James at Liege's Life of St. Modoaldus Anscherus's History of the Life and Miracles of St. Angilbert Theofroy or Theofredus's Life of St. Wilbrod Hariulphus's Life of St. Arnulphus with a Relation of the Miracles of St. Riquier and the Life of St. Maldegisilus Bruno of Segni's Lives of Pope Leo IX and of St. Peter of Anagnia Guibert Abbot of Nogent's Life written by himself His Encomium on the Virgin Mary Nicolas a Monk of Soissons's Life of St. Godfrey Aelnothus's History of the Life and Passion of Canutus King of Dnmark Thomas a Monk of Ely's Account of the Life and Translation of St. Etheldrith Guigue's Life of St. Hugh Bishop of Grenoble Geffrey Sirnam'd the Gross's Life of St. Bernard Abbot of Tiron Rodulphus Abbot of St. Trudo's Life of St. Lietbert Ulric Bishop of Constance's Lives of St. Gebehard and St. Conrad Baudry Bishop of Dol's Life of St. Hugh Arch-bishop of Roan and of some others Gualbert a Monk of Machiennes's Two Books of the Miracles of St. Rictrude Pandulphus of Pisa's Life of Pope Gelasius II. Fabricius Tuscus's Life of St. Adelm William of Malmsbury's Life of the same Saint Auctus's Lives of St. Gualbert and Bernard Hubert with the History of the Translation of St. James's Head Odo Abbot of St. Remigius at Rheims's Relation of Miracle wrought by St. Thomas St. Bernard's Life of St. Malachy The Life of St. Bernard written by William Abbot of St. Thierry by Arnold Abbot of Bonneval by Geffrey Abbot of Clairvaux and by Alanus Bishop of Auxerre with other Relations of his Life and Miracles William Abbot of St. Thierry 's History of the Actions of William of Conches Peter the Venerable's Two Books of Miracles Suger Abbot of St. Denis's Life of Lewes the Gross King of France Herman Abbot of St. Martin at Tournay's Three Books of the Miracles of St. Mary at Laon. The Life of St. Otho the Apostle of Pomerania by divers Authors Archard's Life of St. Geselin Hugh Cardinal Bishop of Ostia's Letter about the Death of Pope Eugenius III. Robert Arch-Deacon of Ostrevant's Life of St. Aâ—bert The Life of St. Ludger by a Nameless Anthor Thibaud or Theobald a Monk of St. Peter at Beze's Relation of the Acts and Miracles of St Prudentius Gautier or Gauterius a Canon of Terouanes's History of the Life and Martyrdom of Charles Sirnam'd the Good St. Aelred's Life of St. Edward The Life of Thomas Becket Archbishop of Canterbury by divers Authors with the Letters of the same Prelate Ecbert and Theodoric's Relations of the Life of St. Elizabeth Abbess of Schonaw Hugh a Monk of St. Saviour's Life of Pontius Larazius Philip of Harveng's Lives of divers Saints Nicolas a Canon of Liege's Life of St. Lambert Sibrand's Life of St. Frederick Bertrand's History of the Miracles of Robert Abbot of La Chaise-Dieu Radulphus Tortarius's Book of the Miracles of St. Benedict Gonthier or Gontherius's Life of St. Cyricius and St. Julitia Works of Morality and Piety Philip Sirnam'd the Solitary's Dioptron or the Rule of a Christian Life Bruno of Segni's Moral Discourses attributed to St. Bruno Guibert Abbot of Nogent's Treatise of Virginity Geffrey Abbot of Vendôme's Twelfth Thirteenth Fourteenth and Fifteenth Tracts Honorius of Autun's Treatise of the Philosophy of the World St. Norbert's Discourse Guigue's Meditations with a Treatise of the Comtemplative Life or the Ladder of the Cloister Franco Abbot of Afflighem's Treatise of the Mercy of God and his Letter to certain Nuns Eckard Abbot of Urangen's Letters and Discourses Hugh a Monk of Fleury's Two Books of the Royal Power and the Sacerdotal Dignity Hugh de Foliet a Monk of Corbie's Works Hugh of St. Victor's Soliloquy of the Soul His Encomium of Charity His Discourse on the manner of Praying His Discourse of the Love of the Bride-Groom and the Spouse His Four Books of the Vanity of the World St. Bernard's several Letters His Treatise of Consideration His Tract of the Manners and Functions of Bishops His Treatise of Conversion His Treatise of Injunctions and Dispensations The Commendation of the New Militia His Treatise of the Degrees of Humility His Treatise of the Love of God William Abbot of St. Thierry 's Letter to the Carthusian Monks of Mont-Dieu His Treatise of the Contemplation of God His Tract of the Dignity of Love His Mirrour of Faith His Mystery of Faith His Meditations Arnold Abbot of Bonneval's Treatise of the Words of Jesus Christ upon the Cross. His Treatise of the Principal Works of Jesus Christ. His Treatise of the Six Days Work His Meditations Peter the Venerable Abbot of Clunys's Letters Antonius Melissus a Greek Monk's Collection of the Maxims of the Fathers Potho a Monk of Prom's Five Books of the House of God and a Treatise of Wisdom Sérlo's Treatise of the Lord's Prayer Nicolas a Monk of Clairvaux's Letters Henry of Huntington's Treatise of the Contempt of the World St. Elizabeth Abbess of Schenaw's Visions and Letters St. Aelred's Mirrour of Charity His Treatise of Spiritual Amity Gilbert of Hoiland's Ascetick Treatises and Letters Richard of St. Victor's Treatises of Piety St. Hildegarda's Letters Visions and Answers to certain Questions Philip of Harveng's Moral Discourses on the Book of Canticles His Letters His Treatises on the Vertues and Endowments of Clergy-Men Adamus Scotus's Treatises about Moses's Triple Tabernacle and the Three kinds of Contemplation John of Salisbury's Polycraticon with a Letter by the same Author Peter of Celles's Letters and other Works Geffrey Abbot of Clairvaux's Letters Baldwin Archbishop Canterbury's Sixteen Treatises of Piety and a Tract of the Recommendation of Faith Isaac Abbot of L'Etoile's Treatise of the Mind and the Soul Henry Abbot of Clairvaux's Treatise of the City of God in Exile Peter Abbot of Clairvaux's Letters Garnier of St. Victor's Treatise call'd The Gregorian John a Carthusian Monk of Portes's Letters Stephen de Chaulmet a Carthusian Frier of the same Monastery's Letters Gonthier or Gontherius's Treatise of Fasting and Alms-giving Sermons Guibert Abbot of Nogent's Treatise of Preaching Odo Bishop of Cambray's Discourse concerning the the Sin against the Holy Ghost and the Parable of the Unjust Steward Radulphus Ardens's Sermons Bruno of Segni's CXLV Sermons Guibert Abbot of Nogent's Sermon on the last Verse of the 7th Chapter of the Book of Wisdom Geffrey Abbot of Vendôme's Eleven Sermons Hildebert Bishop of Mans's Two Sermons with his Synodical Discourse Drogo Cardinal Bishop of Ostia's Discourse Hugh of St. Victor's Hundred Sermons Petrus Abaelardus's Sermons Amedeus of Lausanna's Eight Sermons in Commendation of the Virgin Mary St. Bernard's Sermons on the Sundays Festivals and other days of the Year and on divers other Subjects Arnold Abbot of Bonneval's Discourse in Commendation of the Virgin Mary Petrus Sirnam'd the Venerable his Sermon on our Saviour's Tranfiguration Guerric Abbot of Igny's Sermons Germanus Patriarch of Constantinople's Sermons St. Aelred's Sermons Adamuus Scotus's XLVII Sermons Ecbert's Two Sermons Arnulphus Bishop of Lisieux's Sermons on the Annunciation of the Virgin Mary Peter
before If ye are Poor lend your Money upon Interest to God who is Rich. Afterwards he represents the Misery and Pain of Hunger and describes in a most moving manner the Extremity of a Man languishing for want of Food to beget the greater horror of the Cruelty and Barbarity of Covetous Rich Men who suffer their Brethren to die for Hunger when they are able to assist them He observes That in a time of publick Necessity especially we must give considerable Alms and that we must expiate our Sins by Charity to the Poor At last he admonishes the Poor not to throw themselves into Despair but to put their Trust in the Mercy of God who has sometimes plentifully fed the Just after an extraordinary manner He exhorts them to suffer with Patience like Job to consider their Misery as the Trial of their Vertue to give thanks to God to bestow something to the Poor even of their Necessaries assuring them that this is the way to procure the Multiplication of their Loaves as God did formerly Multiply the Cruise of Meal to the Widow of Sarepta To these three Sermons may be joyn'd the Homily wherein he proves That we must not set our Hearts upon the Riches and Pleasures of this World There he shews That the only Care which we ought to be concern'd for is that of our Souls That we ought to rid our Minds of the Love of Riches and give bountifully to the Poor After this he describes a Fire which it was feared might have burnt down the City He conjures those that escaped this great Calamity to relieve those that suffered and exhorts these last to Patience by the Example of Job whose History he explains The 10th Homily is against Anger where First he excites a horror of this Passion by giving a Description of its mischievous Effects and then he shews That we can have no just Excuse for this Passion of Anger by showing that all the Pretences which are alledg'd for it are false The First is an Injury which we may think we have received But St. Basil shews That we ought not to render Injury for Injury and that we must not imitate our Enemy nor follow his Footsteps and Example He adds That whatsoever Outrage has been done to us we need do no more but remember that we are Dust and shall return to Dust to convince us that we have deserved all sorts of Reproaches and Disgraces That by showing Meekness we revenge our selves of our Enemies that we acquire the Glory of being Mild and Patient and that Silence upon this Occasion deserves the Rewards of Heaven Reproaches are another Cause of Anger But St. Basil shows That even this is ill-grounded because these Reproaches are either True or False if they are True we are to blame if we trouble our selves for them if they are false our Anger for them gives Cause to suspect that they are true But he call'd me Poor says one If that be true says St. Basil bear with it if it be false What does it concern you 'T is no shame to be Poor for you came naked into the VVorld and Jesus Christ being Rich would appear Poor in it He treated me as a Fool and an Ignorant Fellow will another say Yet many more reproachful VVords were spoken of Jesus Christ. But yet How can we forbear being angry when we are abus'd and buffetted when we are beaten and torn in pieces VVill others say Jesus Christ did also suffer more than all this answers St. Basil. Lastly St. Basil prescribes Rules to avoid Anger as not to think more highly of our selves than others to hearken with a Philosophical Temper to the Discourses of a Man that is truly angry with Sin with the Devil with Error with the Enemies of God to practise Humility and consider the Miseries of Men. He concludes with some New Reasons to dissuade Men from Anger The 11th Homily is against Envy In the First Part he reckons up the Reasons which may inspire a Man with hatred of this Vice He says That 't is a Vice proper to the Devil which gnaws and consumes him in whom it is found tho' he receives no Profit by it and which is always accompanied with Melancholy and Vexation of Spirit and that an Envious Man is the unhappiest Man in the VVorld Lastly He describes all the troublesome Consequences and miserable Effects of Envy and he says That the best way to Cure this Vice is to have no great Esteem of the things of this VVorld to despise its perishable Goods and to place all our Happiness in the Hope of a Future Life to believe that nothing but Vertue is a solid and true Good and to desire nothing else The 14th Homily is against Drunkenness It was compos'd upon the occasion of a Disorder which happen'd upon Easter-Eve Probably there had been at that time some profane Recreations the Men and VVomen without any Reverence for the Vigils of so Holy a Festival had made Feasts and the VVomen had assembled and were come to Dance and Sing even to places where the Bodies of the Martyrs were kept St. Basil having seen this Disorder was sensibly touched as he says of himself at the beginning of his Discourse That after so many Exhortations after seven Weeks Fasting after being present so many times at the Service of the Church and the Sermons during the time of Lent they had destroy'd in one Day the Fruit of all his Labours He says That he knew not whether he should hold his Peace or whether he should speak That he should have held his Peace but that he fear'd the Chastisement of Jeremy for having refus'd to Preach to an Unbelieving and Rebellious People That Drunkenness was the source of this Disorder and that he must now Preach against this Vice This is in Effect the Subject of this Homily wherein he possesses Men's Minds with a great horror of this Crime and describes the pernicious Effects of it Towards the end of it he returns to the excesses of the preceding Day He cries out against their Songs and Dances against their immoderate Laughter against their Apparel which was neither Honest nor Modest and he exhorts those of his Hearers who had been of this Company to Cure themselves of Drunkenness by Fasting to sing Psalms instead of the merry Songs which they had sung to turn their Laughter into Mourning and their Dancing into Kneeling and in short to leave off their Sumptuous and Magnificent Apparel and to put on that which is more agreeable to Modesty and Christian Humility The 22d Homily is of Humility He begins it with observing That Man lost his Dignity by the Sin of Adam and that he cannot recover it but by Humility That the Devil uses all his Endeavours to destroy this Vertue and to deprive us of it by possessing us with a great Esteem of Riches of Honours and the Advantages of Body and Mind But he shews That a Man ought not to Glory
than Sermons S. Chrysostom does not inlarge so much upon Moral Topicks as to give the sence and understanding of the Text. He follows the Version of the LXX but he often hath recourse to the differences of the Ancient Greek Versions and quotes even the Hebrew Text in some places to clear difficulties There are some Psalms upon which we have no Homilies of S. Chrysostom as the first and second but there are upon the third and following to the 13th upon the 41st and 43d and so on the 117th and from the 119th to the last which make in all sixty Homilies which certainly are S. Chrysostom's To these may be added the Homily upon the thirteenth Psalm and two others upon the fiftieth which have likewise S. Chrysostom's Style Those upon the 51st 95th and 100th are more doubtfull yet I see no reason that we should reject them It is not so of the Commentaries upon the 101st Psalm and upon the six that follow which are Theodoret's The Commentary upon the 119th belongs to some modern Greek that speaks against the Iconoclasts and takes out of Theodoret's Commenâ—aries part of what he writes There are also four Sermons upon particular passages of the Psalms but they must not be joined to the rest because they are not Explications of the Text of the Psalms but Sermons upon distinct Subjects These are a Discourse upon these words of the 44th Psalm The Queen standeth at thy right hand preached in Constantinople some Days after Eutropius his Disgrace who had retired into the Church but was gone out again He speaks in his Preface of the Advantage of reading the Holy Scripture He describes afterwards how the Church was beset when Eutropius had taken Sanctuary there He relates what he had done to help him and with what sincerity he had spoken without fearing the Threatnings uttered against him He observes that he was taken by his own fault for the Church had not forsaken him but he had quitted it But yet it was no wonder that he reaped no greater benefit from that Sanctuary because he entred not into it with a Christian heart That when any Man flies into the Church to take sanctuary there he ought to go in with his Mind as well as with his Body because the Church is not made up of Walls but of an Holy Union among the Members of Jesus Christ. Upon occasion of this Eunuch's Disgrace he shews how little Solidity there is in the goods of this World and draws a fine Picture of the Instability of Riches and then concludes with an excellent Description of the Church Nothing says he to his Auditors is stronger than the Church Let it be your Hope your Haven and Refuge It is higher than the Heavens of a larger extent than the Earth She never waxeth old but still retaineth her strength and vigour for this cause the Scripture calleth her a Mountain to shew her stability a Virgin because she cannot be corrupted a Queen because of her Magnificence and Splendour and it gives her the Name of Daughter by reason of her Union with God c. Both the Sermons upon these words of the 48th Psalm Be not thou afraid when one is made rich were likewise preached in Constantinople In them he recommends Alms-deeds and Hospitality and he toucheth upon the Necessity of being present at Divine Service The Homily on these words of the 145th Psalm My Soul bless thou the Lord is a Sermon for the Holy Week called then the great Week The reason of that Name S. Chrysostom gives in the beginning of his Discourse which is this This Week says he is called the great Week because Jesus Christ wrought great Mysteries at this Time He delivered Man from the Tyranny of the Devil he overcame Death bound the strong armed Man blotted out Sin But as this Week is the great Week because it is the first of Weeks for the same reason Saturday is called the great Day and for this cause many of the faithfull do upon this Day double their Exercises some fast with greater Austerity others watch continually others bestow much on the poor some apply themselves with greater Zeal to the Practice of good Works and by their Piety bear witness to the Mercy of God Emperours themselves honour this Week they grant a Vacation to all Magistrates that so being freed from worldly Care they may spend these Days in the Worship of God They give honour also to this Day by sending Letters every where to command the Prison doors to be opened Let us also have regard to these Days and instead of Palm-branches let us offer him our Hearts Then he explains the Psalm My Soul praise thou the Lord. The royal Prophet says he cries out Praise the Lord O my Soul why does he direct his Discourse to the Soul to teach us that the Soul should apply her self to the words that are uttered For if he that prayeth doth not understand his own words how would he have God to give ear to him God often doth not grant our Petitions but that is for our good he deferrs some time not to deceive us with vain hopes but to make us more zealous and diligent for the fervency of Prayer 〈◊〉 ceaseth when we have what we desired so that to keep up our Devotion God is pleased to with-hold his Gifts He observes in this Sermon that the Righteous after Death live with us pray with us and are amongst us c. S. Chrysostom writ a Commentary upon Isaiah but we have only part of it from the beginning to the eleventh Verse of the eighth Chapter Both the historical and spiritual Sence is set forth with much solidity and clearness There are also five Homilies of his upon these words of Isaiah ch 6. I saw the Lord â—pon an high Throne and one concerning the Seraphim spoken of in the same place they are moral 〈◊〉 upon various Subjects and especially of the reverence due to sacred things and of the dignity of the Priesthood there is a very remarkable passage concerning the Ecclesiastical and the Civil Power Uzziah saith he went himself into the Holy of Holies to offer Incense 〈◊〉 being King he would usurp the Priesthood I will said he burn Incense for I am worthy to do it Oye Princes keep within the Limits of your own Power The bounds of Ecclesiaâ—tical power differ from those of secular Government The King rules over earthly things the Churches Jurisdiction relates to heavenly goods God hath committed to Kings the things of the Earth and to me those of Heaven when I say to me I mean to Priests So that though a Priest prove unworthy of his Office yet for all that you ought not to despise the dignity of the Priesthood God hath made the Body subject to Kings and the Soul to Priests The King pardons corporal Offences but the Priest remits Sins The one compels the other exhorts the one imposes a law the other gives counsel one uses spiritual
these words of S. Paul There must be Heresies He commends the Old Agapae or Feasts of Charity The Twenty-third is of Alms-deeds and the care which Men ought to have of such as are in want This should be placed among the Sermons of Morality The Twenty-fourth is upon these words 2 Cor. c. 4. Having the same Spirit of Faith c. He gives great Praises to Virginity and to a Monastick life which he describes in these words Doe you not take notice of those Monks who live privately and dwell upon the tops of Mountains What Austerities and Mortifications doe they not practise They are covered with Ashes cloathed with Sackcloth loaden with Chains and Irons shut up in little Cells struggling continually with Hunger they spend their time in Watchings to blot out part of their Sins He observes also that though Virginity is a super-natural Gift yet it is unprofitable if it be not accompanied with Charity and Meekness The Twenty-fifth is upon the same Text he opposes the Manichees and exhorts them to give Alms. The Twenty-sixth upon the same words presses the Duty of Alms-giving The Twenty-seventh is upon these words 2 Cor. Bear a little with my folly He lays down Rules very judicious both at what time and upon what occasions a Man may commend himself The Twenty-eighth reproves them who abuse what S. Paul saith Phil. c. 1. v. 18. What matters it how Christ is preached His Discourse is about Prayer and Humility In the Twenty-ninth he treats of the Marriage of Christians and of the Duties of those that are Married The Thirtieth is upon these words 1 Thess. c. 4. v. 13. But I would not have you to be ignorant Brethren concerning them which are asleep that ye sorrow not even as others which have no hope He discourses of the way how Christians should bear with the Death of Relations and confirms what he says by the Examples of Job and of Isaac The Thirty-first is concerning the Duty of Widows on these words 1 Tim. c. 5. v. 9. Let not a Widow be chosen of less than Sixty years He there discourses of Children's Education The following Sermons have less relation to Texts of Scripture being for the most part upon solemn festival-Festival-days The Thirty-second is about Judas's Treason where he speaks of the necessary Dispositions to communicate worthily The Thirty-third concerns the Festival of Christmas which was celebrated for Ten years before in the East upon the 25th of December as it had been before at Rome S. Chrysostom proves by several reasons that this was exactly the day of Jesus Christ's Nativity The Thirty-fourth and Thirty-fifth are upon the Passion of Jesus Christ In the latter he speaks of forgiving Enemies upon occasion of the good Thief The Thirty-sixth is upon the Resurrection from the Dead The Thirty-seventh is a Sermon upon the Resurrection of Jesus Christ preached upon Easter-day The Thirty-eighth upon the Ascension was preached in a Church of Martyrs The Thirty-ninth and Fortieth Sermons are upon Whit-sunday In the former he answers that curious Question Why Miracles are not wrought now as they were in the time of the Apostles The Forty-first is of the Dignity of the Eucharist and the respect we ought to shew to the holy Mysteries This discourse seems to me to be neither of the Style nor the Order of S. Chrysostom The Seven following Sermons being Panegyricks upon S. Paul were translated by Anianus who lived in Athalaricus his time The Forty-ninth is of Meekness The Fiftieth upon the Conversion of S. Paul was preached at Antioch after that upon the Title of the Acts. The Fifty-first is upon the Inscription in the Temple of Athens To the unknown God spoken of Acts c. 17. v. 17. The Fifty-second is upon the beginning of the First Epistle to the Corinthians Paul called an Apostle c. The Fifty-third shews the Profitableness of Reading the holy Scripture It is dedicated to persons newly baptized there he extolls the Quality of an Apostle It is one of the Four upon the beginning of the Acts preached at Antioch before Flavianus The Fifty-fourth of Christ's Prayers and Qualities is the First Sermon upon the Incarnation The Fifty-fifth is against those that Fast at Easter The Fifty-sixth against such as observe the Jewish Fasts In the Fifty-seventh he speaks of Alms-deeds upon occasion of the Hospitality practised towards the Prophet Elijah who was reliev'd by the Widow of Sarepta The Fifty-eighth of the Pleasures of the Life to come and of the Vanity of this World's goods The Fifty-ninth is against those that despair when they receive not what they ask of God or who petition for unjust things he there occasionally speaks of the Duty of Husbands towards their Wives In the Sixtieth he compares Riches with Poverty treats of the manner how Sinners are to be reproved and blames those who call upon God against their Enemies The Sixty-first begins with an Exclamation against those that communicate unworthily He shews that a Preacher is not to preach God's Word with complaisance but to reprove Vice with fervency because this is profitable for Sinners to make them know and confess their Sins The Sixty-second concerns Martyrs there he proves That the best way of honouring Martyrs is to imitate their Vertues The Sixty-third is against those who teach That Daemons govern the affairs of this World and against such as doe not endure with patience the Chastenings of God and lastly against those who are scandalized at the prosperity of the Wicked and the misfortune of the Righteous In the Sixty-fourth he treats of S. Paul's action in resisting S. Peter and endeavours to prove that both did it by agreement for the instruction of the Faithfull The Sixty-fifth is a Discourse or rather a Treatise against Jews and Gentiles to prove the Divinity of Jesus Christ. The Sixty-sixth is another Treatise against those who were offended because of the mischiefs that happened to the City and the persecution of the Priests and of the Faithfull It is an excellent Explanation of that hard Question Why there is so much evil in the World if the Providence of God governs it Both these Pieces should be put among S. Chrysostom's Treatises The Sixty-seventh is an Homily concerning the Two Paralyticks of the Gospel There he proves the Divinity of the Son of God The Preface to the Sixty-seventh is about the Use that Men are to make of Sermons preached in the Church He gives a reason why the Acts of the Apostles are read in the Church at Whitsuntide Lastly he shews that the Miracles of the Apostles proved the Certainty of Christ's Resurrection and rendred it more famous This Sermon follows that which he made upon the Title of the Acts. In the Sixty-eighth having reproved those who complained that his Sermons were either too long or too short he gives a reason of altering S. Paul's Name and that of Abraham and of the Signification of that of Adam The Sixty-ninth Sermon was preached at
