perfect and we know not what those meant who had the care of this Edition in putting in the Latin Title Opus integrum unless these words signifie only that there have been inserted in divers places additions which the Author had made 1. For to conceive well the change which happened by little and little in the Christian Church we must begin at the Original and consider the State in which it was for the first six Ages Hegesippus assures us that during the Life of the Apostles Hereticks scarcely durst appear but that as soon as these Holy men were dead a great number of them were seen openly to oppose the truth In that time divers Philosophers attacked the Christian Religion with so much the more boldness that the Christians were destitute of Persons who could refute the Pagan Religion and defend Christianity with sufficient eloquence This is what Lactantius testifies in these words Si qui sorte literatorum ad eam contulerunt defensioni ejus veritatis non suffecerunt And a little lower after having named Minucius Faelix Tertullian and Cyprian quia defuerunt apud nostros idonei peritique Doctores qui vehementer qui acriter errores publicos redarguerent qui causam omnem veritatis ornate copioseque desenderent provocavit quosdam hac ipsa penuria ut auderent scribere contra ignotam sibi veritatem This scarcity of able men made many Hereticks to slip in amongst the Christians and easily seduced the weak and ignorant who were in a very great number But as soon as there were Christian Emperours the corruption was much greater pleasures began to be introduced into the Christian Church and amongst Ecclesiasticks there appear'd Enmities and Divisions And because Bishops were rich and considerable they made use of all manner of means to attain Bishopricks and when they came to it they assumâd a Tyrannical Authority These disorders always encreased until they came to a great head as Vsher shews is too evident by many passages of famous Authors who have left us frightful Characters of the corruption of their Ages It encreased particularly in the time of Boniface III. who came to the Chair in Dcvi and who obtained of the Emperor Phocas the title of Ecumenick Bishop and Chief of the Church The Historians of that time describe this Phocas as the wickedest man in his Age and Cedrenus saith that a holy Monk having asked of God several times why he had made Phocas Emperour a voice from Heaven at last answered him Because I have found none worse This History true or false marks the horrour People had for the memory of Phocas Vsher believes that it was then that Antichrist came into the World and that he was during some Ages but in his Childhood Boniface according to him contributed not a little to the establishing and extending his Empire Yet there were Assemblies held and couragious Persons found that opposed the progresses of certain Tenets who have much contributed to the Grandeur of the Ecclesiasticks in general and Popes in particular amongst which our Author seeks for Antichrist as most part of the Protestants do A Council composed of cccxxxviii Bishops condemned in the year Dccliv at Constantinople the worship of Images and gave this reason for their proceeding that there is but one Image instituted by Jesus Christ to wit the Bread and Wine of the Eucharist which represent his Body and Blood Although the second Council of Nice opposed it and re-established the worship of Images in Dcclxxxvii These Canons were rejected in the West by the Churches of great Britain as our Archbishop shews by divers English Authors The Churches of Germany and France did the like in Dccxciv in the Council of Francfort the History of which may be seen as well as that oâ Nice in a Dissertation of Mr. Alix's intituled Dissertatio de Conciliorum quorumvis definitionibus expendendis at Paris 1680 in 8 vo Charlemagne writ himself against Images and sent what he writ to Pope Adrian who had had his Legates at the Council of Nice and who had approved thereof But it is not the custom of Popes to learn Religion from any one Adrian had no respect to the remonstrances of Charlemagne whom he endeavoured even to refute the Images were adored at Rome as much then as before and his Successors did as much as he 'T was this that obliged Lewis the meek to convocate in DCCCXXV an Assembly of learned men at Paris who examined the question of Images and condemned their worship They even collected a great many passages out of the Ancients who disapproved them and sent them to Pope Eugenius II. by Ieremy Bishop oâ Sens and Ionas Bishop of Orleance with order to treat mildly of this Affair fearing that in resisting too much they should engage him to an obstinacy whence he would not recede In DCCCXXXIII The Sons of Lewis the meek having conspired against him the rumour run in France that Gregory the fourth was onward in his way to come thither to excommunicate Lewis and those of his party but the Bishops who were engaged in the Interests of this Prince declared that they would submit in no wise to his will and that if he came to excommunicate them he would return himself excommunicated Vsher besides relates divers other examples by which it appears that the Liberty of the Churches of France and Germany was not yet quite extinguished even at the end of the tenth Age seeing it was thought strange that a Cardinal sent from Rome blessed a Chappel in the Diocess of Tours without the permission of the Bishop of that City There are also remarkable words of Arnulph Bishop of Orleance in a Council of Rheims held in DCCCCXCII where he saith speaking of the Pope If he is destitute of Charity and pufft up only with his Knowledge he is the Antichrist who is seated in the Temple of God and who shews himself as if he was a God But if he has neither Charity nor Wisdom he is in the Temple of God as a Statue or as an Idol from whom an answer can be no more expected than from a Marble Si caritate destituitur solaque scientiâ inslatur extollitur Antichristus est in Templo Dei sedens se ostendens tanquam sit Deus Si autem caritate fundatur nec scientia erigitur in Templo Dei tanquam Statua tanquam Idolum est à quo responsa petere marmora consulere est If this principle of Arnulph is true it 's requisite the Defendors of Popes discover by what wonder they are all full of Charity and Learning altho' they appear in our eyes either Ignorant or Proud and oftentimes both together Vsher then sheweth how that the Tenet of Transubstantiation was much resisted which began to be introduced in the ninth Age. He rangeth among the Defenders of the spiritual presence Rabanus Maurus Bertram Iohn Scot Erigene and several others upon which we may consult Mr. Arnauld and Claude in their dispute
with this dignity which gave them the Preference because they were the three chief Cities of the World The second Question is whether the Bishop of Carthage was subject to the Patriarch of Rome or Alexandria and answer is made that he was subject to neither because he was a Primaâe himself of one of the thirteen Dioceses whereof we have spoken As to Jurisdiction he saith that according to the Canons of the Councils the order of the differences amongst Ecclesiasticks and all that concerned the Clergy was immediately to be carried before the Metropolitan and by an appeal before the Primate without acknowledging the Superiority of the Patriarchs That which makes the difficulty is that St. Augustine said that St. Cicilian in his difference with Donatus appeals to the Bishops beyond Sea But answer is made that that ought to be understood of the Council and not of a particular Bishop as that of âome who would draw the honour thereof to himself and attributed that Right to himself from the time that the Vandals under their King Genserick destroy'd all Africk as the Popes have done since in regard to the Greek Church by the fall of the Eastern Empire The third Question is an enquiry whether or no England ever depended on the Patriarch of Rome and it s decided in the Negative It had it's Primate who was the Bishop of York For although London according to the Relation of Tacitus was already famous through commerce notwithstanding the City of York was the Capital the Vicar of the Empire resided there and the Emperor Constance Father of Constantine the Great died there If the Gallican Church hath it's Liberties the English Church is not wanting this is examined in a Treatise which followeth those we have already spoken of but 't is not Vshers The Author establisheth for a Foundation that under the ancient Law the Priesthood and Royalty was joyned together and that when they were separated the whole Authority always remained in the Person of the Prince Which is justified by the example of Solomon who nominated Abiathar to perform the Function of High Priest and by other Examples inserted in the request that was presented to King Philip the Fair by all his Subjects against the enterprizes of Pope Boniface VIII And he thence concludes that the outward Policy of the Church belonged always to the Prince and that it 's he alone who hath the power to convocate Councils and in particular by that of Nice and Constantinople which were assembled by the Authority of the Emperours and confirmed by Constantine the Great and Theodosius the Great For tho' the Intrinsick Authority depended on the Word of God the Extrinsick nevertheless depended on the Imperial Seal to give them the force of publick Law From whence he infers Patriarchs were not erected but by the Councils and Authority of the Emperours and chiefly that of Rome the Author evidently demonstrates this dignity was not attributed to it but by the respect that the Fathers and Councils had for the Capital of the Vniverse which was adorned with the Senate and Empire To convince these who are most prejudic'd in favour of the Court of Rome we shall relate but the terms of the last Council save one The Canon of the Council of Calcedon as it is to be seen in the Manuscripts of the Libraries of M. de Thou and M. Iustel He says that the Priviledges of Rome were granted by the Fathers because it was the Mistris of the World Quod urbs illa imperarèt Neither by Divine nor Apostolick Institution as he observes but a motive purely Temporal Therefore also the same Canon grants to Constantinople new Rome the first rank after old Rome for the same reasons because it was also honoured by the Senate and Imperial Throne After that the Author descends to the Priviledges of the English Church and maintains it did not depend on the Roman Patriarch because it was a different Diocess and that it was not in the number of the Suburbicary Provinces This Verse only is a proof on 't Ad penitùs toto divisos orbe Britannos It 's also further justified by this particular circumstance that the English celebrated the Passover according to the Custom of the East and conformed not to the West Having thus prepared the Mind he shews that the Order of Parliament under Henry the 8. who shook off the Popes Yoak was not a new Law but the re-establishment of the Ancient Laws and Maxims of the Kings of England who have maintained in all Ages that the Excommunications of the Pope were void in England and he brings many Examples to prove it He thence draws this Consequence that the Church of England cannot be aspers'd with the odious term of Schismatick because it hath not raised Altar against Altar that it hath kept it's Ancient Government and can shew a Succession of Bishops not interrupted since the beginning of Christianity and consequently it had sufficient Authority to reform it self There is added to these Treatises the advice of Iohn Barnesius a Benedictine Monk Who much disapproved these flatterers of the Court of Rome who have incens'd the Minds of men in maintaining that the Kingdom of England owes any homage to the Holy See and have caused this breach with the Pope He saith it would be very happy if the Pope for the good of Peace would again receive into his Communion the Kingdom of England without rendering it dependant on him until a Council may cure the evil But the Court of Rome never lets go its hold and it 's long since that Pope Paul the fourth answered to this Proposition of Barnesius For the Embassadors of England under Queen Mary asking him Absolution in the Name of the whole Kingdom he omitted not to demand of them if he might send an Exactor of the Tribute of St. Peter declaring unto them that they should not expect this Apostle should open them the Gate of Heaven whilst they retained his Patrimony upon Earth Barnesius confesseth it 's very hard to be submitted to the Pope who when he pleaseth Arms the Subjects against their King and adds that the Councils of Constance and Basil having declared those Hereticks who hold that the Pope was not Inferiour to General Councils the Modern Popes are in the Case of Excommunication declared by these Councils This he saith not to quarrel with his Holiness but humbly to insinuate unto him the means of bringing back so fine a Kingdom into the bosom of the Church Notwithstanding the good Intentions of this poor Monk have been very ill acknowledged for he was sent out of Paris strip'd of his habit tied like a fierce beast and uncompassionately dragg'd to Rome and there cast into the dark Dungeon of the Inquisition where he miserably expired An Extract of the Letters of Grotius I. PART The Subject Criticks and Divinity WE have not seen until now but a very small Number of the Letters of this Great Man the
That the British Churches have a right of absolute judging of all that happens in the Extent of their Jurisdiction seeing they have no less Priviledges than those of Africk For fear this Canon should be contradicted by the Bishops who might have a more extended Jurisdiction the Council made another which intimates That according to antient Customs the Bishop of Alexandria should extend his Jurisdiction over Aegypt Libya and Pentapolis seeing the Bishop of Rome had a like Custom and so likewise at Antioch and in the other Provinces the antient Priviledges of Bishops should be kept that no Bishop should be created without the consent of the Metropolitan and that when differences should arise the Plurality of Voices should decide them There are according to our Author three remarkable things in this Canon 1. A Confirming the Priviledges of some of the greatest Bishopricks as of Rome Alexandria and Antioch 2. A securing those of other Churches against Invasions 3. To put out of contestation the Rights of the Metropolitan Churches For the last of these three things it is so clear that there is no stopping at it but the others chiefly the second are much inlarged upon It seems that the Church of Alexandria was the occasion of this Canon and thereby it appears that the Bishop of the City had a much more extended Jurisdiction than that of the Metropolitans seeing it reached over three Provinces named in the Canon upon which here are divers Remarks which we shall pass over Some Learned Men have maintained that there were no Patriarchs in the time of the Council of Nice but without disputing about words Dr. Sillingfleet shews by this Canon and other Proofs that the Bishop of Alexandria had already before the Council of Nice a true patriarchal Power over Aegypt and which answered to that of the Governour named Praefectus Augustalis Some pretend that the Power of this Bishop was only that which commonly the Metropolitans had because the Provinces of Aegypt had no other Metropolitan but him and depended immediately of him But tho this Authority was as that of Metropolitans as to what concerns the manner of exercising it was Patriarchal in respect of the extent Such was also that of the Bishop of Rome who had under him no Metropolitans and who received immediately the Appeals of divers Provinces Dr. Stillingfleet believes that the Council of Nice provincially confirmed the custom of Alexandria fearing that if it were abolished in remitting to the Provincial Councils of Aegypt the Supream Authority as was done for the most part by other Provinces the Arians should draw an advantage thereby fearing also that this should draw too much hatred upon the Bishop of Alexandria if he were named alone those of Rome and Antioch were added notwithstanding afterwards these Regulations of the Council of Nice were abused several Churches aspired to the Patriarchship and that of Rome tho' named only upon occasion pretended that its Universal Supremacy was established therein The Agents of the Bishop of this City had the boldness to falsifie the Title of this Canon in the Council of Chalcedon and of drawing an Advantage from it The other thing that they principally proposed was to preserve the Priviledges of other Churches for it is known that Exceptions render the Laws more uncontestable in unexcepted Cases so the Provinces which are not excepted in this Canon have a right to govern themselves by their Provincial Synods without acknowledging any Superiour Authority Whence it 's concluded that the British Churches ought peaceably to enjoy this Right seeing they never have submitted to the Patriarch of Rome This Bishop hath never had the right of Consecrating the Metropolitans or British Bishops he hath not convocated them to his Assemblies at Rome none of their Synods have been called to him so that the British Provinces have the Right according to the Council of Nice of governing themselves independant of every other Church It was upon this Principle that the Council of Ephesus condemned the Patriarch of Antioch who pretended to have right of Consecrating the Metropolitan of Cyprus against the antient Custom The Canon of this Council may be seen in our Author who defends it against the Carpings of some Roman Catholick Doctors and shews the true sense thereof particularly against F. Martin Notwithstanding these same Doctors pretend that the Pope hath always had a Patriarchal Power over all the Churches of the West It is granted that he had this Authority before the Council of Nice over the Diocess of Rome or the Suburbicary Provinces but it is maintained that it reached not any farther and divers Doctors are refuted who have pretended the contrary Mr. Schelstrate is particularly opposed who in the second Dissertation of his Antiquitas Illustrata hath undertaken to prove That the Bishop of Rome hath this Patriarchal Power upon all the West We agree with him that the Patriarchal Rights consist in these three things 1. The Right of Consecrating Bishops and Metropolitans 2. In calling them to a Synod 3. In receiving Appeals and deciding ' em 1. As to that which concerns the Consecration of Metropolitans and Bishops in all the Western Churches Mr. Schelstrate grants That it was not exercised by the Pope His Adversary shews even that St. Ambrose was elected Bishop of Milan without asking the consent of Damasus who was then Bishop of Rome indeed the Diocess of Rome extended not unto Milan but comprized only 5 Provinces or 70 Bishops Some call these Provinces thus Marsi Compania Thussia Vmbria and Marchia and others thus Latium Valeria Tuscia Picenum and Vmbria To prove that the Diocess of the Bishop of Rome extended further a Letter from Pope Syricius to Anysius Bishop of Thessalonica is cited where the Latter is declared Legate of the Pope in Illyria But our Author shews at length that that begun but in the time of Syricius upon the end of the fourth Age and that this Pope did thus to oppose the Grandeur of the Patriarch of Constantinople who extended his Diocess too far upon which there are Remarks in the Original that cannot be related here Tho' the Library of the Pope is obliged to grant That the Bishop of Rome consecrated not all the Western Bishops he pretends to shew that before the Council of Nice he had the power of deposing the Bishops of the Gauls He proves it by the Example of Marsian Bishop of Arles who was deposed by Pope Stephen But it appears That nothing else was desir'd of the Pope in this Rencounter but to join his Authority to that of the Bishops of the Gaules that acting jointly the People should the more easily submit to their Order as appears by the LXVIII Letter of St. Cyprian wherein he speaks to this Pope as his Equal exhorting him to do what we have said Dr. Stillingfleet refutes also two other Proofs of his Adversary not very considerable we shall not stop at 'em that we may not be tedious 2.
to Dr. Cave in his English Life of Clement Alexandrinus which hath been very useful to us in the making this Clement in the Passage which hath been related concerning the Philosophy he approved if as Socrates who in his Phoedon applies to Philosophers this Proverb which they made use of in their Mysteries There are many who bear the Thyrse but few who are truly filled with the Spirit of Bacchus Socrates adds immediately after These are I believe only those who applied themselves as they ought to Philosophy of the number of whom I have endeavoured to be as much as I could c. As the whole Passage is in Roman Character Dr. Cave thought that these words Of the number of whom c. were Clement's whereas they are Socrates as appears in Plato and even at the bottom of the Page where Clement Cites them If all this Passage had been in Italick Dr. Cave would not have been deceived in it which ought in no wise to appear strange to those who know that to write the Life of an Author collected out of divers places Attention must be given to so many things all at a time that it is very difficult to avoid confounding ones self Besides in distinguishing the Subjects by a Line and the Citations by different Characters more Facility is given to those who have read an Author in finding such places again as they may have occasion for which is not of little use As to this Edition there are three Indexes one of the Passages cited by St. Clement the second of the Subjects and the third of the Words and Greek Phrases either worthy of Remark or such as this Author applieth to a particular Sense If these Indexes were complete and correct they would be without doubt very useful but they are neither There is an infinite sigât of Faults in the Numbers and often conârary to what is in Clement The Passage of Iob There is no one that is clean is related in Chap. 25. of his Books whereas it is in the 14 th There is in the Index Peccato originali infectae omnium animae corpora 488. d. On contrary Clement refutes this Opinion in this place but Sylburge or some other who hath made this Index had apparently in his mind what Clement ought to have said according to him rather than what he effectually did say There is besides a fourth Index at the beginning of the Work which contains a List of the Authors cited by Clement but the Pages where he cites them being not marked it is altogether useless It were a thing to be desired for the Republick of Letters not only that Kings were Philosophers or that Philosophers were Kings but also that Booksellers were learned or that the Learned Men were Booksellers and that they brought back the Age of the Manuces and Stephens for to give us good Editions of the Writings of the Ancients and to level the way for a Study which of it self is hard enough without making difficulties by our own Negligence Chap. 1. Our Author begins the Defini-nition of the word Church as used in the Primitive Times which since it agrees so much with the present general Definition we shall pass it over to remark what is more uncommon Afterwards he comes to treat of its Members which he distinguishes into the Clergy and Laity in which he considers these three Particulars 1. Peculiar Acts of the Clergy 2. Peculiar Acts of the Laity 3. Joint Acts of both The Clergy he considers in these three Offices Bishops Priests and Deacons He begins at Ierusalem where the Holy Ghost descended upon the Apostles and Disciples induing them with the Gift of Tongues working Miracles and fitting them to Preach the Gospel to all the World He assigns St. Andrew to Scythia St. Bartholomew to India St. Matthew to Parthia St. Iohn to Asia the less telling us also that the rest of the Apostles had every one their Commission and Allotment according to Clemens Romanus The Apostles went forth Preaching both in City and Country appointing the first Fruits of their Ministry for Bishops and Deacons which they left behind them whilst they planted the other Churches Thus Clemens was ordained Bishop of Rome by St. Peter and Polycarp Bishop of Smyrna by St. John as says Tertullian Our Author reconciles what the Scripture and St. Clemens Romanus says Ep. ad Cor. p. 2. about the Plurality of Bishops in one Church with the Negation of Ignatius Tertullian and St. Cyprian who affirm that there ought to be but one Bishop in a Church He says the word ãâã ãâã ãâã ãâã ãâã was the Bishop by way of Eminency and Propriety tho' there might be others such as St. Cyprian reckons Bishop Pastor President Governor Superintendent and Priest 2. Our Author shews in the Second Chap. that these Bishops Jurisdiction or Ancient Diocesses appeared to him to be but one Congregation for which he brings the Authority of several of the Fathers He also shews that the word Parish is as old as Irenaeus who in his Synodical Epistle to Pope Victor calls the Bishopricks of Asia Parishes ãâã ãâã ãâã ãâã ãâã apud Euseb. l. 5. c. 24. p. 193. He brings eight more Instances of the word and gives us some Examples of matter of Fact parallel hereunto which cou'd not be otherwise as to meeting all together receiving the Eucharist from the Bishop alone were Baptized only by the Bishop who was the Common Almoner all the People met at a Church Censure and when the Bishop was dead all met to choose another publick Letters were read before the whole Diocess or Parish all the Diocess met to manage Affairs c. Our Author all along cites his Authorities very plentifully in the Margent to maintain his Assertion 3. In the Third Chap. he considers the Bishops Office which he says was Preaching the Word Praying with his People Administring the two Sacraments of Baptism and the Lords Supper taking care of the Poor Ordaining of Ministry Governing his Flock Excommunicating Offenders and Absolving Penitents for every one of these Offices our Author Cites a Father He proceeds a little after to shew the manner of his Electing Bishops which he shews was by the Choice of all the People who knew his Life and Conversation before-hand but the Voice of the People was not sufficient by it self for after they had Elected one they presented him to the neighbouring Bishops for their Approbation for without that the Election was not valid ãâã ãâã ãâã ãâã ãâã c. Euseb. Lib. Cap. 11. Pag. 212. After a Bishop's Election he was install'd by Imposition of Hands by other Bishops he cites all along his Authorities 4. He treats of Presbyters and gives this Definition That a Presbyter is a Person in holy Orders having thereby an inherent Right to perform the whole Office of a Bishop but being possessed of no Place or Parish nor actually discharging it without the Permission and Consent
said also that Usher was a Bishop that he had made because that he had appointed him so without being sollicited to it by any person this Election was made in 1620. Returning into Ireland sometime after he was oblig'd to discourse some persons of Quality of the Roman Religion to administer to 'em the Oath of Allegiance and Supremacy that they had refused to the Priest this discourse is inserted in his Life he remarks the form of this Oath is compos'd of two parts the one positive in which they acknowledge the King is Soveraign in all cases whatsoever and the other negative in which they declare they acknowledge no Jurisdiction or Authority of any strange Prince in the estates of the King he says afterwards in regard of the first part that the Scripture commands that we submit our selves to the Higher Powers and that we ought to acknowledge that the power the Kings have whatsoever it may be is Supream as they are Kings upon which he cites this verse of Martial Qui Rex est Regem maxime non habeat That one ought well to distinguish the power of the Keys from that of the Sword and the King of England does not exact an acknowledgment of the same power that is possess'd by the Bishops but nevertheless the Kings may interest themselves with Ecclesiastical Affairs in as much as it regards the body since according to the Church of Rome 't is the Magistrates duty to punish Hereticks For that which regards the second part of the Oath where it 's said that we shall not own any strange power as having any Iurisdiction Superiority Preheminence Ecclesiastical or Temporal in the Kingdom He says that if St. Peter were still alive he would willingly own that the King had this Authority in Ireland and that he us'd the same in regard of all the Apostles that the Apostleship was a personal dignity which the Apostles have not left hereditary to any but nevertheless suppose it was so he sees not why St. Peter should leave it to his successors rather than St. Iohn who outliv'd all the Apostles that there was no reason to believe that St. Peter shou'd leave the Apostolical Authority to the Bishops of Rome rather than to those of Antioch this last Church being founded before the first The King writ to Vsher to thank him for this Discourse which produced so good effect He afterwards went into England by the King's order to collect the Antiquities of the Churches of England Scotland and Ireland and publish'd two years after that his Book intituled De Primordiis Ecclesiarum Britannicarum 'T was in that time that the King made him Arch-Bishop of Armagh The Winter following he caused to be brought before him the Order for Toleration of the Roman Catholicks and the Lord Falkland then Deputy for the King in Ireland convocated and assembled the whole Nation to settle this Affair But the Bishops call'd by the Primate oppos'd it with much heat as may be seen by a Remonstrance sign'd by ten Bishops besides the Primate and which is in the 28th page They also spoke of raising some Forces by the Joynt consent both of Catholicks and Protestants to hinder any differences that might arise in the Kingdom the Protestants refus'd to consent thereto and wou'd not hearken to discourse the Primate thereupon in the Castle of Dublin altho' his reasonings were founded upon the principal Maxims of the Government of Ireland and maintain'd by Examples drawn from the Antient and Modern Histories of that Kingdom During the time our Primate stayed in Ireland after he had performed the Duties of his Charge which he acquitted with extraordinary care he employed the remaining part of his time to study the fruits whereof were to be seen in 1631. in the first Latin book which he ever published in Ireland 't is his History of Godescalch Monk of the Abby of Orbais who lived in the beginning of the 6th Age there was soon made a small abridgment of the History of Pelagianism which was then extreamly dispersed through Spain and England when he comes to the History of Godescalch he explains his Doctrine and shews by Flodoard and other Authors of that time that those sentiments whereof Hincmar Archbishop of Rhemes and Rabanus Archbishop of Maynce accused him and which were condemn'd by their Authority in two Councils were the same that St. Remigius Archbishop of Lyons and the Clergy of his Diocess defended openly many opinions and odious consequences according to Vsher were fathered upon Godescalch because that this Monk who maintained the opinions of St Augustine about Predestination and Grace did not at all understand ' em Ioannes Scotus Erygenus wrote a treatise against him in which are to be found the principal heads of Vsher but Florus Deacon of the Church of Lions answers it and censures him in the Name of all the Diocess Vsher gave an abridgment of this Censure as also of divers other treatises as that of St Remigius Pudentius Bishop of Troy Ratramus Monk of Corbi who writ against Scotus for his defence of Godescalch there had been two Councils which established the doctrine of this Monk and condemn'd that of Scotus 'T is true that Hincmar published a very large Book against these Councils which he dedicated to Charles le Chauve as Flodoard reports who shews briefly what it is that this Book treats of but that did not at all hinder St. Remigius and those of his Party to convocate another Council at Langres where they confirm'd the Doctrine established in the former Councils and condemn'd that new one of Scotus These Controversies were still agitated in the National Council of the Gauls where nothing was concluded altho' Barancus and others voted that Godescalch should be condemn'd there On the contrary Vsher maintains that in an Assembly which was in a small time after his Sentiments were approv'd of Nevertheless this wicked Godescalch was condemn'd by the Council of Maynce to perpetual Imprisonment where he was severely treated because he would never retract his Errours There are still two Confessions of his Faith by which one may see there are many things attributed to him which he never believ'd after having made a faithful report of the Sentiments of this Monk and those of his Adversaries Vsher concludes that it were better for men to be silent upon these matters than to scandalize the weak in proposing to 'em such Doctrines from which they may draw bad consequences There has been adds Mr. Parr and always will be different Opinions upon the great and abstruse Questions of Predestination and Free Will which nevertheless may be tolerated in the same Church provided those who maintain these divers Opinions have that Charity for one another which they ought to have That they condemn them not publickly That they abstain from mutual Calumnies and that they publish no Invectives against those who are not of the same Sentiments To return to the Life of our Prelate who altho' he
who repented after having kept them some time in Prison to put upon their cloaths violet coulor'd Crosses which they thus wore all their Life not being suffered to appear with other cloaths and with this clause that the Inquisition reserved a full power of changeing the Sentence pronounced as it should be thought fit whether those who had been condemned to wear the Cross were accused anew or whether there was no accusation at all Those whom they resolv'd to mortifie by a sad imprisonment were kept between four Walls where they were constrained to go of themselves and where they were nourished only upon Bread and Water The obstinate Hereticks were put into the hands of the Secular There was at that time in Gasconny of divers sorts as well as before In this Register are Vaudois and Albigeses condemned for divers pretended Heresies as of denying Transubstantiation and the seven Sacraments of the Romish Church of maintaining that we shall not rise in spiritual Bodies c. There have been besides Baguins certain Monks of the third Order of St. Francis who thought that it was not lawful for them to possess any thing whatever who called the Pope Antichrist because he suffered the Religious of St. Francis to possess Riches and who suffer'd themselves to be burned rather than to retract these Fantastick Opinions There is also the Condemnation of divers Manicheans And the proceeding against Peter Ruffit who quite to overthrow Concupiscence had with a Woman the same commerce as some Priests had with Young Women in the time of St. Cyprian a Custom which lasted so long that the Council of Nice condemned it As being us'd in the beginning o' th' fourth Age and that St. Basil St. Chrysostome and St. Ierome employ'd all their Eloquence to cure several Ecclesiasticks of this Custom in their time an exact account hereof may be seen in Mr. Dodwel's third Dissertation upon St. Cyprian Two small pieces of James Usher Archbishop of Armagh One of the Original of Bishops and the other of Proconsulary Asia to which is added an Appendix of the Priviledges of the British Churches At London by Samuel Smith 1687. in 8vo And at Rotterdam by Renier Leers THis is another Posthume Work of the Learned Vsher Archbishop of Armagh which sufficiently testifies that profound Learning that hath rendered him so famous and makes him still respected as one of the Oracles of England The Question he starteth here has so imploy'd the wits for some years past that instead of reuniting for the common Interest they cannot without much ado calm the Agitation which this dispute hath caused tho' it only concerns Exterior Order It is therefore pretended that in this Work Episcopacy is a Divine Institution founded upon the Old and New Testament and the Imitation of the Ancient Church Vsher immediately remarks that the chief of the Levites bore a Title which was translated in Greek by that of ãâã ãâã ãâã ãâã ãâã The Bishop of the Levites he expounds these Words of the Apocalypse Write to the Angel of Ephesus as if the word Angel was the same thing as that of Bishop The Succession of the Bishops of Ephesus appeared evident enough at the Council of Calcedon held in 451. And there 't is likely enough that Timothy or one of his Successors was the Angel to whom the words of St. Iohn are directed St. Ireneus says that he had seen Polycarp who was established Bishop of Smyrna by the Apostles Lastly he adds that Tertullian in his Book of Prescription against Hereticks and St. Irenaeus pressed the Hereticks by the Argument of the Succession of Bishops from the Apostles unto their time and chiefly upon that of the Bishops of Rome beginning with Linus Cletus or Clement that the Apostles had placed there and continuing until Elentherius the twelfth Bishop from the Apostles And it was Eleutherius who had the Glory of receiving into the Christian Faith Lucius King of England with all his Kingdom and that there were Bishops so well established from that time that ten years before the Council of Nice held in 325. three English Bishops assisted at the Council of Arles After having proved the establishment of Bishops by the Apostles Vsher examines the origine of the Metropolitans to whom he gives the same Antiquity For supposing as we have said that St. Iohn speaking of the seven Angels understands nothing else but Bishops he extends his conjecture so far as to say that St. Iohn having written to the seven Churches of Asia without denoting them more particularly it necessarily follows that they had some Preheminence and that they were distinguished by themselves that is to say by their quality of Metropolis He confirms it by this circumstance that the Prefects of the Romans resided in these Cities as Capitals and that the Adjacent Cities came for Justice thither Whence he concludes that they were as Mothers to the other Churches He concludes in shewing it to be the Sentiment of Beza and Calvin and proceeds to the second part of his Work which treats of the Proconsulary or Lydian Asia He observeth that the Name of Asia properly belonged to Lydia for they pretend that Asia was the Name of an ancient King of the Lydians and that it was Vespasian that made a Proconsulary Province on 't After that these three Questions are resolved The first if at the time of the Council of Nice all the Bishops were subject to the three Patriarchs of Rome Alexandria and Antioch It 's proved by the very Canons of the Council of Nice and by the first Council of Constantinople assembled under Theodosius the Great that each Patriarch had Power no farther than the extent of his Territory and over the Bishops of his particular Province And to inform us where the Patriarchats were limited he saith that that oâ Alexandria comprised Egypt Lybia and Pentapolis but that Africk Thebes nor the Mareotides were not subjected to it That of Antioch had not the whole Empire of the East whereof Constantinople was the Capital But only all that extended from the Mediterranean Sea towards the East to the Frontiers of the Empire That of Rome contained ten Provinces The Islands of Sicily Corse and Sardinia were three of them and the Continent of Italy on the East-side made the other seven that the ancient Lawyers called Suburbicaries But not to leave the work imperfect upon this Subject he examines in what dependance the Churches were who set up no Patriarchs To this purpose he observes that the Roman Empire was divided into thirteen Dioceses seven on the East-side and six on the West-side in all 120. Provinces Each Diocess had a Metropolis where the Primate resided as well as the Praetor or Vicar who decided appeals in Civil Affairs as also each Province had it's Metropolis It will not be useless to add that tho' Primates had the same Authority as the Patriarchs they preceded them notwithstanding in Councils and that Rome Alexandria and Antiochia were honoured
Persecution than the Remonstrants They will have the Fundamental Error of the R. Church to consist in this We must not saith Episcopius in a Writing inserted by Mr. Limborg in the Preface of this Work consider Popery in some of its parts but in its whole not in this Doctrine nor in that which is accused of Heresie for it is almost the same thing on both sides the one is mistaken in one point and the other in another ..... We must look upon the whole Body of the Roman Church which is a composition of ignorant ambitious and tyrannical Men I call them ignorant not because they are not very Learned for sometimes they are too much so but because they know not and are obliged to know only what is prescribed unto them often against their Conscience against Reason and Divine Law It is the most pernicious of all Ignorances because it is a servile one which is upheld only by the Authority of the Pope and Councils and which is the source of the many Sophisms they are constrained to make to maintain such Opinions they have ingaged themselves into whether they find them true or false It extends its Empire as well upon the Practice as Belief because they are both tyed to the Foundations which they are always to suppose unshaken without freeing themselves by examining the solidity thereof Thence Tyranny is form'd It is this which makes it impossible ever to come back from this ignorance and which produceth Idolatry and ridiculous thoughts of the Divine Worship It is the Poyson of true Religion because it leads Men to serve God not according to his Will or by a Principle of Knowledg and Conscience but after that manner which the Pope liketh So that it is in vain to say that in this Church are many things which are good or sufferable this availeth nothing seeing they hold not what is good because it is good but because they are obliged to acknowledge it for such The Remonstrants have upon this establisht Principles which are very opposite to those of the Roman Church They not only believe with other Protestants that Scripture contains clearly all that is necessary to be known to believe to hope to do and to be saved and that all those who read it with an attentive mind and without prejudice may acquire by this reading a perfect knowledge of the Truths contain'd in it and that there is no other Divine Rule of our Faith but they admit also and maintain the necessary consequence of this Principle upon which many Divines expound not themselves distinctly enough Thence it followeth saith Mr. Limborg in this Preface 1. That no Man whoever he be no Assembly how considerable soever its Authority is and how Learned soever its Members are have not a Right of prescribing to the Faithful as necessary to Salvation what God hath not commanded as such in his Word 2. That from the Communion are to be excluded those only whom God hath clearly revealed he will exclude from Heaven 3. That to know certainly Damnable Errors and wholsome Doctrines we must see if in Scripture God hath promised Salvation to those who shall believe these Doctrines or threatned with Damnation those who shall embrace these Errors 4. That the only means to procure the Peace of the Church it to suffer those who retain the Fundamental Doctrines although according to us they are mistaken in things which God hath not commanded nor prohibited expresly under the condition of Salvation or Damnation 5. That if this rule was followed all Christians who have quitted the Roman Church would soon agree in Fundamental Points and differ but in Tenets which have neither been commanded nor prohibited under this condition 6. That consequently none have a right of imposing the necessity of Believing under pain of Damnation these non-essential Tenets 7. That no other means can procure a true Christian Union because constraint may tye the Tongue but not gain the Heart This is the drift of the Preface to come to the Work it self It is composed of three Letters and of a small Treatise of William Bom a Roman Catholick with as many Answers and some other Letters of Episcopius concerning the Infallibility of the Church The matter we see is of the utmost consequence and it is sufficiently known after what manner Episcopius was able to treat thereof Bom was a Priest who was no great Grecian as he confesseth himself and who besides was ingaged in the weakest Hypothesis which the Doctors of Rome ever embraced it is that which makes the Infallibility of the Church reside in the Pope's Person So that although he hath exposed pretty well the common reasons of his Party it may be said of him in relation to his Adversary Par studiis aevique modis sed robore dispar The occasion of this Dispute was a Conference which Bom and Episcopius had at the coming from a Sermon which the last had Preached Some of those who had been present thereat declared That Bom had been reduced to silence upon which he being willing to shew how much these reports were false Writ to two common Friends to put them in mind of the Reasons he had said and added to that a Writing to prove that St. Peter was established chief of the Catholick Church Episcopius at first made some difficulty of Answering this Priest because there is nothing more tedious and more unprofitable for a Protestant than to enter into dispute with a Catholick seeing that as it is an Article of Faith with him that his Church is Infallible so he believes himself obliged in Conscience not to confer with Hereticks but in the design of instructing them and not to have even the thought of receiving any instruction nor any light from them It is not possible without ingaging ones self into an excessive prolixity to relate all the reasons which have been said on each side in this dispute we shall only stop at some of the principal proofs and those which are not so commonly met withal in Books of Controversie Episcopius failed not at first to ask of his Adversary in what place of the Gospel Iesus Christ had appointed any body to be Soveraign Judge of Controversies and to decide without Appeal all the differences which should arise in the Church after the death of the Apostles As there are not in Scripture passages sufficiently express for this institution Bom had recourse to the Practice of the Church upon which Episcopius alledged to him three Acts of the Ecclesiastical History which agrees not well with the Belief of the Infallibility of the Pope 1. The first is drawn from the dispute which fell out towards the middle of the Second Age concerning the day in which the Passover should be celebrated Victor Bishop of Rome Excommunicated the Churches of the Diocess of Asia because they Celebrated this Feast the Fourteenth day of March and not the Sunday following according to the Custom of Rome Palestine and
of falshood as also by Leo and by Innocent 4. That there are several proofs of the submission of the Bishops of Africk to that of Rome as the Letter of Stephen Bishop of Mauritania Written to Damasus in the name of three Synods of Africk where after several high Titles which this Prelate gives to the Pope he tells him That the Decrees of all the Fathers of these Synods have reserved every Sentence Iudgment of Bishops and Determination of Ecclesiastical Affairs to his See in honour of blessed Peter 5. That it is not true that this 6th Council hath prohibited to Appeal from Africk to the Pope seeing that in the Letter which the Bishops Writ to him they only desire him not to hearken slightly to the Ecclesiasticks of Africk who shall have recourse to him To refute the first Objection Episcopius relates the very words of the Canon of the Council of Millan viz. It was ordered that when Priests Deacons and other inferior Clerks shall complain of the Iudgment of their Bishops they shall be heard by the Neighbouring Bishops who with the consent of their Bishop and joyntly with him shall pronounce a definitive Sentence upon his Affair That if they would appeal from this Iudgment of Bishops they shall carry their appeal but before the Councils of Africk or before the Primate of their Province so as it hath been often ordered in affairs which respect Bishops If any one would appeal to the other side the Sea that is to say to Rome or without the Diocess let him be excluded from the Communion of Africk The Letter which the Bishops of the 6th Council of Carthage Assembled to the number of 207 Writ to Pope Celestin after they had received the Original of the Council of Nice and seen that the Canons alledged by the Deputies of the Bishop of Rome were not in it deserveth to be related We pray you say they that for the future you give no more so slightly Audience to those who shall go hence to you and that you no more receive into Communion those who are excluded from ours seeing you may easily mark that this hath been thus ordered by the Council of Nice For if it seems that this Council was willing to prohibit from such Appeals the inferior Clerks and Laicks by how much more would it have this Prohibition to give place in the affairs which regard Bishops whence it followeth that those who are suspended from the Communion amongst us ought not to be re-established precipitatly or unlawfully by your Holiness Let therefore all Refugé be taken away from bad Priests seeing there is no Canon which hath deprived the Church of Africk of this priviledge and that those of Nice have as well submitted the inferior Clerks as Bishops to their Metropolitans The Fathers of this Council have prudently and justly judged that every Affair ought to be judged in the place where it happeneth assuring themselves that the Grace of the Holy Ghost would not fail to be poured into each Province where there are Priests of Iesus Christ capable of examining wisely the equity of an Affair and of constantly maintaining it especially since that it is lawful for every one who thinks he hath reason to complain of his ordinary Judges to Appeal to the Provincial Councils or to the General If it be not as some imagine that God may sufficiently inspire every one of us to judge of the equity of an Affair but that he will refuse his Grace to a great number of Bishops Assembled in Council It is a vain conjecture to say That the Council of Nice which was kept at Constantinople the Copies of the Patriarchs of Antioch and Alexandria and all those that 207 Bishops had were defective But we cannot believe that the Pope knowing that some Canons were missing in Copies of Particulars imbraced this occasion to make three Canons of a Synod of Sardis to pass for Decrees of the Council of Nice which were in his favour 3. It 's true that Iulius Writ a Letter to the Eastern Bishops to get Athanasius and some other Bishops re-establish'd in their Sees but it 's also true that when these Bishops had received it they looked upon it as an outragious Letter assembled themselves into a Synod at Antioch and made him unanimously a civil Answer in appearance but full of Ironies and Menaces saith Sozomene to which Socrates adds That they severely reprehended Julius letting him know That it was not necessary that they should take Laws from him in banishing some Persons from their Churches and that they had not opposed him when he had banished Novatus from his As to the Letter of Stephen to Pope Damasus most of the Learned do take it to be suppositious because it 's only to be found in Isidonus Mercator who hath attributed several other Letters to Damasus and one to Aurelius Bishop of Carthage which Baronius acknowledgeth false But though it was true What can be concluded from the Letter of a particular Bishop but that he was one of these Ecclesiasticks who having been Excommunicated because of their Crimes in Africk flattered the Bishops of Rome to re-establish them again by their means To this unknown Stephen are opposed famous St. Cyprian and Firmilian Bishop of Caesarea in Cappadocia who treated Pope Stephen with contempt enough upon the occasion of the dispute touching the Baptism of Hereticks 5. The terms of not receiving slightly and unlawfully the Communion the African Ecclesiasticks who fled to Rome mark not according to Episcopius and that the Bishop of the City had a right to admit them to the Peace of the Church provided this was done with the necessary Formalities He pretends that the Fathers of Carthage expressed themselves thus to shew that not only the Pope violated the Canons but that he often did with much temerity and without any specious pretence as when he received the Appeal of the Priest Apiarius and admitted him to the Communion though this very thing is expresly prohibited by the Canons of Sardis which the Deputies of Zozime would suggest as Decrees of the Council of Nice III. The third Fact which Episcopius alledgeth is the Erection of the Bishoprick of Constantinople into the Patriarchship to whom equal Priviledges were given with him of Rome in Ecclesiastical Affairs with this only difference That the Patriarch of ancient Rome would have the precedency in Councils before him The Bishop of Bizantium was in times past but a Suffragan of the Metropolitan of Heraclea but after that Constantine had transported thither the Imperial Seat it was considered as new Rome and erected into a Patriarchiate by the Third Canon of the Council of Constantinople composed of 150 Bishops and confirmed by the 28 th Canon of the 4 th Ecumenick Council which is that of Calcedonia The objections that our Catholicks make against these Canons are so weak that we think them not worthy of being related especially seeing Mr. du Pin hath cleared this fact
