endure what had been opposed against those things which in their Conferences they had started against S. Austin's Doctrine That they knew well enough that if they came to produce their Maxims in any Council a great number of S. Austin's Writings would be objected against them which would evidently prove that we ought to attribute all the Glory of the Good we do to the Grace of Jesus Christ and not in the least to the freedom of our Wills In sum That he hoped through the Mercy of God that he would not for ever deprive those of his Illumination whom at present he permitted to forsake Christian Humility that they might follow the bent of their own Wills The Error of these Persons consists in asserting That our Vertues and Holy Lives spring from Nature or if they proceed from Grace it had been preceded by some good Action or Election of the Will which had deserved it S. Prosper undertakes to confute this Opinion by proving from Testimonies of Holy Scripture that since the Fall of Man the Free-will hath no Power to do any good or to deserve any thing unless assisted by the Grace of Jesus Christ and that all Men being faln into a state of Perdition through the sin of Adam nothing but the gratuitous Mercy of God could deliver them To prove this Doctrine he brings the Example of Children who die Unbaptized and of those Nations to whom the Gospel hath not been Preached He adds That Grace doth not destroy Free-will but that it restores and changes it That of it self it can do nothing but Evil and all the Work it doth tends to Man's Destruction That Grace cures it and makes it act and think otherwise but he teaches at the same time that its Recovery proceeds not from himself but from his Physician Lastly S. Prosper refells the Calumny with which they had blackned the Doctrine of S. Austin by accusing it of introducing a Fatality and admitting two Natures in Man He maintains That he never asserted any thing like to those Errors That neither himself nor his Scholars hold That any thing happens through Fate but they assure us that all is ordered and ruled by Divine Providence That they allow not two Natures in Man the one good and the other bad but only one Nature which having been created perfect is faln from that Perfection by the sin of the first Man and is become subject to Eternal Death but Jesus Christ hath restored it by a second Creation and secured its Liberty by preventing it and helping it continually He concludes by exhorting him to whom he wrote to read carefully S. Austin's Works if he desired to be well instructed in the sound Doctrine concerning the Grace of Jesus Christ. But the Adversaries of S. Austin were not contented to divulge scandalous Reports against his Doctrine but they set down in writing the pernicious Consequences which they thought might be drawn from it Vincentius who was perhaps the famous Monk of Lerins of whom we have spoken put out sixteen erroneous Propositions which he pretends to be maintain'd by S. Austin and his Scholars This oblig'd S. Prosper to deliver S. Austin's and his Scholars Judgment upon every one of his Propositions Objection I. That our Lord Jesus Christ did not die for the Salvation and Redemption of all Mankind S. Prosper answers That it is a true Assertion that Jesus Christ died for all Men because he assumed that Nature which is common to all Men that he offered up himself upon the Account of all Men and that he hath paid a Price sufficient for their Redemption But nevertheless all Men have not a part in that Redemption but those only who have been regenerated by Baptismal Grace and are become the Members of Jesus Christ. Objection II. That God will not save all Men altho' they desire to be saved S. Prosper Answers That it may be said That God desires the Salvation of all Men altho there be some that shall not be saved for Reasons known only to himself That those that perish perish through their own fault but they who are saved are saved by the Grace of Jesus Christ. Objection III. That God created one part of Mankind to damn them Eternally He Answers That God creates no Man to Damnation The sin of the first Man hath damned many but God created them not to be damned but to be Men. He denies not his Concourse for the multiplying of Mankind He rewards many for the good that is done by them and he punishes in others the Vices that he sees them guilty of Objection IV. That one part of Mankind is created to do the Will of the Devil His Answer is That God created no Man to do the Will of the Devil but every Man is made a Captive of the Devil by reason of the sin of the first Man Objection V. That God is the Author of Evil since he is the Author of our perverse Will and hath created us of such a Nature as cannot but sin He replies This Objection is also grounded upon the Doctrine of Original Sin God hath created Nature but Sin which is contrary to Nature hath been introduced by the Apostacy of Adam Objection VI. That Man 's free Will is like the Devils which cannot do any good He answers All the difference is that God sometimes converts through his Mercy some of the vilest Sinners but the Devils are past all hopes of Repentance Objection VII That God will not have a great number of Christians to be saved nor gives them a desire so to be His Answer is They that desire not to be saved cannot be saved but 't is not the Will of God that makes them not desire it but on the contrary 't is that which stirs up the Wills of them that desire it God forsakes no Man that forsakes him not and very often converts those who have forsaken him The Three Objections and Answers which follow are bottomed upon the same Principles with the former The seven last are some Difficulties about Predestination which come all to one Head almost viz. If God hath predestined some to Salvation and others to Damnation this Predestination is the cause of all the Evil that is done and all the Faithful who are decreed to Damnation shall necessarily be damned whatsoever they do The general Answer to these Objections is this That God hath not predestined the sin of any Man He knew from all Eternity the sins which should be committed and hath decreed the punishment of sins but not the sins themselves He damns the Wicked and Impenitent but he makes them not either Wicked or Impenitent It is true he gives them not the Gift of Righteousness or Repentance but neither is he obliged to do it It is one thing to deny a Gift and another to
be the Cause of Evil. There is a great deal of difference between not lifting up a Person faln and casting him down God compels no Man to commit sin yet he is not obliged to pardon every Criminal These Answers of S. Prosper did not satisfie the Persons against whom they were written but they took an occasion from them to form some new ones which seemed to be grounded upon his Answers themselves and upon the Doctrine of the Writings of S. Austin who was then dead They are reducible to fifteen Objection I. That Predestination is a kind of Fatality which necessitating Men to do Evil damns them Infallibly S. Prosper Answers That all Orthodox Christians acknowledged Predestination That none yet owned a fatal necessity of Sinning That Predestination is not the cause of sin nor of the Inclination to sin which proceeds from the Offence of the first Man from which no Man is delivered but by the Grace of Jesus Christ which God hath prepared and decreed from all Eternity Objection II. That Baptism doth not take away Original Sin from those who are not Predestined He answers Every Man that is Baptiz'd being endued with Faith obtains Remission not only of Original Sin but of all those Sins which he hath freely committed but if he falls into Sin after Baptism and dies in his Sins he shall be damned for the Crimes which have followed Baptism and that God having fore-known them from Eternity hath never chosen nor predestin'd that Man to Salvation Objection III. That it is unprofitable for them who are not predestined to live an Holy Life after their Baptism because they are reserved till they fall into Sin and shall not be taken out of the World till that happens to them To this he replies That these Persons fall not into any Sin because they are not predestined but they are not predestined because God hath foreseen that they would fall into these Sins If God doth not take them out of the World while they are in a good Estate it ought to be referr'd to the Judgments of God which are unknown to us but are never unjust God preserves them not that he may entrap them into their own Destruction 't is his Grace which is the Cause of their Preservation 't is their own Fault if they perish Objection IV. That God doth not call all Men to Grace The Answer is He calls all those to it to whom the Gospel is preach'd but how can it be said That they are called to it who have never heard speaking of the Gospel Objection V. That of those who are call'd some are call'd that they may believe and others that they may not believe He replies If by Vocation we understand the Preaching of the Gospel 't is the same Gospel that is preach'd every where and by consequent all are equally call'd But if we consider the Effect of that Preaching produced in the Hearts of Men some reject it by reason of their Infidelity which arises from their sinful Wills and others receive the Gospel being inwardly enlightned by God's Grace Objection VI. That Free-Will doth nothing Predestination doth all He Answers This is not so Free-Will without Grace is unable to do Good but being assisted by Grace it doth Good It is Madness to say That Predestination doth of it self work Good or Evil in Men. Objection VII That the Faithful who are regenerated in Jesus Christ do not receive the Gift of Perseverance because they have not been separated from the Mass of Perdition by the Eternal Decree of God He Answers It is through their own Will that they fall into Sin and 't is because that God hath foreseen it that he hath not separated them from the Mass of Perdition by his Eternal Decree It is true he hath not given them the Grace of Perseverance but he was not at all oblig'd to give it to them Objection VIII That God will not have all Men to be saved but only a small Number of the Elect. Answer If the Will of God to save Men were so general why did he for so many Ages together leave Men in Blindness Why suffers he Infants to die before Baptism Nevertheless it is truly said That God will save all Men because there is nothing which he hath not made known to them either by the Gospel or the Law or by Nature 't is from Men themselves that their Infidelity proceeds their Faith is the Gift of God Objection IX That Jesus Christ was not crucified for the Redemption of all the World Answer Jesus Christ hath taken the Nature of all Men but that they may be saved they must become the Members of Jesus Christ. Objection X. That God with-holds the Preaching of the Gospel from some lest they should believe and be saved Answer That if the Gospel hath been preach'd to all the World it is not true that God hath with-holden the Knowledge of it from any But if there be any Men that have not heard it preach'd we must own that it is done through the secret Judgment of God which we ought not to find Fault with because we cannot understand it Objection XI That God compels Men to Sin by his Omnipotency Answer No Orthodox Christian ever held this Maxim On the contrary when we read That God hath hardned Sinners and given them up to their Irregular Desires we say That they have deserv'd it for their Sins Objection XII That God takes away the Gift of Obedience from those Persons that live well Answer This could not have been propos'd but by those who confound the Prescience and Will of God together he knows Good and Evil but wills nothing but Good he takes away from no Man the Gift of Obedience because he hath not predestin'd them but he hath not predestinated them because he foresaw that they would not continue in their Obedience to the End of their Lives Objection XIII That God hath created Men for other Ends than for Eternal Life viz. to adorn the World and to be serviceable to each other Answer God hath not created them that they should be damned they damn themselves by their Impieties but this hinders not but that they may for all this be profitable to the World Objection XIV That those that do not believe do not believe because God hath ordain'd it from all Eternity Answer God foresaw it but he hath neither ordain'd nor predestinated it Objection XV. That Prescience and Predestination are the same thing Answer God hath foreseen and predestinated all Things that are Good at the same Time because he knows them and is the Author of them but he hath foreseen and yet not predestinated Evil. S. Prosper after he hath thus explain'd the Doctrine of the Church condemns in Fifteen Propositions the Fifteen Errors which had been objected against the Scholars of S. Austin * Camilâ—â—â— and Theodorus Two Priests of Geneva †Genâ—a Cave Voss. did also find Fault with some Propositions in the Books
to choose in other Churches such Practices as he shall think most pleasing to God that he may bring them into use in the Church of England Quest. 4. What should the Punishment be of him who robs the Church Answ. This ought to be regulated by the Quality of the Person who commits the Robbery viz. Whether he has whereupon to subsist or whether he did it thro necessity Some ought to be punished by pecuniary Mulcts by making them pay the Damage sustain'd and the Interest of it Others ought to be punish'd in their Bodies some ought to be punish'd more severely others more slightly But the Church must always use Charity in punishing and design nothing else but the Reformation of him whom it corrects It ought not to be too rigorous in its Chastisments nor to make advantage by the Robbery by exacting more then it has lost Quest. 5. Can two Brothers having the same Father and Mother marry two Sisters which are a-kin to them in a very remote degree Answ. They may since it is not forbidden in Scripture Quest. 6. To what Degree may the Faithful marry together May one marry his Step-mother or the Widow of his Brother Answ. A Roman Law viz. that of Arcadius and Honorius Cod. B. 5. T. 4. Leg. 19. permitted Marriages between Cousin-Germans But St. Gregory did not think these Marriages convenient for two Reasons 1. Because Experience shows that no Children are born of them 2. Because the Divine Law forbids them But 't is certain that those who are a-kin to the third or fourth Degree may marry together 'T is a great Crime for one to marry his Step-mother neither is it lawful to marry his Sister-in-law Quest. 7. Must those be parted who have made an unlawful Marriage Must they be depriv'd of the Communion Answ. Since there are many English who have contracted this kind of Marriages before their Conversion therefore when they are converted you must make them understand that this is not lawful and excite them by the fear of God's Judgment to refrain from it but you must upon this account interdict them Communion As to those who are already converted they must be admonish'd not to engage in any of this kind of Marriages and if they do they must be excluded from the Communion Quest. 8. When there are no neighbouring Bishops who can assemble together may one Bishop only Ordain another Answ. Austin being at first the only Bishop in England there was a great necessity that he alone should Ordain Bishops If any went over to him from Gaul he was to take them for Witnesses of his Ordination and when he had Ordain'd many Bishops in England he was to call three or four of them to be present at his Ordination Quest. 9. of Austin After what manner he should deal with the Bishops of the Gauls and of the ancient Britains Answ. of St. Gregory He must know that he has no Authority over the Bishops of the Gauls and the Bishop of Arles ought to enjoy the Priviledges which he had receiv'd from his Predecessors that he ought to confer with him if there be any Disorders to be reform'd that he may also excite him to do his Duty if he were negligent or inconstant but that he cannot challenge to himself any Authority among the Gauls As to the Bishops of Britany he speaks at another rate For St. Gregory gives him full Jurisdiction over them to teach the Ignorant confirm the Weak and correct the Disorderly * This was to give Austin what he had no power to grant like some of his Successors in that See who very liberally bestow'd the Kingdom of England and Ireland upon the King of Spain and therefore this pretended Jurisdiction of the Pope was vigorously oppos'd by the British Bishops and Monks in Austin's time who resus'd to receive any Romish Customs different from those of their own Church as appear'd by the famous Controversie between them about the time of keeping Easter and the right of imposing them has been sufficiently disprov'd by our Writers Vide Dr. Basire of the Exemption of the British Patriarchate There is also a Request of Austin wherein he desires the Reliques of St. Sixtus The Pope tells him that he had sent them unto him but he did not look upon them as certain This Article is not found in the Copies of Bede nor in many other Manuscripts and probably it is supposititious Quest. 10. contains many Heads Whether a Woman big with Child may be baptiz'd How long it must be after her lying in before she enter into the Church and have Carnal dealing with her Husband Whether it be lawful for a Woman quae tenetur menstrua consuetudine to enter into the Church Whether a married Man may enter into the Church after the use of marriage without washing The Answers to these Heads of Questions are as follow A Woman big with Child may be baptiz'd A woman that has newly layn in ought not to be deny'd Entrance into the Church A Woman who has newly layn in may be baptiz'd and her Infant at the very moment of its Birth if there be danger of death A Husband ought not to come near his Wife after her lying in until the Infant be wean'd and if by an abuse she do not suckle it her self he must wait till the time of her Purgation be over A Woman who has her ordinary Infirmities ought not to be forbidden to enter into the Church nor to receive the Communion but it were better for her to abstain A Man who has had Carnal Knowledge of his Wife must wash himself before he enter into the Church and Communicate Quest. 11. Whether it be lawful to receive the Communion the next day after natural Pollutions Answ. When these Pollutions proceed from the Infirmity of Nature there is no fear but when they proceed from eating or drinking too much they are not altogether innocent but this faultought not to hinder any from receiving the Communion nor from celebrating Mess when it is a Festival at which they must communicate or when there is no other Priest to celebrate But if there be other Priests he who is in this condition ought in humility to abstain from celebrating and especially if this Pollution was attended with unclean Imaginations Other Pollutions which proceed from the Thoughts which a Man had while he was waking are yet more Criminal because these Thoughts are the cause of them And in unchaste Thoughts we must distinguish three things the Desire the Pleasure and the Consent When there is only a Desire there is not as yet any Sin but when we take Pleasure in such Thoughts then the Sin begins and when we consent to them then the Sin is finish'd The Letter which is attributed to Felix of Messina is certainly a supposititious Piece The Title does not well agree with the Custom of that time Domino beatissimo honorabili Sancto Patri Gregorio Papae Felix vestrae