because he speaks of himself as Bishop of Rome for tho' indeed some say that S. Leo made use of S. Prosper yet I shall never be persuaded that so Eloquent a Pope as S. Leo was hath Craved the Pen of another and Preached to his People the Sermons that another made M. Anthelmi must pardon me if I preferr M. Faber's Judgment before his and if without relying upon the Authority of that MS. we acknowledge the first Sermon to be S. Leo's But why doth it bear S. Prosper's Name in that Ancient MS Do we not know that there is a great confusion in the most Ancient MSS. about the Titles of Sermons and that often they are very faulty Witness the Two Ancient MSS. a Thousand Years old of which F. Mabillon speaks in the Preface to S. Maximus's Homilies Mus. Ital. T. 1. P. 4. where the Homilies of S. Maximus bear the Name of S. Austin We need not then wonder if a Sermon of S. Leo's carries the Name of S. Prosper in a MS. of 900 Years old And yet this doth not prove that it is this Fathers nor that he hath put it under his own Name because it was known even then that S. Prosper made S. Leo's Sermons or that it was Copied out of a Manuscript wherein the Sermons of S. Leo were attributed to S. Prosper M. Abbot Anthelmi owns That in the time of S. Prosper the Sermons which were made for S. Leo did bear the Name of that Pope Why then was the Name of S. Prosper affixed to them Three Hundred Years after Whence did he that wrote the Manuscript learn that they were S. Prosper's Why had not all his other Sermons the same luck What necessity is there for amending all other Manuscripts by this wherein there are no more than Three of S. Leo's Sermons The Transcriber might easily mistake he might Copy the first Sermon from a Manuscript which had been S. Prosper's or written by S. Prosper and take the Name of him that wrote the Manuscript or the Person 's whose it was for the Name of the Author He might find this Sermon at the end of S. Prosper's Works and so attribute it of his own head to S. Prosper However that he it often happens that we find in the most Ancient Manuscripts the Sermons of S. Maximus and S. Caesarius under the Name of S. Austin and Ambrose which in our time have been restored to their true Authors upon the account of the mere agreement of Stile with the other Sermons of S. Maximus and Caesarius and without the Authority of any Manuscript And why may we not do the same to the Sermon of S. Leo A Negative Argument taken from the silence of Gennadius Gelasius and Anastasius is of little consequence Gennadius often passes over in silence many excellent pieces of those Authors of whom he speaks Gelasius had no design to speak of his Sermons and Anastasius never uses to mention the Writings of Popes We must then leave S. Leo in possession of his Sermons The Four First are Discourses upon his own Promotion to the See of the Roman Church The First was Preached according to some a Year after according to others on the Day of his Ordination but it is more probable that it was on the Octave after it for he speaks of his Election as lately past and of some time that came between and yet he signifies that he did not Preach it upon the same Day that he was Ordained but recurrente per suum ordinem Die quo 〈◊〉 â—…s Epistoâ—… officiâ—… 〈◊〉 â—…re principiuâ—… The same Day â—…ing in its course on which the Lord was pleased to give a beginning to my Episcopal Charge which agrees very well to the â—…e He gives God thanks in this Sermon for the favours which he hath received of 〈◊〉 and more especially That he had permitted him to return again to Rome after a long absence to Govern that Church He declares to his People the grateful sense he had of their good-will to him in chusing him their Bishop beyond his desert He desires them to help him by their Prayers that he may govern the Church in Peace He assures them That he will always have that Day in great Honour in which he was advanced to his See because altho he ought to tremble by reason of his unworthiness yet 〈◊〉 was obliged to rejoyce in the favour which God had shewn him hoping that he who hath permitted him to be put into a Charge of so great Weight will help him to undergo it and give him strength that he may not â—…t under the Burden of that Dignity Lastly He testifies the Joy that he hath to see the Bishops his Brethren assembled and makes them to hope that S. Peter is with them and that he governs that Church in the Person of his Successor In the Second Discourse Preached a Year after his Ordination he says That tho' all Bishops ought to give God the Honour of their Ministry yet he had greater reason than any Body else to Attribute it wholly to the Divine Mercy when he considers on the one hand his own Weakness and on the other the Excellency of his Ministry That the very thoughts of it made him tremble because nothing is more to be feared than Labour by the Weak gâ—… Dignity by Mean Persons and an Office by Men of no desert Labor fragili sublimitâ—…â—â—â—mist digâ—… non â—…l That nevertheless he doth not despair nor is faint-hearted because he puts his Trust in him who works in and by Man That the Psalm which they are about to sing is very proper to humble 〈◊〉 Bishop and to give all the Glory to Jesus Christ that it speaks of Melchisedeck an Eternal Priest whose Parents are not known which is a Type of the New Law and the practice of the Church which bestows not the Priesthood upon Persons of Quality or of a particular Family nor by Succession but chuses such Men as the Holy Spirit hath fitted for it insomuch that it is not the Prerogative of Birth that qualifies for the Sacerdotal Unction but 't is the Heavenly Grace that makes Bishops That the Church is still governed by Jesus Christ who hath given to S. Peter the Apostolick Power That that Apostle never forsakes his Church but continues to be the Foundation of it that his Authority and Power still lives in his Successors and that it is to him that that little good which he doth in his Charge is to be attributed That it is S. Peter also that he ought to Extol upon that Day that it is the Feast of that Apostle That the Bishops his Brethren were assembled not so much to Honour him as S. Peter who is not only Bishop of the Roman Church but the Head of all the Churches in the World Upon this Account he Exhorts the Christians of the Church of Rome to excel the Christians of all other Churches in the World in Vertue In the Third Discourse upon the same
S. Eucherius cannot be his because the Author himself tells us upon Chap. xxii of the Third Book of Kings that he lived under the Popedom of S. Gregory at the Time when he sent S. Austin and S. Paulinus into England He also quotes Cassiodorus and copies out often the Comments of S. Gregory which evidently prove that these Books do carry a False Name The History of the Sufferings of S. Mauritius and the other Thebaean Martyrs related by Surius on the 22d of Septemb. and printed by it self at Ingolstadt in 1617. by the Care of P. Steward is not the Style of our S. Eucherius It may better be accounted another S. Eucherius's who was present at the Fourth Council of Arles in 524 and at the Second Council of Orange in 529. for he of whom we now speak was dead in 454. as is noted in Prosper's Chronicon We have neither his Abridgment of Cassian nor some other Works concerning a Monastick Life which Gennadius makes mention of As to the Homilies of which S. Mamertus speaks some think that some of those which bear the Name of Eusebius Emesenus are his which it may not be amiss to examine in this Place We have often spoke of them already but did not throughly determine it because we had not throughly examin'd it but it is a convenient Time to do it We find at the first Sight 145 of them upon all the Sundays and Holydays in the Year which all the Manuscripts of Monte-Cassino and the Vatican restore to * Vulgo Bruno Astensis Bruno Bishop of Signi The Agreement of the Style of these Homilies with the other Treatises of that Author leave no place to doubt but that they are really his Thus we see already the great Number of Sermons attributed to S. Eucherius much lessen'd The others are certainly as I have already observed some one or several French Authors There are some of the Sermons as that of Maximus Regensis that cannot be composed but by a Person who lived in the Time when the Monastery of Lerins flourish'd We find in the Life of S. Hilary written by Honoratus Bishop of Marseille That there was at that Time a Bishop of France called Eusebius who made a great many Sermons This is confirmed by the Verses of Helman Scholar of Rabanus who reckons Caesarius and Eusebius among the famous Bishops of France All these Homilies therefore might well be attributed to him but this cannot be because we find some made by Caesarius others by Maximus Bishop of Ries and lastly by Faustus Regensis which proves that 't is a Collection of Sermons compiled by the Clergy of the Monastery of Lerins which bear perhaps the Name of Eusebius because these Monks had a Custom of Concealing themselves under an Appeliative Name so that the Sermons of Eusebius seem to import nothing else than the Sermons of a Pious Person Perhaps this Title was given to these Sermons because the Author was not known or because those who composed them would not name them otherwise according to the Custom of Lerins For this Reason it is that Vincentius of Lerins took the Name of Peregrinus in his Commentary Salvian of Timotheus and it may be 't is for the same Reason that the Life of S. Hilary Bishop of Arles composed by Honoratus bears the Name of Reverend There are also some of these Sermons made by Caesarius Bishop of Arles who penn'd a vast number of Sermons and sent them every way to the Bishops that they might have them preached in their Churches Salvian also composed some for the Bishops insomuch that the great Number of Sermon-makers who lived at that Time have bred much Confusion among their Sermons which are almost all alike which hath been much increased by the Copyers Nevertheless let us pass our Conjectures upon them It is certain that the Panegyrick of S. Maximus belongs to Faustus Regensis to whom it is attributed by Dinamius who composed the Life of this Holy Abbot In it he marks That the Monastery of Lerins had yielded two Bishops to the City of Ries The First was Maximus who was an Honour to it but of the Second it ought to be ashamed It is plain That it is Faustus who speaks so thro' Humility It is also evident That the Sermon upon the Death of Honoratus was Preached at Lerins before the Monks of that Monastery which makes it Credible that it was also Faustus's Now these Sermons being in the same Stile with the foregoing we esteem them to be the same Authors viz. The 1st and 2d Homily upon the Nativity the 1st upon Epiphany the 2d 6th 8th 9th 10th and 11th upon the Feast of Easter that upon the good Thief the 2d about the Ascension the Panegyricks of S. Elphodius S. Alexander S. Genesius S. Romanus and all the Sermons Published lately under the Name of Eusebius some of which bear the Name of Faustinus Among the Sermons of S. Caesarius Bishop of Arles the 5th 6th 9th and 10th Sermons to the Monks and an Exhortation to the People are really his We also Attribute to him the 2d 3d and 4th Homilies upon Epiphany the 1st upon Lent the 2d upon the Creed the 1st 3d and 7th upon Easter the 1st upon Ascension that of Pentecost the Two Homilies upon S. John S. Peter and S. Paul that upon the Maccabees the Discourse upon the Trinity Two Sermons upon S. Matthew All the Discourses to the Monks seem to be the same Authors so that if there be any of Caesarius Bishop of Arles they are all his perhaps they are Maximus's or Faustus's for their Works are confounded To these we must add the Sermon to the Penitents and the Five subsequent which are very like Caesarius's The Fourth Sermon upon Easter is Maximus Regensis's and it may be there are some other Sermons his The first Sermon upon the Creed is likely to be Hilary's Bishop of Arles who made a Discourse upon that subject as we understand by Honoratus But indeed it is not worthy of him The Sermon of S. Blandinus was made by some Bishop of Lyons probably Eucherius 't is his Stile The Homily upon Easter bears the Name of Isidore in a Manuscript of the Abby of S. Germans Indeed it is a Modern composure for it treats of the Eucharist S. Thomas hath taken out of it the subject of his Prose The Homily upon the Litanies agrees exceeding well to S. Mamertus Author of the rogation-Rogation-Days The Sermon upon the Repentance of the Ninevites seems to be the same Authors The Sermon upon S. Stephen is altogether unlike to the other it is probable that it is a Translation of some Greek Sermon but that is not certain These are my Conjectures upon the Sermons Published under the Name of Eusebius I confess they are not absolutely certain but there is so great disorder and confusion among these Sermons in the Manuscripts and the Authors did follow the Copies and imitate them so ordinarily at that time that it
Faith cited by S. Cyril and in the Council of Ephesus A Fragment of his Letter to Eupsychius cited by Theodoret. His Letter to Calliopius recited by Socrates in his History Lib. 7. Chap. 25. The Answers of this Bishop in favour of the Novatians recited by Socrater WORKS lâ—st Several Sermons and some Letters A Treatise of Faith and Virginity dedicated to the Princesses the Daughters of Arcadius TICHONIUS His Genuine WORKS which we have His Books of the VII Rules for the Explication of Holy Scripture His WORKS lost Three Books of the Intestine War A Narration of divers Causes A Treatise upon the Apocalypse LEPORIUS His Genuine WORKS which we have His Book of Râ—â—ractations S. ISIDORE the Paluâ—iote His Genuine WORKS c. Two Thousand and 12 Letters upon different Subjects JOANNES CASSIANUS His Genuine WORKS c. His Institutions of Monks in 12 Books His 24 Collations or Conferences Seven Books about the Incarnation S. NILUS His Genuine WORKS c. A Treatise of the Monastick Life A Treatise entituled Peristeria dedicated to the Monk Agathius A Discourse of Voluntary Poverty dedicated to Magna the Deaconness A Moral Discourse A Comparison between the Life of the Anchorites and other Monks Two Treatises to Eulogius A Treatise of the eight Vices published by F. Combefis A Discourse of Evil Thoughts His Sentences A Sermon upon these words of the Gospel But he that now hath a Scrip let him take it Some Fragments of two Sermons upon the Feast of Eâ—ster and of three upon Whitsuntide received by Photius God 276. Seven Narrations of the Persecutions of the Monks of Sinai A Discourse in praise of Albinianus Several Letters WORKS lost A Treatise of Compunction A Commentary upon the Psalms Several Sentences and some Letters Supposititious WORKS The Manuel of Epictetus Pachon A Dogmatical Discourse Several Sentences The Author of the Professions of Faith attributed to RUFFINUS WORKS extant Two Confessions of Faith the one published by F. Sirmondus the other by F. Garner POSSIDIUS the Deacon His Genuine WORK The Life of S. Austin URANIUS His Genuine WORK The Life of S. Paulinus S. CAELESTINE Pope His Genuine WORKS A Letter against the Pelagians Aphorisms of Grace composed by his Order A Letter to the Bishops of the Provinces of Vienna and Narbon A Letter to the Bishops of Apulia and Calabria Letters concerning the Affair of Nestorius S. CYRIL Bishop of Alexandria His Genuine WORKS 17 Books of the Worship of God in Spirit and Truth A Book against the Emperor Julian in 10 Parts Glaphyra or a Curious and Elegant Commentary upon the Pentateuch A Commentary upon Isaiah A Commentary upon the Twelve Minor Prophets A Commentary on S. John's Gospel divided into Twelve Books We have only some Fragments of the Seventh and Eighth A Treatise called Thesaurus Seven Dialogues of the Trinity and Two on the Incarnation A Discourse of the Orthodox Faith to Theodosius the Emperor A Writing to the Empresses Five Books against Nestorius His Twelve Chapters and their Defence His Apology to Theodosius His Letters and Sermons against Nestorius A Treatise against the Anthropomorphites His Paschal Homilies and other Sermons Several Letters His Answers to the Questions of certain Monks WORKS lost His Commentaries upon the Prophets Jeremiah Ezekiel and Daniel A Commentary on S. Matthew A Treatise about the failure of the Synagogue A Book of Faith Divers Treatises Suppositious WORKS A Treatise about the Trinity A Collection of Moral Explications MARIUS MERCATOR His Genuine WORKS His first Memoir against the Pelagians His second Memoir against the same Hereticks Observations on the Writings of Julian A Book against Nestorius to prove the Conformity of his Doctrine with P. Samosatenus's A Treatise against Nestorius's 12 Chapters A Translation and Collection of several Pieces WORKS lost A Treatise against the Pelagians mentioned by S. Austin ANIANUS A Genuine WORK A Translation of 15 or 16 of S. Chrysostom's Homilies JULIANUS His Genuine WORKS A Fragment of a Letter to Pope Zosimus recited by Marius Mercator A Profession of Faith to Pope Zosimus Another Confession of Faith to Rufinus Bishop of Thessalonica The first of his four Books to Turbantius against the first Books of S. Austin of Marriage and Concupiscence Some Fragments of the three other Books Eight other Books against the second Book of the same Work the first five of which are in S. Austin's imperfect Work A Fragment of the three other Books in Bede WORKS lost Some that he composed before he declared himself against S. Austin A Letter to Pope Zosimus His three last Books to Turbantius His three last to Florus A Treatise of Love A Commentary upon the Canticles A Book concerning Constancy NESTORIUS His Genuine WORKS A Sentence taken out of his first Sermon preached at Constantinople quoted by Socrates Fragments of his Sermons Two Letters to S. Cyril Two Letters to S. Caelestine A Letter to Alexander Bishop of Hierapolis The 12 Chapters of Nestorius contrary to S. Cyril's A Letter to John Bishop of Antioch A Declaration of his Opinions A Letter to the Emperor A Letter to the Emperor's Eunuch Another to the Praefectus-Praeterio Some Fragments of Letters written in his Exile recited by Evagrius l. 1. c. 7. WORKS lost Some Sermons preached at Antioch His entire Sermons preached at Constantinople JOHN Bishop of Antioch His Genuine WORKS c. Some Letters in Greek and Latin in the Acts of the Council at Ephesus and 15 in Latin in the Collection of F. Lupus One of his Homilies in the Acts of the Council of Ephesus ACACIUS Bishop of Beraea His Genuine WORKS c. A Letter in Greek and Latin in the Acts of the Council of Ephesus Two Letters in Lupus's Collection PAULUS Bishop of Emesa His Genuine WORKS c. Two Homilies about the Peace between the Eastern and Egyptian Bishops A Letter in Latin MELETIUS Bishop of Mopsuesta His Genuine WORKS c. Eleven Letters in F. Lupus's Collection DOROTHEUS Bishop of Martianople His Genuine WORKS c. Four Letters Ibid. ALEXANDER Bishop of Hierapolis His Genuine WORKS c. 24 Letters Ibid. EUTHERIUS Bishop of Tyana His Genuine WORKS A Work entituled The Tragedy Several Letters in Lupus's Collection THEODOTUS Bishop of Ancyra His Genuine WORKS Two Sermons upon Christs Nativity A Sermon preached upon S. John's Day A Discourse upon the Nicene Creed WORKS lost Six Books against Nestorius dedicated to Lausus A Sermon upon candlemass-Candlemass-Day A Sermon upon Elias and the Widow Another upon S. Peter and S. John Another upon the lame Man laid at the Gate of the Temple Another upon the Servant that received the Talent Another upon the two blind Men. A Sermon upon the Virgin and S. Simeon ACACIUS Bishop of Meletina His Genuine WORKS An Homily and a Letter MEMNON A Letter RHEGINUS A Discourse in the Council of Ephesus MAXIMIAN A Letter to S. Cyril ALIPIUS and CARISIUS Two Petitions in the Acts of the Council of Ephesus S. SIXTUS III. His Genuine WORKS c. Two
remain'd he concludes that he goes to Rome for the removal of it To those Treatises of Ratherius are annex'd several Sermons The first and most considerable is a large Instruction upon Lent He therein blames those who did not observe it according to the Canon either fasting only one part of that Holy time or else breaking out into Excess or lastly breaking the Fast on Holy Thursday and Saturday He takes notice that in his time they fasted in Lent only till Noon That on Holy Saturday Mass was not Celebrated among the Latins till about Night and that they fasted that day till Mass was over But that in the Greek Church they began the Solemnity of Easter at Nine of the Clock in the Morning that their Lent was longer After this he recommends Prayer Alms-giving and Repentance and shews with what mind and after what manner they ought to put these into Practice Lastly to these Instructions he adds a Dissertation against the Error of the Anthropomorphites into which he perceiv'd several of his Priests were fallen out of Ignorance not being capable of imagining a God unless he had a Body By several Arguments he Demonstrates that God is a pure Spirit He likewise refutes a foolish and superstitious Opinion that St. Michael Sang Mass in Heaven every Monday He concludes with Exhorting his Clergy to live regularly The Persons whose Errors he had declar'd against in this Sermon accus'd him either out of Malice or Ignorance of having deny'd that JESUS CHRIST had a Body and of having condemn'd the Devotion of those who went every Monday to hear Mass in the Church of St. Michael so that he was oblig'd to explain himself by declaring that he never said that JESUS CHRIST that is the incarnate Wisdom had not Eyes Hands or a Body but only that the Divine Substance had none and that he never said that it was ill done in going to the Church of St. Michael to hear Mass but that he had said and would maintain that it was a great piece of Folly to assert that St. Michael Sang Mass and Superstition to believe that it was better to go to St. Michael's Church on Mondays and Pray to him on that Day than on any other day of the Week The Second Discourse upon Lent is a Moral Exhortation to refrain from Vice There are besides four Sermons on easter-Easter-day and three on the Ascension which likewise contain very useful Instructions of Morality taken for the most part out of the Holy Scriptures and the Fathers These are all the Works of Ratherius which are extant in the Second Tome of the Spicilegium There is still in the Twelfth Tome a Letter of the same Author upon the Eucharist He wrote it to a Bishop who having met him in a Convocation of Bishops held by Conrad had ask'd him whether he had Sung Mass that Week or no He complains that this Question was propos'd to him rather to try him than out of Charity and answers him that perhaps it were to be wish'd that neither of them had Celebrated it on Christmas-day declaring withal that he had no good Opinion of him He leaves the World to judge which of the two who receiv'd the Eucharist unworthily is most in danger of his Salvation whether he who receiv'd it seldom or be who receiv'd it often He adds that were they to read the Homilies of St. Chrysostom on the Epistle to the Hebrews perhaps the One would abstain altogether from Celebrating and the Other from doing it every day From this point of Morality Ratherius passes to another of Doctrine and ask's him to whom he writ whether he understands figuratively these words which are spoken in giving the Sacrament The Body of JESUS CHRIST preserve thee to Everlasting Life He tells him that if he understood them in that Sense he was miserably blind and assures him that he ought to believe that as in the Marriage of Cana in Galilee the Change of the Water into Wine was Real and not Figurative so the Wine is by the Priest's But by this Bishop's and Monsieut Du Pin's leave this parallel will not hold good nor is it a sound Argument to prove Transubstantiation The Fallacy of it is apparent For the change of Water into Wine at the Marriage of Cana in Galilee was reckon'd a Miracle and such as only a God could do But the change of Bread and Wine into the real Body and Blood of Christ by a words speaking of the Priest is more Miraculous and shews the Priest to be endowed with a greater Power than our Saviour himself had which I presume no Romanist if he be in his Senses will be so bold or so blasphemous as to assert And as for â—his other Argument to elude the Evidence of our Senses 't is altogether as vain unless it can be proved that we ought to believe things which contradict our Sense and Reason as well as those which are above them The One we grant the Other we deny The Mystery of the Incarnation of the Blessed Trinity in Unity and the like are above our Sense and Reason but contradict neither But the Mystery of the Transubstantiation is not only above but contradicts the joynt Testimony of our Senses and Reason at once So that I leave the World to judge which of the two Opinions is most Orthodox whether Ours which says that Christians do by Faith receive very Christ in the receiving the Elements of Bread and Wine which remain still the same or Theirs which says that the Bread and Wine are chang'd into the real Body and Blood of Christ by a Mystical Transubstantiation Benediction made the real Blood of JESUS CHRIST and the Bread the real Flesh and not only in a Figure That if the Tast and the Colour seem to suggest the contrary yet we are not to stick here and that as the Mud whereof Man was form'd chang'd its Figure tho' the Substance still remained so we ought to believe that tho' the Colour and Taste of the Bread and Wine remain yet we receive the real Flesh and the real Blood of JESUS CHRIST That if one should ask what is become of the Substance of the Bread and Wine it might be answered That the Bread perhaps vanishes after an invisible manner or that 't is changed into Flesh. But that the Gospel teaches us that this Flesh and this Blood are the Flesh and the Blood of the Body of JESUS CHRIST That we ought not to be over-inquisitive about the rest since 't is a Mystery of our Faith because being a Mystery it cannot be comprehended and being a Mystery of Faith we should believe it without going about to explain it Foulcuin Abbot of Lobes speaks of almost all these Works of Ratherius which we still have and likewise makes mention of some others which are lost viz. a Treatise Entituled The Combat or the Mental Meditations of one Ratherius Bishop of Verona and Monk of Lobes which he writ during his
