these are the things which defile the soul Mat. 15.19 which is also confirmed by experience for in all our voluntary actions we first think before we do whereby it is sufficiently manifest unto any reasonable man that all the miseries and calamities which heretofore have been or now are in the world or hereafter shall be originally proceed from evill thoughts wherefore if we could but plant the Nurse of pious thoughts amongst men we should in great part at least ease them of their miseries contentions civill warres Sects and brawls Neither would the planting of pious thoughts amongst mankind be a thing of so great a difficulty to bring to passe if they would but firmly and constantly believe the truth in this matter which is that evill thoughts do not only separate and divide one man from another and bring in all those calamities and miseries which we daily see amongst men but also divide man from God make divisions even in himself and deprive him of his everlasting weal as witnesse the Scriptures saying Perverse thoughts separate from God Wisd 1.3 Again in the same chapter The Holy Ghost will withdraw himself from the thoughts that are without understanding and yet more Jn the thoughts of the impious there shall be examination and the hearing of his works shall come to God to the chastising of his iniquities Again evill thoughts are abhomination to our Lord Prover 11.16 Whereupon God further saith by the Prophet I say take away the evill of your thoughts from mine eys Jsa 1.16 Again Let the impious forsake his wayes and the unjust man his thoughts and return to our Lord and he will have mercy upon him Isa 55.7 Again Woe be to you who think that which is unprofitable Micheas 2.1 And with these agree the Prophet Zachary saying Think ye not every man in your heart evill against his friend and a lying â—â—th love ye not for all these things are such as J hate saith the Lord Zach. 8.17 Thus the Sctiptures of the miseries and wretchednesse which accompany evill thoughts Now what man is there who is indued with reason and will be sensible of his own good or evill that the aforesaid miseries considered will not hate all impious thoughts and be glad of the means how to nourish in himselfe pious thoughts especially the Scripture saying He who thinketh to do evill shall be called a fool Prov. 24.6 of whom our Saviour saith Thou fool this night they the divells require thy soul of thee and the things which thou hast provided by wicked thoughts whose shall they be Luk. 12.20 for he saith S. Hieruome upon this aforesaid Text is truly to be called a foole who consenteth in his thoughts to the suggestion of sin although to the eys of men he seem never so wise For the aforesaid reasons our dear Lord and Saviour being carefull of the good and salvation of mankind reprehendeth man for his evill thoughts saying Wherefore think ye evill in your hearts Mat. 9.4 And S. Paul knowing the many miseries and wretchednesse which attend upon impious thoughts exhorteth all men to practise and nourish in themselves pious thoughts saying Brethren what things soever be true whatsoever honest whatsoever just whatsoever holy whatsoever amiable whatsoever of good fame if there be any vertue if any praise of discipline those things think upon Phil. 4.8 and for a reward of nourishing such pious thoughts addeth and the God of peace shall be with you whereupon S. Chrysostome upon this Text saith You may see how S. Paul would cast all wicked thoughts out of our minds for from evill thoughts all wicked deeds proceed From hence it is that the Prophet calleth those happy who presently correct or kill their evill thoughts which he calleth Daughters of Babylon saying daughter of Babylon Blessed is he that shall hold and shall crush thy little ones against the rock Psal 136.9 who are these little ones of Babylon saith S. Augustine upon this Text but our arising evill desires when it is a little one or as soon as it ariseth crush it We kill our little ones saith S. Gregory in the end of his expositions upon the fourth Penitentiall Psalme against the rock when we mortifie or kill the first unlawfull motions or thoughts by an intention to follow Christ for Christ was the rock 1 Cor. 10.6 Almighty God foreseeing so many evills to proceed from wicked thoughts to prevent those miseries of the ten Commandements which he gave unto men two of them are against vicious thoughts saying Thou shalt not covet thy neighbours house neither shalt thou desire his wife Exod. 20.17 and writ them in the hearts of all people Rom. 2.15 whereupon Juvenal an heathen Poet in his third Satyr saith He who shall think any secret wickednesse within himself is guilty of the fact And Valerâ—us Maximus in the second chapter of his seventh book reporteth that Thales the Philosopher being demanded whether God were ignorant of the works of men answered No not of their thoughts wherefore saith he we ought not only to have pure hands but also pure minds seeing that we should believe the divine Godhead to be present at our secret thoughts From hence also if is that Alexander the Great as affirmeth S. Basil in his twenty fourth Homily knew that it was an offence by beholding to covet a woman in thought although he did not accomplish the fact And Cieero a morall man writing divers books of Offices unto his Son Mark for the well disposing of his life in his