Paris Sold by William des Prez 1679. IN the Design which this Author hath proposed of giving us an Abridgment of Vniversal History he hath begun these Three First Volumes with an Ecclesiastical History which contains the First General one He divides it as he hat done the Preface into Antient and Modern The first treats of what passed in Religion since the Creation of the World unto Iesus Christ and the second from Iesus Christ unto the end of the 16th Age that is to say this last contains the Establishment of the Gospel the Life of Popes the Schisms Heresies Persecutions of the Church the General and Provincial Councils and finally the Elogiums and Characters of Saints and of the Illustrious Writers of all these Ages As the Principal events which have happened in all these Revolutions are no more known we shall touch here but certain particular things which Mr. le Bret takes occasion to expound from time to time For example Upon occasion of the division which Pope Marcellus Successor to Marcellinus made of Rome into 25 parts which Pope Evaristus and Denis had begun he speaks of the Establishment of Parishes which succeeded after that The Priests whom this Pope Commissioned to govern them were named by the duty of the charge which was imposed on them to Administer the Sacraments and the Word of God to the Faithfull Parochi from certain Magistrates which the Romans called thus ãâã ãâã ãâã ãâã ãâã a praebendo because they furnished at Rome to the Ambassadors even of strange Princes Salt Wine and such like things He remarks that the Chief amongst the Priests were afterwards named at Rome Carthage and in several other places Cardinals because that as a Door regitur a Cardine each Church was so by its Bishop and the Principal of his Clergy This name was given them after the same manner in France in all the Cathedral Churches which he confirms by a Synod as Learned Coquille cites held in 893 by Franco Bishop of Navarre with his strange Canons Cardinals Arch-Priests and Foreign Priests to which he adds that this name is still in use only at Rome where saith he The Curates of the Principal Parishes are called Cardinal Priests the Benefactors of the other Churches which are not Parochial Cardinal Deacons and the Bishops who are Suffragans of Rome in the quality of Metropolitans Cardinal Bishops In speaking of the Right which Alberic had obliged Iohn the Eleventh to give the Patriarchs of Constantinople to use for ever the Pallium he explains what this Episcopal Ornament was Eusebius of Caesarea attributes the Institution thereof to Linus immediate Successor to St. Peter and he adds That as the Ephod was the Mark of the Authority of the Priests of the Synagogââ so the Pallium was to Christian Priests of their Pastoral Power It was White and of Lamb's-wooll made into a Circle and of about four fingers broad having four Bandelets hanging before and behind two on the right and two on the left with four Red Crosses which were not without a Mystery The term of Corovesque which is found in one of the Canons of the Council of Ancyra gives him occasion of expounding what this dignity was in times past which is still us'd in the Church but under another title for it was only for the Bishops properly which we call now in Partibus which in quality of Suffragans are obliged to the administration of the Diocesses when the Bishops are absent at least the Institution of the Corovesques seems to have given place to that of other Bishops who have notwithstanding some advantages which the Corovesques had not All the World knows that the White Horse which the King of Spain payeth every year in quality of King of Naples to the Pope is a Right which is due unto them for the Remise which Sixtus IV. generously made to Ferdinand King of Naples of the yearly Quit-Rent which he owed to the Holy See but few know perhaps what this Author remarks after Father Morin of the Oratory upon the Subject of Pope Iohn XV. That the Predecessors of this Pope who dated all their Acts from the years of the Emperors thought expedient to change this date after Charlemagne had made 'em Soveraigns and as at first they dated from the Indictions so afterwards from the years of their Pontificate as at this day See the Synod of Rome held by this Pope in 993. The discovery of the Canaries under the Pontificate of Clement VI. towards the year 1347. The Extirpation of the Order of Templars who were condemned to be burned at the Council of Vienna under Clement V. The permission which Innocent VIII gave the Priests of Norwegue to Celebrate under the only Species of Bread because there are no choice Wines and that those which are carried thither cannot come without becoming sour and an infinite other things of this kind render this Reading very acceptable and assure this Author with whom notwithstanding all the World will not agree in what he saith on certain things as upon the Nile upon Abbot Gerseu c. with what impatiency the Abridgment of his Political History is expected A Collection of several Relations with many singular and Curious Treatises of T. B. Tavernier Esq Baron of Aubone Divided into Five Parts In Quarto At Paris Sold by Gervais Clouzier 1679. THE difficulty which there is of getting into Iapan is the reason that we can learn nothing beyond what the Hollanders have Written thereof in their Relations They are alone permitted to go and Traffick in these Isles which the Portuguese discover'd in 1542 since a poor Cook of a Ship which parted from Amsterdam for the Indies being come to the Charge of President of the Comptoir of Iapan put into his head to exclude the Portuguese from this Commerce for he invented to this end such black Calumnies against them and all the Christians of this Country in general that the Emperor of Iapan resolved to Banish the first and to Extirpate the others whose number which augmented every day in this Empire was come to more than 400000. It 's what Mr. Tavernier describes in the First of the Five Parts which compose this Volume The Second is but a Relation of what passed in the Negotiation of the Deputies who have been in Persia and in the Indies as well from the King as the French Company for the establishing of Commerce In the Third which contains the Observations of this Author upon the Commerce of the East-Indies and upon the Frauds which may be committed therein there are three or four singular things The First he assures us he had learned of several old People in the Kingdom of Bengall that Sugar kept 30 years becomes Poison and that there are few sorts more dangerous All the World assuredly will not agree upon it The 2. is the manner wherewith the Inhabitants of Kasaubasar use to whiten their Silk which is yellowish by the means of a Lye made of the
The Bishop of Worcester maintains that the Pope could not convocate Councils but within the extent of the suburbicary Provinces tho' he denyes not but on certain singular occasions other Bishops have not been invited to these Councils as when Aurelian permitted the Bishops of Italy to assemble at Rome for the Affair of Paul of Samosatus But the Bishops of the Diocess of Italy who acknowledged the Bishop of Milan as chief thought themselves not obliged to be at the Patriarchal Councils of Rome And that which is remarkable is that one of these Councils was of Sentiments very different from him who then was upon the Patriarchal See of this City concerning the Ordination of Maximus to be Bishop of Constantinople Damasus writ twice to Constantinople with much fervour for the deposing of Maximus But St. Ambrose and the Bishops of his Diocess in a Synodical Letter to Theodosius justified the Ordination of Maximus and disapproved the Election of Gregory and Nectairus The Defenders of the pretensions of the Bishop of Rome are asked If this Council acknowledged the Patriarchal Power of this Bishop Mr. Schelstrate saith after Father Lupus That the Power of the Pope gave him the Right of deciding all things consulting only the Bishops who could do nothing without him If that is true it must be granted That the Italick Diocess was without the limits of the Patriarchate of Rome seeing the Bishops of this Diocess sent their Advices to the Emperor without having any respect to the Sentiments of Damasus Dr. Stillingfleet sheweth the independancy of the same Bishops in respect to Rome by the Example of the Council of Capua where St. Ambrose presided without asking so much as the Advice of the Bishop of Rome To prove that the Pope had the Right of calling the Bishops of all the West to all his Patriarchal Councils Mr. Schelstrate relates some Examples of Bishops amongst the Gauls and Great Britain who were at some Roman Councils But he is answered That it is no wonder that some should be found in extraordinary Rencounters and that it doth not follow from thence that the Pope was Patriarch of all the West no more than that Councils of Western Bishops being held at Milan Arles Rimini Sardis and elsewhere prov'd That the Bishops of these Cities were their Patriarchs It ought to be shewn That the Pope convocated the Bishops of the West by vertue of his Patriarchal Authority There was also a great Difference amongst the Councils assembled for the Vnity of Faith and the Discipline of divers Diocesses and the Provincial or Patriarchal Synods cânvocated at a certain time to appear before the Metropolitan or the Patriarch This is seen in the Diurnus Romanus where the Bishops of Rome oblige themselves to be present at the Councils of this City assembled at certain times as Garnier sheweth He saith it was thrice a year but no more for the Suburbicary Churches which had no other Primate but the Bishop of Rome The last of the Patriarchal Rights was to receive Appeals of the Provinces of the Patriarchship By these Appeals we must not understand the free Choice that parties can make for one to be an Arbitrator of their Differences but Juridical Appeals from an inferiour Tribunal to a higher one It hath oft fallen out that Bishops have been chosen Arbitrators of a common approbation to make others agree or that Bishops intermedled in the Differences of others without pretending to end them with Authority Our Author brings an Example of a Council of the Italick Diocess who medled with a dissention at Constantinople whereof we have already made mention But to this is opposed That the Bishops of Rome have several times sent Legates throughout all the West to examine the causes of the Bishops and to make Report of âem For the Letters of the Popes to the Bishops of Thessalonica which are in the Roman Collection are cited to prove this But we have already taken notice what Dr. Stillingfleet's Answer is to that He adds here that the Origine of these pretensions was from this That the Council of Sardis being exasperated against the Eastern Bishops gave the Bishop of Rome the liberty to re-examine some Causes in divers Provinces He took the occasion from thence of sending Legates and that was one of the first steps by which he ascended to so great a Power in the West A Doctor of Sorbone who writ some years ago de antiquis majoribus Episcoporum causis alloweth That in the space of CCCXLVII Years viz. about the time of the Council of Sardis no Example of a Cause can be produced which was referred to Rome by the Bishops who were the Judges thereof It is besides Objected That the Council of Arles attributes to the Pope majores Dioeceses but it hath been seen by the Government of this Council which has been spoken of that it was far from acknowledging the Bishop of Rome for Superiour Besides there are reasons to believe that the place where these words are has been corrupted and tho' it was not so this may signifie another thing except this Bishop had a Diocess more large than his Brethren Dr. Stillingfleet refutes some more Reasons of Mr. Schelstrate of small consequence and relates some places of the Letters of Pope Leo where he presses hard the Canons of Nice against the usurpations of the Patriarch of Constantinople and maintains it was not lawful for any to violate or to reveal the Decrees of this Council from whence it 's concluded that the Churches of England are in no wise obliged according to the Discipline of the first Ages to submit to the Pope After having ended this Controversie our Prelate sheweth there is a great likelyhood that some Bishops of England were at the Council of Sardis But thence an occasion is taken to say that the British Churches having received the Council of Sardis they are obliged to acknowledge the Pope for the Patriarch of the West seeing this Council hath established the Appeals to the Bishop of Rome To see if this Objection be of any force Dr. Stillingfleet examines the Design and the Proceedings of this Council as follows Athanasius Bishop of Alexandria had been deposed by two Synods of Eastern Bishops for some Crimes of which he was accused He could not hope to have this Judgment reverst in the East because the Arian Party was very strong there he made his Address to the Bishops of the West and particularly to Iulius Bishop of Rome as to the Chief He desired that his Process might be reverst and shewed by Letters of divers Bishops of Aegypt that he had not been heard according to the Forms neither at Tyre nor Antioch because of the violence of the Faction of Eusebius Thereupon Iulius having communicated his Design to his Brethren the Bishops of the West writ in their name and his own to the Eastern Bishops That it was just to examine this Cause by
very People who make use of it are ashamed thereof when Superstition and Cruelty leave them any interval to think with a little more calmness on what they do This is so true that most of those which have abondoned themselves to the blind Zeal of Superstition have made use of the same artifices Our Age hath seen an illustrious Example of it and if we compare what Gregory saith hereof and the evil Crafts of Iulian with what hath been done not long since in a great Kingdom there will be a great Similitude found betwixt them We shall pass it by here fearing lest it should be thought that we have a mind to stop at a Parallel so Odious as this 6. Amongst the Reasons whereof Gregory makes use to shew that Iulian could not succeed in his Design he thus describes the power of the Saints which Christians honoured Have you not feared those to whom so great Honor is done and for whom solemn Feasts have been established by which Devils have been driven away and Diseases cured whose Apparitions and Predictions are known whose very Bodies have as much Virtue as their holy Souls whether they are touched or honoured of whom some drops of Blood only have the same Virtue as their Bodie We see by these Words and divers places of Gregory and other Fathers of his time that there was then a great deal of Respect had to the Relicks of Saints and that a great many Miracles were said to be done at their Graves It is astonishing that Gregory who loved inlarging hath not said even that the Bodies of Saints had more Virtue after their Death than during their Life for there is no comparison between the multitude of Miracles which were said to be done at the Graves of Martyrs and those which they did whilst alive Many People believe that the Falshood of some Christians and the Credulity of some others contributed much to hold up Paganism 7. Our Author makes a Panegyrick upon the Monks in the sequel after having despised Socrates and Plato and all the Pagan Philosophers Gregory reproacheth Iulian that he did not love Virtue in his Enemies but certainly Zeal made him commit here some such thing and it is very certain that he had infinitely learned more out of Plato and the Discourses of Socrates than in the Conversation of all the Monks that he had seen As to their Lives the endless Seditions of those Pious Hermits and their implacable Humor shew sufficiently that they were infinitely beneath these great Models of Pagan Antiquity 8. He remarketh very well that to be desirous to ruin the Christian Religion in a time wherein the Roman Empire was full of Christians was to undertake to ruin the very Empire When they were in a small number they could not be ill treated without Prejudice to the State but when they were numerous they could not be engaged without causing great Convulsions and too much disorder It were to be desired that the Imitators of Iulian had well weighed this Advertisement of Gregory who despiseth most justly all the good that could accrew from the Government of Iulian in comparison with the evil that so detestable a Design would have caused if he had been able to put it in Execution It were yet to be wished that our Age had been well instructed in the Horror which the Snares that Iulian by his Officers and Soldiers laid for Christians Gregory saith that some Christian Soldiers having one day when Iulian gave some Liberality to his Army cast Incense in his Presence into the fire according to an ancient Custom usually interpreted as if they had burned Incense to the Idols Nevertheless many others had done it without any Reflection and being admonished of their Fault as they invocated Iesus Christ making the sign of the Cross after their Meal by some one that told them they had renounced him they went immediately crying out in the Market-place and in the Ears of the Emperor that they had been surprized and that they were Christians Iulian provoked at the mistake banished them 9. Gregory describes some horrid Cruelties against the Christians which Iulian had authoris'd in Egypt and Syria He saith that the Inhabitants of Arethusa a City of Syria after having made Young-Women consecrated to God suffer a thousand Indignities killed them eat their Livers all raw and gave their Flesh to Swine to feed on covering it with Barly These People treated with an abominable Barbarity the Bishop of this City who notwithstanding appeared almost insensible in his Torments and Gregory marks that this Bishop in the time of Constantius exercis'd having liberty from the Emperor an Habitation of Devils to wit a Pagan Church This Action of Mark of Arethusa had drawn upon him the Hatred of the People as a Pagan would have been detested by the Christians if he had destroyed one of their Churches Notwithstanding Gregory a little lower saith not only that the Christians did not Treat the Pagans as they had been Treated by them But he asketh of them What Liberty Christians had taken from them As if it were nothing to pull down their Temples as was done since the Reign of Constantine They continued with the same Rigor under the following Emperors and that they might be Reproacht with nothing of Paganism it was Prohibited on pain of Death to Sacrifice to Idols with the Applause of all the Christians if St. Augustin can be believed We must not forget to Remark here another effect of the Rhetorick of Gregory It is that in speaking of the Christian Young Women of Aretâusa who had been so Abused he Accuses not only the Pagans but also makes an Apostrophe to our Lord thus O Iesus Christ how shall I suffer the pain which you had then 10. Iulian added Insults also to his ill Treatments and in taking away the Christians Goods he said he only assisted them to observe the Gospel which commanded 'em to despise the things of this Life This Railery is in the forty third Letter of Iulian where he saith that the Church of the Arians at Edessa having done some Violence to the Valentinians he had Confiscated all their Mony to distribute it to the Soldiers and kept their Goods to himself fearing lest the Arians being too Rich could not get into the Kingdom of Heaven Gregory Answers to this amongst other things that Iulian acting thus made as if he imagin'd that the Gods of the Heathens thought it necessary that People should be deprived of their Goods without deserving it and that they approved of Injustice He might have been satisfied with this Answer but he adds that there are things which Iesus Christ hath commanded as necessary and others which he hath simply proposed for those that would observe them without indispensibly obliging any one to do it Such is according to Gregory the Commandment of abandoning the Wealth of this World 11. One thing for which they abused
serve him he made them considerable Gifts For this purpose he borrowed Mony of a Priest who was lately come from an Isle of the Archipelago named Thassus with order to buy at Constantinople Marble and other Materials for a Church which they designed to build in this Isle A little time after Gregory who was indisposed went out of Constantinople to take the Air and thus gave the Egyptian Bishops an opportunity to enter betimes in the Morning into his Church and there to place Maximus in the Episcopal See They could not end the Ceremony of the Ordination of this Cynick before the report of it went through the City Thereupon the Magistrates of Constantinople the Clergy and People without excepting the very Arians went in a Crowd to the Anastasia and drove these Bishops out of the Church They retired into a Play-House which was hard by where they cut his Hair and consecrated him That still irritated the People the more who heap'd all manner of Injuries upon Maximus and blamed even Gregory for having received an evil Man with too much Bounty into his House Gregory being advertised of what passed returned speedily to Constantinople and made the Speech which is the Twenty eighth in order wherein he declares he went out of the City with much Difficulty and that the short time he had been absent did but augment the Love he had for his Flock He besides represents the Perfidiousness of Maximus and of those of his Party to which he joyns the Description of a Christian Philosopher He excuseth himself for being put upon by Maximus in that good Men not being to be suspected he could not imagine that this Philosopher had an Intention to deceive him He saith at the end That he is ready to quit the Episcopal See and that he never wished for it He mingles a great many general Reflections in this Discourse and appears to prepare himself for Patience in consideration of the Miseries of this Life We see that he was Old because he saith That perhaps Maximus would upbraid him with his Old Age and Infirmity which is contrary to the Opinion of those who believe that Gregory was born towards the time of the Council of Nice The Returning of Gregory engaged the People much in his Interest and obliged Maximus to quit the City but not to renounce his Design It seemeth that he writ to the Bishops of the Italick Diocess assembled in a Synod at Aquilea whom he made acquainted with his Election which had been approved by Communicatory Letters from Peter of Alexandria which he sent then to be read in their Council He allowed that he had been ordain'd in a private House but he said it was because the Arians were in Possession of all the Churches and that he was obliged to yield to their Violence The Council not knowing the Circumstances approved of his Ordination supposing that the Promotion of Gregory was not done according to the Canons because it was not lawful for a Bishop to abandon a Church to go to establish himself in another The Approbation which they had given to the Ordination of Maximus made them also afterwards refuse to communicate with Nectaire his Successor and that they writ to the Emperor to intreat him to overlook it and to re-establish Maximus or to call a General Council at Rome to examine into this Matter Damasus Bishop of Rome also disapproved the Election of Gregory who according to the Canons ought to have staid at Sasine seeing it was not permitted to a Bishop to abandon the People which had been committed to him to go to another through Ambition which often causeth Quarrels and Schisms Thus he speaks on 't in a Letter written to some Bishops of Egypt wherein he also reprehends the Election of Maximus as contrary to the Canons He writ besides to Acholius Bishop of Thessalonica against the same and exhorted him to endeavor to establish a Catholick Bishop in Constantinople It is thereby seen that the Action of Gregory in abandoning Sasine had scandalized many People and for a Man so disinterested in the World as he testified himself to be was perhaps a thing that was a little too delicate Moreover to resolve to go to Constantinople after having despised Sasine was a thing that might produce bad Suspitions in ill-minded People It cannot be doubted but Maximus maliciously made use of all this to ruin the Reputation of Gregory and it was perhaps that which gave him the Boldness of going to Thessalonica to solicit Theodosius to establish him by an Edict But far from obtaining what he demanded the Emperor commanded him with Menaces to desist Desperate for missing his aim he went to Alexandria where having drawn some People unto his Party he threatned Peter Bishop of that City to take away his place if he did not help him to become Master of the Church of Constantinople The Governour of Alexandria being advertised of this Insolence and fearing the Cynick should cause some Troubles banished him from the City and History tells us not what became of him afterwards Gregory being thus rid of Maximus had the Arian Party upon his Hands which endeavoured to defame him in jearing his Country and Parents Besides he was accused of an ill Humour of Negligence and other Defects of this kind but as these Reproaches were either ill grounded or inconsiderable he easily justified himself as may be easily seen in his Twenty fifth Speech That which did him the most Damage was that in effect though he was a great Orator at that time and considering his Age he was not very fit to take other Cares upon him which he ought to have done to have maintained himself against the Arians He should have managed the Court and endeavoured to win the Favour of the Chief to advance the Interests of his Church and this is what he was not able to do having pass'd the greatest part of his Life in Study and Rest. Which caused the Priest who favoured Maximus as we have said to gain divers Catholicks who began to say that Gregory was not capable of fulfilling the Duties of Episcopacy where there needed no less Experience and Ability in Matters of Life than Eloquence and Knowledge The Complaints and Repulses of these People gave Gregory so much distaste that one day he undertook to take leave of his People But he had no sooner said that he would go away but all the Assembly desired him so earnestly not to Abandon them and expose the Orthodox Doctrin to fall under the efforts of the Arians by his Departure that at length he gave his consent to stay until the Bishops of the East who were to Assemble speedily as they said had Elected to fill the Episcopal Sea of Constantinople Matters remained in this State until Theodosius Arrived in this Cirty the 22 of November CCCLXXX This Emperor who had been Baptized of late at Thessalonica by Acholius an Orthodox Bishop that had
Inspired him with resolutions to Re-establish the Faith of Nice had already ordered being at Thessalonica by an Edict of the 27 th of February that all his Subjects should Embrace concerning the Holy Trinity the Opinion that was espoused at Rome and Alexandria that those who should profess it should be named Catholicks and the rest Hereticks that the names of Churches should not be given to the latter and that they should be obnoxious to Civil Punishments as well as to Divine Vengeance Being at Constantinople and having observed the great Multitude of Heterodox whereof this City was full he Published an Edict more Severe the Tenth of Ianuary in the Year CCCLXXXI by which he Recalls all those that might have given any Liberty to Hereticks and takes from them all the Churches they had in the Cities commanding them to deliver them to those who followed the Faith of Nice He sent word after that to Demophilus an Arian Bishop to Subscribe to this Council or resolve to quit the Churches of Constantinople Demophilus without Ballanceing took the latter Party and advertised the People that the next day they should Assemble without the City And the Arians were thus Dispossessed of the Publick Churches which they had during Forty Years After this Theodosius was Accus'd of wanting Zeal and some would have had him employ'd Violence to have reduced the Arians as Gregory reports tho he disapproves of the Heat of those who found fault with the Conduct of Theodosius because of that and declares against those that pretend to force Consciences The Emperor having sent for Gregory received him with much Affection and told him he was going to put him in Possession of Constantinople For fear the People the greatest part whereof followed the Sentiments of Arius should rise Theodosius sent Soldiers to Seize the Church of St. Sophia and made Gregory to be Conducted by others through the midst of the People which Cryed on every side and was in as much Concern and Despair as if Constantinople had been Taken which cou'd not be an acceptable Spectacle to a Wise and Moderate Bishop Tho the Sun was Risen it was so full of Clouds that it might have been said it was Night But the Sun immediately appeared when Gregory went into the Churh This Circumstance deserved not to be taken notice of if our Bishop had not related it as some extraordinary thing after having said That although he is one of those who regards not such sort of Thoughts he believes notwithstanding it is better to add Faith to all than equally to refuse to believe what is said So soon as they were in the Church Gregory was demanded for Bishop by the Cry of all the People which was there which he made to cease in telling them by a Priest that they should give God Thanks and not to Cry He was threatned with no Danger except thaat one Man drew his Sword and immediately put it into the Scabbard But although the Arians had given up their Churches they never the less Murmured amongst themselves and were enraged for their being driven away Gregory believed with a great deal of reason that the Heterodox might be drawn by Mildness and used it more willingly than the Authority of the Emperor He complains of a parcel of unhappy young People who called Mildness Cowardice gave Fury the name of Courage and would have the Arians to be irritated and inflamed with Anger The Moderation of Gregory did not displease Theodosius who some times would send for him and make him eat at his Table Notwithstanding our Bishop would very seldom be at Court though others were continually there to gain the Favour of the Emperor or of his Officers and made use of the pretence of Piety to advance themselves and ruin their Enemies As he was Old and of a weak Constitution he was often Indisposed which his Enemies attributed to too great Tenderness Being one day in Bed a Man was sent to Assassinate him who touched with Repentance confessed to him at his Beds Feet that he was set on work to have committed this Crime and obtained Forgiveness As to the Revenues of the Church Gregory saith that finding no Account out neither in the Papers of those who had been before him Bishops of Constantinople nor amongst those who had the care of gathering them he would not meddle with them and took nothing on 't that he should not render an Account for the same Theodosius at that time called a Council at Constantinople either to Condemn divers Heresies or to Establish Gregory according to the Canons in the Episcopal See of that City But before we relate what passed therein as to what concerneth Gregory it 's necessary to say somewhat of the Speeches he made whilst he was at Constantinople and which remain yet amongst us Basil Bishop of Caesarea Dyed the First day of the Year CCCLXXX Gregory made a Speech in Honour of him some time after not being able to render his Friend this last Duty as soon as he would He praiseth the Ancestors of Basil who were Persons of Quality and moreover Christians from a long time He saith that during the Persecution of Maximinus some of the Ancestors of Basil being retired into a Forest of Pontus without any Provision and Arms to go to Hunt they prayed God to send them some Game or Venison which they saw in this Wood and that in the very Moment God sent them a great number of Deers and such as were of the Fattest who shewed they were troubled not to be called for sooner Gregory is Merry enough on this Subject according to the Custom of Pagan Orators who do the like in respect to the Pagan Fables That which there is of worst consequence in it is That this renders Suspicious the other Narrations of Gregory 2. Afterwards he makes an Abridgment of the Life of Basil and insists on each Place according to his Custom with much Exaggeration Figures and Moralities Speaking of the manner he himself had passed his Life he saith that he wishes His Affairs may prosper better for the future by the Intercessions of Basil. 3. The ways whereby in his time Men advanced in Ecclesiastical Charges were no more Canonical than the ways which are imployed this day upon that account if Gregory may be Believed After having said that in other Professions Men were advanced by degrees and according to the Capacity they had he assures us that the chief Places were attain'd as much through Crimes as Vertue and that the Episcopal Sees were not for those who were the most Worthy thereof but for the most Potent c. No body takes the name of Physician nor of Painter who hath not studied the nature of Maladies that hath not well mixed Colours and Painted many things but a Bishop is easily found not after his being formed with care but out of hand as the Fable hath feigned that the Giants
Chatechumenes consisted in shewing them what there was that was good in the Heathen Philosophy and so insensibly conducted them to Christianity which they were in a much better way of embracing after having received several of his Maxims drawn from Natural Light and distributed through the Writings of Philosophers for whom they saw all the World had a respect If they were immediately told that they must renounce all their Opinions and look upon all the rest of Mankind not only as Men who were in an Error but such a had said nothing that was true As Labourers cast Seed into the Earth but not 'till after they have water'd it So saith Clement We take from the writings of the Greeks that which is necessary to water what we final Earthy in those we Instruct that they may afterwards receive the Spiritual Seed and that they may be in a mâre likely way to make it spring up more easily In effect the light of the Gospel supposes that of Nature and destroys it not We do not see that Iesus Christ and his Apostles have undertaken to give us a compleat System of all the Doctrins that have any reference to Religion they supposed that we were already prevented with divers thoughts established amongst all Nations upon which they Reasoned otherwise it would have been requisite for example that they should have exactly defined all the Vertues which they have not done because in respect to this they found Idea's in the minds of Men which tho imperfect were yet very true so they were satisfied to add what was lâcking or to cut off what evil Customs might have injuriously established therein Besides the Office of Catechist Clement was raised to the Priesthood at the beginning as 't is believ'd of the Empire of Severus because Eusebius in his History of the Events of CXCV gives to Clement the title of Priest It was about that time that he undertook to defend the Christian Religion against Heathens and Hereticks by a Work which he Entituled Stromates which we shall afterwards speak something of because in this Work in making a Chronological Computation he descends not lower than the Death of Commodus whence Eusebius concludes that he compos'd it under the Empire of Severus who succeeded this Emperour Severus enraged against the Christians because perhaps of a Rebellion of the Iews with whom the Heathens confounded those that professed Christianity began to Persecute them violently This Persecution arising at Antioch reached unto Egypt and obliged several Christians to withdraw from their Habitations where they were too well known to escape the Violence of the Persecution This seems to have given occasion to Clement of proving it was lawful to fly in time of Persecution After having said that Martyrdom purified them from all Sins and exhorting them to suffer if they were called to it he says that Persons ought to testifie that they are perswaded of the Truth of the Christian Religion as much by their Manners as Words After that he Expounds this Passage of the Gospel When you are Persecuted in one City flee into another The Lord saith he commands us not to flee as if it were an Evil to be Persecuted and bids us not to shun Death by flight as if we should fear it He will have us neither ingage in or assist any one to do Evil c. Those who obey not are Rash and throw themselves without reason into manifest Dangers If he who kills a Man of God Sinneth he also is guilty of his own Death he who presents himself to the Tribunal of the Jugde c. he assists as much as is capable the Wickedness of him by whom he is Persecuted If he exasperates him he is effectually the cause of his own Death as much as if he endeavoured to vex a wild Beast who afterwards devoured him A little while after the Apostles Persons were observ'd to covet Martyrdom but some after desiring the Executioners scandalously falling from Christianity at the sight of the Torments this Conduct was thought dangerous and those were condemned for it who offered themselves freely to be Martyr'd as appears by divers Passages of the Ancients and by that of Clement which we have related As Men ought not to shun Martyrdom when it cannot be avoided except by renouncing Christianity or a good Conscience so they ought to preserve their Lives as much as they can whilst there is any likelihood of serving the Christians rather to prolong it by flight than lose it by staying in Places where the Persecution is so violent and whence they may get away without ceasing to make Profession of Truth Those who blame or make some difficulty of absolving some Protestant Pastors because they came from a Kingdom where they could not tarry without an eminent Danger should first prove that another Conduct would have been more advantageous to Christianity than their Retreat hath been Here depends the Solution of this Question which hath been disputed of late If they have done well in withdrawing Clement seems then to have quitted Alexandria seeing we find that he made some Abode at Ierusalem with Alexander who was soon after Bishop of this City and to whom he dedicated his Book Entituled The Ecclesiastical Rules against those who follow the Opinions of the Jews During his Abode there he was very useful to this Church as appears by a Letter to Alexander to the Church of Antioch whereof Clement was bearer where this Bishop saith that he was a Man of great Virtue as the Church of Anitoch knew and would still acknowledge him so and that he being at Ierusalem by an effect of Divine Providence had confirmed and encreased the Church of the Lord. From Antioch Clement returned to Alexandria where it is not known how long he lived All that can be said is that he survived at least some Years after Pantenus and that he was not old when he composed his Stromates seeing he saith himself that he did them to serve him for a Collection in his old Age when his Memory should fail him History teacheth us nothing concerning his Death but it may be believed his Memory was blessed at Alexandria if these words of the Bishop of Ierusalem be considered which we have spoken of who in another Letter to Origen saith That they both acknowledged for Fathers these blessed Men who had quitted this Life before them and with whom they would soon be to wit blessed Pantenus and pious Clement from whom they had drawn great Succours Amongst several Works which Clement compos'd we have but Three remaining which are considerable The First is An Exhortation to Pagans where he refutes their Religion and endeavours to induce them to imbrace Christianity The Second is Entituled The Paedagogue where he forms the Manners of Youth and gives them Rules to behave themselves Christianly where he mixeth Maxims very severe and far from the Customs of this day The Third are the Stromates that is to say Tapistries which he
Party which is that of the Semi Arians or Homoiousians The Reader will not be displeased to find here a List of these Councils which is made upon the Remarks of Mr. du Pin. Councils against Arius 1. At Alexandria composed of near a hundred Bishops in the Year 322. 2. At Nice in 325 composed of 318 or 270 or 250 Bishops 3. The Third Council of Alexandria where St. Athanasius was absolved in 340. 4. At Rome by the Bishops of Italy in 341 where Marcellus of Ancyra and St. Athanasius were justified 5. At Milan where Ursacius and Valens were received into Communion for condemning Arius in the Year 346. 6. At Sardica in 347 composed of an hundred of the Western Bishops who sent back St. Athanasius and Marcellus of Ancyra Absolved 7. At Alexandria in 362 with St. Athanasius where it was declared that the difference upon the three Hypostases were only Disputes of words It was composed of the Bishops of âgypt 8. At Paris where the Bishops of the Gauls retracted what they had done at Rimini in 362. 9. The Bishops of Italy did as much in another Synod the same Year 10. At Antioch in 363 where the Bishops of Egypt approved the Form of Nice 11. In 370 at Rome under Damasus 12. At Aquilea in 381. 13. At Constantinople in 383. Councils for Arius 1. In Bithynia in the Year 323 Sozom. Lib. 1. Cap. 15. 2. At Antioch where Eustathius Bishop of this City was deposed in 330. 3. At Caesarea in Palestine where St. Athanasius was cited but appeared not in 334. 4. At Tyre where St. Athanasius appeared as accused in 335. It was composed of a hundred Bishops 5. At Ierusalem where Arius and his Party were received to the Communion of the Church in the same Year 6. At Constantinople against Marcellus of Ancyra which communicated with St. Athanasius and who was deposed as convicted for renewing the Errors Paul of Samosetus and of Sabellius in 336. 7. The Third Council of Constantinople where Paul Bishop of that City Defender of St. Athanasius was deposed in 338. 8. At Beziers where the Followers of Arius were reconciled to the Church in spight of Hilary of Poictiers and some other Bishops which were banished in 356. 9. The Third Council of Sirmium where the Father was declared greater than the Son in 357. 10. Another at Melitin the same Year 11. At Antioch in 358 where they condemned these Terms The same in Substance 12. At Constantinople where the Anomeans cunningly condemned Aetius their Head and deposed many Semi Arian Bishops in 360. 13. At Antioch where Melece Bishop of Antioch was deposed and where the Son was declar'd Created out of nothing in 367. 14. At Singedun in Mesia against Germinius a Semi Arian 366. 15. In Caria where they rejected the Term of Consubstantial in 368. Councils for the Semi Arians 1. The Second Council of Alexandria in 324 where nothing was determined against Arius and they treated only of the Terms Substance and Hypostasis against Sabellius where Osius presided 2 3. Two Councils at Antioch in 341 and 342 where they declared they received Arius because they believed him Orthodox where they composed three Forms of Faith in the which they Anathematize those who said there was a time when the Word was not and made a Profession of believing him like to the Father in all things This Council made XXV Canons which are inserted in the Code of the Universal Church 4. Another Council at Antioch by the Eusebians where the word Consubstantial is not found though it be Catholick as to the rest It was held in 345. 5. At Philippolis in 347. 6. The Second Council of Sirmium the Form whereof was approved by Hilary of Poictiers although the word Consubstantial be not in it In the Year 351. 7. At Arles where St. Athanasius was condemned in 353. 8. At Milan in 355 where St. Athanasius was also condemned by Violence 9. At Ancyra where those were Anathematized which held the Son Consubstantial with the Father and those who deny'd he was the same in Substance in 358. 10. The Fourth Council of Sirmium where they approved of the Forms of the Councils of Antioch and of the second Council of Sirmium 11. The fifth Council of Sirmium in 359. 12. At Rimini composed of 400 Bishops where they rejected Terms of Substance and Hypostasis as was done in the fifth Council of Sirmium Notwithstanding they held the Son to be equal to the Father in all things It was also in the Year 359. 13. At Selucia the same Year where forty Anomean Bishops or pure Arians were condemned by 105 Semi Arians 14. At Antioch in 363 where the Term Consubstantial was received in different senses 15. At Lampsaca in 365 where the Anomeans were condemn'd and where the Bishops were re-establish'd which they had deposed 16. Divers Synods in Pamphilia Isauria Lycia and Sicily in 365 and 366. 17. At Tyanes in 368 where the Anomeans were reunited with the Semi Arians In 370 a Synod was held at Gangres the Canons whereof are inserted in the Code of the universal Church and the fourth of which condemns those that say the Communion ought not to be received from the hands of a married Priest The 59th and 60th and last Canon of the Council of Laodicea which Mr. du Pin believes to have been held between the Year 360 and 370 prohibits the Reading at Church any other than Canonical Books and those that were acknowledged for such and those the Protestants receive excepting the Apocalypse The 8th Canon of the Council of Saragossa defends the Vailing of Virgins that have consecrated themselves to Jesus Christ before the Age of forty Years The Bishops of Macedonia willing to confirm a Judgment they had given against a Bishop named Bonosus by the advice of Pope Syricius he answered them That the Council of Capua having sent this Cause to them it belonged not to him to judge on 't and that 't was their business to determin it The most ancient Monument according to Mr. du Pin where the name of Mass is found to signifie publick Prayers that the Roman Church makes in offering the Eucharist is the third Canon of the second Council of Carthage held in 390. At the end of this Volume the Author makes an Abridgment of the Doctrin of the 4th Age as he did in his precedent Book in respect to the three first and he confesses that though nothing was taught in the 4th Age which was not believed in the three first nevertheless the principal Mysteries were much more clear'd and expounded in the fourth The Travels of Mars Or The Art of War divided into three parts c. With an Ample Relation of the Soldiery of the Turks both for Assaulting and Defending A Work inriched with more than 400 Cuts engraven in Copper-plates by Allaân Manesson Mallet Master of the Mathematicks to the Pages of his Majesty's lesser Stable heretofore Ingenier and Serjeant-Major
only have Men to ask the same things of God St. Augustin in his Work of Baptism against Donatists speaking of the words which they made use of in Baptizing saith Si non santificatur aqua cum aliqua erroris verba per imperitiam Precator effundit multi non solum mali sed etiam boni fratres in Ecclesia non sanctificant aquam If the Water is not Sanctified whilest he that Prayeth is mistaken thro' ignorance in some expressions there are not only several evil Persons but even good Christians who cann't Sanctifie the Water in the Church IV. Mr. Clarkson after having brought diverse proofs by which he pretends to shew that there was no Form in the First Ages for the Administration of the Sacraments cites divers places of the Fathers which seem against Forms in general 1. For example he Expounds at length the passage of Iustin Martyr which is already related He adds thereunto what Tertullian saith Apol. ch 30. of the manner how Christians Prayed sine monitore quia de pectore precantes sumus c. We pray without being advertised of the terms which we ought to make use of because we pray from the bottom of our heart In this place Tertullian opposes the Christians to the Heathens who rehearse their Prayers after a Person that Read them Qui praeibat de scripto Some thought that Tertullian meant that the Christians rehearsed their Prayers by heart but then instead of saying de pectore he should have said de memoria and it would be no small labour to learn by heart all the Prayers that the Christians then made In their meeting together which lasted 9 hours and sometimes 12. and which were done twice or thrice a week all the time was almost imployed in Prayers not mentioning the quantity of others that were done on Vigils Feasts Sundays in the Administration of Baptism in the Ordinations in the Reconciliations of Penitents c. 2. Besides that the Generality of the Christians being obliged to no Form in respect to the Hymns they Sung as appears by Tertullian there is no likelyhood that the Pastours were more confined in their Prayers Indeed in the time of Origen they Prayed according to their Capacity as is evident by some passages of this Father which may be readin the Author who makes use of divers other Reasons which we cannot stay to relate 3. We find these Terms in this Book of St. Augustin de Catechiz rudibus ch 9. where after having said that those who had some Learning and entred into the Church must be taught that God hath much more respect to the Heart than Words he adds Ita enim non irridebunt si aliquos Antistites Ministros Ecclesiae fortè animadverterint vel cum Barbarismis solecismis Deum invocare For thus saith he When it shall happen that they will hear both Bishops and Priests commit Solecisms and Barbarisms in their Prayers to God they will not laugh thereat Socrates who lived in the middle of the Fifth Age says that two Prayers could not be found which in every thing agreed with one another The Churches of Spain had no Liturgie in DCXXXIII and in France it was but in Charles Majus time that they were established there In the Diocess of Cologne there were divers sorts of 'em until the middle of the Tenth Age and the same was observed in Ireland with which the English and Scotch agreed until the Twelfth Age. V. The last thing that the Author does in this Work is to Refute the Reasons which are brought to prove the Antiquity of Liturgies 1. To that purpose is cited a passage of Clement Alexandrius who says That the Assembly of those who Pray'd had but one Voice in common and but one thought And the Author replies that that signifies nothing else but that the Pastour speaks in the name of the whole Assembly 2. As for the passages of Tertullian St. Cyprian and St. Basil where they say that the Christians asked certain things of God Mr. Clarkson maintains that hence can no other Consequence be drawn but that the matter of their Prayer was the same tho' the Terms might be different 3. Divers places of Origen are cited where he speaks of the Prayers of the Christians of which he relates some Words but if we believe the Author Origen by the word ãâã ãâã ãâã ãâã ãâã meant in some places nothing else but the Psalms of David where these words are found and it appears not by other passages of this Father that they were obliged constantly to make use of the same expressions but only that sometimes those which he relates were made use of 4. Some Learned Men have believed that the words of Dominica Solennia in Tertullian c. 9. de Anima signifie the Liturgie which was read on Sunday Mr. Clarkson believes on the contrary that these Terms mark nothing else than the reading of Scripture the singing of Psalms Prayers and Homilies and that this is visible by the Sequel of Tertullians discourse which may be read in the Original or in the Author Solennia is also taken for the same thing in St. Cyprian and in the time of Iustin Martyr and Tertullian the care of remarking what was to be read was left to the Pastours After the Examination of these passages drawn from the Authors of the First Age Mr. Clarkson comes to later Testimonies amongst which the Liturgie of St. Iames ought to be read which is manifestly Supposititious and which according to the Author was unknown before the Seventh and Eighth Age. 5. The 18. Canon is cited of the Council of Laodicea where it is said That the Liturgy ãâã ãâã ãâã ãâã ãâã of Prayers ought every where to be the same at Evening and Morning To that the Author answers amongst other things that the word Liturgie signifies Originally a publick Function and is taken in the most ordinary signification for the Exercise of this Change and not for the manner of doing on 't Thus in Theodoret The Liturgy of Hymns not for a Form of Canticles but for the very Action of Singing them In Iustinian the Liturgy of the Scripture which was read is the very reading of Holy Writ and not a Rubrick which notes in what place it ought to be Read The same Emperour condemns to death those who shou'd undertake to trouble the Divine Liturgies to wit the Publick Service and not the Forms of Writings 6. The Author after that treats in a few words of the Liturgies Attributed to St. Basil and St. Chrysostom He believes that these two Bishops have been supposed as well as St. Ambrose Authors of new Liturgies because they introduced a new manner of Singing in their Churches Flavianus and Diodorus established at Antioch the Singing of the Antiphones when the Arians had forc'd them to meet together in a particular Assembly after having taken from them the Publick Churches They were followed in that by
