the Tree were for the healing of the Nations The same Imagination so gained upon the holy Fathers that lived after the middle of the second Age that those good Souls prepossessed by the Opinion they had conceived of the pretended Sibylline Writing took literally and apprehended after the Jewish sence whatever they met with in Esay and Saint John concerning the First Raesurrection of those who died for the Testimony of Jesus their reign of a thousand years and all the glory of the celestial Jerusalem Thus Justin Martyr in his Dialogue against Trypho answering that Jew who page 306 had asked him Whether he acknowledged that Jerusalem should be rebuilt and the Christians assemble there and rejoyce with Christ in the company of the Patriarchs Prophets c. not onely confesses it but maintains further that he had already averred it reflecting no doubt on those words of page 271. where he saith that Christ being raised should come again inâ—â— Jerusalem and then drink anew and eat with his Disciples And secondly that he had signified unto him that Many among those who were not of the pure and religious sentiment of the Christians acknowledged it not whereupon he adds I and as many others as are of the right and truly Christian sentiment in all things know that there must be a Resurrection of the Flesh and the Prophets Ezechiel Esay and others confess that after Jerusalem shall be built adorned and amplified a thousand years shall be spent there alledging to that purpose the sixty fifth Chapter of Esay and the twentieth of the Apocalyps And reinculcating it page 340. where he says He viz. Jesus is the eternal Light which is to shine in Jerusalem and page 369. where he writes of the Christians that they know with whom Christ they shall be in that Land viz. Judaea which he had called the Land of all the Saints and that they shall inherit eternal and incorruptible goods Eusebius in the nine and thirtieth Chapter of the third Book of his Ecclefiastical History attributing the same opinion to Papias Bishop of Hierapolis who had been a follower of the Disciples of Saint John hath this Discourse He affirms also many other things that are more fabulous among which he saith that there are a certain thousand of years to pass after the Resurrection and that Christ shall reign corporally in the same Land Things which I think he hath onely imagined upon a misapprehension of the Apostolical Expositions Saint Irenaeus in the thirty fifth Chapter of his fifth Book does not onely agree with Papias but relyes upon his authority citing out of his fourth Book these words which Papias attributed to Saint John The daies shall come wherein there shall grow up Vines having each of them ten thousand Branches and upon every Branch ten thousand Boughs and on every Bough ten thousand Buds and on every Bud ten thousand Bunches and on every Bunch ten thousand Grapes and every Grape pressed shall yield twenty five Measures of Wine And when any one of the Saints shall take one of the Grapes another shall cry I am a better Grape take me and bless God by me In like manner one Corn of Wheat shall bring forth ten thousand Ears and every Ear shall have ten thousand Crains and every Grain shall give ten Pounds of clear and fine Flower and all other Fruits Seeds and Herbs proportionably Was ever the Synagogue cut off from the Covenant of God delivered of an Extravagance more deserving contempt then this which feigns Bunches of Grapes speaking and Vines yielding infinitely beyond all imaginable force of Nature millions of millions of measures of Wine And yet the Holy Martyr Saint Irenaeus out of an excess of respect by no means excusable in him preferring the authority of Papias deceived by the counterfeit Sibyl before all reason blindly swallowed it and in his two and thirtieth Chapter inferred from it that The Just shall reign here below before the day of Judgment that on the day of the Sabbath of the Just they shall have a Table furnished from God who shall replenish them with all manner of Viands That The Wolves shall feed with the Lambs and the Lyon shall live on Straw and in the thirty fifth Chapter that The Just shall reign on earth in the thirty sixth that proportionably to the fruit they have brought forth an hundred sixty or thirty for one they shall be placed either in Heaven or in Paradise or in Jerusalem and that In that regard it was that the Son of God said In my Father's House are many Mansions Tertullian who lived near the same time to shew us that he was carryed away with the same Prejudice cryes out in the twenty fourth Chapter of his third Book Against Marcion We confess that the Kingdom is promised us upon Earth for a thousand years after the Resurrection in the City of Divine workmanship Jerusalem coming down out of Heaven There is some ground to think that Meliton Bishop of Sardes Contemporary with Justin Martyr was of the same Opinion with him concerning the temporal Reign of Jesus Christ in Jerusalem in asmuch as to maintain it he writ upon the Revelation of Saint John the words whereof have been extreamly wrested by the Patrones of that Imagination but in regard I am nothing pressed and have onely Conjecture to inferr it from I shall forbear to urge it I come to Nepos the Aegyptian Bishop reverenced by Dionysius of Alexandria for his Faith and great Learning in the attainment whereof he had spent himself to the Last Of this Prelate Eusebius saies 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 c. Teaching that the Promises made to the Saints in the Holy Scriptures were to be accomplished after the manner conceived by the Jews supposing that there were to pass a certain thousand of Years in the pursuit of corporal Enjoyments upon Earth and being of opinion he might confirm his Supposition by the Revelation of John He writ concerning the said Revelation a certain Discourse entituled A Reprehension of the Allegorists as not able to endure that men should take otherwise then Literally the Promises proposed by the Holy Spirit for the comfort of the Church nor that they should be understood mystically About fifty years after appeared our Victorinus Bishop of Poictiers who suffered Martyrdom on the second day of November in the year 303. after he had composed divers Treatises great indeed in respect of the sense and slight in respect of the contexture of the Words according to the observation of Saint Hierome which cannot be contradicted since there is nothing left of them and that the Commentary upon the Apocalyps which goeth under his name contains at this day nothing of what the Antients had read in it But Saint Hierome assuring us that he was of the number of those who expected to come from Heaven a Jerusalem adorned with precious Stones and Gold we need not fear upon his Affirmation to