as if he should say Lord have pity of all as thou knowest needful and as thou canst and as thou thinkest fit be willing O Lord I pray thee Besides That mass ought not to be celebrated but when we pray for all those that are in the Communion of the Church and if any would restrain the Efficacy of it to some particular Persons this ought to be done without prejudice to the whole Church and lastly That it were better to make a General Prayer to God than to restrain your self to particular Persons That it is not convenient during Mass to think particularly of this or that Man because it may be the cause of Distraction That we ought to think of them before Mass and 't is sufficient when we say it to recommend in General those for whom we ought to pray unless we be oblig'd to pray for one that is Dead After this he resolves divers other Cases about what may happen during the Celebration of the Mass and then proceeds to the Sacrament of Penance as to which he answers many Questions about the Power of an Abbot in Confession about the secrecy of Confession that he would not have it reveal'd in any Case or for any Reason about imposing of Penance the Circumstances of the Sins whereof he is accus'd admission into a Convent c. After this Treatise here follow two small Tracts one about Venial and Mortal Sin and the other about the Rebuke of our Neighbour The Treatise of the manner of conducting Children to Jesus Christ contains several Precepts very useful for their Education The Treatise about Contracts contains certain Rules for judging of the Justice and Injustice of Contracts founded upon the Principles of Nature and Reason where he treats also of difficult Questions about different kinds of Contracts The Treatise of Simony is about another Matter which is yet more nice where he handles divers Cases about Simony and the means which a Council ought to use for the Extirpation of it There he condemns the Annates of Simony because it is an Exaction which the Pope imposes for granting the Provisions of a Benefice and tho' he believes that the Mony may be excus'd from absolute Simony which is given or receiv'd for things which have a certain Price as the Dispatches of Letters Men's Care and Pains yet he does not approve that any thing should be given or exacted upon this Pretence Nevertheless he does not condemn the Custom of giving or receiving something from those to whom the Sacraments are Administred provided it be not the Principal Motive of Administring them and that it be done without Scandal and without appearance of Covetousness In the next Treatise Eâ—…d Of the Cure of Ecclesiasticks address'd to the Celestines he resolves Sixteen Questions about the foundations of Prayer and Divine Service the Application of Masses to those who give a Recompence to the Priest the Intention we ought to have in Prayer for Founders or Benefactors The next pieces are Tracts of Piety viz. Twelve Considerations to make a Christian Sacrament a Letter about disposing of his Books after his Death another Letter to the Celestines to desire their Prayers the Establishment of an Anniversary in the Church of St. Paul at Lyons granted to Gerson by the Archbishop the daily Testament of a Pilgrim in Prose and Verse a Letter of Consolation in Verse to his Brother John a Monk of St. Remigius of Rhemes upon the Death of Nicholas one of their Brothers who was a Celestin and a Treatise of Preparation for the Mass. The Works which follow are concerning Discipline A Treatise of Celibacy and the Chastity of Ecclesiasticks An Apology of the Order of Carthusians against those who attack'd it A Letter to justifie this Order as to what was objected That they are never permitted to eat Victuals Many Decisions of a Case propos'd about a Married Soldier in Debt who was made a Carthusian A Treatise of the Moderation that Ecclesiasticks ought to observe in their Table and Habit A Sermon about the Life and Behaviour of Clergy-men Many Sermons Preach'd on Holy Thursday viz. A Sermon of Humility A Sermon of Penance A Sermon of Evangelical Dominion A Sermon against the Covetousness of Clergy-men A Sermon about the Resurrection Preach'd on Easter-Day A Discourse of the Office of Pastors spoken in the Council of Rhemes in the Year 1408. A Treatise of the Visitation of Prelats and the Care they ought to take of their Curates A Sermon upon the Dedication of a Church Many Sermons upon the Feast of All-Saints A Sermon for the Day of Our Lord's Nativity Two Sermons Preach'd on the Day of Septuagesima Panegyricks of St. Bernard and St. Louis A Sermon upon Prayer Preach'd to the Council of Constance A Sermon of the Holy Spirit A Treatise upon the Words of Our Lord Come unto me all ye that are in Pain and Affliction A piece containing the Reasons why he would quit the Dignity of Chancellor A Discourse to the Licentiates of Law A Treatise of Nobility and an Instruction for Princes There are also in this part three Books which are not Gerson's viz. A Treatise of the Conception of the Virgin Mary A Dialogue between an English-man and a French-man and some Reflections upon the Victory at Pucelle in Orleans The third Part of the Works of Gerson begins with a Book which is Entitled The Imitation of Boethius Concerning the Consolation of Divinity which he compos'd during his Exile in Germany partly in Verse partly in Prose by way of Dialogue wherein he collects many Principles of Christian Philosophy to serve him for Meditation and Consolation The second is an Apology or rather Complaint by way of Dialogue That the Doctrin of John Petit who affirm'd it to be lawful to kill Tyrants was not condemn'd in the Council After these Treatises there follow some Poetical Pieces and among the rest a Poem of the Life of St. Joseph after which there is a Discourse of the Nativity of the Virgin The Centilegium of Idea's is a Work purely Philosophical The Treatise of the Spirimal Life of the Soul is not so much Mystical but rather a Work of Morality and Discipline wherein he handles many important Questions about the nature and distinction of Mortal and Venial Sin the different kinds of Laws and their Obligation There he maintains That Laws purely Human and which have no foundation in the Divine Law cannot oblige under pain of Sin unless in case of Scandal or Contempt In the next Work he treats of the different kinds of Impressions which Men receive either from God or Angels or Evil Spirits In the Treatise of Mystical Theology he handles this Science Methodically and by way of Principles and afterwards gives Rules as to what concerns the Practice To these are joyn'd some Explications upon the same Subject In this Treatise he avoids the Excesses of Mystical Divines and advances nothing but what is rational and there he lays down very useful
nor the Profession of Miltiades he wrote a Book against the Montanists wherein he particularly maintains That a Prophet ought Miltiades c. not to speak in an Ecstasy or Fury a In an Ecstasie or fury This is taken from the Author against the Heresies of the Montanists in Eusebius Book 5. Chap. 17. and the meaning of it is that true Prophets ought never to deliver themselves in a Fury nor to be out of their right Senses as the Montanists were This likewise is the Rule which S. Chrysostom gives for distinguishing the False Prophets from the True Homil. 29. in Epist. ad Corinth 8. And S. Jerom in his Preface upon Nahum Non enim loquimur in Extasi ut Montanus Prisca Maximillaque delirant sed quod Prophetat liber est visionis intelligentis S. Jerom here uses the Term Ecstasie in the same sense with the Anonymous Author Eusebius affirms that he has left evident Proofs of his Skill and the Pains which he took in the Study of the Holy Scripture in those Books which he wrote against the Gentiles and the Jews each of which was divided into two Volumes And that besides these Discourses he wrote an Apology for the Christian Philosophy Dedicated to the Governors of the Provinces b To the Governors of the Provinces 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Eusebius and S. Jerom understood these Words of Emperors but since there was but one in this Author's time it is more natural to explain this Expression by Governors of Provinces This Author lived under the Emperor Commodus There were at the same time two different Authors both of which were called Apollonius The false is a Greek Author who wrote against the Sect of the Montanists wherein he Confutes their last Prophecies step by step and Censures the Practice and Manners of those Hereticks Eusebius gives us a Fragment of it in Book V. Chap. 18. where he describes the Exorbitances of Montanus and his Prophetesses he accuses them for taking Sums of Money and Presents He particularly reprehends two Persons of this Sect who boasted of their being Martys Besides Eusebius observes that Apollonius says in this Book that it was forty years since Montanus invented his Prophecies that he makes mention of Thraseas who was a Martyr in his time and that he mentions a Tradition that Jesus Christ had given Orders to his Apostles not to go out of Jerusalem for twelve years The second Apollonius was of Rome a Senator of that City if we may believe S. Jerome c If we believe S. Jerom. Eusebius does not say that Apollonius was a Senator but S. Jerom affirms it in his Catalogue to Magnus We cannot tell whether he knew it certainly or whether it be onely by Conjecture that he says so But it is likely that it was upon the account of his being a Senator that the Praefectus Praetorio sent him back to the Senate to be Tryed there He was accused in the time of the Emperor Commodus for being a Christian and was brought into the Judgment-Hall before Perennis the Praefectus Praetorio His Accuser was Condemned d His accuser was condemned It was his Slave if we may believe S. Jerom and 't is very probable for he was condemned to have his Bones broken the ordinary Punishment of Slaves according to the Law of the Emperor which punished the Accusers of the Christians with Death and Apollonius was sent back to justifie himself before the Senate where he appeared and made a very Eloquent Oration in Defence of his Religion tho' notwithstanding that he was condemned to Death because there was an Ancient Law which ordain'd That those Christians who were once judicially accused for their Religion should not be acquitted if they did not forsake it S. Jerome says that he Composed this Oration to Present to the Senate But Eusebius assures us on the contrary that he spoke it before them But whether he wrote it with a design to speak it or that the Christians had taken care to preserve it it was extant in Eusebius's time among the ancient Acts of the Sufferings of the Martyrs The same Esebius gives us a Fragment of an Anonymous Author against the Heresie of Montanus This by some is attributed to Apollinarius and by S. Jerome sometimes to Rhodon and sometimes to Apollonius Tho' it was not written by either of these Authors but by one more modern who lived as we have said after the Death of Montanus and his Prophetesses It was divided into five Books Eusebius relates some Passages taken from the First Second and Third In that which is taken from the first Book the Author describes the furious Transports of Montanus and his Prophetesses and those who pretended to Prophecy In the Passages taken from the second Book he says That Montanus and Maximilla killed themselves that Theodotus likewise threw himself down head-long and that very Holy Bishops as Zoticus of Comana and Julian of Apamia being willing to Convict the Prophecies of Maximilla of Imposture were hindred by some who favoured that Sect. He adds that Maximilla foretold before she died Wars and Persecutions and yet that after her Death both Church and State enjoyed perfect Peace and Tranquility In the Passage taken from the third Book he says That the Martyrs of which they boast cannot justifie themselves since even the Marcionites likewise have made the same Pretences But that the Martyrs of the Church do carefully avoid Communicating with those of this Sect as has been practised in the City of Apamia by the Martys named Alexander and Caius who were of Eumenia Moreover in the following Chapter Eusebius relates a Passage taken from the same Book where he says That all the Prophets which have been since the time of the New Testament such as Agabus Judas Silas the Daughters of Philip Quadratus were not agitated by the same Spirit of Prophecy as Montanus and Maximilla whose False and Lying Prophecies were made in a sudden Heat accompanied with Lewdness and Impudence which took its Rise from Ignorance and ended in Involuntary Folly But that in the ancient Prophecies nothing like this was to be found That since the time of Maximilla and Montanus there has not been any Person of this Sect who could boast of being a Prophet whereas the true Gift of Prophecy ought to be always in the Church The other Author whereof Eusebius gives us a Fragment without naming him in the fifth Book of his History Chap. 28. had written a Discourse against the Heresie of Artemo who believed that Jesus Christ was only a meer Man It is related in this Fragment that those of this Sect affirmed that till Victor's Days the true Apostolical Doctrine was preserved but that it was corrupted from the time of Zephirinus Which possibly may be somewhat probable says this Author if what they assert had not been first confuted by the Holy Scripture and secondly by the Writings of those Christians who were more ancient than
Protestations before the Bishop and in the Church That we renounce the Devil all his Pomps and Miniâ—â—es afterwards we are plunged in the Water three times and they make us answer to some Things which are not precisely set down in the Gospel after that they make us taste Milk and Honey and we bath our selves every day during that whole Week We receive the Sacrament of the Eucharist instituted by Jesus Christ when we Eat and in the Morning-Assemblies and we do not Receive it but from the Hands of those that preside there We offer Yearly Oblations for the Dead in Honour of the Martyrs We believe that it is not lawful to Fast on a Sunday and to pray to God kneeling From Easter to Whitsontide we enjoy the same Priviledge We take great Care not to suffer any Part of the Wine and Consecrated Bread to fall to the Ground We often Sign our selves with the Sign of the Cross if you demand a Law for these Practises taken from the Scripture we cannot find one there but we must answer That 't is Tradition that has established them Custom that has authorized them and Faith that has made them to be observed The Book concerning Flight in time of Persecution is a further Mark of the Extream Rigour of Tertullian for there he maintains That it is absolutely Prohibited to Fly in time of Persecution or to give Money not to be Persecuted The Book De Pallio is a small Treatise wherein he endeavours to prove that he had reason to quit the Toga or the long Roman Gown and to wear a Cloak he shews therein a great deal of Wit and Learning and it seems as if he Composed it rather to shew what he was capable of saying upon so trivial a Subject as this is than seriously to defend the Action In his Book concerning Publick Sights and Spectacles he dissuades the Christians from those Sights and Spectacles shewing how these Pleasures are both shameful and dangerous to those who have Renounced the Pomps and Pleasures of the World and Idolatry There is no need of giving the Reasons why he wrote those Books concerning the Ornaments and Dresses of Women since the Titles themselves do sufficiently shew against what Abuse they were written So likewise the Title of the Book that Virgins ought to be Veiled does discover the Subject but we are not to understand it only of Virgins Consecrated to God for Tertullian's Design is to prove that young Women should be Veiled that is to say that they should have their Face covered in the Church Which he undertakes to prove contrary to the Custom of his Country where only married Women were veiled And upon this Account he speaks against this Custom and maintains that it cannot prescribe against Truth which is true when it relates to Doctrine but not when it concerns only a Matter of Discipline which is but of little Consequence In the First Book written to his Wife he Exhorts her not to Marry again and in the Second he Advises her that in case she will Marry again to take a Christian for her Husband The Treatise of Patience is an excellent Exhortation to the Practice of this Virtue In which Discourse Tertullian sets forth with a great deal of Eloquence all the Motives and Arguments which might induce Christians to Patience and dissuade them from Impatience The Discourse directed to the Confessors whom he calls Martyrs according to the ancient way of speaking is likewise a very powerful Exhortation to those who were in Prison upon the Account of the Religion of Jesus Christ to encourage them to bear with Patience their Chains and Torments and to persevere with Constancy to the End nothing can be more Pathetical and Moving than this little Discourse I have now nothing more to do but to speak of those Books which Tertullian Composed against the Church in Defence of the Montanists and they are Four His Book of Modesty of Monogamy an Exhortation to Chastity and A Treatise of Fasts In his Book of Modesty he endeavours to prove against the Church that it has no Power to Remit the Sins of Fornicators and Adulterers and that when Men are once fallen into these Crimes after Baptism they cannot be any more admitted into the Communion of the Church how Penitent soever they may be In his Book of Monogamy and the Exhortation to Chastity he absolutely condemns second Marriages as being Adultery Lastly In his Discourse of Fasts he commends the Excessive Fasts of the Montanists who made several Lents observing the Stationary Fasts as if they had been expresly enjoyned making them to continue till Night and not eating upon those Days any thing but Bread and Fruits nor drinking any thing but Water In all these Books excepting his Book of Exhortation to Chastity he formally attacks the Church and the Catholicks whom he calls Psychici and speaks every where very advantageously of Montanus and his Prophetesses believing that the Holy Ghost had inspired them to set up and establish a more perfect Discipline For as to what relates to the Rule of Faith that is to say to the principal Doctrines of Religion Tertullian and the first Montanists were of the same Opinion with the Church And therefore it is that in this Book against Praxeas he says that he always believed in One only God in three Persons and that he still believes it more firmly since he has been instructed by the Paraclete or Comforter And in his Book which he wrote to prove that Virgins ought to be Veil'd he says that excepting the Rule of Faith which is immoveable and can no ways be changed Manners and Customs that relate to Matter of Discipline may be reformed and altered That it is this which the Paraclet has done by the Ministry of Montanus who has instructed Men in a much more perfect Discipline than that which the Apostles had taught them that Justice was with him in the Cradle while he was an Infant That the Law and the Prophets were as it were the Infancy that the Gospel was as it were the Youth but that there was no compleat Perfection to be found but in the Instructions of the Holy Ghost who spake by Montanus for Tertullian and the first Montanists do not believe that Montanus was the Holy Ghost but only that the Holy Ghost had inspired him and sent him to Reform and Perfect the Discipline of the Church and they did not attribute this Priviledge only to Montanus but also to several of his Disciples and principally to Women and they would have it believed that there were among them several Persons who had Revelations and prophesied Things to come These Persons were sometimes strangely agitated sometimes they fell into an Extasie This Sect gave a respectful Attention to all that they said either while they were thus agitated or after they came to themselves as it was believed that these were so many Revelations of which it was not lawful to make any doubt
chaste That this is to do like the Pharisees who made every thing appear clean without while they were full of Impurities within That we ought to be Virgins both in Body and Spirit and that we must watch and labour incessantly lest Idleness and Negligence give an open entrance to other Sins After this Discourse all of them Sing their Prayers and several times repeat I preserve my self chaste for thee O my Divine Spouse and desire to walk before thee with a burning Lamp At last Gregoriam and Methodius Surnamed Eubulus who entertained themselves with the Discourses of these Virgins discuss this Question viz. Who were the most perfect Virgins either those that feel no Motions of Desire or those that feel them and though they are assaulted and tormented by them yet heroically resist and extinguish them Gregorium gave the preference to the first But Methodius shews her by the Example of Mariners Physicians and Wrestlers that those Virgins who preserve themselves chaste in the midst of those violent Agitations and Tempests that are excited by their Passions who have the Art to cure the various Diseases of Concupiscence and cannot only resist but also defeat the disorderly Motions of the Flesh deserve a great deal more than those that have no Appetites and Inclinations to struggle with This Dialogue is full of Allegories and Citations out of Scripture explained in a mystical Sence and the Doctrine contained in it is exceeding Orthodox He does not condemn or speak dishonourably of Marriage even when he is setting out Virginity to the greatest Advantages a Moderation seldom to be found in the Ancients Photius tells us That this Book has been corrupted by the Hereticks and that there are some Expressions in it which the Arians use And indeed he tells us in the Seventh Discourse That the Son who is above all Creatures made use of the Testimony of the Father who alone is greater than he But if by reason of this single Expression we must immediately cry out that this Dialogue has been abused by the Arians we must likewise say the same thing of the Gospel of St. John and there is no greater difficulty in giving a good Sence to this Expression in Methodius than in the Gospel and so much the rather since in the same place and indeed as often as he speaks of the WORD in this Dialogue he says That he was before all Ages And towards the end of the following Discourse which is the Eighth explaining these Words of the Psalmist Thou art my Son this day have I begotten thee We ought to observe cries he that he says Thou art my Son being willing to have it known that he had from all time the quality of the Son that he will never cease to have it and that he who was begotten was and ever will be the same As for what concerns the following Passage this day have I begotten thee it is to show that he who was before all Ages in Heaven was born in time for the good of the World A little after he takes occasion to speak of the Hereticks who have erred concerning the Trinity Some of them says he as Sabellius have erred concerning the Person of the Father who maintained that it was the Almighty that suffered Others concerning the Son as Artemas and some others that affirm he was only a Man in outward appearance Others concerning the Holy Ghost as the Ebionites who pretend that the Prophets spoke of themselves For I will not speak of Marchion Valentinus and Helcesaites These Words demonstrate that we may very well defend Methodius from the Imputation of any Errour concerning the Trinity I cannot spend any more time to observe that he taught the Opinion of the Millenaries in this Treatise or to give an exact relation of his Doctrine which may be learnt out of the Abridgment we have made of his Banquet of the Virgins The Treatise of the Resurrection was written against Origen's Opinion who believed that Men were not to be raised up again from the Dead in the Flesh. This Book also was composed in form of a Dialogue between Aglaophon who maintained Origen's Assertion and Proclus and Methodius or Eubulus who dispute against him St. Epiphanius has cited a large Fragment of it in his Account of the Heresie of Origen and Father Cambesis has added some other Fragments to it taken out of a Manuscript of Sermondus He first of all proves under the Person of Procius Thâ—t Man was created Immortal that Death was occasioned by his Sin of which it is the Punishment That Sin was caused by the Envy of the Devil and that the Devil himself who was created in Righteousness like to the other Angels fell through the Sin of Envy and an inordinate Passion he had for Women That our first Parents had a real Body and real Flesh before their Transgression That the Fig-leaves wherewith they covered themselves denote that after the Death of Man Sin shall be entirely rooted out of the Heart For though Mens Sins are blotted out by Baptism yet nevertheless there remains a Root still that shoots up young Branches in this Life So that all we can do to hinder these Branches from spreading is to root them up and prune them often with the Pruning-knife of the Word of God He tells us that Man is like a cast Statue which having been disfigured by some Accident the Workman that made it casts it anew before he erects it again That after the same manner God â—lmighty who made Man was willing that his Work which was disfigured by Sin should be destroy'd by Death that so he might re-establish him by the Resurrection That it is a folly to imagine a Resurrection of the Soul since the Soul does not die That Air Earth Heaven and the World shall not be destroy'd at the Day of Judgment but that they shall only be purged and renewed by the Fire of Heaven That Men shall not change their Nature at the Resurrection and that they shall not be transformed into Angels but that they still have Body and Flesh though immortal and incorruptible All this is extracted from the words of Proclus St. Epiphanius afterwards cites those of Methodius who continues to refute Origen's Errour about the Resurrection and who likewise endeavours to prove in the same place against the same Author That the Body cannot pass the Chains and Prison of the Soul That the Paradice where Adam lived was upon Earth That Man does not consist of the Soul alone as Plato believed but that the Body and Soul are the two parts of him That 't is Fabulous to say that Souls were thrown headlong down from Heaven in their Bodies or that they passed through Vertices of Elementary Fire and through the Waters of the Firmament before they came to the Earth And at last he makes several curious useful Remarks upon the Scriptural Notion of Flesh and of the Sin that dwells in our Bodies explaining at the
