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A26211 The judgment of the learned and pious St. Augustine concerning penal lavves against conventicles : and for vnity in religion : deliver'd in his 48th epistle to Vincentius.; Epistolae. Number 48. English Augustine, Saint, Bishop of Hippo. 1670 (1670) Wing A4210; ESTC R4058 8,337 19

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THE JUDGMENT OF THE LEARNED and PIOUS St. Augustine CONCERNING PENAL LAVVES AGAINST CONVENTICLES AND FOR VNITY in RELIGION Deliver'd in His 48 th Epistle to Vincentius LONDON Printed for James Collins and to be sold at the Kings Armes in Ludgate-street and at his Shop the Kings-head in Westminster-Hall 1670. To the READER IT will not be thought Impertinent to publish this short Epistle after so many Learned Discourses upon this Subject if we consider the several Advantages which this may have above those in these particular respects First because of the Great Esteem which this Holy and Learned Prelate hath alwayes had in the Church of Christ and especially in that part which hath accounted it self the most Reformed and we see that most Men are more led by the Authority of the Writer then the Strength of the Argument Besides whereas those who have Written amongst us are charged by the Adverse Party to be Partial by reason of their Interest in the Present Controversie This cannot be laid to the Charge of Him who dyed so many hundred years before OUR PRESENT DEBATE But that which is most Considerable is His great Experience of the Happy Success of those LAWS made in His Time by Christian Princes against CONVENTICLES and FACTIOUS ASSEMBLIES whereby whole Cities were reduced to the True Christian Faith and Unity Which happy experience made Him Recant His Former Erronious Opinion namely That Christians were not to be urged by Penalties in such Cases but onely by Arguments and Confirm'd Him in this Judgment that Kings cannot serve God better then by making Strict Lawes for the Profession and Exercise of Christian Religion in the Unity and Communion of the CHURCH as you may see in the ensuing Discourse Which experience as it Convinc'd him so it is hoped it may Convince these who are yet of that Erronious Opinion and incourage AVTHORITY to persist stedfast in the EXECUTION of such LAWS which have in all Ages been so Advantageous to the Peace and Quiet of CHURCH and STATE The JUDGMENT of the Learned and Pious St. Augustine concerning PENAL LAWS against CONVENTICLES and for VNITY in RELIGION I Receiv'd a Letter which I believed to be yours He who brought it was a Catholick Christian who I think durst not tell me a Lie but whether it were yours or not I thought it fit to give an Answer You may well think me now more desirous of ease and rest then when you first knew me at Carthage when Rogatus was alive whom you succeeded But the Donatists are too unquiet who ought to be Restrain'd and Corrected by the Powers which are Ordain'd by God We Joy already in the Correction of many who so earnestly Hold and Defend the Catholick Unity and Rejoyce in their Deliverance from former Error that we with great thankfulness admire them who formerly I know not by what force of Custome could by no means be brought to think of a Change for the better till affrighted with the Terrot of the Lawes they set their hearts seriously to the Consideration of the Truth least if they should suffer punishments not for Righteousness but for Stubborness and Foolish Presumption their Patience would be fruitless and vain and they should find afterwards no other Reward from God but the Punishments due to Wickedness because they had Despised his Gentle Admonition and Fatherly Correction and by this Consideration being made Teachable they found the Truth Should I so farr envy their Salvation as to endeavour to take off my Collegues from using this Fatherly Care by which we see so many brought to Accuse their former Blindness These late Enemies of the Church who disturb'd our Peace and Quiet with diverse kinds of Crafts and violent Assaults if We should so farr Contemn and Tolerate as not to Provide and Use some Means to Terrifie and Correct them surely we should Return Evil for Evil For if any Man should see his Enemy made Frantick by a high Feavor striving to run down a Precipice Should he not then rather be Judged to return Evil for Evil if he should willingly suffer him to run on to ruine then if he should take care to bind him fast from running And yet he would then appear to the distemper'd Man most troublesome and most his Enemy when he was most Merciful and kind to save him But certainly when this man had recovered his Health and Wits he would give him the more Thanks because he was as he thought then so severe O that I could shew you how many even of the Plundering Troopers now become very good Christians condemning their former Life and miserable Error whereby they thought whatsoever they did through their Unquiet Rashness was for the Glory of God who had never been brought to this present soundness of Belief unless they had been bound like Mad-men with the Cords of those very Lawes which you find fault with There is another sort of Diseased persons who have not that turbulent boldness but are oppress'd with Sloth and Restiffness who when We perswade them to the Truth say to Us We cannot tell what to answer but it is hard for us to Leave the Trad●tion of our Fathers Are not these to be awakened with fear or smart of Temporal Punishments that so Arising from their Lethargick Sleep they may Awake unto Salvation How many are there amongst us of them who joying now with us accuse their former sloth and confess we did well to molest them thus lest otherwise they should have perished by the Disease of an Old Custome as by a deadly Sleep But these Penalties you say have done some no good What then Is Medicine to be neglected because some Mens Plague is incurable it seems you take no notice of any but those who are so hard that they cannot receive this Discipline of such the Prophet speaks Jer. 2.30 In vain have I smitten your Children they have received no Correction and yet they were Corrected in Love not in Hatred But you ought to consider also the many of whose safety we Rejoyce If these Men were Terrify'd and not Taught it might seem wicked Tyranny Again if they were Taught and not Terrify'd they being hardned by old Custome would be slowly moved to take the Right Way of Salvation Many whom we know when we Manifested to them the Truth by Reason and Scriptures answered us they desired to be received into the Communion of the Church but they feared the displeasure of some of their Party These Mens Infirmities must be borne with a while nor may we forget that of our Saviour John 13.36 Thou canst not follow me now but thou shalt follow me after But when sound Teaching is added to this useful Terror so that the Light of Truth may expel the Darkness of Error and the Force of Fear may break the Bonds of Evil Custome we do Joy as I said in the Salvation of many blessing us and Praising God for making good that his Promise That the Kings of