subject could bear II. After these Sermons of which we have spoke there is a small work Intituled a brief exposition of the Lords Prayer and the Decalogue with the Doctrine of the Sacraments these treaties have been already published in Twelves they are extreamly short but one may there find the Lords Prayer and the ten Commandments explained in a good and correct method yet there is almost nothing essential which is forgot Altho the Author took pains for the Vulgar yet he did not omit to cite in the Margin the Fathers and Heathen Authors where he found it for his purpose as when he expounded these words in the Lords Prayer thy Will be done c. he cites Epictetus Plato Antoninus and Seneca Epictetus says in his Enchiridion if God will have it so let it be so and Plato in his Dialogue Intituled Citron affirms that Socrates being in Prison pass'd the time whilst he tarried there as one that resigned himself to God in every thing which should happen to him The Emperor Antoninus says that we must chearfully receive every thing that happens to us and the words of Seneca are no less remarkable Ego Secundum Naturam vivo si totum me illi dedo optimum est Deum quo auctore cuncta proveniunt sine murmuratione comitari c. hic est magnus Animus qui se Deo tradidit I live according to Nature when I resign my self entirely to him nor is there any thing better than to follow without murmuring that God that is the cause of every thing It belongs only to great Souls to commit themselves wholly to God Mr. Barrow in the beginning of his Exposition of the Decalogue says it seems at first sight That it rather contains the Laws of the Iewish State than their Moral Precepts since there 's nothing spoke of the manner how we ought to live in regard of our selves as to the Continency Sobriety or Devotion and which we owe towards God as to Prayer Thanksgiving Confession of sins c. It seems to have a particular respect to the Jews who were a chosen people and that God govern'd them after a more peculiar manner than other Nations in giving 'em Laws for every particular thing which was only accommodated to the State of the Israelites to whom God only made himself known and that so this Law does not oblige all Nations in that especial sense wherein it was given by the Holy Ghost After this he gives divers Reasons for which we yet ought to have the Decalogue in the greatest Veneration and to observe it exactly except the 4th Commandment which doth not oblige the observation of Christians in this that it is Ceremonial no more than the first Patriarchs who also were not the less pleasing to God notwithstanding the testimony of Iustin and St. Ireneus but Reason it self dictates that it is necessary to set some time apart in which we may more particularly apply our selves to Divine Service and in which Servants may rest themselves from Labour 't is this the Heathens themselves observed witness Plato who says that the Gods are touch'd with pity towards Men and because of the Labour which they are obliged to he permits 'em some repose and days of rest Legum Conditores says Seneca festos instituerunt dies ut ad hilaritatem homines publicè cogerentur tanquam necessarium laboribus Mr. Barrow says nothing of the Sacraments since there is enough spoken of them by the most able Protestant Divines In the beginning there is one thing worthy of remark Besides other Washings which he speaks of he shews that it was a Custom amongst the Jews that those who were dedicated to God were exhorted to repentance for transgressing the Law and were wash'd in publick Testimony that they should change their Life He maintained this assertion upon the success which the Baptism of St. Iohn the Baptist had for it wou'd have been without doubt rejected as an Innovated Ceremony in a time when the Jews had such an extravagant respect to their own Traditions that they wou'd have opposed it if not upheld upon an Antient Custom If this is so one might also conjecture that the Lustrations of the Heathens gave birth to this extraordinary Baptism for 't is well known that those who had committed some Crimes were to be washed by some publick person and even by Princes themselves whereof we find an infinite number of Examples in the most Antient History of the Greeks III. The third piece which is in this Volume is a Treatise of the Pope's Supremacy to which is added a Discourse concerning the Vnity of the Church There has been already published in quarto in 1679. by Dr. Tillotson to whom the Author had committed the Care of the Impression at his death the first Testimony in a small Preface He believes that Dr. Barrow has omitted nothing essential or what might be of any consequence in this Controversie he believes that there is enough to decide for ever all the difficulties and to disswade all wise men of either Party from writing any more upon this Subject We shall remark in few words the method of his Treatise to the end that we may have a general Idea of what is contained in it we have at the first sight a preface wherein the Author relates the different sentiments of the Doctors of the Roman Church touching the Authority of the Pope which some make Inferiour to that of the Councils whilst others are of a contrary perswasion yet he briefly gives us the History of the Original and progress of the Papal Power Mr. Barrow having remarked that all that is said on this Power can only be founded upon seven suppositions he divides his Work into seven parts and examines them one after another these are the suppositions 1. That St. Peter received from Iesus Christ the Preheminence amongst the Apostles and had given to him an Authority and Sovereign Iurisdiction over the rest 2. That the rights and advantages of this Soveraignty were not personal but might be transmitted to others and left to their Successors 3. That St. Peter was the Bishop of Rome 4. That St. Peter continued to be Bishop of Rome after he had left Judea and that he remained so till his death 5. That 't is from thence that the priviledges of the Pope do come as Successor to St. Peter to wit Vniversal Iurisdiction over the whole Church of Iesus Christ. 6. That the Popes have effectually enjoy'd this Power and have exercised it without discontinuations from St. Peter till now 7. That this Power could not be lost nor be lessened by any means whatsoever The Author admits that St. Peter might be the first of the Apostles in regard of personal qualities esteem and reputation but he questions his precedency in order or dignity It appears too great a vanity for a man that had the Vertue and Humility of St. Peter He supposes it is very probable
that the Apostles insisted upon no points of Ceremonies amongst themselves which should oblige 'em to a certain order as to precedency in walking c. he confesses that one might oppose to this the Authority of some Fathers but he maintains that their Authority is not of so great weight in these things which are not essential to Faith because that upon these occasions they followed their own thoughts and conjectures being as much actuated by the dictates of their imaginations as other-men altho St. Cyprian and other African Doctors assure us that St. Peter had only this Preheminence because that we might learn thereby to keep the Unity of the Church Mr. Barrow omits not to tell us that one might assent to the Priority of St. Peter and he gives there the same reasons for example he was call'd to the Apostleship before the others he was older c. That which can't be granted to St. Peter according to our Author is a Superiority of Iurisdiction whereof nothing is to be found in Holy Writ and which ought to be there contained and very clearly if it were a Doctrine of Faith according to this Rule of St. Austin Credo etiam hic Divinorum eloquiorum clarissima auctoritas esset si homo sine dispendio promissae salutis ignorare non posset The Author is very large in proving that St. Peter had not any Authority like to this over the Apostles and carefully answers the passages of the Fathers which the Roman Catholicks use to object to the Protestants on this occasion and he brings divers of the same Fathers frequently opposing themselves and very strongly confutes those arguments brought for the Superiority of St. Peter Mr. Barrow endeavours in the sequel to shew that the Priviledges of the Apostleship were personal and died with the Apostles according to that Maxim of the Law Privilegium personale personam sequitur cum persona extinguitur That if the Fathers say that Bishops are Successors of the Apostles they also say it indifferently of all Bishops They cou'd not say any thing more than this that the Apostles have established them to govern the Christian Church after 'em not that any of them has succeeded in the utmost extent of the Apostles Charge but because that every Bishop governs the Flock which is committed to him Singulis Pastoribus says St. Cyprian portio gregis adscripta est quam regat unusquisque gubernet c. Episcopatus unus as he adds in another place cujus à singulis in solidum pars tenetur He afterwards attempts to shew that the Episcopacy of St. Peter is incompatible with his Apostleship and that none of the Antients believed that he was the Bishop of Rome where he could not stay long altho' it is pretended he continued many years 'T is said on this occasion that he who wrote the Letter by some supposed from St. Peter to St. Iames does not misrepresent the personage of this Apostle since it makes him to say If whilst I am alive they dare raise so many falsities upon me what will not posterity undertake He maintains yet farther that St. Peter was not Bishop of Rome because there were others there in his time to wit Linus established by St. Paul and Clement established after Linus by St. Peter himself There are yet brought many other Reasons drawn from Antiquity After having refuted the four first Suppositions of the Roman Catholicks he remarks that since they are the only foundation upon which the fifth can be upheld it must necessarily be false since the preceding ones are so which he believes he has sufficiently proved He yet maintains farther which is more than needful that when they grant to St. Peter all the Roman Catholicks attribute to him it would not follow that the Bishop of Rome should be his Successor This he shews all along by many Reasons and by the Testimony of the Fathers as well as by Sacred Writ he much enlarges upon the Inconveniencies which would be in obeying the Bishop of Rome as the only Successor of the Priviledges of the Apostles and he says amongst many other things that the Popes have render'd that definition true which Scioppius has given to the Roman Church viz. Ecclesia est Mandra sive grex aut multitudo Iumentorum sive Asinorum He also mentions the History of the Establishment and the Jurisdiction of the Metropolitans or Primates and maintains that as they were established by Humane Prudence so they might also be abolished by the same Power and other things of this nature which entirely ruine the Authority of the Pope The Author after this applies himself to shew that the Popes since St. Peter have not enjoyed without discontinuation this Soveraign Authority which they usurp since they have not had the power to convocate general Councils nor to preside there nor to make Laws or oppose themselves to the Canons of the Councils and lastly that they enjoy'd not for many Ages the other Rights of this Soveraignty There is in this Chapter the History of the Convocation of General Councils and the oppositions which have been made divers times against the power of the Bishop of Rome In fine Mr. Barrow engages the last supposition of the Roman Catholicks to wit that the Supremacy of the Popes could not be ruined He brings many reasons to evince that it might cease and that when it was granted to the Pope it might happen that he could lose it by the faults he should commit or personal defects as if he turn'd a Heretick because St. Ambrose says those who have not the faith of St. Peter cannot be his Successors Non habent Petri haereditatem qui Petri fidem non habent quam Impia divisione discerpunt and this frequently happens as Dr. Barrow says acccording to the Ancients and is yet seen to this day if we may believe the Protestants whose reasons the Author proposes very strongly in enumerating the sentiments of the Roman Church which are considered as very erroneous 'T is this which contains the treaties of the Popes Supremacy the other follows to wit the Vnity of the Church where Dr. Barrow designs to prove that Vnity may well subsist without the necessity of the Christian Churches having a visible head He engages to shew that the Unity of the Church consists in this that all the Christians do agree in Fundamentals particularly in those which have a necessary connexion with Piety and the Practice of good works and in this that they be joined in the bond of mutual charity c. He afterwards shews in what manner the Christian Churches may root out Heresie and Schism without the assistance of a Visible Head and keep at the same time a Conformity of Discipline in things of the highest consequence even when it cou'd not be established but by Humane Prudence but he yet maintains that this last Union is possible in supposing certain things which are
not necessary nor ordained by the Apostles and he gives many reasons to which he adds divers Examples in Ecclesiastical History by which one may see he believes it not necessary that there be an Union of Discipline amongst the Churches Upon this occasion he particularly makes use of the Epistles of St. Cyprian by which it appears according to Dr. Barrow that every Bishop lay under a double obligation whereof one regarded his Flock in particular the other the whole Church By the first he was obliged to take care that every thing be done in good order in his Church and that nothing should be done which was not for Edification and this should be endeavour'd by taking counsel of his Clergy and his People By the second he was obliged when the good of his Flock required it to confer with other Bishops touching the means of preserving Truth and Peace But in that time a Bishop knew not what it was to be hindered from acting according to the extent of his Power by appealing to a Superior Power to which he was obliged to give an account of the Administration of his Charge Bishops were then as Princes in their Jurisdictions but they omitted not to keep a certain Correspondence for the preserving an universal Peace Statutum est omnibus-nobis saith St. Cyprian ac aequum est pariter ac justum ut uniuscujusque causa illic audiatur ubi est Crimen admissum singulis Pastoribus portio Gregis sit adscripta quam regat unusquisque praepositus rationem actus sui Domino redditurus and elsewhere Qua in re nee nos cuiquam facimus nec Legem damus cum habeat in Ecclesiae administratione voluntate sui liberum arbitrium unusquisque praepositus rationem actus sui Domino redditurus Dr. Barrow shews after this the Inconveniencies which would attend the Government of the Christian Church if it should acknowledge one Visible Head A famous Divine of the Church of England having maintained the Unity of an Ecclesiastical Discipline so that all the Christian Churches ought to be according to him in the nature of a Confederacy which submits every Church in particular to an entire body if it is permitted so to speak Dr. Barrow believes he is obliged to refute this Tenet and to that end he hath drawn from his Works twelve proofs of this Opinion which that Divine has spread in divers places and which he proposed with great care altho' after a manner very obscure and intricate This last Author having objected for instance to those who believe not that the Unity of Discipline is necessary the Article of the Creed where 't is said I believe in the Holy Catholick or Vniversal Church and the Creed of Constantinople where 't is said The Holy Catholick and Apostolick Church Dr. Barrow answers to this that this Article is not in the Abridgment of the Christian Faith which is found in St. Irenaeus Tertullian and St. Cyprian no more than in the Creed of the Council of Nice And 1. That it was not in the Apostles Creed which the Church of Rome makes use of but that it is added after the Times of Ruffinus and St. Augustine against the Heresies and Schisms which sprung up in the Christian Church 2. That it agrees with the Unity of the Catholick Church in many respects and that this is not the manner of Unity which is in Question and which is not decided in the Creed 3 'T is fairly supposed that the Unity which is spoken of in the Creed of Constantinople is that of outward Government 4. That one might reasonably think that the sense of this Article is no other than this That we make profession to remain stedfast in the body of Christians which are scatter'd throughout the whole World and which received the Faith the Discipline and the Manner of living Ordained by Iesus Christ and his Apostles that we are bound to be charitable to all good Christians with which we are ready to Communicate That we are willing to observe the Laws and Constitutions and Ioynt-Opinion of the Churches for the Conservation of Truth Order and Peace Lastly That we renounce all Heretick Doctrines all scandalous Practices and all manner of Factions 5. That it appears that this is the sense of this Article because that he hath put it in the Creed to preserve the Truth Discipline and Peace of the Church 6. That 't is not reasonable to explain this Article in any manner which agrees not with the Apostolick Times and Primitive Church for then there was no Union of Discipline amongst Christians like to what has been since As it was objected to Dr. Barrow that this opinion favours the Independants so afterwards he shews the difference between it and that of these Men after which he draws divers consequences from his own positions as That those who separate from the Communion of the Church in which they live that is established on good foundations are Guilty of Schism and ought to be Censured by and excluded from the Communion of all other Churches and they must not think themselves to be exempted from Error altho some other Church would receive them as a Subject cannot withdraw himself from the obedience of his natural Prince in putting himself under the Protection of another This also is defended by the Apostolick Canons which the antient Church hath observ'd with much Care as Dr. Barrow makes appear by many examples This is according to his opinion a means to extirpate Schisms and not that which is proposed by the Roman Church to wit to Establish a Political Vnion amongst divers Churches by which they are Subordinate to one only Every Church ought to suffer the others to enjoy in peace their Rights and Liberties and content it self to condemn dangerous errours and factions and to assist with Counsel the other Churches when they have need thereof The second Volume contains the explication of the Creed in 34 Sermons upon this Article I believe in the Holy Ghost The rest being briefly explained because that the Author has treated of 'em in other places of his Works marked in a little advertisment which is at the End of his Sermons These Sermons are not simple explications of the Letter of the Creed The Author hath explained the Articles as he had occasion by divers texts of Scripture treating of the matter that he found therein and the particular circumstances of each text He shews first how much doubting is necessary and on the contrary in the two following what Faith is Reasonable and Just. In the fourth and fifth he explains Justification by Faith He afterward proves in four Sermons successively the existence of a Deity by the Works of Creation by the order of the Body of Man consent of all Nations and by supernatural effects The tenth and two following treat of the Unity of God of his power and of the creation of the World In the 13th and to the 20th the Author
other Iames Hamilton They went into Ireland by order of the King of Scotland to form some agreement with the Protestant Nobility of that Country intending thereby to assure himself of that Kingdom in case Q. Elizabeth died suddenly The better to cover their enterprise and to give no Umbrage to a Queen extreamly suspitious they set themselves to teach Latin at Dublin where at that time 't was very rare to find persons learn'd in Humanity Vsher having profited very much by them in a little time seem'd to have a particular inclination to Poetry which he afterwards chang'd into as great a desire of understanding History that which created this inclination in him was reading these words of Cicero Nescire quid antra quam natus sis acciderit id est semper esse puerum his Annals and his other writings sufficiently shew what progress he had made in this study whereof he has given sensible proofs in his Infancy Being in the University of Dublin establish'd principally by the care of Henry Vsher his Uncle Archbishop of Ardmagh He set himself to read the Fortalitium fidei of Stapleton which made him resolve to apply himself to the reading of the Fathers to see if this Author had cited them faithfully he began to put this design in execution at 20 years old and continued this Study without intermission for 18 years obliging himself to read every day a certain task His Father had a mind to divert him from it and engage him to Study the Law to which our Prelate had no inclination but in 1598. he dying soon after left his Son at Liberty to chuse what manner of life was most pleasing to him he was the eldest son of the family and the estate his Father left was considerable enough to make him apply all his time in Domestick affairs This made him resolve to put off this trouble and to remit the Estate to his Brother with orders to give to his Sisters what their Father had left them reserving only to himself what would maintain him in the University with a sufficiency to buy himself some Books Whilst he was at the University and but yet 18 years old he disputed against a Jesuit call'd Fitz-Symmons and overcame him in two conferences which made this Jesuit afterwards in a Book Intituled Britannomachia call him the most learn'd of those who are not Catholicks A-Catholicorum Doctissimum he made so great a progress in the first years that he apply'd himself to Divinity that his Uncle Archbishop of Ardmagh ordain'd him Priest at the 21 year of his Age. This ordination was not conformable to the Canons but the extraordinary merit of young Vsher and the necessities of the Church made him believe it was not necessary to stay till the age mark'd out by the Ecclesiastical Laws of Ireland He preach'd then at Dublin with very great applause he particularly devoted himself to the controversies which were between the Protestants and Roman Catholicks he treated on them so clearly and with so much solidity that he confirm'd many wavering Protestants and prevailed with many Roman Catholicks to embrace the Protestant Faith But amongst those who rank'd themselves in the Protestant Churches there was a great number that were not so sincere as he could have wished them they did all they could to obtain the publick exercise of the Roman Catholick Religion at Dublin that they might insensibly have had the Liberty to make a profession of their true Sentiments Vsher who believ'd that this toleration wou'd be of a very dangerous consequence oppos'd it with all his might and one day as he Preacht upon this matter with great zeal he spoke something which then no notice was taken of but 40 years after it was found to be a true Prophecy he took his Text upon these words of Ezek. ch 4. v. 5. And thou shalt bear the Iniquity of the house of Judah 40 days I have appointed thee a day for a year He applied these days to Ireland and said that he who reckon'd from this year to 40. should find that the Protestants of Ireland should bear the Iniquity of those who were for a toleration in these times this was in 1601. and 40 years were no sooner expired 1641. but the Irish Catholicks made a bloody Massacre upon the Protestants He never wholly discontinued to Preach whilst he was in Ireland altho he was Professor of Divinity in that University but he accustom'd himself to make a Voyage every three years into England where he found a greater variety of Books than in Ireland there he past one part of his time at Oxford another at Cambridge and another at London and carefully visited all their publick and particular Libraries he made collections of what Books he there read and made remarks upon them with a design to make a work that he had resolved to Intitule A Theological Bibliotheque wherein he had treated very accurately of all the Ecclesiastical Antiquities but the misfortunes of Ireland and the Civil Wars of England hinder'd him from finishing it he ordered when he died that it should be put into the hands of Mr. Laugbaine Dr. of Divinity to supply what was wanting and publish them to the World This learn'd man engag'd himself forthwith in this useful work but he died before he finished it 1657. There is yet to be seen in the Bodleyane Bibliotheque his Manuscripts which no man dares undertake to finish In 1615. there was a Parliament in Ireland and an assembly of the Clergy where certain Articles were compos'd touching Religion and Ecclesiastical Discipline Vsher who was the chief in it caus'd it to be sign'd by the Chancellor of Ireland and by the Orators of the Assembly of the Bishops and of the Clergy King Iames approved of 'em also altho' there was some difference between these and the Articles of the Church of England some ill dispos'd persons and it may be Roman Catholicks took occasion from that to spread evil reports of Vsher. They accused him of Puritanism which was no little Heresie in the opinion of the King they also made use of this artifice to render those odious who appear'd the most capable of opposing the progress that the Missionaries of Rome endeavoured to make in Ireland Indeed the people knew not what this word signified and wherein Heresie consisted but it was known the King mortally hated Puritans and that was sufficient to make 'em look upon these Puritans as most dangerous Hereticks 't was this that obliged an Irish Divine to write to Vsher who was that time in England that it would not be amiss to desire the King to define Puritanism that all the World might know those who were tainted with this strange Heresie but Vsher had no need to make use of this way to justifie himself some conversations that he had with the King setled so good an opinion of him that the Bishopprick of Meath in Ireland being vacant the King gave it him immediately and
his Adversaries which have taken no great care to propose clearly their accusations nor to comprehend well the Sentiments of those they accused as appeareth by the obscurity of the Heads which we have read Celestius saith amongst other things that as to what regards the Propagation of Sin he heard several Catholick Priests and particularly Rufinus deny it He presented a Petition to the Council where he confessed the Children were redeemed by Baptism but he was condemned nevertheless and being obliged to depart ouâ of Africk he retired into Sicily where hâ writ some works in his Defence It was from thence that he sent to St. Augustine short questions which he had composed to prove that man of his Nature inevitably is not carried to do evil These Interrogations are in fourteen Articles that Vsher hath related at length We shall mention here one or two of them by which the rest may be judged of First of all saith he we must ask of those who say that man cannot be without sin what sin is in general If it is a thing that may be avoided or not If it cannot be avoided there is no hurt in committing it If man can avoid it he may be without Sin But neither reason nor Justice permit that that should be called a Sin which cannot be any way avoided We must again ask if Man ought to be without Sin 'T will be undoubtedly answered that he ought If he ought he can if he cannot he is not obliged Besides that if man ought not to be without Sin he ought to be a Sinner and 't will be no more his fault if it be supposed that he is necessarily such In the same time Pelagius that was at Ierusalem published divers pieces where he expounded more at length his Sentiments and where he particularly granted that no man excepting Jesus Christ had ever been without sin it did not follow that that was impossible He affirm'd that he disputed not of the Fact but of the Possibility and that yet it was not possible but by the Grace or the Assistance of God St. Augustine hath undertaken to refute one of these pieces of Pelagius in his Book of Nature and Grace He accuseth him on the one side of confounding the Graces that God gives us in Creation with those by which he regenerates us and on the other side to say that God gives his Graces according to merit and that these Graces are but outward but it shall be seen in the sequel how Pelagius expounded his Opinion Three years after that Celestius was condemned at Carthage his Master was accused at Ierusalem of holding the same opinions Iohn Bishop of this City called an Assembly of some Priests to examine Pelagius and to see if really he held the Opinions that were attributed to him For to know what was done in Africk against Celestius Into this Assembly were called three Latine Priests Avitus Vitalis and Oros. This last was then at Bethlehem studying as he saith himself at the feet of St. Ierome to whom St. Augustine had recommended him Whilst he was in Africk in the time of the Condemnation of Celestius he related to this Assembly at Ierusalem with what zeal those of Carthage had condemned that Heretick and said that St. Augustine had made a Book against Pelagius and had besides in a Letter written into Sicily refuted the questions of Celestius Having this Letter about him he offered to read it and did so at the entreaty of the Assembly After this reading the Bishop Iohn desired that Pelagius should be introduced It was permitted by connivance saith Orose whether for the respect they had for the Bishop or that it was believed fit that this Prelate should refute him in his presence He was asked if he acknowledged to have taught what Augustine Bishop of Hippona had refuted He instantly answered who is this Augustine and as all cryed out that a man who blasphemed against a Bishop by the mouth of whom the Lord had kept an Vnion in all Africk ought not only to be banished from this Assembly but from all the Church John ordered him to sit in the midst of the Catholick Priests tho' a Laick and guilty of Heresie After that he said to him 'T is I that am Augustine that acting in the name of this offended Bishop can more freely pardon Pelagius and appease enraged Minds We then said to him continueth Orose If you represent here the person of Augustine follow his Opinions He replied by asking us if we believed that what was read was against some other or against Pelagius If it be against Pelagius added he what have you to propose against him I answered by the permission of the Assembly that Pelagius had told me he maintained man could be without sin and could easily observe the Commandments of God if he pleased Pelagius confessed it was his opinion Thereupon I said this that 't was that which the Bishops of Africk had condemned in Celestius which Augustine declared in his writings to be a horrible Doctrine and that which Ierome had rejected in his Epistle to Câesiphon and which he refuted in the Dialogues that he then composed But the Bishop of Ierusalem without hearing any thing of all that would have us to bring parties before him against Pelagius We are not answered We the Accusers of this man but we declare unto you what the Brethren and our Fathers have judged and decreed touching this Heresie that a Laick publisheth now lest he should trouble you the Church into the bosom of which we are come Then to engage us in some sort to declare our selves parties he begun to instruct us in what the Lord saith to Abraham Walk before me and be thou upright and what is said of Zacharia and Elizabeth that both of them were just before God and walked bamleless in all the Commandments of the Lord. Many amongst us knew that that was a remark of Origen and I answered him We are Children of the Catholick Church Exact not from us O Father that we should undertake to raise our selves into Doctors above the Doctors nor into Iudges above the Iudges Our Fathers whose Conduct is approved by the Vniversal Church and in whose Communion you rejoice to see us have declared these Maxims damnable It 's just that we should obey their decrees Why do you ask the Children what they think after having learned the Sentiments of their Fathers The Bishop said after that if Pelagius maintain'd that man could be without sin without the help of God it would be a damnable Doctrine but that he did not exclude the help of God and asked what we had to say to that If he denied the necessity of this assistance We answered Anathema to those that did deny it and we cryed out that he was a Latin Heretick that we were Latins that he was to be judged by Latins and that it was almost an impudence in him to pretend to
be found that almost none of these Ideas are distinct so that when the word is spoken to which it is applied we may perfectly know what is meant by it There are also according to them some of these words to which there hath been no Idea absolutely applied so that in some places of this dispute the two parties do very nigh the same thing that a French man and an Arabian would that should know their natural tongue only and speak by turns the lowdest they could and sometimes both at once without understanding each other and then each should boast to have conquered his Adversary This was chiefly what the opinions of Pelagius consisted in and those of his Adversaries touching Grace As to the election it seemeth Pelagius hath believed that there were two sorts the one to Grace and the other to Glory God hath resolved according to his Judgment to call certain persons to the knowledge of the Gospel that they might the more easily arrive at everlasting happiness This was the predestination of Grace He after that hath resolved to save those that he foresaw would persevere until the end in making good use on these favours This is the Predestinatiof to Glory which is founded upon merits whereas the other is purely of Grace St. Augustin in disputing against Pelagius hath confounded as Father Petau believes these two Predestinations and made thereof but one because according to his opinion all those that have received the necessary means to attain Salvation do infallibly arrive at it 'T was that made him exclaim so strongly against those that maintain'd Predestination according to works as if the Predestination to Grace was in question whereas they meant but the Predestination to Glory The year after the Council of Diospolis being Anno 415. there were in Africk held two Councils upon the same matter the one at Carthage and the other at Mileve Aurelius Bishop of Carthage presided in the first where were LXVII Bishops more met together also They had not as yet received in Africk the Acts of Diospolis but Eros and Lazarus had written what had passed therein and had sent their Letters by Orosius who was returned from Palestine to Africk It was resolved on the hearing this Relation to anathematize the opinions of Pelagius to hinder them from spreading any further and to anathematize him after with his Disciple Celestius in case they did not absolutely renounce these Errours After that they sent the Acts of the Council to Pope Innocent to engage him to condemn the same opinions The Council of Mileve consisting of LXI Bishops in which Silvanus Primate of Numidia presided did the same thing as that of Carthage Besides the Synodal Letters of these two Councils Innocent received particular ones from some Bishops of Africk among which St. Augustine was one The design of these Letters was the same as of the preceding ones the design being to incline Innocent to condemn the Doctrine attributed to Pelagius and to cite him before himself to examine whether he continued to maintain the same They insinuated that they might accomplish their end that it might be that Pelagius had deceived the Bishops of Palestine tho' they cou'd not positively affirm that the Churches of Africk might not be joined to those of the East Innocent answered the year following ccccxvii to the two Councils and to the Bishop that had written to him in particular He said he believed that Pelagius and Celestius did deserve to be excommunicated and that the former could not be purged at Diospolis but by Equivocations and by obscure expressions Nevertheless having received no new assurances from that Country and not knowing well how things had passed there he saith he can neither approve nor disapprove the conduct of the Bishops of Palestine He likewise excuseth himself in regard of citing Pelagius upon the distance of the places This Bishop writ these Letters at the beginning of the year and died a little after for the tenth of March in the Martyrology of Beda is marked for the day of his death After the death of Innocent St. Augustine and Alypius writ to St. Paulin Bishop of Nola to exhort him to oppose Pelagianism in Italy provided he was in a Condition of making any An historical Explication of the most weighty Question of the continual Succession and State of the Christian Churches especially in the West from the Apostles time until the last Age. By James Usher Archbishop of Armagh and Primate of all Ireland Augmented and Revised by the Author London 1687. in fol. p. 191. THe principal difficulties which Roman Catholicks raise against Protestants consists in these two things that the Protestant Religion is new and that it was not remitted from the Apostles unto us whereas they pretend theirs is that of the Apostles and hath suffered no Interruption from their time unto ours Iohn Iuel Bishop of Salisbury hath undertaken in his Apology for the Church of England to shew on the contrary that the opinions of Protestants are conformable to those of the Fathers of the six first Ages Vsher was willing to answer the above cited difficulties in shewing that from the sixth Age unto the Reformation to wit during 900 years there have always been Churches in the West who have received the same Doctrines with the Protestants To that end he thought he ought to give the History of the Tenets and conduct of the Popes with those who have opposed their Usurpations during these nine Ages without mixing any thing of his own being contented to cite only the proper terms of the Authors who have spoken of those times for fear he should be accused of turning things after a more favourable manner for the Protestants This History had once appeared imperfect enough but now very much corrected and enlarg'd in this Edition and therefore we shall give a compleat Abridgement thereof We shall not however stay to relate what the Author saith as concerning the thousand years during which the Devil was to be bound and the time in which he was to be set free As there are as many different Sentiments as Interpreters upon this opinion and that there are but simple conjectures brought which are likewise subject to a thousand difficulties 1. Those who have a mind to be instructed therein may consult the Commentaries upon the Apocalypse At what year soever men relate the beginning of the thousand years whether it be from the Birth of our Saviour or from his Death and his Ascension or finally from the ruine of Ierusalem our Author equally draws his advantage as will be seen in the sequel It shall suffice to say that he divides his work into three parts whereof the first goeth from the seventh Age to the eleventh in which Gregory the seventh arrived to the Pontificate The second should have gone to Mccclxx but the Author could not continue it but to Mccxl. The third reaches to the past Age. So this work is far from being
the Witnesses from the Revocation of the Edict of Nants To return to our Author he remarks that the same prodigies have been related of the year MXXXIII and the same evils as of the year M. There was also towards that time a Mortality and Famine and Signs from Heaven appeared to wit Eclipses and Comets besides Earthquakes that were in divers places And that there should nothing be wanting of what had appeared at the beginning of this Age one Arnulph a Monk of Ratisbone testified he had seen in Hungary a Dragon suspended in the air and altogether like the Leviathan whereof mention is made in Iob. It came also out of the North and after having appeared sometime as unmoveable he began to fly with an extraordinary swiftness and went amongst the Clouds whisling horribly where he raised Lightnings and Thunders for more than 24 hours Notwithstanding ignorance and superstition encreased from day to day A Bishop of France at the relation of Sigebert would fain make people believe that he had received Letters from the third Heaven wherein all men were ordered on Friday to live upon Bread and Water to bear no Arms to recall nothing by way of Justice what had been taken away by violence and not to pursue the Murderers Heaven promised Salvation to those who should live thus not having need of any other penitence but to abstain from flesh on Fridays There were Bishops so simple or superstitious as to believe and impose those new Laws upon many under pain of Excommunication and of being deprived of Burial if they died in the refusal thereof In this time likewise were discovered many Relicks of Martyrs which had been unknown in former Ages Glaber relates that an Impostor sold in divers places of France Bones of dead Folks which he had gathered in some Church yards for Relicks of Saints that afterwards did an infinite number of Miracles and which much benefited the Churches in which they were placed Fearing he should be suspected and that men would desire to know whence this inexhaustible fund of Relicks came he stay'd not in one place and changed his name when he changed his Habitation He gave amongst others to the Inhabitants of the Alps and Tarantoise a Martyr to whom he gave the name of Iust and who did as 't is said so great a number of Miracles that the sick were carried from all parts to be cured and that the Saints were sorry if they had not some disease whereby they might have an opportunity to be cured by him Poenitet insuper si non est sibi morbus quo curari se poscat Glaber attributes these Miracles to the Devil and mightily censures the Bishops of that Country for not having put a stop to such extravagances of the People The Pope who ascended the Apostolick See in the year MXXXIII was Bennet IX whom Glaber accuseth of all manner of impurities and Cardinal Baino of Idolatry and Magick This Pope coming to the Chair at the age of XII years lived eleven years only but he committed so many crimes that he was driven from Rome and was forced to sell his dignity whereof notwithstanding he would not be deprived afterwards so that there were at Rome three Popes at once Bennet Sylvester and Gregory The disorders of that time are too known to make any stop at them it will suffice to say that the memory of this Benet was in so great a detestation that there ran a report that his Soul had been sent after his death into the body of a Monster which was shap'd like a Bear and which had the Ears and Tail of an Ass where he was to stay till the day of Judgment that he would be sent without remission into Hell It was at the beginning of this Age as our Author sheweth that the dignity of Cardinals begun to be considerable but it came not to the height till they only had the priviledge of choosing Popes since they have been equalled to Kings and have carried their Pride so far that Nicholas de Clemangis Arch-Deacon of Bajeux who lived in the year MCCCCXVI describes them in these terms The Pride of Cardinals who sit at the side of the Pope is so excessive their words are so fierce and their ways so insolent that if a Painter would make a Picture of Pride he could not better do it than in Painting a Cardinal Cardinalium qui Papae assident spiritus verba tumulentia gestus taminsolentes ut si artifex quisque vellet superbiae simulaâhrum effingere nullâ congruentius ratione id facere posset quaà m Cardinalis effigiem oculis intuentium objectando c. It hath been seen that according to our Author the term at which the Devil was let loose expired a thousand years after the Birth or after the passion of our Lord. He afterwards says that if men will take the beginning of these thousand years from the destruction of Ierusalem it may be said with as much likelihood that they are in effect expired in MLXXIII that the Monk Hildebrand ascended the Apostolical See and Governed the Church with the utmost Tyranny under the name of Gregory VII The unheard excesses which this Pope committed made the honest men of that time to say according to the relation of Sigebert in his Chronicle upon the year MLXXXVIII that the Reign of Antichrist then begun according to the Prophecies of the Apostles Waltram Bishop of Naumbourg or the Author of the Apology for the Vnity of the Church saith in these terms That is seemed then that the Devil was come out of Prison whereas it is written in the Apocalypse he went forth to seduce the Nations and to engage 'em to War c. The Church of Liege in its answer to Paschal II. saith as much as well as divers other Authors cited by Vsher who describe Hildebrand as the most wicked of all men He was accused of Witchcraft in a Synod held in MLXXX and several Catholick Writers have sufficiently declared the same thing which gives occasion to our Archbishop of applying unto him what St. Paul saith of the man of sin that he was to come accompanied with the work of Satan and with deceiving Miracles And also what St. Paul saith elsewhere of some Impostors who were to come in the latter times and which he describes by two remarkable characters which is that they would interdict Marriage and order the abstaining from Meats which God hath created to be eaten with thanksgiving In effect Gregory VII did 'em both in two Synods assembled the sixth year of his Popedom wherein he prohibited the Marriage of Priests and the use of Flesh on Saturdays Sigebert de Gemblou and Lambert de Schafnabourg have written at large the murmurs and disorders which these prohibitions caused Priests said particularly that it was unjust to constrain men to live like Angels and that in stopping the ordinary course of Nature the bridle was let loose to Fornication and Impurity They added that if