was dearest to him in this World He confutes the Opinion of the Pharisees who held that Men are raised again from the dead to eat and drink and enjoy the same Pleasures which they â—…d in this Life The Fourth Tract is a Discourse upon the Day of the Ascension of Jesus Christ wherein he proves the Truth of his Resurrection and Ascension by the Constancy of the Martyrs and Apostles and by the wonderful Promulgation of the Gospel He observes how impossible it was that ever the Apostles should undertake to Preach the Christian Religion and succeed in their Attempt if God had not encourag'd them by his Spirit and dispos'd the Hearts of Men to receive their Doctrine In this Discourse he describes also the Martyrdom of St. Romanus Deacon of Antioch In the Six following Tracts he discourses of things Spiritual and Invisible and in the First he shows That God is Incorporeal and Invisible and demonstrates that things Incorporeal and Invisible are infinitely more Excellent than those that are Material and Earthly In the Second and Third he proves That the Soul of Man is Immortal and Spiritual and describes the great Advantages it gives a Man above the Beasts The Fourth Tract is concerning the Thought of Man which has these Remarkable Properties First That it knows it self and Secondly That it resists and checks the Motions of Lust. In the Fifth He goes on still to prove That God is Invisible and Incorporeal and takes Notice as he goes along That Angels are Spiritual In the Sixth He answer some Passages of Scripture which seem to attribute Members to God The following Discourse is concerning the Advantages of the Incarnation of Jesus Christ and the great Benefits it hath procur'd to Mankind There he explains that saying of our Saviour I came not to bring Peace but War by shewing That Jesus Christ came indeed to bring Peace but Men being unwilling to receive it there must be War by necessary consequence as arising only from the bad Disposition of their own Hearts Towards the end of this Discourse he praises those that suffer for the Religion of Jesus Christ and continues the same Subject in the following Discourse wherein he shews upon occasion of those Words of our Saviour Preach ye upon the House-tops what has been said to you in secret That nothing can dispense with a Christian's suffering for the Religion of Christ. He adds That tho' there be no Persecution yet we are oblig'd to suffer and to be as one may say continually Martyrs because we are always to fight against the World and our selves The Two last Discourses are concerning good Works in the First of which he recommends it to Christians if they would be happy to follow after that which is Good and shun that which is Evil. And in the Second he exhorts them to the practice of good Works and chiefly to giving of Alms. This is the Subject of those Discourses which are more concerning Doctrines than Morality wherein there appears a great deal of Wit good Sence and Eloquence but little of Order and Method Eusebius was one of the most Learned Men of all Antiquity as both his Friends and Enemies do equally acknowledge r Eusebius was one of the most Learned Men of all Antiquity as both his Friends and Enemies do equally acknowledge See here a part of the Testimonies which the Ancients have given to the Learning of Eusebius Constantine in his Epistle to those of Antioch and in a Letter which he wrote to himself praises his vast Learning St. Basil in his Book of the H. Spirit Ch. 29. calls him an Author worthy of Credit because of his Universal Learning 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 St. Jerom tho' the great Enemy of Eusebius could not forbear often-times to praise his Learning to confess that he priz'd his Books and to say in his Second Book against Ruffinus That he was a most Learned Man Vir doctissimus Eusebius doctissimum dico non Catholicum The most Learned Eusebius I call him most Learned but not Catholick It is not to be wondered at that Ruffinus his Friend gives him the same Title Antipater of Bostria tho' he did not favour him yet gives him the Name of 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 i. e. one very knowing in most Matters and further says of him That he had read all the Books of the Ancients examin'd and explain'd all their Opinions and that he had written himself most useful Books Philostorgius praises him for his History Socrates and Sozomen vindicate him Victorius calls him a most Learned Man Gelasius the Pope durst not reject his History because of it's great Learning and singular usefulness for information Pelagius assures us That there is no History that deserves greater Esteem than that of Eusebius Photius who censures the Stile and Doctrine of Eusebius nevertheless commends his Knowledge and Learning I take no Notice of the Testimonies of Modern Authors of whom it may be said without fear of mistaking That there was no Man of so great Reading and Learning amongst all our Greek Authors Almost all his Books are the effects of prodigious Labour and very long and laborious Enquiries And yet it must be confessed that he had great Helps by the Memoirs of those who had written before him upon the same Subjects whose Works he makes no scruple to Transcribe He did not much Study to polish his Discourses which is the common Fault of almost all those that make Knowledge and Learning their chief Business His Stile is neither Elegant nor Grateful as Photius has many times observed but dry and barren and extremely unpleasant He is very proper to teach those who apply their minds seriously to Study and search after Truth and love to consider it absolutely naked despoil'd of all the Ornaments of Language but he is not at all proper to entice those who are taken with the manner of Expressing things and the force of Eloquence I shall not here add any thing to what I have said concerning his Learning But as to what concerns his Person he seems to have been very impartial very sincere and a great Lover of Peace Truth and Religion For altho' he maintain'd an intimate Correspondence with the Enemies of St. Athanasius it does not appear that he was his Enemy nor that he sided much with any Party in the Controversy of the Bishops of that time He was present indeed in the Councils wherein unjust things were done to Eustathius and St. Athanasius but it does not appear that he gave any Signs of an angry Temper nor that he serv'd the Passions of other Men. He was not the Author of New Confessions of Faith neither did he carry on any Plot to the Destruction of St. Athanasius or the Ruin of his Party but he only desir'd to accommodate Differences and reconcile the two Parties He did not abuse the Credit which he had with the Emperor to Advance himself nor to Destroy his Enemies as Eusebius of
Monastick Life In short 'T is obvious to every one that reads them That the Writer was a much better Christian than a Scribe one that understood better the Maxims of Christianity than the Precepts of Eloquence and was much more fill'd with the Unction of the Holy One than with Humane Science and Learning St. Athanasius or the Author of the Life of St. Anthony which is attributed to this Father sets down a long Exhortation of St. Anthony to his Monks which contains many Instructions very useful for them and wholesome Advices about the Temptations of the Devil There are also found in this Writing ingenious Answers of the same Saint to the Philosophers and some other Persons and a Letter to the Emperour There is moreover a short Rule attributed to St. Anthony set down in the Collection of Rules made by St. Benedictus Anianensis who liv'd towards the Year 820 from the birth of Christ which contains many Moral Precepts and prescribes some Monastical Observations Besides these Gerard Vossius has given us under the Name of St. Anthony a Sermon which is a Declamation against the Vices and Excesses of the Men of the World at the End of which he Exhorts Men to do Penance by representing unto them the Judgment of God and the Pains which the damned suffer after the Resurrection 'T is hard to say whether this Discourse be truly St. Anthony's or whether it be only put out under his Name as a Discourse that would agree exactly to one so retir'd from the World as he was Be that as it will it has much of the Stile of this Saint's Letters though more Elegant and Sublime Lastly There were two Books of Latin Sermons attributed to St. Anthony in the time of Trithemius but now all the Criticks agree that they are none of his neither can be since they cite St. Basil St. Gregory Nyssen St. Chrysostom St. Nilus and Photius Authors that liv'd and wrote after St. Anthony The Letters of St. Anthony were printed apart and are since inserted into the Bibliothecae Patrum His Rule is in Benedictus Anianensis's Code publish'd by Holstenius from the Copy of a Manuscript which was in the Monastery of St. Maximin near Triers at Rome in 1661. and re-printed in Quarto at Paris by Billaine in 1663. St. PACHOMIUS THough St. Anthony was the Institutor of a Monastick Life yet St. Pachomius ought to be consider'd as the Author of a Coenobitick Life because he was the first that appointed regulated St. Pachomius Societies He was Born in Thebais of Gentile Parents and did for some time bear Arms in the War of Constantine against Maxentius When this War was ended he who had been always a Christian in his Heart was baptiz'd and retir'd with an Hermit nam'd Palemon under whose Conduct he led a very austere Life He stay'd afterward in Tabenna a Country of Egypt situated on the Brink of the Nile in the Diocess of Tentyra where he Founded a Monastery in obedience as is believ'd to the Admonition of an Angel and in Conformity to a Rule which he is thought to have received from it Be this as it will for though this Story be related by many Authors I do not think that any Man is absolutely oblig'd to believe it Be this as it will I say the Monastery which he Founded in Tabenna was fill'd in a very little time and he was oblig'd to build many more of them so that he peopl'd all the Upper Thebais with Monasteries of his Order 'T is reported in the Greek Acts of his Life publish'd not long since in the great Collection of the Lives of the Saints by Bollandus and Papebrochius that he was accus'd at a Synod of Diospolis because he Divin'd the most secret Thoughts of Men but he was Absolv'd by the same Synod where were two of his Disciples after he declar'd that God of his Grace reveal'd to him the most hidden things He died about the Year 400. We have in the Life of St. Pachomius a Rule which is thought to have been given him by the Angels but there is another also which bears the Name of this holy Abbot in the Collection of the Oriental Rules in the Bibliothecae Patrum and at the End of some Editions of Cassian which is much larger and seems to have been drawn up at different times It contains many Rules concerning the Habits the Diet the Employments and the Discipline of Monks 'T is thought to have been translated by St. Jerom and there is at the beginning a Letter which imitates the Stile of this Father well enough There are also some Moral Precepts publish'd under his Name by Gerard Vossius printed at Mentz in the Year 1604. and in Benedictus Anianensis's Collection there are Eleven Letters a Eleven Letters These were written as Gennadius observes to the Superiours of the Monasteries of his Community who are design'd by the Letters of the Alphabet there is One to the Abbot Hyrus One to the Abbot Cornelius One to all the Superiours to advertise them to come and Celebrate the Feast of Easter at a Monastery call'd in the Egyptian Tongue Baâ—â—m and this is cited by St. Cyril of Alexandria in a Letter cited by Bucherius There is another to the same persons giving them notice to meet on the Day of Remission i. e. at the General Chapter which was held in the Month of August and another to the Brethren who were gone out of the Monastery to Work of the same Author written with much Simplicity which are cited by Gennadius and a Letter of Theodorus his Disciple concerning Easter Gennadius calls St. Pachomius a Man truly Apostolical in his Discourses and Actions His Rule is very Judicious and comes down to all the Particulars necessary for the Government of a Monastery ORSIESIS ORSIESIS was Successor to Pachomius after Petronius who govern'd the Monastery of Tabenna but a few days He has written a Spiritual Treatise of the Doctrine or Institution of Orsiesis Monks which he left when he was a Dying to the Religious of his Monastery 'T is an Exhortation that he made to them to Watch over themselves and to discharge their Duties exactly and is fill'd with many Passages of Scripture which he applies to his Subjects very properly Upon this account 't was that Gennadius said that this Treatise was season'd with Divine Salt Divino sale conditus 'T was printed apart by Gymnicus at Cologne in the Year 1536. and afterwards inserted into the Bibliothecae Patrum 'T is found also in Benedictus Anianensis's Code that was publish'd by Holstenius THEODORUS THEODORUS a Presbyter one of the Principal Disciples of St. Pachomius and his Successor in the Government of the Abby of Tabenna if we believe Gennadius wrote Letters to Theodorus other Monasteries which are almost wholly made up of Passages of Scripture and yet there he often mentions his Master St. Pachomius and proposes his Example and Doctrine for their Instruction He admonishes
themselves with the Sign of the Cross on their Forehead in Eating and Drinking at their going out and coming in at their lying down c. He calls this Sign the Terror of Devils and the Mark of the Faithful He says That it drives away Devils That it cures Diseases That it defeats Inchantments and that at one day it will appear in the Heavens when Jesus Christ shall come to judge the World He proves in the Fourteenth the Resurrection and Ascension of Jesus Christ where he commends the Piety of those Emperours who built the Church of the Resurrection at Jerusalem where he was and adorned it with Gold and Silver The Fifteenth is concerning the Second coming of Jesus Christ of the End of the World and of Anti-Christ who will come says he after the Destruction of the Roman Empire He says many more particulars of him which he endeavours to prove by Prophecies but the explications he gives of them are not very Solid He observes That the Schisms which he then saw in the Church made him fear that the Reign of Anti-christ was not far off After this he Discourses of the last Judgment and of the Eternal Kingdom of Jesus Christ. He refutes the Opinion of Marcellus of Ancyra who had said That the Son should not Reign any more after the Day of Judgment He makes very curious Remarks upon the particle Until and shows that it is not always exclusive as when it is said That Death reigned from Adam until Moses where the meaning is not That it did not Reign after Moses The Sixteenth Lecture is concerning the Holy Spirit He observes That we ought to take good heed lest we say any thing through Ignorance or Error which is contrary to the Belief we ought to have concerning the Holy Spirit because 't is written That the Blasphemies which are spoken against him are unpardonable Therefore he declares That he will say nothing of the Holy Spirit but what is said of him in the Holy Scripture and that he will not enquire by an indecent Curiosity after that which is not written 'T is the Holy Spirit says he who dictated the Holy Scripture he hath said of himself what he would have us to know and what we are capable of knowing about him He begins with giving an Account of the Errors of Hereticks concerning the Holy Spirit and afterwards recites what is said of him in the Holy Scripture he describes his Effects and attributes to him all the good Thoughts and good Actions of the Faithful He continues the same Subject in his 17th Lecture where he produces the Testimonies of our Lord concerning the Holy Spirit He has exactly Collected in these Two Catechetical Lectures all that is said of the Holy Spirit in the Old and New Testament He teaches That the Holy Spirit is not a Breath form'd by the Mouth of the Father and the Son but that he is a Person subsistent of the same Nature with the Father and the Son He calls St. Peter the Prince of the Apostles and the Porter of Heaven He observes That the Determination of the Council of Jerusalem was a General or Oecumenical Law which all the Earth had and did still observe The Last of those Lectures which are address'd to the Enlighten'd is of the Resurrection of the Church and of Eternal Life In the beginning he shows That the hope of the Resurrection is the Foundation of all good Actions because the expectation of this reward excites Men to labour for it 'T was this that made him say that the Faith of the Resurrection is a great encouragement and a very necessary Doctrine He brings for proof of the Resurrection the Justice of God which requires that Sinners which are not punish'd in this World should be punish'd in another and that the Righteous who are miserable here below should be recompenc'd in another Life He says That all Men have naturally some Knowledge of the Resurrection and that upon this Account they have a horror of those who rob the Dead He brings many Illustrations of it taken from the changes in Nature He does not forget the Example of the Phoenix for which he cites St. Clement for his Authority He observes That the Generation of Man is no less wonderful than the Resurrection and that God who could Create the Universe of nothing can easily raise a dead Man After he has employ'd these Reasons against the Pagans he alledges against the Samaritans the wonderful Effects of the Divine Power related in the Old Testament and proves the Resurrection of the Dead by many passages of the Prophets This seems to be a mistake the Sadducees were the only Sect of the Jews that denied a Resurrection In speaking of the dead Man rais'd at the Sepulchre of Elisha he says That by this Example we may know that we ought not only to honour the Souls of the Saints but also to show Reverence to the Relicts of their Bodies since they have such Power and Virtue The Second Part of this Instruction is concerning the Catholick Church He says It is so called because it is spread over all the Earth Because it universally receives all the Articles of Faith Because it generally cures all Sins and Lastly Because it possesses all Graces and all Vertues He says It is called the Church because it is an Assembly of the Faithful That the Hereticks have also their Assemblies of their Churches That to discern the one from the other when you go to any place you must not ask barely where is the Church or the House of the Lord because the Hereticks give this Name to their Temples but you must ask where is the Catholick Church because this is a Name proper to this Holy Mother of all faithful Christians which is the Spouse of Jesus Christ. In short The last part of this Lecture is of Eternal Life 'T is very Remarkable that in the Creed which St. Cyril used there is found Life Everlasting because as we have observed in the First Volume of our Bibliotheca almost all the ancient Creeds end with the Resurrection of the Flesh. St. Cyril adds to it Baptism whereof he had already spoken the Catholick Church and Life Everlasting He says upon the last Article That the Eternal Life of Christians is the Possession of the most Holy Trinity He concludes this Lecture with a Promise to his Auditors that he would explain after Easter the Sacred Mysteries which they were to receive upon the Christian Altar and with an Exhortation to rejoyce because the time of their Redemption Salvation and Regeneration approach'd The Five other Lectures which are call'd Mystagogical are address'd by St. Cyril to the same Persons after they had received the Grace of Baptism The first is about the Vow which is made in Baptism to renounce the Devil his Works and all his Pomps He declares to his Auditors the Importance of performing this Vow He says That the Works of the Devil are Sins and that
the first Man's Sin because War which occasion'd Tribute was a Consequence of the first Sin and a just punishment of God but that it ought not to be augmented by over-charging and ill using the Miserable He adds that God makes in the other Life a Book or if it be lawful to use the Term a Roll wherein all Men are set down without any distinction of their State and Condition That there Men shall be treated after the same manner as they have treated others and that if the Judge to whom he Addresses his Speech would be favourably treated there he must treat his People favourably and civilly After he has spoken to him with this freedom he bestows many Commendations upon him and prays him to exempt the Poor the Clergy and the Monks These Men says he of the last who are no ways allied to this Earth who have nothing but their Bodies and do not so much as possess that entirely who have nothing for Caesar and have all for God that 's to say who can give nothing but Prayers Hymns Watchings and Tears of which seizure cannot be made These Men I say who are dead to this World that they may live to Jesus Christ who have Crucified their Flesh with Jesus Christ and even parted as one may say their Soul from their Body This is an excellent Description of the ancient Monks which gives us a great Idea of their Poverty and how much they were disengaged from the World The 10th Discourse of Gregory Nazianzen is a Funeral Oration upon his Brother Caesarius wherein he relates his principal Actions and makes a Panegyrick upon them In it he commends him and comforts his Father and Mother He observes that the same Ceremony is renew'd every Year for the Dead Towards the end he Discourses of the State of the Souls of the Just from the time of their Death until the Day of Judgment He says that he was inform'd by the Discourses of the Learn'd that holy Souls which are acceptable to God being deliver'd from the Bands of this Body feel an ineffable Joy and Pleasure by considering the Blessedness which they are one Day to receive that they go directly to God and that they know already as it were in an Image and Representation the Happiness they shall receive after the Resurrection of the Body He adds that he had often seen in a Dream his Brother all over Glorious Whether it was says he that the Imagination represented him thus or that this Apparition was real He concludes with a Moral Discourse wherein he shews that we ought to be so far from Mourning for the Dead that we ought rather to mourn for our selves and sigh because we continue so long upon Earth He wrote this Discourse sometime after the death of his Brother which happen'd in 368. The 11th Discourse is a Panegyrick upon his Sister St. Gorgonia who died sometime after her Brother In it he has given an excellent Description of her Vertues of her prudence and Widom in the Government of her Family of her Humility her Zeal her Charity to the Poor of her Care for Adorning Churches her Mortifications her Diligence in Prayer her submission to the Will of God her Constancy in her Sickness and her manner of Dying which was worthy of a Christian. He observes that she was Baptiz'd a little before she died but that she had led so holy a Life that Baptism did not conferr any Grace upon her but was only the Seal of those Graces which she had receiv'd Yet we must not believe that she was not Baptiz'd till her last Sickness for St. Gregory says that in a former Sickness when she saw that the Remedies which were us'd gave her no relief she went into the Church and there having pray'd near the Altar she mingled with her Tears what she had referv'd of the Antitypes of the precious Body and Blood of Jesus Christ and that she was cur'd immediately This Action which St. Gregory calls a pious piece of Impudence shews that she was baptiz'd some time before her last Sickness Towards the end of this Panegyrick he describes the happy State of just Souls which are departed out of this Life he makes no doubt but they enjoy the Company of Angels and a most perfect Knowledge of the Three Persons of the Holy Trinity This Discourse was spoken about 370. The following Discourse is about the Reconciliation of the Monks of Nazianzum with his Father which was made as we have said about the Year 363. He congratulatts their Reunion and proves the usefulness and necessity of Peace See how he describes the Habit of Monks and the Austerity of their Life All that I have seen says he to them brings to my Remembrance upon the account of this Fraternal Division your Watchings your Fastings your Prayers your Tears your Knees harden'd with bearing the weight of your Bodies your beating of your Breasts your deep Sighs your Tears shed in singing forth continually the Praises of God your Hair cut short and neglected your naked Feet your Habits which have nothing of pride your Girdle which adorns without being an Ornament your short Cloaks button'd back that bold Gate that modest Eye that pleasant Smile that calm Discourse that Silence which is more instructive than all Discourse those regular Austerities those Riches in Poverty that Glory under Contempt The 13th Discourse is also about the Benefits of Peace In this as well as the preceding Discourse he makes some Digressions about the Faith of the Church against Hereticks and he concludes this with a Prayer for their Conversion The 14th is upon the same Subject where he speaks against the Errour of Apollinarius The 15th was preach'd after a great Hail which fell in Pontus in the Year 372 which wholly ruin'd the Country In it he exhorts the People of Nazianzum to acknowledge that this Judgment was a just Punishment of their Sins that they ought to consider God as full of Mercy when they compare it with the Vengeance which God will inflict upon the Reprobate in the other World He sets down in particular some of those Sins which God has punish'd by this Scourge as the oppression of the Poor whose Goods were seized upon either by Fraud or Violence the Usury whereby they had enrich'd themselves and robb'd the Poor their forgetfulness of God their rigour towards the Poor the Contempt which they had shown of the Exhortations of their Preachers their vain Confidence in Riches the Covetousness of the Rich which inclines them to keep up their Corn in their Granaries that they may sell it dear in a time of Scarcity their sumptuous Apparel and Houshold-Furniture He exhorts them all to implore the Mercy of God towards them by their publick Prayers their Fasting their Penance and their giving of Alms. He ends this Discourse with praying his Father to appease the Wrath of God by his Prayers and to beg of him Food for the Body after he has
