man born blind the raising the dead c. others are such as exceed the common power of nature although there may be some secret and hidden causes of them that may lie within the compass of nature The first sort he saith are the only undoubted testimonies of truth but the other may be wrought by the Devils power either by local motion or the application of the power of natural Agents Of this sort saith he are the miracles done by false Christs and false Prophets and by Antichrist and among these he reckons all manner of cures when the diseases are not wholly incurable 2. He saith that miracles of this later sort are equivocal signs and may be referred to different causes and therefore nothing can be determined by them considered in themselves because they may be done by a different power and for a different end When they are done for ostentation or delight or curiosity they cannot have God for their Author much less when they are wrought to confirm a false doctrine or for an evil end therefore when such miracles are wrought for confirmation of an error they have not God but the Devil for their cause For although they be aequivocal of themselves yet the determining of them to an evil end such as the confirmation of an error is takes away all aequivocalness in them 3. He asserts that true and proper miracles in the first sense although most commonly wrought by good men as Gods instruments yet may sometimes be done by wicked men and Hereticks and Infidels For which he instances in Balaam and those our Saviour mentions who should boast of the miracles they had wrought in his name which Christ doth not deny but only rejects them for being workers of iniquity and in Judas who wrought miracles with the other Apostles although we do not read that the Blessed Virgin or Joseph or John the Baptist ever wrought any He observes from St. Austin that God gives this power of miracles to evil men when he denies it to good 1. Lest the power should be attributed to the instrument or seem to take its vertue from thence 2. Because miracles are not wrought for the good of the efficient but for the good of others 3. Lest men should set a higher value upon miracles than upon true goodness and vertue For Saith he this is a false consequence such a man does miracles therefore he is approved or his doctrine such a place miracles are wrought in therefore such a place is approved for by this consequence wicked men Hereticks and Infidels would be approved of whom it is certain that they have wrought miracles 4. Such kind of miracles though they may be done by Hereticks can never be wrought sor the confirmation of error for that were to charge God himself with falshood but miracles of the other sort he grants may be wrought for the confirmation os errors because they are such as do not exceed the Devils power and in this case to know whether they come from God or the Devil must be taken from the end for which they are wrought as he shews from S. Austin From which discourse of Lingendes it follows â—hat since the confirmation of Christian Reâ—igion by miracles the only certain way of â—istinguishing true and deceitful miracles is from the end for which they were wrought For he grants that to all outward appearance Hereticks and false Christians may do as great â—s any nay God himself may use them as his Instruments to confirm Truth by but we are sure God cannot imploy his Power to confirm a falshood Since therefore we are forewarned that men shall appear with such signs and lying wonders as would if it were possible deceive the very Elect since no distinction can be made from the things themselves between the effects of a created invisible power and of a divine in most things which pass for miracles since Hereticks may be Gods instruments in the most divine miracles for a good end it necessarily follows that the pretence of miracles is far from proving the truth and infallibility of the Church wherein they are wrought till it be made appear that they are truly divine miracles that they are wrought for this end to prove this Churches infallibility and that the Churches infallibility doth not contradict any part of that doctrine which hath been already confirmed by the miracles of Christ and his Apostles 2. They can never prove that the miracles wrought in the Roman Church were wrought for no other end but to prove the Infallibility of their Church When Christ and his Apostles wrought miracles to prove their Infallibility they wrought the miracles themselves and declared that this was the end for which they were wrought that men might believe that they were Teachers sent from God but there is nothing like this in the miracles of the Roman Church They are generally pretended to be done at some Shrine or Monument or by a vision of some Saint and among the most credulous people but by no means for the satisfaction of Infidels or Hereticks whose very presence is enough to spoil a well contrived miracle but supposing the things true which are reported what doth a restored Leg to a poor Boy at Zaragosa in Spain signifie to the proof of the Roman Churches Infallibility or Father Marcellus his cure at Naples by a vision of Xaverius to the proof of Pius the fourths Creed If they will prove any thing by this way of miracles let their Missionaries here among us whom they account Infidels and Hereticks do the same things that Christ and his Apostles did for the conversion of Jews and Gentiles Let them heal all manner of diseases as pubâ—â—ckly as commonly as perfectly as suddenâ—y as they did and with no more art or cereâ—ony let us see them raise the dead and not â—hink we will be put off with painted Straws 〈◊〉 