ignorant in the time of the III. Council of Lateran held under Alexander III. in MCLXXIX This Author saith that some of them presented to the Pope divers books of Scripture translated into French with Comments and demanded instantly of him the Power to preach Two amongst them who passed for the most able were introduced in an Assembly where Mapes was Commissioned as he saith to Question them He asked of them if they believed in God the Father the Son and Holy Ghost They answered Yes Do ye also believe added he in the Mother of Iesus Christ The Vaudois replied they did and made themselves thus saith the Author to be laughed at by all Men. Notwithstanding as it appeared not that they were willing to desist from their design they were excommunicated in the Council yet they continued their Assemblies in Gasconny and in the Neighbouring places where they begun from that time to exclaim against the abuses they had observed at Rome History tells us that Manicheans were mixed among them tho' they were very different in opinions and some were burned who were discovered in divers places of France and Germany St. Bernard hath written in the following Age against I know not what Hereticks whereof he speaks very contemptibly and to whom he also attributes some of the Sentiments of the Manicheans He assures us that they chose rather to die than to be converted and that they not only shewed Constancy but even rejoyced when they were led to the place where they were to be put to Death Mori magis eligebant quà m converti nec modo patienter sed laeti ut videbatur ducebantur ad mortem We may see hereby that seduced Persons as sincerely believe a false Doctrine as the Orthodox do theirs who defend the Truth for infine one would not be burned for what one look'd upon as a lye An Author of that time named William de âuylaurens in the Prologue of his Chronicle besides adds Arianism to them and saith that they as well as the Vaudois tho' in different opinions licet inter se dissides agreed equally against the Catholick Faith They made the greater progress by reason that Priests were fallen into the utmost contempt whereof here is a proof drawn from a vulgar way of speaking which this Author relates To shew that they were far from doing a thing they were accustomed to say I would rather be a Iew But the Proverb changed and it is said in Gasconny I would rather be a Priest than to do that Mallem esse Capellanus quà m hoc vel illud facere Men were every where so wearied with the Ecclesiastical Tyranny and so scandalized at their lewd course of Life that those who spake against them were hearkened to with Delight and Pleasure as they did to one Arnand of Bresse a Disciple of Peter Abailards who went to censure them at Rome The Poet Gunther speaks thereof more at large in the third book of his Ligurin and concludes thus what he says of ' em Veraque multa quidem nisi tempora nostra fideles Respuerent monitus falsis admixta monebat Our Author relates divers of the violent proceedings against them and amongst others a Declaration of Alphonsus King of Arragon published in MCXCIV wherein he drives the Vaudois out of his Estates prohibites his Subjects to give them any succours upon pain of Confiscation of all their Goods and orders them to add all manner of grievances and affronts to beat and abuse them yet upon Condition they will neither kill nor cripple them praeter solummodo laesionem mortis aut membrorum detruncationem This is a cruel mildness which sometime Persecutors have practis'd and whereof it would not be hard to find fresh Examples The second period of time during which Usher believes the Dragon was let loose extends from the beginning of the Pontificate of Innocent III. unto the beginning of that of Gregory XI to wit from the year 1194. unto 1370. Innocent endeavour'd not a little to establish the indirect Authority of Popes over Kings and that which they pretend to have over all the Bishops of the World He named himself in a discourse which he made upon the Consecration of Popes the Spouse of the Church He maintain'd that all Bishops were but his Vicars and that it was he alone who retain'd an absolute Episcopal Authority So that other Bishops might say of him as of God we have received of his fulness He caused a Synod to be held at Rome in MCCXV which is called the fourth of Lateran where he confirmed a Canon of the III. Council held in the same place by which Alexander III. had absolved from the Oath of Fidelity the Subjects of a Prince who had favoured Hereticks against the Remonstrances of the Court of Rome Here are the terms of the second decree If a Temporal Lord required and advertised by the Church neglect to purge his Lands from the pollution of Heresie let the Metropolitan and the other Bishops of the Province excommunicate him If he makes not satisfaction in a year let the Soveraign Pontif be advertised that he may declare his Subjects absolved from the Fidelity which they owe him and give his Countrey to be possessed by Catholicks who having rooted out the Hereticks may possess it without any contradiction As this Decree is quite contrary to the Authority of Princes some Catholick Authors who have lived in places where this indirect Authority of Popes is refused to be acknowledged over the Temporalities of Kings they say that the Canons attributed to this Council were suppositious or at least that things did not pass therein after a canonical manner so that these Decrees obliged no Body But a famous English Protestant hath shewn that these Decrees are not suppositious that they are obligatory according to the Principles of the Roman Church that they have been received in England that the distinction of those who say that the Decrees of Councils oblige in matters of Faith and not in matters of practice are unreasonable and contrary to the Principles of the same Church and that tho' this distinction was true it could not exempt them from submitting themselves to the Decrees of the IV. Council of Lateran It was in this same Council that Transubstantiation was established and that a Croisade was published against the Vaudois as it was usually done against the Infidels Antoninus in his Chronicle affirms that the County of Thoulouse and Lombardy being full of Hereticks who amongst other errours endeavoured to take from the Church all it's Temporalities omnem Temporalitatem St. Dominick set himself to preach against them and converted a hundred thousand of ' em He took adds he to his help some devout and zealous Persons for the Faith who conquered these Hereticks corporally with the material Sword when they could not convince them with the Sword of the Spirit Quae corporaliter illos Hereticos gladio materiali expugnarent quos ipse gladio verbi Dei
things which he remarks upon Iohn I find that speaking of the Trinity he contradicts himself in many places as it happens to those who would know too much upon this matter In the same Let. 149. there are many things which are not to be despis'd in the book of Heinsius but he hath not drawn a few thereof out of the Epistles of Scaliger and the Works of Peucerus of Fuller and Selden without naming them The more I consider him the more I find that those who would know more concerning the Trinity than Scripture tells us are punished for their pride The desire they have of contradicting others makes them to contradict themselves See only p. 272. He calleth practice ãâã ãâã ãâã ãâã ãâã which is really different and not simply according to our manner of conceiving After that he saith that Essence in Trinity is really distinct and the proprieties of the Persons only according to our manner of conceiving c. Let. 152. Grotius censures such like absurdities in his Letters 156. and 157. Ph. Cluvier After having cast my eyes upon the Germany of Cluvier I cannot but approve the application which alwayes produceth some fine thing when it 's applied altogether to one subject He doth not seem to me so haughty as he appear'd in a little book which he had sometime since publish'd yet he shews a great boldness therein A sensible proof of this is that he often blots out and changes words in the antient Writings without following any Manuscript but his conjectures only He hath also much delight to reprehend others and when it 's any that 's still living 't is the more easily to be suffered but he often accuseth Caesar Strabo and several other excellent Authors of great Ignorance c. to Isaack Pontanus Let. 11. P. 2. C. Graswinkelius This Author made an answer to Seldens book Intituled Mare Clausum Here is what Grotius saith on 't Let. 999. 2. par The book of Mr. Graswinkel ought to be very dear unto me seeing it hath cost me 11 l. 1 s. 2 d. Carriage I approve his exactness in gathering all that can serve for his subject He writes even Latin better than the most part of your Authors c. Father Petau the Iesuit Denis Petau saith Grotius hath publish'd three Books de Dogmatibus Theologicis He promiseth more upon other questions more or less necessary He applyes himself to the opinions of the Greek and Latin Fathers and speaks not of the Scholasticks He distinguisheth the Tenets defined by the Church from those upon which it is permitted to say what we will He expounds-them all very well his Books are extream useful Salmatius is abused therein and it 's said it was he who named himself Wallo Messalinus But I could not but laugh to see him call Conrad Vorstius Calvinist Let. 678. p. 2. Mr. Arnaud Doctâr of the Sorbon All the World knows that Grotius was very far from the opinions of Mr. Arnaud upon Praedestination and Grace but this hath not hindered Grotius from giving him the praises he deserves This he saith of his book of Frequent Communion Mr. Arnaud will have publick penitence re-established in regard to the publick sins that those who shall make their sins known but by their Confession to the Priest abstain from the Communion untill they are assured that they are amended in it This book was approved by five Archbishops thirteen Bishops and one and twenty Doctors some have already introduced this Custom into their Churches For it is lawful for Bishops to bring again into use the antient Canons even by the Authority of the Council of Trent by the example of Cardinal Berronius Archbishop of Milan who hath been Canonized Let. 669. p. 2. to William Grotius Adververtise your Stationers saith he in the 671. Letter to send for the book of the frequent Communion and to get it Printed anew You will do thereby a good service to Christianity And elsewhere They make it a crime in him for having said in what he has written against a Iesuit that he believes those who feel in themselves their ancient inclinations to vice do not ill to abstain from Communion and that he judgeth that even those who are given but to venial sins do not amiss to abstain and other such like things The antient severity which we are no more able to suffer as one saith annoy'd him Nocuit antiquus rigor cui jam pares non sumus aât ille The Prince of Conde for he hath also Written upon this matter but without adding his name thinks it's believ'd hitherto that if any one hath confessed his sins is in the resolution of never more returning to 'em and to undergo the penitence that will be imposed on him he may morally be assured that he is in a State of Grace and that he doth well to Communicate The Queen demanded the judgment of the Sorbon upon these matters The Parliament and Sorbon think it is against the Laws that a Subject of the King should be constrained to quit the Kingdom especially the Abbot Dubyse Dubysium who going to Rome to justifie himself was immediately put into prison Therefore Mr. Arnaud being a Man of so good a life that his greatest enemies could find nothing to say against him being thirty six years old and submitting himself to the judgment of the See of Rome to the Catholick Bishops and particularly to the Archbishop of Paris and the Sorbon as you may see by what I have sent you we may judge here of his affair adding to these Iudges those which the Pope hath Commissioned for that purpose For my part as I favour those who would reestablish the antient satisfaction I see that the most part of those who favour Mr. Arnaud are Jansenists to wit Calvinists upon matters of Predestination Thus it is that Grotius speaks to his Brother in a Letter dated the 9th of April 1644. Peter Hoofet I have begun to read the History of Hoofet 't is a fine work his expressions after the antient manners of speaking will not please others But Thucydides and Salust have given him the example as well as Tacitus who lived a great while after them Let. 636. 2. p. He also praises the History of Henry the Great Writ in Dutch by the same Author Iustus Vondel This famous Flemish Poet published in 1638. a Tragedy which is acted once a year at Amsterdam entituled Gishrecht van Amstel He dedicated it to Grotius who makes this judgment thereof in a Letter to Vossius the 28th of May the same year Vondel did me a kindness in dedicating unto me as to a man who hath some gust of these sort of things a Tragedy whose subject is noble whose order is excellent and expression fine c. It is a folly not to have in a subject of 300 years the customs of that time represented Thus it is that those of Geneva in a French Edition of Philip de Comines have observ'd every
are some words for it is too long to be all inserted The Cardinal burthened with care unloads it on a Monk this Monk dischargeth it very slightly Boutiller the Son only runs about the Father defers every thing the Commissaries of the Treasury and the Generals of the Armies think they are all called to a Harvest of Gold The Cardinal is charged with the Sins of all the World and even fears his life It happened in 1637. that Grotius and the Earl of Leicester the English Ambassadour having sent their Coaches to meet an Ambassadour of Holland the Swedish Ambassadours Men took the Precedency in spight of the English which made the latter draw their Swords The Duke de la Force who went for the Ambassadour ran to the tumult and thought he could easily decide it but the Swedes made it appear they were prepared for this accident in giving the reasons they had to do so which may be seen in Let. 722. p. 1. I almost forgot to remark that in the 2. part which contains much fewer political Letters than the first that the Opinion of Grotius may be seen upon these two questions to wit if one is obliged to send a Prince such succour as hath been promised him when we are attacked our selves Letter 16. and after what manner the Republick of the United Provinces hold Democracy Let. 209. This is what was thought fit to relate of the Letters of Grotius concerning Politicks The subject of his Embassy may be seen in the new History of Swedland by M. Puffendorf lib. vii c. 4. In this great number of Letters one may well judge that there are some of all sorts but we were contented to mark the principal subjects The Letters of Consolation may be added whereof these are the most considerable the 133. to M. du Maurier upon the Death of his Wife The 334. to G. Vossius upon the Death of his Son Denis The 445. to M. de Thou The 1116. to a Prince of the House of the Palatinate What follows is a Continuation of Bishop Ushers Works Entituled The Antiquities of the British Churches c. And should have followed in pag. 37. after these Words Day of his Death but was there left out through the Printers mistake AFter the death of Innocent St. Augustine and Alypius writ to St. Paulin Bishop of Nola to exhort him to oppose Pelagianism in Italy provided he was in a Condition of making any progress In the mean time Celesââus that was return'd from Asia whither he was gone after having made some little abode in Sicily came to present himself of his own accord to Zozimus Born in Cappadocia and successor to Innocent He gave him a small Tractate wherein he had particularly expounded his Opinions He ran over therein all the Articles of Faith from that of the Holy Trinity to the Resurrection of the Dead and declared that he held all these Articles after the same manner the Catholick Church did He added likewise that if disputes were rais'd in things that were not matters of Faith as for his own part he had not attributed to himself the authority of forming an absolute Judgment thereof but offered to be examined by Zozimus what he had Written upon these subjects drawn from the authority of the Prophets and Apostles that it might be corrected if there was any errour In fine every sentiment he there explain'd that we have before spoken of and denyed manifestly Original Sin Zozimus cited âelestius to appear before him in the Church of St. Clement where he caused this Writing to be read and asked of the Author if he verily believed what he said therein Celestius answered Yes after which Zozimus put divers questions to him the sense whereof may be contain'd in these two If he condemned the Doctrines that Paulinus Deacon of Carthage had accused him of maintaining He said to that that he could prove this Paulinus to be an Heretick and would not condemn the propositions whereof he had accused him The other question that Zozimus put to him was if he agreed not with Pope Innocent in what he had condemned and if he would not follow the sentiments of the Church of Rome Celestius answered yes After these formalities Zozimus Writ to the Bishops of Africk a long letter where he relates in what manner Celestius had appeared before him and how he had been examined After that he reproachech them with having acted in this affair with too much precipitation fervore fidei praefestinatum esse and that they had too lightly believed extravagant reports and saith the same to certain Letters of Eros and Lazarus not being well assur'd of their worth Lastly he citeth those that shall have any thing to say against Celestius to appear at Rome in two Months at farthest Notwithstanding he took not away the Excommunication that the Bishops of Africk had pronounced against him As in that time the judgment of a Synod or even of a Bishop and particularly that of the Bishop of Rome was of great weight in what manner soever they had proceeded and that afterward Zozimus was accused of having prevaricated in condemning Pelagius after having approved his Doctrine St. Augustine hath endeavoured to give the best turn he could to this conduct of Zozimus as if this Prelate had acted mildly on Celestius's account only for pitty and thinking to have an account of his Opinions only for the better instructing himself that seeing they could not not be attributed to him as obstinate Heresies it would not be so difficult even to bring him back to the truth Zozimus in a Word according to St. Augustin look'd upon Celestius as a Man of great wit and who being corrected might be very useful to others The will of rectifying but not the falsity of Opinion is commendable In homine acerrimi ingenii qui profecto si corrigeretur plurimis profuisset voluntas emendationis non falsitas dogmatis approbata est 'T is a long while ago saith our Author that the Learned Vossius hath shewn this great Bishop endeavour'd in vain to hide the broken back of Zozimus with his Purple It cannot be doubted after reading the Letters that he Writ to the Bishops of Africk that he not only favoured Celestius but also Pelagius as being Catholicks without dissenting much from the true Faith Zozimus having sent his Letter unto Africk received a Packet from Palestin directed to Innocent whose Death was not yet known There were Letters of Prayle Bishop of Ierusalem and an Apology of Pelagius with a small book wherein he expounded his Opinions very clearly as it may be seen by the reading of it Prayle openly took the part of âelagius and Zozimus caused to be read publickly these Letters and Writings which were approved by all as appears by what Zozimus writ a little while after to the Bishops of Africa Would to God saith he to them my most beloved Brethren that some of you could have assisted
he durst not despise them he did believe it not necessary to make a party therein Our Author shews what pains St. Prosper and the Popes Xystus and Leo took to refute or to destroy Pelagianism and Semi-pelagianism It was in the same time that Vincent of Lerins made his Commonitory to wit three years after the Council of Ephesus He is suspected to be the Author of the objections that St. Prosper hath refuted under the Title of Objectiones Vincentianae this Commonitory was Printed lately in 12. at Cambridge with the Notes of Mr. Baluze and the Book of St. Augustine of Heresies Vsher in this same Chapter relates the Ravages that the Scotch and the Picts committed in England the arrival of the Saxons into this Island the manner how they became Masters on 't and the other events of that time Before that these disasters happened in England a Monk named Faustus retired from hence into the Narbonick Gaul where he became Abbot of Lerins and afterwards Bishop of Riez after Maximus whom he also succeeded in the Abbey of Lerins He assisted at a Council which was held at Rome towards the end of the year Cccclxii where it was concluded that every year there should be a Council held amongst the Gauls which should be convocated by the Archbishop of Arles There was assembled one in this City which ordered Faustus to express his Sentiments touching the matter of Grace and another at Lyons by the order of which he added something to what he had already writ because some new Errours had been discovered These Errours are those to which the Divines of Marseilles gave the Name of Predestinarian Heresie that some maintain to have been a real Heresie and others the opinions of St. Augustine We have no more of the Acts of these two Synods but the work of Faustus subsisteth yet It is intituled de Gratia libero arbitrio directed to Leontius Archbishop of Arles and very clearly containeth Semi-pelagianism Erasmus got it first printed at Basil in M.D.XXVIII and it hath been since inserted in the 8 th Tome of the Library of the Fathers Faustus sent the opinions of the second Council of Arles to a Predestinarian Priest named Lucidus to oblige him to retract his Errours and to subscribe this Doctrine of the Council His Letter to Lucidus is still to be âad and the answer of this Priest directed to the Bishops assembled at Arles where he declares that he condemns the Sentiments of those that believe that after the fall of the first man Free-will was entirely extinct That Jesus Christ died for all men that some are destined to death and others to life that from Adam to Jesus Christ no Pagan hath been saved by the first Grace of God to wit by the law of nature because they have lost the free Will in our first Father That the Patriarchs and Prophets and the greatest of Saints have remained in Paradice untill the time of Redemption This is almost a full Abridgment of the Book of Faustus Some learned men have maintained that Faustus had passed his Commission and that many of those that had assisted at the Councils of Arles and Lions had not subscribed his Book It is nevertheless difficult to believe that a Bishop that was very much esteem'd as Faustus was as it appears by the Letters of Sidonius Apollinaris Bishop of Clermont in Auvergne who makes his Elogy in several places and by Gennadus who praiseth this work it is I say difficult enough to conceive how he could have the boldness to attribute to a Council opinions which were so odious to the greatest part of 'em and to think the Members of this Council could not shew their Resentment thereof Neither do those who say that Faustus exceeded his Commission give any reason only that they cannot persuade themselves that there were so many Semi-Pelagians amongst the Gauls In our Author are the different Judgments that divers learned men have made of Faustus and the greatest part of 'em are not very favourable to him Baronius too speaketh ill enough of him So that it happeneth now to the Semi-Pelagians what did in times past to the Pelagians which is that those who believ'd their principal Tenets condemned them only because those who have been more considerable than themselves have formerly condemned them The Book of Faustus is not unknown it being carried to Constantinople where mens minds were divided concerning the Doctrine it contained Some maintained it was Orthodox and others Heretical as it appeareth by a Letter of Possessar an African Bishop who was then at Constantinople and who writ of it to Pope Hormisda in the year DXX to know his thoughts thereupon Persons of the first quality amongst which were Vitalianus and Iustinian who hath been since Emperour desired to be instructed what Sentiments the Church of Rome had of it Hormisda disapproved the Book of Faustus and sent them to consult these of St. Augustin of Predestination and Perseverance There was then at Constantinople a Monk named Iohn Maxence who writ an answer to the Letter of Hormisda where he compareth the opinions of St. Augustin and those of Faustus and desperately censures Possessar and those that maintained that the Book of Faustus was Orthodox It appears by that that Possessar was a Semi-Pelagian and consequently that the Councils of Africk had not been able as yet to submit all the Bishops of this Church to their Decisions The Vandals were become Masters of Africk during the heat of the Pelagian Controversies and as they were Arians they drove away a great number of Bishops that followed the decisions of the Council of Nice Thrasamond King of the Vandals had sent 60 of them into exile from the Province of Byzacene into Sardinia They were consulted from the East upon the Controversies of Grace rather to have a publick Declaration of their opinions than to draw instructions from them seeing those that did write to them had already taken party and condemned in their Letters not only the Pelagians but also the Books of Faustus Fulgentius Bishop of Esfagues answered in the name of the others and exposed the sentiments of St. Augustin in a Letter and in a particular Book directed to one Paul a Deacon The same Fulgentius made also other works upon this matter whereof several places may be seen in our Author He had composed seven Books against the two of Faustus of Grace and Free-Will but they are lost These African Bishops returned to their Churches in the year DXXIII which was that of the Death of Thrasamond as Victor of Tonneins informeth us in his Chronicle But Fulgenius had refuted Faustus before he had left Sardinia whence it followeth as well as from the Letter of Possessar that Binius hath not well related the third Council of Arles whose opinions Faustus had expounded in the year DXXIV. But this is not the only fault he hath committed he hath corrected or rather corrupted as he thought
fit an infinite number of places of the Antient Councils without having respect to the MSS. which makes Vsher to give him the Title of Contaminator Conciliorum As Hilary and Leontius Archbishops of Arles had favoured Semi-Pelagianism Cesario who succeeded Leontius inclin'd to what the Divines of Marseille called Praedestianism to wit the Sentiments of St. Augustine It was by his direction that the second Council of Orange was held in the year DXXXIX which approved the opinions of St. Augustin and our Author gives us an account of all their entire acts A little while after another Council was held at Valence upon the same matters and which also condemned Semi-Pelagianism Boniface II. approved the acts of this Council by a Letter that he writ to Cesario in the year DXXXI and which Vsher hath inserted in his Works Here it is that endeth the History of Pelagianism and Semi-Pelagianism which was not nevertheless extinguished among the Gauls nor in England by so many Efforts and Decrees of the defenders of Grace as may be seen by the History of Godescalch written by the same Vsher. What can there be concluded from thence according to the Principles of St. Augustin but that God would not apply his Grace to Anathemas to Confiscations to Depositions and to Banishments whereof the Pious Emperors and Holy Councils made use of against the unfortunate Pelagians We may relate the beginning of the third part of the British Antiquities in p. 268. where the Author begins to speak of King Arthur and of the priviledges pretended to be given by him to the University of Cambridge The rest of the Chapter excepting what there is in it concerning Gildas of whose works Vsher makes long Extracts is but a collection of Fables and Citations of Monks The 15 th Chapter treateth of the Colonies that the Facts a People of Scythia and the Scââch that inhabited Ireland sent into England and of the manner how these Barbarous People were converted to Christianity There are also in this place more Fables than Truths seeing if we except some general acts the remainder contains only impertinent fictions in this Chapter are also new Fables concerning St. Ursula which some Monks report to have been Daughter to a King of Scotland The 16 and 17 th Chapters which contain the Ecclesiastick Antiquities of Ireland are of the same stamp as the preceding ones and we may wonder how the Archbishop of Armagh hath had the patience to make such a great collection of Fables and to read such a great number of Works of Monks both Manuscript and Printed Those that are minded to know a great part of their fictions concerning the British Isles from the year DXXX unto the end of the fourteenth Age may have recourse to the Original In the same nevertheless may be found some more certain antiquities touching their firââ Inhabitants and the names of these Islands and some considerable changes that happened in them The Author hath also added at the end a Chronological Index where one may see in what time each thing ought to be related It 's a thing much to be wish'd in other Works which contain such disquisitions of Antiquities where commonly there is a strange Confusion Those that desire to be throughly instructed in the Ecclesiastical Antiquities of England ought to add to Vsher's Work whereof we have given now the extract a Book in Folio of Doctor Stillingfleets Intituled Origines Britannicae or the Antiquities of the British Churches with a Preâaâe concerning some pretended Antiquities relating to Britain in vindication of the Bishop of St. Asaph Printed at London 1685. The true System of the Church or Analysis of Faith c. by Sieur Jurieu Doctor and Professor of Divinity At Dordrecht Sold by the Widdow Caspar and Theodore Goris 1686 in 8vo THIS piece is chiefly designed to answer Mr. Nicoli but the difficulties that Mr. Arnauld Father Maimbourg and the Bishop of Meaux have propos'd in the chapter of the Church are herein examined with the utmost exactness the whole is reduced to these five general questions 1. What are the essential parts of the Church 2. What is the invisibility and maâks thereof 3. What is its extent 4. What is its Vnity and Schism 5. What is its authority and judgments the exact and profound discussion of these matters take up three Books The first is begun by the comparison of the Church with a Human Body animated and it 's pretended that as the essential parts of man are a reasonable Soul and an Organised Body and the Union of this Body and Soul likewise the essential parts of the Church are Faith and Charity the Profession of Faith the outward practice of Charity and the Union of these four Faith and Charity are the Soul of the Church the outward Profession and Practice the Body and according to this Idea neither the Saints in Paradise nor the Predestinated that are not yet born are any part of the Church which is proved by Scripture after that is examined if false Christians and Heretical Societies make part of the Church and having shewn the prodigious incumbrances whereunto the R. C. cast themselves in maintaining that an ill man may be a true member of the Church and even of those Members on whom God confers the Spirit of infallibility We are taught after what manner the men of the World are in the Church and may be lawful Pastors in it Mr. Nicoli stands here a rude brunt for he pretends that his efforts do make St. Augustin agree with the Scholastick Divines upon the question whether the wicked are true Members of the Church which is full of obvious contradictions As to Heretical or Schismatical Societies it 's needless to prove to the R. C. that they do not belong to the Church for they say it often enough yet without giving good reasons why crimes are more priviledged therein than errors but the incumbrance which may be in this respect hindreth not Mr. Iuricu from fully examining this matter he enters therefore into the discussion of the Unity of the Church He maintains always leaning upon his comparison of human bodies that all the Sects of Christianity belong really to the body of the Church and that in this there is no more absurdity than to maintain that a distemper'd Member is a true part of Mans Body he asks whence comes the Idea of the Unity which excludes from the Church all the Christian Societies but one and he persuades himself that the monstrous errors which are raised in the first Ages have been the true Origin of this Idea in accustoming the Orthodox to think that Hereticks are Members wholly separate from the Body He adds that St. Cyp finding this Idea ready at hand applyed the same to the Novations grounded thereon such strong reasons against the validity of the Baptism of Hereticks that nothing of weight was answered him this occasions the Author to criticise on the Hypotheses of St. Cyprians
that every Year they fill 90 Barrels therewith The Inhabitants profess the Grecian Religion And instead of a Bishop which they will not admit of they have a Protopapa as they call him that is an Arch-Priest The Piety that our Author makes appear throughout this whole work obliges him to complain of the little care that those of its Nation have taken to form an Ecclesiastical Body and maintain a Pastor therein Delos is the most celebrated Isle of all the Cyclades It is two or three Leagues about is also very full of Rocks and by consequence Barren And at present an uninhabited Desert Tho' there still remain some Monuments of it's Antient Splendor The most remarkable is a Pile of White Marble on which the Temple of Apollo was supposed to be built 'T is otherwise with Sestos and Abydos whereof there remains not the least Footsteps to be found what is now called the Old Castles of Rometia and Anatolia not being built in the same places nor having any mark of Antiquity Gallipoli which is also near hath preserved very few of 'em But at Lampsaque which hath still kept it's Name and at Heraclea are many more to be found Constantinople having been above Twelve Ages the Seat of the Eastern Empire Mr. Wheeler thought he cou'd not be too large in describing of it Many Writings being extant of the same nature I shall observe in our Author only what 's the most curious 'T is thought that Titus Livy's Works are all entire in the Grand Seignior's Library But Mr. Wheeler being inquisitive about it himself offer'd as he assures us great Sums to the Bacha who hath the charge of the Books yet cou'd not procure a sight of it One of the greatest Conveniences they have for Travellers at Constantinople and almost every where throughout Turky is the Publick Houses to entertain Strangers which they call Karavan-Seras or Kans where Persons may live as well as they please having commonly near 'em Shops that afford all things necessary at a reasonable Price It is true the greatest part of 'em are like Barns and have about the Walls what they call a Sopha a Foot and a half high for Travellers to lye thereon But those which are now built in Cities or great Towns are incomparably more commodious having many Apartments all distinguish'd from each other Our Author wishes the like conveniencies were establish'd amongst Christians which wou'd cut off many useless Expences and be a Remedy for several Disorders that occur from the contrary The Patriarchal Church is an obscure Edifice without Beauty or any considerable Ornaments And the Patriarchs Palace is not larger than one of the most despicable private Houses in London This Prelates Habit also is very plain and little differing from the ordinary garb of Caloyers or of the Monks of St. Basil. Nevertheless 't is hardly to be credited with what earnestness this Dignity is sought after And how dearly those that aspire thereto pay for it to the Grand Visier who to make it the most advantageous he can often upon the least pretence turns out those he has lately put in to sell it to others so that sometimes there have been five Patriarchs in the space of 5 Years The Celebration of the Eucharist Mr. Wheeler saith is an Act of Religion wherein the Greeks appear the most devout yet he thinks it impossible to determine exactly what is their general Opinion upon this Subject At some places they hold Transubstantiation as at Corfou and at Zant. But he assures us the Bishop of Salone and the Convent of St. Luke in Beotia believes in this Sacrament only a Spiritual and Efficacious Presence and as he found none that received the word Transubstantiation or of ãâã ãâã ãâã ãâã ãâã except among those that had some connexion with the Roman Church so he doubted not but others which were not yet deceiv'd by 'em are of the same Faith with the aforesaid Bishop and Caloyers Tho' the Turks have always been lookt upon as sworn Enemies to all Learning Nevertheless our Author says They have very Learned Men among 'em and as in the Seraglio there are Historians on purpose to observe great Events so at Constantinople and elsewhere are maintained Professors in all parts of the Mathematicks in Poetry and in the Arabian and Persâan Tongues That they have a Bazar or Purse for the Manuscripts of each several Science compos'd in the Turkish Arabick or Persian Language And what appears the most surprizing is their asserting to us that they had seen an antient Book of Astronomy which suppos'd formerly the Use of the Needle and Loadstone altho' it serv'd them not for Navigation From Constantinople Mr. Wheeler pass'd the Bosphorus and came to Chalcedon and this Town which became so famous by having the 4th Council held there in the Year 452. is now but a small Village that the Turks call Cadiqui Mr. Wheeler designing to Visit all the Celebrated Places of Natolia and particularly those where formerly the seven Churches of the Apocalyps were He sail'd from the South-side in passing by the Mount Olimpus of Mysia the place where Ajax kill'd himself for Despair which the Inhabitants have still stamp'd upon their Moneys 'T is very sad to see the deplorable Estate the Christians are there reduced to who having formerly defended their Liberty as much as they cou'd are now constrain'd to pay double to the others of Caratch or Tribute as 9 or 10 Piastres by the Year the Caratch being commonly but five or four and a half to the rest The first of these famous Cities of the Apocalyps that our Author arrived at was Thyatira a place well peopled with Turks but not above 10 or 12 Christians therein The antient stately Buildings of Marble having been for a long time buryed in their own Ruines and the place fill'd with low despicable Houses it 's Name was almost forgotten but at length was discovered by some old Inscriptions that were dug out of the Earth It is not so with Smyrna For that being a very fruitful Soil and situated advantageously for Commerce they have taken care to keep it in it's former Splendor by rebuilding each place as it fell to decay nevertheless it was overturn'd six times by Earth-Quakes and it 's final Ruine according to an Old Tradition is expected by a seventh A greater Number of Christians inhabited there in a much better Estate than in any of the seven Churches Philadelphia only excepted Many Camelions are in that place which obliges our Author to give us a very exact Description of 'em At Ephesus all the Earth is covered with pieces of Marble Pedestals Pillars and all the Ruines of the handsomest and most antient Architecture This City which was formerly the Capital of Asia so famous and populous is not the receptacle at this day of more than 40 or 50 Turkish Families who live in miserable Tenements without having so much as one Christian amongst ' em Which sorrowful Object
other means and that at last they employed an Army of 50000 Men who except killing committed all the Disorders that they usually commit when they live at discretion in an Enemies Country which has made some merry People term it The Dragoon Croisade or the Conversion of the Dragoons They say a great deal more but since it is the sign of prudence not to believe them lightly Qui cito credit levis est corde I would advise the Readers to suspend their judgment a little All wise Men should go on leisurely on these Matters and should neither believe the Relations of the Catholicks nor them of the Reformed until they have well considered all the Circumstances What is most certain upon sight of all their pieces is that either the Reformed Writers must be the boldest Calumniators that ever were in the World or that the Catholick Writers must be the falsest and the boldest Flatterers that have ever been heard of For in fine an Army that Plunders or threatneth to Plunder the Hugonots Houses through all the Kingdom is a thing that 't is hard to suppress the Truth of or to persuade that it is false The Author of this Work dedicates it to God This Dedicatory Epistle has a very singular turn and an uncommon advantage which is that it prosecutes his Praises to the highest without becoming suspected of Flattery I am mistaken if Praises be the only thing aim'd at in it For certainly there enters Censure either directly or indirectly in the Reflections that follow this Dedication they have much Fire and Wit but are very disadvantageous to the Clergy for they shew That they managed their Work after so cheating a way that tho' they have gull'd the People yet there could be nothing so gross and ill knit together as their Artifices This Author complains continually that on all occasions they seemed to have wholly the Edicts of Pacification tho at bottom they had no such thought as the Event has confirmed one might press People far enough both according to the Notions of the Gospel and Maxims of Morals when they are convinced of such Dissimulation but those that are acquainted with the Rights of the Art of Governing and who have experienced that Politick Wisdom is obliged to conceal their intentions and know that this is a necessary evil in this State of corrupted nature will not trouble themselves with all these Complaints but will send all Protestant Writers to Plato's Common-Wealth or to Sir Thomas Moore 's Vtopia because they think like Cato without considering what a Man is in such an Age as this and without thinking that a perfect Regularity does not belong to this World we must stay until the Resurrection new forms Man from Head to Foot to see him in this Order To these Complaints are added others the violent Advices suggested by the Bishops and after this are made some rough Reflections upon the two Orations of the last Meeting of the Clergy spoke by the Bishop of Valence and the Coadjutor of Rouen and there is to be seen the Discourse which the Lieutenant General of Rochelle made to the Heads of the Protestant Families wherein he declared that if they did not quickly learn and enter into the bosom of the Church they should be punished in this World with much Pain and Calamities And here follows an Account of what pass'd at Mounaban and of divers Remarks that help to shew that the Persecutions of the Pagans nor of the Duke of Alva and them of Hungary were not so grievous as those of our Days The Donatists are spoke of and it 's maintained that they are not to be compared with the Hugonots and that the success of the Persecutions raised against them is not to be expected now They found it on this thought that the new Converts change only in the exterior and that they will never be drawn from their Hypocrisy but by having leave to return to their former Belief If a thousand Reports that run were credited it would be thought that there would become a true Samaritanisme in France and a mixt Religion that would neither be Calvinism nor Papism and which would have been soon excommunicated by the Pope in the times that the Court of Rome could maintain his Pretensions There was a Discourse that there is nothing asked of the most of the Proselytes but a general Promise That they would not remain Separatists And the Gazett tells us they are suffered to sing in the very Cathedrals the Psalms of Clement Marot And upon this many cry that it is an effect of the Promise that they complain of But as I have said already A wise Man should not credit things of this nature upon Hear-says we must expect until time clears all these doubtful Matters to see whether the Prelates of France will not by good Apologies annul the complaints spread of them through all Europe As the Common-wealth of Sciences is a State of Abstraction and Precision from all Sects and as such is not to take the part of any Sect of Divines or Philosophers it will be its duty to give an impartial account of the Books that will be published by the Clergy and which it will not neglect The Author makes an end of the First Part of his Book with a Letter upon what happen'd at Guyenne in the time of the M. of Boufflers Croisade It 's strange he says nothing of the Revocation of the Edict of Nanâes And we may conclude hence that his Book was Printed before that was known Without doubt it will be the subject of another Work He that made these Reflections does not look as if he would slip so fertile a matter or as if he would stop in so fair a road To understand better the Contents of his Second Part I must first tell the Reader that the Second Assembly of the Clergy brought a parallel of the Doctrine of the Roman Church and that which is imputed to it by Protestants which comprehends in Seven Articles all the Points that are Disputed of and there are three Columns made on each Article of these The first contains the Formal Terms of the Profession of Faith and of the Council of Trent The second the French Translation of these Terms The third is of the Imputations of Protestants which the Clergy pretend to be Calumnies of the highest degree and have all in a Body petitioned the King for a Formal Justice The Author having made several Remarks on all this with his ordinary heat descends to a more particular examination of these Seven Articles and maintains that the Calumnies that were complained of are very unjust Accusations and pretends that the most rigorous and hard expressions of the Ministers contain nothing but pure Truth and marks that the Translation of these pretended Calumnies contain a more injurious meaning than the Original I will not enter on particular proofs it is enough to say that they are passed with much Vigour and Wit and that
the Gauls The conduct of Victor pleased not all the other Bishops who exhorted him in their turn to have sentiments conformable to a Peace Unity and Love to our Neighbours There are still of their Letters adds Eusebius wherein they reprehend Victor with eagerness enough Amongst these Bishops was Irenaeus who in the Letter which he Writ upon this Subject in the Name of the Brothers over whom he presided among the Gauls maintains also that one Sunday must be Celebrated the Resurrection of our Lord yet he advertiseth Victor with much gravity that he ought not to cut off from the Communion whole Churches of God who observe a Tradition and Ancient Custom It will be some difficulty to believe that Bom found in this Affair a Proof of the Authority of the Pope Notwithstanding it is the conclusion he draws from it and grounds 1. Upon that the Bishops who were displeased at this Excommunication would undoubtedly have acted with more haughtiness against Victor if he had not been their Superior whereas they speak unto him with a mildness which marks well that they contested not the Right of Excommunicating the Churches as not being of his Jurisdiction but that they only found fault with the use he made thereof the cause of the Excommunication not being of consequence enough according to them 2. That notwithstanding they were deceived in that and that Victor did well to use this rigour because Blastus one of the principal Patrons of the Opinion of the Asiaticks would have introduced Iudaism under this pretence 3. That the Church approved of the Conduct of Victor in condemning the Bishops of Asia to whom was given the name of Quartodecimal Hereticks 4. That Irenaeus himself hath not doubted of the Superiority of the Bishop of Rome seeing he saith elsewhere That all the Churches must to wit all the Faithful of what place soever they are come to this Church in which the Apostolical Tradition hath been preserved by those who came to it from every Part because of its more powerful Principality Ad hanc enim Ecclesiam propter potentiorem Principalitatem necesse est omnem convenire Ecclesiam hoc est eos qui sunt undique fideles in qua semper ab his qui sunt undique conservata est ea quae est ab Apostolis Traditio To this Episcopius Replies That the Answer of the Bishops of Asia and the Letter of Irenaeus would not be very respectful if Victor had been the Chief of the Church that the word ãâã ãâã ãâã ãâã ãâã which signifies properly to give a contrary order and those of ãâã ãâã ãâã ãâã ãâã acerbius perstringere are not invented to express the submission of a Subject to his Prince and that if these Bishops could take it ill that their Judge a pretended Soveraign and Infallible should banish from the Church and exclude from Heaven so great a number of Churches for so slight a cause they have therefore thought that he might be mistaken in his Decisions upon matters of Faith and that they had a right to examine them 2. That the Heresie of Blastus justifies not the proceedings of Victor seeing the Asiaticks looked not upon the Celebration of the Passover as a necessary Observance and which should precisely be applyed to such a day that they were contented that Victor and other Bishops should Celebrate it on Sunday if they had their Reasons for it but that they having not the same proofs thereof believed themselves not obliged to abandon the Apostolical Tradition It hath not been remarked that our Professor answereth the passage of Irenaeus because we need only to read it throughly to shew that there is no mention there of the Right of the Bishop of Rome in the Decision of Controversies but only of the Characters which they in the time of Irenaeus did acknowledge Apostolical Thereupon he saith That it must be sought for in the places where the Apostles have established Bishops but because it would be too long to make an enumeration of all the Apostolick Churches he stops at one of the most ancient and greatest which is the Church of Rome As this City was the Capital of the Empire Principalitas Potentior and that for that Reason the Inhabitants of divers Provinces negotiated there and were obliged to come thither Irenaeus concludes that the Apostolical Tradition could not fail of having been faithfully kept there since that if the Christians of a Province or of a City had been minded to corrupt it the Christians of other places who were at Rome would have opposed it it being improbable to suppose that so many different Nations would agree to abandon in so little a time the Doctrine of the Apostles II. Bom often alledged passages out of St. Augustin for the Authority of Popes that gave occasion to Episcopius of citing him the 22d Canon of the Council of Millan where St. Augustin was Secretary and another Canon of the 6th Council of Carthage where this Bishop also assisted both which prohibited the drawing Ecclesiastical Causes of the Diocess of Africk on the other side the Sea whether they regard the Inferior Members of the Clergy or the very Bishops That the Deputies of the Pope having represented to the Assembly That this Canon destroyed the Priviledges which the Council had granted to the Patriarch of Rome in permitting Ecclesiasticks to appeal unto him in Judgments had against them by the Ordinaries the Bishops of Africk were extreamly surprized and said all Unanimously That they never heard of such Priviledges Thereupon these Deputies related three Canons which they said to be of the Council of Nice the Fathers of Carthage to Constantinople Alexandria and Antioch and the Authentick Copies of this Council where not finding these three Canons they Writ to the Pope That the Right of Appealing which he pretended to in quality of Supream Judge and belonged not to him by virtue of the Council of Nice seeing the Three Canons upon which he grounded his pretentions were not to be found in the Originals The Exceptions are reduced to this 1. That the Council of Millan prohibits but the Inferior Clerks to Appeal beyond the Sea and that this is evident because Pope Innocent to whom the Synod of Millan submitted all their Decrees as to the Head of the Church approved the Canon in question 2. That there is no reason to believe that the Copy of the Council of Nice which was kept at Rome was supposed but that there is much more likelyhood that those of Constantinople Antioch and Alexandria were defective seeing the Manuscript upon which Ruffinus Writ his History was so and that there are several Canons of this Council cited in that of Calcedonia and in St. Ambros St. Augustin and Ierome which are not found in this Historian 3. That the Decrees which are accused of Supposition have been cited by other Popes before Zozime as Iulius speaks who living but Twenty years after the Council of Nice could easily have been convinced