John vi 31. concerning the Bread of heaven and Apocal. ii 17. concerning the Hidden Manna tells us in his Preface copied out by Theophilus of Antioch and Lactantius that Those who honour God inherit the true and eternal Life that is to say the time of Eternity having their abode in Paradise the flourishing Garden and eating the delicious Bread of heaven which at the end of the seventh Book page 56. he means of Manna saying All together eat of the bedewing Manna with their white Teeth This Doctrine was so much the more acceptable to the Fathers the more they thought themselves obliged to conceive an aversion for the extravagant Imagination of the Gnosticks who transformed Paradise into an Archangel and assigned for its station the fourth Heaven Thus Theophilus who gave Paradise the qualification of perpetual and hanging in the midst between heaven and the world grounded the perswasion he would give of it to Autolycus on the Authority of the pretended Sibyl and after his Example Lactantius in the twelfth Chapter of his second Book St. Irenaeus having in the thirty sixth Chapter of his fifth Book alledged these words of Esay out of the two and twentieth Verse of the sixty sixth Chapter As the new heavens and the new earth which I will make shall remain before me assigns to each of them its Inhabitants saying Then shall those who are worthy the conversation of heaven pass thither others shall enjoy the pleasures of Paradise and others shall possess the Holy earth and the splendour of the City that is to say Jerusalem Tertullian in the fourty seventh Chapter of his Apologetick We know Paradise to be a place of Divine pleasure destined for the reception of the spirits of the Saints and separated from the knowledg of the common world by a certain inclosure of that fiery Zone And in the eighth Chapter of his Poem of the Last Judgment There is a place in the Eastern Parts wherein the Lord takes great deligâ—… where there is a clear Light c. it is a Region most rich in Fields c. thither comes every godly man But in the fifty fifth Chapter of his Book Of the Soul this Great man dazled by the delusions of the Montanists moderates the Opinion he had taken out of the Books of the Counterfeit Sibyl and reserving Paradise for the entertainment of the Martyrs onely excludes out of it all the rest of the Faithfull saying You say that our Sleep that is to say the place of our Repose is in Paradise whither the Patriarchs and Prophets upon the Resurrection of our Lord being Appendages thereof passed from Hell but how comes it that that Region of Paradise which is under the Altar revealed to St. John discovered no Souls but those of the Martyrs How came Perpetua that most couragious Martyr in the Revelation which was made to her of Paradise not long before her Suffering to see there onely her companions in Martyrdom but that the Sword which keeps the Entrance of Paradise suffers none to get in but those who are departed in Christ not in Adam Saint Cyprian after the Example of his Master Tertullian speaking of our Lord to Demetrian Proconsul of Africk a passionate Enemy of Christianity hath this expression He opens to us the way of Life he is the Authour of our return into Paradise And in his Book Of Mortality towards the end We account Paradise saith he to be our Country we have already begun to have for our Fathers the Patriarchs And in the Chapter of Exhortation to Martyrdom If it be glorious for the Souldiers engaged in common Wars after the Conquest of their Enemies to return Triumphant into their Country how much a nobler and greater Glory is it to return Triumphant to Paradise after we have overcome the Devil and to carry away victorious Trophies after we have subdued him who had foiled us before to the place whence the Sinner Adam had been thrust out Lactantius in the place above cited God having pronounced his Sentence against Sinners that every one should work out his own livelihood cast man out of Paradise and encompassed Paradise round about with Fire that man might not approach it till he had exercised sovereign Judgment upon Earth and recalled to the same place those Just men that worshipped him Death being taken away Saint Athanasius in his Treatise upon these Words Matth. xii 27. All things are given to me c. Death prevailed from Adam to Christ the Earth was cursed and Hell opened and Paradise shut c. But assoon as all things were given to him and that he was made man all was amended and accomplished The Earth in stead of the Curse it lay under before was blessed and Paradise opened and Hell daunted And in his Exposition of Faith Christ shewed the entrance into Paradise whence Adam had been thrust out and into which he is again entred by the Thief according to what our Saviour said This day shalt thou be with me in Paradise whither Paul also is entred Saint Cyril of Jerusalem in his Mystagogical Instruction The Paradise of God which he had planted towards the East is open to thee whence our first Parent was banished because of his Transgression And this is signified by thy turning from the West to the East the place of Light Saint Basil in his Treatise Of Paradise How shall I be able to bring thee into sight of thy Country to the end thou mayst recall thy self from banishment c. If thou art carnal thou hast the description of him that is corporal And in the seven and twentieth Chapter of his Book Of the Holy Ghost We all in our Prayers look towards the East but there are few of us that know we thereby seek our antient Country that is to say the Paradise which God planted in Eden Saint Gregory of Nyssa in his Oration of the fourty Martyrs That then which is demanded is Whether Paradise because of the Turning Sword is also inaccessible to the Saints and If the Champions of Christ are excluded Paradise what Promise there remains upon which they should undertake Combats for Piety and whether they should obtain less then the Thief to whom the Lord said This day shalt thou be with me in Paradise though the Thief came not voluntarily to the Cross but when he was come near Salvation that Eagle-sighted and generous Thief saw the Treasure and finding an opportunity stole Life honourably and happily abusing the nature of Theft and saying Lord have me in remembrance when thou comest into thy Kingdom He was honoured with Paradise and does the Flaming Sword keep the entrance of Paradise against the Saints But the Question resolves it self For thence it is that the Word hath not represented the Sword always placed against those that enter but Turning that it might be opposite to the unworthy and be behinde the worthy opening unto them the not-forbidden entrance of Life into which those that is to say