only endeavour to find out the Truth and to maintain Charity IBLIOTHECA PATRUM OR A NEW HISTORY OF Ecclesiastical Writers TOME V. CONTAINING An Account of the LIVES and WRITINGS of the Primitive FATHERS that Flourished in the Seventh and Eighth Centuries of Christianity with Censures upon all their BOOKS determining which are Genuine and which Spurious S. ISIDORE of Sevil. S. ISIDORE the Son of Severianus and Grand-Child of Theodorick King of Italy was born at Sevil. He succeeded his Brother S. Leander in the Bishoprick of S. Isidore of Sevil. that City about the Year 595. He held a Council in 623. and died in 636. having governed the Church of Sevil Forty Years This Bishop was a Man of great Reading and profound Learning and has written upon divers Subjects His Works may be divided into Five Classes The First comprehending those which concern Arts or Sciences The Second his Commentaries upon the Scripture The Third his dogmatical Tracts The Fourth his Treatises of Church-Discipline And the last his Works of Morality or Piety The Book of Etymologies or of Origin's is the largest of those of the First Class He wrote it at the Request of Braulio Bishop of * Caesar-Augusta Saragosa who divided it into Twenty Books and made up what Isidore had not finish'd This Work is an Epitome of all Arts and Sciences he explains the Terms lays down the Principles and shews what is most in use in each of them What relates to Ecclesiastical Matters is as follows In the Sixth Book he maketh a Catalogue of the Books of the Old and New Testament In which he places in the Fourth Classis of the a Canonical Books Tobit Ecclesiasticus As the Jews never acknowledged these Books to be Canonical so neither did the Primitive Church of Christ. S. Cyprian or rather Rufinus in his Tract De Expos. Symb. having reckon'd up the Cypr. de exp symb Books in Order which made up the Canon in his Time and omitting those which were accounted Apocryphal says Haec sunt c. These are the Books which are received into the Canon by the Church the other Books meaning Tobit c. are not Canonical The same Catalogue of Canonical Writers do Origen in Eusebius Hist. Eccles. l. 6. c. 25. and the Council of Laodicea c. 59. give Conc. Laod. anno 320. Euseb. Hist. Eccl. l. 3. c. 15 16. Aug. de civ Dei l. 18. c. 36. Hieron praef in Macc. Conc. Flor. Trident. us So that there can be no doubt but for the First Four hundred Years and more the Canon was exactly the same that we now have Indeed the Apocryphal Books were read in the Churches of the purer Ages to the Novices and Catechumens as were also Clemens and Ignatius's Epistles and Hermes's Book called Pastor yea and some of the later Fathers as S. Jerom Austin and Innocent give them very honourable Titles calling them Sacred Divine Canonical but then they mean not by Canonical as the Church of Rome doth Canones Fidei a perfect Rule both for Faith and Manners but Canones Morum Historiae profitable to Instruction and to inform Men in the History of the Jewish Church And so far is this Doctrine of S. Isidore Orthodox in the Judgment of the Church of England our Mother Art 6. Canonical Books of the Old Testament Ecclesiasticus the Book of Wisdom Judith Tobit and the Two Books of the Maccabees He distinguisheth Thrâ—â— Sâ—…es of the Scripture the Historical Moral and Allegorical He speaks of the Authors of the Canonical Books and of those that have composed Harmonies of 〈◊〉 Gospels He reckons up but Four General Councils He makes a Paschal Cycle In fine he treats of the principal Festivals of the Jews and Christians and of the Administration of the Sacrament He saith it is called a Sacrifice because it is made sacred by a mystical Prayer in remembrance of the Passion of our Lord. He definâ—th b A 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 The 〈◊〉 â—â—â—y in â—pious and good Sence be said to communicate Sanctifying Grace and Holiness Conc. Trid. sess 7. c. 8. not ex opere operato as the Church of Rome teacheth but ex opere operaâ—tis being moral Instruments of conferring and conveying the Grace of God to the Souls of all worthy Partakers of them God being-pleased-by-and-with them to work Spiritual Graces and Endowments in us Non propter 〈◊〉 Sacramenâ—… quae saâ—â—imus sed propter vim fidei in Christo qua illis Communicamus Not through any vertue in the Sacraments which we receive but through Faith in the Receiver 〈◊〉 Sacrament the Sign of an Holy Thing communicating Holiness He places in that rank Baptism Chrism and the Eucharist which are saith he Sacraments because under the Veil of corporeal things the divine Vertue does secretly operate Salvation To the Unction he joyns the Laying on of Hands which brings down the Holy Ghost He speaks of Exorcism He makes the Apostles Authors of the Creed which he thinks to have been called a Symbol because it is the Badge whereby Christians know one another He speaks of Prayer of Fasting and of Penance which he says is a voluntary Punishment for ones Sins He defines Satisfaction the Exclusion of the Causes and Occasions of Sin and the Cessation of Sinning He calls Reconciliation the End of Penance He distinguisheth two sorts of Exomologesis or Confession the one of Praise the other of Sins and saith both the one and the other are chiefly made to God Lastly he makes mention of the Rogations or Litanies In the Seventh Book he treats of the Names and Attributes of God Chap. 1. Of the Son of God of his Qualities of his metaphorical and natural Names Chap. 2. Of the Holy Ghost Chap. 3. Of the Trinity and of the appellative and relative Names of the Persons Chap. 4. Of Angels and their different Orders Chap. 5. He explains also the Names of the Persons mention'd in the Bible he gives the Definition of the Patriarchs the Prophets the Apostles the Martyrs the Clerks and Monks In the Eighth Book he speaks of the Church of Heresy of the Number of the Sybils c. The Three Books of the Differences of Names or of the proper Signification of Words written by the same Author are a grammatical Work and the Book of the Nature of Things to King Sisebut a Physical Treatise of which we have nothing here to say To this Classis of S. Isidore's Works may be added his Historical Tracts which are a Chronological Abridgment from the beginning of the World down to * To the 17th Year of the Empire of Heraclius and to the Year 626. Heraclius's Empire An History of the Goths from the 176th Year of Christ to the Year 610. with an Epitome of the History of the Vandals and Sueves The Treatise of Ecclesiastical Writers which we have defended in the Preface of the preceeding Volume and the Treatise of the Life and Death of certain Saints The Treatises that S.
greater others less some unto others not unto Death And though every the least Sin be offensive to God and deserving Damnation in its own Nature yet they say some are mortal others venial 1. Comparatively and by God's Favour as the Sins of the Elect being committed with Reluctancy and without consent are more pardonable than the Sins of wilful Offenders 2. Because some Sins exclude not Grace the Root of Remission and Pardon out of the Soul but others cannot stand with Grace and so leave the Persons in a state of Wrath and Damnation who are guilty of them Mortal Sins to watch over their Actions and Words to despise the World to repent continually and never to despair of Salvation c. It is observed in this Treatise that every Christian hath a good Angel to assist him and when he sins he drives away his good Angel to take a Devil There are Sixteen Homilies more bearing Eligius's Name but it is doubted whether they be really his because they are made up of Passages and Quotations of the Fathers as of S. Austin S. Leo S. Ambrose Caesarius of Arles and S. Gregory These Fathers are likewise cited there under the Name of Saints and Blessed S. Benedict is there called most Blessed and most Holy Father They say that these Citations are affected they add That there be even some Passages of Authors who wrote since Eligius's Time as of S. Isidore of Sevil of Alcuin of Haymo of Halberstat From whence they conclude That these Sermons are the Work of an Author of the Ninth Century Yet methinks he that composed them first was older than that Time and many things may easily have been added to them since However there are yet found in them some remainders of the Ancient Discipline not to be slighted This is an Extract of them In the First Sermon for Christmasday he shews the Happiness of the Peace which Christ brought to the Earth and exhorts his Hearers in the end to Almsgiving He relates the Story of a Gardner who being used to bestow what he earned upon the poor was tempted to keep back part of it in case he should fall sick that having thus gathered many Crown-pieces he got a running Sore in his Foot which fell into a Gangreen so that the Surgeon appointed a Day to cut off his Leg seeing there was no other Remedy but in the Night the Gardner coming to himself and having begged God's Forgiveness for his not having continued in his Almsgiving and promised to continue it hereafter he was miraculously cured and the Surgeon coming the next Day to cut off his Leg found him gone abroad The Second Sermon is upon the Purification After having uttered some Allegories upon that Ceremony of the Jews he speaks of the use of the Church to have on that Festival s Tapers light during the Mass upon the Feast of the Purification This Ceremony tho' not taken from the Sacrifices called Lustrum as this Author imagines being offered in the end of February yet was certainly instituted in imitation of a Festival celebrated at Rome either in remembrance of Ceres's search after Proserpinâ— or in honour of Februâ— the Mother of Mers which were both solemniz'd with Tapers burning in their Hands by the Romans These Superstitions the Bishops of the Church very much abhorred yet because it conduced greatly to the Conversion of the Gentiles to make as little Alterations in their Ceremonies as possible therefore did the Heads of the Church institute the same Ceremonies to be used by the Christians on the Feast of the Purification as had been used upon the Calends of February at Rome And this the learned and judicious Rhenanus on Tertul. l. 5. cont Mar. Tertullian confidently afferts Negari non potest Ardentium Cereorum quos bodie Christiani die Purificatâ—e Mariae ex more circumferunt a Februalibus Romanorum sacris Originem sumpsisse Pertinaci paganismo mutatione subvenâ—um est quem vei in totum sublatio potius irritasset Tapers light during the Mass and says That the Original of this Custom came from the Romans who having collected the Tribute every fifth Year offered solemn Sacrifices in the end of February and kindled Tapers and Torches in the Town which Ceremony was called Lustrum That the Church hath changed that Superstition into an Ecclesiastical Ceremony ordering Tapers to be kindled yearly in the beginning of February in the Time when S. Simeon took our Lord in his Arms. One must needs be very credulous to believe this Conjecture which hath neither Truth nor Likelihood in it The Third Sermon is upon the Fast of Lent therein he enlargeth upon the good Effects of Fasting The Fourth is on Holy Thursday He observeth That on that Day was made the Reconciliation of Publick Penitents guilty of Crimes which deserved that the Bishop should separate them from the Altar and then reconcile them Then he addresseth his Speech to those Penitents and exhorts them to examine themselves whether they be reconcil'd to God or not because it may happen that although they be reconciled by the Ministery of the Bishop yet they be not so with God who alone grants the true Reconciliation He shews them that to be truly reconciled they ought to be according to the Apostle new Creatures purged from the Crimes of the Old Man That they who continue in their sinful Habits should not imagine that they can throughly be reconcil'd before they have made t Made a Satisfaction proportionable to the greatness of their Sins Tho' these Words seem to come up to the Doctrine of Satisfaction held in the Church of Rome yet it does not appear that the Fathers of this Age had any other Notion of Satisfaction than that which was received in the Ages before which is much different from and much more Orthodox than the Popish We have a Definition of it p. 2. given by Isidore of Sevil to this effect Satisfaction is an Exclusion of the Causes and Occasions of Sin and a Cessation from Sinning which is almost the same with S. Austin's Satisfactio est peccatorum Aug. de dog Eccles. c. 54. causas excindere eorum suggestionibus nullum aditum indulgere This is the Nature of true Repentance which being proportion'd in some measure to the greatness of our Guilts the more pensive and hearty by how much our Sins are more heinous and aggravating is all the Satisfaction that God expects of us besides a firm Faith and Dependance on the Merits of Jesus Christ. The popish Satisfaction is a clear different thing as they Greg. de Val. to 4. d. 7. q. 14. So. Drido Tapper c. define it thus It is an equivalent Compensation made to the offended Justice of God for the Injury done unto him by Sin partly by our Actions and partly by our Sufferings whereby we deliver our selves from Divine Vengeance and save our selves from Punishment A Doctrine unknown to Antiquity Ambr. in Luc. Ser. 46. Of
St. John Damascene commends him in the beginning of his Treatise of the Trisagion which he composed to draw this Abbot out of the Error which he thought him engaged in about this Point They attribute to him a Treatise against the Jews published in Latin in Canistus's Antiquities and in the Bibliotheca Patrum Tom. 13. but it might be supposed to be made a more modern Author for the Author of it says That 800 years ago Christ's Oracles were fulfilled that the Jews were dispersed and Jerusalem destroyed by Vespasâ—an Which makes me think that he lived to the ninth Century This Author does not only bring Proofs for the Christian Religion but he answers the Questions and Objections of the Jews The Work is imperfect It is found in Greek in the Vatican Library and in the Jesuits at Rome It is written well and the Reasons he alledges are pretty solid He observes That when Christians honour Images they do not adore the Wood but their Respect refers to Christ and his Saints and that they are so far from adoring Images that when they are grown old and spoiled they burn them tomake new ones EGBERT of YORK EGBERT an English Man Brother to * Alià s Eadbert Etbert King of Northumberland was Arch-bishop of York from 731 till about 767. The chief Work of Egbert was a Penitential published in four Books which are found in Manuscript in the Libraries of England We have different Extracts of it There is one containing divers Canons concerning Clerks Another composed of 35 Constitutions against divers Sins of Clerks and other Christians These Collections are ill contrived and of little Authority Egbert of York There was printed in 1664. at Dublin together with Boniface's Letters a Treatise about the Life of Clergy-men bearing Egberâ—'s Name It is made up of Questions and Answers and the Questions are not directed to one Archbishop but to many Bishops 'T is therefore a Consultation directed to a Council but it seems to me to be much later than Egbert The small Tract of the Remedies of Sins ascribed to Bede is one of the ancientest Extracts of Egbert's Penitential All those Pieces are of no great use They are found in the end of the sixth Volume of the Councils of F. Labbe's Edition St. JOHN DAMASCENE JOHN Sirnamed MANSUR by the Arabians or Chrysorrhoas from his Eloquence was born at Damascus of rich and godly Parents He was taught and brought up by Cosmas a St. John Damascene Monk of Jerusalem who had been taken by the Saracens After his Father's decease he succeeded him in the Place of Counsellor of State to the Prince of the Saracens Being in that Office he began to write in the Defence of Images which did so highly provoke the Emperor Leo Sirnamed 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 that he formed a design to destroy him by an unparallel'd piece of Treachery He caused one to counterfeit the Hand of John Damascene and to contrive a Letter in his Name whereby he betrayed his Master advising Leo to come speedily to Damascus to take that City This Letter he sent to the Prince of the Saracens who if we believe the Author of St. John Damascene's Life caused John's Hand to be immediately cut off and to be for many hours exposed to the sight of the People in the middle of the Town In the evening John demanding it joyned it to his mangled Arm afterward having prayed to the Virgin and thereupon going to sleep it was found re-united to his Arm when he awoke out of his Sleep This Miracle struck the Prince of the Saracens with amazement and forced him to acknowledge John's Innocency he prayed him to continue in his Court but John chose rather to withdraw himself from the World and