pray'd for the Food of the Soul The 16th Discourse of St. Gregory Nazianzen is a famous Oration of the Love of the Poor and of Poverty He wrote it particularly in favour of the Poor in the Hospital which St. Basil had built in Caesarea and he spoke it at some solemn Festival about the Year 363. He shews in this Discourse that the Love of the Poor and Poverty is a most excellent Vertue After this he describes in a most pathetical manner the miserable State of the Poor and Sick He proposes very pressing Motives with a great deal of Eloquence for touching the Heart of the Rich and inclining them to assist the Poor and Sick and he urges with much clearness and strength the most convincing Reasons for perswading them that they are oblig'd to it He concludes with saying that Alms-giving is not only a Duty of Piety but oâ— Necessity that it is not only a Counsel but also a Precept The 17th Discourse is about some Differences that happen'd at Nazianzum between the People and the Governour St. Gregory appeases the People in the first part of this Discourse and exhorts them to submit without fear to the Orders of the Governour and in the second part he speaks to the Governour with a wonderful Frankness to incline him to Mildness and Clemency He tells him that he should not take it ill that he spoke to him with freedom that the Law of God subjects him to the Commandment of his Bishop For says he the Church has an Authority of her own which is far Greater and more Excellent than that of Princes unless you will subject the Spirit to the Flesh and Heaven to Earth He adds that he did not doubt but he would take in good part the Liberty wherewith he spoke since he was one of the Sheep of his Flock I will not therefore says he make a long Discourse You Command by Jesus Christ 't is by him that you exercise your Authority 't is he who has given you the Sword that you carry but he has not given you so much Power for any other end but to terrify the Wicked and threaten them with Punishments Take care then that you preserve this Trust with purity You are the Image of God but so are all Men in some Sence They are all your Brethren have compassion on them imitate the Mercy of God join Mildness with Terror temper your Threatnings by giving some hopes many times Men compass their Designs better by Gentleness than by Violence He uses many other Arguments of this nature to mollify the Wrath of this Governour whose Threatnings had frightned the People of Nazianzum At last he says that if these Reasons did not move but still he should want some more powerful Motive that he would take the boldness to offer him Jesus Christ and those Mysteries of Salvation which he communicated with the same Mouth with which he now desired this favour In short he conjures him to grant this Favour to the Church of Jesus Christ and to consider that God will treat him after the same manner as he shall treat those who are subject to his Dominion This Discourse is a Master-piece of Eloquence which seems to have been recited in the Year 372. The 18th Sermon is the Panegyrick of St. Cyprian the Martyr There are in this Panegyrick some things that relate to the Life of St. Cyprian Bishop of Carthage as what concern'd his Studies his Learning his Accomplishments his Banishment and his Death But there are other Circumstances which cannot agree to him as when he observes that he of whom he speaks was a Senator who made Love to a Christian Lady of Quality call'd Justina that he would have made use of Magick to corrupt her but this Lady having recourse to Jesus Christ and the Virgin Mary to be deliver'd from this Persecution the Devil entred into the Body of St. Cyprian who was not dispossess'd till his Conversion 'T is certain that this Accident and some others which St. Gregory Nazianzen relates in this Discourse happen'd not to the Bishop of Carthage And yet he does expresly declare that he of whom he speaks was Bishop of that City It must therefore be owned that St. Gregory compos'd this Panegyrick out of some false Memoires wherein these Circumstances were added to adorn the Life of this Holy Martyr by a pleasant Story Howsoever St. Gregory greatly values this History and bestows many Praises upon the holy Martyr whom he designs to commend He says that his Ashes wrought abundance of Miracles and he exhorts his Hearers to honour this Saint by their Vertues and their good Works He concludes with a Prayer which he addresses to him wherein he desires his Assistance and Protection for governing his Flock and conducting those of whom he had the Charge This Discourse seems to have been written when St. Gregory was Coadjutor to his Father that is to say about the Year 372. The 19th Discourse of St. Gregory Nazianzen is a Funeral Oration upon his Father which he spoke in the presence of his Mother and St. Basil. He addresses his Speech to St. Basil after this manner You cannot be come to Nazianzum but for Three Reasons To see us to Visit the Flock and to provide a Pastor for it You will satisfie the first by your good Offices in comforting us with a Funeral Oration wherein you may celebrate the Vertues of my Father and at the same time shew us that we must despise this Mortal Life and look upon Death as an assured Harbour which shelters us from the Storms and Tempests of this Mortal Life Thus you may comfort us But how will you comfort this Flock You may do it First by promising that you will take upon you the care of Governing it Secondly by showing that we are not abandon'd by this good Pastor and by perswading us that he is with us that he is here present that he still watches over his Flock that he takes care of it protects and defends it For I do not doubt they are his own words but he being now much nearer to God does a great deal more for his Flock by his Intercession than he did upon Earth by his Teaching After this he gives an Account of his Father's Life and makes a Panegyrick upon his Vertues Neither does he forget those of his Mother Nonna whom he comforts towards the end of his Discourse by letting her see that she ought not to value this Life nor fear Death and by promising to assist her all the rest of her Days It seems that all St. Gregory's Brethren were dead and that he was left alone There are many remarkable things in this Oration of St. Gregory but chiefly what he says of his Father's Celebrating the Eucharist tho' he were sick and that one day when he was in his Bed he consecrated the Elements which were upon the Altar before the People repeating as little of the Prayers as he could and that
was call'd to the place That be only followed the Guidâ—… of the Holy Spirit and that after he 〈◊〉 to Constantinople 〈◊〉 did not 〈◊〉 those who were â—…bly Covetous That 〈◊〉 had commenc'd no Law-suit against the Arians neither for their Châ—… nor for the Ecclesiastical Revenues tho' they were 〈◊〉 possess'd both of the one and the other That he had Persecuted no Body That â—e had Suffered paâ—…tly all manner of Injuries and 〈◊〉 Treatment After he has shown these things he makes an Elegant Comparison between the Arians and the Catholicks of Constantinople They have says he the Temples but we have the God that dwells in them and we our selves are the Temples They have the People for them we have the Angels for us They have for their Portion Assurance and Rashness we have the Faith on our side They have Threâ—… we have Prayers They Persecute and we Suffer They have Gold and Silver and we are in possession of the Holy Doctrine But our Flock is little Yes but it does not go to throw it self upon Precipices our Sheep fold is narrow but it is well guarded against Wolves it does not 〈◊〉 open to Robbers and Strangers cannot enter into it This-little Flock which will every Day grow greater by the Grace of God gives me no Cause to fear I see it I count it easily I know my Sheep and they know me they hear my Voice they answer me I call them and they follow me and they will not follow Strangers they will not follow Valentinus Montanus Manes Donatus Sabellius Arius Photinus and they continue stedfast in the Faith of the Trinity in whose Name they were baptiz'd This Discourse was spoken by St. Gregory some time after he was come to Constantinople In the 26th Discourse he exhorts those of his Party to observe Moderation in their Disputes with Hereticks He there lays down a great many very Wise and useful Maxims He observes That Peace is the greatest Good that can be enjoy'd That Schisms and Heresies have been raised up by Men of great Wit but turbulent and designing That those Men are the Cause of Wars Seditions and other Mischiefs both to the Ecclesiastical and Civil Society That we ought neither to be too hot nor too remiss in the Defence of the Faith That upon the whole Matter the Order established in the Church between the Pastors and their Sheep between the Clergy and the Laity must be inviolably observed That 't is often much better to be silent than to speak of Mysteries because it is very Difficult to comprehend and explain them and that 't is very rare to find Ears fit to hear them and Minds capable of bearing them That when we are obliged to speak we should do it with much Humility and Modesty That the common People should content themselves with believing and leave Disputes to the Learned That Faith and Religion are for the Ignorant as well as for the Learned and for the Poor as well as the Rich That the Learned themselves ought to shun useless Questions and Disputes That among the Hebrews it was not allow'd to all the Jews indifferently to Discourse of the Law but they chose such to do it as were judg'd Capable of it That some Men had one Gift some another in short That those who take upon them to Dispute and Teach others being push'd on by a Zeal for the Faith should not condemn those who by a reasonable Precaution and wholesome Fear are hindred from adventuring to do the like He concludes all these Reflections in these Words If you will all obey me as well Young as Old as well Clergy as Laity as well Monks as those that are barely the Faithful you will give over this vain Ostentation of showing your Knowledge by Disputes and you will rather take Care to draw near to God by an upright and prudent Conversation by the Purity of your Manners by your edifying Discourses that so at last you may obtain Eternal Life 'T is not necessary here to observe that this Discourse was spoken at Constantinople In the 27th Discourse St. Gregory vindicates himself against those who accused him of Ambition In his Exordium he enquires after the Reasons why the People of Constantinople were entic'd and as it were charm'd by his Preaching He says That it could not be his Learning which allur'd them for they were satisfied that he had but little of it That it could not be the Doctrine which he taught them since he was not the First who had preach'd it to them neither had he preached any thing to them which they had not learn'd formerly from St. Alexander their Bishop That neither can they say That he had gained them by Artificial and Flattering Discourses as for the most part says he they do now a-a-Days who are of the Priestly Function who have made an Art of Preaching the Word of God who have brought the Arts of the Bar into the Church and the Ornaments of the Theatre into the Chair of Truth You know adds he and God is my Witness That we are so great Strangers to this Fault that they rather accuse me of Rusticity and of not knowing the World than of being a Flatterer and seeking to please Men since I sometimes Reprove too severely even those who are most Affectionate to me when they do any thing that I think not reasonable You know how I mourn'd how I cry'd when ye plac'd me against my Will upon the Throne violating the Laws of the Church for the Love that you show'd me I used so great Freedom with those who appeared most zealous for me that they withdrew in Anger and changed their ancient Friendship all of the sudden into hatred against me Why then have you so great a Passion for me but only First Because you chose me your selves and called me to your Assistance and Secondly Because you have acknowledged that I was neither Ambitious nor Fierce nor Passionate nor Proud nor given to Flattery and Thirdly Because you have seen how I have suffered for you all both from those that openly attack'd me and from those that so cruelly laid secret Sâ—…s for me After this he vindicates himself from the Charge which his Enemies drew up against him upon the account of his Eloquence He says That 't is Envy which makes them speak thus He justifies himself also from the Ambition whereof he was accus'd and shows That he did not ambitiously aspire after the See of Constantinople That he had met with nothing there but Labour and Fatigue That if he had been free to choose he should have preferr'd his Solitude before so painful an Employment That he was not engaged in it for any other Reason but only to assist the Church of Constantinople which was then without an Orthodox Bishop That he would not trouble himself tho' Men should Censure him for having other Motives than really he had That God knows what his true Intention was That he never sought
for governing the Church of Constantinople by describing the wonderful Effects he had produc'd in that Church he prays them to grant him a Successor with as much Earnestness as others desire the Greatest Sees The Reasons which he alledges for obtaining Permission to retire are First his great Age the Quarrels of Churches and Bishops the Envy that some bore to him the Division of the East and the West and his Love of Retirement and Solitude He adds some other Reasons which tend to the Confusion of his Enemies such as the Persecutions which he had endur'd with Patience his Frugality his Modesty his Humility At last He conjures them to create another Bishop who should be more agreeable to the relish of the World Here he represents very naturally the Luxury Ambition and Arts which were but too common among the Bishops of the Great Sees At last He bids Adieu to his Dear Anastasia to the other Churches of Constantinople to the Council the Clergy the People and to the Court These Adieu's are pathetical to those that had an Esteem of him and are very picquant to those that were his Enemies and wish'd that he would abdicate his Charge 'T is plain that this Discourse is the last of those which he spoke at Constantinople The Five following Discourses are Entitled Of Theology because St. Gregory Nazianzen explains there what concerns the Divine Nature and the Trinity of Persons There he treats of the Rules which ought to be observed in the Administration of the Word of God He says First That this Function does not suit all Men That he who discharges it must be pure in Heart and Mind That he should not apply himself to it but with a sedate Temper and Lastly That he ought not to treat of those Matters before Pagans nor before those who have no sence of Religion and who think of nothing but Pleasures He adds many fine things about the Dispositions and Qualifications that are necessary to a Divine He blames those who having their Hands tied that is who do no Good Works yet have a wonderful Itch to prate and those who think to be great Divines because they understand the Subtilties of Aristotle's Logick and the Gentile Philosophy which they make use of nothing to the purpose when they Discourse about Mysteries In the 2d Discourse he enquires what may be conceiv'd concerning the Nature of God He says That his Existence is known by the Creatures That his Immensity Spirituality and his other Attributes are known but that it does not follow from hence that his Essence and Nature can be comprehended which he proves against Eunomius in the second Discourse of Theology which contains many great Notions concerning the Nature and Attributes of God In the 3d. he proves the Equality of the Three Persons of the Divinity and the Son and answers the most part of Eunomius's Sophisms The 4th continues the same subject and in the 5th he proves That the Holy Spirit is a Divine Person distinct from the Father and the Son That he proceeds from the Father and that he is not begotten as the Son tho' he be of the same Substance and the same Nature He observes towards the End of this Discourse That under the Old Testament the Father only was distinctly known That the Son is clearly Reveal'd in the New That in it also there are found Passages enough to prove the Divinity of the Holy Spirit but that it was fully clear'd by the Tradition of the Church These Discourses seem also to have been spoken at Constantinople And thus we are come to the 38th Sermon upon the Festival of the Birth of Jesus Christ. In it St. Gregory admires the Wonders of the Mysteries of the Incarnation He describes the Fall of the first Man which he supposes to have been the Cause of the Incarnation of Jesus Christ and reckons up the Advantages which Mankind receiv'd by this Mystery At last He teaches Christians to Celebrate the Festival of Christmas by purifying themselves from their Sins by imitating the Vertues of Jesus Christ and particularly his Patience and Humility The 39th Discourse is a Sermon upon the Festival Of Lights that is upon the Feast of Epiphany on which also the Solemnity of the Baptism of Jesus Christ is observ'd There he speaks of the Wonderful Effects of this Baptism which had the Vertue of purifying us He distinguishes many sorts of Baptism viz. The Baptism of Moses the Baptism of St. John the Baptism of Jesus Christ the Baptism of the Martyrs and the Baptism of Penance which he calls a Laborious Baptism and taking occasion from this last he Discourses against the Error of the Novatians Last of all He adds also to this Baptism which we have already mentioned the Baptism of Fire wherewith he says one may be baptiz'd in another Life The following Discourse was spoken the next Day 'T is an Instruction about Baptism to those that are to be baptiz'd There he observes the Excellence of Baptism and its marvellous Effects He sets down and explains the different Names that are given to this Sacrament He observes That it consists in Two Things the Water and the Spirit That the washing the Body with Water represents the Operation of the Spirit in purifying the Soul He says That Baptism is a Compact which we make with God by which we oblige our selves to lead a New Life That 't is very dangerous to break the Promise which we made at Baptism for there is no more Regeneration nor perfect Renovation to be hop'd for afterwards That we may indeed cover the Wound by a multitude of Tears and Sighs but that it would be much better not to need this Second Remedy because it is very difficult and troublesome and that we can have no assurance but Death may surprize us before our Penance be finish'd You says he addressing himself to the Ministers of Jesus Christ you can as the Gardener mention'd in the Gospel pray the Lord to excuse the barren Fig-tree yet a little longer you can desire him that he would not cut it down and that he would permit you to dung it that 's to say to impose as a Penance upon it Weeping Watching lying upon the hard Ground Corporal Mortifications and making humble Satisfaction but what certainty have you that God will pardon him Wherefore my Brethren being buried by Baptism with Jesus Christ let us rise with him let us descend with him into the Waters that we may ascend with him into Heaven He proves afterwards that we ought not to delay the Receiving of Baptism and refutes the vain pretences of those who delay it He says that Infants are to be Baptiz'd to consecrate them to Jesus Christ from their Infancy He distinguishes Three Sorts of Persons that are Baptiz'd the First are those who do Evil wilfully and with Delight the Second are those who commit Sin with some reluctancy and without approving it the Third are those who live well
the Humane Nature that what agrees to God is attributed to Man In the little Tract against the Manichees St. Gregory proves against these Hereticks that Evil is not an uncorruptible and uncreated Nature no more than the Devil who is the Author of it He demonstrates this by Ten Syllogisms In the Treatise of Distiny he particularly disputes against Judicial Astrology which makes our Actions depend upon the Course and Influence of the Stars In the Treatise of the Soul which is in the Second Volume he first relates the different Sentiments of Philosophers and Hereticks concerning the Original and Nature of the Soul and then proves that it is a Spiritual and Immortal Substance which is united to the Body which penetrates and actuates it He compares this Union to that of the Divine and Humane Nature in Jesus Christ and rejects the Opinion of Origen concerning the Ascension and Descent of Souls The Second Treatise of the Soul and the Resurrection which is in the Third Volume is a Dialogue which St. Gregory is suppos'd to have had with his Sister Marcina after the death of St. Basil their Brother There he proves the Immortality of the Soul He is of Opinion that it will distinctly know its Body at the Day of Judgment He explains the Story of the wicked Rich Man and Lazarus Allegorically There he refutes the Transmigration of Souls and proves the Resurrection In the Treatise address'd to Jerius concerning the untimely death of Infants he endeavours to Answer this Question Why God suffers Infants to Die before they come to the Use of Reason The most general Reason that he offers is That he does it to prevent those Sins that these Infants would have committed if they had come to the Age of Discretion And because it may be Objected to him Why then does God permit so many wicked Persons to live who had been more happy if they had never been or if they should have died sooner He Answers That God permits it First because he draws Good out of the Evil which they do Secondly because their Punishment serves for an Example of God's Justice Some Criticks have questioned whether the Book of Virginity was St. Gregory Nyssen's The only Reason which they alledg'd for calling it in question is because the Author was Married But this Reason is so far from proving what they intend that it rather proves the contrary since 't is certain that St. Gregory Nyssen had a Wife as we have already shown He describes in this Treatise the Advantages of Virginity and the Inconveniencies of Marriage nevertheless he does not design to condemn Marriage He adds that the Christian Virginity does not only consist in the Purity of the Body but also in the Purity of the Soul He recommends Temperance and the shunning of Pleasures and Voluptuousness and gives many Rules and Examples of Christian Vertues The Sermons or Homilies of the Mysteries have much of the nature of Dogmatical Treatises Thus in the Sermon upon the Nativity having exhorted the Faithful to celebrate this Festival with joy he explains some Questions about the Incarnation and clears up some Circumstances about the Nativity He follows the same Method in the Five Sermons upon Easter which are fill'd with many Allegories In the Sermon of the Ascension of Jesus Christ he explains the 23d and 24th Psalms In that of Whitsunday he exhorts Men to make themselves worthy to Receive the Holy Spirit In that upon the Festival of the Baptism of Jesus Christ he treats of the Spiritual Regeneration which is wrought by Baptism and exhorts those that are newly Baptiz'd to lead a pure Life and free from Sin In the Discourse of the presenting of Jesus Christ in the Temple of the Purification of the Virgin and of Simeon he makes many Allegories upon these Mysteries The Discourses of Morality are less Allegorical and more useful than those that we have spoken of already The Subject of those which we now have is as follows In the Oration upon his Ordination St. Gregory discourses of the Miseries of the Church and the little Faith which was to be found among the Christians of his time He condemns the Divisions which were in the Church and the Sophisms that were us'd about Mysteries He exhorts Men to pray for the Gifts of the Holy Spirit and to dispose themselves to receive them In the Discourse against those that delay Baptism he exhorts the Catechumens to receive Baptism presently without delaying it from day to day as many Catechumens do He invites them to draw near to Baptism that they may be deliver'd from their Sins He terrifies them with the fear of Death the time whereof is uncertain He makes them asham'd of continuing so long in the Rank of Catechumens He inspires them with a Desire of receiving Baptism by representing to them the Graces which it conveys and the wonderful Effects which it produces He thinks that it would be better to sin after Baptism than to die without it He refutes the Pretence of those who delay to receive Baptism because they find themselves still inclin'd to Sin He says that they deceive themselves if they think that after they have spent their Life in Pleasures and Debauchery they shall be purified by receiving Baptism at the point of Death He distinguishes as St. Gregory Nazianzen did Three Sorts of Persons with relation to another Life The First Sort are the Saints and Righteous who are happy The Second are those who shall neither be Happy nor Miserable The Third are those who shall be punish'd for their Sins He places in the second Rank those who delay their Baptism till the Point of Death This is a singular Opinion of his and does not agree with the Holy Scripture which has made some believe that this Treatise was not St. Gregory Nyssen's But it has his Stile and Air and is not much different from his Doctrine nor from that of St Gregory Nazianzen in the Discourse which he made upon the same Subject The Discourse of Penance d The Discourse of Penance This Discourse as well as that of Fasting and the Panegyrick upon St. Stephen belong to Asterius Amasenus to whom Photius attributes them in Vol. 27. of his Bibliotheque See what we have said of them when we give an account of the Works of this Father where we have retracted what we said upon this Subject in the First Edition contains Two Parts The First against those who reprove their Brethren with much sharpness and condemn them upon slight Grounds and the Second against those Sinners who do no Penance or do it very negligently He proves by the Example of Jesus Christ who convers'd among Pharisees and Sinners that Sinners are not to be treated with much rigour nor to be condemn'd rashly He adds that by using them hardly we throw them into Despair That we ought to consider that we are all Sinners That God invites all the World to accept of his Grace That