Beatitude writing in the nine and twentieth Homily upon the first Epistle to the Corinthians 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 c. Without the flesh the soul shall not receive those unspeakable goods in like manner shall she not also be punished c. If the body be not raised again the soul remains uncrowned deprived of that Beatitude which is in the Heavens c. And again 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 c. You also think what and how great a thing it is that Abraham and the Apostle Paul should sit down till such time as thou shalt be accomplished to the end that then they might receive their reward for if we also are not arrived the Saviour hath foretold that he would not give it c. What shall Abel do who overcame first of all and is sate down without being Crowned Thirdly From what is said by Prudentius who speaking of the Martyrs of Saragossa seems to deny their Souls admission into Heaven saying Sub Altari sita sempiterno turba c. The company seated under the Eternal Altar To which may be added that St. Augustine not content to have said That after this life ended we shall not be there where the Saints shall be as if he could not have designed by its proper Name the place of the Soul's habitation is forced in several places to make use of the most general Term of all viz. that of Receptacles And to that that of Paulinus who in his Epitaph upon Clarus as if he knew not where to assign him Entertainment makes this Discourse to him Sive Patrum sinibus recubas Dominive sub ara Conderis aut sacro pasceris in nemore Qualibet in regione Poli situs aut Paradisi Clare sub aeternâ pace quietus agis c. Whether in th' Patriarch's Bosom thou remain Or under the Lord's Altar art detain d Or an Aboad i' th' sacred Grove hast gain'd What part or place of Paradise thou hast got Clarus eternal Peace and Rest's thy Lot But all this is not enough to induce me to subscribe to the disadvantageous Censure given by Stapleton who not making any distinction of either Times or Persons or Expressions durst attribute to all Antiquity what the Authour of the pretended Sibylline Writing had perswaded those who had first consulted it Nor do I see that from the places above cited it may rigorously be inferred that the Fathers out of whose Writings they are extracted delayed the Beatitude of the Saints till after the Day of Judgment For though the words of Sain◠Ambrose seem to bear that they expect their Happiness with uncertainty and doubtfully yet he neither understood nor could have understood it so since that in the second of the places objected to him he writes that the Soul of the Faithfull Person departed Non busto tenetur sed quiete piâ fungitur c. is not detained upon the Funeral Pile where the Body had been consumed but enjoys a pious Rest His design then as it was also St. Chrysostom's who means by the Bosom of the Fathers the Kingdom of Heaven was to have it understood that the supreme Happiness and absolute accomplishment of the glory of the Saints departed was to be a Consequence of the Resurrection and Last Judgment at which time the souls already in Glory shall receive their true Crowns in the remuneration promised to compleat Persons whereof they before made the principal part and that in expectation of the Judgment which shall fully consummate their Glory they remain in suspense not as uncertain of the effect it shall produce but as ignorant of the time when it shall please God that so admirable an Event shall come to pass So that his particular Judgment reaches no further then that the souls freed from their bodies are transmitted to Hell but simply supposes that as to the Heathen it was enough to say so much As for Prudentius and Paulinus their conception of the Eternal Altar is not after a gross but after a refined and mystical manner Prudentius saying of the blessed souls that they shall rest in the Bosom of the blessed Old man where Lazarus is and in Paradise And Paulinus expressly declaring of Clarus Libera corporeo mens carcere gaudet in Astris Pura probatorum sedem sortita piorum c. Spiritus aethere gaudet Discipulúmque pari sociat super astra Magistro c. Among the Just his Habitation is Of Body freed possess'd of Heav'nly Bliss c. His soul to Heav'n is gone The Scholar to the Master 's equal grown So that according to these two Authours to rest under the Eternal Altar in the Bosom of Abraham in Paradise in Heaven above the Stars is one and the same thing as to the effect and design though by divers expressions the Beatitude and Glory of the children of God as well in general as in particular CHAP. XXXIV The Uniformity of the Sentiment of the Fathers and of the Protestants I Add that most of the Fathers who lived after Tertullian what Expressions soever they may make use of were of a Sentiment consonant to what is at the present held by the Protestants and firmly maintained that all the Souls of those of whose Names there was a Commemoration made in the Service of the Church were at the very hour of their death conveyed to the enjoyment of their Rest and Glory Hence was it that St. Cyprian even in the year 252. resolutely pronounces De istis mundi turbinibus extracti c. Having escaped the Tempests of this World we make towards the secure Haven of an eternal Mansion c. We are not to put on Mourning-Garments here when they there have already put on their White Robes c. It is not a departure but a passage and the Temporal journey being at an end a transportation towards the things That are Eternal c. Let us embrace the day which assigns to every one his own Mansion which restores us taken away hence and disingaged from the snares of this World to Paradise and the celestial Kingdom c. Again Lucrum maximum c. exemptum pressuris-urgentibus venenatis Diaboli faucibus liberatum ad laetitiam salutis aeternae Christo vocante prosicisci c. It is an exceeding great advantage c. to go Christ calling us to the Joys of Eternal Salvation after we are freed from those pressures which lie heavy upon us and delivered from the poisonous jaws of the Devil To the same effect Origene about fifteen years before 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 c. We hope to be above the Heavens after the Combats and Troubles which we have run through here St. Basil in the following Age about the year 370. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 An eternal Rest is proposed to those who shall have lawfully maintained the Combat of the Life which is here St. Gregory Nazianzene in his tenth Oration pronounced about the year 369. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉
〈◊〉 c. I am perswaded by the Discourses of Wise men that every Soul which is good and loved of God after that being disengaged from the Body to which she was conjoyned she is retired hence that which clouded her being as it were purged or layed down or I know not how to express it immediately having a resentment of and in the contemplation of the happiness she is to be advanced to is in the possession of an admirable Pleasure and rejoyceth and joyfully passeth towards her Lord shunning as a loathsom Prison this present Life St. Epiphanius the most zealous Maintainer of Prayer for the Dead speaking about the year 375. of the closure of this Life and the consequences of it in relation to the Faithfull 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 The time is accomplished the Combat is at an end the Lists are cleared and the Crowns are bestowed Again 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 All is manifestly accomplished after the departure hence St. Chrysostome between the years 390. and 404. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 c. Those who have carefully spent their Lives in the exercises of Virtue after they shall have been transported out of the present life shall truly be as if they had obtained a dismission after the Combats and as delivered out of Bonds for there is for those who live virtuously a certain transportation from worse things to better and from a temporal to a perpetual and immortal life and such as shall have no end Again 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 The Faithful depart to go with Christ and are with the King face to face Again 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 After Death is once come then is the Wedding then is the Spouse Again 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Be of good courage when thou art cut off by death for it exempts thee not onely from corruption and trouble but it also sends thee immediately to the Lord. And elsewhere 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Consider towards whom the departed Person is gone and take comfort thence there Paul is there Peter is there is the whole Quire of the Saints Again 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 We give thanks unto God that he hath moreover crowned him who is departed hence that he hath exempted him from all troubles that delivering him out of all fear he keeps him near himself St. Augustine giving an account of the common Sentiment of the Churches of Africk about the year 400. Moritur aliquis Dicimus Bonus homo fidelis homo in pace est cum Domino c. Does any one dy We say The Good man The Faithfull man is in Peace with the Lord. Which shews that the Christians of that Time were fully perswaded of what Pope Pelagius the First about one hundred and fifty years after caused to be inserted into the Canon of the Mass viz. that Those who die in Christ sleep in Peace The Questions unjustly attributed to Justine Martyr since the Authour was contemporary with St. Augustine 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 The Souls of the Saints are conveyed to Paradise there is the conversation there the sight of the Angels St. Cyril of Alexandria about the year 420. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 c. I conceive it ought and that very probably to be held for certain that the Souls of the Saints leaving their earthly Bodies are for the most part committed to the indulgence and Philanthropie of God as resigned into the hands of a most loving Father and not as some Unbelievers suspect that they love to walk among dead men's Graves expecting Sepulchral Libations much less that they go as those of such as have loved sin to a place of unmeasurable Torment that is to Hell They rather run to be received into the hands of the Father of all and our Saviour Jesus Christ who hath also consecrated this way for us for he commended his Soul into the hands of his Father that we also taking Example thence as in it and by it may entertain noble hopes as being in that firm disposition and belief that having undergone the death of the Flesh we may be in the hands of God and in a better condition then when we were in the Flesh Whence it also comes that the wise Paul writes unto us that it is far better to be dissolved and to be with Christ Prosper about the year 450. Post hanc vitam succedit pugnae secura victoria ut Milites Christi laboriosâ jam peregrinatione transactâ regnent felices in patria c. After this life ended certain Victory is consequent to the Combat that the Souldiers of Christ their laborious Pilgrimage being over might reign happily in their Countrey c. Gennadius about the year 490. Exeuntes de corpore ad Christum vadunt c. The Faithful dislodging out of the Body go to Christ Andrew of Caesarea about the year 800. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 c. The voice from Heaven does not beatifie all the Dead but those who die in the Lord those who are mortified to the World and bear in their Bodies the mortification of the Lord Jesus and who suffer with Christ for to those the departure out of the body is truly a releasment from labours To conclude of the same Sentiment was Aretas about the year 930. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Upon the vanishing away of Labours shall be introduced the reward of Works CHAP. XXXV The Sentiment of the Protestants further proved by the Description which the Father 's made of Abraham's Bosom FRom the Harmony of all the precedent Testimonies it may justly be inferred that according to the constant Doctrine of the Christian Church from the year 250. those who die in the Lord are with him and that to them the time which follows this life is a time of joy and marriage which from the moment of their Death brings them into the company of the Saints and Angels in the Paradise of God where they live and are in peace and are crowned and reign with him The same thing may be also deduced from the Description which the Fathers unanimously make of Abraham's Bosom the place assigned by all Christian Antiquity for the entertainment of the Souls of the Faithful after this Life For St. Gregory Nazianzene places it in Heaven saying to his Brother Caesarius who had dyed not long before 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 c. Mayst thou go to Heaven c. and rest in the Bosom of Abraham In like manner St. Chrysostome 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 He named Bosom of Abraham for the Kingdom St. Ambrose tells us that Sinus Patriarcharum recessus quidam est requietis aeternae c. The Bosom of the Patriarchs is a certain retirement of Eternal Rest St. Augustine Sinus Abrahae requies est Beatorum c. The Bosom of Abraham is the rest of the Blessed Again Non utique sinus ille Abrahae id est secreta cujusdam quietis
Activity Who is so much liable to the interposition of the Lion and Dragon to endure the open Ravage of his Violences and the secret mischief of his Ambushes as he who like an undischarged Debtour is dragged before the dreadfull Tribunal of God's avenging Justice Can Debts of what nature soever they are be Legally exacted of those who are by the Acquittance of the Creditour absolutely discharged Are they in fine to fear any Unhappiness whose Sins our Lord bore in his own Body upon the Tree and blotted out the Hand-writing that was against them Thirdly That the Church of Rome in whose Communion there is not any one that prays for St. Monica whom the said Church hath taken out of their Rank for whose benefit she designs her Suffrages to raise her into the Sphear of Glorious Spirits whose Intercession she begs however she may make a great stir about the Example of St. Augustine does not onely not satisfy the Intreaty of that Great man any more then the Protestants whom she accuses as desertours of the antient Tradition but conceives it neither just nor rational to satisfy it And as she does not think her self guilty of any breach of Duty in forbearing to pray for St. Monica because she accompts her to be in Bliss and as such not in a capacity to receive the assistance of the Living in their Prayers nor that they should according to the desire of St. Augustine expect inspirations from God such as might incline them to demand things already done and undertake what she conceives neither rational nor feasable so the Protestants who in this particular are the more willing to follow his Sentiment the more consonant