therefore betook himself into St. Subas's Monastery at Jerusalem where he was committed to the care of a very severe old Monk who imposed on him a perpetual Silénce for the breaking of which he was turned out of his Cell by that old man who commanded him for his Penance to carry away the Filth of the Cells of the Monastery When he had made himself ready to obey his Order the good old man embraced him and caused him to return About the end of his Life he was ordained Priest by the Patriarch of Jerusalem but he returned immediately again into his Monastery from whence he did valiantly oppose the Opinion of the Iconodastes He died towards the year 750. This Author wrote a great number of Works of all kinds They may be divided into Doctrinal Historical and Moral * Such as treat of the Festivals of the Year Heortastical Ecclesiastical and Prophane Among the Doctrinal Works we may place in the first Rank the four Books of the Orthodox Faith in which he hath comprehended the whole substance of Divinity in a Scholastical and Methodical manner The first Book is of the Nature Existence and Attributes of God and of the three Persons of the Trinity In all Points he agreeth with our Divines except in the Article of the Procession of the Holy-Ghost which he believes to proceed from the Father only The 2d Book treats of the Creatures the World the Angels and Daemons of Heaven and Earth and all Things contained therein of Paradise and of Man He teaches that Man is composed of a Body and Soul that his Soul is Spiritual and Immortal he distinguisheth the Faculties of it he speaks of its Passions Actions Thoughts Will and Liberty which he places in the power of doing what we please He treats also of Providence Prescience and Predestination or Predetermination He affirms that this taketh no place in free Actions that God permits them but ordains them not He concludes with Man's Fall of which Adam's Sin was the cause This leads him to the Incarnation of the Son of God which is the Subject of his third Book He explains this Mystery with great exactness he establisheth the distinction of the Existence of the two Natures he speaks of their Proprieties of the Wills of Christ and of his Free-will which he believes to be different from ours in that the Determination of it is without any doubt or deliberation proceeding He enlargeth upon the two Wills of Christ he explains in what sense these Expressions are to be understood There is in Christ an Incarnate Nature a Theandrick Will and an Human Nature Deified He shews that Jesus Christ was subject neither to Ignorance nor to Temptation that the quality of Slave does not belong to him that he increased in Knowledge and Wisdom so far forth only as it did more appear outwardly according as he grew into years He proves the Human Nature 〈◊〉 really suffer whiâ—… the Divinity remained impassible He maintains that the Divinity never ceased to be united to Christ's Soul and Body no not in the time of his Death In the 4th having discoursed of Christ's Resurrection and examined some Questions about the Incarnation he treats of Baptism of the
Incests committed either with a Person Consecrated to God a She-Gossip a God-Mother whether at Baptism or Confirmation with two Sisters with a Niece a Cousin-German or Aunt c they are deeply Fined The Second appoints the Deposition of the Superior Clergy convicted of these Crimes and the Inferior are Condemned to Whipping or Imprisonment The Third ordains that the Arch-Deacon shall bring the Priests to the Bishops Synod The Fourth renews the Ordinance of the Council of Verneville that they that hold Benefices of the King shall give account to him The Fifth imports that those that hold Churches in a Diocess shall pay the Rights and the Wax due to the Mother Church The four last are in the Council of Verneville The COUNCIL of COMPEIGNE PEpin's last Capitulary is that which he made at Compeigne in 757. It contains 21 Canons which are almost nothing else but a Repetition of the Canons of the preceeding Council of Compeigne Capitularies So that it is needless now to set down the Particulars of it We shall not speak neither of the Assemblies of the same Nature held under Charles the Great seeing we have related the Canons of them in the Abstract of his Capitularies The Second COUNCIL of NICE for Images The Seventh General Wherein the Acts of another Assembly held at Constantinople An. 754 against Images are related And the Books written in France against these two Councils Together with the Letters of the Popes upon that Subject nn The Use and Worship of Images was commonly received in the East Before the Contest about Image-Worship began in the East it cannot be denied but that Images had been for some time allowed in Churches as Helps of the Memory Instructors of the Illiterate in Sacred History and Ornaments of the Church Gregory Nyssene speaks of the Lively Greg. Nyss. Orat in Theod. Martyr Pictures of the Martyrs and their Sufferings then painted upon the Walls of Churches who being the first of all the Greeks that mention them Writers do unanimously agree that Pictures and Images were about his time viz. about the year 370 admitted into the Eastern Churches and that only for Ornament or History sake Some indeed did zealously oppose themselves against this Innovation of whom Epiphanius was the Chief not as a thing absolutely unlawful but as fearing it might introduce Idolatry among the People but because it was declared that no Worship was intended or allowed them they submitted but notwithstanding what these men foresaw did in process of time come to pass For not only the People became down right Idolaters but even the most Learned paid too great a Reverence to them saying Prayers before them and worshiping Christ by his Image This grand Abuse of them stirred up the Emperor Leo to remove Images out of Churches and to destroy and burn them as the Cause of so great a Sin This is evident from Damascene's Words who himself was one of the most violent Opposers of the Emperor's Proceedings Exprobrant nobis says he quòd 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 adoramus veneramur Christi Mariae Reliquorum Sanctorum Imagines They accuse us of Image-Worship and Idolatry And 't was for this Crime that they appeared so vigorously against Images They had been used but when they were abused to the Dishonor of God Leo would endure them no longer in the Church As soon as they were worshipped they were pulled down THE Use and Worship of Images was commonly received in the East when the Emperor Leo Sirnamed Isaurus or the Iscuriar being advanced to the Empire An. 2d Nicene Council 717. undertook to abolish this Practice The Contest begun about the year 725. he found in his way Pope Gregory II. Germand Patriarch of Constantinople and St. John Damascen The first of these wrote vehemently to him upon this Subject In his first Letter he represents to him that having received in former Years several of his Letters very Orthodox he wondred that ten years after he went about to destroy Images and treat them as Idolaters who honoured them He maintains That the Word having rendered himself visible by taking the Humane Body they might draw Christ's Picture Yea and he pretends that the first Christians had some Pictures of him and of St. James St. Steven and the other first Martyrs He alledges the Picture which Chich sent to King Abgarus He confesses that no Image can be made of the Deity He adds Images are very useful to stir up Motions of Piety and Compunction in the Faithful He says They don't worship Cloths and Stones but they are a Means of renewing the Memory of Saints and raising our Mind to God He denies also that they are worshiped as Deities but he says that if they be Images of Christ they oo If they be Images of Christ they say before them Lord Jesus save us c. What plainer Evidences of an Idolatrous Worship than this not only to bow themselves before the Images but to Pray unto them just Grounds for Leo to charge those men with Idolatry That did it and to be moved like another Hezekiah or Josiah against such horrible Corruptions of Gods Worship say before them Lord Jesus save us and if they be Images of the Virgin they say Holy Mother of God intercede for us with thy Son that he may save out Souls If it be a Martyr Intercede for us c. He complains That he did not follow the Counsels of German who was then 95 years old but those of Apsimarus and other like Persons He tells him That it belongs to Bishops and not to Emperors to judge of Ecclesiastical Doctrines that as Bishops do not meddle with Secular Affairs so the Emperors should not meddle with the Ecclesiactical He observed that it was to no purpose to assemble the General Council he had required if he would only give over Prosecuting Images the Church would be at quiet He protests that pp He protests that he was so far from raising Tnmults Notwithstanding these Protestations of this Pope yet the Historians of those times assure us that he caused several of the Countries belonging to the Empire as Hesperia Cemilia Liguria and all his Western Dominions to revolt from him and forbad them to pay him his Tributes yea offered to betray the City of Rome it self to the growing Power of the French So Wilful and Resolute were the Roman Patriarchs in maintaining their Superstitions and Idolatry he was so far from raising Tumults against him that he hath written to all the Princes of the West in his Behalf and that they were resolved to live peaceable with him but that hearing he was the Destroyer of Images and had sent an Officer to break an Image of our Saviour which was done before several Persons of the West they had laid aside all Respect of him had broken down his Statues and the Barbarians had invaded Decapolâ—… had put out the Magistrates and taken the City of Ravenna that
Ratraâ—… or Bertramus's Treatise about Predestination about these famous Questions composed a Treatise of Predestination divided into two Books The first contains a Collection of Passages out of the Fathers that all that is done in this World is done by Order and Direction of God's Providence That although he be not indeed the cause of the Crimes and Sins of Wicked Men yet they are also subject to the Order of Providence and serve for the Execution of his Will That God hath foreseen from all Eternity what shall befall the Good and Evil the Elect and Reprobate That the Predestination of the Saints is the Effect of his Mercy and the number of the Elect can neither be increased nor diminished nor altered That all the holy thoughts and good actions of the Saints by which they acquire themselves happiness are the effect of the mere Grace of God That our Free-will is too weak to do any good unless it be strengthned by the Grace of God which helps us to do good That this Grace operates in us to will and to do and that it is necessary for the beginning of Faith and Prayer In the Second he treats of the Predestination of Sinners and speaks by the by of the Predestination of the Elect. He shews by the Testimonies of St. Austin Fulgentius and other Fathers that God hath not predestined Sinners to sin but to the punishment of their Sins and Eternal Torments He rejects the distinction of those who say that Eternal Punishment was ordained and appointed for Sinners but they were not predestined to it He maintains that this Predestination did not impose a necessity of Sinning upon any Man though those that are Elected by the mere Mercy of God shall be infallibly saved and those whom God leaves in the Mass of Perdition shall be infallibly damned for their Sins which they voluntarily commit He adds that we ought to attribute all the good we do to God and all the evil we do to our selves because God never inclines us to evil but only leaves us to the motions of our Wills At the end of these Books Retramnus prays the Emperor not to publish them before these Questions be fully examined and cleared that they might know which Opinion to follow He adds that if this Book displeaseth the Emperor that he would correct it or shew him what corrections he would have made in them This Treatise is published by Mauginus in Collect. Script Tom. 1. p. 29. and in Biblioth Patr. Tom. 15. p. 442. The Emperor gave these two Books of Lupus and Retramnus to Hincmarus and Pardulus to examine Scotus's Book about Predestination them who opposed them to Amalarius a Deacon of Treves and Johannes Erigina Scotus whom they had ordered to write upon this subject We have not the Work of Amalarius but only that of Joannes Scotus which according to the Genius of that Author is full of Scholastick Subtleties and Distinctions He begins with this Position That every Question may be resolved by four general Rules of Philosophy viz. Division Definition Demonstration and Analysis and the rest of his Work is not less Logical for although he cites several Passages of S. Austin yet he chiefly proves his Assertions by Scholastical Reasons and Arguments He rejects the double Predestination and proves that Predestination doth not impose any necessity He maintains that Man is absolutely free after the Sin of Adam and that although he cannot do good without the Grace of Jesus Christ yet he doth it without being constrained to it or forced by the Will of God by his own free choice He adds that Sin and the Consequence of it the Punishments with which it is rewarded being mere Privations are neither foreseen noâ— predestined by God That Predestination hath no place but in those things which God hath preordered in order to Eternal Happiness and supposeth that this Predestination ariseth from the foresight of the good use of our free-will To prove what he had asserted that Eternal Punishments are mere Privations he affirms That the Torments of the Damned are nothing but privations of Happiness or the trouble of being deprived of it so that according to him Material Fire is no part of the Damned's Torments That there is no other Fire prepared for them but the fourth Element through which the Bodies of all Men must pass but that the Bodies of the Elect are changed into an Aetherical Nature and are not subject to the power of Fire whereas on the contrary the Bodies of the Wicked are changed into Air and suffer Torments by the Fire because of their contrary qualities and for this reason 't is that the Daemons who had a Body of an Aetherial Nature were massed with a Body of Air that they may feel the Fire Thus did Philosophy lead this Author to many wild and extravagant Notions and Opinions This Piece is put out by Maugius in his Vind. praedest Gratiae Tom. 1. p. 103. Wemlo or Ganelo Archbishop of Sens having read this Work gathered out of it several Propositions Prudentius's Woâ—â— against Scotus which he put under 19 Heads according to the number and order of the Chapters of Scotus's Work and sent them to Prudentius Bishop of Troyes who having read them found as he thought not only the Errors of Pelagius in them but also the Impiety of the Collyridians Whereupon he composed a Book to confute him in the Preface of which he accuses John Scotus of following of Pelagius Caelestius and Julian to resist the Grace of Jesus Christ and the Justice of God to deny Original Sin and many other Blasphemous Doctrines Yet John Scotus did not deny Original Sin and acknowledged the necessity of Grace in his Work but Prudentius thought he found such Principles in it as seemed to abet the Doctrine of Pelagius Prudentius answered John Scotus's Book Chapter by Chapter and opposed the Judgment and Authority of the Fathers to his false Reasonings The 19 Heads gathered out of Scotus's Book are Printed in Bishop Usher's History of Gotteschalcus cap. 19. After he hath rejected his Method of deciding all things by the four Rules of Logick and shew'd that Questions of Divinity are not so to be handled he confutes Scotus's Opinion of Predestination Free-will and the punishment of the Damned and proves the contrary Opinion He distinguishes Predestination from Prescience and shews that Prescience extends to Sin but not Predestination He distinguishes Predestination into two sorts the one by which God hath freely Predestined the Elect to Grace and Glory the other by which he hath Destined the Wicked whose Sins he fore-sees to Eternal Damnation He proves that Man since the Fall hath not a full Liberty and Power to do good and that he cannot do it not only without the Grace of Jesus Christ but that his Grace excites impels and enables him to do it He maintains that no Man affirms that Grace wholly destroys Free-will or that Predestination imposes any Necessity upon
