that it was not generally believed that she remain'd a Virgin after her delivery that no mention hath been made of her assumption and that there is a passage in the works of S. Irenaeus which is not favourable to the immaculate conception 2 That the Holy Scripture contains the principal Articles of our Faith and that it was lawful for all Christians to read it 3 That the Elements of the Eucharist were ordinary Bread and Wine mingled with water That the consecrated Bread was divided into little pieces that the Deacons distributed it to those that were present who receiv'd it in their hands and that they likewise gave them some of the consecrated wine That in some Churches this distribution was reserved to the Priests but that in others every one approached to the Table and took his Portion of the Eucharist 4 That during the three first Centuries there is no account concerning the unction or annointing of the sick mentioned by St. James 5 That the Clergy were forbidden to be engag'd in Civil and Temporal Affairs 6 That Priests were permitted to keep their Wives whom they had espoused before they were Ordained and not to marry any after their Ordination but that both was allow'd to Deacons 7 That there have scarcely been any disputes or different sentiments in the Church concerning Moral Duties We find divers Tables at the end of this Work some of which are Chronological and shew the time of the Nativity Death and Principal Transactions of the Sacred Writers and Ecclesiastical Authors others serve to distinguish the genuine Works from those that are forg'd There are also Alphabetical Indexes of the Authors and Principal matters Mr. Du Pin hath observed in the Second Volume the same Method as in the preceeding all the difference is that the Works of the Fathers of the fourth Century being generally more known and in greater number than those of the three first there are likewise inserted more frequent reflections on the Protestants perhaps to satisfie the importunate clamours of some Zealots who otherwise would have suppressed the Book However the same sincerity and liberty of speech which was so acceptable to all judicious Readers in the first Volume is every where conspicuous throughout the second It is apparent from the Life of St. Athanasius which is exhibited at large by our Author that the People began even in his time to adhere too much to the exteriour part of Religion since two of the greatest Crimes with which the Arrians charg'd this Father were that he had broken a Chalice and had administer'd the Holy Sacraments in a Church that was not Consecrated It may be also observ'd after Mr. Du Pin that Lay-men were then admitted to the Communion in both kinds that there were Women that kept their Virginity and were not shut up in Monasteries that there were married Priests and Bishops that the Monks might alter their condition and take Wives that it was not lawful to make new Articles of Faith and that Councils even the Oecumenical were only the Witnesses of the Creed of their Ages whereas they had Soveraign Authority to determine all matters that related to Discipline Thus it is expresly declar'd by the Nicene Bishops in appointing the day for the Celebration of the Feast of Easter It seems good to us we think fit that it should be so But their Expressions are altogether different with respect to the Consubstantiality of the Word since after having declar'd their Opinion as to this matter they are content only to subjoyn such is the Faith of the Catholick Church After the Extracts of the Writings of the Fathers we find those of the Councils that were conven'd in the fourth Century The Canons of that which is called the Council of Elvira are an Ancient Code or Collection of the Councils of Spain and it cannot be doubted but that they are very Authentick and of great Antiquity The 34 and 36 Canons have caused much perplexity among the Roman Catholick Divines One of them prohibits the lighting of Tapers in the Church-yards by reason that the Spirits of the Saints ought not to be disturbed and the other to set up Pictures in the Churches lest the Object of our Adoration should be Painted on the Walls Many have endeavoured to render divers Explications of these Passages but it seems to me says Mr. Du Pin to be more expedient to understand them simply and to acknowledge that the Fathers of this Council did not approve the use of Images no more than that of Wax-Candles lighted at Noon-day but continues he these things are matters of Discipline and may be observ'd or neglected without any prejudice to the Faith of the Church The 35 Canon forbids Women to remain all night in the Church-yards in regard that often under pretence of Prayer they secretly committed abominable crimes The 60 deprives them of the quality of a Martyr that are put to death for publickly demolishing of Idols because it is not enjoyned in the Gospel neither do we read that this was practised by the Christians in the time of the Apostles The same perverse spirit that hath caused the Canons of the Council of Elvira to be wrested to a contrary sense