counterfeit Trances which we hope they â—re ashamed of themselves such things I asâ—â—ure them tend not to the credit of their â—ower of miracles among us and do not much â—elp our faith in the belief of things done at â— great distance and in such places where credulity and superstition reign If you do miracles in earnest do them before enemies as Christ and his Apostles did give us leave to stand by that we may be satisfied from the circumstances of them that they are true miracles and wrought to testifie that your Teachers are sent from God But you do not pretend to work miracles to confirm the Authority of your Teachers for then of all persons your Popes should work the greatest miracles and the Bishops who sit in General Councils among whom this Infallibility is lodged therefore there is no parallel between the miracles done in the Church of Rome and those which were wrought by Christ or his Apostles If all that had been pleaded in the Apostles times for their divine commission had been only that a poor Boy had his
Imprimatur Sam. Parker R. in Christo Patri ac D no. D no. Gilberto Arch. Episc. Cantuar. Ã sac Dom. April 15. 1673. A SECOND DISCOURSE IN VINDICATION OF THE Protestant Grounds of Faith Against the Pretence of INFALLIBILITY In the ROMAN CHURCH In Answer to The Guide in Controversies by R. H Protestancy without Principles AND Reason and Religion or the Certain Rule of Faith by E. W. With a particular Enquiry into the Miracles of the Roman Church By Edward Stillingfleet D. D. Chaplain in Ordinary to His Majesty LONDON Printed by R. W. for H. Martlock at the Sign of the Phoenix in St. Paul's Church-Yard and at the White Hart in Westminster Hall 1673. To the Right Honourable ANTHONY Earl of SHAFTSBURY Lord High Chancellour OF ENGLAND c. My Lord I HOPE it will not be thought unseasonable to make an Address of this nature to Your Lordship in the Beginning of Term since the great Cause at present in Your Court as one of late pleasantly said is thaet between the King and the Pope between our Church and the Church of Rome And while so many Witnesses are daily sworn of the Kings and the Churches side it may not be improper to lay open to Your Lordship the Nature and Merits of the Cause A Cause My Lord which was at first set on Foot by Ambition carried on by Faction and must therefore be maintained by the like means but can never hope to prevail among us again till subjection to a Forreign Power can be thought our Interest and to part at once with Reason and Religion be esteemed our Honour It is a Cause much of the nature of some others depending before Your Lordship more vexatious than difficult and managed by such Advocates who being retained in the Cause though they have nothing material to say for it yet are ashamed to be silent Who are alwayes disputing about an end of Controversies but at the same time do their utmost to increase and perpetuate them and are ready to foment our differences that they may make use of them to their own advantage While we have such restless Adversaries to deal with part of our danger lyes in being too secure of the Goodness of our Cause and methinks there can be little satisfaction in lying still or quarrelling with each other when we know our common enemies to be at work undermining of us But whatever repose others enjoy my Adversaries seem to deal with me as some do with those whom they suspect of Witchcraft they think by pinching me so often and keeping me from taking rest to make me say at last as they would have me But the comfort is as long as I am secure of my senses I am of my Religion against theirs if I once lose them or my understanding I know not whether it may be my fortune to be carried to Rome or some more convenient place And in my opinion they deal with those under their care as if they believed them not to be in their right senses for they keep them alwayes in the dark and think nothing more dangerous than to let in light upon them Wherein I cannot deny but considering the nature of their Cause they take the most effectual course to maintain it for it not being capable of enduring a severe tryal nothing can preserve its reputation but Ignorance and Credulity which are therefore in so great esteem among them that if it were a Custome to Canonize Things as well as Persons we might find those sacred names in their Litanies and addresses as solemn made to them as ever were to Faith and Vertue among the elder and wiser Romans I need not go far for an Instance of their design to advance even in this Inquisitive Age the Honour of these two great Pillars of their Church For if your Lordship shall be pleased to cast Your eye on the following Discourse especially that part which concerns the Miracles of the Roman Church You will find fufficient evidence of it almost in every Page When I first engaged in this Controversie I could hardly believe what I now see that they would ever have brought it to this issue with me viz. That they would renounce all claim to Infallibility if they did not produce as great Miracles wrought in their Church to attest it as ever were wrought by Christ or his Apostles The boldness of which assertion and the pernicious influence of it upon Christianity it self hath made me take the more pains in the examination of it Which I have done with so much care in consulting their own approved Authors that I hope at last they will grow ashamed of that groundless calumny that I do not deal fairly in the citing of them A calumny so void of proof that I could desire no better argument of a baffled Cause than such impertinent Clamours But if impudent sayings will serve their turn they need never fear what can be