by a very plain way Why was not Iesus pleased to render the way more easy and did not tell us where we should find such a Judge We are therefore obliged to look for him saith Episcopious and this Disquisition must necessarily aim at either of these two things Either that each particular Society of Christians and even each Member of this Society attribute to it self the Power of Soveraign judging of Controversies or that the Universal Church to wit the Body of all those who profess the Gospel hath at all times right to chuse such a Judge The first cannot be granted because every one looking upon himself as Infallible no body would submit himself to the Decisions of his Neighbour The second is naturally unpracticable for before the Universal Church can choose a Supream Judge of Controversies it must needs have cast it's Eyes upon divers Subjects capable of fulfilling this Charge and examined carefully their capacity And how shall it make this Examination All the Christian Societies must concur in this Election But how should they agree thereupon and whom could they choose who should not be suspitious or uncapable of this Employment Seeing all Christians have already taken Parties and those who are not Christians understand not our Disputes Add to this that tho Men would be decided by the ordinary Judges of the Roman Church there would still a Party of Male-Contents remain If the Pope was chosen France would appeal to the General Council if a Council was assembled Italy would not accept on 't until it had been confirmed by the Pope and this Bishop would only do it upon condition that this Ecumenick Council would acknowledge it self beneath him which is contrary to the pretensions of France The impossibility of this Design is an evident proof according to our Author that God will not have his Church to be governed after the manner of the Kingdoms of the Earth where one is obliged to submit without knowing for what because there is but the Body and some transitory Goods in question But the Kingdom of God extending it self over the Soul and Conscience Men must be instructed convinced and persuaded Men must read pray meditate and live Christianly to obtain the Grace of distinguishing Truth from Falshood In vain would Scripture teach us these Truths and exhort us to these practices if there were an infallible Judge All this would be useless neither is it of great me amongst those who believe they have one All the World knoweth the ridiculous explications the Roman Doctors gave to Scripture before Protestants had put it into the hands of the People and no body is ignorant of the many Truths which have been discovered since it hath been believed that every one should instruct himself in the Will of God by his Word It is true that there have arisen Disputes which are the unavoidable consequences of Examination But if Christians applyed themselves only to Scripture and that instead of deciding of their Differences when Scripture is not clear thereupon they supported each other with a mutual Charity we should soon see them become both more wholsome in their Opinions and more reformed in their Manners It is a consequence very clear and very easie to comprehend but such as apparently will never be justified by Experience V. The last writing of Bom is a small Treatise to prove that St. Peter hath been established Head of the Catholick Church where this Priest relates the common Passage of Controvertists Thou art Peter c. Feed my Sheep c. The Answer of Episcopius is not complete but that which there is on 't appears more than sufficient to refute all the Objections of the Missionaries The first Reason would be even enough which is that although his Adversary had clearly proved his Thesis he would do nothing for all that if he did not shew that the promises made to St. Peter regard also his Successors whereas most of the Fathers have taken them for personal Priviledges as Tertullian in his Book of Chastity c. 21. who speaks thus to Pope Zephirin If because the Lord hath said to Peter Vpon this Rock I will build my Church I will give thee the Keys of the Kingdom of Heaven and all that thou shalt bind or unbind upon Earth shall be bound or unbound in Heaven If I say for that cause you imagine that the power of unbinding or binding is passed unto you to wit to all the Churches founded by Peter Who are you that overturn and change the clear intention of the Lord who hath conferred this personally on Peter Vpon thee saith he I will build my Church and I will give thee the Keys and not to the Church and all that thou shalt unbind and not that they shall unbind 2. After having shewed that these Priviledges are not personal it should be proved that they regard only the Bishops of Rome excluding those of Antioch 3. That they regard them all without exception and without condition to wit That all and every one of the Popes are infallible as well in Fact as Right against the Experience and the Sentiment of most of the Doctors of the Roman Communion 4. It should be defined what the Catholick Church is and shewed by formal passages that these Terms denominate the Body of Pastours which is called the Representative Church which is impossible Whereas it is very easy to shew that the Church signifieth in Scripture only the People in opposition to Pastours And in this sense there is nothing more absurd than all that is said of the Power of the Church and it's Priviledges seeing it is but the Body of the Pope's Subjects and Roman Clergy and that Subjects who are far from making Decisions must submit and obey their Lot 5. After all this it should be still proved that the Priviledges given to St. Peter and the Bishops of Rome his Successors import not simply a Primacy of Order and some Authority in things which regard the Discipline and Government of the Church which Protestants could grant without doing a prejudice to their Cause but they do moreover mark a Primacy of Jurisdiction of Sovereignty and Infallibility in matters of Faith which is impossible to be proved by Scripture and all the Monuments we have of Antiquity and which is even contradictory seeing the belief of a Fact or Truth is persuaded and forceth not it self Have not Roman Catholicks much Grace to accuse Protestants of Obstinacy because they refuse to embrace a Hypothesis which supposeth so many dubious Principles whereof most are contested even amongst the Divines of Rome and to ask them to obey the Church without distinctly telling them what this Church is or in what consists the Submission which is required of them or how far it ought to be extended An Abridgment of Universal History The First Part containing the Ecclesiastical History in Two Books by Henry le Bret Provost of the Cathedral Church of Montauban in 125. 3 Volumes At
which is added a Preface touching the Original of this History Sold by Mr. Chiswell at London 1688. p. 44. THe Devotions of the Roman Church appear so ridiculous to them that are not born superstitious that the ablest Controvertists of that party have endeavoured to hide them or to make them pass for popular Abuses but as it is impossible that in a great Society all them that write should be of the Secret so there are a great number of Bigots who feared that the Bishops of Meaux and Turnai would with their mildness betray the Church and were minded really to abolish the Ways that enriched it So much the Protestants have seconded the sincerity of these latter and have collected out of their Offices Rites and the most famous Doctours of Rome the true Doctrine of our Church To avoid the contestations commonly raised by such as do not act sincerely The English are advised to translate whole Books of the Doctrine of Rome as the Life of Magdalene of Pazzi the Contemplations of the Life and Glory of the Blessed Virgin and other such like The Abridgment of the Perogatives of St. Ann is one of these Works The time will not be lost that is imployed in making an extract of it it is sufficient that it was ridiculous enough to cause the Effect which the Translator proposed himself it was printed at Paris in 43. with the approbation of the Doctors of Sorbonne and was Dedicated to the Queen Mother Ann of Austria then Regent so that any godly Book could not be more Authentick The Reader will be far more obliged by the taking out of the English Preface the History of St. Ann's Devotions by which may be learned what are the grounds of Monastick Orders and the Authors of Legends The Friars used ways of forming the Genealogies of their King 's and attributing great Deeds of Chivalry that never hapned to their Princes and thought that it became them to be no less liberal to the Predecessors of Iesus Christ. No Antient Author ever spoke of Iachim and of St. Ann who are said to be the Father and Mother of the Blessed Virgin and St. Epiphanius was the first that mentioned it by the by In the succeeding Ages Germain Hyppolitus and Damascenus spoke of them but 't was little or nothing at all and Nicephorus one of the greatest lyers among the Friars made but a very short History of them so that all the Legends are grounded upon two pieces whereof the Falshood is well known by Criticks One is a Letter upon the Birth of the Blessed Lady attributed to St. Ierome the other is the pretended Gospel of St. Iames. As for the first it cannot be precisely determined when it was invented All that can be said is that an old Fabulous Tradition has been the occasion of it There is a feigned Letter of Chromatius and of Heliodoâe desiring St. Ierome to Translate the Gospel of St. Matthew out of Hebrew into Latine which Armanius and Virinus said was in his possession and contained the History of the Infancy of the Blessed Virgin and that of our Saviour Ierome begins to excuse himself from it upon the difficulty of the work and because the Apostle did not design to make this Book publick maintaining that he writ it in Hebrew and did not mention a word of it in the common Gospel designing to keep this History from the Peoples Knowledge adding That it was a Secret that ought to be trusted to none but choice Clergy-men that might make the extract of it to Christians That Seleucus was the first that Translated it and mixed several false Doctrines tho not very different from the Truth in what regarded the History and Miracles and for that reason he promis'd them an exact Version of the Original Hebrew There are in these Fables the Maxims and Folly of the Friars which suffice to refute it Besides this Seleucus or Lucius was a Manichee which doubtless was one of the reasons why St. Augustin rejected a Work like this or perhaps it might be the same with that of Seleucus For says he If one did alledge to me the Book of Apocrypha wherein Iachim is said to be the Father of Mary I would not yield to that Authority because that Book is not Canonical Pope Gelasius not content to term the Work Apocryphal calls the Author a Child of the Devil II. The second piece whereon the Legend is founded is not of better Alloy because it is the Gospel of the false St. Iames. William Postel published it first and having Translated it out of Greek into Latin got it printed at Basil in 1552. under the Title of Prot-Evangelion cum Evangelica Historia Sanctae Mariae Evangelistae vita ejus Octavo Some years after Bibliander made Notes upon this Work and this was printed with the other which was not much better under the Title of Orthodox Writing Orthodoxographae If any one is minded to know who William Postel was he may be informed in the first Chapter of the Apology for the Reformers by Mr. Iurieu Henry Stephens that was no Divine but knew that such a Deist as Postell was might be suspected that he had embellished this Work and Casaubon attributed the whole to him However it is this pretended Gospel of St. Iames with many others was condemned in a Council of 70 Bishops held at Rome under Pope Gelasius Nevertheless the Writers of Legends receive them and form new ones as the Book of the Birth of Mary of the childhood of Iesus and the Gospel of St. Ann. The latter may be judged of according to this passage mentioned by Henry Stephens when Iesus was so grown that he could work Joseph employed him to Carpentry and one day having commanded him to saw a piece of Wood he did it without taking notice of the Mark that was to direct him and so made the piece too short Joseph was angry at this and had a mind to beat him and would have done it if Iesus had not lengthened the stick by making Joseph pull at one end whilst he pull'd at the other If the Inventors of those absurd Relations were design'd to dishonour the Christian Religion they could not find a better way the Gospel of the fictitious St. Iames is full of such extravagant Histories and one would think the Inventor had a mind by his Ironique Imitation to ridicule several passages of Scripture and several Miracles of the Old and New Testament among others the History of Abraham and Sarah that of Hanna and her Son Samuel and that of Zachary and Elizabeth And nevertheless it is upon these counterfeit Books and scurrilous Relations that the most part of the Devotions of the Romish Church are founded the pretended St. Iames has consecrated a Feast to St. Ann which is kept the 16 th of Iuly and was ordained by Pope Gregory XIII 1584. Sometime after Sixtus the 5 th founded or at least confirmed a Religious Order called the Maidens of
St. Ioseph who made choice of St. Ann for their Patroness they afterwards established themselves in France under the protection of Ann of Austria Regent of the Kingdom So that it was in our times that the Grand-father and Grand-mother of Iesus Christ were brought into remembrance and I hope his great Grand-father and his Father will be soon deisy'd especially if the principle lay'd by the Maidens of St. Ioseph in this work be followed for if one must make his address to the Blessed Virgin because Iesus Christ cannot refuse her any thing and if we must address our selves to Ann the Mother of Mary to have the Daughters Favour then we must go back to great Grand-mother and so on to the rest BOOKS concerning the Exposition of M. de Meaux his Doctrine I. An Exposition of the Doctrine of the Church of England upon the Articles that M. de Meaux heretofore Bishop of Condom has Explained in his Exposition of the Catholick Doctrine with the History of this Book Quarto 1686. II. Defence of the Exposition of the Doctrin of the Church of England against M. de Meaux and his Apologists Objections Quarto 1686. III. A Second Defence of the Exposition of the Doctrin of the Church of England against M. de Meaux and his Apologists new Objections Quarto At London Sold by R. Chiswell 1688. IF it be useful in Civil Life to know them that give us advice and the secret motives that make them act such an examination cannot be of less advantage for our Spiritual conduct in the different ways shewn to Christians by the Doctors of divers Societies if Prejudices and Obstinacy do not damn at least it cannot be deny'd but they are very dangerous but when Learned Divines whose imagination is neither overheated with Dispute nor with the Opinion of a particular Party and does endeavour to call into doubts the most constant practices and publick customs there is reason to suspect that they have imbib'd no less odious Principles than Head-strongness and Prejudice If the Roman Church ever had Judicious and moderate Controvertists they were the Iansenists and M. de Meaux and some English that in these times have imitated the former so that if there be want of sincerity in the proceedings of these Gentlemen it is a strong presumption against the Defenders of Rome and no weak proof that its Doctrin cannot be maintained but by indirect courses These Reflections were necessary to shew the usefulness of the Modern History of Controversies as well in France as in England which Dr. Wake gives in his Preface of these Three Works and whereof we design to give a more than ordinary exact Abridgment here because there are remarkable circumstances known to very few I. All the World knows now that the Extirpation of all the Hugonots of France was resolved on even from the Pyrenean Peace and there are some that believed it was one of the secret Conditions of that Peace The difficulty was to put that Decree in execution without raising a Civil War and without alarming the Protestant Princes The Politicians took very just measures to weaken insensibly the Reformed of that Kingdom and either lull asleep or set at variance the Forreign Powers of their Communion There is none ignorant of the success but it would have been more happy if the Divines employed to maintain Rome's Cause had sped as well as the Coyners of Propositions and Inventers of Decrees And nevertheless it might be said that the Roman Catholick Doctors were not in the fault that things did not go on better and that it was not for want of incapacity that they persuaded no body The first that endeavoured to give a new turn to Controversies was M. Arnaud whose very Name is praised enough It is well known that this eminent Man who was a Philosopher a Mathematician well read in the Fathers and as well acquainted with Scripture has had several remarkable victories over the Adversaries of his own Communion yet with all his great qualities all that he did in his perpetuity of the belief of the Roman Catholick Religion touching the Lord's Supper was to repeat over and over that Transubstantiation being now the common Doctrine of the Church it follow'd that there never was any other Belief because it cannot be comprehended how all Christians should have agreed to change their Opinion which had it happened the certain time should be marked wherein the Universal Church had varied in this Point and when and how each particular Church came to Corrupt the Antient Doctrine It is very strange that after so many proofs of matter of Fact which M. Aubertinus alledged out of the Belief of the Holy Fathers that an Argument purely Metaphysical should make so much noise and be so much applauded by the Roman Communion It 's almost a certain sign of the weakness of a Cause to see the maintainers of it blinded with the least Sophism and Triumph in their fancy for the least appearance of Truth There wanted no great strength to ruin these imaginary Trophies The Protestants had no harder task than to shew that this reason supposed no error could be brought into the World nor embraced by a numerous Society The beginning of Idolatry is disputed upon and nothing yet decided Some will have it that it began by the adoration of Stars others from the deifying dead Men and then say they Statues were erected for Kings for the Benefactors of the People for Law-makers and for the Inventors of Sciences and Arts. And this to reduce People to the practice of Vertue and to do it the better they spoke of their Ancestors and proposed their Examples their Actions were spoken of in high Terms and their Soul placed in Heaven near the Divinity they thought they would not be idle there but that God would give them some considerable office there because they had acquitted themselves so well of the Employments they had upon Earth The common sort of People generally much taken with Figures and great Words it may be conceived a higher Idea of those excellent Persons than their first Authors designed and Priests observing that these Opinions made People more devout and brought themselves Riches made the People to pass insensibly from a Respect to a Religious Veneration And hence Idolatry was rais'd by little and little to its height now must we infer from hence that it is not a pernicious Error and that it was from the beginning of the World because the precise time cannot be marked in which People begun to adore the Stars nor tell who the first Hero was that had Divine Honors rendred to him and yet the Argument would be as concluding as Mr. Arnaud's Many Learned Men have Writ much of the Antient and Modern Idolatry and have shewn its various progress One can tell very near what time the Saturnalia were Instituted and the Mysteries of Ceres and Corpus Christi-Day and that of St. Ann. And at what time the Temple of Ephesus
was built and the Church of Loret and when Hercules was Canonized and Aeneas and Francis of Abisa and Ignatius Loyola all this is known But the first beginning of an Error is always impenetrable and can never be found out As for the Consent of Christians which Mr. Arnaud did alledge he was shewn that the Eastern Churches termed Schismaticks by Rome were not of her opinion touching the Lord's Supper and that if they had any Idea of a Real Presence it drew nearer the Consubstantiation of the Lutherans than the Transubstantiation of Rome It is true Mr. Arnaud produces several Attestations of Graecian Priests to shew that the Greeks were of the same opinion with Roman Catholicks but it is likewise true that he obtained the most part of them by Bribes Mr. Wheeler assures us in his Voyages of Greece that he spoke to many Pappas whom M. of Nointel Nephew to Mr. Arnaud had endeavoured to bribe for the same end The Miscellanea of Mr. Smith may also be seen to this effect One might be satisfied with this Answer yet the Superstitions of Rome being not so antient as those of Paganism the Reformed have thought that by a continual search at last that Prodigious Opinion might be discover'd which gave Birth to Transubstantiation And they have accomplisht it for they have shewn how the Energetick Expressions of the Fathers touching Transubstantiation occasioned in the ignorant Ages an obscure Idea of an Union or of an incomprehensible change and they have marked the Authors of these two Opinions differing thus about the Sense of Figure and Vertue Iohn Damascenus in the year 728 began to Preach in the East the Union of the Bread and Body of Iesus Christ and Paschase Ratbert was the first that published Transubstantiation or the change of the Substance of one into the Substance of the other in the Latin Church in the year 818. So that all that the Catholicks of France gained by Dispute was to see their Heroes worsted by a Minister who though Eloquent and Witty enough would nevertheless have yielded to M. Arnaud in many other things This Tryal made the Romish Church sensible that it ran the hazard of losing its reputation with all honest People if its Tenets came once to be examined And therefore their Advocates turned wranglers and barricading themselves with formalities prescriptions and the ends not answering they thereupon pretend that their Adversaries are condemnable without any necessity of examining into the bottom who is in the right and who is in the wrong M. Nicole took upon himself to plead this part and acquitted himself in his lawful Prejudices against the Calvinists with as much cunning and Eloquence as could be expected from a Disciple or Friend of M. Arnaud By ill luck the Iansenists came to the worst both in Rome and in France in the Famous Dispute of the Five Propositions and were forced to say That the Five Condemned Propositions were not in the Augustin of Iansenius whence it clearly followed that neither the Pope nor Councils were Infallible in what they did because they might call People as Hereticks that were not so at all in imputing to them Opinions which they never held nor were to be found in their Works The Iansenists saw this consequence and maintained it openly and did advance several Principles that destroyed the Authority of the Church and its Infallibility The French Protestants presently took notice of this contradiction of Doctrin between the Author of the Prejudices and his Friends or his Disciples and did not fail to promote it M. Pajon did it after shewing with much Wit and Acuteness that the Arguments of a prejudiced Author are more valid in a Iew 's a Pagan's or Mahometan's Mouth against Christianity than they are when used by a Roman Catholick against the Reformed About the same time M. Claude Answered M. Nicole in a direct way shewing that the excess of Corruption which the Doctrin and Worship of the Romish Church was come to made our Predecessors to examin Religion strictly and consequently to separate from a Society that would force them to receive under pain of Damnation a Faith whose practices were altogether opposite to Scripture That was enough to make the Roman Catholicks repent that they gave that turn to their Controversies and that being their last shelter there was no hopes they would leave it for they continued turning their Prejudices into so many meanings and proposing them as confidently as if they had never been refuted And these pitiful evasions pleased the Assembly of the Clergy of France so well in 82. that they made Sixteen Methods of Prescription on which the conversion of the Reformed was to be laboured for And which is yet more these Gentlemen thought them so convincing that they intreated the King that a Copy of them might be given to every Consistory imagining perhaps that some Ministers may happen to be there who might be wrought upon by these Illusions or frightned with the Threatnings of the Pastoral Advertisement The Intendant or some other of the King's Commissaries went on a Sunday accompanyed with some Clergy-men deputed by the Bishop of the Diocess and with Two Apostolick Notaries to acquaint each Consistory with this Writing and give several Copies amongst the People making several Orations to desire them from the King to enter into the Communion of the Roman Catholick Church but all to no purpose M. Pajon Minister of Orleans made presently some Remarks upon this Advertisement and Methods and addressed a Letter to the Clergy wherein there are not so many Figures of Rhetorick as in their Writing but much more Sense and Judgment Dr. Burnet who has always gloried in assisting his Afflicted Brethren seeing most of our Ministers out of a condition of defending themselves gave himself the pains to examin the little Books of the Prelats of France And at last Mr. Iurieu Answered them by way of Recrimination in his Lawful Prejudices against Papism which he proposes to the number of Nineteen which are so many whereof the least plausible has more force than all those of the Clergy We must add to these Books Two other of the same Author wherein he Refutes two of the Indirect ways which the Roman Controvertists use the First is his Apology for the Morals of the Reformed against M. Arnaud and the Second his true System of the Church against M. Nicole All these Methods were in Vogue when the Book of M. de Meaux appeared The turn he gave to the Controversies did much more surprise the Protestants than all the Subtilities which the Divines of France thought of There was a Prelat of great reputation Tutor to the Dauphin that did not intangle himself in the Disputes of Grace and that consequently was neither suspected by Iesuites nor by the Iansenists nor by the Church of Rome nor by the Gallican Church he was seen I say to publish a Book well stocked with Approbations wherein he endeavors to moderate
the most displeasing Tenets of his Sect to put their grosser abuses in Oblivion and finally to bury the most part of School Disputes It was hard to think that a Man supported by all that is great in his Communion whereof he seemed the Oracle should Write to deceive his Fellow-Citizens or that he should think that a bare Exposition of the Doctrin of his Church should be capable to bring back into its Bosom them that had quitted it with so much reluctancy and remained in it in spight of what could be inflicted upon them The Tenets of Rome are not taught in the Indies nor in America nor are we to learn from the uncertain relations of some ignorant Travellers We see its Practices and Devotions before our Eyes The Books of their Doctors are told in every place and most part of our Reformers were either Bishops Priests or Fryars so that neither they nor their Disciples can be ignorant neither of what the Romish Church Believes nor of what it Practises besides the Ministers have no reason to dissemble in their Opinions because the Clergy of it gain far more than those of any other Communion This Reflexion might make M. de Meaux's sincerity very doubtful who declares at the very beginning That he Designs to render the Tenets of the Catholick Church more clear than they are and to distinguish them from such as are falsly imputed to it Nevetheless the Reformed being brought up in a Religion which inspires true Faith and being otherwise moved to desire a Re-union in hopes to see the end of their Miseries fancy'd that the Accusation of this Bishop was but a pretext he used to cast out of his Creed what is troublesom and hard to believe Besides the noise of an Agreement between the Two Religions which was a long time sown among the People and whereof divers ' Ministers were made to draw the Project M. de Meaux and his followers slipt many words which were general Promises of a Reformation upon condition of Re-union If it appears now that there was not the least shadow of sincerity in all the Promises that the Roman Catholicks made and that at that very time the clear-sighted could soon discover that it was but a pure cheat the Reformed cannot be praised enough for not trusting to them nor can the others be blamed enough that make nothing of playing with what is most sacred when they have a design to cheat the simple To know whether M. de Meaux be of this Number as several Protestants pretend and endeavour to prove in shewing the opposition of his Sentiments with those of the other Doctors of his Communion it will not be unprofitable to know the History of his Book because it may be commonly perceived by the way that a design is managed which is the end proposed M. Turenne who saw a long time that his Religion was a hinderance to his Fortune would have been very glad if he could accommodate himself to the Romish Religion But the vile Practices of this Church seem so strange to those who are brought up in other Principles that he could not persuade himself to join with a Society that imposed such ridiculous Superstitions upon its Votaries to cure him of this Scruple M. de Meaux published a small Writing wherein he strained himself to shew That these small Devotions were not of the Essence of the Catholick Doctrine and that one might live and die in its Communion without practicing them This Work or rather the King's Caresses and Liberalities having had Success which all People know our Prelate was of Opinion That he could work the same effect upon others and resolved to print this Manuscript that remained written four years before and to add to it divers Sections as that of the Lord's Supper of Tradition of the Authority of the Church and Pope and obtained the approbation of the Bishop of Rheims and of some other Bishops Sorbonne these several Ages has been looked upon as the source of the French Divinity it 's therefore that not only the Doctors of this University but also Bishops and other Clergy are glad to have the approbation of that famous House at the beginning of what Books they write of Religion M. of Condom had that design but he did not speed for having sent his Exposition as soon as it came from the Press to some of the Doctors of Sorbonne instead of approving the Work they marked several Places either contrary to or favouring but in a very little the Doctrine of their Church So that Edition was presently suppressed and another was composed wherein the Passages were changed that were marked by the Censurers This could not be managed so secretly but the Reformed came to know it Mr. Noguier and M. de la Bastide who knew the Edition that was published and this last did not fail to remark the Alteration that the Author made in the Manuscript and in the suppressed Edition They also reproached him that the true Roman Catholicks were but little pleased at his Moderation and one of them finish'd the Refutation of his Book before any Protestant had Printed his but he was not forbidden to publish it M. de Meaux's Credit was great enough to stifle the direct Answer that those of his own Party made to him But he could not hinder them that were dissatisfy'd from taking an indirect course and to say what they thought and even to refute him The Iesuites and the Friars sharp maintainers of the Superstitions that enrich them could not forgive him at all Father Maimbourg in his History of Lutheranism drew this Prelates Character and criticiz'd on his Book under the Name of Cardinal Contarini and of one of his Works and says well That these Agreements and Managements of Religion in these pretended Expositions of Faith which either suppress or do express in doubtful terms a part of the Doctrine of the Church neither satisfie one side nor the other who equally complain of swerving in a matter so momentous as that of Faith Father Cresset gave this Bishop a more sensible stroke in his Book of the true Devotion to the Blessed Virgin printed at Paris in 4to in the Year 79. with priviledge from the King and the Arch-bishops leave and the consent of his own Provincial and of three Iesuites that are the Censurers of all the Works of that Society The Dauphins Tutor was too powerful an Adversary to be opposed directly But a Writer of lesser Authority that adopted the Opinion of this Prelate touching the Invocation of Saints and Worship of Images felt the weight of Father Cresset's Anger This Author was a German Gentleman called M Widenfelt intendant of the Prince of Suarzemberg and his Book was Entituled Monita Salutaria B. Virginis wholsom Advices of the Blessed Virgin to her indiscreet Votaries This Book made much noise in the World especially after the Pastoral Letter of the Bishop of Tournay wherein he recommends this Book to his People as full
of Solid Piety and very fit to remove the Abuses whereunto Superstition wou'd engage ' em The Bishop of Mysia Suffragan of Cologne the Vicar General of that City the Divines of Gant Malines and Lovain all approved it Nevertheless the Iesuite assures that That Writing scandalized the good Catholicks that the Learned of all Nations refuted it that the Holy See condemned it and that in Spain it was prohibited to be printed or read as containing Propositions suspected of Heresie and Impiety tending to destroy the particular Devotion to the Mother of God and in general the Invocation of Saints and the Worship of Images There are now near 10 Years past since M. Meaux kept us in Expectation of Mr. Noguier and M. Bastides Refutation but at length instead of an Answer in form there only appeared a second Edition of his Book bigger by half than the first by an Addition of an Advertisement in the beginning of it One may soon judge that it does not cost so much pains to compose 50 or 60 pages in Twelves as the taking of the City of Troy did But tho' the time was not very long it was too long to oblige all that time the Pope and the Court of Rome to give their Approbation to a Book so contrary to their Maxims Without doubt the Secret was communicated to them and they were assured That as soon as the Stroke was given and the Hugonots converted either by fair or foul means what seemed to be granted would be recalled Some Roman Catholicks worthy of a better Religion suffered thro' the ignorance of this Mystery A Prior of Gascogne Doctor in Divinity called M. Imbert told the People that went to the Adoration of the Cross on Good Friday in 83. That the Catholicks adored Iesus Christ crucifyed on the Cross but did not adore any thing that they saw there The Curate of the Parish said it was the Cross the Cross but M. Imbert answered No no it is Iesus Christ not the Cross. This was enough to create trouble this Prior was called before the Tribunal of the Arch-bishop of Bordeaux and when he thought to defend himself by the Authority of M. Meaux and by his Exposition what was said against that Book was objected to him that it moderated but was contrary to the Tenets of the Church After which he was suspended from Ecclesiastical Functions the Defendant provided an Appeal to the Parliament of Guienne and writ to M. de Meaux to implore his protection against the Arch-Bishop who threatned him with a perpetual Imprisonment and Irons it is not known what became of it The History of M. de Witte Priest and Dean of St. Mary's of Malines is so well known that I need not particularize upon it Our Author refers us here to what the Journals have said It is known what Persecutions he has suffered for expressing the Popes Supremacy and Infallibility according to M. de Meaux's Doctrine He did not forget to alledge that Bishops Authority and to say That his Exposition required no more of a Christian and an Orthodox but this did not hinder the University of Lovain to judge that Proposition pernicious and scandalous that intimates that the Pope is not the Chiefest of Bishops In the mean time the Reformed did not forget M. de Meaux his Advertisement did no sooner appear but it was refuted by Mr. de la Bastide and Mr. Iurieâ a little after made his Preservative against the change of Religion in opposition to that Bishops Exposition But all these Books and those that were writ against his Treatise of the Communion under the two Kinds had no Answer this Prelate expecting booted Apologists who were to silence his Adversaries in a little time The Roman Catholicks of England notwithstanding their small number flattered themselves with hopes of the like Success having at their head a bold couragious Prince and one that would do any thing for them They had already translated M. Condom's Exposition of 1672 and 1675 into English and Irish and as soon as they saw King Iames setled on his Brothers Throne they began to dispute by small Books of a leaf or two written according to the method of the French Bishop The Titles with the Answers and the several Defences of each Party may be had in a Collection printed this present Year at London at Mr. Chiswells which is Entituled A Continuation of the present State of Controversy between the English Church and that of Rome containing a History of the printed Books that were lately published on both sides The Gentlemen of the Roman Church did begin the Battel by little Skirmishes but found themselves after the first or second firing without Powder or Ball and not able to furnish scattered Sheets against the great Volumes made against them said at last instead of all other answer that the little Book alone entituled The Papist Misrepresented and there represented a-new was sufficient to refute not only all the Dissertations which the English Divines lately published against Papists but all the Books and Sermons that they ever preached against Catholicks It is to no purpose to take the trouble of Disputing against people that have so good an Opinion of their Cause And in consequence of this the English answer to M. de Meaux's Exposition and the Reflections on his Pastoral Letter of 1686. met with no Answer as well as several other Books But Dr. Wake had no sooner published his Exposition of the Doctrine of the Church of England but these Gentlemen which know better to assault than to defend made a Book Entituled A Vindication of the Bishop of Condom 's Exposition with a Letter of that Bishop Because we do not design to enter on the particulars of these Controversies we will only take notice as to what past That First M. de Meaux denyed that any Roman Catholick writ against or did design to write against it Secondly That Sorbonne did not refuse approving his Book Thirdly He says his Exposition was reprinted to alter those places which the Censurers had improved and maintains that it was put into the Press without his knowledge and that he had a new Edition made only to change some expressions that were not exact enough Fourthly That he neither read nor knew any thing of Father Cresset's Book Dr. Wake published the Defence of his Exposition about the middle of the same year 1686 where he shews First That the deceased Mr. Conrait a Man acknowledged by both Parties to be sincere had told many of his Friends that he saw this Answer in Manuscript and other persons of known honesty that are still living assured the Author that they had this Manuscript in their hands Dr. Wake justifies his Accusations on the 2d and 3d heads by so curious a History that it seems worthy of being believed He says that one of his Acquaintance who was very familiar with one of Marshall de Turenne's Domesticks was the first that discover'd this Mystery For this
which they quote the Arch-bishop Laud Iackson Feilding Hâylin Hammond and M. Thorndike There is not one but has writ the contrary These are the Points whereon the Enemies of Protestants would make the Church of England pass for half Papists tho there is not one but was taught by other Reformed excepting Episcopacy And this Government is so ancient that even those who think Presbytery better ought not to condemn for some little difference in Discipline a Church that is otherwise very pure unless they are minded to anathematize St. Ignatius St. Clement St. Polycarp St. Irenaeus St. Cyprian and the whole Church of the second and third Age and a great part of the first Without question the Episcopal Clergy of England have the like Charity for Presbyterians I will not alledge the Testimonies of Modern Doctors nor of such as were accused of having favoured the pretended Puritans we see the Marks of its mildness and moderation towards all excepâing some turbulent Spirits amongst 'em which indeed are too common in all Societies If there ever was a time wherein the Church of England differed from Presbytery and had reason so to do it was in the middle of the Reign of K. Iamss the First and notwithstanding you may see how the Bishop of Eli speaks writing for the King and by his Order against Cardinal Bellarmin One may see how much the Protestants of this Country agree by Harmony of their Confessions where each Church acknowledges wherein she agrees with the rest Then lay aside those odious Names seek our Professions of Faith in our Confessions The Reproach you make us concerning the Puritans is altogether absurd because their number is but small and the most moderate among them agree with us in the chief Articles of Religion The Scotch Puritans Confession has no Error in Fundamental Points so that the King might say with reason That the Establish'd Religion of Scotland was certainly true And as for the rest there 's no reason to suspect Dr. Wakes Testimony for the Bishop of London and the Arch-Bishop of Canterbury have approved his Books None of the other Doctors contradicted him and some sided with him against Roman Catholicks And these last have not accused him of swerving from the common Doctrine of the Church of England only in the Article of the necessity of Baptism and he proves by several Authorities in his Defence of his Exposition what he therein advanced At the end of this Defence are several curious Pieces 1. A Comparison betwixt the Ancient and Modern Popery 2. An Extract of the Sentiments of Father Cresset and Cardinal Bona concerning the Devotion to the Blessed Virgin 3. The Letter of Mr. Imbert to Mr. de Meaux 4. The Epistle of St. Chrysostom to Caesarius with the Preface of Mr. Bigot which was suppressed at Paris in 1680. and a Dissertation of Dr. Wake upon Apollinarius's Sentiments and Disciples A DISCOURSE of the Holy EUCHARIST wherein the Real Presence and Adoration of the Host is treated on to serve for an Answer to two Discourses printed at Oxford upon this Subject With a Historical Preface upon the same Matter At London 1687. p. 127. in 4to DR Wake Minister of the Holy Gospel at London who is said to be the Author of this Book gives First In few words the History and Origine of Transubstantiation as it hath been ordinarily done amongst Protestants Secondly He names several Illustrious Persons of the Romish Church who have been accused of not believing the Real Presence or Transubstantiation to wit Peter Picherel Cardinal du Perron Barnes an English Benedictine and Mr. de Marca Arch-Bishop of Paris who gave his absolute Sentiment hereon in one of his Posthume Dissertations tho' in the Edition of Paris the places wherein he said it have been changed or blotted out But it could not be hindered but that this Work having appeared before Persons took notice of these Sentiments some entire Copies thereof have fallen into the hands of Protestants who got it printed in Holland in 1669. without cutting off any thing To these Authors are joined F. Sirmond the Iesuite who believed the Impanation and who had made a Treatise upon it which hath never been printed and whereof some persons have yet Copies M. de Marolles who got a Declaration printed in form in 1681. by which he declared that he believed not the Real Presence and which was inserted here in English And in short the Author of the Book Entituled Sure and honest means of Converting Hereticks whom we dare not affirm to be the same who published a Treatise of Transubstantiation which the Fifth Tome of the French Bibliotheque speaks of p. 455. The Cartesians and several others are suspected of not believing the same no more than the Protestants So that if the Catholicks cite some Reformed for them Protestants also want not Catholick Authors who have been of their Opinion Thirdly The Author sheweth the dangerous Consequences which arise according to the Principles of the Romish Church from the incredulity of so many Men of Knowledge be it in respect to Mass or in respect of the Infallibility and Authority of the Church The Treatise it self is divided into two parts The first contains two Chapters and an Introduction wherein is expounded the Nature and Original of the Eucharist much after the Ideas of Lightfoot In the first Chapter Transubstantiation is at large refuted by Scripture by Reason and the Fathers We shall make no stay at it because this Matter is so well known The Second Chapter is imployed to refute what Mr. Walker said concerning the Opinions of several Doctors of the Church of England upon the Real Presence Dr. Wake at first complains That his Adversary in that only repeats Objections which his Friend T. G. had before proposed in his Dialogues and which a Learned Man had refuted in an Answer to these Dialogues printed at London in 1679. As to what concerns the Faith of the Church of England which he maintains to have been always the same since the Reign of Edward He reduces it to this according to the Author who refuted T. G. viz. That she believes only a Real Presence of the invisible Power and grace of Iesus Christ which is in and with the Elements so that in receiving them with Faith it produces Spiritual and real Effects upon the Souls of Men. As Bodies taken by Angels continueth he may be called their Bodies whilst they keep them and as the Church is the Body of Iesus Christ because his Spirit animates and liveneth the Souls of the Believing so the Bread and Wine after the Consecration are the Real Body of Iesus Christ but spiritually and mystically He gives not himself the trouble to prove the solidity of this comparison by Scripture and when he comes to the Examination of the Authors that Mr. Walker hath quoted he contents himself to produce other Passages where they do not speak so vigorously of the participation of the substance of Iesus
York and his Son being declared Caesar by the Army the Christian Religion was secure we find the Names of Three Bishops of Great Britain who Subscribed to the Council of Arles in CCCXIV The Author believes there were a great many more and that those Three were sent by the Bishops of the Three Provinces for all were never at any of the Councils which wou'd have been too numerous if every one had gone thither He believes also that there was a continual Succession of Bishops in England from the Apostles till that time Some Monks have thought that Bishops were Established in England in imitation of the Flamines and Archiflamines of the Heathens but Dr. Stillingfleet shews 't is but a Dream and that the first Pagan Hierarchy was established by Maximinus after the Model of the Christians which was much more Antient. Speaking of the Council of Arles the Author shews that its Canons were sent to the Bishop of Rome not to Confirm them as Baronius maintains but to Publish them Quae decrevimus say these Fathers in Communi Coneilio charitati tuae significare ut omnes sciant quid in futurum observare debeant To this he joyns the Canons of the Council which he reduces to certain Heads and expounds in a few words particularly the Third De his qui arma projiciunt in pace who ought to be suspended from the Communion If an Allegorical sense might be given to these words our Bishop believes they may be expounded of the Christians who in the time wherein the Persecution ceased grew more indifferent as to their manner of living and less conformable to the Discipline which they had kept before But if they are understood Literally they may refer to the Christian Soldiers who would leave the Army when there was no fear of being constrained to any Idolatrous act in serving the Emperor as they had been under the Heathen Princes Constantine offered to dismiss all the Soldiers that desired it The Fathers of the Council might fear that all the Christians wou'd abandon his Armies and that afterwards it should be supply'd with Pagans which could have been fatal to Christianity So the Bishops assembled at Arles and thought they ought to prevent this accident in suspending from the Communion such Christian Souldiers as quitted the Service III. After having shewn That there were Bishops in England before the Council of Nice the Author speaks of the State wherein the Churches of the same Island were after this Council to that of Rimini Although in the Subscriptions which we still have of the Bishops who assisted at the Council of Nice there is none of any Prelate of England it is very probable there were some of them 1. Because Constantine did all he could to assemble a great number of Bishops 2. Because there is no likelyhood this Emperor should forget the Bishops of England where he was born and proclaimed Caesar. 3. Because they having been at the Council of Arles which was held before and at those of Sardis and Rimini which followed that of Nice there was no reason to suppose that they should be forgotten in this latter This being granted Dr. Stillingfleet believes that we may learn from the Canons of the Council of Nice the Rights and Priviledges of the British Churches Therefore he relates and expounds these Canons but makes the longest stay upon three which concern Ecclesiastical Discipline The fourth is conceived in these Terms That a Bishop ought chiefly to be established by all the Bishops of the Province but if that be too difficult either because it requireth more haste or that the Proceedings of the Bishops wou'd make it too long there must at least be three present and they have the consent of the Absent to consecrate him But the Confirmation of all that is done in the Province ought to be reserved to the Metropolitan By this Canon the Rights of the Metropolitans are established after an uncontestable manner but that which creates difficulty is to know whether by the word ãâã ãâã ãâã ãâã ãâã to establish which is at the beginning must be understood the Right of choosing a Bishop was devolved on the Bishops of the Province or whether the Question be only of Conservation which should be done by the Bishops upon the Election made by the Suffrages of the People Several Interpreters of the Canons understand by the Word to establish to elect and Dr. Stillingfleet sheweth That all this may be proved by a place of the Synodal Letter of the same Council to those of Alexandria where it 's said That the Meletian Bishops which the People should choose should be received and that in the time of the Council of Nice the People named the Bishops which hindered not but that they were elected by their Brothers and confirmed by the Metropolitan without which the nomination of the People signified nothing So that all that can be concluded from thence is that the People had the Right of Nomination which they have since deservedly lost by Seditions and Tumults and which they cannot recall unless it is shew'n whether it is a Divine and unalterable Right which will never be adds our Author and which even those who strive to win the favour of the People in defending it's Rights do not endeavour to prove upon the Principles of the first Ages It will not be denyed but that the People had then the Right of Opposing the chosen Persons by shewing That they were not worthy But in this case the People were heard as Witnesses and not as Judges If the Bishops who had chosen him who was opposed judged that the Accusations which were against him were just they proceeded against the Accused according to the Canons and then they came to a new nomination whereof notwithstanding the Synod of the Province was to judge The Author expounds thereby the 16 Canon of the Council of Antioch and the 12 of that of Laodicea where mention is made of the popular Election not to mark the Preferment of some one to the Episcopacy but the choosing of a Bishop already ordained to be Bishop of some Church The fifth Canon of Nice informs us That he who shall be excommunicated by one Bishop shall not be received into Communion by another If any one complained of being unjustly excommunicated the Provincial Synod judged thereof and if this Synod revoked not the Sentence of this Bishop every one was to hold him Excommunicated 'T is for that the Council of Nice orders That there should be every where held Provincial Councils twice a year at Easter and Autumn Our Author maintains that the Council of Nice doth not ordinarily acknowledge in her Procedures any other Tribunal than the Provincial Synods except in places whose ancient Customs were different as it appears by the following Canon So that all strange Jurisdiction is forbidden by the Fathers of Nice as the Churches of Africk maintained it boldly against the Popes Thence it 's concluded