Advancement of Eugenius for some time disturbed the Repose of St. Ambrose He was obliged to retire from Milan in the Year 393 but he returned in the Year 394 and finished his Course as he had begun it He died in the Year 396 aged 57 Years The Works of St. Ambrose above all the other Fathers have been most corrupted in the ordinary Editions The Roman Edition from which those that follow'd after were made instead of restoring the Text of this Father hath render'd it more Faulty in many places by the Liberty which the Supervisors of that Edition took of making Alterations in it by their own Authority In this Edition the Works were in great Confusion without Order and without any distinction of what were Genuine and what were Supposititious which induc'd the Benedictins of the Abby of St. Germain de Prez to undertake a New Edition of this Father's Works wherein they have restor'd the Text from many Manuscripts and ranged the Discourses in very good Order In it they are divided into Two Volumes The First which is already published contains the Treatises of St. Ambrose upon the Scripture The Second which will quickly come forth and which they have allow'd me to make use of contains the other Works of this Father The First begins with the Treatise upon the Creation of the World compos'd of Nine Discourses of St. Ambrose to his People preach'd in one of the last Weeks of Lent 'T is probable that he reduc'd them afterwards into the form of a Treatise 'T is divided into Six Books which answer to the Six Days of the Creation This Work contains many Questions of Controversy and many Moral and Mystical Considerations upon the Text of the Bible There are many of them particularly in the last Books which are very extraordinary and far-fetch'd St. Ambrose made this Treatise about the Year 389. He has imitated St. Basil in it whose Method he followed and he has taken many things from him as also from Hippolitus and Origen The Treatise of Paradise is one of the first Books of St. Ambrose He wrote it as he says in his Letter to Sabinus soon after he was made Bishop He does not dive very deep into the Historical Questions which may be made upon this Subject but for the most part acquiesces in the Allegorical Explications which he draws out of Philo and other Authors or which he invents himself There he refutes the Hereticks of Apelles's Sect and occasionally speaks against the Jews St. Ambrose continues the Explication of the Text of Genesis in the Treatise of the History of Abel and Cain upon which he makes abundance of long Allegories wherewith he intermixes some Moral Thoughts He enlarges particularly upon the Sacrifices of these two Brethren Upon occasion of the saying that the Blood of Abel crys he says That God hears the Just even after their Death because they are even then living before God and enjoy Eternal Light The History of the Deluge and the Life of Noah furnished St. Ambrose with very fit Matter for the Continuation of his Mystical and Moral Explications This is the Subject of the Book of the Ark and of Noah or of the Ark of Noah as St. Austin calls it This Treatise is not perfect for St. Austin quotes a Passage out of it which is not to be found there now There are Two Books of St. Ambrose upon the Life of Abraham In the First he describes the Life and Actions of this Patriarch and represents his Submission to the Will of God and his other Vertues In the Second Book he discourses on the First Actions of this Patriarch to draw from them a more sublime and spiritual Sence by applying them to the different Degrees of a spiritual Life and to the Ways by which we tend to Perfection He treats also of the same Subject tho' in a more compendious way in the Book of Isaac and the Soul where he explains the Union of the Soul with the Word which was figur'd by the Marriage of Isaac and Rebecca There he distinguishes Four Degrees through which the Soul must pass that it may be delivered from all earthly Affections and arrive at a State of perfect Union with God By this Union he explains the Canticles on which he makes a kind of a Mystical Paraphrase and therefore this Treatise may pass for a Commentary upon this Book of Scripture St. Ambrose having discoursed of the Soul at the End of the preceeding Treatise found himself insensibly engag'd to treat of Death in the following Book 'T is entitled Of the Benefits or Advantages of Death There St. Ambrose first distinguishes three kinds of Death The Death of Sin which kills the Soul The Mystical Death by which we die to Sin and the Natural Death by which the Soul is separated from the Body All the World considers the First as a great Misery and the Second as a great Happiness but their Opinions are divided about the last Some wish for it as a great Advantage and others dread it as a great Punishment St. Ambrose declares for those who hold it to be a great Benefit he makes the Advantages of it appear and opposes to them the troubles of this present Life from which Death deliver us He exhorts Christians not to set their Affections upon this Life nor the Pleasures of this World he makes them sensible of the bitterness which accompanies them he represents the Dangers to which we are continually exposed the Temptations to which we are subject in all sorts of Occurrences and the Sins into which we fall every moment Afterwards he discourses of the State of departed Souls he supposes that till the Day of Judgment they are in Places or Habitations where they expect Eternal Glory or Damnation tho' they enjoy already by anticipation some kind of Happiness or Misery All Souls wait says he for what they have deserved some expect Damnation and others Glory but in this waiting the former are not without Pain nor the latter without some Reward St. Ambrose insists particularly upon the Joy which the latter enjoy and distinguishes Seven Degrees of their Happiness whereof the last is to rejoyce in the assurance they have of seeing God face to face He concludes with exhorting the Faithful to die without Fear Let us go on says he without fear in the way to Jesus Christ Let us march without anxiety to the Assembly of the Patriarchs and Saints Let us enter with Confidence into Abraham's Bosom Yes O Holy Patriarch open to us your Bosom extend your Arms to these poor Faithful Jesus is gone before us to prepare Habitations where we are to be received he promised to do it before we asked it of him We desire to follow thee O Lord but call thou us unto thee that so we may effectually follow thee because without thee no Man can ascend unto thee Thou art the Way the Truth and the Life thou givest us the Power the Faith and the Reward
were so far in the right when they affirm'd That a Wise-man tho' he were secur'd for ever from any Discovery should do nothing against his Duty but finding no Example to prove it they had recourse to the Fable of Gyges's Ring St. Ambrose confirms this Truth by the Example of David and St. John Baptist In a Word St. Ambrose proves that in all Cases we ought to preferr Honesty to Profit He grounds upon this Principle his Assertion That one who has gathered together much Corn ought not to keep it up in his Barns until a time of Famine that he may Sell it very dear He condemns this Practice as a sort of Usury or Robbery He would not have Strangers hindred from coming into Cities in a time of Famine and blames the ancient Romans for the practise of this Rigour but praises an Old Man who in his time was of a contrary Opinion Having related many Examples taken out of Scripture to show that we ought to preferr Honesty to Profit he reproves the Conduct of those who are always intent upon sordid Gain who use all manner of Tricks to Cheat others of their Goods and leave no means unessay'd to possess themselves of their Neighbours Inheritance He adds That this Covetousness is very much to be blam'd in all sorts of Persons but it is insupportable in Clergy-men who ought to allow dying Men their Liberty to make their Last Will with Discretion and Freedom That a Clergy-man ought never to alienate the Goods which belong to another for his own Profit because it is his Duty to do Good to all the World and to do no Injury to any Man From hence he concludes that when we cannot help one Man but we must do Injury to another it is more convenient to deny our Assistance to the former than by doing him Good to Prejudice the latter For this cause he would not have Clergy-men meddle in Pecuniary Causes because in gaining from one they injure another At last he collects several Examples taken out of the Old Testament which he alledges to prove That Honesty is to be preferr'd before any Interest and Advantage whatsoever He concludes this Book with some Excellent Precepts which he gives concerning Honest and Christian Friendship I shall set down some of them Friendship it self ought to give place to Honesty No Man ought to favour his Friend when he is in the wrong nor to deal unjustly by him when he is in the right As we ought to vindicate him when he is Innocent so we ought to reprove him when he is guilty we ought to speak to him with sincerity to open our Heart to him to reprove him with Freedom to suffer for him when it is necessary and to relieve him in his wants The Foundation of Friendship is Faith in God and no Man can be a true Friend to another who is an Infidel towards God Piety preserves Friendship and makes Friends equal There can be no Friendship between Persons of different Principles One Friend ought to admonish another without bitterness and rebuke him without reproaches Our Friendships ought not to be founded upon Interest for Friendship is a Vertue and not a Matter of Traffick There is no true Friendship where there is Flattery Thus I have given an Abridgment of St. Ambrose's Offices which is a very useful Book to teach all Christians the Principles Maxims and Rules of that most Holy Morality which they profess And this made it so common in former Ages every one would have it every one would read it with attention and those who had leisure made Abridgments of it which are still extant It were to be wish'd that Christians and chiefly Clergy-men would do the same still and that they would draw from this pure Fountain the Morality which they teach and which they practise The French Translation which has been made of it may render it useful to all Men. But let us proceed to the other Treatises of St. Ambrose The Books of Virginity were written by St. Ambrose at the Request of his Sister Marcellina who having heard some speak of the Sermons which he had made about Virginity desir'd him to send her in writing what he had preach'd since she could not be so happy as to hear him Whereupon he put his Sermons in the Form of a Treatise and divided them into Three Books which he address'd to his Sister Marcellina in the Third Year of his Bishoprick that is to say in the Year 377. After a very humble Preface he begins his Treatise with a Discourse in praise of St. Agnes He sets off the Glorious Martyrdom of that Illustrious Virgin with inimitable Elegance To Day says he is the Feast of a Virgin let us imitate her Purity It is the Holy-day of a Martyr let us offer up Sacrifices 'T is the Festival of St. Agnes let Men admire her and Young Children entertain blessed Hopes of her let Married Women wonder and Virgins endeavour to imitate her But what can we say worthy of a Person whose very Name is a sufficient commendation Her Zeal was above her Age and her Vertue exceeded the Powers of Nature ..... This Holy Virgin suffer'd Martyrdom at Twelve Years of Age. By how much the Cruelty of those who did not spare such tender Years is to be detested by so much is the Vertue of that Faith to be admir'd which could make a Martyr at that Age ..... Here is a New kind of Martyrdom She was not yet of an Age fit to suffer and yet she was already able to Conquer She went to Death with more gaiety than a young Bride to the Nuptial Bed All People mourn'd for her and yet she shed not one Tear for her self It was Matter of admiration to see her prodigally throw away that Life which she had scarce yet tasted with as much Ease as if she were arriv'd at the end of her Course In short what she did was so incredible of humane Nature that it was believ'd to be from God for whatsoever transcends the Power of Nature must proceed from the Author of it What Threatnings did not her Executioner use to frighten her What Artifices did he not employ to persuade her By what various Sollicitations did he attempt her to yield to Marry That were said she an Injury to my Divine Spouse to entertain any hopes of being able to please others I am only his who has chosen me first Why do you delay Executioner to do your Office Let this Body of mine perish seeing it is so unhappy as to be pleasant in the Eyes of those whom I would not have it to please Having spoken these Words she put her self into a Posture to receive the Fatal Blow she pray'd and then submitted her Neck You see here a double Sacrifice in one Victim She is a Martyr both for Religion and Virginity she remains a Virgin and obtains a Crown of Martyrdom St. Ambrose having proposed this Illustrious Example treats at large
and before the death of Peter of Alexandria and before the Celebration of the Council of Constantinople that 's to say in the Year 381. There is one place in it where he seems to assert That Baptism given in the Name of one Person only of the Trinity is valid There are many Explications given of it which may be seen in the Note of the Benedictines upon this Passage The Treatise of the Incarnation is a Discourse which St. Ambrose spoke to refute the Objections which Two Arians Officers who belong'd to the Emperour Gratian had propos'd to him with much pride He engag'd to answer them the next day in his Sermon Paulinus informs us that these Two Officers having mounted up into their Chariot to come to this Sermon were thrown down headlong St. Ambrose who knew nothing of this Accident waited long enough for them and tho' they came not at all yet he did not fail to perform his promise But before he entred upon the Matter to give them yet longer time to come he begun his Discourse with the Explication of the Sacrifices of Cain and Abel Afterwards he applies to Hereticks the Curse which God pronounc'd against the Sacrifice of Cain and makes a Catalogue of the principal Heresies ending with the Apollinarians After this he proves against the Arians the Divinity of the Son and his Humanity against the Apollinarians and demonstrates against both the one and the other That there were in Jesus Christ Two perfect and compleat Natures the Divine Nature according to which he is equal to his Father and the Humane that is to say a real Body and an understanding Soul with the Properties of these Two Natures When St. Ambrose afterwards wrote down this Sermon he added the Answer to a Difficulty which the Arians propos'd to him after his Sermon viz. How it is possible that the Father who was not begotten should be of the same Nature with the Son who was begotten This is the Subject of this Treatise which he compos'd sometime before the Death of Gratian in 383 and after the Book of Faith which he wrote in 379 that 's to say about the Year 382. There is at the end of this Treatise a Passage of St. Ambrose about the Incarnation which is produced by Theodoret in his Second Dialogue as taken out of a Book Entituled An Explication of the Faith The Letters of St. Ambrose are plac'd in a new Order and divided into Two Classes The First contains those whose Time and Order could be found out The Second contains those whose Date is not certainly known The Letter of the Emperour Gratian to St. Ambrose is of a more ancient Date than the rest He wrote to this Holy Bishop after his Return from the East whither he had gone to assist his Uncle Valens He signifies to him how much he desired to have him near him and prays him to send him again that Book which he had given him before meaning the Two Books of the Faith and to add to them the Proofs of the Divinity of the Holy Spirit St. Ambrose in the Answer which he made to this Letter excuses himself for not coming to wait upon him when he return'd from the East and praises the Faith and Piety of this Emperour He promises Satisfaction to his Demands This Letter was written in 379 soon after the Return of Gratian. The Second is written to Constantius who was lately promoted to a Bishoprick He exhorts him to govern his Church well in the midst of Storms and Tempests He discourses to him very largely about the Instructions which he should give to his People He recommends to him the Church of Imola which was without a Bishop and prays him to visit it often till a Bishop were Ordain'd for it because as for himself he was so busy during the time of Lent that he could not go far from his own Church Lastly he admonishes him to take heed lest the Arians that came from Illyricum should spread their Error among the Faithful of his Country He adds that they ought to think of the Misery which had befaln them because of their Infidelity which discovers that the Arians were driven out of Illyricum by the Goths who entred into that Country after the Death of the Emperour Valens And therefore this Letter was written in the Lent of 379. The Two following Letters are address'd to Felix Bishop of Comum In the First St. Ambrose thanks him for the Mushrooms which he had sent him and complains that he had not yet come to see him In the Second he praises him and invites him to be present at the Dedication of the Church of St. Bassianus Bishop of Lodi If we may believe Ughellus the Author of Italia Sacra this Church was Consecrated in the Year 380 but that is very uncertain This Bassianus subscrib'd at the Council of Aquileia The 5th Letter to Siagrius Bishop of Verona concerns a Point of Discipline This Bishop had condemn'd a Virgin who was accus'd of having violated her Virginity to be examined by a Mid wife St. Ambrose nulls this Judgment in a Synod of Bishops Siagrius being offended with this Proceeding wrote to him that 't was to be fear'd the Inhabitants of Verona would complain of the Judgment which he had given St. Ambrose shows in this Letter that his Judgment was as Canonical as that of Siagrius was irregular He accuses this Bishop of being too hasty in giving this Judgment which was so disgraceful to a Virgin who had been consecrated by his Predecessor Zeno and who had always pass'd for a vertuous Maid This was so much the more unjust because there was neither Accuser nor Informer nor Witness against her She had been defam'd by none but a Club of Libertines unworthy of Credit whom she had driven away from her House And therefore this Judgment being against all Laws Ecclesiastical and Civil was void in form neither was it better as to the Matter because what it ordain'd was against good Manners against Modesty and Civility St. Ambrose represents to him that there are other ways to be assur'd of the good behaviour of a Virgin and that we must never proceed to these Extremities That oftentimes this way is not successful and leaves the Matter as uncertain as before That it was very dangerous to make the Reputation of a Virgin consecrated to God depend upon the Credit of a Woman who might easily be corrupted or deceiv'd That if these means might be us'd it was only to be us'd to Maid-servants who are more afraid of a Discovery than of Sinning but it ought never to be us'd for trying the Chastity of Virgins consecrated to God That in this particular Case 't was to no manner of purpose to use these Means because if it were true that this young Woman who was accuss'd had been with Child and put it to death after her being brought to Bed as was given out it had been impossible but this would have been