written against them Do they indeed think me a man so void of common sense as to expose my self so easily to the contempt of every one that will but take pains to compare my citations Have I the Books only in my own keeping or are they so rare that they cannot get a sight of them How then come they to know them to be false quoted But alas they are men of business and have not leisure to search out and compare Books and therefore the shortest way is to say that without doubt they are all false Their numbers certainly are not so small nor their business so great but they might have spared some to have undertaken this task particularly if I had been faulty and in my mind it had been of some consequence to have freed their Church from those heavy imputations of Fanaticism and destroying the necessity of a good life from the Testimony of their own Authors But if these could not move them I desire them not to spare me in this present subject of Miracles wherein I profess to relye on the Testimony of their own Writers if they shew me any wilful mistakes therein I will endeavour to give them publick satisfaction Were I not well assured My Lord of the Strength of my Evidence as well as of the Goodness of my Cause I should never have appeared in it before a Person of so sharp and piercing a Judgement as Your Lordship But I have the rather presumed to offer this Discourse into Your Lordships hands and to send it abroad under the Protection of Your Name not only thereby to acknowledge the particular Favours I have received from Your Lordship but to thank You on a more publick Account I mean for Your late generous owning the Cause of our Religion and Church in so Critical a time which not only gives a present Lustre to Your Name but will preserve it with Honour to Posterity I am My Lord Your Lordships most obliged and faithful Servant Edward Stillingfleet The Contents CHAP. 1. An answer to
of Rome confess that it was not always necessary but least on the other side they should seem hereby to forego the Palladium of that Church they do withall say that sometimes Faith may begin there and so run into the very same absurdities that the others do For if one man can resolve his Faith well so why not a hundred why not a thousand why not all Christians If all cannot do it without running into a circle neither can one for the process of Faith is alike in all Not that the same means are used to all persons for it is evident that men believe upon different grounds but what is absurd if a thousand do it is equally absurd if but one do it Although the Guide â—n Controversies doth not suppose it necessary â—or men to resolve their Faith into the Churches Infallibility yet he doth suppose â—hat some men may do it Well then we will put the case that any one person doth reâ—olve his Faith concerning Gods Revelation â—nto the Churches Infallibility as the ground of his divine Faith I desire to be informed by this worthy Guide whether he doth not run into the same absurdities which all would do if they proceeded that way i. e. whether it be any more possible for one to free himself from a circle than for all Is not the reason assigned by Canus and Layman and Lugo this viz. because the Churches Infallibility iâ— one of the things to be believed as revealed by God and therefore cannot be the ground of Faith to any And will not this reason exclude any one person from doing it that resolves his Faith as he ought to do So that if this hold in any one being drawn from the reason of the thing and not from the circumstances of persons it must equally hold against all persons and consequently no one person can reasonably establish his Faith as to Gods Revelation upon the Churches Infallibility § 6. 3. I am far from understanding this way of immediate asseâ—â—t to the divine Revelation I grant the reason against proceeding furtheâ— to be very good for the Guide could see nâ— passage that way but over rocks and precipices and therefore finds out a shorter cut by asserting an immediate assent to the Divinâ— Revelation But to what divine Revelation doth he mean The Authority of Soripture Churches Infallibility Apostolical Tradition or any of these It is all one to me which it is for it is equally unreasonable to alloâ— any of them For I look upon Faith aâ— an act of the mind which must always have a reason moving it to assent Even in self evident Propositions where the assent is most immediate yet there is the greatest and clearest reason for it viz. the evidence of the thing which makes the understanding never hesitate or doubt but yield a firm assent upon the first apprehension and proportionable to the reason and evidence of the thing or of the motive enclining to assent so is the readiness and firmness of it But to assert an assent in Faith so immediate of which no motive or reason can be assigned proportionable to it is a thing repugnant to the nature of our reasonable faculties and it is to make one of the noblest acts of our understandings a meer blind and bruitish assent All that we enquire for is a sufficient reason to move our minds to believe in the act of divine Faith which is seen in all the acts of humane Faith For no man can reasonably believe what another saith or that he hath said so but he is able to give an account of both of them And it would be very strange that in the most weighty matters of Faith on which mens eternal happiness and misery depend they should be obliged to assent in such an immediate manner that they can have no good account to give of their divine Faith Yes â—aith the Guide an account may be given â—o make this assent appear prudent by the moâ—ives of credibility But that