Judges that were not suspected of Partiality and desired them to go to the places where these Judges should be with the Informations they had taken against Athanasius The Bishops of the East would not hearken to it whereupon those of the West received Athanasius Marcellus and other Bishops of their Party into their Communion Those of the East were extreamly affronted at it there were many Complaints on each side and at last the two Emperours Constantius and Constantine agreed to call a General Council at Sardis to decide this Difference There went Bishops to it from all parts but the Western Bishops were willing that the deposed Bishops should be admitted to the Communion and take place in the Council the Eastern would not suffer it and withdrew to Philippopolis where they protested against the Proceedings of Sardis as contrary to the Canons of Nice The Bishops of the West notwithstanding continued their Session and made new Canons to justifie their Conduct The Eastern Bishops complained that the Discipline established at Nice was manifestly violated and the Western Bishops said That there was Injustice done to the deposed Bishops that Athanasius had not been heard in Aegypt and that it was just that all the Bishops of the Empire should re-examine this Affair The Bishops of Sardis had no respect to the reasons of their Brethren they renounced not the Communion of Athanasius and made divers Canons the chief of which are the III. the IV. the V. which concern the Revisal of the Causes of Bishops In the third they declared that the causes should first come before the Bishops of the Province and if one of the Parties was grieved by the Sentence he should be granted a Revision Our Author makes divers Remarks upon two Canons of the Council of Antioch to which its commonly believed that that of the Council of Sardis has some affinity which we have spoken of our Author discovers the Irregularities of the Councils of Antioch and Tyre He also remarks that to obtain the Revision of an Ecclesiastial cause an Address was made to the Emperor who convocated a greater number of Bishops to make this new Examination The Council of Sardis made an Innovation in this for it seems that it took away as much as it could the Right of reviewing these sorts of Causes from the Emperor to give it to Iulius Bishop of Rome in honour to St. Peter He might by the Authority of this Council if he thought fit Convocate the Bishops of the Province to revise the Process and to add Assistant Judges to them as the Emperor used to do Besides this the Fourth Canon enjoyn'd that no Bishop should enter into a vacant Bishoprick by the deposition of him who was in it nor should undertake to Examin a-new a Process until the Bishop of Rome had pronounced his Sentence thereupon The Fifth Canon signifies That if he judges the Cause worthy of Revising it belongs to him to send Letters to the Neighbouring Bishops to re-examine but if he thinks it not fit the Judgment pronounced shall stand This is the Power which the Council of Sardis grants to the Pope upon which our Author makes these Remarks 1. That there was somewhat new in this Authority without which these Canons would have been useless Thus de Marca and he who published the Works of Pope Leo have established this Power of the Pope upon the Canons of the Council of Sardis But an Authority given by a particular Council in certain Circumstances as appears by the name of Iulius which is inserted in the Canon cannot extend it self to the following Ages upon the whole this Authority has changed nature so much that now it passeth for an Absolute and Supream Power founded upon a Divine Right and not upon the Acts of one Council 2. These Canons do not give this Bishop the Right of receiving Appeals in quality of Head of the Church but transport only unto him the Right of a Revision which the Emperor enjoyed before It is a great question if the Council of Sardis had the Power of so doing but there is a great likelihood that the Protection which Constantius granted the Arian Party engaged it thereunto 3. These Canons cannot justifie the conduct of those who should carry Causes to Rome by way of Appeal because they return the second Examination to the Bishops of the Province 4. The Council of Sardis it self took knowledge of a Cause which had been decided by the Bishop of Rome 5. This Council could not be justified by the antient Canons in that it received Marcellus to the Communion he who before had been Condemned for Heresie as also afterwards even by Athanasius himself 6. The Decrees of this Assembly were not universally received as it appeared by the Contestations of the Bishops of Africk against that of Rome seeing the first knew nothing of it some years after as our Author sheweth IV. Arianism being spread every where and afterwards Pelagius and Celestius being gone out of England the Clergy of this Isle were accus'd of having been Arians and Pelagians in those Ages Our Author undertakes to justifie them from these suspicions and afterwards describes the Publick Service of the British Churches But as the Ecclesiastical Antiquities of England afford no great matter he hath supplyed them by digressions He immediately refutes I know not what Modern Author who hath been mistaken in some facts concerning the History of Arianism since the Council of Nice at which we shall not make a stay After that there is an Abridgment of this History until the Council of Rimini The Arians being condemned at Nice and vainly opposing the term of Consubstantial thought they could not better save themselves than by yielding to the times They also suffered themselves to be condemned by the Council and to be Banished by the Emperor Arius with Theones and Secondus his Friends Eusebius of Nicomedia and Theognis of Nice Chief Heads of the Arian Faction Signed as the rest yet without changing their Opinion Afterwards they in like manner endeavoured to hide themselves under Equivocations The Circumstances of this History may be seen as Dr. Stillingfleet relates them in the Tenth Tome of the Vniversal Bibliotheque p. 447. and the following ones Yet there are these differences that our Bishop is larger in Reflections drawn from St. Athanasius concerning the Address of the Arians who expressed themselves almost as the Orthodox of that time to deceive the simple Moreover the Relation which we have cited was not made on design to justifie the Orthodox and to get those of the Arians Condemned but to give an Idea of these confusions without taking any Party whereas the design of our Author is to inform the Publick against the Arians without reprehending any thing whatever in the conduct of their Adversaries And our Author hath not applyed himself so much to the order of years which he doth not mark as hath been done in the Life of Eusebius of Caesarea
Dr. Stillingfleet goes also further then any seeing the History of Arianism was left off at the death of Eusebius Here is an Abstract of what he adds and which is chiefly drawn from St. Athanasius The Falsities of the Arians were not discovered until after the Council of Rimini and it was chiefly at the Council of Seleucia where they declared themselves more openly It was then that the Followers of Basil of Ancyre who rejected the word Consubstantial as well as the Arians would separate themselves from them But the Arians had still recourse in this occasion to their old Artifices and consented to Sign any Creed whatever excepting that of Nice They caused Athanasius to be banished a second time but he was soon re called and his greatest Enemies were obliged to make him Reparation if he may be believed A little while after the Persecution began against him and all the rest who professed the Faith of Nice as our Author describes at large until the Council of Rimini whose Bishops were constrained to abandon the Terms of Hypostasis and Consubstantial The Orthodox Bishops would willingly depose all those who refused to Sign the Symbol of Nice and the Arians did not treat their Adversaries better when they could not prevail with them so that they ceased not Persecuting each other reciprocally Councils declared both for the one and the other which makes our Author reasonably conclude that we must not yield to the Authority of any Council whatever till having well examined the reasons of its Conduct If it was not lawful to do it in times past the Faith of Nice could not be re-established which would have received an irreparable breach at Rimini if the Orthodox Bishops were not restored to their Churches after the death of Constantius and had not re-established in smaller Assemblies what so numerous a Council had destroyed We find a remarkable example hereof in the Fragments of St. Hilary where we see that a Council Assembled at Paris declares that it abandons the Council of Rimini for assenting to that of Nice Dr. Stillingfleet conjectures that the British Churches did as much because St. Athanasius St. Ierome and St. Chrysostom do in divers places praise their Application to the Orthodox Faith Sulpicius Severus speaking of the Bishops of the Council of Rimini saith they refused to be entertained by the Emperor excepting those of England who were to poor too bear this charge Thereupon Dr. Stillingfleet makes divers Reflections whereof these are the Principal 1. That it followeth from thence that what Geoffrey of Monmouth saith of Riches which King Lucius gave the Church of England is false 2. That it is notwithstanding strange that the Bishops of England should not have wherewithal to maintain them at Rimini since before Constantine the Churches had divers Funds besides the Offerings of the People which were considerable in the numerous Churches and since Constantine had granted them great Priviledges as is shewn at length by divers Edicts of this Emperor which are in the Theodosian Codicil and elsewhere He comes thence to the Accusation of Pelagianism which Beda and Gildas had before raised against the Clergy of England He remarks first that Pelagius and Celestius were both born in Great Britain and not in the Armorick Britain as some have believed and Refutes at the same time some places of F. Garnier who hath spoken of Pelagius in his Notes upon Marius Merâator 2. That the Monastick History makes him Abbot of the Monastery of Bangor but that there is little likelyhood that Bangor had had a Monastery famous in that time because the Convents of England are no antienter than the time of St. Patrick and if Pelagius was a Monk he was of such an Order as were Pammachius Paulinus Melanius and Demetriades who were pious persons withdrawn from the Commerce of the World but without Rule 3. That the Occupation of these Men after the Exercises of Piety consisted in the study of Scripture and that it was in such a Retreat that Pelagius Writ his Commentary upon the Epistles of St. Paul and his Letters to Melanius and Demetriades 4. That since he was accused of Heresie he was imployed to defend himself and that after having been Condemned in Africk and Banished he was yet Condemned in a Council at Antioch under Theodotus as Marius Mercator tells us and all that because the Sentiments of Pelagius were not well understood as the Bishop of Worcester justly saith 5. That wretched Pelagius passed the remnant of his Life in obscurity and dyed according to all likelihood without returning into England 6. That without the extraordinary cares of the Bishops of Africk Pelagianism would have been established by the Authority of the See of Rome Though Pelagius had been Condemned by the Emperor and the Councils Agricola Son to Severian Bishop who had embraced Pelagianism brought it into England It was perhaps the severe Edict of Valentinian III. Published in CCCCXXV against the Pelagians who were amongst the Gauls which drove him thence Prosper witnesseth that there were several of them in England which made some believe that Celestius was returned hither but our Author shews that this Opinion has no ground The Adversaries of the Pelagians not being able to defend themselves against so subtil Controvertists sent to demand aid of the Bishops of the Gauls who sent them Germain and Loup two Bishops of great Reputation but suspected to be Semi Pelagians the first being a great Friend to Hilary of Arles and the second being brother to Vincent of Lerins Semi Pelagians It 's found in a certain Writing that is attributed to Prosper Disciple of St. Augustin that it was Celestinus Bishop of Rome who sent him but our Author shews that there is reason to suspect this to be the writing of some other Prosper and that though it were his we have reason to believe that he was deceived Germain and Loup being arrived in England had a publick Conference at Verulam and acted so that they left England in the old Opinions as they believed but they were forced to return sometimes after Our Author relates no Head of the Doctrine of St. Germain and Loup by which we may know whether they Taught Semi Pelagianism or the Predestinarionism in England to free themselves from the suspicions which might be had of them He passeth to the Justification of Fastidius an English Bishop suspected of Pelagianism and of whom there is yet a Book de vita Christiana published by Holstenius It is not so easie to justifie Faustus of Riez from Semi Pelagianism though in his time he passed for a Saint and that he was Prayed to in this quality during many Ages in the Church of Riez Sidonius Apollinaris gives him this fine Encomium Cui datum est soli melius loqui quam didicerit vivere melius quam loquatur To whom alone it hath been given to speak better than he had Learned and to Live better
than he Spoke What has been said of him may be seen Tome 8. p. 228. and Foll of the Vniversal Bibliotheque The Learned have much Disputed to know if there really had been Hereticks who may be named Predestinarians Some believed they were but Semi-Pelagians who turn'd the Sentiments of St. Augustin into Heresie and consequences of 'em into another Name and others have said that really there were some who had indeed drawn from the Doctrine of this Father this consequence That there was no Free-will and consequently that God would not Iudge Men according to their Works Our Author proves there have been Men who maintained these strange Opinions though there was not enough to make a Sect. After that Dr. Stillingfleet returns to St. Germain and Loup who established Academies or Schools in England and who also introduced here the Gallican Liturgy Upon this Subject he seeks for the Origine of the most antient Schools of England and speaks of the Gallican Liturgy which he compares with the Roman He shews finally the Conformity of the English Church of this time with the Antient British Liturgy and concludes that the Non-Conformists are in the wrong to accuse the Episcopal Church of having received its Liturgy from the Roman Church It sufficeth to speak of this briefly because there are almost none but the English who can be curious of these sorts of things V. The same reason obligeth us to make this use of it in respect of the 6th and last Chapter where the Author treats of the fall of the British Churches He sheweth 1. That all Great Britain was never Conquer'd by the Romans and that the Picts and Scots being not subdued made Excursions upon the Britans 2. That what is said of Scotch and Irish Antiquities is no more assured than what Geoffrey of Monmouth hath published of those of England 3. That as soon as the Barbarous Nations of the North had some knowledge of Sciences they would have Histories as they saw the most Polite Nations had and to descend from some Illustrious People such as the Trojans were the Greeks and the Aegyptians whence an Infinity of Fables hath taken birth 4. That the Evils of the British Churches came from their being exposed to the Fury of the Scots and Picts upon the Declining of the Empire of the West which was no more in a way of helping them and that several times there were Walls or Retrenchments made betwixt Scotland and England to preserve the latter from the Incursions of these Barbarous People 5. That the Britans being afterwards divided one of the Parties called to its help the Saxons whose Origine is here sought for that they repented it soon after and that the Britans were obliged to make War against them whereof divers events are described drawn from the Monastick Histories full of Lyes and at the same time very defective 6. That Armorick Britain was Peopled by a British Colony towards the end of the Fourth Age. There it was that Gildas Writ his Letter where he Addresses himself to Five Kings amongst whom England was divided and describes at large the Vices of the Britans to induce them to Repentance Lastly The Bishop of Worcester Relates the manner how the Prelates of England received the Monk Augustin who was sent hither towards the end of the Sixth Age by Gregory Bishop of Rome This Augustin being made Arch-Bishop of Canterbury by the Pope desired to have a Conference with the British Bishops to whom he represented that they ought to embrace the Unity of the Catholick Church viz. to submit to him and the Pope All that he could obtain is that they asked time to consult and offered afterwards to Answer him in a greater Assembly There were Seven British Bishops and several Learned Men chiefly of the Monastery of Bangor whereof one named Dinot was Abbot The Result of the Assembly was That the Britans altogether refused to submit to the Church of Rome or to Augustin as their Arch-Bishop It is what Beda whose Authority is indisputable in these matters relates of this Conference It is yet found more at large in a M. S. published in the Collection of Mr. Spelman an Antient Britan in English and in Latin As there have been some objections made against this History and this M S. Dr. Stillingfleet Answers 'em at the end of this Chapter Thence he concludes that the British Churches are in the same case in relation to the Dispute they have with the Bishop of Rome as the Churches of Cyprus were in regard to the Bishop of Antioch who would fain be their Patriarch against their Antient Rights according to which they had a particular Metropolitan As the Council of Ephesus condemned the Bishop of Antioch who would extend too far the limits of his Jurisdiction If the pretentions of the Pope upon England be this day judged by the antient Canons he shall infallibly be condemned for striving to extend his Patriarchship in places where he hath not been acknowledged for above 600 years All the WORKS of James Alting Professor of Divinity in the Academy of Groningen Fifth Vol. in Fol. at Amsterdam Sold by Gerard Borstius 1687. THose that have read the Schilo of this Author his Treatises upon the Sabbath the Conversion of the Iews and his Theological and Philosophical Dissertations will not wonder that Mr. Becker Minister of Amsterdam hath taken care to Print all his Works Posthumâ It hath been thought that the Style of Mr. Alting which is simple enough and sufficiently disengag'd from the terms of Schools would not be ill received in an Age where neatness is so much loved and wherein great words are no more taken for great things This is what may be judged by a general view of the Subjects to which this Divine hath applyed himself and by an Essay that shall be given here of his Method 1. We find in the First Tome an Analysis and Notes upon the Four first Books of Moses and upon the 24 First Psalms a larger Commentary upon Deuteronomy from the first Chapter until the XIX Vers. 11 and Lessons upon all the Prophet Ieremy The 2d contains besides the Parallel of divers Prophecies of the Old Testament cited in the New very ample Commentaries upon several passages of the Old Testament whose sense is given and whose use is shewn in Religion and Morality The 3d and 4th Volumes comprise Expositions of the same nature upon the whole Epistle to the Romans and divers Texts of the New Testament an Analysis of this Epistle and of that to the Colossians with Lessons upon the Epistle to the Hebrews from the beginning to the Ninth Chapter Vers. 10. In the 5th there are the Dissertations which have been already Printed with a very long Treatise upon the Nature of the Sabbath where 't is shewn it was altogether Evangelick Notes upon the Catechism of Heidelberg a Method of the Didactick Divinity Five Heptads of Theological and Philosophical Dissertations the First
Bread that the same Body of Iesus Christ which had been stretched upon the Cross was upon the Altar and his not appearing to be there Do you think that I stood to tell them all that in all Bodies there are small Entities vulgarly called Accidents and that amongst these Entities there is principally one called Quantity which extends the Body without being always extended it self of the Body or the Essence of the Body or the Moods of the Body and that God in the Eucharist depriving the Body of Iesus Christ of this Entity made it to stay without Extention Do you think I say that I went to tell them all this fine Discourse Truly I was far from it I should have embraced them again and even as they have a very subtil Wit more fit for Sciences than we when they are minded to apply themselves thereunto it may be I should have given them a distast I was satisfied to tell them simply and in three Words That God who had made that World of nothing could as well make that a Body should appear where there was none and that there should appear no Body where there was one He adds that these good People went away with this more contented and more submissive than if the Thing had been expounded to them after the ordinary manner He is not only contented to defend himself he besides attacks the Cartesians upon the infinity of the World the Soul of Beasts the cause of Motion and Free-Will c. The fourth Piece is the Work of a Cartesian against the same Mr. de la Ville and in favour of the excellent Philosopher who hath made the Disquisition of Truth Mr. de la Ville had witnessed some particular Spleen against him and had by the by attackt his Exposition of Original Sin He is answered and accused of relating the passage fasly After that he is told that the Counsels have not decided all the particular Tenets that the Philosophers of Schools have advanced to expound the Mysteries of the Eucharist and that one may be a very good Catholick without adopting all these Tenets That also it is not apparent that the Bishop of Condom spoke thereof in exposing the Doctrin of the Church It is maintained against him that these Tenets were unknown to the Ancient Fathers and consequently that Tradition and Reason are for those who are called Cartesians There is added a Memorial to expound the possibility of Transubstantiation It deserves to be read for it is a different manner of explication to all those which have been seen hitherto After these four Pieces in French comes a Dissertation in Latin Composed by a Protestant against the same Mr. de la Ville The Protestant is so wife as to intrude into the dispute which the Catholicks have amongst themselves upon the Tenet of the Real presence He lets them go on he supposeth that his mediation would displease both of 'em and that it would be thought he rather endeavoured to put the evil forward than allay it He is content to examin that place of the Book of Mr. de la Ville where this Author endeavours to prove by natural Reasons that the Extent is not of the Essence of the Body and because Mr. de la Ville to bring this about only weakeneth as much as he can the Reasons by which Cherselier Rohault and the Author of the Disquisition of the Truth have maintained that the Extent is the Essence of the Matter The Protestant is contented to Restablish the Reasons of these Gentlemen in all their strength in ruining all the Exceptions and all the subtility of Mr. de la Ville He applieth himself chiefly to shew that the penetration of Matter is impossible The Printer hath added to this Dissertation some Theses of Philosophy which come from the same Hand and where it is maintained amongst other things that Place Motion and Time have not as yet been defined but after an unexplicable manner It is also remarked that the Reflection of Bodies must needs proceed from their Elastick Vertue being Motion is Divisible to Infinity and that by Reason of this Divisibility any fixt Body cannot hinder that which is in Motion to continue in its Motion in a right Line Mr. Descartes had not taken care of this Lastly at the end of this Collection are the Meditations upon Metaphysicks which appeared in 1678. Under the name of William Wanduis In this is the quintessence of the Cartesian Metaphysicks and all the best things which are in the Meditations of Mr. Descartes It even appears to be much better digested in it more short and pertinent than in that of Mr. Descartes and that he is surpassed in it The French Author of the Learned Mercury of the Month of February speaks of these Meditations of William Wanduis and refutes some places thereof but his Remarks tho good in his System have no very great strength when they are used against the Principles of the Author of the Meditations Of the Agreement of Specifick Remedies with the Corpuscular Philosophy To which is added A Dissertation about the various usefulness of Simple Medicaments By Robert Boyle Esq Fellow of the Royal Society WHEN the Ancient Philosophers were asked the Reason of any Natural Effect their Custom was always to have recourse to certain occult Qualities whereof they had no Idea at all It was but in this latter Age that People began to Discourse according to the Rules of Geometry and to explain by Properties by which we clearly conceive the different Effects of Bodies the most universal Properties of Body and Extension Figure and Motion And whereas Bodies do not always act by their whole Bulk but sometimes by their insensible Particles it is necessary to speak of the Figure and Motion of these Particles There have been an infinite number of Conjectures made upon these little Bodies and some have made it their endeavour to draw hence Consequences not only for Natural and Experimental Philosophy but also for Medicine As for Example when some were satisfied that the mass of Blood was in a disposition that disagreed with its Nature they thought that particle of a certain Shape and Figure should be made use of to bring this Blood back to its due and natural Temper And there were some that believ'd that universal Remedies might be found out which would produce this Effect let the Distemper be what it would and so have insensibly fallen into an Opinion That what is said commonly of Specificks is but meer Fancy and an effect of our own Brain 1. Mr. Boyle intends to shew in the first of these two short Dissertations That the common Opinion concerning Specificks is not at all incompatible or inconsistent with the Modern Philosopher's Thoughts of the Operation of the insensible Particles of Bodies To avoid Obscurity and Equivocation Mr. Boyle takes notice from the very beginning That three kind of Remedies may be termed Specificks 1. Such as may serve for the Cure
Post-Talmudical Rabbies It is therefore of the greatest moment to discover the improbability and absurdity of this Novel Opinion which so directly tends to the Overthrow of the Divine Authority of the Scriptures And though some of the Patrons of it do not themselves reject the Bible yet they well know others of them do on this Account So that we must defend the Divine Original of the Points as we desire to maintain the Divine Authority of the Bible And so much for the weight and moment of the Matter in controversie Secondly As to the seasonableness of debating this Controversie at this time there are Six Circumstances that in Conjunction attending it do render it seasonable The First is the Place of it that it is brougât home to our own door We concern not our selves with the Controversies of Foreign Countreys but our own Nation is the Stage where this Opinion of the Novelty of the Points hath been more publickly espoused than would have been suffered in any other Protestant State And therefore Secondly It doth not creep in corners as in other places but hath received the publick Approbation of the Nation so far as to be solemnly espoused in the English Polyglott Bible Wherein Thirdly We have not faint Motions of it but powerful and mighty Efforts by the most Learned among them And this Fourthly is attended with answerable success the generality of the springing Youth embracing it And Fifthly Yet not content with this Victory Success and Credit in England the Patrons of it have of late put forth their greatest strength afresh for the promoting of their Cause in the Vindiciae of Ludovicus Capellus lately published in Answer to Buxtorf de Origine Punctorum And Sixthly Notwithstanding this Opposition to the Truth by the great Champion for the Novelty of the Points and its suitable Success yet there has been no Answer returned to this Treatise as yet that we hear of And it is fit it should be Answered lest this Vindiciae do as much mischief as the former Treatise entituled Arcanum Punctationis Revelatum whereof this last is a Defence that being justly accountable for the Success this Opinion hath had in England as by a brief Narrative of the Rise Progress and Issue of this Controversie amongst us will appear Which in short is this One Elius Lovita a learned Grammaâian and Iew about the beginning of the Reformation fell upon this Conceit That certain Jews ãâã Tiberias A. D. 500. placed the Points as they had received them by Oral Tradition This he defendeth in his Masoret Hammasoret Preface 3 d. But herein he is contrary to all the Jews either in his time or before or after him And therefore he was answered by them as in particular by R. Sam. Areââolti in his Arugath Habbosem c. 26. And also by F. Azarias in his Meor Enaim in Imre Birtah cap. 59. And out of the Rabbins by Buxtorfius the Elder in his Thesaurus Grammaticus Print ed in 1609. And in his Tiberias 1620. Thus amongst the Jews the Errour ended where it began even in Elias himself none being left of his Opinion amongst them But it will not so end with Christians several Reformers whether moved by the Authority of Elias the famous Doctor and Master of the Hebrew Tongue of their time or else it may be at first not well examining of it embraced it This Advantage the Papists lay hold on with both Hands for they find their Accounts in it and improve it accordingây Amongst Protestants Ludovicus Capellus becomes the main and greatest Champion for the Novelty of the Points and ex professo defends the same in his Treatise entituled Arcanum Punctationis Revelatum published by Erpenius the Author for some Reasons concealing his own Name at the first This Book was fully Answered and the Truth amply defended by Buxtorf the Younger in his Treatise entituled De Punctorum Origine Antiquitate published A. D. 1648. But at length in the Prolegomena to the Biblia Polyglotta we have this Opinion of Capellus which did but slily creep before publickly owned by Dr. Walton the Compiler of that Bible and defended with Capellus's Arguments whereby Capellus is deservedly answerable for the Success of this Opinion by its Station in the Polyglott Bible upon his Shoulders Hereupon Dr. I. O. writes some Considerations on the Prolegomena aforesaid and by the way Answers the Heads of Arguments brought for the Novelty of the Points But hereunto Dr. Walton returns a Reply entituled The Considerator Considered A. D. 1659. But in the Year 1661. Dr. I. O. in his Treatise De Natura Theologiae doth concisely defend his Opinion of the Divine Original of the Points The like doth Mr. William Cooper defend the Antiquity of the Points in his Domus Masaicae Clavis 1673 And so doth Wasmuth in his Vindiciae S. Hebraeae Scripturae 1664. And thus stood the Cause for some time until now at last Ludovicus Capellus his Vindiciae comes out in Answer to Buxtorf's Treatise De Origine Punctorum as also his former Treatise Arcanum Punctationis Revelatum is reprinted with it together with other Critical Discourses in a large Folio published A. D. 1689. and dedicated to the then Archbishop of Canterbury the rest of the Bishops and all the Clergy of the Church of England By which Dedication is made as bold a Challenge and earnest Invitation to the Defence of the Truth in Controversie as could well he made and together with the foregoing Considerations render it seasonable at this time as the weight and moment of the Subject do make the present Defence thereof necessary Thirdly As to the Method of the ensuing Discourse we have divided the same into Two Parts In the First Part we examine the Evidences for the Opinion that the Points were invented A. D. 500. Or since that time by the Masorites of Tiberias or Others and discover the Improbability thereof In the Second Part we Prove and Maintain the Antiquity and Divine Original of the Shapes of the Points Vowels and Accents against the Cavils and Objections of Capellus and Others But the First of the Two is what we begin withall for several Reasons First Because we are in Possession of the present Punctation as being of Divine Original and have peaceably enjoyed it in all Ages to this time all Translations amongst us being taken out of it 'T is our Inheritance and therefore unfit to call the Antiquity of the Points into question until we first see sufficient Evidence or at least great Probality that they were a Novel Invention Which if of so late date may be more easily proved than what was a Thousand Years before that time And the Rejecting or Answering of the Arguments for their Novel Invention is a Proof of their Antiquity and Divine Original for the Points were placed either since A. D. 500. or between the time of Ezra and A. D. 500. or else by the time of Ezra But we shall here prove in the First place
their own Judgment and generally cast their Eyes upon Gregory The Orthodox Bishops of the East and principally Melece of Antioch Basil of Cesarea and Peter of Alexandria favoured him openly yet their design succeeded not There was in Alexandria one Maximus by Profession a Cynick yet a Christian. He pretended to be descended of a Noble Family and in which there had even been some Martyrs After the Death of Athanasius the Orthodox being persecuted in Egypt he had removed into a Village of the Deserts of Thebaides named Oasis He went cloathed like the Philosophers to wit covered with a poor Cloak he would have neither his Hair nor Beard shaved and carried a Stick as Diogenes did Living thus after a manner most Austere he would take the liberty of censuring the Vices of all People without having any regard to their Quality as the Ancient Cynicks used to do Notwithstanding under this severe Outwardness was hidden a Soul Fraudulent Ambitious Malicious Covetous and full of the most Shameful Lusts. But as that did not appear to the Eyes of Men he acquired a great Reputation not only amongst the People but also amongst the most Learned Men. He held Correspondency with the Bishops of Cesarea in Cappadocia Friend to Gregory as it appears by two Letters of Basil which are directed to him Gregory received him so well at his arrival at Constantinople that he made a Speech in Honor of him where he omits nothing that could make this Impostor pass for a great and good Man But having since known his Fraud instead of the Name of Maximus which was at the Head of this Speech he put that of Hieron and entituled it thus A Speech to the Praise of Hieron a Philosopher of Alexandria sent into Exile for his Faith and returned three Years after Gregory shews in this Discourse what use could be made of the Cynick Philosophy in Christianity and speaketh of the Persecutions which the Princes who had favoured Arianism had raised against the Orthodox particularly in Egypt and to Maximus the Philosopher He endeth in expounding the Mystery of the Trinity and in exhorting his Philosopher to keep himself constantly applied to the wholsome Doctrin which held a Medium between Judaism and Arianism He often makes this Remark when he speaks of the Holy Trinity and in general we perceive in reading his Works that the same thoughts return frequently enough In admonishing his Philosopher to despise the Objections that are made against this Tenet he bids him not to be ashamed at the Accusation of Tritheism whilst others are in danger of establishing two Gods the Arians and Macedonians for you shall either resolve the Difficulty adds he as they do or you shall remain entangled like unto them c. Gregory having thus made the Panegyrick of Maximus received him in his House instructed him in the Religion Baptised him conferred the Orders upon him and communicated to him his most secret thoughts But so soon as Maximus thought himself capable enough he saw with Sorrow that they thought upon making Gregory Bishop of Constantinople He judged himself more worthy of this place than his Master and Benefactor and perceiving that one of the principal Priests of this Church envied Gregory this Dignity also he joyned with him to supplant him To which intent Maximus gained Peter of Alexandria who before favoured Gregory Some time after the Fleet of Corn which came every Year from Alexandria to Constantinople arrived there and the Masters of the Ships Hammon Aphammon Harpocras Steppas Rhodon Anubis and Hermanubis immediately joyned themselves to the Assembly of Gregory though they had orders to assist the Designs of Maximus whom two or three Egyptian Bishops after that upheld strongly Yet this arrival of the Egyptians and the Cares they took to joyn themselves to Gregory gave him so much satisfaction that he made a Speech thereupon where he infinitely praiseth the Piety and Constancy of those of Alexandria and expounds to them his Sentiments touching the Equality of the Father the Son and the Holy Ghost He extends particularly to the Proof of the Divinity of the Holy Ghost and makes use amongst other Reasons of this the terms of which would seem strange if already we had not observed such heretofore If the Holy Ghost is not God let him be made God before and after that let him make me a God equal to him in Honour This bold Expression seems to signifie nothing else but that if the Holy Ghost be not God he cannot Sanctifie Men which Gregory calls in another place to render Men Gods Some Learned Men think That it was about the same time that Gregory made the Panegyrick of St. Athanasius which is the Twenty first of his Speeches He reckons therein not only the Vertues of the Bishop of Alexandria but also gives more at large the History of the Persecutions he suffered and the Turmoils that happened during his Life He praiseth him above all for his Orthodoxy and for his Constancy in Defence of the Truth All those saith he that made Profession of our Doctrin were divided into three Parties The one had no good Sentiments for the Son and yet less for the Holy Ghost there were very few whose Doctrin was sound in these two respects He was the first and the only Person who durst publickly declare the Truth or at least he was upheld by very few Gregory gives besides to St. Athanasius the Glory of having reconciled the Eastern with the Western People who Disputing only about words believed each other reciprocally to be Hereticks We say conformably to the Doctrin of Piety that there is one Essence and three Existences Hypostases the first relating to the Nature of Divinity and the second to the Propriety of the three The Bishops of Italy conceived the same thing but by reason of the Poverty of their Tongue they could not distinguish the Hypostases from the Essence because that Latius would translate the word Hypostasis by that of Substance and they introduced that of Persons fearing it should seem that they acknowledged three Essences What came on it Something Ridiculous or rather worthy of Pity A pure Dispute in words appeared a Dispute touching Faith Those in the East were suspected of Sabellianism which said that there were Three Persons and in the West of Arianism those that spoke of Three Hypostases This it was the Disputes produced c. St. Athanasius remedied this in intervening with Mildness between each Party and in examining carefully the Sense of the words whereof they made use and as soon as they found that the Bishops of the East were of the same Sentiment as to the thing and differed but in Expressions he permitted the use of different Terms and reunited them in the bottom as Tenets To return to Maximus the Arrival of his Country-men in CCCLXXIX fortified his Party and the more to engage the Bishops of that Country to
further see in the Expressions of our Bishop a remarkable Effect of the Dispute It is when we fear that our Adversaries should draw some Advantage from certain ways of speaking we avoid with care the use thereof lest we should give them some Prize although these Expressions are otherwise most proper to express the Doctrin we maintain It is visible that to make himself be understood Gregory ought to have answered to the Arians Yet it 's true we adore three Gods seeing we acknowledge three Eternal Spirits whose Essences are distinct but these Gods are perfectly equal and as perfectly united as distinct Beings can be having the same Thoughts and the same Will which makes us say commonly That we acknowledge but one God But if he had spoken thus the Arians who boasted to study and follow Scripture would have replied That all the Scripture represents the Unity of the Supream God as a Numerical Unity and not as an Unity of Species and Consent They would have said as they did before but with much more appearance of Truth That the Homoousians introduced a new Paganism in establishing three Collateral Gods Thus they were obliged that they might keep themselves from these Reproaches to maintain strongly that there is but one God according to the Sentiment of Nice The Platonicks who had a like Thought but were not restrained in their Expressions fortified themselves thereupon and said That the Principle of all things were three Gods I cannot but relate on this Subject these remarkable words of St. Augustine which admirably confirms what I have said Liberis verbis loquuntur Philosophi nec in rebus ad intelligendum difficilimis offensionem Religiosarum aurium pertimescunt Nobis autem ad certam regulam loqui fas est ne verborum licentia Etiam in rebus quae in his Significantur impiam gignat opinionem Nos autem non dicimus duo vel tria principia cum de Deo loquimur sicuti nec duos Deos vel tres nobis licitum est dicere quamvis de unoquoque loquentes vel de Filio vel de Spiritu Sancto etiam singulum quemque Deum esse fateamur Philosophers freely use what words soever they will and fear not to offend Pious Ears in Subjects most hard to be understood For our part it is not lawful for us to speak but according to a certain Rule lest words imployed with too much Liberty should beget an Impious Opinion to understand them according to what they signifie When we speak of God we do not say two nor three Principles as it is not permitted us no more than that there are two or three Gods though in speaking of each one or of the Son or of the Holy Ghost we grant that each of them is God This Custom hath made Men insensibly swerve from the Ancient Idea's because the word Unity was taken in the ordinary Sense that it used to be taken in without supposing that the Ancients understood it in a particular Sense This is what happened in divers other Doctrins as it hath been observed in the History of Iansenism It 's now time to return to the History of our Bishop after having brought so many proofs of his Sentiments upon those Tenets that then divided Christians The Council whereof we have already spoken assembled at Constantinople in May CCCLXXXI There were at it an Hundred and fifty Orthodox Bishops and Thirty six Macedonians who it was hoped would be brought to the Orthodox Faith Besides some Canons that were made there concerning Discipline whereof we shall not speak the Affair of Gregory and Maximus was treated on they also made a Symbol The Ordination of Maximus and all those that he could ever have were judged void after which Gregory was declared Bishop of Constantinople though he endeavoured to discharge himself from it They obtained of him that he would stay there because he was perswaded that he could the more easily in this âost reconcile the different Parties which then rent Christianity It was brought against the Promotion of Gregory that being Bishop of Sasime and Nazianze he could not be transferred to Constantinople without violating the Canon of the Council of Nice which is express thereupon But Melece Bishop of Antioch replied to that that the design of this Canon was to bridle Pride and Ambition which had no share in this business Moreover it seemeth that this Canon was not observed in the East since Gregory saith That they opposed to him Laws that were repealed long before besides that he had perform'd no part of the Episcopal Function at Sasime and as for Nazianzen he was but Coadjutor to his Father This Affair being cleared they entred on the principal Subject for which they were assembled which was the Sentiment of Macedonius who had been Bishop of Constantinople and believed that the Holy Ghost was but a Creature though all the Disciples of this Bishop were not of the same mind upon the nature of this Divine Person as appears by a passage of Gregory which hath been related Immediately in the Council was confirmed the Nicene Creed and they thought it convenient to augment it particularly with what respected the Holy Ghost This addition is in these terms We believe in the Holy Ghost the Lord of Life and he that giveth it who proceeds from the Father who with the Father and the Son is glorified and who spoke by the Prophets The Council also anathematized the Sentiments of Sabellius Marcellus Phâtinus Eunomius Apollinarius and Macedonius but we shall not stand to relate these Errors because they have no Connexion with the Life of Gregory the same reason makes us omit what concerneth Discipline All passed with Tranquility enough in regard to Gregory until a Tempest arose that made him lose the Episcopal See of Constantinople when he least expected it It was the Spirit of Revenge in a Party which he opposed that caused this Difference from which Gregory who was not so Couragious as to maintain the Brunt against his Adversaries could not free himself but by flying There was some time after a sad Schism in the Church of Antioch where two Orthodox Bishops were at the same time Melece being dead at Constantinople before the Council was separated they spoke of giving him a Successor Gregory thereupon proposed an Expedient to end this Schism which was that Paulinus who was the other Orthodox Bishop and who had been ordained by Lucifer de Cagliari alone governed the Church of Antioch during the rest of his Life and that after those of the Party of Melece being reunited with those of Paulinus's would choose a Bishop by common Votes For fear it should be thought that he had some Interest to favour Paulinus and that he would form a Party he offered the Council to quit the Episcopal Throne of Constantinople in which he had been established But the Ambitious and Incendiaries as Gregory calls them who had begun to give
a Successor to Melece would not hearken to this Proposition A Crowd of young Persons begun to cry out like Magpies and made so much noise that they even forc'd the old Bishops who should have resisted them and brought in question again the Affair of Gregory which had been decided Gregory perfectly describes their Ambition Ignorance and Defects in the Poem he hath made of his Life It is better to read it in the very Author than here Yet the People hearing that the Council gave Gregory a Distast and that the latter spoke of retiring cried out That they should not take away their Pastor and intreated him not to abandon his Flock About that time Timothy Bishop of Alexandria who succeeded Peter and who was of a Violent and Contentious Spirit arrived there with divers Egyptian Bishops The old Malice they had against Gregory upon the account of Maximus the Cynick had so much inflamed them against our Bishop that they began by complaining that the Canons had been violated in transporting Gregory from one Bishoprick to another This excited a great Noise in the Council and it was upon this occasion that Gregory made his Speech of Peace which is the Fourteenth wherein he at length presents the Advantages of Agreement and the evil Consequences of Divisions He highly Censures therein the lightness of the Bishops who had without reason changed their Opinion in his behalf and suffered themselves to be deceived by the Calmness of his Enemies He saith That Back-bitings ought to be slighted which are commonly spread of Moderate Persons and in fine we may easily see by what he hath said that it is not in our Age alone that Men do cover their Passions most unworthily under the fair name of Zeal for the Purity of Faith Gregory testifieth also that he told them For what concerned himself they should not put themselves to so much trouble but that they should endeavour to be reunited That it was time to make People cease laughing at them as wild Men who had learned nothing else but to fight That provided they would agree he consented to be Jonas who should make the Tempest cease That he had taken against his Will the Episcopal Seeâ and that he quitted it freely and that his Body being weakened with old Age obliged him thereunto Notwithstanding all this they accused him of Ambition he therefore made a Speech which is the Twenty seventh wherein he protests he had accepted of the Bishoprick of Constantinople but by force and brings the People to witness it He saith That he cannot tell whether he ought to call the Seat of Constantinople The Throne of a Tyrant or the See of a Bishop he complains of the Distractions of his Enemies and the Envy they bore him because of his Eloquence and his Learning in the Sciences of the Heathens It may be that made some People envy him but the Post which he was in made a great many more envy him He would have suffered him to have made use of his Rhetorick at Sasine without giving him the least trouble for it After having declared in full Council that he desired to quit the place which was envied him he went to the Emperor's Palace to entreat him to suffer him to withdraw He obtain'd it with some difficulty and afterwards he only thought upon taking leave publickly which he did in the Cathedral in the presence of one hundred and fifty Bishops and all the People We have the Discourse he then made and 't is the Two and Thirtieth in order he there represents the Ill Condition wherein he found the Orthodox Church of Constantinople and the Change he had accomplish'd he makes a Confession of his Faith touching the Blessed Trinity and shews he had done nothing which was worthy of Censure he exhorts the Fathers of the Council to choose a Person worthy of the See of Constantinople to succeed him and afterwards took his leave of all that heard him In this Speech he complains of his Old Age and in the Poem of his Life he saith he was then but a dead Man animated which he could not say if he was according to the common Supposition but Fifty six Years Old As soon as he took his Leave the People and in general all those who had heard him at Constantinople testified a great deal of Grief The Conduct of the Council appears very unequal and Violent since after they Confirmed Gregory in the See of Constantinople they oblig'd him to quit it at the Age of about 80 Years This manner of acting so Unwise and Un-christian like gave pleasure enough to the Enemies of the Council and much diminished the Authority of their Decisions For in fine how can we think that Bishops so Factious so Unjust and so Ignorant as Gregory describes them in divers places were nor capable of Examining maturely the Doctrins in question If their Authority did not make them incline to the Orthodox âide it must needs be Chance only that led them into the right way The love of Truth is seldom found with so much Vanity and Ignorance Thus Gregory Abandoned the Bishoprick of Constantinople some few Weeks after he had been established by that Council that Banished him He withdrew into Cappadocia according to Gregory the Priest Author of his Life and went to live at Arianze where he was Born Amongst those that were presented to the Emperor some Bishops put up Nectairus Senator of Constantinople a Man of regulate Manners and comely Countenance but who was not as yet Baptized and who had scarcely any Learning It is not known whether Gregory parted for Cappadocia before this Election was made or staid at Constantinople until he had a Successor named to him Howbeit Gregory writ an Instruction to Nectairus where he begins thus That it seemed as if the Providence of God who before kept the Churches had altogether abandoned the Affairs of this Life That which made him speak thus he says was not his particular Evils tho so great that they would have seemed insupportable to any body else He assures us that the State of the Church only forc'd those words from his Mouth He afterwards describes to Nectaire the boldness of the Arians and Macedonians who were in as great a number at least as the Orthodox and who durst Assemble and form Churches a horrid Attempt after the Decisions of a Council so well Regulated as that which had been newly held Gregory comprehended not how his Holiness and his Gravity it was thus that Bishops were stiled permitted the Apollinists to Assemble He advertised him that Apollinarus said that the Body of the Son of God Existed before the World that the Divinity served him as a Soul and that his Body descended from Heaven and was essential to the Son yet nevertheless Died. Gregory thought tho I know not why that to permit these Men to Assemble was to grant that their Doctrine was truer than that