first book not farre from the beginning amongst other things admonisheth him That in all his opinions and deeds he should neither do nor think any thing libidinese lecherously the light of Nature teaching even the more morall sort of heathen men that evill thoughts were corrupters of good manners and originally the cause of all miseries and disorders and therefore desired that they might be avoided at least for the benefit of their Common-wealth CHAP. IV. The excellency of Pious thoughts and how good works and heroicall actions proceed from them THe substance of all mens souls are of one coelestiall incorruptible matter the difference between soul and soul in excellency beauty and purity in this life is the inherent grace infused vertues pious thoughts vertuous operations and in the other coelestiall splendour and everlasting blâ—sse which God bestoweth upon his servants all which in such as are baptized and of years of discretion of whom I intend only to treat depend upon the pious thoughts and vertuous operation of the soul in this life according to the words of our Lord saying Out of the heart come forth evill cogitations these are the things which defile the soul Mat. 15.19 of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh Mat. 12. Whereupon S. Paul saith that Christ is a Discerner or censurer of the cogitations and of the intent of the heart Heb. 4.12 God will not only examine our outward works and words but also our very
this craft of Satan believe Roman Catholikes really to be idolaters for the respect they bear to sacred images as they represent unto them pious thoughts and persecute them severely as idolaters to the losse of their own souls by their calumniations and cruelty with out cause Satan well knowing that the soul of man is so inclosed in his body that he cannot naturally understand supernaturall divine and invisible things but by some visible audible or sensible means and also that every vertuous action hath two vitious extremes as hath the use of signes pictures or images which extremes are superstition and prophanenesse and that it were a hard task for him to win men who formerly had been faithfull Christians to fall into superstition and publikely to use these or the like images signs or pictures as his similitudes and adore them to his honor and glory as if he were their God as he doth the Heathen and Gentiles suggesteth unto them in whom he hath power either to prophane them or wholly to deface or beat them down that though he cannot directly and publikely apply them or the like to his honor as he doth amongst the Pagans yet by breaking disgracing or casting them down he may at least conduct men into ignorance misprision or contempt of divine holy and supernaturall things and the mysteries of our faith so to lead them into such a prophane and barbarous kind of life as that they shall not bear any affection either unto Religion or Superstition or unto any kind of Sect good or evill more then may serve them for a cloak to colour their barbarism or advance their temporall affâ—irs or not to be discovered that they are Atheists or prophane Wherefore to prevent this mischiefe and the utter ruine of our Nation by Atheisme and prophanenesse I have written this book of The Nurse of Pious Thoughts thereby at large to shew unto thee dear Reader that the relative religious worship which Roman Catholikes do give unto sacred pictures signs and images and the use they make of them is neither idolatry or any sin or misdemeanour as theâ—enemy of mankindâ— suggesteth but to nourish in themselves and others pious thoughts divine meditations and elevation of their soules to heavenly things thereby to keep out the divell from dwelling in their hearts or doing them any mischiefe and to conduct the Holy Ghost to their infinite comfort and consolation to dwell with them for ever which is that I wish unto thee Reader and so I rest Thy servant in Christ Jesu F. P. Philopater The Contents of the Chapters Chap. 1. WHat our thoughts be in generall and how they are visions or words or speeches of our hearts p. 1 Chap. 2. Of pious and impious thoughts and what pious thoughts are 5 Chap. 3. How all evills proceed from evil thoughts 8 Chap. 4. The excellency of pious thoughts and how good works and heroicall actions proceed from them 17 Chap. 5. How the thoughts commonly follow the senses and that the senses consented unto beget our thoughts 25 Chap. 6. The power which the senses have to move the mind to think good or evill as they present 28 Chap. 7. How pious objects and sacred pictures furnish our soules with pious thoughts 34 Chap. 8. The necessity of sacred artificiall pictures signes and images to the nourishing of pious thoughts and what we call sacred pictures and signes 40 Chap. 9. What we mean by a relative religious worship and of the distinction of honor and worship 48 Chap. 10. That a relative religious worship belongeth unto sacred things pictures signes and images as they immediately or mediately conduct us to God 55 Chap. 11. Almighty God never prohibited either the making of sacred pictures signes and images nor yet their relative religious worship 67. Chap. 12. That it is lawfull to make holy artificiall pictures signs and images which may immediately or mediately bring us to think upon God and heavenly things and place them in Churches or Temples 75 Chap. 