is not the thing we enquire for but a sufficient foundation for divine Faith and as to this he asserts â—hat our Faith doth immediately rest upon divine Revelation without proceeding to another Revelation for the ground of it But now then can this divine Faith have a divine Revelation for its ground It may have it for its material object which comes not under our consideration but only the formal object on motive of that Faith as to this Revelation We will suppose the Churches Infallibility to be the matter believed I demand a reason why this is to be believed The Answer is because God hath revealed it in his Word there the Qâ—estion returns what reason have you to believe that to be the Word of God Here the Guide cries out stand there if you proceed a step further you are lost For if you say upon another Revelation then that upon another and so without end But say I you tell me I must believe this to be Gods Word with a divine Faith and this divine Faith must rest upon a divine Revelation as its formal cause assign me that or you overthrow the nature of divine Faith what divine Revelation is there for this Faith to rest upon None say you but here it must stop if so then it is certain by your own principles this either can be no divine Faith or else divine Faith doth not always need a divine Revelation So that this way of the resolution of Faith overthrows it self and needs no other opposition but of one part to another § 7. 4. It may be all this may be cleared by the Assistance of the Holy Ghost supplying the want of another Revelation by its illuminating and confirming the mind So the Tragoedians of old call'd down the Gods upon the Stage when they could extricate themselves by no other means Not that I do in the least doubt the efficiency of the divine Spirit in the act and exercise of Faith or that God by secret and unexpressible ways may strengthen and increase Grace in the hearts of men which thereby become better assured of the â—hings they believe But the Question now â—s whether our Faith as to the motive and â—eason of it can or ought to be resolved into â—he illumination of the Holy Ghost And in â—ruth after all his turnings and windings the Guide sits down at last in the grossest way of resolving divine faith into the Testimony of the Holy Ghost For he saith that doth â—lluminate the understanding that the prime verity cannot lie in whatever thing it reveals and also that the particular articles of our faith are its revelations Was ever any â—hing more fully said to this purpose by the highest Calvinists or Enthusiasts Have the â—isputants of the Church of Rome hitherâ—o charged them with a circle in this â—esolution of faith equal with theirs between the Church and Scripture and hath the very Guide in Controversies found no way to escape one whirlpool but by
that of the Image of St. Francis for to convince a certain Frier from the mark of the wound in his side fresh blood was seen to run from which time he most firmly believed them And can we think that St. â—homas his putting his hands into the wounds of our Saviours side was half so strong an evidence of the truth of Christs resurrection as the bleeding of an Image was of the wounds of St. Francis No no although a Body may deceive a Picture cannot Are not these now doughty miracles and attested with such uncontrolable evidence that they ought to be compared with those of Christ and his Apostles § 8. Before I dispatch this first head in shewing upon what uncertain reports miracles are received and believed in the Roman Church I shall give an account of some of them nearer home by which we may judge how far the Miracles boasted of by E. W. ought in point of credibility to be compared with those of Christ and his Apostles I hope none will deny that there are some bounds to be set to our belief of reports concerning miracles for although Gods omnipotency hath no bounds yet we are not to think that God doth equally imploy his power in all things nor at all times nor as often as men shall please to say he doth it In many cases it is very hard to determine the farthest extent of the power of nature and punctually to shew what is a miracle and what not for the power of meer natural causes may lie secret and hidden from us yet from a continual observation of the course of nature a certain sphere may be fixed within which the effects of nature are contained As that a body being once truly dead cannot of it self come to life again that there are some diseases at such a height as to be incurable by natural means in these cases the raising of such a body to life the curing of such diseases being done frequently publickly and in an instant are great arguments of a miraculous and divine power And this we say was the case of the miracles of Christ and his Apostles but from hence men ought not to abuse mankind and because the power of God is unlimited therefore to say that the most extravagant foolish and idle imaginations of men because they have passed without proof for miracles among credulous people must still be received for such For is it reasonable that because we believe that nothing is impossible with God therefore we must not question that so many Saints walked with their heads off or did such extravagant things as the makers of the lives of the Saints tell us For it was not only St. Denis of France of whom that is reported but our own Ecclesiastical stories will acquaint us with many other Instances of a like nature So Mr. Cressy tells us of St. Justinian the martyr that when his head was cut off his body presently rose and taking the head between the two arms went down to the Sea shore and walking thence on the