of the Canonical since there cou'd not be two Truths as if to suffer any one was a sign that they believed his Opinions to be true In fine he advises Nectairus to tell the Emperor that what he had done in favour of the Church would be of no use if Hereticks were admitted to Assemble It was thus that good Gregory who would not whilst the Arians were the strongest Party the Emperor being on their side have any thing undertaken which was blamed in them Exhorted his Successor to forget this good Lesson so difficult it is not to contradict our selves when we take not great care to free our selves from Passion The following Year CCCLXXVIII there was an Assembly of Bishops held at Constantinople where Gregory was called but he would not go to it and thus he Answer'd those which Invited him If I must write the truth to you I am disposed always to shun every Assembly of Bishops because I never saw a Synod which had good Success or which did not rather augment the Evil than diminish it The Spirit of dispute and Ambition without exaggerating upon it is so great there that it cannot be expressed It must not be thought that our Bishop said this without thinking well on it in a time wherein he might have any regret He repeats it again in his Letters LXV LXXI LXXII and LXXIV and also diverted himself by putting this thought in Verse I will never be present saith he at any Synod because none but Geese and Cranes herd there which fight without understanding one another There are Divisions among them Quarrels and shameful things which before were hidden and which are Re-assembled in one Place with Cruel Men. Being returned to Nazianze he found that Church Vacant a second time and by that reason Infected with the Opinions of Apollinarius He was immediately desired to take the Place of his Father but he never would do it and that gave occasion to his Enemies to accuse him of Pride as if he had scorned to take care of a small Church after having possest the Patriarchal See of Constantinople Gregory protests in one of his Letters that he had refused it only because he was too Old and too much Indisposed yet seems nevertheless to promise to lend his Body to the Church as he himself said which makes us believe he really took care of the Church of Nazianze at least until they had provided a Bishop for it We shall not speak of what hapned after the retreat of Gregory because he was not concern'd in it only he writ to several of his Friends to endeavour that the Bishops might live in Peace tho they were to be severely Censured for it At his leisure hours he composed some of the Poetry which we have and particularly that which concerns his Life We may say of his Poetry that the Stile is as Prosaick as that of his Speeches is Elevated As there is often top much Ornament in his Speeches so there is too little in his Verse the turn of which besides is harsh enough But he is not alone among excellent Orators who have been indifferent Poets The rest of his Poetry that is extant not being placed according to the order of Time we cannot well distinguish those that he made at the end of his Life from those writ under the Empire of Iulian as has been already observed unless there be in the very Poetry some matter of Fact which may distinguish the time Gregory died very Old according to the Relation of the Priest who writ his Life And Suidas tells us that he Lived above XC Years and died in the Year CCCXCI the third Year of the Reign of the Emperor Theodosius We have still a Testament which he made being at Constantinople and which is at the beginning of his Works some suspect it to be Supposititious but as it contains nothing Singular and no more than Gregory has said before there is no convincing reason that can make us reject it It is not requisite that I should make here an Encomium upon Gregory of Nazianze It might be seen by his Conduct and those Places we have related of his Writings what judgment may be made of him in general and it is not sure to trust to any whatever when we are to judge with exactness of an Author In his writings is a very faithful description of the Manners of that Age as wherein the Penitency of those that lay on the hard Ground and such as rose at Midnight to sing Hymns and to weep hindred not the Ecclesiasticks from being generally very Corrupt Religion began from that time to serve as a pretence to get Mony and as it is more easie to keep an outward guard upon our selves than to correct our inward Defects so cannot be thought strange that many Persons whose Conversation seemed unblameable were nevertheless after some time found out to be very ill Men. The Elections of Bishops were then for the most part made in Churches by the People amongst whom there was strange Caballing to be advanced Gregory wish'd that this Election depended on the Priests who were more capable of judging of the Capacity of Persons than those that considered nothing but their Riches or Authority where People acted impetuously without Reason and were very easily Bribed Nevertheless his own experience taught him as is evident that the very Bishops did not act on these occasions with more Widom than the Vulgar We only need to read his description of the Council of Constantinople to be convinced herein Their judgments were so much the more to be feared because they determin'd very speedily without being exactly informed of the matter in question but agree'd with very great difficulty as in the business of Maximus and Gregory They scarcely thought on any thing but to enrich themselves and to augment their Authority under pretence of Piety as Gregory reproacheth them in divers Places This inclination commonly possessing the Ecclesiasticks of that time made them gather the People into the Churches and begin to publish both Miracles and Legends much more frequently than before and to Preach up a blind Credulity instead of exhorting Christians to examine their Faith and to maintain it by good Reasons An Example whereof may be seen in the Eightenth Speech of Gregory which is in the Honour of St. Cyprian He Accuses the Bishop of Carthage who bore this name of being a Magician and of having endeavoured to seduce a Christian Virgin named Iustina by the means of a Demon who not being able to accomplish his aim entred into the very Body of Cyprian and was driven away by this Magician by calling upon the God of Iustina Those who have read St. Cyprian know that this Bishop never had such an accident and the refutation of the Fable may be seen in the Oxford Edition of St. Cyprian's Works before a supposititious piece that is Intituled Confessio S. Cypriani
also that divers Bishops succeeded Polycarp in the Government of the Church of Smyrna which shews it was a long time after the Death of that Holy Man Irenaeus might be then about eighty Years of Age. This Work against Heresies was not all writ at the same time nor was it built upon the same Foundation on the contrary it appears by divers places that the two first Books entirely took up the Design of the Author It was after these were ended that he thought of making a third which soon followed the other two After that he made a fourth and fifth Book wherein he speaks of the Doctrin of our Lord. But though he writ these things at several different times all the work was ended in a short time As Irenaeus himself says in a Letter to a Friend that had desired to write upon this Subject Mr. Dodwell acknowledges that he does not know who this Friend was and makes no Scruple to refute those that thought it Turibius a Priest of Toledo whom the Author of this Fable Confounds with one Turibius of Asturia who lived not till the fifth Age whether there were two of this name or that they made two of one which was often done it was so that Anaclet was made two Popes in taking away from him the two first Syllables of his name However this Friend must be a Grecian because St. Irenaeus writes to him in Greek and makes an Apology for the Roughness of his Style It may be he lived in Cephalonia or in some place of the Continent that is near this Island according to the Author's Conjectures who pretends that the Heretick Ptolomy was of this Country He desired him to explain the Doctrins of the Valentinians and because they imbraced almost all the Opinions of the other Hereticks it makes Irenaeus speak of them all in his Work going back as far as Simon the Magician pretending that they derived their Birth from him as the Orthodox did theirs from Iesus Christ and his Apostles It is true the Valentinians and other Hereticks of St. Irenaeus's time did not acknowledge this for they maintained on the contrary that they received their Doctrin from Theodad Disciple of St. Paul as Basilides said he received his from Glaucias Interpreter to St. Peter But this Father proves that they descended by an uninterrupted Succession from the Heretick Menander Disciple to Simon the Magician The better to apprehend all this the Author observes that the new Hereticks used always to joyn themselves to the Ancient ones and to enter into a Society with them adding also some new Error to their Heresie whereby to distinguish themselves And as among Philosophers there was one Potamon that pick'd and chose what he liked in all the rest to form his own Principles by So it is very likely that the Valentinians formed their Heresie from what they found in the other Heresies that suited with their Design This is the reason that Irenaeus calls it a Recapitulation of all Heresies Ptolomeus was one of the chief Disciples of the Valentinian Heresie who according to the Maxim we just before spoke of added new Errors to those of his Masters It 's of him that this Father speaks of in the beginning of his Work Marcus was Disciple to Ptolomeus erected a new School and is more spoken of in what follows than his Master His Errors spread as far as Gaul and all along the Rhine But Mr. Dodwell proves that the Valentinian Heretick Colorbasus was more ancient than either Marcus or Ptolomeus because he was contemporary to Valentine of whom he learned his Doctrin after which he formed a new School All which is contrary to what Epiphanius writ These Hereticks like the Pythagorians did not explain their Opinions nor communicate their Books to any but them who were initiated into their Mysteries which was the reason that very few were well acquainted with them this caused St. Irenaeus's Friend to desire him to inform therein therefore this Father design'd as he himself declares to discover the Practices of the Valentinians and exclaim against their Manners Mr. Dodwell Remarks upon this that the Fathers used to represent the Ill Lives of Hereticks thence to draw Consequences against their Doctrins according to the Maxim of Jesus Christ You shall know them by their works Matth. 7.16 Though this Consequence is not always lawful for the Manners of one that is Orthodox in his Judgment and may be corrupt and on the contrary a Heretick may lead a pure and holy Life But it was just against the ancient Hereticks whereof the most part approved by their criminal Opinions their lewd Practices They affirm'd that one might deny our Saviour by word of Mouth if Persecuted That Magick was lawful and that simple Fornication was not a Crime .c. The Author employs the rest of this Fourth Dissertation to find out the time wherein St. Irenaeus writ this piece against the Hereticks to which purpose he runs over all the Valentinian Hereticks of whom we before have spoken and by the great many helps of Conjectures and Inquiries discovers the Times wherein they lived and Taught and concludes at last that Irenaeus writ this Work after the Death of Photinus his Predecessor about the Year CLXVII of the common Aera and the ninth or tenth of his Episcopacy and because this Father speaks of the Version of Theodotian which is thought to have been later he endeavours to shew that it is a Mistake and that there is nothing in the whole but what agrees with his Calculation The Reasons may be seen in the Author because they cannot be alledged here without being Tedious The Fifth Dissertation treats of the Interpreter of St. Irenaeus and a Passage of St. Ierom which joins St. Irenaeus with the Greek Authors that clear'd Erasmus from his doubt whether he writ in Greek or Latin Mr. Dodwell adds another that neither Erasmus nor Father Feuardant who published an Edition of St. Irenaeus took notice of which is that St. Ierom says that he 'll mention none of the Greeks but Irenaeus Bishop of Lyons He adds Arguments to these Testimonies This Author excuses the Roughness of his Stile because he lived along time among the Celtes and was obliged to make use of their barbarous Language but had he writ in Latin this excuse would not have taken for there was not only a Roman Colony at Lyons but also every fifth Year they celebrated the terrible Combat of Orators in Honour to Augustus of which Iuvenal speaks in these Verses Aut Lugdunensem Rhetor dicturus ad Aram. St. Ierom says also that St. Irenaeus writ learnedly and eloquently and without dispute this Father was too good a Judge to give this Praise to so rude Latin as that of St. Irenaeus was if it were that which is now extant it is not difficult to observe that the Author of this Version understood Greek very well but could not speak Latin so that if St. Irenaeus had writ in
of the Bishop of a Place or Parish which he says was much like the Instance of our present Ministers and their Curates He considers this Subject under Two Heads viz. 1. That Presbyters were the Bishops Curates and Assistants and so inferiour to them in the actual Exercise of their Ecclesiastical Commission 2. That yet notwithstanding they had the same inherent Right with the Bishops and so were not of a distinct Specifick Order from them Which is as much as to say they were not Bishops in Gradu but in Ordine To confirm this he shews out of the Fathers too long to mention in an Abstract that a Presbyter could not Baptize not Administer the Eucharist not chuse his own Subject to Preach upon not Absolve Offenders c. without the Bishops consent first obtained in short he shews that they had a Right to do every thing that the Bishops had when leave was given them 5. In the Fifth Chap. he treats of Subordinate Offices first of Deacons which because he says there is so little contest about in our Disputes he is the more brief on it In short he gives us to understand that they were inferiour to Presbyters and stood and waited on the latter who sat down on their ãâã ãâã ãâã ãâã ãâã or Seats in the form of a Semicircle being the same mention'd Acts 6.2 To serve Tables Ignatius ãâã ãâã ãâã ãâã ãâã c. Deacons of Meats and Cups They Baptized in the absence of Presbyters and Bishops in a word they were call'd the Churches Servants ãâã ãâã ãâã ãâã ãâã Ignat. Epist. ad Tralles p. 48. Then he comes to treat of Subdeacons whose number was enlarged according to the greatness of the Church and who were subservient to Deacons as Deacons were to Presbyters and Bishops Besides these he proves that there were yet a meaner sort of Ecclesiasticks such as Acolyths Exorcists and Lictors which were only Candidates for the Ministry Here he turns to the Subject of the Presbyters shewing how they were Oâdained which being so like that of the Bishops I shall pass it over only I shall Remaâk that amongst other Qualifications Learning was look'd upon as very necessary I shall mention one Passage that he brings from the Fathers about it viz. Clemens Alexandrinus Strom. Lib. 1 Pag 207. ãâã ãâã ãâã ãâã ãâã c. That it 's profitable to Christianity for the clear and distinct Demonstration of its Doctrin in that it helps us to the more evident understanding of the Truth A little farther the same Father speaking of Logick p 233. calls it A Hedge to defend the Truth from being trod down by Sophists that it gives us great light duly to understand the Holy Scriptures that it keeps the way of Life that we be not deceived nor circumvented by those that endeavour to draw us into the way of Sin he aâso shews us that the same Father Pag. 472. Lib. 6. Strom. complains that there were some in his days that shun'd Philosophy lest it should deceive them as much as Children did Hobgoblins Because they saw that many Learned Mens Brains were intoxicated by Philosophical Notions and thereby became Authors of most damnable Heâesies not observing the Apostles Exhortation but the same Father Answers this Objection That that proceeded not from Philosophy but from the Wickedness of Mens Nature for whosoever hath Wisdom enough to use it he is able thereby to make a larger and more demonstrative Defence of the Faith than others Strom. Lib. Pag. 204. And in another place the same Father adds It was most unreasonable that Philosophy only should be condemned upon this Account and yet the meanest Arts even those of a Smith and Shipwright which are as much Human should be commended and approved that they did not rest here and go no farther but having got what was most useful and profitable for it they ascended higher unto the true Philosophy making this Humane Philosophy guide unto a Preparatory for the true Philosophy Ibid. Lib. 1. Pag. 207. I have been fuller upon these Citations because that many seem to be dissatisfied now a days with Human Learning in the Ministry 6. In the Sixth Chap. he treats of the Acts of the Laity and shews that Baptism was the Initiating Sacrament into Church-Membership Here the Author gives us an Account how Heathens were admitted They were put into the Rank of the Catechumens or Chatechis'd ones which were Candidates of Christianity they were permitted to come into the Church where they stood in a place by themselves and were present at the Sermons which were adapted to their Capacities being Discourses of the ordinary and less Misterious Truths of the Gospel Origen Contra Cels. Lib. 3. Pag. 142. c. If they behaved themselves well in this Rank They were advanced to the Superiour Rank of Perfecti as Tertullian calls them De prescrip Haer. Pag. 89. who staid not only at Sermons but Prayers too afterwards they were Baptized and recâived the Eucharist Pag. 141. Our Author brings us Examples where the People as they had power to Elect Bishops so they had also power to depose them he gives two Instances of Martialis and Basilides who for their Apostacy were depos'd and Felix and Sabinus chosen in their place 7. Chap. Seventh Our Author treats of Church-Censure and says That Schism Heresie Covetousness Gluttony Fornication Adultery c. were the Subjects of Church-Censure in their Ecclesiastick Couâts but that Apostacy and Idolatry were Prosecuted with the extremest Rigour he gives us Examples in Ninus Clementianus and Florus who underwent three Years Penance before they were received again into the Church the Judges were both Clergy and Laity and some times the Bishops of neighbouring Parishes came over to assist that the Censure might be free from any Imputation of Partiality or Injustice The manner Tertullian decribes thus After other parts of the Divine Service were over then followed Exhortations Reproofs and a Divine Censure for the Iudgment is given with great weight as amongst those that are sure God beholds what they do and this is one of the highest Preludiums and Forerunners of the Iudgment to come when the Delinquent is banish'd from the Communion of Prayer Assemblies and holy Commerce Approved Elders preside there who obtain that Honour by Testimony not by Price Tertull. Apol. Cap. 39 P. 709. Those who who were Excommunicate were to be look'd upon as Heathens if they retuâned again What was requisite for them to do is elegantly described in a Letter sent from the Câergy of the Church of Rome to St. Cyprian Let them knock at the Church Doors but not break them let them come to the Threshold of the Church but not pass over it let them watch at the Gates of the Celestial Tents but armed with Modesty by which they may remember that they were Deserters let them resume the Trumpet of their Prayers but not to sound an Alarm to Battel let them arm themselves with the Darts of Modesty and
retake that Shield which by their Apostacy they lost that so they may be armed not against the Church which grieves at their Misery but against their Adversary the Devil a modest Petition a bashful Supplication a necessary Humility and an Industrious Patience will be advantageous to them let them express their Grief by their Tears and their Sorrow and Shame for their Crimes by their Groans Ep. 31. ap Cypr. Tertullian in a like manner describes one in this State by lying in Sackcloth and Ashes by having a squalid Body and a dejected Soul by Fasting Praying Weeping Groaning and roaring night and day by throwing himself at the Clergies feet and kneeling before the Faithful begging and desiring their Prayers and Pardon If the Criminals Repentance was thought real he was admitted to part of the Service but not to all for a long time some two three five ten Years and some even to their Lives end On the day appointed for Absolution âhe came cover'd with Sackcloth and Ashes throwing himself at the Feet of the Clergy and Laity and with Tears in his Eyes begging their Pardon and Forgiveness confest his Fault and received Absolution by the Bishops putting his hand upon his Head and blessing him and then he was looked upon as a true Church-Member again 8. In the Eighth Chap. he comes to shew the Independency that Churches had one of another as to Superiority or Preheminence which concludes very strongly against the Usurpations of the See of Rome he Cites the Decree of the African Synod Apud Cyp. Ep. 55. § 16. Pag. 142. That every ones Cause should be heard where the Crime was committed because that to every Pastor was committed a particular Portion of Christ's Flock which he was particularly to rule and govern and to render an Account thereof unto the Lord. Yet he shews there was such a Dependence and Correspondence betwixt one another Cypr. Ep. 67. § 6. Pag. 199. Although they were many Pastors yet they were but one Flock and they ought to congregate and cherish all the Sheep which Christ redeemed by his own Blood and Passion And a little after We ought all of us to take care of the Body of the whole Church whose Members are distended through various Provinces Apud Cypr. Ep. 30. § 4. Pag. 67. Our Auâhor treats next of Provincial Synods which he proves were a Convocation of Bishops Presbyters Deacons and deputed Laimen who often met to advise about Eccâesiastical Affairs and reguâate what should appear amiss He shews that this Convocation was usually every Year Per singulos annos in unum Conveniamus Apud Cyprian Ep. 75. § 3. Pag. 23â In these Assemblies they chose out of the gravest and most renowned Bishops two to be Arbitrators and Moderators Apud Euseb Lib 5. Cap. 23. Pag. â90 The Decrees that they made were binding and who ever broke them came under the Ecclesiastick Censure 9. In the Ninth Chap. our Author treats of the Unity of the Church Here he shews that the Unity of the Church consisted not in an Uniformity of Rites and Usages but every Church was at its own liberty to follow its own particular Customs Iren. apud Euseb. Lib. 5. Cap. 24. P. 193. In some Churches they fasted one day in others two in some more and in others forty hours but yet they still retained Peace and Concord the diversity of their commending the Unity of their Faith And a little after the same Father They retained Peace and Love and for the diversity of such Customs none were ever cast out of the Communion of the Church Also Firmilius apud Cyprian Ep. 75. § 5. Pag. 237. That in most Provinces their Rites were varied according to the Diversities of Names and Places and that for this no one ever departed from the Peace and Unity of the Catholick Church 'T would be well if this Primitive Union was well considered on by such as keep up the Dissentions amongst us at this day they will certainly have a severe Account to make one day to the Prince of Peace nor will their Ignorance excuse them in not making a due distinction betwixt the Fundamentals of Religion and mere Circumstances Our Author proceeds to shew what condescentions there were amongst them from Iustin Martyr who speaking of those Jewish Converts who adhered to the Mosaical Rites says That if they did this only through their Weakness and Imbecillity and did not perswade other Christians to the observance of the same Iudaical Customs that he would receive them into Church-fellowship and Communion Dialog cum Tryphon Pag. 266. After this our Author shews how the whole Churches censur'd such as were Authors of Divisions about the different Observation of Easter Baptizing Hereticks c. and afterwards he brings in Irenaeus saying That at the last day Christ shall judge those who cause Schisms who are inhuman not having the fear of God but preferring their own advantage before the Unity of the Church who for trivial and slight Causes rend and divide the great and glorious Body of Christ and as much as in them lies destroy it who speak Peace but make War truly straining at a Gnat but swallowing a Camel Lib. 4. Cap. 62. Pag. 292. Here our Authors defines Schism according to the Primitive Fathers to be an unnecessary causeless Separation from their lawful Pastor or Parish Church So that who ever separates upon such a Ground is a Schismatick then he comes to lay down such measures as the Primitive Christians did make use of for Separation from their Bishop 1 Apostacy from the Faith 2 Or when a Bishop renounc'd the Christian Faith and through fear of Persecution embrac'd the Heathenish Idolatries as was done in the Case of Martialis and Basilides two Spanish Bishops 3 ly When the Bishops Life was scandalous and wicked he gives Instances of all of them yet he brings in Origen against this last Opinion his words are these Origen Hom. 7. in Ezek. He that hath a care of his Soul will not be scandaliz'd at my Faults who am his Bishop but considering my Doctrin and finding it agreeable to the Churches Faith from me indeed he will be averse but he will receive my Doctrin according to the Precept of the Lord which saith The Scribes and Pharisees sit on Moses his Chair whatever therefore they say unto you hear and do but according to their Work do not for they say and do not The Scripture is of me who teach what is good and do the contrary and sit upon the Chair of Moses as a Scribe or Pharisee the Precept is to thee O People if thou canst not accuse me of false Doctrin or Heretical Opinions but only beholdest my wicked and sinful Life but do those things which I speak After having mentioned this Father's Opinion he adds that whether Irenaeus or an African Synod or Origen deserves most Credit he leaves it to the Learned to judge but however our Author gives his own Opinion that they
the Twenty fifth of December some the Twenty sixth of December some the Twentieth of April some the Seventeenth of April and some the Sixteenth of May. There was yet another Feast amongst them called by us Epiphany mentioned by Clemens Alexandrinus The Author observes they kept no other Saints days nor did they call ãâã Apostles Saints but plain Matthew ãâã c. only they celebrated the Anniversaââ of their own Martyrs praising their Actions and exhorting one another to Imitation the Place of their Meeting was at their Graves and Tombs Lastly our Author observes that their Festivals were not times of Revelling Drunkenness Gluttony c. but in Acts of Piety Charity and Religious Employments X. In the Tenth and last Chapter our Author comes to consider the Ceremonies of the Primitive Church for instance when they Baptized in some Churches the new Member had Milk and Hony given to him and in some Places before they prayed they washed their Hands they had Exorcism before Baptism and Unction after and innumerable more such Ceremonies which crept in partly by a Misunderstanding some Texts and partly by being amongst the Superstitious Heathens Yet the Churches retain'd their own Liberty and Customs without imposing or being impos'd upon by one another I shall give only one of those many Instances that our Author has brought for his Purpose 't is out of a Fragment of an Epistle written by Irenaeus and other Bishops of France wherein they affirm that Victor was in the right with respect to the time of Easter that it ought to be celebrated as he said on the Lords Day but that yet he had done very ill to cut off from the Unity of the Church those that observed it otherwise that it had never been known that any Churches were Excommunicated for a disagreement in Rites an Instance of which there was not only in the time of Easter its self but in the Fast that preceded it Some fasted one day others more some forty hours which variety of Observations began not first in our Age but long before us in the times of our Ancestors who yet preserved Peace and Unity amongst themselves as we now do for the Diversity of Fasts commended the Unity of Faith And as for this Controversie concerning the time of Easter the Bishops which governed the Church of Rome before Soter viz. Anicetus Pius Higynus Telesphorus and Xystus they never celebrated it the same time with the Asiaticks neither would they permit any of their People so to do but yet they were kind and peaceable to those who came to them from those Parishes where they did otherwise observe it and never any for this Cause were thrown out of the Church even their Predecessors though they did not keep it yet they sent the Eucharist to those that did keep it and when in the times of Anicetus blessed Polycarp came to Rome and there were some Controversies between them they did not separate from one another but still maintained Peace and Love And though Anicetus could never perswade Polycarp nor Polycarp Anicetus to be of each others mind yet they Communicated one with another and Anicetus in Honour to Polycarpus permitted him to Consecrate the Sacrament in his Church and so they departed in mutual Love and Kindness and all the Churches whether observing or not observing ãâã same Day retained Peace and Unity amongst themselves Apud Euseb. Lib. 5. Cap. 24. Pag. 192 193. After all our Author concludes with a most passionate Exhortation to Love and Peace amongst our selves protesting that in this Treatise he has not been byass'd by any Party or Faction whatever but has endeavour'd a plain full and impartial discovery of Truth leaving every one to their Liberty as to the Judgment they shall make of it He says he has left out many Ancient things and handled mostly those Points that are now in dispute amongst us He has taken a great deal of pains in citing his Authorities all along In short he has out-done all that ever have Wrote in this kind before him and yet with a Spirit of so much Modesty and Humility that every Party may see their Errors without having any cause to be angry withe their Exposer He has given a Table of the Fathers Names which he has made use of as also their Ages and Countries that we may thereby be able to ghess at the Original of some Customs amongst them and the Places where they were chiefly practised St. Clementis Epistolae duae ad Corinthâos Interpretibus Patricio Iunio Gottifredo Vendelino Iohan. Bapt. Cotelerio Recensuit Notarum Spicilegium adjecit Paulus Colemesius Bibliothecae Lambethanae Curator Accedit Thomae Brunonis Canonici Windesoriensis Dissertatio de Therapeutis Philonis His subnexae sunt Epistolae aliquot singulares vel nunc primum Editae vel non ita facile obviae London Impensis Jacobi Adamson 1687. in 120. Pag. 377. 1. THese Epistles of St. Clement which were known only by some Citations of the Ancients were published the first time more than forty Years ago by Patricius Iunius who found them joined to the end of the New Testament in the famous MS. of Alexandria This Learned Man added to them a Latin Version and Notes William Burton Translated them into English in 1677 and added likewise Remarks of his own much larger than those of Iunius The Edition of the latter being soon become scarce it was imitated at Helmstadt in 1654 and Iochim Iohn Maderus added to it a new Preface since that time the Edition hath appear'd in Twelves by Dr Fell Bishop of Oxford and that of Mr. Cotelier in Folio Here is a fifth which we owe to the Care of Mr. Colomies who hath compared the precedent Editions with the MS. whence they have taken them and hath shew'd that the Learned Iunius was some times mistaken and had in the Reading this MS. put a wrong Sense upon many things we shall give an Example hereof after we have made some little mention of a small Dissertation which Mr. Colomies placed before St. Clement Entituled De Clementis ejus Epistolarum tempore Vandelini Divinatio This Vandelin was Tutor to the famous Gassendus and died Chanon of Ghent He believes that St. Clement was near the Age of St. Iohn the Evangelist and lived as long as he dying the third Year of the Reign of Trajan at Chersone in Pontus whither he was banished The Ancients all agree that St. Clement was Bishop of Rome but they do not agree upon the time he was so nor upon the Order which ought to be given him in the List of the first Bishops of this City Baronius himself confessed that he was not well assured of the order of the Succession of these Bishops until the Year CLXXIX Vandelin undertakes in this Dissertation to resolve the Difficulties by the means of the old Breviaries and Martyrologies after which he speaks of the time in which the Epistles of St. Clement were written As his
Dissertation is extremely short the Reader is desired to consult it We shall only Remark that according to this Author St. Peter being upon the point of parting from Rome for England in the Year of our Lord LV he established Linus to govern the Church of Rome in his absence whither being returned in LXVI he found it without a Pastor Linus being dead during his absence A little time after being cast into Prison he established Clement in the place of Linus towards the time of the Pass-over in LXVII a few Months before his Death St. Clement held the See nine Years and eleven or twelve Days after which great Contestations arose in the Church of Rome which obliged St. Clement to quit the Episcopacy It would not be permitted if we believe Vandelin that St. Clement should succeed in the See of Rome by virtue of St. Peter's Testament fearing lest this Example might render the Episcopacy Hereditary and St. Clement having declared That if it was upon his account that these Contestations happened he was ready to retire in what place of the World they would have him he was taken at his word and Cletus was chosen in his place to whom Anacletus Evaristus Alexander Telesphorus c. succeeded in the order we have named them Vendelin believes that the first Epistle of St. Clement as it is commonly called was written by this Holy Man not in his own particular name but in that of the Clergy of Rome in XCV after the death of Anacletus and during the Vacancy of the See though according to him Evaristus had been nominated to succeed Anacletus so that this Letter was written during the most violent Persecutions of Domitian But Vendelin pretends that which is called the Second was written in a time wherein the Christian Church enjoyed an entire Peace in LXXV after which account the second would have been written twenty Years before the first He grounds what he says chiefly upon a Letter of Denys Bishop of Corinth to Pope Soterus written about the Year CLXVII where Denys speaks thus to the Church of Rome We have celebrated Sunday this day in which we have read your Letter which we always read for our Instruction as well as the former that Clement writ to us He believes the latter to be that which is called the second of St. Clements and that the other is the first which Clement of Alexandria calleth according to the Remark of Mr. Colomies the Epistle of the Romans to the Corinthians After the Dissertation of Vendelin are the two Epistles of St. Clement in Greek and Latin the first of the Version of Iunius and the second translated by Vendelin Mr. Colomies hath joined to it little Notes where 1. he corrects some places of the Text which Iunius had ill transcribed from the Original For Example from the first Page there is according to the Edition of Iunius That Grace and Peace which come from God-Allmighty through Iesus Christ be abundantly poured upon you ãâã ãâã ãâã ãâã ãâã c. upon every particular Person amongst you and upon one towards another We have thought most dear Brethren a little later then we should have done upon what you have demanded of us by reason of the evils and accidents which happened to us c. but according to the MS. of Alexandria the Phrase is much more clear since there it is That Grace and Peace c. be given to you abundantly by reason of the unforeseen Evils and Accidents which have happened to us one after another we have thought c. ãâã ãâã ãâã ãâã ãâã Mr. Colomies Remarks also in a place or two wherein the Original was not observed but these Passages are not of the same Importance with that which we have cited 2. Some Conjectures are in these Notes and varieties of Reading taken from Clement of Alexandria who has several times cited St. Clement of Rome which places are all marked here as well as the rest of the Ancients who have cited the latter Clement 3. Mr. Colomies in some places corrects the Latin Version 4. He Expounds divers words of the Original 5. Upon the occasion of St. Clement he makes some critical Observations about Ecclesiastical History Thus also upon what St. Clement saith § 21. of the death of St. Peter and St. Paul he affirms that the time of their death is not certain A Council held at Rome under Pope Galasius says that the Hereticks pretend that St. Peter and Paul received the Crown of Martyrdom in divers times nevertheless it was the Opinion of Iustin Martyr and St. Irenaeus who said St. Paul died five Years after St. Peter Philastrius also reckoned amongst Hereticks those who give the names of the Seven Planets to the days of the Week though St. Ignatius and Iustin Martyr followed the received Custom therein St. Clement in Chapter 28th cites a Passage of the Psalms under the name of ãâã ãâã ãâã ãâã ãâã the Writing upon which it 's remarked that Mr. Vossius was mistaken when he saith that this word was found out by Aquila and that seems to teach us that the word Chetoubim ãâã ãâã ãâã ãâã ãâã Writings to mark the Psalms Proverbs Iob and the other Books which the Iews comprise this day under this name is not new 2. There have been in England several Learned Men who having consumed all their Life in the study of Antiquity seem to have studied only for their particular Satisfaction without caring to impart to the publick their admirable knowledge therein Such was Richard Thomson Gerard Langbaine and Matthew Bustus whose few Writings which remain amongst us serve for almost nothing but to discover to us what these great Men might have done had they been willing Mr. Colomies adds Thomas Bruno Chanon of Windsor who left several Collections with his Friend Mr. Vossius but of which there is scarcely any thing that is fit for the Press The Dissertation which we have of it here De Therapeutis Philonis adversus Henr. Valesium was by good Luck ended and it is to Mr. Vossius who communicated it to Mr. Colomies that the Publick is indebted Amongst the Works of Philo is found a Treatise of a Contemplative Life where he describes the Esseans manner of living who dwelt near Alexandria and solely applied themselves to Contemplation There were Esseans spread through all Egypt who sent the most virtuous amongst them to inhabit a Hill which is near the Lake of Maria in a Place agreeable enough and which is not far from Alexandria They lived there after a Devout manner and very austere and Eusebius thought that when St. Mark went to Preach the Gospel into Egypt he converted them to the Christian Faith Ioseph Scaliger hath very bitterly reprehended Eusebius for saying so and many times that these Therapeutes as Philo calls them never were Christians but only Essean Jews Mr. Valais in his Annotations upon Eusebius holds with Scaliger that the Therapeutes did not embrace Christianity
is transferred by reason of Inconvenience of so many Printers that were forc'd to be employ'd upon 't the only difference in these two Tomes is that the Extracts of the Fathers of the Fourth Age which are in the second Volume are longer and consequently more exact than those in the first He begins with Eusebius of Caesarea whom his Ecclesiastick History hath rendred so celebrated of whom he gives a very dissinterested Judgment Pag. 19. Although he found no difficulty in the Council of Nice to acknowledge the Son of God was from all Eternity and that he absolutely rejected the Impiety of Arius who said that he was Created out of nothing and that there was a time when he was not yet he always found it hard to believe the Term Consubstantial that is to confess that the Son is of the same Substance with the Father and after he had received it he gave such a Sense of it as establish'd not the Equality of the Son with the Father since he speaks thus in a Letter that he writ to his Church to give it an account of his Conduct When we say that the Son is Consubstantial with the Father we Mean only that the Son hath no resemblance with the Creatures which were made by him and that he is perfectly one with the Father by whom he was begotten not of another Hypostasis or Substance When we would justifie Eusebius in respect to the Divinity of the Son it is more difficult to defend what he says of the Holy Ghost For he affirms not only in his Books of the Preparation and Evangelick Demonstration but also in his third Book of Ecclesiastick Divinity that he is not the true God The holy Spirit is not God nor the Son of God because he has not taken his Original from the Father as the Son has being in the number of such things as are made by the Son This shews says Mr. du Pin that Socrates Sozomenes and and some Modern Authors have been mistaken in excusing him entirely whereas on the other side 't is a very great Injustice to call him an Arian and even the head of them as St. Ierom does His Judgment upon other points of Religion appears very Orthodox to the Author and in respect to his Person he says he was very much dissinterested very sincere loved Peace Truth and Religion He authoris'd no new Form of Faith he no way endeavour'd to injure Athanasius nor to ruin those of his Party He wisht only to be able to accommodate and unite both Parties I doubt not adds Mr. du Pin that so many good Qualities was the Cause of placing him in the number of the Saints in the Martyrologies of Usard of Adon and in some ancient Offices of the French Churches It is true he continued not long in the peaceable Possession of this quality of Saint But it would be in my opinion a very great boldness to judge him absolutely unworthy of it The second Author in this second Volume is the Emperor Constantine whose pretended Donation he rejects as well as the false Acts attribubuted to Pope Sylvester because nothing to him seems more fabulous If Constantine was the first Christian Emperor he was also the first that made Edicts against the Hereticks But he did well in not pushing things to that Extremity as his Predecessors have carried them to It is true that he sent Arius into Exile and the two Bishops that had taken his part in the Council of Nice and that he caused all these Hereticks Books to be burnt But he afterwards recall'd him and banished St. Athanasius to Treves He made also an Edict in the Year CCCXX against the Donatists by which he commanded those Churches they possess'd to be taken from them but the Year following he moderated the Rigor of it permitting those who were exiled to return to their Country their to live in rest and reserv'd to God the Vengeance of their Crimes This alteration of his Conduct sufficiently shews that this Prince on these occasions acted not according to his own Reason but according to the different Motions that inspired the Court Bishops who made him the Instrument to execute their Passions He was not of himself inclin'd to persecute Men for Opinions in Religion for the 27th of September the CCCXXX Year he granted the Patriarchs of the Iews an Exemption from publick Charges In the Month of May Anno Dom. CCCXXVI he made an Edict to forbid the admitting into the Clergy Rich Persons or such as were Children to the Ministers of State The occasion of this Edict was because many Persons entred themselves amongst the Clergy to be exempt from publick Charge which was a great Oppression to the Poor And Constantine thought it very reasonable that the Rich should support the burthensom Charges of the Age and that the Poor should be supported by the Riches of the Church Grotius M. Ludolf and others have observed the Disputes of the Eutychians and Nestorians were not really such as they were imagined for many Ages Mr. du Pin is not very far from this Opinion since he says p. 80. that the Eastern People always applyed themselves more particularly to observe the distinction between the two Natures of Iesus Christ than their intimate Union whereas the Egyptians speak more of their Union than Distinction Which has been since the Cause of great Contestations that they have had amongst themselves upon the Mystery of the Incarnation As the Life of St. Athanasius is one of the most remarkable of the Fourth Age for the variety both of his good and bad Fortune so Mr. du Pin relates it more at large It 's plain that from the time of this Father Persons were very much inclin'd to the Exterior parts of Religion since two of the greatest Crimes which the Arians accused St. Athanasius of were breaking of a Chalice and Celebrating the Mysteries in a Church that was not Consecrated We may also observe after these Authors that the Communion was then given to the Laicks under both kinds that there were Women which vowed Virginity which were not Cloister'd up that there were Priests and Bishops married that the Monks might quit their State and take a Wife That it was not permitted to make new Articles of Faith and that even the Ecumenick Councils were only Witnesses of the Faith of their Age whereas they authoritatively judged of such things as regarded Discipline Thus the Bishops of Nice said well in appointing a Day for the Celebration of Easter It pleases us we will have it so But they express'd themselves quite otherwise in respect to the Consubstantiality of the Word since after having given their Opinions upon it they content themselves with adding Such is the Faith of the Catholick Church As for the rest although St. Athanasius was an Ardent Defender of this Council he was not for having those treated as Hereticks which could not without difficulty make use of the
Gregory of Nyssa in his Discourses against those that defer Baptism distinguisheth three sorts of Persons with Relation to the other Life The first Order is that of the Saints and Righteous which will be happy the second those that shall be neither happy nor unhappy and the third those that shall be punished for their Sins He puts in the second Rank those that cause themselves to be Baptized at the point of Death There is a Letter of this Father concerning Voyages made to Ierusalem where he diverts the Faithful from undergoing slightly these sort of Pilgrimages by reason of the Abuses that proceed from thence Some Catholicks have been willing to make it pass as Supposititious but Mr. du Pin believes it to be true Here Priscillian and his Disciples are placed in the Rank of Ecclesiastical Authors after St. Ierom who speaks thus of them Priscillian Bishop of Avila was put to death in the City of Treves by the Command of the Tyrant Maximus having been oppressed by the Faction of Itharius He hath written several Works whereof some are come to us Some accuse him this day of the Heresie of the Gnosticks of Basilide and Marcion But others defend him and maintain that he was not Guilty of the Errors that are imputed to him It 's true pursues Mr. du Pin that the same St. Ierom in his Letter to Ctesiphon speaks of Priscillian as of a notable Heretick which hath made Mr. du Quesnel believe that this place of the Ecclesiastical Writers was corrupted This Conjecture which is grounded upon the Authority of a Manuscript would be of Consequence if we knew not that St. Ierom hath often spoke differently of the same Man besides it 's apparently the manner that St. Ierom speaks in his Catalogue which placed Priscillian and Matronian his Disciple in some Martyrologies amongst the Holy Martyrs The second Letter of Pope Syricius furnisheth us with a fine Example Saith Mr. du Pin of the Ancient manner of the Holy Patriarchs Iudging He writes in it to the Church of Milan that having Assembled all his Clergy he had condemned Jovinian and all his Sectators by the advice of the Priests Deacons and the whole Clergy Baronius Bellarmin and some others pretend that part of the second Letter of St. Epiphanius is Supposititious because he there relates a History which is not favourable to the Worship of their Church Being entred saith this Bishop into a Church of a Village in Palestine call'd Anablatha and having found a Vail that hung at the Door which was Painted where there was an Image of Iesus Christ or some Saint for I do not remember whose it was but since against the Authority of Holy Scripture there was in the Church of Iesus Christ the Image of a Man I rent it and gave order to those that had the Care of this Church to bury a dead Body with this Vail Mr. du Pin after having proved that all this Letter is St. Epiphanius's adds That though it be true that there were placed in some Churches Pictures that represented the Histories of the Scriptures and the Actions of the Saints and Martyrs it cannot be said that this use was general and that it must be granted that St. Epiphanius hath disapproved it although without reason according to him for I believe continueth he that it would be contrary to the Candor and Sincerity that Religion demands of us to give another Sense to these words After the Extracts of the Writings of the Fathers are found those of the Councils held in the Fourth Age. The Canons of that which is called the Council of Elvira are an old Code or an ancient Collection of the Councils of Spain and it cannot be doubted but these Canons are of great Antiquity and very Authentick The XXXIV Canon and the XXXVI have given much Exercise to the Roman Catholick Divines The one forbiding to light Wax-Candles in the Church-yard because the Spirits of Saints must not be troubled and the other Paintings in Churches lest the Object of our Adorations should be painted on the Walls They have endeavoured to give several Expositions on these Passages but it seems to me saith Mr. du Pin that it is better to understand them simply and to allow that the Fathers of this Council have not approved the use of Images no more than of Wax-Candles lighted in open day But continueth he these things are of Discipline and may or may not be in use and do no Prejudice to the Faith of the Church The XXXV Canon prohibits Women to pass in the Night in Church-yards because often under pretence of Praying they in secret committed great Crimes The LX deprives such of the quality of Martyrs as are killed in pulling down Idols publickly because the Gospel commands it not nor is it read that it was practised by the Christians in the time of the Apostles The same Spirit of Parties which wrested the Canons of the Council of Elvira hath caused Men to doubt of the History of Paphnusius related by Socrates lib. 1. c. 9. This Egyptian Bishop opposed the new Law that was going to be made in the Council of Nice to oblige Bishops Priests and Deacons to keep unmarried and abstain from Women that they had espoused before their Ordination Although he himself had never been married he maintained that this Yoke was not to be imposed upon the Clergy and that it was to bring the Chastity of Women in danger I believe saith Mr. du Pin upon this speaking of the Roman Catholick Doctors that this doubt proceeds rather from the fear they are in that this act should do some hurt to the present Disciplin than of any solid proof But these Persons should consider that this Regulation is purely a Disciplin which the Disciplin of the Church may change according to the times and that to maintain it it is not necessary to prove it hath always been uniform in all places The Author shews that it was Osius Bishop of Cordova who presided in the Council of Nice and not the Legats of the Pope He only acknowledges for Authentick Monuments of this Council the Form of Faith the Letter to the Egyptians the Decree touching Easter and the two first Canons He consequently rejects as Supposititious pieces the Latin Letter of this Council to St. Sylvester the Answer of this Bishop and the Canons of a pretended Synod held at Rome for the Confirmation of that of Nice The Christians of that time who were not perfectly instructed by the holy Scripture in what they ought to believe touching the Mystery of the blessed Trinity were in great uncertainty for neither the Tradition nor Authority of the Church were then infallible marks of the Truth of a Tenet since the Ecclesiastical Assemblies that the most reasonable Catholicks make the Depositaries of these Traditions and Authority some time declare for the Arians some time for the Orthodox and another for a third