they finde it to the Word of God and to Reason cannot whatever the Church of Rome may say to insinuate the contrary be perswaded they err in not-acknowledging any Object of Religious Adoration however it may be conceived other then God alone Father Son and Holy Ghost blessed for ever according as the Church of Rome her self expresses it in the first of her Commandments One onely God shalt thou adore nor any Advocate properly so called other then him who is proposed to all Christians by St. John as a propitiation for the sins of all the World For as they have learn'd of St. Paul that there is one Mediatour between God and men the Man Christ Jesus who gave himself a ransom for all whence Avitus Arch-Bishop of Vienna inferred That if our Saviour was not according to his Humane Nature taken into the Unity of Person Father's Hand-writing against us They religiously stand to the Protestation made by the Primitive Christians concerning their Martyrs viz. We adore him who is the Son of God but we love according as it is required of us the Martyrs as Disciples and Imitatours of our Lord and Saviour and to that of St. Augustine We honour the Martyrs by a Worship of Dilection and Society by which the Holy men of God are in this life also honoured Whence they conclude That according to the common Sentiment of the purest part of Antiquity there cannot be done to the Citizens of the Jerusalem that is on high any Honour but what may be called a civil Honour or of Society Whether they are actually received into that blessed Habitation or are in their way thereto that they have been and ever shall be entertained there immediately upon their departure out of this World and that the honourable Solemnities which accompany their Bodies when they are deposited in the Earth never had any Ceremony which served not to demonstrate the assurance and joy which the surviving had conceived of their happy Condition CHAP. XXXVIII The Sentiment of the Protestants confirmed by the Eloges antiently bestowed on the Faithfull departed THe same thing may be said of the Eloges wherewith the worthy Persons of Antiquity have honoured the Memory of those for whom the Custom would have Prayers made Eusebius speaking of the Death of Helene who died on the eighteenth of August about the year 330. saith 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 c. She was called to a better Lot c. So that those who had a right Sentiment justly conceived that that thrice-happy Lady should not die but to say the Truth expect the Exchange and Translation of a Terrestrial life into a Celestial Her Soul therefore returned to the Principle thereof being received into an incorruptible and Angelical Essence near her Saviour And of Constantine who preparing himself for Death protested of himself that he was making haste and that he would no longer delay his departure towards his God he affirms that on Sunday May 22.th 337. being Whit sunday 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 c. He was gathered to God leaving to Mortals what was of the same Nature with them and as for himself uniting to God whatever his Soul had that was Intellectual and beloved of God Then representing the common Belief of all the Subjects of the Empire concerning his Beatitude he adds 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 c. Having framed a figure of Heaven in a draught in colours they painted him above the Celestial Vaults resting in an heavenly Mansion c. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 c. They graved his Effigies upon Medals having on one side the Pourtraiture of the Blessed Emperour with his â—…ead veiled and on the Reverse the same mounted on a Chariot drawn by four Horses as if he drove it raised into the Seat by an hand reached forth to him from heaven on the right side which Description might as well relate to the carrying up of Elias rather then to the Apotheoses of the Heathens which Constantine upon his embracing of Christian Religion had absolutely renounced Saint Athanasius who observes that St. Anthony had seen the Monk Ammonius 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 raised from the Earth and the great joy of those that came to meet him affirms that on the seventeenth of January 358. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 As having seen friends coming towards him and filled with joy because of them he fainted The same St. Athanasius making a Relation of the wicked attempt of Magnentius upon the Life of Constans who was murthered on the eighteenth of January 350. and numbring that Prince among the Martyrs hath these remarkable Words 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 That to the Blessed Man proved the occasion of his Martyrdom St. Gregory Nazianzene represents in Celestial Glory Constantius who after he had through misapprehension persecuted the Orthodox died on the third of November 361. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 c. I know that he is above our Reprehension having obtained a place with God and possession of the Inheritance of the Glory which is there and transported to such a distance from us as the Translation from one Kingdom to another amounts unto The same St. Gregory saies of his Brother Caesarius who died on the 25.th of February about the year
369. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 c. He receives the Rewards of his new-created Soul which the Spirit had reformed by Water And of his Sister Gorgonia who died not long after viz. on the ninth of December 372. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 c. The things which are now present to thee are much more precious then those which are seen The noise of those which make a Feast the Quires of the Angels the Order of Heaven the contemplation of Glory and more then all this the Irradiation of the Trinity which is above all things and of all things the most pure and most perfect And â—f St. Athanasius who died May the second 371. That thou wouldest he pleased to look on us from on high Of Gregory his Father who died the year following 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Make known unto us in what place of Glory thou art and the light which encompasseth thee Of his dear Friend St. Basil who died January the first 378. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 He is now in Heaven St. Gregory Nyssenus of St. Ephraim who died on the 28th of the same Moneth of January 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 c. He expired in the quiet Haven of the Eternal Kingdom and is kindly received into it But where otherwise may it be conjectured that his Soul hath been deposited if not as indeed it is manifest in the Celestial Tabernacles where are the Batallions of Angels a Populace of Patriarchs Quires of Prophets the Thrones of the Apostles the Joy of the Martyrs the Exultation of Saints the Splendour of the Doctours the Assembly of the First-born the perfect Noise of those that are a Feasting To those good things in which the Angels desire to rest themselves that they may see them into that sacred place the most blessed in all kinds and most holy soul of our Blessed and worthy-to-be-celebrated Father is passed Of the great Meletius Arch-Bishop of Antioch who died on the twelfth of February 381. before he could have enjoyed the Communion of Rome 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 c. No longer as through a Glass and obscurely but face to face he prays to God Of Pulcheria Daughter to the Emperour THEODOSIUS 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 She was transferred from one Kingdom to another Of Flavilla first Wife to the same Prince who died in the year 385. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Her conversation is in the Royal Palaces of Heaven St. Ambrose of his Brother Satyrus who dyed September the seventeenth 383. De istius Beatitudine dubitare nequaquam debemus c. We ought not to doubt of his Beatitude Of the Emperour VALENTINIAN the Second two Moneths after his Assà ssination which happened on Saturday Whitsun-Eve May the fifteenth 382. before that Prince had received Baptism Ille etiam talis ut ei nihil timeatis c. He is now in such a condition that you need not fear what may happen to him as before c. I ask whether there be any Sentiment after death or not If there be he lives or rather because he lives he is already in possession of Eternal Life c. That he was so soon snatched from us we are to grieve that he is passed into a better Estate it should be our comfort c. Thou lookest on us Holy Soul from an high place as casting thy sight on things that are below c. Now borrowing light from the Sun of Righteousness thou enjoyest a clear day c. His going hence was most noble as a Flight into Heaven c. What thou hast sown upon Earth reap it there c. The stain of Sin being done off he whom his Faith washed his Prayer consecrated is gone up cleansed into Heaven c. joyned with his Brother Gratian he enjoyes the pleasures of eternal Life c. Of the Emperour THEODOSIUS who dyed January the seventeenth 395. Regnum non deposuit sed mutavit c. He hath not layd by but exchanged the Royal Dignity being admitted by the Prerogative of Piety into the Tabernacles of Christ into that Jerusalem which is above where being now placed he saith As we have heard so have we seen in the City of the LORD of Hosts c. Having gone through a doubtfull combat Theodosius of famous Memory does now enjoy perpetual Light and a Tranquility of long continuance and hath the self-satisfaction of what he did in his â—…ly in the Fruits of divine remuneration c. He hath deserved admittance into the Society of the Saints c. His abode is in light c. He is over-joyed to be in the Assemblies of the Saints c. There he now embraces Gratian c. Who enjoyes the rest of his Soul c. Being pious he hath passed from the obscurity of this World to eternal Light c. Now does he know that he reigns since that he is in the Kingdom of the Lord Jesus and considers his Temple c. Constantinople thou art evidently happy who receivest a Guest of Paradise and shalt entertain in the narrow Inn of a Sepulchre an Inhabitant of that City which is on high c. And of Ascholius Arch-Bishop of Thessalonica who dyed about the year 385. Est Superorum incola possessor civitatis aeternae illius Hierusalem quae in caelo est videt illis facie ad faciem c. He is an Inhabitant of the places which are above a Possessour of the Eternal City of that Jerusalem which is in Heaven there he sees face to face St. Hierome of Blaesilla who died in the year 382. Postquam sarcinâ carnis abjectâ c. Having layd down its burthen of Flesh the Soul is fled back to her Authour after a long Pilgrimage she is ascended into her antient possession c. Me-thought then when her Coffin was making ready she cryed from Heaven I know not those Garments that Covering is not mine c. Blaesilla now followeth Jesus she is now in the society of the holy Angels c. She is passed from Darkness to Light c. She lives with Christ in the Heavens c. Of Lea who died March the two and twentieth 384. Universorum gaudiis prosequenda c. She is to be attended with the joy of all who having trod Satan under foot hath received the Crown of Security c. For a short trouble she now enjoyes eternal Beatitude she is received into the Quires of Angels she is cherished in the Bosom of Abraham c. she follows Christ and saith All the things which we have heard of the same we have also seen in the City of our God c. Of Nepotianus a Priest of Altinum who died in the year 397. Scimus Nepotianum nostrum esse cum Christo Sanctorum mixtum Choris c. Corpus terra suscepit anima Christo reddita est c. We know that our Friend Nepotianus is with Christ and among the Quires of the Saints c. The Earth received his Body his Soul
Heaven To the same sense was that of Alexander the Martyr burnt at Rome on the tenth of July for the Testimony of Christ Alexander mortuus non est sed vivit super Astra corpus in hoc Tumulo quiescit Vitam explevit cum Antonino Imp. quiubi multum beneficii antevenire praevideret pro gratia o'dium reddit genua enim flectens vero Deo sacrificaturus ad supplicia ducitur O témpora infausta quibus inter sacra vota nè in cavernis quidem salvari possimus Quid miserius vita sed quid miserius in Morte cùm ab Amicis Parentibus sepeliri nequeamus Tandem in Coelo corruscat parùm vixit iv x. tem ........ Alexander is not dead but lives above the Stars and his Body rests in this Tomb. He ended his life with the Emperour Antoninus who foreseeing that much good was to happen to him returns him Hatred instead of Favour For when he had bent his Knees to sacrifice to the true God he is led to punishment O unhappy times wherein among sacred Exercises and Devotions we cannot be safe not even in Caverns What more miserable then Life but is there any thing more miserable in Death then that we cannot be buried by our Friends and Kindred At length he shines in heaven he hath lived but a short time c. That of Mala Requiescit in somno pacis c. accepta apud Deum c. She rests in a sleep of peace c. received near God That of Marius Innocentius In pace Deidormit c. He sleeps in the Peace of the Lord. That of Paulina 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 She lies in the place of the Blessed That of Florentius Requiem accepit in Deo Patre nostro Christo ejus c. He is at rest in God our Father and his Christ That of Lucius Deo Sancto unite cum pace c. Thou united to the Holy God with peace That of Leo 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 He is Victoriour That of Receptus 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 He goes before in peace That of Jovinus Locus Sallii Pontii Jovini in Christo c. The place of Sallius Pontius Jovinus in Christ Having thus heard the Judgment of Pious Antiquity concerning the State of the Faithfull departed and learn'd of it that they go to God that they are and go before in peace that they are and sleep in the peace of the Lord that they are received to the Lord and united to him with peace that they are in the place of the Blessed that they rest in eternal peace and in heaven as Conquerours which is confirmed by the Figures of Crowns Palms and the Dove bringing to Noë the Olive-branch the Symbol of the peace of God