Sea passed over to the port called by his name and being arrived in the place where a Church is now built to his memory he fell down and was there buried by St. David with admirable hymns and canticles So the same grave historian relates of St. Ositha that as soon as her head was cut off her body presently rose and taking up the head in the hands by the conduct of Angels walked firmly the straight way to the Churches of St. Peter and St. Paul about a quarter of a mile distant from the place of her suffering and when it was come there it knocked at the door with the bloody hands as desiring that it might be opened and thereon left marks of blood Having done this it fell there down to the ground To the same purpose he tells of St. Clarus whose head being cut off presently after arose and with his hands taking up his head by the assistance of Angels carried it to a fountain not far distans into which he cast it and then carried the same back to the Oratory of his Cell and going on a little further towards a Village seated near the River Epta he there consummated his course and transmited his blessed soul to Heaven And of St. Decumanus he writes that when his head was cut off from his Body the trunk raising it self up took the head which it carried from the place where he was slain to a spring not far of which flowed with a most Christalline water in which with the hands it washed the blood away So St. Juthwara with her own hands took up her head being cut off and to the astonishment of all as we may easily imagine carried it back steadily into the Church These are pretty good instances for one that takes it so ill that his History should be called the great Legend What can be imagined more absurd and be supposed to be done to less purpose than such foppish miracles as these But I extreamly wonder at his niceness in omitting some others of a like nature delivered by a late infallible Author called Oral Tradition As St. Maxentia's being beheaded and carrying her head in her hands for which Capgrave quotes nothing less than infallible Oral Tradition for saith he faithful people have received this from their Fathers by certain tradition And have their late men better any argument than this for transubstantiation invocation of Saints c. Why forsooth can it be imagined that Fathers should go about to deceive their Children did not they who saw it know the truth of what they saw would not they speak truth to their Children how could then any errour or mistake come into the belief of the faithful None certainly Why then it is a demonstration that St. Maxentia did after her â—ead was cut off from her body carry it in her bâ—nds Can any thing be more demonstrative than this And by the same arguments we are assured that the Head of St. Melorus being cut off out of great pity to Cerialtanus his murtherer being in a great thirst bad â—im thrust his staff into the ground and he should immediately see a spring to arise thence with which he might plentifully quench his thirst Was not the head of this Saint very charitable and kind to his murtherer Now this which was a principal part of the story Mr. Cressy seems in a very sullen humour to leave out although he takes the rest from Capgrave of which I can only give this account for I have no reason to question Mr. Cressy's faith or good will that Alford from whom he translates his history only refers to Capgrave and doth not relate enough for Mr. Cressy to make up the Legend The like omission he is guilty of about another miracle concerning him viz. that when by the command of his Uncle his right hand and left foot were cut off and he had a
Leg cut off and strangely restored or that some persons were suddenly cured of a dangerous disease by the vision of an Apostle would this have ever satisfied the world that the Apostles were Persons sent from God and assisted by an infallible Spirit Supposing the matters of Fact were true it might be reasonably demanded why God might not do such extraordinary cures in some rare cases without making that Company of men infallible among whom they are done For we see their own Writers acknowledge that God may do real miracles even among Pagans and Infidels to give testimony to his universal Providence And Suarez particularly distinguisheth in this case of miracles saying that a miracle may be wrought two ways 1. Without respect to any truth at all to be confirmed by it but only for the benefit of him that receives it as in case of a miraculous cure or such like 2. When it is wrought purposely to confirm the truth of a doctrine Now I say supposing I should grant all that E. W. contends for as to the truth of the two miracles he insists so much upon viz. the cure of F. Marcellus and the restored Leg at Zaragosa what can this prove as to their Churches infallibility if according to Suarez such miracles may be wrought only for the benefit of those who receive them Del-Rio saith this is no good consequence such a one wrought miracles therefore his faith is true because God may work miracles by Insidels but this consequence he saith is good such a one wrought miracles to confirm the faith which he professed therefore his saith is true because God cannot work miracles purposely to confirm a falshood But withall he saith elsewhere that the faith being now established there is little or no necessity of miracles to confirm it Supposing then some true miracles to be wrought in the Roman Church what consequence can be thence drawn for that Churches infallibility in doctrine if those miracles are not wrought for that end as E. W. never undertook to prove that they were And if the consequence will not hold as to a