hath in like manner given occasion to some to doubt as to the truth of the History of Paphnutius related by Socrates Lib. I. Chap. XI This Egyptian Bishop oppos'd the new Law that was intended to be enacted in the Council of Nice to oblige the Bishops Priests and Deacons to live single and to abstain from their Wives whom they had married before their Ordination For although he himself was never married nevertheless he maintain'd that this Yoak ought not to be laid on the Clergy and that it was to expose the Chastity of Women to apparent danger I believe said Mr. Du Pin in speaking to the Roman Catholick Doctors that this doubt proceeds rather from a fear with which some are possess'd that this matter of Fact should in any wise impugn the present Discipline than from any solid Proof But these Persons ought to consider that this Ordinance is purely concerning Discipline that the Discipline of the Church may be alter'd as opportunity serves and that it is not necessary for the vindication thereof to prove that it hath been always uniform in all Places Moreover our Author shews that Hosins Bishop of Corduba presided in the Nicene Council and not the Popes Legats He acknowledgeth as the authentick Records of this Synod only the Form of Faith the Epistle to the Egyptians the Decree concerning the Feast of Easter and the first 20 Canons And consequently he rejects as suppositions Pieces the Latin Letter of this Council to S. Sylvester together with the Answer of this Bishop and the Canons of a pretended Synod holden at Rome for the Confirmation of that of Nice In the 59. as also the 60 and last Canon of the Council of Laodicea which Mr. Du Pin believes to have been convened between the
years 360 and 370. It is prohibited to read in the Church any other Books than the Canonical and those only are acknowledged as such which are allow'd by the Protestants excepting the Revelation The 8. Canon of the Council of Saragossa forbids the vailing of Nuns before the age of 40 years The Bishops of Macedonia being about to confirm a Censure that they had made against a certain Bishop named Bonosius and desiring the advice of Pope Siricius he replied That the Council of CAPUA having referr'd this cause to them it did not appertain to him to give any Judgment therein and that they had power to determine it The most ancient Record according to the opinion of Mr. Du Pin in which the name of Mass is applied to signifie the publick Prayers recited by the Church of Rome in celebrating the Eucharist is the third Canon of the II. Council of Carthage holden Anno Domini 390. In the end of this Volume the Author exhibits an Epitome of the Doctrine of the fourth Century as he hath done in the preceeding with respect to the first three and he avoucheth that altho' nothing was taught in the fourth Age of the Church but what was likewise believed in the three former nevertheless the principal Mysteries of the Christian Religion have been much illustrated and explained therein III. Commentaries on Latin Authors Q. HORATII FLACCI Poemata Interpretatione notis illustravit Petrus Rodellius é Soc. Jesu jussu Christianissimi Regis ad usum Sereniss Delphini huic Editioni accesserunt Odae aliquot Satyrae unà cum interpretatione continuâ quae in priori desiderabantur nec non Index rerum Phrasium Verborum memorabilium 8. Lond. Impensis Abel Swalle 1690. pag. 366. THis Edition which is no less correct than that of Paris hath moreover this advantage that it contains the entire Works of Horace Father Rodellius thought fit indeed not only to avoid the interpretation of divers Odes and Satyrs that seemed to him to be somewhat too luxuriant and offensive to chast minds but even wholly to retrench them nevertheless this defect is now supplied by reprinting these Pieces that were omitted and by Paraphrasing all the rest excepting about half of the second Satyr I. THE Author having perus'd Mr. Dacier's Translation and Critical Remarks undertakes to censure some of those that are not agreeable to his opinion The latter in his French Interpretation declares that whereas Horace makes mention of Maecenas thus Atavis edite Regibus These words are not to be understood as if Maecenas were really descended from the Kings of Etreria since there is not so much as one Historian that takes any notice of the Royal Stock of this Favourite of Augustus but they all affirm that he derived his extraction from an illustrious Family of Knights The ancient Commentators produce three Names of these pretended Kings but he avoucheth it to be a counterfeit List and that they were deceived in taking Atavus for a Great Grand-Father As for his part by the word Reges he understands Noblemen or Persons of considerable Quality insomuch that according to his Judgment the meaning of Horace was only this that Maecenas was descended of an ancient Family of Etreria It must be granted that the words Rex Regina are often used in that sense which is alledged by Mr. Dacier but on the other hand Rodellius insists that in this place the word Rex ought to be taken in its proper and genuine signification as