treats of the Errors of Hereticks concerning Paradise and the Objections that may be brought to the contrary In this last Book he maintains that Adam was created Mortal and that God would have render'd him immortal by his Grace if he had not sinn'd however he refuâ—es Theodore and Nestorius who had maintain'd that the Sin of Adam was not the Cause of the Death of Mankind CHAP II. An Account of the Church of Rome and other Italian Churches during the Tenth Century THough Historians have differ'd in their Judgment concerning the Tenth Century in The State of the Church of Rome in the Tenth Century general yet they all agree in their accounts of the wretched State and Condition of the Church of Rome and those who have been most favourable in their Censures could not but own that it was in a strange disorder At that time crys Cardinal Baronius How deform'd how frightful was the face of the Church of Rome The Holy See was faln under the Tyranny of two loose and disorderly Women who plac'd and displac'd Bishops as their humour led them and what I tremble to think and speak of they plac'd their Gallants upon St. Peter's Chair who did not so much as deserve the very name of Popes For who dare say that these infamous persons who intruded without any form of Justice were lawful Popes We do not find that they were chosen by the Clergy or that they consented in the least to their Election All the Canons of Councils were infring'd the Decrees of Popes trampled under foot the antient Traditions despis'd the Customs and Ceremonies usually observ'd in the Election of Popes neglected and the Holy See became a prey to Avarice and Ambition In such terms as these does this Cardinal who cannot be suppos'd to be an Enemy to the Church of Rome lament the sad estate wherein it was in this Tenth Century and a long time before him Arnold Bishop of Orleans who probably might have been an Ey-witness of some of these Disorders breaks out into this Complaint O miserable Rome Thou that formerly didst hold out so many great and glorious Luminaries to our Ancestors into what prodigious darkness art thou now faln which will render thee infamous to all succeeding Ages We may trace the beginning of this disorder from the Promotion of Formosus to the Pope-dom The Ordination of Pope Formosus which sow'd the Seed of the Divisions which afterwards ensued This Formosus being Bishop of Ostia had been depos'd by John VIII in a Synod held at Rome and constrain'd to swear he would continue a Lay-man all the rest of his Life He was depos'd for these three Reasons 1. Because having been sent by Pope Nicholas I. into Bulgaria he made the King of the Bulgarians swear that he would not admit of any other Bishop besides himself that should be sent thither by the Holy See 2. Because he had already endeavoured to be translated from the Church of Ostia to that of Rome and made Parties for the attaining of his end contrary to the Laws prescrib'd in the Canons 3. Because he had abandon'd his Church without the Pope's leave and that having left Rome he was suspected to have conspir'd against the Empire and the Church This Sentence of John VIII was repeal'd by his Successor Marinus who re-call'd Formosus re-establish'd him in his Bishoprick and declar'd the Oath he had been forc'd to take to be null and void However he still kept up the design he had laid of advancing himself to the Popedom and he so well form'd his intrigue that after the Death of Steven V. he had so powerful a Party as to carry it against Sergius a Deacon of the Church of Rome who had been elected by a great part of the Clergy Formosus hinder'd his Ordination drove him out of the Church and forc'd him to fly to Tuscany to the Marquis Adalbert who declar'd himself his Proteâ—… Formosus was ordain'd on the 27th of May in the year 891. The year after he crown'd Guy Duke of Spoleto Emperor and a while after conferr'd the same Title on Lambert the Son of that Prince But no sooner was Arnulphus King of Germany faln down into Italy but Formosus invited him to Rome designing to make him an instrument of wreaking his revenge on those Romans who had affronted him Arnulphus enter'd the City by force caus'd the chief of the Enemies of Formosus to be beheaded and was for this piece of Service crown'd Emperor by this Pope in the year 896. No sooner was Arnulphus gone off but the Romans renew'd their Conspiracies against Formosus who dy'd about the latter end of this year Boniface whom the People put up in his stead was a very unworthy man who had been The Condemnation of Formosus by Stephen VI. degraded from his Subdeaconship and the order of Priesthood A few days after he was Outed by Adalbert and Stephen VI. advanc'd to the Chair This man immediately declares himself an Enemy to the memory of Formosus calls a Council where he nulls all the Ordinations made by Formosus dug up his Corps and having dress'd him up in his Pontifical Robes he condemn'd him as if he had been alive and after he had censured him for his Ambition in quitting the Bishoprick of Ostia and usurping S. Peter's Chair contrary to the Canons of the Church he caused him to be stripp'd of his Robes cut off his three Fingers wherewith he gave the Blessing and threw him into the Tiber. A base and barbarous Proceeding this and such as has struck Horror into all those who have wrote about it For tho the Promotion of Formosus was not agreeable to the Canons and might prove a very Ill precedent yet such a disingenuous Cruelty exercised to no purpose upon a dead Carcass was a certain demonstration of the Spite and Malice or rather of the Madness wherewith his Enemies were possess'd And in truth all this Tragedy was begun by Sergius and supported by the Authority of Adalbert who bore at that time the greatest sway in Rome But his Interest afterwards grown weaker Stephen was severely used by the Romans and cast into Prison where he was Strangled about the latter end of the Year 900 if his Epitaph is to be credited in the case The Romans advanc'd one Romanus in his place who sat but a few months on the Chair however he had so much time as to condemn and disannul all that his Predecessor had done Romanus and Theodore against Formosus The man who succeeded him nam'd Theodorus was of his mind but he died within twenty days After his Death the Romans chose a Monk Deacon of the Town of Tivoli Son of Rampealdus who went under the name of John IX This man seeing Italy divided by the Factions of those John IX The Wars between Berenger and Lambert who made their Pretensions to the Empire behaved himself very cautiously in the beginning of his Popedom The
of Monks and the Shepherds of Souls Or who would not be apt to take them rather for Governours of Cities and Provinces Why tho' the Master be Four Leagues off must his Train of Equipage reach to his very Doors One would take these mighty Preparations for the Subsistence of an Army Or for Provisions to Travel thro' a very large Desert Cannot Wine and Water be pour'd Undefil'd out of the same Cup Cannot a Candle Give Light but in a Gold or Silver Candlestick Cannot you sleep upon any other Bed but one of Tissue Will not one Servant suffice to guide the Horse serve at Table and make the Bed If you tell me it is to save charges in an Inn that you carry so many things then will I ask you why every one does not carry hisown Provisions He also does not spare the Monks in their Buildings But all this says he is little or nothing Let us proceed to matters of greater Consequence and so much the greater as by how much they are more Common I shall not take Notice of the Dimensions of our Churches of their Stately Heighth of their Excessive Length and Superfluous Breadth of their Sumptuous Ornaments and Curious Pictures which attracting the Eyes of the Congregation do not a little I fancy divert their Devotion and which seem to me not much more allowable than the Ceremonies of Ancient Judaism As for my part I would have all Devotion and Places of Worship tend to the Glory of God I would feign Ask the Monks for I am a Monk my self a Question which a Pagan heretofore demanded of Pagans Tell me ye Priests says he what has Gold to do in Holy Places Now I would make use of his Sence tho' not of his words Tell me Poor Souls then say I if you may be call'd Poor Souls what has Gold to do in the Sanctuary I do not speak of Bishops and their Churches for they may take a greater Liberty but I speak of the Churches of Monks We know that Bishops are endebted both to Wise Men and Fools and must be allow'd to stir up Devotion in the People by Images and other such Sensible objects which they could not raise by their Preaching But we that are now no more of the World that have forsaken all the Pleasures and Riches of Life for Jesus Christ his Sake who have cast at our feet all that Glitters in the Eyes of the World and have fled from Concerts of Musick Fragrant smells and Feasting our senses shall we I say Interrupt our Devotion by these Bawbles which we have left for its sake What can we expect if we should Acquiesce in all these Vanities The Admiration of Sots or the satisfaction of Fools Is it not the Commerce we entertain'd with the World that causes us to offer Incense to it's Idols and to speak more plainly Is not Avarice the Cause the very worst of Idolatries Is it not true that we have greater regard to the Peoples Riches than their Salvation If you ask me how comes this to pass I will discover the wonderful Secret to you There is a certain Art to multiply Riches by Exhausting them and like a River to make them encrease while they flow for here Profuseness is the Cause of their Abounding Here the Eyes and minds of the spectators are so seduc'd by these costly Vanities that instead of Offering their Hearts to God they Sacrifice their Purses to Man Thus you may see how Riches swallow up Riches and how the Money of the Monks proves a bait for that of Fools for Men have I know not what Inclinations to throw Water into the Sea and to heap Riches upon those that have 'em in Abundance The Monks cover the Relicks with Rich Artire and the Pilgrim for fear of being dazled approaches them with shut Eyes and an Open Purse The best Adorn'd of these Images are ever the most Holy Men crowd to pay them Devotion but first they must be Consecrated with the Holy Water and after are led to the Image where they for the most part Admire the Ornaments more than the Thing it self Next the Church is hung round not with Crowns of Thorns but Rows of Pearls The Lights of the Lamps are heightned by the Lustre of Diamonds and instead of Candlesticks you see great Branches of Brass mounted whose weight and Work-man-ship are equally to be Admir'd What do you think can be the cause of all these fine things Are they more to put you in mind of your Sins than to move your Admiration No Certainly O Vanity of Vanities But this is not so much a Vanity as Folly The Church shines in its Walls and Suffers in its Poor It covers its stone with costly Garments and leaves its Children the Misfortune of being Naked Here the Eyes of the Rich are fed with the Bread of the Poor The Curiosity of Men is Indulg'd when the Miseries of the Indigent are Neglected Nevertheless if we are Insensible of the Wants of Men we ought to have more respect to the Images of our Saints than to Pave our Churches with them What shame is it for us to Spit in the Mouth of an Angel and Tread on the face of a Saint But all this while if we have an Indifference for the Carving why do we not spare the Beauty of the Painting Why do we paint with our Hands what we intend to deface with our Feet Why do we take so much pains in embellishing what we Intend to defile the next Moment What signify so many fine stroaks when they are immediately to be cover'd with Dust In a word what occasion is there for all these Vanities among Poor Monks who have renounc'd the World unless we have a mind to Answer this Pagan Poet with David Lord I have been all Enflam'd with Zeal for the Honour of thy House and the Tabernacle of thy Glory Well then I Agree with you I consent to these Excesses in the Church the simplicity and Devotion of Prayers may possibly sancitify that that would be a Crime in a Prodigal but in Cloisters to what purpose are those Paintings Cawings before people who weep for their Sins Towards the End of this Treatise he makes an Apologue for what he had said before I hope in God says he that no body will be Offended at what I have writ for I do not question but that in Reproving Vice so severely I have a little grated the Ears of some that Practise it But it may be if God is so pleas'd to have it that even those whom I may be thought to have anger'd may not be so But this cannot possibly happen unless they cease to be what they are unless they cease to Calumniate every day according to Custom to Judge ill of their Brethren by reason they do not visibly lead so austere a Life and if on the contrary those that are less mindful of exteriour Rigour do not take care to retrench all their superfluities Lastly he
her refusal of the Praises which he had given her As to the first Head he satisfyed her by saying that since she was become the Spouse of Jesus Christ she was according to St. Jerom's Phrase his Mistress and that upon that account he had reason to name her first From thence he took an occasion to give her some Instructions about the Virtues requisite for the Spouse of Jesus Christ. Upon the Second Head he says that he had not mention'd any thing of his Death or the Danger wherein he was in his Letter if she had not conjur'd him to do it Upon the third Head he approves of her rejecting all Praises provided it were sincere and if she did not contemn them out of a principle of Pride As to the Fourth Head he intreats her to make no farther Complaints of a Misfortune which he really deserv'd as due to his Sins whereof he was throughly sensible He advises her rather to give God Thanks for the favour he had shewn to both of them by bringing them out of a disorderly Course of Life to lead a more regular one He look'd upon that Pain which had been inflicted on him as very light in Comparison of the Crimes which he had committed and thought himself very happy in being deliver'd from that which had been the cause of his Sin He concludes with a Prayer which the Religious of the Nunnery of Paraclete ought to say for him and Heloissa In the next Letter Heloissa in Obedience to the Order which Abaelard had given her made no The Letter of Heloissa more mention of their Misfortunes but intreated him on behalf of her self and her Religious in the first place to inform them of the Original of their Order and of the Authority thereof In the Second place to compose a particular Rule and such as might he proper for them which had not as yet been done the Monks and Nuns professing the same Rule of St. Benedict wherein were a great many things which were only applicable to Men as for instance that which is said about Habits Functions the Abbot the entertaining of Strangers Manufactures and other practises which their Sex was not capable of That if according to the Intention of St. Benedict the Rule ought to be moderated in favour of the Weak it was very reasonable to do so in favour of the Virgins that the external Exercises which are such as they were the least capable of were likewise the least necessary For this Reason she exhorts Abaelard to draw up a Discretionary Rule for them which might be suited to their Weakness particularly with relation to the Fasts and Service of the Church it being very reasonable that he who under God was the Founder of their Monastery should be likewise the Institutor of their Rule Abaelard answers the first Question of Heloissa in the Seventh Letter wherein he pretends that the Monastical Orders as well of Men as of Women drew its Original from themanner of Jesus Christ's Abâ—â—lâ—â—ds Râ—ply â—o Heloâ—ssa liviâ—g here on Earth That there were several Examples of this in the Old Law That the Women who attended our Saviour and the Blessed Virgin who liv'd in common with the Apostles the Virgins and Widows of the Primitive Church led a Religious Life Afterwards he enlarges himself on the Praises of the Sex and particularly on those of Virgins of whom he makes a learned Encomium throughout the whole Letter He satisfied Heloissa in her second Demand by sending to her a full instruction about Continence voluntary Poverty Silence and Solitude to which are annex'd particular Constitutions for the Abbess and for the other Officers of the Covent and about the Order which they ought to observe in the Divine Service in Meats in Habits and in reading of the Holy Scriptures to which he advises them above all things This Rule is full of very useful Instructions and of fine Passages out of Scripture and the Writings of the Fathers apply'd very much to â—he purpose There is to be found in the Manuscript of the Abbey of Paraclete another Collection of particular Rules which are attributed to Heloissa â—uâ—â—us Prior of Deuil â—ore likewise a share in the Misfortune which happened to Abaelard and The Letters of Aâ—aelard wrote him a Consolatory Letter upon that Subject wherein he advises him to stay in his Monastery and not to undertake a Journey to Rome to demand justice of the Canon who had been the Cause of his being so abus'd This is the first Letter of the second Collection which relate to Abaelard The Second is a Memoir of Abaelard directed to Adam Abbot of St. Denys and to the Monks of that Monastery and to prove against the Testimony of Bede that Denys the Aâ—copagite was not Bishop of Corinth but Bishop of Athens In the Third directed to a â—â—gular Canon who despis'd the Monks and extoll'd the Regular Clerks and maintained that 〈◊〉 â—…nastical Oâ—der was inferiour to the Clerical Abaelard takes tâ—… Mâ—â—ks pâ—â—t and maintains 〈◊〉 the Monâ—stical Order was not in the leaâ—â— inferiour to â—hat of 〈◊〉 â—â—gâ—â—ar Canons whethâ—r one râ—gard the Fâ—gure which they make among Men or â—â—at which Religiâ—… gives them in the sight of God The Reasons which he alledges for this were that we see evâ—…y day Clerks who embrac'd the Monastical Life and that after they had done so were not peâ—mitted re-enter into the Clerical Order That the Monks who were made câ—oice of to execute the Clerical Functions never quit their Habit That they often made choice of Monks to make them Bishops whereas they never chose Clerks to preside oveâ— Monasteries That in the Litanies and Prayers of the Church the suffrages of the Monks were implor'd That the Monks are advanc'd to Holy Orders and even to Priesâ—hood it self That St Jerom prâ—fâ—â—â— the Monastical State to that of Clerks as being more perfect That St. John Baptâ—st quitted the Priesthood to lead a solitary Life That the Monks are in less danger of 〈◊〉 Salvation than the Clerks who are oblig'd to converse so much with the World That the Mâ—nâ— embrace the Conteâ—plative Life which our Saviour preferr'd before the Active Life That the Regulâ—â— Canons whoâ—e Institution was but new imitate the Monks in living in Common in Cloysters That lastly the Life of Monks is more painful and more Auâ—â—ere than that of the Clerks The fourth Letter is against those who condemn the use of â—ogick Abaelard compares them to the Fox in the Fable who slighted the Fruit at which he could not get He says that those Doctors do in the â—â—me manner despise Logick because they have not a Genius to comprehend it He makes it appear that the Holy Fathers and particularly St. Augustine have commended this Art and thought it necessary for the right Explication of the Holy Scriptures He owns that one ought to avoid the love of Disputing and the deâ—â—re of deceiving others by Sophisms but he would have Men have an