particular person for the truth of his faith from the bare working of miracles neither can it for the truth or infallibility of a Church for the same reason for if God may work miracles by Infidels he may likewise in a false or corrupt Church Maldonat another Jesuit confesseth that since the Christian Religion hath been confirmed by miracles in the Churches beginning there is no necessity of miracles for that end and quotes Gregory and Bede for it who compare the power of miracles to the watering of a plant which is only needâ—ul at first and is given over when it hath taken root So that whatever miracles they suppose to remain in the Church they do not look on them as wrought for the confirmation of any necessary part of Christian faith such as the Churches Infallibility is asserted to be by E. W. Andradius saith that miracles are oftimes false but always weak proofs of a true Church Ferus that the doctrine of a Church is not to be proved by miracles but miracles by the doctrine viz. because Christ hath forewarned us of false Prophets doing so many signs and wonders So that Acosta saith that in the time of Antichrist it will be a hard matter to discern true and false signs when these later shall be many and great and very like the true and he quotes it from Hippolytus whom he calls an antient Writer that Antichrist shall do far greater miracles than the cure of Marcellus or the restored Leg at Zaragosa viz. that be shall raise the dead as well as cure the diseased and have command over all the elements And I would understand from E. W. whether Antichrists Church will not then be proved as insallible in this way as the Church of Rome Cajetan determines that the Church hath no ground to determine any matter of doctrine now on the account of miracles because the Dâ—vil may do such things which we cannot distinguish from true miracles as in great cures c. and because signs were given for unbelievers but the Church â—ow hath the Revelation of Prophets and Apostles to proceed by and because miracles prove only a personal faith i. e. of one that saith he is sent from God and because the doctrine of the Scripture is delivered to us with so much certainty that if an Angel from Heaven should deliver any thing contrary to it we are not to believe him and lastly because the most authentick testimonies of miracles among them viz. in the Canonization of Saints are not altogether certain because it is written every man is a lyer and he supposes that faith must stand on a more infallible certainty than that of their miracles And many of their most learned Writers do assert that there can be no certainty of the truth of any miracles among them but from the Churches approbation which is in effect to say they do not believe the Church infallible because of their miracles but they believe their miracles to be true because they believe their Church to be infallible For which Paulus Zacchias gives this reason because wicked men and Devils may not only do miracles in appearance but such as are really so as the instruments of divine Power and because credulous people are very apt to be deceived with false miracles instead of true And after he hath laid down the conditions of a true miracle he hath a chapter on purpose to enquire why since miracles very rarely happen yet so many are still pretended to in the Roman Church One cause he assigns of it is the monstrous credulity of their people in this matter of miracles who make so many that he saith if they were to be believed miracles would be almost as common as the ordinary effects of nature for no odd or unusual accident happens but among them passes for a miracle no man escapes out of a dangerous disease especially if by the disturbance of his Fancy he imagines he had a vision of some Saint as Xaverius or the like but he gives out he obtained his recovery by a miracle no man avoids any great danger or trouble if he chanced to think of the Blessed Virgin in it or made any addresses to some Saint for I do not find that praying to God or Christ is so effectual for miracles as praying to the Saints is but this is cryed up for a miracle Riolanus gives the relation of a man that was hanged and his body delivered to the Physitians to be dissected who found there was some lise in him and by letting blood and other means they recovered him who afterwards returning to his own Country Oetingen where there was a celebrated image of the Blessed Virgin this very recovery was there painted for a substantial miracle But to return to Zacchias miracles saith he are made so common among
and Hieronymus Brizids and the rest of the subscribers as great Friends to the Church of Rome and as much conceâ—ned for the honour of it as Soâ—rates could be for the Novatians why then should their testimony for the restored Legat Zâ—ragosa be more creditable than Socrates his for Paulus the Novatian Bishop So that if interest takes away all authority in these matters then we cannot safely believe the Testimony of any in the Church of Rome for the miracles wrought in it if notwithstanding that the Authority of witnesses stands good then miracles may be wrought in heretical or schismatical Churches and consequently can prove nothing as to the truth or infallibility of the Church But neither the Novatians nor Arians nor Donatists were convicted of so many forgeries in this matter of miracles as those of the Church of Rome have been they never thoâ—ght it lawful that we can find to teâ—l lies for the honour of their Church both which we have already proved concerning the reporters of miracles in the Roman Church and therefore their Testimony ought more to be suspected in this matter