Eight first Verses thereof but he found that all the Nobility and the Grandeur was behind them and he added that they made him laugh in calling into his Memory the Pageants of Italy where Servants Precede their Masters We should value the Speech of Mr. Abbot de Choisy at too low a rate if we judged with so little favour on 't It not only hath the Precedence by Right of Age but also may dispute a Preheminence amongst his other celebrated Works What Mr. Bergeret hath said of the King that so many holy Mission's are maintained by the continual Succours of his Power and Piety It 's doubted whether the Consequence drawn from thence can be admitted it is certain say they that there is a great difference betwixt the ancient and new Christianity The ancient one maintained it self by it self and the sole force of Truth served for a Prop and Recommendation to the first Christians But at this day things have changed Face and Catholick Truths are not so easie to be perswaded as when a great Monarch makes use of his whole Authority without which this great number of Missions made within and without the Kingdom would have little or no effect An Extract of a Letter written from Versailles to the Author of the Republick of Letters concerning some Manuscripts of China T IS about 18 Months ago the Embassadors of China being then here that the Duke of Mântz took an occasion to tell the King that those People had the Chronicles of their Country from about 3000 Years past that they were the first who had Arts and Sciences and that as yet there has been no particular Account given of it and that it belonged to none but such a Prince as the King to send for some of their Books from China and to provide People that might translate them His Majesty presently gave his order for this Project I am assured that some days past there were brought to Paris 300 Volumns of these Books of China some being of the Civil and some the Natural History of that Country others of Mathematicks and divers curious Treatises That besides there are two Translators come one a Jesuit who has been 30 Years in China the other a Chinois who belonged to the last Embassage and understands French Latin Italian and Portuguese c. That these will translate these Books out of hand beginning with the most curious and will publish them as soon as they are fit for the Press Since it is known that the King of China takes delight in the Jesuits there are Eight young Jesuits sent thither who receive a Pension from their King and are to learn that Country Language and to instruct the Chinois in the French and Latin that they may be brought into France to go on with the Translation We shall have others also come to teach us their Mechanick Arts. Another Letter gives us an Account that Father Couplet is returned from Rome where he has made his young Chinois a Jesuit like himself and it is hoped they will Translate all Confutius's works A Clergy Mans Letter to the Nuns who have the care of the Education of young Women exhorting them to second the Popes Intentions about Nakedness I Received a Memoire not long since from an unknown hand containing that the Censurer of the Books of the Arch-Bishop of Malines being of Liege and a Iansânist had approved a Letter directed to the Nuns wherein the Heresie of M. Arnaud concerning the Two heads of the Church and the Pelagian Errors comdemning all kind of Ornaments are renewed As I do not love to speak of a Book before I see it especially if any ones Reputation is concerned so I have deferr'd speaking of this Letter before I had seen it I do not repent this delay for having at last examined this little Writing I have seen nothing in it of Mr. Arnaud's pretended Heresie nor any thing but what agreed with the Doctrin of St. Peter and Paul concerning Womens Dresses so that if it be an Opinion of Pelagius's I see no harm that would come of setting it on foot again it surprises me more that any should send such false Advices I shall say somewhat of this little Book and first observe that the Pope not being able by all the means he used to oblige the Women to cover their Breasts and Arms and understanding that the fear that all Italy was in when the Turks besieged Vienna did not hinder this disorder he had recourse to his last shift his Excommunication which he published by a Decree the 30 th of November 83. commanding all Women and Girls to cover their Shoulders and Breasts to the Neck and their Arms to their Hands and this with no Transparent but thick Cloth under pain if they did not exactly obey it within six days to be excommunicated Ipso facto that in no other case but at the Point of Death none but the Pope himself should absolve them For it was declared That the Confessors that durst presume to absolve from this Excommunication should incur it themselves and should become subject to what Temporal and Spiritual punishments the Pope would be pleas'd to lay on them to which Temporal punishments also the Fathers Husbands Masters or other heads of Families should be subject that continued at or permitted their Wives Daughters or Maids to disobey this Ordinance This is all there at length with two Letters which relate to it one was writ through the Pope's Order by the Procurer general of the Capuchins to all the Provincials of his Order to oblige their Preachers and Confessors to endeavour more than ordinarily against the corrupruption of Manners and chiefly in relation to Women to strive to bring them off their Dresses that are too Luxurious and immodest The other Letter is that of Mr. Stravius Administrator of the Nunciature of the Low-Countries which he writ to the Bishops the 31 th of March 35. by order from Urban the VIII to put them in mind of proceeding against worldly Women who uncovered their Breasts and Shoulders and cover'd their Faces with Patches And to proceed against them to the very shutting them out of the Church if it could be done This shews that for a long time they have taken pains to remedy these Nakednesses and that they are obstinately resisted therein This in all likelyhood will be an employment that will never be wanting to the Preachers of Reformation All these pieces which I have quoted come after the Letter to the Nuns the Clergy-man that writes it to them directs it only to the Reverend Mothers He represents to them to the Life the extent of that disorder which Innocent the XI punished with so much severity He adds that its their business chiefly to endeavour this Reformation as well because the Publick trusts them with the Education of their young Daughters as that it is easie for them to instruct 'em in all that is modest in such a tender age wherein they have
it by Dr. Comber THE Authors design is to Examine the Antiquity of the Liturgies or of Forms of Prayer which we are obliged to make use of at Church without making any change therein He denies not but that in the Primitive Church there might have been private Persons who had composed certain Prayers that were commonly made use of in publick even that there have been some men who have made use of Prayers made by others There is mention made of this last kind in the 23 d. Canon of the 3 d. Council of Carthage held towards the end of the Fourth Age. This is the most ancient Liturgy which the Author found unless this name be given to the Lords Prayer Mr. David Clarkson maintains it was repeated only in blessing the Signs of the Eucharist and cites divers passages of the Ancients and Moderns by which it appears that several Great Men lookt upon the Lords Prayer rather as a Model than as a Form whose terms must necessarily be kept Which his Antagonist has sufficiently confuted II. The Author confesses that divers Churches had such an Order for Publick Worship and for the Celebration of the Sacraments but he believes that the resemblance consisted not in the same words but in asking of God the same thing on such occasions As to Regular Forms which are only read he pretends that during some Ages the Custom was not in Practice He brings divers general and particular Reasons thereof which shall be here related in few words The proofs he gives to sheâ that there was no Form for the Celebration of the Sacraments in general are these 1 st We do not find in the Authors of the First Ages when they speak of what happned in their Assemblies any of these manners of speaking ãâã ãâã ãâã ãâã ãâã Preces legere to read Prayers de scripto recitare tho' they often speak of Lectures of reading of Psalms Martyrologies and of Epistles c. 2 d. To Read and Pray are things represented as very different by Iustin Martyr St. Athanasius Socrates Theodoret and Sozomen 3 d. He that Prayed could not Read if he had his Eyes raised towards Heaven And this the Author endeavours to prove by Tertullian Clement Alexandrin St. Cyprian Arnobius Lactantius Denys of Alexandria and Eusebius c. Saint Chrysostom saith that in Praying as it was usual to do to bless the Eucharist there was more assurance required for liberty of Expression ãâã ãâã ãâã ãâã ãâã than Moses and Elias had which is not necessary simply to Read a Liturgy The passages which the Author cites here seem to have a respect to Prayers in general To which we answer him That what is said of Prayers which we make our selves ought not to extend all manner of Prayers and that now Liturgies are to be excepted which are read As for the word ãâã ãâã ãâã ãâã ãâã as it often simply signifies Assurance So we may say that those who read the Liturgy ought to do it with confidence that the Prayer which they make shall be accomplished We observe this in short that it may be perceived that the Citations of Authors will not go for concluding Arguments in the minds of many Readers As these Citations cannot be related this remark was necessary 4. The Ancients never make mention of any Book of Prayers in such places where they would have spoken of them if they had any such Books We have Catalogues of Vessels Utensils and Books of Churches as Bibles Gospels c. The Fathers speak of the good and bad use that hath been made of them but there is no mention made of a Book of Publick Prayers One of the First Books of this kind is the Libellus Officialis which is spoken of in the 25 Canon of the IV Council of Toledo held in DCXXXIII But it was only a short instruction of the manner whereby Prayers ought to be formed If there had been then any Liturgy the 2 5 6 and 8 Canons even to the 17 would be useless Traditors of Liturgies have never been heard of viz. People that in time of Persecution gave up these Books to Heathens And this wou'd have appeared because it was not so much the opinions of the Christians that they were persecuted for by the Pagans as their Worship which consisted as 't is believed in the Reading of Liturgies The Romans were much more against new Liturgies than new Gods as appears by a passage of Titus Livius who relates that the Senate Prohibited a new manner of Worship which was introduced into Rome and caused the Books to be Seized which those who were of this new Profession made use of Edixit ut quicunque libros latinos precationesve aut artem saorificandi conscriptam haberet eos libros omnes literasque ad se ante Calendas Aprilis deferret 5. We do not see that in the First Ages Liturgies were cited to refute Errors or decide Controversies as they wou'd have been if they 'd had any and particularly in the Arian and Pelagian Controversies 6. How came it to pass that nothing was said of the Changes that probably might have been made in them or of the occasions which might have rendred these alterations necessary Paul of Samosatenus prohibited the use of Hymns which were Sung in Honour of Jesus Christ the Arians oft enough changed the Doxology the words prescribed by Jesus Christ in the Administration of Baptism and the Confessions of Faith yet we do not find that they have done so in regard to Liturgies wherein they would doubtless have had much stronger reasons for it The addition of the Terms who was Crucified for us in the Trisagion caused great troubles but we see none that happened on the account of Liturgies 7. The Ancient Christians chiefly in the Fourth and Fifth Age were extraordinary careful in keeping secret from the Catechumens and Heathens the Symbols Ceremonies and Prayers which were used in the Celebration of the Eucharist St. Basil saith that even the words which were used before after and in the Consecration were not written It 's in his Treatise of the Holy Ghost C. 27 Innocent the First Bishop of Rome in his Answer to Decentius of Gubio sends him to no written Form he will not even add in this Work the words which were used in giving the Chrison for fear of publishing the Secrets of the Church He testifies an equal reservedness in regard of the Eucharist which shews they had no publick Form thereof II After having made these general Remarks the Author comes to consider the Eucharist in particular He cites the 23 Canon of the Third Council of Carthage Ut nemo in precibus vel Patrem pro filio vel filium pro Patre nominet cum ad Altare assistitur semper ad Patrem dirigatur oratio c. Et quascunqâe sibi preces aliquis describit non eis utatur nisi prius eas cum instructioribus fratribus contulerit That
Triumphant Hyman upon Iulians being cut off which Israel Sang when the Egyptians were drowned in the Red Sea Naz. Orat. 3 p. 54. Iraeneus when some Hereticks made an Argument from the Conclusion of the Form of a Doxology says they alledge also that we in our thanksgiving do say World without End Iren. adv Heres lib. 1 â 1. This Form is mentioned in Tertullian de Spect. p. 83. And the Gloria Patri was a Form both in the Gallican and African Church Tertul. speaking de Basil c. 13. says Christ had not only imposed the Law of Baptism but prescribed the Form of it The same Father Apol. c. 39. says after having washed their hands and brought in lights they called for some to sing Psalms or somewhat of their own Composing In the Third Century Hyppolitus the Martyr de Consum Mundi Tom 2. p. 357. speaking in his discourse of the end of the World and the coming of Christ says expresly That Liturgies shall be extinguished singing of Psalms shall cease and reading of Scripture shall not be heard Origen in Anno 230. is so full in his Homily on Ieremy that the Centuriators were convinced that Set Forms of Prayer were used in his time It is say they without Question that they had some Set Forms of Prayer in that Age c. The same Father adds on this Subject in Cels. lib. p. 302. They who serve God thro' Iesus in a Christian way and live according to the Gospel use frequently as becomes them night and day the Enjoyed Prayer which is as full as can be to the purpose St. Cyprian de Orat. Sect. 5. p. 310. says That Christians had a publick and Common Prayer wherein all agreed Anno 253. Gregory Thaumaturgus Bishop of Neocesarea was contemperary with St. Cyprian St. Basil an unquestionable Witness says concerning him that he appointed a Form of Prayer for that Church of Neocesarea from which they wou'd not vary in one Ceremony or in a Word nor wou'd they add any one Mystical Form in the Church to those which he had left them c. Paulus Samosatenus was offended at some Hymns and Composed others Euseb. lib. 7. cap. 24. In the Fourth Century Arnobius lib. 2. p 65. says To venerate this Supream King is the end and design of these Divine Offices Constantin's Form of Prayer is well known Euseb. vit Constant. lib. 4. Athanasius in his Apol. ad Constant. p. 156 157. says The People Mourned and Groaned to God in the Church all of 'em crying to the Lord and saying Spare thy People good Lord spare them give not their Heritage for a reproach to thine Enemies Which is an Original piece of Littany and a known Form prescribed in Scripture Athanasius de interp Psalm p. 303. Orders the People to sing the Psalms in the very words wherein they were written Flavianus was intreated to come back to the church and perform the same Liturgy there Theodor. lib. 2. c. 24. St. Cyril says to his Auditors in the Eucharistical Office Lift up your hearts Answer We lift 'em up unto the Lord. P. Let us give thanks unto the Lord. A. As it is meet and just Cyril Catechis Mystag 5. Iulian the Apostate devised to to make a Form of Prayer in parts for the Heathen Worship to be set up in Schools c. which things saith Nazianzen in Iul. Orat. 3. p. 102 are clearly agreeable to our Good Order And Sozomen Hist. lib. 5. cap. 15. speaking of the same thing says that Iulian designed to adorn his Gentile Temples with the Order of Christian Worship appointing prescribed Prayers upon set days and hours The Ingenious Apostat in one of his Epistles Iulian Fragment Epist. in Oper. p. 552. yet extant advises his Pagan Priests to pray thrice a day if possible or however Morning and Evening both in private and publick and to learn the Hymns of the Gods which were made in Old and Latter Times Adding that there was a Liturgy for these Priests and a Law directing 'em what to do in their Temples from which they might not vary The Council of Laodicea which is one of the Earliest Synods and has been always received by the Church says Canon 18. Bev. Tom. 1 p. 461. ãâã ãâã ãâã ãâã ãâã c. That the very same Liturgy of Prayers which the Fathers had appointed for Three in the Afternoon c. In the Council of Sardica Anno 347. A Bishop coming to a strange City is Ordered to Assemble and Perform his Liturgy there Can. 12. There are other Testimonies in this Century of Gregory Nazianzen St. Basil Dionysius Areopagita St. Ambrose St. Ierom Chrysostom the Third Canon Carth. the 70 African Canon And here we come to the time that Mr. Clarkson confesses the uses of the Liturgies So that we need go no further We might run down the 5 th 6 th 7 th 8 th c. Centuries if there was occasion for it but what we have brought does sufficiently answer Dr. Combers end viz. To shew the palpable Errors of Mr. Clarkson about the Innovation of Liturgies Dr. Comber has Written a Second Part wherein he has followed his Antagonist down thro' these latter Ages and does not only shew from the beginning of Christianity till of late that Liturgies and Set Forms of Prayer were used publickly but that Extempâre publick Prayer was never suffered in the Christian Church whatever it might be in Private Families The use of the whole Discourse cann't miss this Effect amongst all considering and unpreâudic'd Presbyterians that it will either convince 'em that our practice is more agreeable to that of the Primitive Christians than theirs or at least that ours was used as well as theirs Besides it will take off the common Objection against us viz. That our Practices have taken their Original from the Papists since here aâe the most clear and convincing Eâidences in the World that the Papal Authority was not settled for many Hundreds of Years alter some very considerable Instances which are here brought against Liturgies and Set Forms of Prayers Hymns c. I had almost forgot to do the Author this Justice that he has not only brought his Authorities for the Practices of the Church of England but has also fully answered Mr. Clarksons Arguments against it with that Mildness Perspicuity Judgment and Learning as have not given him a little Repute amongst the Learned Such as wou'd be better acquainted with the Knowledg and Worth of the Author or are any way dissatisfied with this Subject if they please to consult the Author himself they cann't fail to meet with an ample Satisfaction A New Bibliotheque of Ecclesiastick Authors Containing the History of their Lives the Catalogue of their Writings and the Chronology of their Works the Sum of what they Contain a Iudgment on their Stile and Doctrân with an Enumeration of the Different Editions of their Works Tom. the First of the Authors of the Three First Ages with a Preliminary
Orthodox Treatises of Tertullian he gives the chiefest place to his Apologetick his two Books to the Gentils and that which he Dedicated to Scapula to perswade the Governour of Africk from Persecuting the Christians He proves in this last that all Men ought to have the liberty to embrace what Religion seems the truest to them That 't is no part of Religion to constrain men to embrace a Religion which ought to be a voluntary choice Non est Religionis cogere Religionem quae sponte suscipi debet non vi In the Sixth Book of Baptism Tertullian disapproves of Baptizing Children without Necessity How is it necessary says he to expose God-fathers to the danger of answering for such who may prevent and hinder the performance by Death or Apostatizing from the Christian Religion when they come of Age Our Author assures us that this Opinion of Tertullian is his own particular one and there 's no other Father to be found who hath said as much But Tertullian affirms other things as incredible as for Instance when he says Christians are absolutely forbidden to bear Arms and he calls the Crowns that Soldiers put upon their heads the Pomps of the Devil To râad his Book of Spectacles one wou'd hardly believe that he was the Author of that of Prescriptions but only by his affected Style and Particular Transports he endeavour'd to prove in his Book of Spectacles that Virgins ought to have their Faces covered in the Church contrary to the Custom of the Country which only oblig'd Women to be Vail'd He mightily exclaims against Custom and Tradition and maintains that nothing can be prescribed contrary to Truth 'T is true adds Mr. Du Pin when not Dogmatically enjoyned but 't is when it is done as a Disciplin of little Consequence In mentioning the History of Origen and how he was persecuted by Demetrius the Patriarch of Alexandria he relates an Article of the Discipline of that time viz. when a Priest was once Excommunicated and depos'd by a Bishop with the consent of the Bishops of the Province he cou'd no more be receiv'd into any Church and it was never Examined after the Judgment was past whether it was just or unjust He places among the Errors of Origen the Exposition which he gave upon the words of Jesus Christ Whatsoever ye shall bind on Earth c. because he seems to retain the power of binding and loosing only to Bishops and Priests which follow the vertue of St. Peter and he says that all Spiritual Men are this Stone upon which Jesus Christ hath founded his Church St. Cyprian is one of the Fathers whom Mr. Du Pin has been large upon because the Life and Letters of this Martyr make a considerable part of the Ecclesiastick History of his Age. We may see there in the troubles that were excited amongst the Christians by the parties of Novatian and Felicissimus on the account of those that were fallen by Persecution The Moderation that St. Cyprian observed to avoid the Rigour of the first and the extream Remissness of the second and the Weakness of Cornelius Bishop of Rome who suffering himself to be seduced by Felicissimus writ to St. Cyprian after a disobliging manner These Two Schisms were not extinguisht before a third arose upon the Question whether Hereticks ought to be Re-Baptized proposed by Ianuarius and the Bishops of Numidia who upon that Account came to consult a Council where St. Cyprian was They that composed it answered that this Question was already decided by the Bishops that were their Predecessours who had declared in the Affirmative The Year following another Synod was Assembled in Africk which having confirmed this Decision sent to Stephen who was then Bishop of Rome to perswade him to embrace this Discipline But the Bishops was so far from complying with the Reasons of the Africans that he was Transported with anger against St. Cyprian and his Collegues and treated their Deputies very ill calling them false Christians false Apostles and Seducers even forbidding all those of his Church to entertain them and so depriving them not only of Ecclesiastick Communion but also refusing them the Laws of Hospitality but St. Cyprian testified great Moderation being unwilling that any Person shou'd Separate himself from the Communion upon this Dispute Mr. Du Pin afterwards endeavours to prove in his Notes that St. Cyprian did not change his Opinion and that the Churches of Greece were also a great while after his time divided about this Question He directs the Reader to a Letter of St. Basil to Amphilocus in which this Father relates the different Customs of the Church upon this Point Almost all the Letters of St. Cyprian run upon those Subjects that we have already spoken of the extracts of 'em are given to our Author according to the order of time He relates many fine passages from thence upon the necessity of examining the Disposition of such as are admitted to the Communion the Excellency of a Martyr which principally consists in keeping in every respect an Inviolable Holiness in his words and not to destroy the precepts of Jesus Christ at the same time that he 's a Martyr for him This holy Bishop made it a Law to do nothing in the Affairs of his Church without the Council of his Clergy and consent of the People Whefore in the Council of 37 Bishops held at Carthage in 256. upon the Reiteration of Baptism this holy Man gave this reason against Excommunicating those that were of a contrary opinion to him For no one amongst us says he ought to establish himself Bishop over the Bishops or pretend to constrain his Collegues by a Tyrannical fear because each Bishop has the same liberty and power and he can no more be judg'd be another than he can judge him but we ought all to expect the Judgment of Jesus Christ who only has power to propound to his Church and Judg of our actions In this question the Two Parties pretended to have Tradition on their side And St. Cyprian opposed to the Tradition that Pope Stephen brought the Truth of the Gospel and the first Tradition of the Apostles Our Author says also that St. Cyprian was the first that spoke clearly of Original Sin and the necessity of the Grace of Jesus Christ. The best Edition of this Fathers Works is that which has been lately published by Two of our Bishops But Persons have not much esteem for the observations of Dametius because he endeavours more to confirm the Doctrin and Discipline of our time than to explain the difficulties of his Author Mr. Du Pin rejects all the Letters that are attributed to Cornelius Bishop of Rome except those that are in the Works of Saint Cyprian because the rest and particularly the Epistle to Lupicinius Bishop of Vienna and two other that are in the Decretals under the name of this Pope are not like the Stile of those that are
Innovation upon this matter for they cannot Testifie this great âoldness without having some Matter of fact which favours them From thence we must Judg that Tradition is intricate and uncertain and condemn no body rashly See what Father Lupus says at the beginning of his Book of Appellations Adversus prophanas vocum novitates adversus quosdam temporum Novatores Do's he seem to level this against the Protestants And who wou'd believe that he refutes Mr. De Marca and Gerbais and Father Quesnel and Garnier On the other side the Epithet Innovator is little less Prodigious Mr. Du Pin in the Second Part of this Treatise refuâes F. Lupus He First exmains the Question of Right and then comes to that of Fact I mean that after having disputed to the utmost of his Power upon the sense of some Canons that seem to give to the Pope the Right of the last Appeal he explains the method they observed in the Ecclesiastick Judgments before and since the Ancient Councils 'T is a very Copious Subject and from whence a great number of fine things may be collected The misfortune is that Objections often prevail as much as Solutions to them who have already taken the Popes party The Third Part of this Work treats of Excommunication He pretends here that 't is a dependence upon the Keys that Iesus Christ has given to his Church and that altho' all the Faithful was the Primitive Subject of the Power of the Keys 't is only the Clergy that ought to deduce it to Act. He confesses however that in the First Ages Excomunications were made with the advice of the People and that there are some Tracts of this Practice left in the Writings of St. Cyprian But by degrees the Laicks were excluded from this Jurisdiction but not the Second Order of Ecclesiasticks for it was very rare formerly that the Bishops made a Judgment in such Affairs without their Clergy When a Man was Excommunicated by one Bishop others must not receive him into their Communion but they might call a Provincial Synod upon it and if the case was an Article of Faith it was necessary to follow the resolution of this Synod Excommunication in that time more employed the Church than it does now for lest they shou'd be mistaken they received no strangers into their Communion except they carryed a Letter of Recommendation which declared their Pastors were well satisfyed with them The Author clears all these things with good proofs and observes that to shun all Surprize without much trouble we must suppose that all the Western Churches were in Communion with those of the East when the Patriarch of Antioch was united with the Pope so also to shun the odious name of Schismatick or Heretick and to have a good opinion of all Christians it was very necessary to agree with the Church of Rome and the Church of Antioch and that it was without doubt the reason why the first of these two Churches says our Author obtained the Elogy of the Center of Unity Mr. Du Pin confesses very freely that there may be some occasion in which a Person may separate from the Communion of the Pope and not lose the quality of a good Catholick and when he examins upon whom and for what cause Excommunication is allowable he says Kings come into the Number but not after that manner that many Popes have extended their power viz. not any way that does any injury to a temporal Right or dispenses with their Subjects Breach of Fidelity contrary to their Oath to the Prince He maintains it more advantagious to Christianity to abstain from these proceedings against Crown'd heads than to make use of 'em and that the Bishops of France are always against the Excomunication of their King However he himself shews the contrary in respect to Philip the 1 st and Philip the 2 d. He extreamly blames the flinging about Prohibitions upon Towns or Kingdoms but thinks there 's no harm in Anathematizing the Dead In respect to the effects of Excommunication he wou'd not have it extend to the despoiling of a Man of his Natural Right and the Right which others can confer upon him Thus an Excommunicated Person should not be deprived of his Wife his Children his Friends and those Offices which these Relations engage him in but other men must not so much as eat with him without necessity or keep him company We should never speak of it if we read not the Order which is given us of shutting our Door against an Heretick and not to do so much as wish him a good day Mr. Du Pin Reasons Judiciously upon this and thinks it no difficulty to believe that Excommunication hath any effect upon the Soul and that a man who is otherwise disengag'd from the bonds of Sin wou'd remain perfectly just under the Anathemas of the Church The Journalists of Lipswick have mentioned a Work which treats of Excommunications It was Printed at Dijon in the Year 1683 in Twelves at the charge of Mrs. P.H.B. T.C. who composed it These Gentlemen give a very advantageous Idea of it in their Month of Ianuary 1684. The Fourth Fifth and Sixth Dissertations of Mr. Du Pin are destined to prove that the Pope is the Primate of the Church that his Judgment may be corrected and that the Council is above him We shall speak but little upon his great Controversie it shall suffice to say that he proves here the Primacy of Saint Peter only by the passages of Scripture that speak of him the first in the list of the Apostles As for these Famous Words Thou art Peter and upon this Stone Feed my Sheep I will give thee the Keys he shews that the Ancients have taken them in divers ways which cannot be adjusted to the Notions of the Court of Rome He maintains that the power of the Apostles was equal which nevertheless injured not the Primacy of St. Peter since this Apostle was only in quality of the first Do we not every day says he see Brethren which have all precisely as much right to the Possession of their Father but who are all necessarily excluded except one in the quality of the Eldest But this Argument wont be conclusive till our Author shews how the rest of the Apostles were excluded from either a Heavenly or an Earthly Patrimony when St. Peter was not for so the Parallel of the Argument intimates He examins also what some have said of the Primacy's being founded joyntly upon St. Peter and St. Paul he shews wherein consists the Prerogatives of the Pope according to his Flatterers and what the French Divines say of it He brings the the Examples of those Popes that have committed Errors He answers in particular to Mr. Schelstrate concerning the Council of Constance but says nothing to the difficulties that were published against Mr. Maimbourg's Book He says the Manuscripts upon which Mr. Schelstrate founds his Argument are not of certain Antiquity and that they come from
whether a Person may receive with 2 Ch. v. 3. n. 22. q. 7. Snakes when kept tame v. 3. n. 23. q. 2. Snakes Water-snake and Land-snake how different v. 3. n. 23. q. 3. Solidity what is it v. 3. n. 24. q. 16. Substance and Body the difference v. 3. n. 25. q. 2. Soul whether it presently enjoys God after Death v. 3. n. 25. q. 7. Souls of learn'd men ignorant whether alike next v. 3. n. 25. q. 8. Saviours Birth why in Bethlehem v. 3. n. 26. q. 6. Scepter why not to depart from Judah Gen. 49. v. 3. n. 26. q. 7. Sins which most destructive v. 3. n. 28. q. 6. Swoon where is the Soul then v. 3. n. 29. q. 3. Saviour and his Miracles how prov'd by History v. 4. n. 1. q. 1. Species in Nature whether any v. 4. n. 1. q. 4. Sleep-walkers a strange Relation of one v. 4. n. 5. q. 2. Such a Serpent as an Amphisbaena or double-headed v. 4. n. 5. q. 6. Seduced into a great Sin Oaths Promises v. 4. n. 7. q. 8. Sweating sickness mentiond Present-state of London v. 4. n. 8. q. 7. Sprinkling Infants why not Dipping in Baptism v. 4. n. 14. q. 5. Secret Sinner whether oblig'd to confess all to a Minister v. 4. n. 16. q. 2. Sympathy and Antipathy how is it v. 4. n. 19. q. 2. Surgeon whether sins in curing the French disease v. 4. n. 23. q. 9. Shipping and Navigation whether improv'd v. 4. n. 27. q. 3. Soul when out of the Body is it active or inactive v. 4. n. 28. q. 5. Soul how long may it be absent from the Body v. 4. n. 28. q. 6. Soul into what place does it go after Death v. 4. n. 29. q. 1. Songs on Moral or Divine Subjects impress virtue v. 5. n. 1. q. 5. Spirits how big are they v. 5. n. 2. q 3. Soul of Woman is it inferiour to Mans v. 5. n. 3. q. 2. Sun is it a Mass of Liquid Gold v. 5. n. 4. q. 5. Sun whether ever totally eclips'd v. 5. n. 4. q 6. Sun what supplies it with heat and motion v. 5. n. 5. q. 1. Suns three appearing at once whether true v. 5. n. 6. q. 8. Specifick cure for the biting of a Viper or Mad Dog v. 5. n. 7. q. 4. Satyrs c. or other discoursing Creatures c. v. 5. n. 7. q. 7. Sons and Daughters of God mentioned Geo. 6.4 v. 5. n. 7. q. 9. Stroke on a Mules back the reason of 't v. 5. n. 10. q. 3. Sun why the spring of Light a Poem v. 5. n. 11. q. 6. Sappho or Mrs. Behn the best Poetess v. 5. n. 13. q. 8. Samaritan Character or Vulgar Heb. the ancientest v. 5. n. 14. q. 2. Solomons meaning in Prov. 30.19 what was it v. 5. n. 16. q. 2. Saints why Pictur'd with Circles v. 5. n. 16. q. 5. Souls are they all equal v. 5. n. 29. q 3. â SVm of the Bible 1. suppl p. 15. Speaking or Writing whether is better 1. suppl p. 25. Speaking or keeping silent which is better 1. suppl p. 27. Sum of the Bible Tome 1. 2. suppl p. 4. Siam the Revolution of that State suppl 2. p. 8. Spain a Relation of a Iurney thither 4 suppl p. 1. Sherlock on Iudgment 4. suppl p. 26. Swifts Letter to the Ahenian Society 5. suppl p. 1. Swifts Ode to the Athnian Society 5. suppl p 2. Selah what is the signification of it 5. suppl q. 4. p. 9. Syllogism about Infan Baptism answered 5. suppl p. 11. Son that has wrong his Father desires to communicate at Easter 5. suppl q. 6. p. 12. Soul of an Emoryo how shall it rise at last 5. suppl p. 14. q. 11. Sun and Clouds when look'd on 5. suppl p. 16. q. 18. Sin whether migt not be ordain'd for Gods Glory 5. suppl p. 16. q. 20. Sin were it ordai'd or all possibilities of Adams standing 5. sup p. 16. q. 21. Souls of Brutes heir Natures 5. suppl p. 25. q. 26. â SYnopsis of tâ New Polyglot Bible p. 292. Selden othe use and abuse of Books p. 80. Bishop Stillingleets Antiquities of the British Churches p. 135. Stanly's Histry of Philosophy containing the Lives Opinions Actions an Discourses of the Philosophers of every Sect p. 190. Sylloge varirum opusculorum p. 467. Seldens Cricks in Divinity p 311. Sprats History of the Royal Society p. 315. T * TOrmââs of the Torments visible to the Saints v. 1. n. 1. q. 2. Titillation that is the cause of it v. 1. n. 4. q. 9. Transmigâtion of Souls v. 1. n. 7. q 6. Thunder it cause and what it is v. 1. n. 8. q. 7. Ten Tribe where they went v. 1. n. 10. q. 2. Time an Eternity their difference v. 1. n. 14. q. 3. Tree whyoes its fruit in grafting c. v. 1. n. 16. q. 12. Toads ar Serpents production in Rocks v. 1. n. 17. q. 8. Tarantiâ whether such a Spider v. 1. n. 27. q. 4. Truth is to be spoke at all times v. 2. n. 1. q. 14. Time wether any Crisis wherein persons v. 2. n. 9. q. 4. Trade ânds v. 2. n. 11. q. 5. Tobacc whether good or hurtful v. 2. n. 14. q. 2. Taraâla c. real or a Fable v. 2. n. 14. q. 8. Turkâ Spy his Books whether a Fiction v. 2. n. 17. q. 4. Toad and Spider the Antipathy betwixt 'em v. 2. n. 20. q. 5. Temporals whether they can be made sure v 2 n 28 q 10 Thoughts uneasie and painful in Devotion v. 2. n. 21. q. 2. Trembling at the sight of a Mistress v. 3. n. 4. q. 6. Thunder why more terrible by Night than Day v. 3. n. 8. q. 1. Thunder Lightning and Earthquakes their force v. 3. n. 8. q. 2. Tree of Life and Tree of Knowledg how differ v. 3. n. 17. q 4. Turks and Pagans why so little care of their Conver. v. 3. n. 23. q. 1. Trade which is the best v. 3. n 24. q. 6. Thieves the best way of punishing 'em v. 3. n. 25. q. 3. Thoughts when wicked how know 'em c. v. 3. n. 29. q. 2. Tyburn an account of the antiquity of it v. 4. n. 2. q. 4. Tears sighs c. of greater force to obtain a Lady v. 4. n. 3. q. 4. Thunder what causes the noise v. 4. n. 8. q 9. Trees does the sap descend v. 4. n. 9. q. 2. Trees have they Male and Females v 4 n 9 q 3 Trees whether cutting off the bottom Root v. 4. n. 9. q. 4. Toad in a solid Rock v. 4. n. 9. q 8. Triumphal Arch in Cheapside your thoughts on 't v. 4. n. 12. q. 1. Torments and happiness is there a cessation of 'em during Iudgment v. 4 n. 29. q. 2. Text extant of the old Testament the Hebrew or Septuagint v. 5. n. 7. q. 3. Tears of a Maid red as blood v. 5. n. 9 q. 6. â THomassins method to study Grammar and the Tongues 1 Suppl p. 1.
A.B. Tillotson's necessity of frequent Communion 2 Suppl p. 28. Tobacco Questions about it 2 Suppl p. 29. Tollius's mad Wisdom or Chimical promises 4 Suppl p. 6. Travelling whether necessary 2 suppl p 28. â TAvernier's collections of several Relations p. 106. Themistius 33 Orations p. 118. Transactions of the Royal Society Extracts of several Lâtters English Iournals Registers and Experiments from p. 208 to p. 321. Tentamen Porologicum p. 236. Treatise of the Loadstone p. 237. Travels of Mars or the art of war divided into 3 parts p. 307. Treatise of the excellency of Marriage of its necessity and of the means of living happy therein whâre is an Apology made for Women against the calumnies of men p. 415. Treatise of the Trial of Witches wherein diverse questions relating to this subject are most learnedly and pleasantly resolved p. 427. V. * VAcuum whether any v. 1. n. 4. q. 8. Vnmarried persons whether lawful to cohabit v. 1. n. 5. q. 3. Virgin let a man know she loves him v. 1. n. 13. q. 15. Vertue Theorick and Practical the difference v. 1. n. 14. q. 8. Vndertaking rash how to shun the reproach v. 1. n. 17. q. 22. Vnion Prebyterians and Independants v. 1. n. 19. q. 1. Vnicorn whether there be any v. 1. n. 20. q. 3. Virgil whether impossible to make better verses than his v. 1. n. 21. q. 8. Viols two tuned in Vnison v. 1. n 22 q. 18. Vrine its Motion in Water v. 1. n. 23. q. 8. Vipers its venom where it consists v. 2. n. 8. q 4. Vsurper who is the greatest v. 2. n. 12. q. 4. Utrum Androgyna c. v. 2. n. 17. q. 11. Vertue whether it consists in intention v. 2. n. 17. q. 15. Virtue to an ill man or Vice to a good man which hardest v. 2. n. 23. q. 4. Vault why colder in Summer than Winter v. 2. n. 24. q. 17. Vnion is it desired by the Dissenters v. 2. n. 26. q. 5. Vrine why emitted by putting the hand in cold Water v. 2. n. 29. q. 8. Vacuum what are we to think of it v. 3. n. 1. q. 6. Vow never to marry whether lawful v. 3. n. 8. q. â Vnruly wife how to reclaim her v. 3. n. 131.1 Vnion of Soul and Body how is it v. 3. n. 1â q. 11 Vertue and Goodness is it any defence against misery â 3. n. 18. q. 1. Vnjust steward why did the Lord commend him v. 3. n. 26. q. 2. Vââdois have they maintain'd the Christian Rââgion v. 4. n. 2. q. 1. Vow to relinquish suddenly an employ is it sâsul v. 4. n. 8. q. 2. Variegation in Plants as Holly c. be â defect v. 4. n. 9. q. 5â Vnbaptiz'd Infants what becomes of ââ v. 4. n. 14. q. 6. Voice calling a Woman who soon aftââ died v. 4. n. 15. q. 3. Venomous Creature why not live iâ Ireland v. 5. n. 7. q. 6. Verses on pain and pleasure c. v. 5. n. 11. q. 4. Vrim and Thummim their meaning v. 5. n. 15. q. 6. Vniversity instructions to â Youth going there v. 5. n. 29. q. 2. â VAudois the History of 'em 2 Suppl p. 19. Vaudois a further History of 'em 3 Suppl p. 36. Voâage into the World of Descartes 3 Suppl p. 3. Vicious Liver desirous to reclaim 5 Suppl q. 7. p. 13. Vsury a vindication of it 5 Suppl p. 26. â Usher Bishops Lifâ with a Collection of 300 Letters published from the Original p. 21. His Antiquities of the Brittish Churches p. 31. and p. 65. His succession and state of the Christian Churches p. 37. Vindication of the Church of England p. 122. Vossius book of Observations p. 476. W. * WIfe whither she may beat her Husband v. 1. n. 2. q. 7. Weeping and Laughing whence proceeds v. 1. n. 3. q. 5 Witches whither there be any v. 1. n 3. q 6. What two Numbers are those v. 1. n. 5. q. 5. Words express things v. 1. n. 6. q. 2. Wind whence it has its force v. 1. n. 8. q. 5. Weapons which most serviceable Gun or Bow v. 1. n. 11. q. 5. Womans Condition in Marriage worse than Mans v 1. n. 13. q. 6. Woman believ'd when she says she will not marry v. 1. n. 13. q. 11. Wind its causes and whether they go v. 1. n. 14. q. 10. Woman with Childs longing the Reason of marking c. v. 1. n. 15. q. 2. Works deâraded thro' Malice or Ignorance c. v. 1 n. 15. q. 13. Weeping on the Wedding night from what it proceeds v. 1. n. 16. q. 3. Wounds an experiment about them v. 1. n. 17. q. 3. Womens Voice shriller than Mens v. 1. n. 17. q. 6. Women whether proper to be learned v. 1. n. 18. q. 3. Women supposed to have no Souls v. 1. n. 18. q 7. Women an Army of 'em do more then Men v. 1. n. 18. q 8. Whores common ones seldom have Children v. 1. n. 18. q. 10. Wood a Petrifaction of it how effected v. 1. n. 19. q. 2. Water spring hot in Winter v. 1. n. 20. q. 14. Wife that forsakes her Husband v. 1. n. 21. q. 15. Wood rotten why shine in the dark v. 1. n. 22. q. 17. Wine was its use unknown v. 1. n. 24. q. 5. World what was it made of v. n. 24. q. 7. Woman taken in Adultery v. 1. n. 30. q. 3. Words in 1 Joh. 5.7 why only Marginal noted v. 1. n. 3. q. 6. Wagers where had the Observator his Story of 'em v. 2. n. 2. q. 6. Women if meer Machines v. ââ â q. 4. Women whether not Banter'd into a belief of being Angels v. 2. n. 3. q. 5. Women whether Wiser than Men v. 2. n. 3. q. 11. Women whether they have Souls v. 2. n. 3. q. 11. Waâ whether better to carry it v. 2. n. 5. q. 4. Water or Earth which the coldest Element v. 2. n. 11. q. 6. Women when bad why worse than Men v. 2. n. 13. q. 11. Word Culprit the meaning of it v. 2. n. 15. q. 6. Wife taking for the Maid v. 2. n. 15. q. 7. Wives a form of Prayer for 'em v. 2. n. 16. q. 1. World does it hang upon nothing v. 2. n. 18. q. 6. World what quarter of the Year it began v. 2. n. 18. q. 7. Wagers about King William v. 2. n. 23. q. 15. Wheels of eighteen Inches c. v. 2. n. 24. q. 1. Wound when it s proves incurable v. 2. n. 27. q. 15. Witches how they contract their Bodies v. 2. n. 28. q. 4. Wits why generally the greatest Sots v. 2. n. 28. q. 8. Woman plagued with an ill Husband v. 3. n. 4. q. 2. Wife doubly married whose is she v. 3. n. 4. q. 13. Worlds are there more than one v. 3. n. 6. q. 2. Women why fondeâ of those Men that slight ' em v. 3 n. 13. q. 9. Witchcrafts and other Possessions whither Credited v. 3. n. 17. q. 1. Word of God to resolve
l. 10. c. 23. * Socr. l. 5. c. 8. Soz. l. 7. c. 7. * Conc. C.P. c. 4. * Carm. de vita p. 14. * Theod. l. 5. c. 9. * Carm. de vita sua p. 29. * Vid. Conc. Chalced. act 2. â Carm. de vita p. 25. * Ib. p. 27. * Ib. p. 29. * Or. 27. p. 465. * P. 466. * P. 528. â P. 30. * Sozom. l. 7. o. 8. â Or. xlvi * Theod. lib. 5. c. 8. â Ep. lv * Carm. 10. p. 40. â Greg. Presb. p. 52. * Ep. 222. Et Carm. de rebus suis. * Greg. Presb. p. 33. * Vid. Or. 12. p. 191. or 19. p. 308. alibi Passim â Carmine de vita p. 28. vocantur Episcopi mercatores Christi * Or. 19. p. 308. â¡ Ibid. p. 310. Ep. lxxi * Or. 18. p. 394. â¡ P. 286. P. 279. * P. 35.65 66. * Page ad ann 389. N. 5. * P. 230. §. 2 * §. 3. â Lev. 5. c. 30. * §. 4. * See Euseb. H.E. lib. 5. cap. 19. â § 5 seq * §. 12. seq * H.E. lib. 2 â §. 21. seq * In Esa. 64. * §. 7. * §. 16. seqq * ãâã ãâã ãâã ãâã ãâã c. Epist. ad Cor. p. 54. â Smirnaeorum Eccles c. de praescript advers Haret p. 80. A very good reason for one Bishop being Governor or Minister but of one Church because in the beginning of Christianity one Church was large enough to entertain all the Christians for twenty thirty or forty Miles distance So that the Bishops Power extended as far as those now a days * Ep. 69. § 5. p. 208. The People chose the Bishop because at first the Priests were so few and at such a distance that they could not Assemble together without leaving their own Churches unofficiated at the same time but when the Gospel encreased and the number of Bishops was consequently augmented they removed this Inconvenience though they were long before convinced of it for certainly Persons of an equal Learning and Piety are much fitter to constitute and make a Choice of Bishops than the multitude which was more subject to breed Confusion as Gregory Nazianzen and many others complain of besides the Peoples Voice alone was not sufficient for he was first to have the approbation of the neighbouring Bishops according to our Authors own Citations * This they speak with reference to their Custom of Saluting one another at the Conclusion of their publick Assemblies * Euseb. l. 4. c. 29. * l. 2. c. 17. * De Emond Tanp l. 6. * Iean V. 39. * As is directed in the Table * 59. seq â P. 46. seq * 55. seq * Pag. 129. seq 131 148 157. â P. 137. * P. 139. * P. 214. â P. 225 226. * P. 250 251. * P. 268. * Pa. 277. â P. 283. * Lib. 1. adv Const. â P. 336. * P. 374.376 * P. 940. â P. 381. * P. 389.390 â P. 395.399 * P. 245. â P. 405. * P. 468. * P. 603 604. â P. 608. * P. 612. â P. 616. * P. 648. â P. 632. * P. 672. â P. 681. * P 714. â Hieron Casal Scrip. Eccles * P. 734. â P. 745 747. â P. 770. seque * P. 873. â P. 882. * P. 900. â P. 903. * P. 909. â P. 947. * Tavernier liv 4. chap. 8. * Pag. 57. * Script 5. * Script 6. et Seq ad 11. * Script 12. * Script 13. et Seq ad 18 * Script 19. 20. * Pag. 296. Seq * Scr. 24. Scr. 26. ad 31. Script 34. 'T is spoken of in the 32 th and 33 th Piece upon the first Article * Tome 7. p. 529. 2 edit * Of the Roman Communion nevertheless the Ingenious will like the Bee find something good in all Flowers * P. 158.159 Socrat. I. 4. c. 36. Sosom l. 6. c. 38. * P. 596. * Bed Hist. Angl. l. 1. c. 26. * p. 318. * Sen. de Ben. l. 7. c. 9. ep 90. * Ex eritat sac p. m. 439. * Where Witches are turned into Wolves * P. 2 3. * P. 1.29 * P. 36.84 * P. 32. * P. 74. * P. 85.122 * P. 101. * P. 18. * P. 205.209 * P. 316 228. * P. 261. * P. 264. Seq * P. 323. * p. 146 * 2. c. * P. 239. * P. 282. * P. 283. * P. 2. * P. 309. * P. 361. * Hist. Anim. l. 9. c. 48. * c. 5. * P. 510. * c. 7. * Fol. 59. col 3. ed. Cremon * P. 569. * P. 2. * P. 3. * P 4. Seq * This was not in the Extract * L. 25. C. 1. * P. 44. * Apol. 2. P. 129. * P. 93. Seq * L. 7. c. 45. * L. 6. c. 25. * P. 155 Seq * Apol. c. 39. * L. 5. C. 21 * P. 134 * P. 135. * Strom 7. * Hist. L. 2. C. 24. * Hist. L. 2. C. 24. a Disc. Lit. p. 48. 113. p. 5. 142. p. 65. 121 p 6.29.138 b Ib. p. 28 29 34 35 36 42 51.52 d Ib. p. 44 49 76 60.77 98. e Ib. p. 179. f View of direct p. 136. Oxf. g Lightfoot Vol. 2. p. 1139. h Ib. Vol 1. p. 922.942 946. Anno 60. Philo Iudeus Philo de vit Contem plat Jos. Bel. Jud. lib. 2. âap 7. * ãâã ãâã ãâã ãâã ãâã Euseb. Anno Dom. 1690 â ãâã ãâã ãâã ãâã ãâã c. * Lib. 10. Ep. Carmenque Christo c. Anno 93. Anno 140â Anno 220. Anno 303. Anno 363. P. 1. * P. 3 d. * P. 4. * P. 7. * P. 18. * P. 18. * In his Preliminary dissertation * 27.32 * P. 12. * P. 74. * P. 51. * P. 51. * P. 59. * P. 60. * Greg. l. 12. Moral * VI. * First Age * Eus. l. 3. * P. 17. * P. 21. * P. 35. * P. 47. * P. 71. â P. 73 col 1. * P. 67. * P. 74. * P. 89. * P. 102.103 * P. 138. (a) p. 145. * Second Age. (b) p. 153.167 (c) p. 167. c. 2. (d) p. 179. (e) p. 184. (f) p. 186. (g) p. 197. (h) p. 198. * p. 210. (i) p. 169. (k) p. 220. * P. 223. * P. 228. * P. 245. * P. 240. * P. 249. * P. 276. * P. 338. * P. 330. * P. 397.487 * P. 444. * P. 442. * P. 474. * P. 490. * P. 513. * P. 514. * P. 516. * P. 339. * He speaks of their extent p. 87. * Cicer. l. 1. de Orat.