13. That in time of peace when there is no persecution the pictures and images of Angels and Saints ought to be placed in Churches and there honored with a relative religious worship 86 Chap. 14. How the Nurse of Pious Thoughts doth not only consist in the having and beholding sacred pictures signes and images but also in giving unto them a relative religious worship not for the materiall things themselves but for the sacred things which they represent 101 Chap. 15. How free Roman Catholikes are from idolatry by worshipping of sacred pictures signs and images with relative religious worship 107 Chap. 16. By the second Commandement God commanded all men to honor and worship his name which is but a sacred sign picture or image of himself with a relative religious worship thereby to beget pious thoughts in our souls 118 Chap. 17. The third Commandement commandeth all men to honor and reverence the Sabbath day which is but a sacred sign 124 Chap. 18. Of the sweet name or sign of Jesus and how this name is to be worshipped with a relative religious worship above all names thereby to beget pious thoughts of Jesus above all things 132 Chap. 19. Greater honor to be given unto the name Jesus as it signifieth Christ our Lord then to any other name of God 138 Chap. 20. How terrible the name of Jesus is unto the divells when it is honored with a relative religious worship 149 Chap. 21. Many miracles wrought in confirmation of the relative honor and worship given to the name of Jesus 155 Chap. 22. Of the honor and glory of the Crosse of Christ as it representeth his person and passion and how it shall distinguish the faithfull from the followers of Antichrist 163 Chap. 23. That the faithfull in the Primitive Church used a relative religious worship towards the sacred signe of the Crosse 173 Chap. 24. The Crosse adored with a relative religious worship in the Primitive Church not for the matter but for the holy passion of our Saviour which it representeth 191 Chap. 25. Of four sacred images which were made of Christ our Lord whilest be lived upon earth and of the religious relative honor done unto them to the inriching of their minds with pious thoughts 205 Chap. 26. Of the enemies of the Crosse and sacred images and of the miseries that befell them 214 Chap. 27. The relative religious worship which the faithfull in the Primitive Church used towards the sacred pictures signes and images of the written Word and thereby learned the true sense and indued their soules with pious thoughts 223 Chap. 28. Answer to objections 24â— The Conclusion 263 The Nurse of Pious Thoughts CHAP. I. What our thoughts be in generall and how they are visions or words or speeches of our hearts BEfore we enter into a discourse how to nourish pious thoughts it is necessary first to speak of thoughts in generall what they be and how they have place in our souls Then secondly
a gift given by God the Father unto his Son Iesus that all his creatures which have understanding shall do honor and worship to the name of Jesus as it hath relation unto his Son he must be in the nature of an Infidell or beast who will not put off his hat or incline his head or bend his knee at it whether it be written ingraven or spoken S. Chrysostome in his Sermon of the praises of God set down in his fifth Tome so highly esteemed and reverenced this name of Iesus as it hath reference to Christ our Lord that he saith This name Jesus is a terror not only to those in hell but also to diseases and vices therefore lâ—t us challenge to our selves from it ornament and forces Thus S. Chrysostom whereupon Theophilact upon these words of S. Paul Whatsoever you do in word or in work all thingâ— in the name of our Lord Iesus Christ saith for the name of God driveth away divells and doth make all things easie unto thee and to succeed well which being so he is worthy to perish who will not beare a relative religious respect and honor unto this sacred name of Iesus From hence it is that Abulensis upon the twentieth chapter of Exodus saith That it is a greater-sin to take the name of Jesus in vain then that of God And giving a reason addeth The common and laudable custome of the Church doth more honor that name of Jesus then this of God From whence it is that the devout faithfull people as soon as they hear the name of Jesus either bow down their heads or bend their knees which they do not when they hear the name of God he therefore who doth offend against this custome dishonoring the name of Jesus doth commit a greater sin then he who dishonoreth the name of God Thus Abulensis of the outward and inward relative religious honor and worship which the Church of God hath alwayes given unto the name of Iesus because it is the proper name of the Word Incarnate and of God as he is our Redeemer a name so much honored by S. Paul as that he not only hath it 219. times in his Epistles but also the faithfull perswading him with many tears that he would not go to Hierusalem because as the Prophet Agabus had foretold there he was to be taken prisoner and to be cast into bands by the Jewes he answered I am ready not only to be bound but to die also in Hierusalem for the name of our Lord Jesus Acts 21.13 After the people of Israel were conducted by God through the red Sea and delivered out of the hands of Pharoah and the Egyptians Wisdome saith that they sung thy O Lord