Power at all 4. That the Holy Ghost does not partake of the Substance of the Father and the Son in the same manner as the Son does of the Substance of the Father 5. That the Holy Ghost is Anima mundi i. e. the Soul of the World 6. That one may do either Good or Evil by one's own free Will without the Influence and Assistance of the Grace of God 7. That Jesus Christ was not made man and did not suffer to deliver us from the Bondage of the Devil 8. That Christ as God-Man is not one of the three persons of the Trinity 9. That in the Sacrament of the Altar the form of the Substance of Bread and Wine which was there before the Consecration remains the same afterwards 10. That he maintains that the Suggestions of the Devil are infus'd into Man by Physical Causes 11. That we do not contract the Guilt but the punishment only of Original Sin 12. That there is no Sin unless in the Consent we give to Sin and in the Contemning of God 13. That there is no sin of Concupiscence Lust or Ignorance These are the Articles which William Abbot of Thierry says that he drew out of the Book of Abaelard's Divinity He adds that he heard say that he had written likewise several other Opuscula whereof one was Intituled the Yea and the No another Know thy self and several others the Doctrine of which he was affraid was as Monstrous as the Titles were extraordinary and singular After this Letter William writes a Treatise levell'd expressly against those Errors which is to be met with in the Library of Cisteaux and to which this Letter serves as a Preface Saint Bernard return'd William this Answer that he perceiv'd that the Zeal which he express'd against the Errors of Abaelard was reasonable and necessary and that the Book which he had compos'd to refute him seem'd very useful tho' he had not as yet time but only to read it cursorily and not exactly but that since this was a business of great Consequence he desir'd to have a Conference with him about it which yet he thought could not be before Easter for fear of interrupting his Devotions in the Season of Lent That besides he would not have been so long silent if he had had a perfect Knowledge of the Errors of Abaelard When he was inform'd of them and had examin'd Abaelard's Book himself he very charitably admonish'd him to retract his Errors and to correct his Books and advis'd his Disciples to read them no more This Admonition serv'd only to exasperate Abaelard who made loud complaints against Saint Bernard So that this Saint perceiving that the private Admonition which he had given him prov'd ineffectual he thought it his Duty to tell it the Church and wrote against him to Innocent II. and to several Prelates of the Court of Rome accusing him of making Degrees in the Trinity with Arius of preferring Free-Will before Grace with Pelagius of dividing Jesus Christ with Nestorius by excluding him out of the Number of the persons of the Trinity He exhorts them warmly to oppose those Errors and Condemn them This is the Subject matter of the hundred and Eightieth the three hundred and thirtieth the three Hundred and thirty first thirty second thirty third thirty fourth thirty fifth and thirty sixth Letters of Saint Bernard Abaelard seeing himself thus accus'd made his Application to Henry Arch-Bishop of Sens and The Decrees of the Council of Sens against Abaelard intreated him that he would summons Saint Bernard to the Council which was to be held that so he might enter into dispute with him about the Principal Errors which he imputed to him The Arch-Bishop of Sens wrote to Saint Bernard to come on the day appointed on the Octave of Pentecost in the year 1140 to the Synod that he might enter into a Conference with Abaelard in presence of the Bishops Saint Bernard made some Scruple at first of coming thither whether he thought as he said that he was too strong for him in Disputes or whether he thought that the truths of the Christian Faith ought not to be expos'd to the Argumentation of Humane Reasonings He at first answer'd that the Writings of Abaelard were sufficient to convince him and that it was not his Business but the Bishops to whom of right did belong the Determination of the Doctrines of Faith Abaelard made an Advantage of this Refusal and spread abroad that he would be at Sens on the day appointed to answer Saint Bernard Upon this Saint Bernard's Friends fearing that his Absence would prove an Offence to the People and create a Confidence in his Adversary and confirm his Error advis'd him to go to the Council of Sens. He advertises the Bishops and his Friends of it in a Circular Letter which is his hundred and Eighty seventh and exhorted them to undertake the Defence of a Cause which was more properly their than his own The Bishops met at Sens on the Octave of Whitsontide when the Relicks were to be shown in the Cathedral Church of that City All the Bishops of the Province of Sens met there except the Bishops of Nevers and Paris viz Geofrey of Chartres Legate of the holy See Elias of Orleans Hugh of Auxerre Hatto of Troyes Manasses of Meaux Sampson Arch-Bishop of Rheims was likewise there with three of his Suffragans viz Josselin Bishop of Soissons Geofrey of Chalons and Alvisus of Arras a great many Abbots Deans and persons of Learning and Piety were likewise there The King himself Lewis the Young was likewise present with William Count of Nevers The Council being set Saint Bernard produc'd there Peter Abaelard's Book recited the Erroneous or Absurd Propositions which he had extracted thence and urg'd Peter Abaelard either to disown that he had writ them or if he would acknowledge them to be his to prove or retract them Peter Abaelard had recourse to shifts and would not answer expresly thô ' he had Liberty given him to do it had very favourable Judges and was in a place where he need not to fear any thing But whether he fear'd an Insurrection of the People if Otho of Frisingen's Word be to be taken in the Case or whether he thought he should have greater Advantage at Rome where were Cardinals and Prelats who thought it an honor to be his Disciples he appeal'd to the Pope and afterwards withdrew from the Assembly attended with those of his Party Thô ' the Bishops were of Opinion that this Appeal was not Regular because he appeal'd to Judges of his own Choosing yet out of Respect to the holy See they would not pronounce any sentence against his person but they condemn'd his Opinions after they had been read over several times and refuted Publickly by Saint Bernard This Sentence being pass'd the Arch-Bishop of Sens and his Suffragans and the Arch-Bishop of Rheims with his three Suffragans who were at the Synod wrote severally to
Letter in which that Pope excites the Count of Flanders to make War with the People of those Territories An Answer to the Inhabitants of Trier concerning the Fast of the Ember-Weeks The Book of Ecclesiastes in Heroick Verse according to the literal allegorical and mythological Senses The continuation of Eusebius's Chronicle after St. Jerome to the Year 1111. A Treatise about the Reformation of the Cycles and another of Illustrious Personages in imitation of St. Jerom and Gennadius Of all these Works there only remain in our Possession the continuation of St. Jerom's Chronicle from A. C. 381. to 1112. The Treatise of Ecclesiastical Writers The Letter written in the Name of the Clergy of Liege and Cambray And the Lives of St. Sigebert St. Guibert and St. Maclou referr'd to by Surius This Author is very accurate in his Writing and attain'd to considerable proficiency in the Study of the Liberal Sciences and in all sorts of Humane Learning HONORIUS SOLITARIUS A Scholastick Divine of the Church of Autun HONORIUS a Priest and Scholastick Divine of the Church of Autun sirnam'd the Solitary flourish'd under the Emperor Henry V. A. D. 1120. We have little account of his Honorius Solitarius a Scholastick Divine of Autun Life but many of his Works are still extant The most considerable is his Treatise of the Lights of the Church or of the Ecclesiastical Writers first published by Suffridus and afterwards by Aubertus Miraeus in their Collections of Authors who wrote those that treated of Ecclesiastical Affairs Honorius has divided this Work into four Books the Three first of which are only an Abridgment of the Treatises on the Ecclesiastical Writers by St. Jerom Gennadius and Isidorus He gives an account in the last of some Authors since Venerable Bede to his time This Treatise contains almost nothing else but the Names and Characters of the Authors and the Titles of their Works It is follow'd by another Treatise of the same Nature containing the Names of the ancient Hereticks and their principal Doctrines Printed at Basil in 1544. To these two Treatises may be added a Chronological Table of the Popes from St. Peter to Innocent II. which is extant among the other Works of this Author The Treatise call'd The Pearl of the Soul or Of the Divine Offices is divided into four Books In the First he treats of the Sacrifice of the Mass Of its Ceremonies and Prayers Of the Church Of its Parts and Ornaments Of the Ministers of the Altar and their Habits c. In the Second he discourses of the Canonical Hours and of the Ecclesiastical Offices for the Day and Night In the Third of the principal Festivals of the Year And in the Fourth of the Concord or Agreement of the Offices of the whole Year with the particular Days and Times on which they are celebrated These Books are full of a great number of Arguments and mystical Explications that have no other Grounds but the Author's Imagination They were printed at Lipsick A. D. 1514. and in the Collections of the Writers who have treated of Ecclesiastical Offices The Treatise of the Image of the World is divided into three Books In the First of these he treats of the World and of its Parts In the Second of Time and its Parts and the Third is a Chronological Series of Emperors Kings and other Sovereign Princes from the Creation of the World to the Emperor Frederick Barberossa The Piece that bears the Title of The Philosophy of the World divided into four Books is a Treatise of the System of the World and of its principal Parts It is follow'd by another Tract of the same Nature touching the Motion of the Sun and Planets The Treatise of Predestination and of Free-will is written in form of a Dialogue and has for its Subject the Explication of that common Question How can Free-will be reconciled with the Certainty of Predestination He defines Predestination to be an eternal preparation to Happiness or Misery of those that have done Good or Evil He affirms That it imposes no necessity of doing either because God does not predestinate to Happiness or Misery but with respect to the Merits of the Person He rejects the Opinion of those who assert That Free-will consists in the Power of doing Good or Evil and defines it to be a Capacity of performing Righteousness voluntarily and without constraint He maintains That Man by his Nature is endued with a Power to act according to the Rule of Righteousness although he stands in need of Grace to do it and is capable of resisting that Grace He says That God made all reasonable Creatures for his Glory but that he left them free to do either Good or Evil by their own Will and that he would have all Men to be sav'd but that 't is their free Will which is the cause of their Damnation Afterwards he explains why God made Creatures when he foreknew that they would sin against him and that they would be damned Why the Word was incarnate Upon what account Mankind having deserved nothing but Punishment after the committing of Sin God leaves some in the Mass of Perdition who are damned by their free Will and saves others by his special Grace which they by no means deserv'd And how Salvation ought rather to be attributed to Grace than to free Will although free Will co-operates with Grace He observes That Children that incur Damnation are justly condemn'd to that Punishment and that those who attain to Salvation are sav'd by Grace which they never merited And as for adult Persons that they are sav'd by Grace and free Will and that those who are damned are doom'd to that Sentence by Justice and by their free Will That Predestination neither saves nor damns any Person by force although all the Elect are infallibly sav'd and the Reprobates infallibly damned But forasmuch as 't is not known whether one be of the number of the Elect or of the Reprobates that 't is requisite to use all possible endeavours for the attaining to Salvation And that the number of the Elect is certainly determined because God from all Eternity knew those who would die in that State He adds That Man since Adam's Transgression may fall by his free Will but that he cannot rise again but by Grace and that God sometimes denies that Grace to those who are too Presumptuous That every Thing which happens in the World ought to be referr'd to God either because he does it or because he permits it or in regard that he does not prevent it that he causes all things to tend to the promoting of his own Glory that he shews Mercy on whomsoever he thinks fit by affording them his Grace that he hardens others at his Pleasure by leaving them in their Wickedness and in the State of Reprobation Lastly after having made some Moral Reflections our Author concludes this Work with a Recapitulation of the Principles that he had already establish'd In
has a Guardian Angel yet owns that the same Angel may serve as a Guardian to several Persons and afterwards proceeds to examine in what particulars the Knowledge of the Angels may be augmented In the following Sections to the Sixteenth he explains the Work of the Creation In the Sixteenth and Seventeenth he treats of the Creation of Man and enquires in what his likeness to God consists when his Soul was created and in what Place he was set He discourses in the Eighteenth of the Formation of Woman and endeavours to explain why she was taken out of the Man 's Rib. In the Nineteenth he treats of the State of Immortality in which the First Man was created In the Twentieth he debates concerning the Manner how Men were to be brought into the World and how they were to be nourished in case the State of Innocence had continu'd In the Twenty first he gives an Account after what manner the Devil tempted Man He discusses in the Twenty second divers Questions relating to the Quality and Circumstances of the Sin of Adam and Eve In the Twenty third he resolves this difficult Point Why God permitted Man to be tempted knowing that he was to Fall And afterwards treats of the Knowledge with which the First Man was endu'd In the Twenty fourth he begins to discourse concerning the Free Will and Grace inherent in the First Man and treats in general in the Two following Sections of the Freedom of Grace according to St. Augustin's Principles In the Twenty seventh Section he discourses of Vertue and Merit which are the Effects of Grace and Free Will. In the Twenty eighth he confutes the Errors of the Pelagians as also those of the Manichees and of Jovinian In the Twenty ninth Section he returns to the State of the First Man and after having shewn that Man even in the State of Innocency stood in need of operating and co-operating Grace for the doing of Good he debates certain Questions about the manner how he was expell'd Paradise and concerning the Tree of Life which preserv'd him from Death In the Thirtieth Thirty first Thirty second and Thirty third he treats of Original Sin and enquires in what it consists how it is transferr'd from Parents to their Children after what manner it is remitted by Baptism whether Children contract the Sins of their Parents as Original Sin c. In the Thirty fourth and Thirty fifth he discourses of the Nature of Actual Sin In the Thirty sixth he shews that there are Sins which are both the Cause and the Punishment of Sin He makes it appear in the Thirty seventh that God is the Author of the Actions by which Sin is committed and of the Punishments of Sin although he is not the Author of Sin In the Thirty eighth he demonstrates that it is the End and Intention of the Will which renders the Action either Good or Bad and that in order to its being Good it must of necessity be terminated in God In the Thirty ninth he enquires into the Reason Why of all the natural Faculties the Will only is susceptible of Sin In the Fortieth he continues to shew that an Action to be denominated Good ought to have a good End and Intention In the Forty first he produces divers Passages of St. Augustin about the necessity of Faith and of an upright Will to avoid the committing of Sin and shews that the corrupt Will is the cause of Sin He enquires in the Forty second Whether the Will and the Action be two different Sins And Afterwards explains the Division of the Seven Capital Sins shewing that they derive their original from Pride and Concupiscence In the Forty third he relates the Opinions of St. Ambrose and St. Augustin concerning the Sin against the Holy Ghost Lastly he makes it appear in the Forty fourth Section that the Power of committing Sin proceeds from God and that the Power the Devil has to tempt us to Evil ought to be resisted The Third Book begins with the Questions relating to the Mystery of the Incarnation In the First Section the Author lays down the Reasons Why it was more expedient that the Son should be Incarnate rather than the Father or the Holy Ghost and discusses this Question Whether Two Persons were in like manner capable of being Incarnate In the Second Section he treats of the Union of the Word with the Body and the Soul In the Third he shews that the Body taken by the Word was free from the corruption of Sin that the Virgin Mary herself was then also free from Sin and that in the very moment that the Humanity of Jesus Christ was conceiv'd the Word was united to it He enquires in the Fourth Why the Incarnation is attributed to the Holy Ghost rather than to the other Persons of the Trinity and in what Sense it is said Jesus Christ was conceiv'd and born of the Holy Ghost In the Fifth Section he treats of the Union of the Person of the Son with the Human Nature and shews that the Word was not united to the Person but to the Nature In the Sixth he gives an Account of these Propositions viz. God was made Man God is Man and produces Three several Explications of them made by the Fathers The same matter is farther handled in the Seventh Distinction In the Eighth he resolves this Question Whether it may be said that the Divine Nature was born of the Virgin Mary And discourses of the two-fold Nativity of Jesus Christ. In the Ninth he produces certain Passages of the Fathers concerning the Adoration of the Body of Jesus Christ. In the Tenth he proposes this Question viz. Whether Jesus Christ quatenus Man be a Person or a Thing He maintains the Negative and afterwards proves that the Quality or Title of adoptive Son cannot be appropriated to him In the Eleventh he asserts that neither ought Jesus Christ to be call'd a Creature without adding quatenus Man In the Twelfth he discusses divers Questions viz. Whether it may be said of Jesus Christ as Man that he always was or that it was possible that he might not be God He determines that it cannot be said of the Person of Jesus Christ but only of his Human Nature In the Thirteenth and Fourteenth Sections he treats of Knowledge Grace and the Power of Jesus Christ quatenus Man In the Fifteenth and Sixteenth he proves that Jesus Christ took upon him the Infirmities of Human Nature Sin and Ignorance only excepted and that he was capable of undergoing Sufferings In the Seventeenth he explains the two-fold Will of Jesus Christ. In the Eighteenth he discourses of what Jesus Christ merited for himself and of what he merited for us In the Nineteenth he treats of Redemption In the Twentieth he enquires Why Jesus Christ redeem'd us by his Passion and Death And whether he could not have done it by some other means In the Twenty first he proposes this Question viz. Whether the Word remain'd united