Foundation of Confession and the Fisherman of the whole Earth The Second Sermon of this Volume is against Dancing and Luxury there he shews that Preachers are bound to reprove Vice and that they ought never to forbear though their preaching seems to be without Fruit Then he begins to explain the Parable of Dives and Lazarus making several moral Reflexions on the particulars of that Parable in the four following Sermons The last is quoted by Photius in the 277th Volume of his Bibliotheca where he speaks of an Earth-quake at Antioch where he preached these Sermons He observes in the Fourth that God does not permit any to return from the Dead and gives the reason of it The Seventh Sermon is an Exposition of the Parable of the Man that was sick of the Palsie he uses Jesus Christ's Words concerning that sick Man and his Cure to prove the Divinity of Jesus Christ. The Eighth is upon these Words of Jesus Christ in S. Matthew Chap. 26. v. 39. Father if it be possible let this Cup pass c. There he explains the Mystery of Christ's Incarnation and in what sence he feared Death and would have avoided it The Ninth on these words of S. Matthew Enter in at the strait Gate is against publick Shews At the latter End of it the case of Dives is compared with that of Lazarus The Tenth contains an Exposition of the Lord's Prayer This Prayer is not written in S. Chrysostom's style The Eleventh is upon the Resurrection of Lazarus That Discourse is none of S. Chrysostom's the style elocution and the very thoughts are quite different from his The Twelfth is upon the Title of the Acts of the Apostles where after a Discourse concerning the Establishment and Perpetuity of the Church which could neither be shaken nor ruined by the severest Persecutions he shews that a Christian Life and good Works are more to be valued than the Gift of working Miracles he ends with a Commendation of the Bishop of Antioch whom he calls the Successor of S. Peter For saith he it is one of the Prerogatives of our City is to have had for our Master S. Peter the first of the Apostles It was just that that City which had the advantage of bearing first the Name of a Christian City should have for her Bishop the first of the Apostles But having enjoy'd that happiness we would not ingross it to our selves but consented he should go to Rome the Imperial City Yet in giving we have not lost him we have him still we have not his Body but his Faith and having S. Peter ' s Faith we may truly say we have S. Peter himself He justifies himself in the Thirteenth for the length of his Prefaces he shews there the Usefulness of Reproof and treats of the Conversion of S. Paul and of the changing of his Name and reproves them that neglect to labour in their own conversion under pretence that God will convert them God saith he forceth no man he draweth only them that are willing to go to him he is willing to save us but that is if we be willing to be saved The Fourteenth is upon these words of S. Paul Rom. c. 5. v. 3. Rejoycing in tribulations Here he shews what is the fruit of afflictions and of persecutions The same Subject is handled in the following discourse upon these words of the same Apostle All things work together for good to them that love God The Preface of the Sixteenth is against such as frequent not the Assemblies of the Faithfull in Churches and then he expounds these words of the Apostle If thine enemy hunger feed him exhorting Men to forgive injuries In the Seventeenth and Eighteenth Sermons he makes many very usefull reflections upon these words of S. Paul Salute Aquila and Priscilla In these discourses we have an example justifying how many Moral Thoughts may be suggested by a subject which of it self seems dry and barren For what is there more simple in appearance and of less instruction than this Salutation of S. Paul Yet by a wonderfull Art S. Chrysostom makes use of it for the explanation of many important instructions As about the respect we ought to have for the Poor Charity towards our Brethren the small regard that is to be had to Nobility the profit of working with our own hands and the reverence due to Church-men c. The Nineteenth and Twentieth Sermons are about what S. Paul saith of Marriage in 1 Cor. c. 7. from which he takes occasion to speak against Dancing Feasting and other profane Pomps of Weddings He teaches what ought to be the end of Marriage among Christians and how it is to be used Marriage saith he is a remedy against Fornication let us not therefore dishonour it by filthy Pomps Christians ought to banish from their Weddings devilish Pomps filthy Songs lascivious Consorts undecent Dancings obscene Words Riots excessive Laughter and they ought to introduce the Servants of Jesus Christ and his Priests to have Jesus Christ in Person in the midst of them as of the Marriage in Cana. Let no man tell me it is the custom do not tell me of a custom if it is sinfull If the thing be Evil in it self how old soever the use of it be retrench it If it be Good and not usual bring it in But know that this custom is not ancient but an Innovation Remember the Marriage of Isaac with Rebecca of Rachel with Jacob the Scripture tells us how those Weddings were kept it shews indeed that there was a Feast more splendid than ordinary that the Relations and Neighbours were invited but there were no Fiddles no Dancing nor any other shamefull Excesses of our Age. Now at Weddings such lascivious Songs are sung as teach Adultery and inspire foolish Love the Guests full of Wine do attend the Bride with impure Discourses With what reason can you pretend to require Chastity in a Woman whom you have taught from the very First day to be impudent and before whom you suffer that to be said and done which your Foot-men would blush to doe or hear To what purpose do ye bring in a Priest to crave a blessing and the next day your selves commit base actions In the same Homily there are a great many Exhortations of the same nature against such disorders which are not less frequent in our days than they were in the time of this Bishop Afterwards he adviseth both Men and Women to behave themselves holily in Marriage and not only to avoid Adultery but not so much as give an occasion of suspicion He proves that Second Marriages are not forbidden though it is better to forbear and concludes with a sensible Declamation against Adultery and Fornication The Twenty-first is upon these words 1 Cor. c. 10. Our Fathers were all under the cloud c. After a large Exposition of which words he speaks of Alms-deeds and of the necessary Dispositions to communicate worthily The Twenty-second is upon
that though he had resolved the Day before to speak no more of God's Command not to swear because he had sufficiently discoursed on that Subject the Days before yet he found himself obliged to insist upon it till he saw them reformed The 16th Homily was preached upon Saturday in the second Week in Lent Because he says at the latter End behold we have passed the second fasting Week He speaks of the fore-going Sermon as of his last though it had been preached some Days before It is very likely that the 9th and 10th Sermons follow this and that they were preached before the Judges sent by the Emperour had frighted the People for S. Chrysostom says nothing there concerning the Desolation of the City but handleth some Points of Morality particularly against Swearing and against those that refused to hear Sermons after Dinner The Officers of the Emperour having erected a Chamber of Justice at Antioch to punish the Town for their sedition and to condemn those that were most guilty dreadfull was the Consternation of the People which made them think of nothing else but how they might appease the Judges and mitigate the severity of the Judgment S. Chrysostom describes the Day of that Judgment as the most dreadfull thing in the World He says that all the People expected nothing but Death some fled others hid themselves the Streets were empty that the rest of the Inhabitants assembled near the Palace-gate waiting there for their Condemnation That within the Palace all was full of Men put to the Torture or sentenced to Death That Mother 's wept for their Children and Sisters for their Brethren In one word That the whole City was in a fearfull Desolation in expectation of all manner of mischief In this sad Conjuncture of Affairs the Hermites left their solitude to come to Antioch to sollicite the Judges in behalf of the People The Clergy also attended to move them to Clemency And every one did his endeavour to work upon them by all the Tokens of regret and submission that can be given in such occasions The Judges moved with these things and touched especially by the Remonstrances of the Monks inclined to Mercy and contented themselves to take from Antioch the Quality of Metropolis of the East and to forbid the acting of publick Spectacles for the recreation of the People Having in the mean time sent to prison some of the Magistrates and Chief men of the City till they should know the resolution of the Emperour This Judgment was no sooner pronounced but S. Chrysostom opened his Mouth to return God thanks for the Success as he doth in the 10th 11th 12th and 13th Homilies which were preached one after another those successive Days after the Judgment But some having again struck a new Terrour into the People S. Chrysostom endeavours to settle them in the 14th Homily The 18th Homily was preached by S. Chrysostom after Mid-Lent as he saith in the beginning complaining of some who rejoyced that half the time of fasting was over and of the Impatience which the Inhabitants of Antioch shew'd because they were deprived of their bathings and pleasures He takes notice that they had not been deprived of them above 20 Days S. Chrysostom being fallen sick appeared not in ten Days but was no sooner able to go abroad but he began again and preached the 19th and 21st Sermons that are particularly directed to the People come out of the Country to Antioch about the Feast of Easter The 22d was preached towards the end of Lent He discourseth there of the necessary qualifications to communicate worthily at Easter affirming that it is absolutely needfull to forget injuries and to be reconciled from whence he takes occasion to speak against Enmities and resentments he adds threatnings against such as had not yet left their Custom of Swearing notwithstanding his manifold Exhortations to this purpose in the time of Lent The last Sermon upon the same subject is the 20th about the Return of Flavianus who came back to Antioch before Easter having obtained of the Emperour's Clemency pardon for the City of Antioch In this Discourse S. Chrysostom eloquently describes the wonderfull Conduct of Flavianus the Discourse he had with the Emperour the Answers of that Prince and the rejoycing of the People at Antioch when they received the welcome News of the pardon granted them This is the true Order of those 22 Sermons of S. Chrysostom which is much perverted in the Editions The other Homilies in this Volume are either Sermons upon some points of Doctrine or of morals or panegyricks upon Saints The Sermons of the former kind are these six Homilies of the incomprehensible Nature of God against the Anomaeans the last whereof was preached at Constantinople a Discourse of the Consubstantiality against the Arians quoted by Theodoret in the sixth Council A Discourse of the Judgment which follows immediately after the last One against those who like the Pagans kept the first Days of the Months preached upon New-years-day A Sermon of Jesus Christ's Baptism a Discourse about the Devil's Temptations six Sermons against the Jews The Homilies of Penance which formerly were more in Number and are now to be reduced into the following Order The first beareth that Title in the first Volume the second and third are lost the fourth and fifth are also right set down in the first Volume We have neither the sixth nor the seventh except that which is in the 4th Volume be one of these two for it is falsly intituled The third Homily of Penitence seeing he says in the beginning that he had been some Days without preaching whereas it is evident by the beginning of the 4th Homily of Penance that he had preached the four first Homilies of Penance one after another without interruption The 9th is the 65 Sermon of the 5th Volume of Penance and of the sorrow of King Ahab The 10th Homily is the 9th in the first Volume and the last is the eleventh The Discourse against the Gentiles is not a Sermon but a Treatise which is to be placed amongst S. Chrysostom's Treatises But the Discourse of Baptism is a Homily directed to the Catechumens The Discourse of Anathema's is S. Chrysostom's though some Criticks have doubted it It is his Style and therein he speaks of the Homilies of the incomprehensible Nature of God and it was quoted near 400 Years ago by Philotheus Patriarch of Constantinople as written by S. Chrysostom He proveth in that Homily that an Anathema is not lightly to be pronounced against any nor others rashly to be condemned The two Treatises of Prayer are probably written by S. Chrysostom but the six Discourses about Providence which are in the same Volume are none of his no more than the last of Penance and Continence which are supposed to belong to John the Faster Patriarch of Constantinople who lived long after S. Chrysostom The First of S. Chrysostom's Panegyricks is upon S. Philegonius Archbishop of Antioch
the Second upon S. Babylas likewise Archbishop of Antioch the Third upon Maximus and Juventinus Martyrs who suffered Martyrdom under Julian the Apostate These two Sermons were preached one after the other upon the 24th and the 26th of January after the Three first Homilies of Lazarus as is noted in the Fourth The Third is of S. Pelagia a Virgin of Antioch who threw her self headlong rather than lose her Virginity The Fourth of S. Ignatius Bishop of Antioch The Fifth of S. Romanus Martyr of Antioch The Sixth is a Discourse to the Praise of the Seven Macchabees The Seventh is a Panegyrick upon S. Meletius The Eighth of S. Lucianus Martyr of Antioch preached the next Day after the Feast of Christ's Baptism The Ninth upon S. Julianus The Tenth is a second Discourse upon S. Romanus the Martyr The Eleventh is a second Discourse of the Macchabees The Twelfth is a third Discourse upon the same Subject The Thirteenth is of S. Domnina and of her two Daughters Berenice and Prosdoce who chose a voluntary Death before the Violation of their Virginity The Fourteenth of S. Eustachius Bishop of Antioch The Fifteenth is a Discourse of Helias and S. Peter The Sixteenth is of the Egyptian Martyrs The Seventeenth upon S. Barlaam Martyr in Caesarea in Cappadocia The Panegyrick upon the Martyr Phocas and the Fragment of that of S. Thecla which is in the same Volume are not of S. Chrysostom's Style But the Discourse upon all the holy Martyrs is an excellent Sermon worthy of S. Chrysostom Among the rest this is one of the finest Passages there The Devil says he has introduced Death into the World and God makes use of Death to introduce us into Heaven by Martyrdom Martyrdom is a Combat the Martyrs are on the one Side and Tyrants on the other The Tyrants are armed and the Martyrs naked Yet they that are naked get the Victory and they that bear Arms are vanquished What Wonder is this He that is beaten proves Victor over him that beats him He that is bound overcomes him that is at liberty He that is burnt tames him that burns him and he that dies furmounts him that puts him to Death It is Grace that works these Miracles they are above the strength of Nature The sixth Volume of the Greek and Latin Edition of Paris contains several Sermons which Fronto Ducaeus and other Criticks have judged not to be of S. Chrysostom's Style Fronto Ducaeus passes this Judgment upon it We have collected in this sixth Volume some Sermons which are not upon whole Books of Scripture but upon some places written in a Style differing from that of S. Chrysostom's Works for these Discourses are Dramatical and full of Prosopopoeia's the Style is sententious and concise with frequent Allegories and we find not there those Similitudes and other Beauties so frequent in S. Chrysostom's Works and yet the Authors of these Sermons lived either in the Time of S. Chrysostom or not long after him But we ought not to wonder that some of these are quoted under S. Chrysostom's Name in very ancient Councils because they were already published under his Name and Councils do not usually examine narrowly into the Authors of those Books which they quote Being contented to debate the Questions offered and to oppose to Heretical Errours the Writings received in the Church as did the Apostles and other Fathers who quoted Apocryphal Books That 's the Judgment which this Learned Jesuit makes of the Sermons contained in this Volume but if we would know whether it is just we must examine them strictly one after another The First Homily the Author whereof shews that there is the same Law-giver both of the Old and New Testament is not S. Chrysostom's though Photius quotes it under his Name for 1. The Style is quite different from S. Chrysostom's 2. The order and disposition of this Homily differs much from those of S. Chrysostom 3. It is full of Allegories which are very rare in S. Chrysostom 4. Most of the Thoughts are unworthy of him 5. There is great Confusion 6. It both begins and ends in a different manner from the Homilies of S. Chrysostom 7. It is observed at the End of that Discourse that it was written in a Time when the Roman Empire was under Oppression 8. The Blessed Virgin is there often called 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 so that it is plain this was not done without Affectation The two following Homilies upon two Places of the Beginning of Genesis are unworthy of S. Chrysostom for the same Reasons The Homily upon these Words of Abraham to his Servant Gen. 24. v. 2. Put thine hand under my Thigh c. is more rational than the foregoing as to its Notions but the Style is too concise and close and comes not near the easiness of S. Chrysostom Yet this Discourse is ancient and worth reading and I am apt to believe that it may have been written by Severianus of Gabala to whom the following Sermon of the brazen Serpent lifted up by Moses in the Wilderness is attributed in the Manuscripts and under whose Name it is quoted by S. John Damascene in the three first Discourses about Images by Pope Adrian I. Ch. 26. and by the Assembly of Bishops at Paris in the Year 824. The Author treats of the Trinity and of the Divinity of the Holy Ghost It appears both by the Style and by the Beginning that it is written by the same Author as the foregoing The four Homilies upon Job are Sermons written by a Monk of the latter Times who having studied Isocrates his Oration to Demonicus coldly imitates him in his four Discourses where there is neither Wit nor Order nor Eloquence nor Thought nor Reasoning yet he foolishly fansies that he out-did S. Chrysostom in Point of Eloquence many Bars length The fifth Homily upon Job is the 22d of those Homilies which Simeon Logotheta composed out of several Passages taken out of S. Chrysostom The Homily upon this Verse of Psalm 38. Man disquieteth himself in vain comes nearer to S. Chrysostom's Style and yet is not quite the same The Oration of the Turtle-Dove or of the Church is an impertinent Discourse like the Treatise intituled the Supper falsly ascribed to S. Cyprian from which the Author of this hath taken some of his Impertinencies The Homily upon the Prophet Elias is more valuable and yet seems not to me to be S. Chrysostom's I should rather attribute it to Severianus of Gabala as well as the three following of Joseph Susanna and the three Children in the fiery Furnance The Homily of Seals written in the same Style with the foregoing does certainly belong to Severianus of Gabala being quoted under his Name by Theodoret in the third Dialogue and by Adrian I. The same Character and Style may be found in the Sermons of Faith and of the Law of Nature in that of the Holy Trinity in the Discourse of the Divinity of the Holy Ghost quoted by Photius
are written in a different Style S. Jerom mentions Five Epistles of Theophilus which he had translated into Latin The First was a Synodical Letter against Origen of the Year 399. The Second was a Paschal Epistle for the Year 401 and three other Paschal Epistles for the Years 402 403 and 404. We have not the Two first the other Three are among S. Jerom's Epistles The First is divided into four Parts according to the Observation of that Saint In the First Theophilus exhorts the Faithfull to celebrate the Feast of Easter worthily In the Second and Third he speaks against Apollinarius In the Last he adviseth Hereticks to repent In all the Three he shews his aversion to Origen accusing him with great vehemence of several Errors It is observed in the Last that the Christians of that time forbore in Lent the Use of Wine and Meat In these Discourses he intersperses some Moral Notions and endeth all his Epistles with giving notice of the Day when Lent shall begin and of Easter Day and Whit-sunday We have besides amongst S. Jerom's Epistles Three Letters of Theophilus One to S. Epiphanius wherein he exhorts him to assemble a Council against Origen and Two other Letters against the Origenists There are some Greek Fragments of the Paschal Letters cited by Theodoret in the Council of Ephesus and in that of Chalcedon which are among those that we have or else are taken out of other Letters of the same nature For the Council of Ephesus quoteth a Sixth Paschal Letter and Justinian in his writing against Origen produces a great part of the Synodical Letter against Origen and Two other fragments of a Letter and of a Treatise directed to the Monks of Scheta Facundus l. 6. ch 5. quoteth a Book of Theophilus against S. Chrysostom full of Invectives and Calumnies against that Saint whereof he gives some Instances which shew how much Passion and Rage had blinded him Lastly One may see in Zonaras's and Balsamon's Collections some Laws and Canonical Letters of this same Bishop The First is a Pastoral Letter wherein he saith that when Christmas Eve happens upon a Sunday some light Meat may be eaten that so we may not seem to follow the practice of Hereticks by eating nothing on the Sunday and yet not to break the Law of Fasting altogether The Second is a Letter containing some Rules for the Province of Lycopolis directed to Ammon The First concerneth those who had communicated with the Arian Bishops he ordereth that they should be deposed allowing them still leave to dwell in the place and to be dealt with as was appointed by the Bishops of Thebais The Second is upon the occasion of a Priest who was ordained after he had committed a crime with a Woman that was divorced from her Husband Theophilus determines that he ought to be Suspended from his Ministerial Function The Third is concerning a Priest who had been excommunicated by his Bishop Theophilus declares that the Priest that was Excommunicated by his Bishop ought to be esteemed Excommunicate till he had justified himself by the Law The Fourth concerneth a Deacon who was accused to have Married his Brother's Daughter Theophilus saith That if he Married her before Baptism and had not co-habited with her since he was Baptized he might continue in the Clergy but if he had co-habited with her after Baptism he ought to be degraded from the Clergy In the Fifth that relateth to an Accusation brought against a Reader Theophilus gives this Order That if he be convicted of Fornication he ought to be degraded but if this Accusation is grounded only upon suspicion no regard is to be had to it In the Sixth he sets down a Rule to be observed in Ordinations he saith That the Bishop is to Ordain none who is not chosen by the whole Clergy in the presence of the People and that the Bishop is to give his Approbation before he can be Ordained The Seventh appointeth That whatsoever is left of the Offering after Communion ought to be distributed to the Clerks and to the Faithfull and none of it to the Catechumens The Eighth is also concerning a Clerk that was accused of Fornication Theophilus affirms That if he be convicted of the Crime he ought to be deposed but if he gives a good account of his Behaviour and it cannot be proved that he committed the Fact they ought not to give him any trouble The Ninth Canon is about chusing a new Steward in the Church The Tenth enjoyns That the Poor the Widows and the Pilgrims should not be disturbed and that none should usurp the Church-goods The Second Letter contains a Rule whereby it is ordered conformably to the Canon of the Council of Nice That the Novatians who had a mind to come into the Church might receive Ordination The Third to Agatho was written upon occasion of a person who knowing not the Laws of the Church had contracted an unlawfull Marriage and being censured for it had left his Wife with her consent He adviseth the Bishop to whom he writeth to place them among the Catechumens if he thought fit and if he judged that they did it sincerely otherwise he will have him deal more severely with them The Last Letter is directed to Menna where he forbids him to admit into the Communion of the Church a Woman that had wrong'd another before she had made reparation Theophilus hath nothing in his Writings that can turn to his Commendation They are dark unintelligible full of false Reasonings and Reflections that do not concern his Subject He was a good Politician but an ill Author He knew better how to manage a Court-intrigue than to resolve a question of Divinity The only Rule of his Opinions was his Interest or his Ambition He was ready to embrace any Opinion or Party that could satisfie his Passion without examining much whether it was just or reasonable THEODORUS of Mopsuesta THEODORUS a Priest of Antioch Diodorus and Flavian's Disciple S. Chrysostom's Companion and as some have affirmed Nestorius's Tutor was chosen Bishop of Mopsuesta Theodorus of Mopsuesta about the beginning of the Fifth Century of the Church Many were the Works that he writ but the misfortune which they had to be condemned with his Person in the Fifth Council by the Intrigues of Justinian the Emperour caused them to be lost except the Titles and Fragments that were collected either by his Accusers or by his Defenders It is probable that he writ Commentaries upon the whole Bible Photius Vol. 25th of his Bibliotheca saith That he had read a Commentary of Theodorus upon Genesis divided into Seven Parts Facundus and the Fifth General Council mention Commentaries of Theodorus upon the Psalms the Book of Job the Canticles the Twelve lesser Prophets the Gospels of S. Matthew S. John and S. Luke upon the Acts the Epistle to the Romans and upon the Epistle to the Hebrews In these Commentaries he insisted most upon the Historical sence avoiding