Wisdome 10.20 If this the faithfull in the Old Law did because they were preserved out of the hands of their temporall enemies by the passage through the red Sea how much more ought Christians to sing and extoll the name of Iesus who by the red Sea of his bloud hath redeemed us from our infernall enemies and say with the Prophet All Nations shall glorifie thy name because thou art great and doing marvellous things thou only art God conduct me O Lord in thy way and I will walk in thy truth let my heart rejoyce that I may fear thy name I will confesse to thee O Lord my God with all my heart and I will glorifie thy name for ever because thy mercy is great upon me and thou hast delivered my soul from the lower hell Psal 85.9 O Lord our Lord how marvellous is thy name in the whole earth Psal 8.10 because thou hast magnified above every thing thy holy name Psal 137.2 the name of Jesus which is magnified above all names or temporall things whereupon S. Hilarius upon this Psalme saith J have manifested thy name to men and what name this was he shewed before saying Father the hour cometh cause thy son to be honored therefore he adoreth this name Now if the Prophet did adore the name of God not for the materiall letters or characters but for that it represented unto him an infinite goodnesse and greatnesse why should we now doubt whether we ought to adore and worship holy names pictures and signes which conduct us unto the same God with a relative religious worship seeing that it doth fill our souls with pious thoughts Again the same Saint saith upon the same Psalm He confesseth the Word made flesh in truth and the cause of his confession is taken from this because thou hast magnified above every thing thy name the name of God is not known to one Nation only but it is magnified above all things and the greatnesse of his sanctity is extended to all not a barbarous nor Soyth nor servant nor freeman neither woman nor man nor any age is exeluded from it for the name of God is magnified above all Temples fall downe Idols grow mute Oracles at the coming of the Saints are silent the credit of Augures is lost the only name of God is holy amongst all Nations Thus S. Hilary Arnobius also expounding this Psalm saith The Prophet doth confess unto his name because in the name of Jesus every knee shall bow of the things in heaven of the things upon earth and of these things under the earth and what doth he confesse unto his holy name he saith thy mercy and thy truth A soul doth confesse nothing else to God in the sight of the Angels but the mercy wherewith he is redeemed and the truth which he is taught what truth without all doubt this wherein his holy name is magnified above all things for this is a name which is above all names Thus these Fathers of the relative religious honor respect reverence which the faithful in their times bare unto this sacred name of Jesus as it representeth Christ our Lord and all his mercies and putteth into their minds pious thoughts And to conclude the relative religious respect which the Primitive Christians bare unto this sacred name of Jesus was such that Procopius an antient Father who lived above eleven hundred years past in his Commentaries upon the forty fourth of Esay affirmeth they caused it to be imprinted with an hot iron upon their bodies and now the world is ascended to that height of pride that there are found men who will not call themselvs Christians and yet not vouchsafe either to uncover their heads or bend their knees or incline their stiffe necks at this sacred name to verifie upon them the prophecy of S. Paul saying In the last times men shall be haughty proud stubborn puffed up and lovers of voluptuousnesse more then of God 2 Tim. 3. If at the reading or publishing of a Proclamation all who are well-affected toward the King or State put off their hats or bow or bend their heads at the name of the King or State politique how much more ought all Christians to do it at the holy name of Jesus which is a name
amongst the works of S. Athanasius speaketh of an image of Christ our Lord which Nicodemus who took him downe from the eross gave to Gamaliel which after many ages fell into the hands of the Jewes at Berith who out of spite to our Saviour spit upon it struck it with a reed crucified it and pierced the side thereof with a spear whereat bloud and water issued out which cured all diseases as is more at large set down in the said history to manifest it is that sacred images have alwayes beene in use amongst Catholique Christians and that a relative religious worship ought to be bestowed upon them seeing that even from our Saviours time the faithfull have practised it and God hath been pleased to confirme their piety by miracles CHAP. XXVI Of the enemies of the Crosse and sacred Images and of the miseries that befell Images and of the miseries that befell them THe first enemy that the cross had was Satan who lived long with the Apostles who as S. Ignatius in his Epistle to the Phillipenses saith Before the cross was framed the divel laboured that it might be made and to that purpose he wrought with the children of disobedience in Judas in the Pharisees in the Sadduces in old men in young in the Priests but after that the cross was finished he was troubled moved Judas to repent shewed him a halter and taught him how to hang himselfe with it he