well as in the following Verse of Propertius Maecenas eques Etrusco de Sanguine Regum The Historians might easily omit this circumstance relating to the Noble Extraction of Maecenas by reason that none of them undertook to give a particular account of his life and it is mention'd by the Poets in regard that they had receiv'd the greatest share of his favours Neither indeed could Maecenas derive his Pedigree from the Kings of Etreria but at a very great distance so that according to the judgment of Rodellius as well as that of Mr. Dacier the name of Cecina that is attributed to the Great Grand-Father of this Illustrious Person and who is reputed to have been King of Etreria is meerly feigned Besides the Kings of Etreria were not very considerable if we may give credit to the Testimony of Dionysius Hallicarnassaeus Lucius Florus and other Ancient Writers There were twelve in number at the same time and altho' they had an Equipage like unto that of the Roman Consuls together with a Scepter and a Crown nevertheless they reigned only within the narrow bounds of one City as Porsenna at Clusium Therefore altho' it ought not to be accounted as a matter of no moment to be descended from those Kings Yet it is not of so great consequence as that it should be admir'd that the Historians have not made mention thereof with respect to Maecenas These are the reasons alledged by Rodellius which being confirmed by the Authority of Propertius will without doubt cause many to incline to his Opinion It is not sufficient that because a word as that of Rex is used in a certain sense in some places therefore it ought to be explain'd after the same manner wheresoever it is possible that this signification may be admitted it must also be attended with certain circumstances which favour this sense and determin that equivocal word thereto It is requisite then to enquire whether it be probable that in the expressions of Horace and Propertius the word Rex should be taken for a Rich or Noble Man but we shall leave this to the decision of those that are expert Criticks in the Latin Tongue II. Father Rodellius hath annexed a Chronological Epitome of the Roman History from the 21. year of Horace to the 57. which account indeed is useful for the more clear understanding of the Works of this Poet but the Chronology of Horace's Odes inserted in Tanaquil Faber's Letters would not have been less advantageous and Rodellius would not have acted more unjustly in borrowing from him all this little Work and in doing him that justice which is due to his merits than in taking only part of his design for altho' Faber died among those of the Reformed Religion nevertheless there is no Jesuit that can deny him the reputation of a good Grammarian which quality hath been always esteemed to be consistent with that of an ill Roman-Catholick III. Moreover Rodellius contradicts M. Dacier with respect to an explication published by the later on the 6 Verse of the 1 Ode Terrarum Dominos evehit ad Deos which M. Dacier understands not with reference to those that are properly called Gods but concerning those that had obtain'd the prize in the Olympick Games whom Horace else-where stiles Coelestes The Latin Interpretation is consonant to the ordinary acceptation of the words that is to say that they which overcame believ'd that they had acquired a great deal of Honour which might be Hyperbolically termed a Glory
He treats of the Authors of the Books of the New Testament And 6. of the Canon of these Books Let us now proceed to the Body of the Work Mr. Du Pin hath thought sit to reject the Liturgies (a) p. 8. that are attributed to the Apostles in regard says he that we need only to reflect a little on what we Read in the first Epistle of St. Paul to the Corinthians concerning the Celebration of the Eucharist and on that which hath been alledg'd on this Subject by St. Justin and the Primitive Fathers of the Church to be convinc'd that the Apostles and their Successors celebrated the Sacrifice of the Mass with great Simplicity A very small number of Litanies were recited therein but by little and little some other Collects were added together with certain exterior Ceremonies to render the Service more venerable to the People lastly the Churches proceeded to regulate and to commit these particular Methods to Writing and this is that which we call Liturgies Our Author is not only content to disallow the Works of the Counterfeit St Denis (q) p. 24. b but he likewise proves in one of his Notes (c) p. 38. that the true Dionysius the Arâ—opagite never was in France that Photinus first propagated the Christian Religion in that Kingdom and that in the time of St. Irenaeus his Successor Christianity was establishd only in that part of the Country call'd Gallia Viennensis Lugdurensis since there were no Martyrs any where but within the Limits of these two Provinces concerning whom he produceth (d) p. 50. an Epistle of the Church of Smyrna to those of Pontus which deserves to be remembred in more than one place The Pagans having hindred the Christians from carrying off the Body of