to the Body of Jesus Christ as well as to his Soul after his Death And concludes in the Affirmative In the Twenty second he enquires Whether it may be said that Jesus Christ was Man during the time that his Body lay in the Supulchre In the following Sections he treats of Faith Hope and Charity In the Thirty third he discourses of the Four Cardinal Vertues In the Thirty fourth of the Seven Gifts of the Holy Ghost and chiefly of the Fear of God In the Thirty fifth he explains the difference between Wisdom and Knowledge In the Thirty sixth he treats of the Connexion of all the Vertues and of the Relation they have to Charity The Four last Sections of this Book contain a compendious Explication of the Decalogue The Holy Sacraments are the principal Subject treated of in the last Book In the first Section he gives a Definition of the Sacraments shews the Causes of their Institution observes the difference between those of the Old and New Law and treats in particular of Circumcision which he believes to have been so necessary for the remission of Original Sin that he affirms that the Children of the Jews who died without partaking of that Sacrament were consign'd to Damnation In the Second after having nominated the Seven Sacraments of the New Law he discourses of the Baptism by St. John the Baptist. In the Third he treats of the Baptism of Jesus Christ and after having confirm'd St. Ambrose's Opinion that Baptism might be absolutely administer'd in the Name of Jesus Christ he enquires When the Baptism of Jesus Christ was instituted and under what Form the Apostles baptized Persons As also Why Water is us'd in the Administration of this Sacrament and no other Liquor and how many Immersions ought to be made in Baptizing In the Fourth Section he treats of the Effects of Baptism shewing how some Persons receive the Sacrament and the Grace of the Sacrament and how others receive the Sacrament without the Grace and the Grace without the Sacrament He proves that Infants receive both and adds that they even receive Actual Grace which afterwards enables them to perform good Actions In the Fifth he makes it appear from St. Augustin's Principles that Baptism administred by an unworthy Priest is no less Holy than that which is perform'd by the Hands of a worthy one because the effective Power of Baptizing is inherent in Jesus Christ which he does not communicare to the Ministers In the Sixth Section he observes that the Bishops or Priests have a Right to administer this Sacrament although in case of necessity it may be done by Lay-men and even by Women And that it is valid by whomsoever it be administer'd nay when perform'd by Hereticks provided it be done in the Name of the Holy Trinity He asserts that an Infant cannot be baptized in the Mother's Belly and afterwards handles several other Questions relating to the Form and Ceremonies of Baptism In the Seventh Section he treats of the Sacrament of Confirmation and at first observes that the Form of this Sacrament are the Words pronounced by the Priest when he anoints the Fore-head of the Baptized Persons with the Holy Chrism The Author adds that the Administration of this Sacrament was always reserv'd to the Bishops that they alone are capable of administring it effectually in due Form and that it cannot be reiterated He begins in the Eighth Section to discourse of the Sacrament of the Eucharist and after having shewn some of the ancient Figures of this Sacrament proceeds to treat of its Institution of its Form which he makes to consist in these Words This is my Body this is my Blood and of the Things contain'd therein He says Three Things are to be distinguished in the Eucharist viz. the Sacrament consisting in the visible Species of the Bread and Wine the Sacrament and the Thing which is the proper Body and the proper Blood of our Lord contain'd under the Species and the Thing which is not the Sacrament that is to say the mystical Body of Jesus Christ 〈◊〉 the inward Grace In the Ninth Section he distinguishes Two Manners of receiving the Body of Jesus Christ viz. one Sacramental which is common to the worthy and to the unworthy Communicants and the other Spiritual which is peculiar only to the former In the Tenth he proves the Real Presence and the changing of the Bread and Wine into the Body ond Blood of Jesus Christ and refutes the Opinion of those who believe the Eucharist to be only a Figure In the Eleventh he at first enquires of what Nature this Change is and proves it to be substantial insomuch that the Body and Blood of Jesus Christ are under the Accidents which before cover'd the Substance of the Bread and Wine which is annihilated or return'd to the first Matter He confutes those Persons who asserted that the Substance of the Bread remain'd after the Consecration and afterwards gives an Account why the Body and Blood of Jesus Christ are administer'd to us under Two different Kinds and why Water is intermixed with the Wine In the Twelfth he endeavours to explain divers Questions relating to the Eucharistical Species and affirms that the Accidents remain therein without the Subject and that they only are broken and divided into many Parts Afterwards he discourses of the Quality which is peculiar to this Sacrament as also of its Institution and Effects In the Thirteenth Section he acknowledges that unworthy Ministers may consecrate the Elements but denies that it can be done by excommunicated Persons and declared Hereticks In the Fourteenth he begins to treat of Repentance distinguishing the Vertue of Repentance from the Sacrament of Penance He gives divers Definitions of Repentance and shews the Necessity of it as also that it may be often reiterated In the Fifteenth he proves that one cannot be truly penitent for one Sin without actually repenting of all In the Sixteenth he distinguishes the Three Parts of Repentance viz. the Compunction of the Heart the Confession of the Mouth and the Satisfaction of Works and discourses in particular of the Satisfactions that ought to be made for venial Sins He treats of Confession in the Seventeenth Section and shews that is requisite to confess ones Sins to a Priest in order to obtain the remission of them In the Eighteenth he treats of the Sacerdotal Power and of the use of the Keys and after having produced different Opinions relating to that matter concludes That God alone has the Power of absolutely binding and loosing the Sinner by cleansing the Pollution of his Sin and remitting the Penalty of Eternal Damnation That the Priests do indeed bind and loose by declaring that such Persons are bound or loosed by God and by imposing Penance or by readmitting to the Communion those whom they have excommunicated In the Nineteenth he discourses of the Qualities requisite in Ministers who are employ'd to bind and loose Sinners nevertheless he acknowledges that
Richard of St. Victor are of Two Sorts some of them being Pieces relating to Points of Doctrine and others being Treatises of Piety and practical Divinity Among the former are to be reckon'd his Treatise of the Trinity divided into Six Books A Tract dedicated to St. Bernard concerning the Attributes appropriated to every one of the Divine Persons His Treatise of the Incarnation Two Treatises of the Emmanuel or on these Words of the Prophet Isaiah Behold a Virgin shall conceive and bear a Son and shall call his name Emmanuel in which he proves against a certain Jew that these Words can be interpreted of none but the Virgin Mary and Jesus Christ A Treatise of the Power of Binding and Loosing in which he follows the common Opinion of the School-Divines of his time concerning the Effect of the Keys and the Power of the Ministers A Discourse of the Sin against the Holy Ghost Certain Explications dedicated to St. Bernard on some difficult Places of Scripture A Discourse to explain in what Sense the Holy Ghost is said to be the Love of the Father and of the Son And a Treatise of the difference between Mortal and Venial Sins His Works of Piety and Morality are these viz. A Treatise of the means of rooting out Evil and promoting Good A Discourse on the State of the inward Man Three Books of the Instruction of the inward Man or of the Spiritual Exercise upon occasion of the Dreams of Nebuchadnezzar and Daniel A Treatise of the Preparation of the Soul for Contemplation Five Books of the Grace of Contemplation on the Ark which was set in the Tabernacle with an Addition containing some Allegories on the Tabernacle A Discourse or Meditation on the Plagues that will happen on the Day of Judgment Another Discourse on the Day of the last Judgment A Treatise of the Degrees of Charity Another of the Four Degrees of fervent Charity A Discourse of the Two Passovers with a Sermon on the Festival of Easter A Discourse of the Baptism of Jesus Christ A Sermon on the Effusion of the Holy Ghost A Tract concerning the Comparison that is made of our Saviour to the Flower and of the Virgin Mary to the Branch Another about the Quality of Standard of the People attributed to Jesus Christ And lastly Two Discourses viz. One concerning the difference between Abraham's Sacrifice and that of David and the other relating to the difference between the same Sacrifice and that of the Virgin Mary This Author died March 10. A. D. 1173. and his Works were printed at Paris in 1518. and in 1540. as also at Venice in 1592. at Colen in 1621. and at Rouen in 1650. He shews a great deal of subtilty in his Theological Treatises and argues methodically with an Exactness befitting an able Logician His Critical Pieces are very accurate for his time but his Style is not very lofty and upon that Account it is that his Treatises of Piety though full of excellent Matter have not all the Grandeur nor all the Energy that might be wished for CHAP. XVII Of Gratian's Collection of Canons ALthough many Collections of Canons Decretals and Passages of the Fathers relating to the Canon-Law were compil'd before the Twelfth Century yet none of them was generally follow'd or publickly taught They were looked upon as the Work of private Persons and the Decisions contain'd in them had no greater Authority than the Monuments out of which they were taken whilst every one apply'd them to his particular Benefit but none made them the subject of publick Lectures The Collection which GRATIAN a Monk of St. Felix Gratian. at Bononia and a Native of Chiusi in Toscany compleated in the Year 1151. met with much better Success for as soon as it appear'd it was so favourably receiv'd that the Canonists taught it publickly and in a little time a great number of Commentaries were written on that Work In the Ancient Manuscripts and in the First Editions it bears this Title viz. The Concord of disagreeing Canons and afterwards was call'd The Book of Decrees or simply The Decrees It is divided into Three Parts the First of which contains Matters relating to the Law in general and the Ministers of the Church under the Name of Distinctions the Second divers particular Cases upon occasion of which are debated many Questions that are call'd The Causes and the Third entituled Of the Consecration such Matters as relate to the Divine Offices and the Sacraments In the First twenty Distinctions of the First Part he treats of the Division of the Law of the different sorts of Laws as well Civil as Ecclesiastical of the Authority of the Canons of the Councils and of the Decretals of the Popes of the sacred Orders of the Qualities of Persons who ought to be ordain'd of the Form and Ceremonies of Ordination of the Functions and Conduct of Clergy-men of the Power of the Pope and of the Bishops of the use of the Pall and of every Thing that relates to the Ministers of the Church This Part is divided into 101 Distinctions In the Second containing Thirty six Causes every one of which comprehends divers Questions every Question being likewise divided into several Chapters the Author treats of Simony of Appeals of Incumbents depriv'd of their Benefices of the Quality of Witnesses and Accusers of Elections of the Government of Churches of Ecclesiastical Censures of last Wills and Testaments of Burials of Usury of what ought to be observ'd with respect to * Furieux outragious or distracted Persons of Sentences passed contrary to the due Forms of Law of Monks and Abbots and their Rights of those who assault Clergy-men of Commendams of Oaths of War of Heresies of Infractions of the Canons of Sorcerers of Marriage and its Impediments of the Degrees of Consanguinity and of Rapes In the Thirty second Cause he has inserted a Dissertation concerning Repentance in Seven Sections in which he follows the Error of some Writers of Penitentials who do not believe Confession to be of Divine Right or absolutely necessary for the remission of Sins The Third Part contains Five Distinctions or Sections viz. the First concerning the Consecration of Churches the Celebration of Mass and the Divine Service the Second concerning the Eucharist the Third about the solemn Festivals of the Year and the use of Images the Fourth about the Sacrament of Baptism and its Ceremonies and the Fifth concerning Confirmation Fasts manual Labour and some other Points of Discipline Some Articles have been since added from time to time under the Title of Palea which is suppos'd to be the Name of the Author of these Additions which were call'd Protopalea or Palea The First Edition of this Work was printed at Mentz A. D 1472. and the Second at Venice Four Years after The Third is that of Paris in 1508. which is the First that bears the Name of Gratian whose Text is to be found in these Editions after the same manner that
Infidels Proud and the Saracens Powerful He concludes all with the third Passeover which is the passing to Glory where he Prays he may one Day meet with them He Preach'd likewise another Sermon to the Fathers of the Council which is only a Moral Exhortation Afterwards he Orders the Reading in a full Council the Chapters or Canons upon the Discipline of the Church which were already drawn up Matthew Paris saies That those Canons seem'd tolerable to some of the Prelates but grievous to others His Words are these Facto prius ab ipso Papa exhortationis Sermone recitata sunt in pleno Concilio Capitula Septuaginta quae aliis placabilia aliis videbantur onerosa Let the Case be how it will 't is certain That these Canons were not made by the Council but by Innocent III. who presented them to the Council ready drawn up and order'd them to be Read and that the Prelates did not enter into any Debate upon them but that their Silence was taken for an Approbation These Seventy Chapters or Canons begin with a Form of Faith drawn up in these Terms We do firmly Believe and sincerely Confess That there is but One True Eternal Immense Omnipotent Immutable Incomprehensible Ineffable God the Father Son and Holy Ghost who are Three Persons but only One Essence One Substance and One Simple Nature The Father derives his Substance from none the Son has it from the Father and the Holy Ghost proceeds from Both without Beginning and without End The Father begets the Son is begotten and the Holy Ghost proceeds They are Consubstantial and Co-equal in all things equally Powerful equally Eternal One Individual Principle of all things the Creator of things Visible and Invisible Spiritual and Corporeal who by His Omnipotent Power Created out of Nothing at the Beginning of Time and all together two sorts of Creatures Spiritual and Corporeal and afterwards the Humane Nature which is a Compound of Soul and Body For the Devil and the other Daemons were Good when God Created them and became by their own fault Wicked and Man Sinned and Fell by the suggestion of the Devil This Holy Trinity which is Indivisible with respect to its Essence and distinguish'd according to its Personal Properties has given to Mankind a Salutary Doctrine by the Ministery of Moses the Prophets and the other Servants of God according to the Order and Disposition of Times And at last Jesus Christ the onely Son of God who was Incarnate by the Power of the whole Trinity and Conceived of the Virgin Mary always a Virgin by the Power of the Holy Ghost who was true Man made up of a reasonable Soul and humane Body one single Person compounded of two Natures has more clearly shown us the Way of Life who being Immortal and Impassible as to his Divinity as to his Humanity became Passible and Mortal And he suffer'd for the Salvation of Mankind on the Cross he Dy'd and Descended into Hell is Risen from the Dead and Ascended up into Heaven but he Descended in his Soul and Rose again with his Body and is Ascended into Heaven with his Body and Soul and shall come again at the End of the World to Judge both the Living and the Dead and to give to all Men according to their Works as well the Reprobates as the Elect who shall all