terrified and troubled the same woman in her sleep that is to say Pilates wife spoken of in the 27. of S. Mathew and he endeavoured that they should cease from crucifying who before had laboured by all means that the same cross should be had in a readinesse not that he repented him of so great an evill for so he should have beene less wicked but now he begun to apprehend his own destruction for the cross of Christ was to be the chiefest cause of his condemnation death and perdition therefore he worketh it in many that they should deny the cross and be ashamed of the passion and affirme that Christ tasted death only in opinion c. for the divel is divers and sundry ways the author of all evill deceiving mens minds by false reasons Thus S. Ignatius to demonstrate unto us that the first enemy of the cross was the divel The second enemies of the cross were the Jewes who as S. Ignatius in the same place before cited affirmeth the divell stirred up to deny the cross who also unto this day remain reprobate The third were the Gentiles whom as the said S. Jgnatius in the same place affirmeth calumniated the cross of witchcraft or inchantment as divers do at this day The fourth were certaine Libertine Christians and Apostates who in the Apostles times fell from the faith denied the cross and put their whole felicity in sensuall life and carnall pleasure of whom S. Paul speaketh saying Many walk whom often I have told you of and now weeping also I tell you enemies of the cross of Christ whose end is destruction whose God is the belly and their glory in their confusion who mind worldly things Phil. 3.18 Thus S. Paul against certaine Heretikes who in his time were enemies of the cross of Christ and gave themselves to luxury gluttony and sensual delights casting off abstinence temperance continency mortification and austere life which the crosse doth teach us which heresie then took root not onely in Juda but in Greece in divers of his Epistles doth so extoll the cross of Christ as to affirm that he knew nothing but Jesus Christ crucified These Heretiques were Simon Mâ—gus and his followers Cerinthus Bâ—silides c. who taught that Christ was not indeed crucified but withdrew himself from the cross and suffered only in his image and the like whereof see S. Ironaeus in his 1. book and 25. chapter of heresies and Epiphanius heresie 24. and 28. and S. Ignatius in his Epistle to the Trallians After these followed the hereticall Nicolaites Theoâ—â—orus and Cleobulus who as affirmeth S. Ignatius in his aforesaid Epistles were so great lovers of voluptuousnesse carnall pleasures and such Sycophâ—nts as that they became enemies of the cross of Christ denied the cross and were ashamed of his passion And it is a thing worthy to be noted that all those who denied the vertue of the cross or the signing themselves with the cross were carnall sensuall people whose God was their belly and their glory in their confusion for within few years they ended their dayes in ignominy and shame and these also denied that the Christians ought to give any reverence or respect to the images or pictures of the Apostles or Saints affirming themselves to be immediately sent from God to reform the world as witnesseth S. Epiphanius Haeres 21. and 22. and contemned the Martyrs of Christ as witnesseth S. Irenaeus in the 20. chapter of his 3. book of heresies saying they ascended to that madness as to despise the Martyrs and found fault with these who had beene slaine for the confession of our Lord. After these followed the Manicheans who as the former Heretikes had done taught that our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ had not a true body but a phantasma or an appearance of a body whereof no pictures or images were to be worshipped as affirmeth Terasius in the 2. Councell of Nice Michael Syngelus in the life of Dionisius Areopagita and S. Augustine in the fifteenth chapter of his 20. book against Faustus a Manichean This Manicheus or Manes taking upon him by his vertue and power to cure the son of the King of Persia sick in the hands of the Physitians the Physitians being dismissed and Manes taking upon him the cure he died presently whereupon the King as affirmeth Suidas caused Manicheus or Manes to be flay'd quick and so naked to be delivered to dogs to be eaten After the Manicheans followed the Arians so called of Arius who as is affirmed in the 7. Synod denied that any worship ought to be given by Christians to the image of Christ or his Saints This Arius after many troubles and afflictions which he had brought upon the courch at an appointed time that he was to dispute with Alexander Bishop of Alexandria fâ—ll into a Flux and as Carion in his Chronicle relateth going aside to ease himself died suddainly upon the privy After these followed Julian the Apostata who falling from Christianity to Paganism not only erected his own image in the place where the statua of our Lord stood in Caesarea of which I have spoken of heretofore but also as affirmeth S. C ril B shop of Alexandria in his sixth book against him upbraided the Catholike Christians of his time with the adoration of the cross as our Adversaries do at this day saying O wretched men who adore the wood of the cross and imprint the sign thereof in your foreheads and before your doors Thus the Emperor Julian in his heat against the Christians who soon