Polycarp that remain'd entire in the midst of the Flames lest as was pretended by these deluded Heathens they should adore it instead of Jesus Christ the Church of Smyrna made this reflection thereupon certainly these People were possess'd with an extravagant frenzy as being ignorant that the Christians adore Jesus Christ only because he is the Son of God and that they honour the Martyrs who are his Disciples and followers only on the account of the Love that they testifie for their King and Master Afterward The Centurion having caus'd the Body of this Martyr to be burnt the Christians took away his Bones being more valuable than the most precious Stones and more pure than Gold which they BURIED in a place where they Assembled together to Celebrate with joy and Chearfulness the Day of his Martyrdom thus HONOURING the MEMORY of those that had fought Gloriously for their Religion to the end that they might confirm and instruct others by such Examples These are the Sentiments adds our Author of the Ancient Church concerning the Respect due to Martyrs and their Relicks explain'd after a very clear and distinct manner equidistant from the contempt that is cast on them by our Modern Hereticks and from the Superstition of some Catholicks But Mr. Du Pâ—n would have extreamly oblig'd the World in shewing who those Hereticks are who despise the Holy Martyrs and their true Relicks and refuse to afford them this sort of honour that was done to their memory by the Church of Smyrna In this Edition is an extract of Origen's Book concerning Prayer (e) p. 142.145 which the Author had not seen when he publish'd the first and on the occasion of the dispute that rose between St. Cyprian and the Bishop of Rome concerning the Repeating of Baptism he produceth a remarkable passage (f) 164 2. taken from the Acts of the last Council of Carthage holden in the Year 256. Wherein this Father exhorting the 87 Bishops that were there present freely to disclose their mind without any design of excommunicating those that were of a different opinion gives them this reason For none ought to Style himself Bishop of Bishops to endeavour to constrain his Colleagues by a Tyrannical Authority by reason that every Bishop hath liberty and power to make use thereof as he shall think fit and that he can no more be judg'd by another than he can judge him But we ought all to attend to the judgment of CHRIST who alone hath power to set us over his Church and to judge of our Actions In this Controversy both parties pretended to have Tradition on their side and St. Cyprian oppos'd to that which was alledg'd against him by Pope Stephen the truth of the Gospel and the Primitive Tradition of the Apostles The Edition of the Works of this Father which is declar'd by Mr. Du Pin to be generally most esteem'd is that which hath been Published some years ago by two English Bishops and Printed at Oxford but the Annotations of Pamelius are not much reguarded by reason that he applies himself rather to confirm the Doctrine and discipline that is received and maintain'd by those of his own Society than to explain the difficulties that occur in the Text of the Author Mr. Du Pin doubts (g) â— 199.1 whether the passage recited by Joannes Damascenus in his third Homily concerning Images appertains to Methodius it is declared therein that the Christians made certain Figures of Gold representing the Angels for the Glory of God if it were written by this Bishop it must be taken said he in another Sence different from that which is attributed to it by Damascenus and by these words Angels Principalities and Powers the Kings of the Earth are to be understood as may be inferr'd from the preceeding expressions Moreover he rejects all the Decretals that are imputed to the Primitive Popes and believe that they were forg'd by Riculphus and his Successor Benedict in the ninth Century Lastly he concludes this Volume with an Epitome of the Doctrine Discipline and Moral Instructions of the Church in the three first Ages thereof There are no notes subjoined to this Abridgment because it is taken for granted that sufficient prooss of all that is asserted therein have been already exhibited in the body of the Work Nevertheless it cannot be discerned by what Arguments alledg'd in the preceeding Treatise Mr. Du Pin supports the following Propositions that are afterward maintain'd by him in the said Epitome viz. 1 That altho' all the Fathers are not agreed that Infants are born in Sin and liable to Damnation yet the contrary opinion was more agreeable to the Church 2 That the Sacrifice of the Mass was Celebrated in Memory of the Dead 3 That the ancient Christians invocated the Saints and Martyrs deceas'd and that they were perswaded that they prayed to God for the living However there are other Principles that are grounded on better Authority and such as are of great importance with respect to the present differences among Christians 1 That the ancient Writers always mention'd the Virgin Mary with a great deal of respect tho' they have not exceeded their due bounds as it hath been afterwards practised