graved upon most of the antient Tombs who can without renouncing common sence and opposing the Testimony of his own eys which read these words and see these Symbolical Pourtraitures upon the Monuments where words are wanting imagine that the Epitaphs whereby the Deceased are said to be in peace c. in peace signifie onely that they died not under Excommunication and not that they are as Combatants retired out of the Field happy and triumphant in Celestical Glory CHAP. XL. The same deduced from larger Epitaphs WE have not any Epitaph in Verse of more Antient Date then the Papacy of Damasus by whose Hand the first we have were written but we may confidently affirm that even those and almost all that have been composed from the year 384. in which that Prelate ended his Life to the year 900. constantly presuppose the Beatitude and Glory of those to whose Memory they were Dedicated Thus that of Irene Sister to the said Pope Quum sibi eam raperet melior tunc Regia Coeli Non timui mortem Coelos quòd libera adiret Sed dolui fateor consortia perdere vitae c. Now that 〈◊〉 a better place she 's snatch'd her death I grieve not since to heav'n she 's freely gone But that I 've lost her conversation Is my regret That of Projecta deceased the thirtieth of December under the Consulship of Merobaudes and Saturninus in the year 383. Ex oculis Flori Genitoris abivit Aetheream cupiens Coeli conscendere lucem c. Sâ—â— vanish'd from her Father's sight Greedy to go to heav'ns aethereal Light That of Tigris Deacon of the Romane Church Quaeris Plebs sancta redemptum Levitam subitò rapuit sibi Regia Coeli c. Nunc Paradisus habet sumpsit qui ex hoste Trophaea c. Do you the redeemed Levite seek Heav'n's Court hath snatch'd him hence Who Tropheys from the Enemy did wrest Of heav'n is now possest A manner of speaking used by Pope Damasus in the Epitaph of his sister Irene and of the Saints Martyrs of whom he says Sublimes animas rapuit sibi Regia Coeli c. To heav'n's Court high souls are carried hence And the conclusion of the whole Epigram is He who took Tropheys from the Enemy In Paradise enjoyes felicity That of Tigris the Priest Sedibus in propriis mens pura membra quiescunt Ista jacent Tumulo gaudet at illa Polo c. Promeruit superas laetior ire domos c. His Minde and Members sev'ral seats contain In Heaven that these in the Grave remain That of Marcellina Sister of St. Ambrose Te pia Virgo supernum Accipit Imperium placidaeque ad munera vitae Aeternum Christus pretium tibi destinat Aulae c. Te Virgo tuus transvexit ad aethera Sponsus c. To blessed Life and a Superual Throne The just reward of thy Devotion Does Christ receive thee Virgin c. Virgin to Heaven thy Spouse does thee transport That of Probus Praefect of the Praetorium Eximii resolutus in aetheris aequore tutum Curris iter c. Nunc propior Christo Sanctorum sede potitus Luce nova frueris Lux tibi Christus adest c. Renovatus habes perpetuam requiem Candida fuscatus nullâ velamina culpâ Et novus insuetis incola luminibus c. Vivit in aeternum Paradisi sede Beatus Qui nova decedens muneris aetherii Vestimenta tulit quo demigrante Belial Cessit ingemuit hic nihil esse suum c. Dilectae gremio raptus in astra Probae c. Vivit astra tenet c. Dissolv'd thou safely runst th' etherial Plain Near Christ thou of a blessed Seat possest Christ being thy light thou a new light enjoy'st c. Thou now renew'd perpetuall rest dost gain Thy snowy Robes of guilt admit no stain And of an unaocustom'd place thou art A new Inhabitant c. He ever-happy lives in Paradise Who carries hence Robes first had from the Skies At his departure Belial complies And grieves to find in him there 's nothing his c. In his lov'd Proba's Bosom hee 's receiv'd c. Possest of Heaven he lives That of Pope SIRICIUS deceased the 22th of February in the
year 398. Nunc requiem sentit coelestia regna potitus c. Now got to Heav'n he does his rest enjoy That of Celsus a young Lad a Spaniard deceased about the year 394. and celebrated by Paulinus since Bishop of Nola Laetor obîsse brevi functum mortalia saec'lo Ut citò divinas perfrueretur opes c. Placidam Deus aethere Christus Arcessens merito sumpsit honore animam c. Spiritus Angelico vectus abit gremio c. Superno in lumine Celsum Credite vivorum lacte favisque frui c. Glad that he 's soon discharged hence I am That sooner he Riches divine might claim c. Christ hath his peacefull Soul to Heav'n receiv'd With its deserved honour To Angels Bosoms his spirit is convey'd c. Celsus in light above doubt not though dead With living Milk and Honey-combs is fed That of Clarus deceased the 8th of November about the year 402. Libera corporeo mens carcere gauder in astris Pura probatorum sedem sortita piorum c. Spiritus aethere gaudet Discipulúmque pari sociat super astra Magistro c. Emeritus superis Spiritus involitas Sive Patrum sinibus recubas Dominive sub ara Conderis aut sacro pasceris in nemore Qualibet in regione Poli siâ—â—s aut Paradisi Clare sub aeterna pace quietus agis c. Among the Just his Habitation is Of Body free'd possess'd of Heav'nly bliss c. His Soul to Heav'n is flown The Scholar to the Master equal grown c. Thou a discharged Spirit to Heav'n fly'st And whether thou i th' Patriarch ' s Bosom ly'st Or under the Lord ' s Altar art detain'd Or an aboad i th' Sacred Grove hast gain'd What part or place of Paradise thou 'st got Eternal Peace and Rest is Clarus lot That of Paula deceased in the year 404. Aspicis angustum praecisa rupe Sepulchrum Hospitium Paulae coelestia regna tenentis c. Seest thou a Rock into a Coffin hewn 'T is Paula ' s Mansion who to Heav'n is flown That of Concordius of Arles deceased about the same time Integer â—tque que pius vitáque corpore purus Aeterno hîc positus vivit Concordius aevo c. Hunc citò sideream raptum Omnipotentis in Aulam Et Mater bland 〈◊〉 Fratres in funere quaerunt c. Here Pious Good of Life and Body pure Coâ—…dius of Eternity lies sure c. Him snatch'd to the Almighty's starry Hall A Mother kind and Brethren do bewail That of Pope BONIFACE the First deceased the 25th of October 423. Membráque clausit Certus in adventu glorificanda Dei c. Quis te Sancte Parens cum Christo nesciat esse c. His Members he did lay Assur'd of Glory on the last great day c. Who doubts thy being with Christ Great Man That of Pope CELESTINE gathered to the rest of the LORD April the 6th 432. Vitam migravit in illam Debita quae Sanctis aeternos reddit honores c. Mens nescia mortis Vivit aspectu fruitur bene conscia Christi c. He to that life is gone Where blessed Saints eternal Honours crown c. The Mind immortal lives And guiltless Christ contemplates That of St. Hilary of Arles departed this world to a better Life May the 5th 449. Hîc carnis spolium liquit ad astra volans c. Nec mirum post mortem tua limina Christe Angelicásque domos intravit aurea regna Divitias Paradise tuas fragrantia semper Gramina nitentes divinis floribus hortos Subjectásque videt nubes sidera coeli c. To Heav'n flown his Fleshy Robe lies here c. Nor is it much if after Death To Angels Mansions he admittance hath And of the Golden Kingdoms is possest And with thy Wealth O Paradise is blest