rise again with their own Bodies which they at present bear about them that so they may receive according to their Deserts whether they be Good or Bad the latter Eternal Glory with Jesus Christ and the former Eternal Damnation with the Devil There is but one Catholick Church of the Faithful out of which none is Saved wherein Jesus Christ is both Priest and Sacrifice whose Body and Blood are contain'd really in the Sacrament of the Altar under the Species of Bread and Wine the Bread being Transubstantiated into the Body of Jesus Christ and the Wine into his Blood by the Power of God that so to render the Mystery of the Unity perfect we might receive of His Nature what he receiv'd of Ours No Person may Consecrate the Sacrament but the Priest who has receiv'd Lawful Ordination by the power of the Keys of the Church which Jesus Christ has given to his Apostles and their Successors The Sacrament of Baptism which is Consecrated by Invocation of the Trinity Father Son and Holy Ghost on the Water is the Cause of Salvation as well of Infants as of Adult Persons when 't is Conferr'd according to the Form of the Church whoever it be that Administers it If any one falls into Sin after Baptism he may be always restor'd to Grace by a true Repentance Not only Virgins and those who live Continently but also Marry'd Persons who please God by their Faith and Good Life merit Eternal Life This is the Abstract of the Doctrine of the Church contain'd in the Profession of Faith of this Council Which is the first Chapter or Canon of it In consequence to this the Council condemns in the Second Chapter the Treatise Compos'd by the Abbot Joachim against Peter Lombard about the Unity of the Essence of the Trinity because that Abbot had treated him as a Fool and an Heretick for having said in his Book of Sentences That the Father Son and Holy Ghost are one Supreme or Soveraign Being which is neither begetting begotten nor proceeding A Proposition from whence he pretends it follows That there is a Quaternity in the Godhead namely Three Persons of the Trinity and one common Essence The Council explains and confirms the Doctrine of the Master of the Sentences and rejects that of Joachim who pretended That the Father Son and Holy Ghost where not the same thing tho' they be one Substance and one Nature which yet he explain'd in such a manner that he seem'd to admit of only a Specifick Unity or resemblance between those Three Persons The Council declar'd those to be Hereticks who would maintain the Opinion of the Abbot Joachim However they order'd That the Condemnation should be no prejudice to the Monastery of Flora of which Abbot Joachim was the Founder because there they liv'd Regularly and put in practice a very good Discipline but especilly because that Abbot had submitted his Books to the judgment of the Holy See and had protested in Writing That his Belief was the same with that of the Church of Rome which is the Mother and Mistress of all the Faithful The Council likewise condemn'd in the same Chapter the Errors of Amaury of whom 't is said That the Father of Lies had so obscur'd his Understanding that his Doctrine may rather pass for Nonsense than Heresie In the Third Canon they Excommunicated and Anathematiz'd all the Hereticks who oppose the Catholick and Orthodox Faith as before Explain'd And 't is therein Order'd That the Hereticks shall be deliver'd up after their Condemnation to the Secular Powers or to their Officers to be Punish'd according to their Demerits the Clerks being
they were compatible and might be united in one Subject That the Temporal Power is Subject to the Spiritual That the Clergy have both which he endeavours to prove by the Old Testament and New by Natural Ecclesiastical and Civil Law by Custom and by the Privileges granted by the Kings of France to the Clergy of his Realm Upon the Second part of the Text Honour the King he said That truly to Honour the King was to advise him not to attempt any thing against his Conscience and that would bring a general Odium upon himself by engaging him to make void what his Predecessors had done Secondly That it was not to honour him to put him upon any thing that would lessen his Power by perswading him That his Predecessors had no Power or Right to grant those Privileges Thirdly It was not to honour the King to advise him to do any thing contrary to his Reputation Conscience or Oath which he had taken to preserve the Privileges and Liberties of the Church He concludes with a Supplication to the King That it would please the King to confirm their Just and Canonical Privileges to recall the Attempts made to the contrary at their Complaint and Request and to preserve the Church of France in its Franchises Liberties and Customs And as to the Articles proposed Some of them they were obliged to maintain because otherwise they should lose and weaken all their Ecclesiastical Power But the others contained nothing but certain Abuses which they could not believe their Officers had been guilty of and which they would neither approve nor tolerate The next Friday which was Dec. 29. the King being in his Palace with his Counsellors and Barons Peter Bertrandus Bishop of Autun delivered his Speech having taken for his Text these words in Genesis Let not the Lord be Angry if I speak and these other words of Scripture Lord thou art our present Refuge And having proved That it is the Duty of Kings to be the Protectors of the Church he answers Peter de Cūguieres yet with a Protestation that he did it only to instruct the King and not to answer as in Judgment He maintains That the Jurisdiction in Civil causes belongs to the Clergy both by Divine and Humane Right and that Kings had bestowed that Privilege on the Church and the rather because the Church had granted Kings several Spiritual Revenues Then he answers to the Articles propounded and says That they are of Three sorts Some concerned the perpetual Rights of the Church and belong to it by Right and Custom which it justly used and they were ready to defend it Others contained several Abuses and Errors which they would not endure and were ready to correct if they were really used The last Sort were partly just and partly unjust Then he makes some Remarks upon the 66 Articles propounded by Peter Cuguieres and maintains the greatest part of them Lastly The Bishop presented a Petition in which they requested a Confirmation of their Privileges and a Revocation of all that had been done and attempted to the contrary The Assembly being met on the 8th day at the Castle of S. Vincents before the King Peter de Cuguieres answered the Bishops in the Name of his Majesty in a Discourse which had for the Text these words of Jesus Christ I give you Peace I am with you fear not and told the Bishops That the King's intention was not to deprive the Church or Bishops of the Rights and Privileges which they could claim by Right or any Reasonable Custom but he proved that they had no right to Judge in Civil causes and in the Conclusion adds in the Name of the King That if any one would inform the King of the Custom and Use he was ready to hearken to them Bertrand replied and says in his Reply That the King's Answer was very general and prayed his Majesty to explain himself further He was answer'd in the King's Name That his intention was not to oppose the Customs of the Church which were made appear by good Authority The next Sunday the Bishops being come to the King at the Castle of S. Vincents The Archbishop of Bourges said to them That the King had declared That they should fear nothing for they should lose nothing during his Reign but he would maintain them in all their Rights and Customs The King owned that he had made such a Declaration and the Bishops thanked him by the Mouth of the Archbishop of Sens who humbly represented to his Majesty That he had published many things Prejudicial to the Jurisdiction of the Clergy which they prayed his Majesty to revoke The King answered them himself That they were not done by his Order and that he would not retifie them The Archbishop of Sens added That the Bishops would reform some Abuses which the Laiety had complained of provided that the King and others would be content Lastly He besought his Majesty to comfort them with a Clear Answer Peter de Cuguieres answered That the King was resolved so to do provided That the Bishops would correct and reform whatever he desired and that the King would give them time to do it till Christmass but if they did not in that time work the Reformation Agreed on he would use such a Remedy himself as should be approved by God and the People and with this Answer he sent away the Bishops but they were not satisfied with it Some affirm That the Clergy continued their Enterprizes and thereupon he put out an Edict in favour of the Secular Judges But however that be it is certain That from that time the Clergy lost the Temporal Jurisdiction which they exercised and which they had extended so far that they determined almost all Causes upon the account of Sin or Swearing as you may see in the Articles propounded and maintained by the Prelates in that Conference The false Opinion defended then by the Bishops was at that time abandoned That the Temporal Jurisdiction belonged by Divine Right to the Clergy Bertrandus made also another Treatise upon this Subject Intituled Of the Original and Use of Jurisdictions or of the Spiritual and Temporal Power in which he handles and determines these following Questions I. Whether the Secular Power by which the People is governed as to their Temporal Rights is from God II. Whether there ought to be any other Power or Jurisdiction for the good of the People III. Whether these two Powers may meet in One Person IV. Whether Spiritual Power is Superior to the Temporal or the Temporal to the Spiritual He answers the first Question thus That the Power of governing the People cometh from God as to the Right but not as to the obtaining or use of it because it is by the Law and according to the Order of God that there is any such Power but as to the manner of coming to it it is not by Divine Right but is often Unjust and Kings do also abuse their
other Questions printed at Lyons in 1497. and in 1518. A Commentary also upon the Proverbs of Solomon is attributed to him printed at Paris in 1515. but it belongs rather to Thomas Gualensis There are some other Works of Holkot's in MS. in the Libraries at Cambridge as his Quodlibetical Questions in Pembroke-Hall Sermons and Allegories in Peter-House RICHARD HAMPOLE Born in Yorkshire in England an Augustine Monk died Sept. 29. 1349. Richard Hampole has Composed several Treatises of Piety Some of them were printed at Cologne and are extant in the 26th Tome of the Bibliotheca Patrum A Treatise of the Amendment of a Sinner An Explication of the Lord's Prayer Another of the Apostles and Athanasius's Creed The Praise of the Name of Jesus A Treatise of the Embraces of the Love of God An Exposition upon these words of the Canticles of Solomon The Daughters will love thee affectionately in which he also treats of the Love of God These Treatises are full of the Spirit and very affecting He also Composed several other Spiritual Commentaries upon the Holy Scripture as the Psalms Job Lamentations of Jeremiah A Treatise Intituled The Sting of Conscience Scala Mundi A Book of the Contempt of the World The Commendation of Chastity and some other Treatises which are found in the Libraries of England as the Cotton Archbishop of Canterbury's at Lambeth and Bodleian JOANNES HONSEMIUS or HOXEMIUS a Dutchmâ—n 〈◊〉 Canon of the Church of Leige made a Joannes Honsemius Continuation of the History of the Bishops of Leige composed by Aegidius Aureae Vallis from 1247. to 1348. It is printed in the Collection of Historians upon the same Subject put out by Joannes Chapeavillus and printed at Leige in 1613. GERARDUS ODONIS a Native of Rovergne in France a Grey-Friar was chosen General of Gerardus Odonis that Order in 1329. in the place of Michael de Caesena and after preferred to the Dignity of Archbishop of Antioch by John XXII he died at Catana in 1349. He Composed a Comment upon the Ten Books of Aristotle's Morals printed at Venice in 1500. The Office of the Marks of S. Francis is attributed to him There is in the Covent of Cordeliers at Mirepoix in Languedoc a MS. Treatise of the Figures of the Bible which bears his Name and in the Vatican Library a Comment upon the Books of the Sentences Two Philosophical Questions and some Commentaries upon several Books of Scripture as Waddingus testifies in his Biblioth Frat. Min. p. 145. JACOBUS FOLQUIER an Hermite of S. Austin a Doctor and Reader of Divinity at Tholouse Jacobus Folquier dedicated in 1345. to Clement VI. a Work Intituled Viridarium Gregorianum or Allegories upon all the Books of Scripture which are found in MS. in the Library of the Great Augustines at Paris BERNARDUS Abbot of Mont-Cassin who flourished about 1347. Composed a Book Intituled Bernard The Mirrour of the Monks of the Order of S. Benedict printed at Paris in 1507. A Commentary upon the Rule of S. Benedict which is found in MS. in some Libraries Trithemius also mentions a Book of Regular Precepts and Sermons for his Monks THOMAS BRADWARDIN an Englishman of the Order of Grey-Friars Chancellor of the University Thomas Bradwardin of Oxford Confessor to Edward III. was chosen Archbishop of Canterbury in 1348. by a Chapter of that Church two several times for the King of England and the Pope having preferred John Ufford the first time before him he was not consecrated but this last dying a little time after he was chosen a Second time and his Election being confirmed by the Pope and approved by the King he was consecrated at Avignon by Cardinal Bertrandus but he died within Forty Days after his Ordination and before he had taken Possession of his Archbishoprick This Author Sirnamed the Profound Doctor Coomposed a large Work Intituled The Cause of God and the truth of Causes against Pelagius published by Sir H. Savil and printed at London in 1618. in which he strongly maintains the Principles of S. Austin and S. Thomas concerning the Operation and Power of God over the Actions of his Creatures Some attribute to him also a Treatise of Geometry and Arithmetick viz. a Treatise of Proportions printed at Venice in 1505. A Treatise of Speculative Arithmetick printed at Paris in 1502. and a Treatise of Geometry printed at Paris in 1512. and 1530. Bradwardin in his Work De Caussâ Dei c. does not only treat of Liberty and Predestination but also of the Existence of God his Perfections Eternity Immutability Immensity and other Attributes particularly his Knowledge Power and Will He shews that God preserves all Beings that he hath Created That he doth all things immediately that are done by his Creatures That his Will is effectual invincible and immutable That all that he Wills infallibly comes to pass That the things which he knows are not the cause of his Knowledge but his Will He explains in what sense God Wills or Wills not Sin He proves the Necessity of Grace against Pelagius and shews that it is gratis given and that Man deserves not the first Grace That it is the immediate Cause of all good Actions and principally of Repentance He holds Predestination to be gratuitous and rejects the middle Knowledge These are the Chief Points he treats of in his First Book His Second Book is upon Free Will He affirms That it consists not in being able to Will or not Will the same thing but in a Power of Willing freely all that we ought to choose and willing all that we ought not to choose He shews that no Second Cause can necessitate the Will but that the free Will cannot conquer Temptations without the special Assistance of God which is nothing else but his invincible Will That without this help no Man can avoid Sin That Perseverance is the Effect of Grace Lastly He explains the Co-operation of Man's Will with God's He affirms That God hinders not Liberty though he causes a kind of Necessity He treats of several Kinds of Necessity and Contingence and recites several Opinions of Philosophers and Divines about the Contingency of things which he numbers as far as 33. and concludes that all future things happen by one kind of Necessity with relation to Superior Causes which agrees nevertheless with Liberty but that is not Absolute Natural violent or forced He concludes his Works with a brief Recital of the Errors which he hath opposed and the Truths he hath established which he hath reduced to 36 Propositions ALBERICUS de ROSATE or ROXIATI Born in Bergamo a Lawyer flourished about 1350. He hath Composed a Commentary upon the Sixth Book of the Decretals printed in the Collection Albericus de Rosate of the Treatises of Famous Lawyers made at Venice in 1584. A Dictionary of the Civil and Canon Law printed at Venice in 1573. and 1601. and some other Treatises of Civil Law PETRUS de PATERNIS an Hermit of the