and Letters wherein they are set very exactly in a Chronological Order The first Letter is written by Paulinus to Sulpicius Severus sometime after he was ordained a Priest there he exhorteth Sulpicius Severus to continue in that sort of Life which he had embraced without being disturbed at the Discourses of the Men of the World that blamed him He invites him to come to him at Barcelona and acquaints him after what manner he was ordained Priest Upon christmas-Christmas-day saith he the People obliged me to receive the Order of Priesthood against my Will not that I have any Aversion to that Dignity on the contrary I could wish to have began at the Porter's order to come into the Clergy but as my Design looked another way so I was surprized and established at that new Order of the Divine Providence I submitted my self to Christ's Yoke and am now engaged in a Ministery beyond my Merit and my Strength ..... I can hardly yet comprehend the heavy weight of that Dignity I tremble when I consider the Importance of that Office being conscious to my self of my own weakness but he that giveth Wisdom to the Simple and causeth sucking Babes to sing his Praises is able to accomplish his work in me to give me his Grace and make me worthy whom he has called when I was unworthy He addeth That he took Orders upon this condition that he should not be tyed to the Church of Barcelona so that he consecrated himself to the Holy Ministery without being bound to the Service of any particular Church He invites him at last not to put off his Journey but to come to him before Easter The Second Letter to Amandus a Priest afterwards Bishop of Bourdeaux is written likewise concerning that Ordination at the same time with the first He intreats him to give him Advice and necessary Instructions for the worthy discharging of his Ministery The Third to Alypius Bishop in Africa was written immediately after his Arrival at Nola in the Autumn of the Year 394. He commends there S. Augustin's Books which Alypius had sent him he sends him Eusebius his Chronicon and tells him That he was very desirous to know the particulars of his Life and at the latter end of the Letter he says That he sent him a Loaf as a Token of their Union and a Figure of the Trinity adding That he shall make an Eulogy of that Bread when he receives it that is That in receiving it he shall bless it as he says in the following Letter to S. Augustin It was the Custom of that time especially with S. Paulinus thus to send Bread as a mark of Union See the 1st 4th 45th and 46th Letters S. Augustin in the 34th Letter speaks likewise of a Loaf which he sent to Paulinus and makes use of the same expression The Bread saith he which we send unto you shall be made a subject of Blessing by the Charity wherewith you shall receive it UBERIOR BENEDICTIO FIET DILECTIONE ACCIPIENTIS VESTRAE BENIGNITATIS The Fourth is written to S. Augustin he commends his Five Books against the Manichees which Alypius had sent him It is full of Expressions to shew how greatly he esteemed S. Augustin of whom he craves advice for his Behaviour both these Letters were written in Autumn in the Year 394 as appears by the Sixth S. Augustin answers this last by the 27th Letter of the last Edition which is there in the Italick Letter S. Paulinus's Fifth Letter is directed to Sulpicius Severus wherein he returns him Thanks for the Testimonies of Love that he had received from him He exalts his Conversion and comparing it with his own shews that it was more surprizing and wonderfull There he also speaks of his Distemper and of the Envy which the Roman Clergy bore to all men of any Reputation either for their Holiness or their Piety and alledgeth this as a Reason of his withdrawing far from Rome He opposes Pope Siricius his proud Behaviour towards him Papae urbici superba duritia to that Charity wherewith both the Bishops and Clergy of Campania had entertained him by their frequent Visits and to that of the African Bishops who had sent on purpose to know how he did The Sixth Letter is written to S. Augustin in the Year 395 wherein he expresseth how impatient he was to receive some Letters from him The following Letter is an Answer of S. Augustin's which is the Thirty first of his Letters written in 396. He sends Paulinus word of his Promotion to be a Bishop Paulinus having received this Letter acquaints Romanianus by the Seventh with his great joy for that News In the Eighth he exhorteth Licentius Romanianus his Son in Prose and in Verse to leave the World and give himself to God These Letters are of the Year 396. In the Eleventh of the following Year as is supposed he urges Severus Sulpicius to come to see him The Twelfth to Amandus is one of the most excellent of all S. Paulinus his Letters There he very elegantly explains the Degrees of Man's Fall and of the Redemption by Jesus Christ observing that God had preserved Holiness in the posterity of Seth that in the time of the Flood The Spirit of Holiness rested in one only righteous Man who was then the Redeemer of Mankind and a Type of the Redemption through Christ That after the Flood men returning to Corruption God chose Abraham to be the Father of the Faithful of whom should come the everlasting King and that at last all mankind being so corrupted with Vice that hardly any Remedy could be hoped for the same Lord who formed Man came to restore him by the same power by which he had created him That he made himself Man to be a Mediator betwixt God and Men That he was humble and had chosen the vile things in this World to confound the Proud the Learned and the mighty things of the Age And at last he died and rose again to destroy Death in us and restore Immortality These are the main Points explained very exactly by S. Paulinus in that Letter At the latter end he takes notice that there is both Humility and a laudable Pride That Pride saith he is to be approved which makes us despise the World and neglect whatsoever seemeth great handsome and pleasing to the Eyes of Men apply our selves only to heavenly things and stoop to nothing but God's Commandments c. on the other side That that Humility is to be condemned which hath not Faith for its Foundatition but only such a Littleness of mind as serves for lying and is an Enemy to truth which makes us loose our Liberty and become the Slaves of Vice which mingles Wine with Water That is to say which weakens the pure truth by a base Complaceny MEND ACII FAMULA VERITATIS INIMICA MISCENS AQUA VINUM ID EST VERITATIS MERUM AQUOSO ADULATONIS ENERVANS The Thirteenth is a Letter of Consolation to Pammachius upon
appears that he had never seen S. Cyril's Thesaurus because he quotes the Second Book of that Work which was never divided into Books Urban IV. hath alledged it after S. Thomas but upon the Credit of that Author In the Council of Florence S. Cyril's Thesaurus is quoted in general but when it was seasonable to produce this Passage there is nothing said of it All this makes it evident That neither this Passage nor any other like it cited by the same S. Thomas in his Catena upon S. Matthew as being in S. Cyril's Thesaurus which is not found there no more than the former are not nor can be this Father's nor are taken out of his Thesaurus I wonder that F. Labbe should so openly profess himself a Defender of these two supposititious Passages The Style of S. Cyril's Dialogues is not so rough and scholastick as that of the foregoing Book There are Seven of them upon the Trinity and Two upon the Incarnation He proves in these last That Jesus Christ is one only Person made up of the Humane and Divine Nature At the end of this Volume we find some clear Resolutions upon the Mystery of the Incarnation where he Answers the Objections which were propounded to him Photius speaks of this little Book in the One hundred sixty and ninth Volume of his Bibliotheca To this Treatise may be joyned a Discourse of the Orthodox Faith to Theodosius the Treatise addressed to the Empresses the Sermon which is annexed to it which are in the Second Part of this Tome In them he proves That Jesus Christ is God and that all the Properties of the Divine Nature may be attributed to him To prove this he makes use of a great number of Texts of Holy Scripture and the Testimonies of some Fathers These Treatises are also in the Acts of the Council of Ephesus Paschal Homilies are not peculiar to S. Cyril It was the Custom of the Bishops of Alexandria whom the Council of Nice had particularly charged with the care of publishing Easter-day I say It was the Custom to declare it in Alexandria by a solemn Discourse Theophilâ—s S. Cyril's Predecessor had made that Usage very famous and S. Cyril kept it up with a great deal of Splendor so that so long as he was Bishop there passed noâ— a Year but there was a Sermonâ— at the end of which he gave notice of the beginning of Lent and of Easter-day Of the Thirty which he made we have Twenty nine The ordinary subject of these Sermons was the Use and Advantage of Fasting and the way how Christians ought to â—it themselves for the celebration of Festivals In them also he sometimes exhorts the Faithful to joyn Alms-giving and Charity with Fasting He speaks in some of them of double-mindedness In â—…y of them he treats of the Trinity and Incarnation against the Arians and â—â—torians He sometimes speaks also against the Jews and Idolaters These Sermons are flat and tedious they are nothing else almost but a contexture of Texts of Scripture which he mingles with mystical Explications There are also here some other Discourses of this Father which are for the most part against the â—â—ror of Nestorius The First and Second are entirely upon that Subject They were preached at Ephesus The Third is a small Discourse which he made after the Sermon of Paul Bishop of Emesa about the Time that the Oriental and Aegyptian Bishops were reconciled to each other The Fourth and Fifth are two Sermons preached at Ephesus against Nestorius The Sixth is against John Bishop of Antioch The Seventh is a Discourse which he delivered also at Ephesus when he was imprisoned The Eighth is upon the Transfiguration The Ninth upon the Lord's Supper In this he speaks very strongly for the Presence of the Body and Blood of Jesus Christ in the Eucharist as well as in his Commentary upon S. John's Gospel The Tenth is a Discourse in praise of the Virgin Mary preached at Ephesus The Eleventh upon the Feast of the Purification The Twelfth upon the Feast of Tabernacles The Last is upon the Day of Judgment These Sermons are written in a close Style and more sententious than the former They are full of Points Allusions and Jinglings of Words There is also a short one upon the Incarnation which is extant in Latin only Almost all his Letters concern the History of the Council of Ephesus and the Disputes which S. Cyril had with John Bishop of Antioch and the other Eastern Bishops for which Reason it is that we intend to speak of them when we come to treat of the Council of Ephesus where they are inserted Nevertheless there are Five or Six at the end which relate to other Matters The First is the Letter of Atticus Bishop of Constantinople to S. Cyril wherein he exhorts him to put the Name of S. Chrysostom into the Diptychs among the Bishops that died in the Communion of the Church as he had done by the Example of Alexander Bishop of Antioch S. Cyril returns him answer That he disapproved his Action being contrary to the Decrees of the Council of Nice and that John Bishop of Constantinople having been degraded in his life-time by the Judgment of the Church he could not put him among the Bishops in the Communion of the Church after his Death That what he had done had given great Offence in all the Provinces of Aegypt He takes notice that they were counted but Six viz. Aegypt Augustamnicum Arcadia Thebais Libya and Pentapolis The Third of the Letters of which we are speaking is written to Domnus Bishop of Antioch Athanasius Bishop of a City belonging to the Patriarchate of Antioch although far distant from that City being offended by some of his Clergy who would expel the Stewards out of his Church against his Consent made his Complaint to a Synod held in Constantinople where S. Cyril was But since Athanasius was not subject to the Jurisdiction of the Bishops of that Synod they would not judge of his Cause But S. Cyril wrote in his behalf to Domnus relating to him the Trouble which this Bishop unjustly suffered and desiring him to constitute Judges who might summon the Stewards accused and their Accusers and condemn the Guilty He tells him That the Metropolitan was mistrusted by the Bishop and that the City of which he was Bishop was far from Antioch These Circumstances are remarkable for otherwise the Judgment of it did in the first Place appertain to the Metropolitan or if he were excepted against to the Patriarch In this Example we see 1. The Authority of Patriarchs over their Patriarchate 2. The Antiquity of making such Persons Judges as were near to the Accused and Accusers 3. How exactly the Bishops of one Patriarchate kept themselves within the Bounds of their own Jurisdiction without meddling in other's 4. That this Caution did not hinder them from helping Persons afflicted and persecuted which fled to them but yet only by Intercessions for them
which had been already approved and â—â—â—â—ed by all the Bishopâ— which appeared more numeroâ—s in this Session than any other Several Metropolitans signed it in their own and in the Name of the Bishops of their Province whose Names they set down and that 's the reason that the number of the Bishops of the Council of Châ—lcedâ—â— amounts to so many although if we count the number of Biâ—hops named in this place of whom above One hundred were absent it comes to noâ—more than 470. Then the Bishops began some loud Acclamations again but the Emperor pâ—t 〈◊〉 stop to them by wishing good Success to their Assembly and declaring That whosoever shall celeâ—â—ate any publick Assemblies about Religion c. stir up any troubles by his Disputes shall be thrust out â—f the Imperial Ciâ—y if he be a Lay-man and Deposed if he be a Clergy-man The Matter of Faith being determined in this manner he required the Synod to approve some Regulations which he had made and which he thought more for the honour of the Synod to confirm by the Authority of the Bishops than to make them himself by a Law The first was this That although they were to be had in great esteem who live a Monastick Life yet because some persons under a pretence of embracing Monkery disturb the Church and the Publick Peace it shall be forbidden any Church to build a Monastery in any City without the permission of the Bishop and the 〈◊〉 of the Lâ—nds on which it is built That the Monks should be subject to their Bishop and content themselves with Fasting and Prayer without concerning themselves either with Civil or Ecclesiastical Affaiâ—s unless they are called to it by the Bishop of the City Lastly That Monks should not be allowed to receive Slaves into their Monasteries nor any Persons obliged to the Service of another without the consent of those to whom they belong * This Regulation is wanting in Baronius and Longus The second was to forbid the Clergy to hold farms or be Managers of Civil Affairs yet they were not prohibited to take care of the Revenue of the Church if their Bishop ordered them to do it The third was That it should not be allowed a Clergy-man of one Church to leave it and officiate in another but eâ—ery one shall be obliged to continue in the Church to which he was at first appointed And if any Bishop hereafter shall receive the Clerk of another Bishop he shall be Excommunicated with the Clerk he hath received All the Bishops approved of these Constitutions and gave their Blessing to the Emperor Lastly The Emperor said Thâ—t in respect to S. Euphemia and the Council he did bestow upon the City of Chalcedon the title of a Metropolis nevertheless not encroaching upon the rights of the City of Nicomedia The Bishops having approved it requested That they might have leave to depart home but the Emperor desired them to stay three or four Days longer to compleat Regulations Evagrius says That in the following Session they made other Canons and indeed there are some MSS of Ancient Versions wherein there are some Canons made after the Sixth Session But Liberatus places the Canons in the Fifth Session as they were in the Greek Copies The MS. of the Church of Paris wherein there are some Canons after the Sixth Session may well be thought to have been disordered and the Canons put out of the Natural place for we read at the end of the 14th Action Explicit Actio XIV The 14th Action is ended Incipit XVI The 16th beginneth An evident proof that one Action is omitted which can be no other then the 15th The Contest between Maximus Bishop of Antioch and Juvenal Bishop of Jerusalem is certainly the first which was discussed Octob. 26. It continued not long but was determined by the Act VII Council with the Consent of both parties They left both the Phaenicia's and Arabia to the Bishop of Antioch and the three Palestines to the Bishop of Jerusalem The same Day but at another Session they finally determined the cause of Theodoret as we have already said in the life of that Author Act VIII In another Session on the same Day they entered upon the business of Ibas who had been condemned Act IX in the Council of Ephesus under Dioscorus He pleaded that he was Innocent and as a proof of it he alledged the Judgment given by Photius Bishop of Tyre and Eustathius Bishop of Berytus who were put in Commission by the Emperor to judge of his Cause They read the Judgment of those Bishops by which he was proved to be of Orthodox Sentiments and to be reconciled with his Accusers by those Bishops to have publickly Anathematized Nestorius to satisfie those who had taken Offence at some of his Discourses and also promised to forget what had passed and not to be severe against those who had accused him of Managing the Revenues of the Church by Stewards according to the Custom of the Church of Antioch The next day they went on in the same business They read the Acts of the Synod held at Berytus in which he was accused of several Crimes viz. Theft Simony and Bribery and that he did affirm that he envyed not Jesus Christ the Name of God because he could become one But his Accusers not being able to produce any Witnesses nor any proof to convict him of these things they wrangled some time about his reproving a Clergyman for affirming That our Life is dead But he cleared himself by saying to him that he spoke it as if he understood by our Life the Godhead that it was not true that the Life is dead but if he understood the enlivened Flesh of Jesus Christ it was true They accused him also of speaking against S. Cyril and having cursed him he answered That before he was united with the Eastern Bishops he had rejected his Chapters and had condemned him in which he was not more blame-worthy than the rest of the Eastern Bishops But since the Union he had communicated with him and had never condemned him They produced his Letter to Maris the Persian which proved nothing more In it he condemned S. Cyril's Chapters and praiseth the Writings of Theodorus of Mopsuesta but he approved of the Peace and Union made with S. Cyril after he had explained himself On his behalf he caused a Letter from the Clergy of Edessa to be read attesting that they had never heard him speak any thing like that which they accused him of When they had read these Acts they would have had that which was done against Ibas in the Council of Ephesus under Dioscorus read but the Legats said that it was needless to read any thing of this Council that the Bishop of Rome had declared all that was done in it void except the Ordination of Maximus Bishop of Antioch whom S. Leo had received to his Communion that they ought to Petition the Emperor to
Dogmatical and contains nothing Gregory of Antioch but Prosopopoeia's of Joseph to Pilate and of Pilate to the Jews some Reflections of Death speaking to her self and Complaints of the Women upon Christ's death some Discourses of the Angel with the Jews and Women and of Jesus Christ with those Women JOHN ARAUSIUS HELLADIUS JUSTUS NONNITUS and CONANTIUS Bishops of Spain JOHN an Abbot and afterwards Bishop of Saragosa Braulio's Brother flourished towards the year 620. Ildephonsus assures us That he was well read in the Holy Scripture and that John Arausius c. Bishops of Spain he laboured to instruct by his Discourses more than by his Writings That nevertheless he had elegantly written some Prayers to be sung in Divine Service and also a Table to find out easter-Easter-day every year We have nothing now of this Author The same Ildephonsus ranks among Ecclesiastical Authors Arausius Bishop of Toledo and his Successor Helladius but seeing he confesseth they have writ nothing it was needless to encrease the number of Authors with them This last had for his Disciple and Successor one named Justus a witty and a worthy Man who had written a Letter to Richilan Abbot of the Monastery of Agali in which he shewed him That he ought not to leave his Flock These three Bishops governed the Church of Toledo from the year 606 to 634 or 635. This last signed the Council of Toledo held under Sisenand in the year 633. and was but 3 years Bishop S. Ildephonsus puts also in the rank of Ecclesiastical Authors Nonnitus Bishop of Gironde who lived in the same time but he speaks of none of his Works He speaks lastly of Conantius Bishop of Palenzo as of a Man as Prudent and Grave as Eloquent and Learned and he saith he applied himself to regulate the Order of Divine Service That he had made Hymns to new Tunes and a Book of Prayers taken out of the Psalms We have not now those Works BONIFACE V. BEDE mentions three Letters of this Pope about the Conversion of the English The 1st is directed to Justus who from Bishop of Rochester became Archbishop of Canterbury Boniface V. wherein he grants him the Pall and congratulates him for King Adelvad's Conversion The 2d is directed to * King of Northumberland Edwin an English King wherein he exhorts him to leave Idolatry to worship the true God and embrace Christ's Religion The 3d. is to Queen †Wife of 〈◊〉 Edwin Edelburgh whom he congratulateth upon her Conversion and exhorts her to endeavour that of the King her Husband MODESTUS Bishop of Jerusalem WE have no other Monument of this Author who flourished towards the year 620. but an Extract of one of his Sermons mention'd by Photius in the 275th Volume of his Bibliotheca Modestus Bishop of Jerusalem The first is taken out of a Sermon upon the Women of the Gospel which carried Balm to anoint Christ. He tells us there That Mary Magdalen out of whom Christ cast 7 Devils was a Virgin and that she suffered Martyrdom at Ephesus whither she went to S. John the Evangelist after the Virgin 's death Which shews how far they were then from the Opinion which hath obtained since That Mary Magdalen is the same with the Woman that was a Sinner Luk. 7. 37. The 2d Sermon of Modestus mentioned in Photius was a Sermon upon the death of the Virgin the Mother of God which he calls A Dormitory Sermon after the manner of the Ancients Photius speaks of no Extract of it he only taketh notice 't is a long Discourse containing nothing necessary and nothing like the former The 3d. Sermon is upon the Festival of the meeting of Christ and Simeon or the presentation of Jesus Christ in the Temple Photius sets down an Extract of it in which the Vertues of Anna and the Virgin 's Purification are discoursed of Figuratively and Rhetorically GEORGE of Alexandria IT is thought That George the Author of S. Chrysostom's Life was the Bishop of Alexandria who succeeded S. John the Alms-giver in the year 620 and held that See till 630. George of Alexandria This Life is a great deal larger than that of Palladius but less faithful and full of many Untruths His Stile in the judgment of the learned Photius is very plain and somewhat flat He offends against the Laws of Grammar and is not exact in the construing of Words It is needless to make the Extract of this Life because what it contains more than is in Palladius and the other ancient Historians is either false or doubtful He hath often misrepresented the Matters of Fact which he relates upon trust from other Authors He alledges many of them contrary to the Testimonies of S. Chrysostom and the Authors of his time He hath counterfeited many Letters and falsly attributed them to the Emperors Arcadius and Honorius and Pope Innocent He confidently asserts contrary to the truth of History That this Pope excommunicated the Emperor Honorius and Empress Eudoxia He hath reported an infinite number of things evidently false Photius who made a long Extract of this Life confesses himself That he hath said many things contrary to the Truth of History but he thinks the Reader may pick out that which is true and useful and pass by the rest Methinks it were better and fitter to fetch things out of the Originals than to mispend ones time to read them in those ill Copiers and Plagiaries This Work was published in Greek by Sir H. Savil. in the last Volume of S. Chrysostom's Works printed at Eaton together with the Life of the same Father by other later Authors who copied out this Man's Fictions and added others to them after the manner of the modern Greeks HONORIUS POpe HONORIUS whose Name became so famous by reason of his Condemnation in the 6th Council was raised to the Pontificate the 13th of May 626. and died Honorius October 11th 638. Besides the two Letters he hath written to Sergius upon the Question of the two Wills in Christ which will be spoken of in the Acts of the 5th Council where they are inserted we have some others upon particular Matters The 1st is directed to the Exarch Isaeius to whom he complains That certain Bishops advised a Lord to forsake Adaluade the lawful King of the Lombards to side with the Tyrant Arioualde and he desires him after having restored Adaluade to send those Bishops to Rome to him that he may punish them for their Disloyalty We learn of Paul the Deacon That Adaluade was turned out by the Lombards because he had lost his Senses and that Arioualde was put in his room The Second Letter of Honorius is directed to the Bishops of the Provinces of Venice and Istria He recommends to them Primogenius whom he had Consecrated to be Arch-Bishop of Grado and prays them to admit him into the place of him who had been deprived of that Church The Three next Letters are concerning
their Sins and mortified in themselves the Vices of the Flesh. He lets them know they are to understand That altho' they be 〈◊〉 to receive the Imposition of Hands nevertheless they ought to be persuaded they shall not receive the absolution of their Crimes if the divine Goodness do not pardon them giving them the Grace of Contrition because as S. Gregory saith the Bishop's Absolution is then only true when it is agreeable with the Judgment of him who judges the Secrets of the Hearts which is figured by the Resurrection of 〈◊〉 whom Christ raised to Life first before he ordered his Disciples to loose him and thus all Pastors must have a care to loose and absolve none but such whose Souls Christ hath quickened again by his Grace After these words he invites them to shew some Marks of their Conversion which they having done by lifting up their Hands to Heaven he went on in his Discourse setting forth the effects of true Repentance which are to satisfy God to lament their Sins past and to commit them no more The 12th Homily is upon Charity on Holy Thursday The 13th for the same day He exhorts all Christians to purge themselves from their daily Sins by Prayer and Almsgiving and he advertiseth them in the end That they should not abhor publick Penitents as being great Sinners because among those that are not doing Penance there may be some guilty of more grievous Sins He deploreth the misery of those who do not confess them nor do Penance for them In the 14th he exhorts Christians diligently to prepare themselves for the worthy receiving of the Eucharist at Easter In the 15th he speaks again very earnestly of the real Presence Know ye my dear Brethren says he and firmly believe That as the * Vid. Note w Flesh which Jesus Christ took in the Virgins Womb is his true Body which was