than that of honest Heathens or Hereticks 2. They answer that notwithstanding all the outward appearance of miracles the things done by them might be no true miracles So Malderus goes on saying that the pretended miracle of Paulus the Novatian Bishop was not such as did exceed the power of the Devil And Bellarmin grants that there can be no infallible certainty of the truth of a miracle before the approbation of the Church the reason he gives is this because though the Devil can do no true miracles yet he can do the greatest to appearance Now I would sain understand this how miracles can prove the truth and infallibility of the Church if the truth of miracles depends upon the Churches approbation i. e. whether I must not first believe the Church to be true before I can possibly be certain whether a miracle be true or not I know Bellarmin saith that the Church is proved by miracles not as to infallible certainty but as to the evidence of credibility But what evidence of credibility can there be from miracles where no one can be certain whether they be miraclâ—s or not For the making faith credible by miracles doth suppose those miracles to be first certainly known to be such but in this case if the power of the Devil can extend so far as that no certain difference can be assigned between true and apparent miracles but from the Churches approbation how is it possible the Church should be certainly known by miracles if the miracles cannot be certainly known but by the Church So that for us to distinguish the miracles done by Hereticks and those in the Catholick Church we must appeal to the judgement of the Catholick Church and yet our way to know which is the Catholick Church saith E. W. and his Brethren must be by miracles i. e. we must know a man by such marks which we cannot know to be the marks of such a man till we first know the man But it may be others speak more consistently and reasonably in this matter and therefore 3. They answer that although Hereticks may do real miracles yet not for the confirmation of their heresie but of some common truth So the same Malderus saith that the Novatian miracle being granted to be true doth not confirm the errour of the Novatians but the truth of the Sacrament for the Jew was baptized before by the Arians and Macedonians So 〈◊〉 Medina salves the miracles wrought among the Pagans that they did give testimony to divine providence and not to their particular superstitions Fevardentius confesses the Church hath never determined that Hereticks cannot work true miracles and that those who hold the affimative have plain Testimonies of Fathers for them which he there mentions If this be true then miracles now can prove nothing as to the Truth or infallibility of the Church when the communions of Christians are different from each other for the miracles wrought may only be for the attestation of some common truths received among all Christians or to manifest the Providence of God to the world Among their late writers none hath considered this difficulty with more care and diligence than Father Lingendes hath done both with a respect to the miracles of Heathens and Hereticks To which he thus answers 1. That for the most paâ—t they were false and counterseit at least they were not true miracles if the name of miracle be taken strictly and properly for saith he either they were meer illusions of the senses or they did not exceed any created power either in the substance or the manner of them and therefore the Devils might easily effâ—ct them 2. That some circumstances did discover the imposture when true miracles were wrought in opposition to them as in Pharaohs Magicians and Simon Magus otherwise God would not permit evil men to work miracles 3. That God hath given a most certain rule for the tryal of miracles viz. God is faithful and cannot deny himself and therefore he cannot be the Author of miracles whereby things contrary to each other are confirmed Wherefore saith he if a saith once established by miracles be impugned by other miracles we are to believe the latter miracles to be meer imposture For the Apostle tells us that Jesus Christ is not yea and nay but a Yea and Amen and although we or an Angel from heaven preach another Gospel let him be Anathema See the wisdom of the Apostle He brings us back to the first preaching which was not lightly established but with innumerable miracles which were most certain and most manifest from whence he concludes that all others that are brought to confirm any doctrine contrary to this ought to be rejected But of what sort even though an Angel or an Apostle should preach another doctrine for saith he among things impossible that is the most impossible that God should lie which is far more impossible than that an Angel should and consequently what God hath once attested by miracles can be less salse than when an Angel hath attested or the Apostle spake this that by this means we may discover the Devil when he transforms himself into an Angel of light 4. If any true miracles were wrought among Heathens and Infidels as it may be some were yet none were ever wrought to confirm any falshood or error but for some truth or some benefit to mankind among which he reckons the miracles of Claudia the Roman Lady and of the vestal virgin to give testimony to their innocency After this he descends to a more particular examination of the miracles of Hereticks and false Christians and as to these he lays down these propositions 1. That miracles are of two kinds some strictly and properly so called which are effects exceeding all created Powers either as to the substance or the manner of them as the curing a