of Folly JANOVEZ of Majorca made a Book in which he undertook to The Visions of Janovez foretell that Antichrist should come at Whitsuntide in the Year 1360. That the Sacraments of the Church and the unbloody Sacrifice should then cease that the Christians who should have on them the Mark of Antichrist should never be converted but that Children Jews Saracens and Infidels should be converted after the Death of Antichrist The Opinion of JOHN de LATONA and d'Bonagetâ— of the Order of Grey-Friars is not so extravagant The Opinion of John de Latona about the Sacrament they erred by paying too much respect to the Sacrament in preaching that if a consecrated Host fell into a dirty place the Body of JESUS CHRIST would re-ascend to Heaven though the Elements remained and the Substance of Bread return'd that the same would happen if the Host were eaten by Rats or other Beasts and that the Body of JESUS CHRIST returned to Heaven while we were eating the Host and descended not into the Stomach We have Divines of the Ninth and Eleventh Centuries who were of the like Sentiments This Doctrine was also current in this Century in the Provinces of Saragoza and Tarragona but Pope Gregory XI having caused it to be enquired into by two Cardinals they ordered the Archbishops of these two Cities to forbid the Preaching of these Propositions on Pain of Excommunication The same Year ARNOLDUS de MONTANIER of the Order of Grey-Friars a Native of Puicerda The Errors of Arnold de Montanier in Catalonia who had already been informed against to Nicolas Roselli Inquisitor of the Faith continuing to publish his Errors was condemned by Eymericus and by Berengarius Bishop of Urgel and Arrested by order of Gregory XI He taught according to the report of Eymericus that JESUS CHRIST and the Apostles had nothing in peculiar nor yet in common that none of those that wear the Habit of St. Francis shall be Damn'd that St. Francis every Year went down to Purgatory and took thence them of his Order to conduct them to Paradise and in fine that the Order of St. Francis must last to Eternity This is a Chain of the Errors of the Spiritual Brethren condemned by John XXII The TURLUPINES who swarm'd about the close of this Century in Provence and Dauphine were The Turlupines so called for their infamous Practices for besides the Errors of the Begards they held That we ought not to be ashamed of the Parts which Nature has given us they went all naked and did in the presence of all People actions which Modesty teaches us to conceal Divers of them were Burnt at Paris and other places and Gregory XI exhorted Amadeus Duke of Savoy to lend a helping hand to the Inquisitors to extirpate them In England SIMON LANGHAM Archbishop of Canterbury gave Judgment at Lambeth in the Errors condemned by Simon Langham Year 1368. by the Advice of many Divines against Thirty erroneous Propositions taught in his Province which for the most part are resolved into this Principle That all Men even Infidels and Children dying without Baptism have a Vision of God before their Death and if they are willing then to be converted to God they shall be saved that thus Baptism is not necessary to Salvation that none are damn'd for Original Sin alone and that no Person shall be damned even for any Actual Sin if he refuses not to be converted having had the Vision of God the which is a Sin not to be forgiven for the atonement whereof even the Suffering of JESUS CHRIST is in-sufficient There are also some erroneous Propositions concerning other Matters such as these That the Father and the Son are finite and that only the Holy Ghost is Infinite that JESUS CHRIST the Virgin and all the Saints are yet Mortal that the Virgin and the Saints may yet Sin and be damn'd and that all the Devils may be saved Although Wickliffe appeared and taught these Errors in this Century we put off the treating of them to the following Age to the end we may at once give an History of them and their Condemnation CHAP. IX Ecclesiastical Observations on the Fourteenth Century WE will not dwell upon Scholastical Questions discussed by the Divines of this Age. It would The Question of the Ecclesiastical Poâ—er over Matters Temporal be an intolerable Task only to repeat all their Disputes We will only make some Observations upon the Questions of Consequence which have made a noise in the Church One of the Chief is that of the Power of the Pope and the Church over the Temporalties of Kings The Popes pretended to make a new Doctrine of it but in coveting too much they lost what they had Usurped Till then no Man had any Thoughts to examine their Right and they seemed thereupon to be put in possession The haughtiness wherewith they had a Mind to practise it over Philip the Fair and over Lewis of Bavaria made it plain of what consequence it was and induced Princes to search into the Matter Thence they discover'd the weakness of their Pretence and opposed it they recover'd out of their Error the Soveraignty of Princes was confirmed as to Temporals and the bounds of both Powers fixed They began to dispute with the Clergy the Right of which they were possess'd to exercise Temporal Jurisdiction and to take cognisance of many Civil Causes under colour of Excommunication an Oath and Sin They had a Mind likewise to invade the Privileges of the Clergy and the Revenues of the Church But they defended themselves stoutly and maintain'd their Jurisdiction and Immunities by a great number of Canons and Regulations wherein they used all the ways imaginable to maintain themselves in their Privileges nevertheless they own'd some Abuses of their Jurisdiction and applied Remedies thereto but notwithstanding all this they lost by degrees part of their Temporal Jurisdiction The Residence of the Popes and the Court of Rome at Avignon whatever may be suggested did The Effects of the residence of Popes at Avignon not lessen the Power of the Holy See The French Kings made no sinister use thereof to obtain favours of the Popes which might prove prejudicial to their Authority But as Monsieur Baluzius observes after Nicolas Clemangis the Italians brought into France the Debaucheries and Luxury of their Country Vices from which till then it had been wholly free The Court of Rome likewise introduced a way of litigious wrangling at Law The Popes levied the Tenths on the Clergy or else permitted the Kings to do it on divers Pretences The Schism which followed involved the Church in Troubles overthrew the Method observed in Elections and Collations of Benefices filled the Churches with mercenary Pastors obliged the Competitors to do many mean things with the Princes to be upheld to sell Benefices or bestow them on their Creatures and exorbitantly to levy the Tenths on the Clergy It is hard to determine which of the
the Divine Nature is so high and unsearchable that it is not possible to comprehend it and pursues this Reasoning so far that he sticketh not to say that Seraphims and Angels themselves do not see the Substance of God but only an Emanation of his Divine Light This passage Ib. Orat. 1 hath made some modern Greeks suppose that the Saints do not see the Substance of God but only a Corporeal Light such as they say appeared upon Mount Tabor This also hath exercised the Subtilty of our Divines who constitute Happiness in the Vision of the Substance of God And yet S. Chrysostom hath respect in this passage neither to that Light of the Modern Greeks not to the Disputes of the Schoolmen his only design is to shew against Aetius that the Divine Nature is not to be comprehended and that evident Reasons of the Mysteries are not to be given It is not necessary to inlarge upon the Opinions of S. Chrysostom concerning the Mystery of the Trinity it is certain that he maintained the Faith of the Council of Nice and that he proved the Divinity both of the Son and of the Holy Ghost yet it ought to be observed that he was of Meletius's opinion concerning the Signification of the word Hypostasis and that he owned Three Hypostases and one Nature in God As to the Mystery of the Incarnation tho' he was equally contrary to the Errour Ep. ad Caesarium Homil. de Consub in lib. Quod Christus sit Deus V. Theodor. in Dialog of those who distinguished two Persons in Christ and that of those who confounded the two Natures and their Properties yet he in several passages of his Writings declared against the latter Opinion very eagerly In his Panegyricks of the Saints he ascribeth to them all manner of Felicity Homil de B. Philog Hom. de S S. Homil. 39. in ep 1. ad Cor. Hom. 28. in ep ad Hebr. Hom. 29. Matth. he places them in Heaven in the same Rank with Angels and Archangels of Prophets and Martyrs and yet in other places he seems to affirm that their Happiness is referred to the Day of Judgment but these may agree well enough if we say that he spake in the latter of a perfect and consummated Happiness Angels if we believe S. Chrysostom are so called because they declare the Will of God unto Men for which cause the Scripture representeth them with Wings Homil. 3. de Incompreh Hom. 3. in ep ad Coloss. Hom. 14. in ep ad Hebr. They take care of Men are present at Divine Services and every Christian hath his Guardian Angel The Devil is not wicked of his own Nature but is become such by Sin God permits him to tempt Men for their good It is a Childish thing to believe that Hom. de Diabolo tentatore Hom. 22. in Genesim those are Angels which the Scripture calleth the Children of God in Genesis and of whom it is said that they conversed with the Daughters of Men since they are of a spiritual and incorporeal Nature He Confesses in several places that the Fall of the first Men was prejudicial to the whole Race which ever since is become subject to Pains Sicknesses and Death from which it was free before Sin He acknowledgeth that an inclination to Evil and Lusts are Consequences of the first Man's sin but he seemeth not to have owned Original sin after the same manner that S. Austin doth at least it cannot be denied that he hath given another Sence to those places of S. Paul which seem to prove it most As for Example when he expoundeth that famous passage Rom. 5. 12. By One man sin entred into the World c. He understandeth of Death what S. Paul saith of Sin because it is the Wages of Sin and upon those other words of the same Chapter As by the disobedience of one many are become Guilty c. This Sentence saith he seems to have much of Difficulty for how can it be that one only Man having sinned many should be made guilty by his sin We may easily conceive that the first Man being become mortal it was necessary that his Off-spring should be mortal likewise but what Likelihood and what Reason is there that a man should be a Sinner because of anothers disobedience ... What then signifyeth the word Sinner In my Opinion it signifyeth nothing else but a condemned Man subject to Pain and Death This is a way of speaking which does not agree with S. Augustin's Doctrine Tho' it is not hard to defend S. Chrysostom by saying That tho' he spake thus yet he admitted all that Divines own concerning Original sin For what is Original sin according to them It is either a Privation of Original righteousness or Lust with the guilt of Sin or pain and Guilt together But S. Chrysostom acknowledges all these for in the first place he Confesseth that by the first Man's sin all men were deprived and spoiled of the State of Innocence that they are become not only mortal and subject to Pain and Grief but also inclined to Evil. Thus in his Opinion Lust is an effect of the first Man's sin and that Concupiscence in men makes them unworthy of eternal Life if the Grace of Jesus Christ saveth them not by Baptism He ascribes much to the strength of Free-will He always speaks as if he believed that it depends upon our selves to do good or evil and affirms that God always gives his Grace to those De verbis Jer. Hom. 1. Hom. 2. in 1. ad Cor. Hom. 41. in Genesim Hom. de tribus pueris Hom. 12. in ep ad Hebr. 8. in ep ad Phil. 19. ibid Hom. 17. in Joan. Hom. 18. in ep ad Rom. 12. in ep 1. ad Cor. In Matth. Hom. 83. Hom. 45. in Joan. In orat de S. Pelagia Serm. de Zachaeo Hom. 34. in Matth. Hom. 80. in ep ad Rom. Hom. 16. 18. in ep ad Rom. Hom. de obscur Prophet Serm. 5. de Lazaro Hom. 45. in Matth. who on their side doe all they can That we must begin and God makes an end That he followeth the motions of our Wills and giveth them their Perfection yet he owns the necessity of Grace to do good but submits it still to our Will So that according to him We are to will and chuse the good and God gives us the necessary Grace to fulfil the same he prevents not our Will that our Liberty may not be prejudiced he worketh good in us but that is when we are willing when our Will is determined he draweth to himself but only those who do all their endeavours to come near to him Those Principles about foreknowledge and Predestination agree very well with these Conclusions God did not predestinate men but as he foresaw their merits foreknowledge is not the cause of the event of things but God foresaw them because they shall happen He calls all men Jesus Christ died
for all men he prepared his Grace for all he predestinated those whom he foresaw would use his Grace well He Confesses that no man is free from sin in this Life nay he excepteth not the holy Virgin Mary S. Chrysostom attributes much vertue and efficacy to Sacraments but he requires very holy ispositions Hom. de Bapt. Christi that Men may be the better for them He saith That Circumcision and the other Sacraments of the Jews did not blot out Sins but cleansed only Bodily filthynesses whereas our Baptism hath far greater Vertue purifying the Soul delivering it from sin and filling it with the Grace of the Holy Spirit that John's Baptism was indeed more excellent than that of the Jews but much inferior to ours because it conferred neither the Holy Ghost nor the remission of Sins but only exhorted Men to Repentance The Baptism of Jesus Christ not In Serm. ad Illuminandos only frees the Soul from sin but also sanctifyeth it wherefore it is called the Laver of Regeneration because it reneweth the Soul through Grace Yet he does not believe that Baptism produces these Effects in those of riper years unless they are well disposed to receive it He exacts from those that come to this Sacrament that they be watchful in the things of their Salvation Ibid. disingaged from worldly Cares and that they renounce all disorderly Conversation that they be zealous in their Devotion and banish from their Hearts all thoughts unbecoming so holy an Action and keep their Souls prepared for the coming of this great King And because the Clinicks that is such as receive Baptism at the point of Death have not time thus to prepare themselves he doubts of their Salvation He speaketh of their Condition in such terms as describe the Case of a dying man very naturally who deferred to repent of his Sins till the hour of Death and then would receive the Sacraments Altho' saith he Sacraments contain the same Graces when the Preparation is different yet all may not receive them They receive Baptism laying upon their Beds you receive it in the bosom of the Church which is the Mother of all the Faithful they receive it weeping and you with joy they with groans and you with thanksgiving they in the heat of a Fever and you under the Sense of the heavenly Grace every thing here hath a Relation to the Grace received there every thing disagrees with it there are sighings and tears while the Sacrament is adminstred Children cry the Wife tears her Hair Friends are dejected Servants weep the whole House is in Mourning and if you mind the Spirit of the sick Person you shall find it more full of Sorrow than that of the Standers by for as a stormy Sea divides into several Waves so his Soul being agitated with troubles is torn with a thousand Disquiets racked with infinite Troubles … In this torture comes in a Priest whose Presence is more dreadful both to the Company and to the sick Man than the Sickness it self his Visit ordinarily causeth greater Despair than the Physicians Sentence that there is no hope of Recovery They imagine that Sacraments tho' instruments of the Spiritual life are infallible tokens of Corporal death But this is not yet the end of his Misery nor the height of his Affliction sometimes while Necessaries for the Sacrament are preparing the Soul departs out of the Body and often tho' remaining in the Body yet it receives not the fruit of the Sacrament for when the Sick person knows no body hears not the Prayers and cannot utter the Words whereby he is to engage with God when he is half dead what benefit can he reap from the Sacrament S. Chrysostom doth not discourse oftner nor in higher terms of any one Mystery than of Hom. 51. 83. in Matth. Hom. 45. in Joan. Serm. de de prodit Judae Hom. 45. 46. in Joannem L. 3. de Sacerdot c. 4. Hom. 24. in ep ad Cor. Hom. 3. in ep ad Eph. Hom. 51. in Matth. Hom. 52. de S Eustathio Hom. 14. 17. in ep ad Hebr. l. 6. de Sacer. c. 1. Hom. 51. in Matth. Hom. 15. in ep ad Cor. Serm. de prodit Judae Hom. in S. Eust. Hom. 33. in Nat. Domini Serm. de pâ—odit Judae the Eucharist He says in many places that the Body and Blood of Christ are upon the Altars That Jesus Christ hath left us his Body and Blood That the Bread and Wine become the Body and Blood of Christ That we ought not to doubt of it seeing Christ himself affirmeth it That it is a surprizing Miracle comparable to the greatest Wonders That by vertue of Christ's Words in the Celebration of this Mystery Christ is offered in Sacrifice That Jesus Christ offereth himself to God the Father That this Sacrifice is made without shedding of blood That Angels and Arch-angels are present at it That fire from Heaven consumeth the things offered and changeth them into the Body and Blood of Jesus Christ That this Table is to be approached unto with reverence and trembling That there is need of Holiness to receive holy things That Penitents ought not to come near and that these Mysteries must be hid from Catechumens That Men ought not only to be freed from Sin but also from Earthly affections and penetrated with divine Love transported with an holy Zeal and possessed with fervent Charity Three sorts of Prayers were made at the Celebration The First for those that were possessed the Second for Penitents and the Third for the Faithfull There was mention made of the Dead and Invocation of Saints The Sanctus was recited The Catechumens and Penitents were put out The Energumenes were brought in at the Consecration and Prayers were made for them S. Chrysostom wisht that all those who were present might communicate and sticks not to say That all those that are unworthy to communicate are not worthy to partake of the Hom. 83. in Matth. Hom. 21. ad Pop. Hom. 22. ad Pop. Ant. l. 6. De Sacerdot c. 4. Hom. in Christi Natalem Prayers And that as he who finds not himself guilty of any Sin ought to communicate every day so he on the contrary that hath committed Sin and repented not should not doe it even upon Festival-days The Sacrament was administred to dying persons and it was preserved in a Box. Hom. 72. in Matth. Lastly That none but the Priests alone have the power to administer the Eucharist which is the great thing that exalteth their Dignity Hom. 41. in 1. ad Cor. Hom. de Seraphim But there is another Power invested in them which is not inferior to the other which is that of binding and loosing of retaining and remitting of Sins It were to be wished that Men needed no Repentance but that they might keep their Baptismal purity without spot Hom. 15. in ep ad Cor. Hom. 3. in ep ad Eph. Hom. 17. in