Where ever-fragrant Verdures he may tread And Gardens with divinest Flow'rs or'espread And Clouds and Stars beneath him c. That of the Abbot ABRAHAM deceased the 15th of June about the year 480. in Auvergne Jam te circumstant Paradisi millia sacri Abraham jam te comperegrinus habet Jam patriam ingrederis sede qua decidit Adam Jam potes ad fontem fluminis ire tui c. Thousands of Paradise now round thee are With Abraham thy Fellow-traveller Thou art possessed of that whence Adam fell Thou mayst of thine own Streams go to the Well That which Ennodius the Deacon and afterwards Bishop of Pavia made in Honour of Bonus Exemplum terris linquens ad sidera raptus c. The World he leaves Taught by 's Example him the Sky receives That of Abundantius composed by the same Ennodius Non sentit damna Sepulchri c. Feels not the Losses of the Grave That of Rustica writ by the same Hand Purior aethereas graderis sine carne per arces c. Disrob'd of flesh thou walk'st th' ethereal Tow'rs That of Melissa due to the same Authour De vita ad vitam transitus iste placet c. From life to life to pass is my delight That whereby he celebrated the Memory of Victor Bishop of Novara Spiritus aetherea congaudet lucidus arce c. His lightsom Soul sports in the Starry Vault That which he hath left in Honour of Euphemia Mens niveis quà m bene juncta choris c. How well her minde suits with the snowy Quires Of Blessed Spirits That of Atolus of Rheims Contemporary with Saint Remy Proprium censum coelum transvexit in altum In quo suscepit quod miserendo dedit c. Praerutilum detinet ipse Polum Heav'ns Treasure he to Heav'n ha's reassign'd Where what he here in pity gave does finde c. Of Heaven he 's possest That of the Consul BOETHIUS Beheaded in the year 524. by the command of Thierry King of the Ostrogoths Probitas me vexit ad auras c. Ecce Boethus adest in coelo magnus c. My piety to Heaven me brought c. Behold in Heav'n the great Boethius is c. That of Petronius Corpus humo animam Christo Petroni dedisti Nam justae mentes foventur luce celesti Sidereásque colunt sedes mundóque fruuntur c. Thy Body earth does finde Thy Soul Petronius th' hast to Christ assign'd Just minds celestial Light surrounds the Sky Their Seat they onely what is pure enjoy That of Liberius Praefect of that Part of the Gauls now called Languedoc under Theodorick King of the Ostrogoths Cùm membra recedunt Nescit fama mori lucida vita manet c. Thy Limbs may rot Thy Fame remains a brighter Life's thy lot That of Pope FELIX the Fourth deceased February the 29th 528. Certa fides justis coelestia regna patere Antistes Felix quae modo laetus habet c. Felix in Heaven hath felicity Whose Courts unto the Just ev'r openly That of Florentinus Abbot of Saint Croix d'Arles deceased April the 25th Indict 1. in the 12th year after
the Consulship of Basilius that is to say in the year 553. Fulgida regna petens coelesti sorte vocatus Lucis aeternae penetrans fastigia laetus Optimus atque pius nunc Florentinus in isto Resplendot Tumulo c. Hinc celsa Poli capiens jam praemia felix Sanctorum socius fruitur cum laude coronam c. Good Florentinus fam'd for Piety Call'd hence by a celestial Lot does hy Joyfull to th' Palace of eternal Light Shining ev'n in his Tomb Heav'n's high rewards he happy does obtain And with the Saints an equal Crown does gain That of Pope PELAGIUS the First deceased March the 2d 559. Vivit in arce Poli coelesti luce beatus c. In th' Starry Tow'rs Blest with celestial light he spends his hours That of St. Germain of Paris deceased the 28th of March 576. Carne tenet Tumulum mentis honore Polum c. Jure triumphali considet arce Poli c. The Tomb with Flesh he fills the Heav'n his Mind Adorns c. He sits in Heav'n by a Triumphal right That of Chlodobert the Son of King Chilperïcus and Fredegonda Non fleat ullus amor quem modo cingit honor c. Perpetui regni se favet arce frui c. Whom Honour now surrounds no Love bewail c. He Joyes possess'd of the eternal Throne That of Dagobert Brother of Chlodobert Rapte Polis c. Lux tenet alta Throno c. To Heav'n snatch'd c. an Heav'nly light detains Him on the Throne That of Andrew of Caieta deceased in the year 585. Pande tuas Paradise fores sedémque beatam Andreae meritum suscipe Pontificis c. Quae meditata fides credita semper inhaesit Haec te usque ad coelos super astra tulit c. For Andrew's Merit open'd Heav'n prepare A blessed Seat The constant Faith which ever was in thee Hath rais'd thee above Heav'n's sublimity That of Gregory Bishop of Langres deceased January the 4th about the year 540. Post Tumulos implet honore Polos c. Nunc super Astra manet c. Death once o'recome he fills the Heav'n with praise c. His Mansion is above the Stars That of Tetricus Son and Successour of Gregory deceased about the year 570. Dignus in Astris Mentis honore nites Thou by an exc'llent mind Among the Stars to shine a place dost finde That of Evemerus Bishop of Nantes deceased about the year 550. Aeternum locum missus ad Astra tenet c. Felix ille abîit c. Sent to the Skies his everlasting Seat c. Blest man he 's gone That of the two Ruricius's Bishops of Limoges Grand-father Grand-childe the former deceased about the year 500 the later about the year 550. Inter Apostolicos credimus esse Choros c. Among th' Apostles we believe they are That of Chronopius Bishops of Perigueux deceased about the year 540. Tua Coelis stat sine labe domus c. Nunc tibi pro meritis est sine fine dies c. Thy House in Heaven stands c. For thy good Works an endless day 's thy lot That of Chalacterius or Cales Bishop of Chartres deceased the eighth of October about the year 570. Abreptus terris justus ad Astra redis c. Ad Paradisiacas Epulas te cive reducto Unde gemit mundus gaudet honore Polus c. Snatch'd from the Earth thou dost to Heav'n retire c. While thou at heav'nly Feasts art entertain'd The Earth bewails what Heaven hence ha's gain'd Where by what makes the Farth bewail must needs be understood the Translation of that Prelate into Glory That of Esocius Bishop of Limoges deceased about the year 580. Non decet hunc igitur vacuis deflere lamentis Post tenebras mundi quem tenet aula Poli c. Who this world darkness left to heav'n's Court 's gone Needs not our fruitless Lamentation That of Victorinus Abbot of Agaunum or St. Maurice de Chablais Contemporary with Esocius Nunc fruitur vultu quem cupiebat amor c. The Face which was the Object of his Love H 'as now the Bliss to see That of Hilarius the Priest Corpore qui terras tenet Astra Fide c. Whose Body Earth whose Faith the Skie contains That of Servilio Coelis gaudia vera tenet c. Raptus ab Orbe quidem laetus ad Astra redit c. He 's fill'd in Heav'n with certain Joys Snatch'd hence he joyfull to the Stars returns That of Praesidius Inter Angelicos fulget honore Choros c. Mong Quires of Angels he in honour shines c. That of Aegidius Nulli flendus erit quem Paradisus habet c. Whom Heav'n enjoys no man needs lament c. That of Basilius Patriam Coeli dulcis Amice tenes c. Of heav'n thy Countrey Friend thou art possess'd That of Avolus Gaudia Lucis habet Felix post Tumulos possidet ille Polos c. Luce perenè fruéns felix cui mortua mors est c. H enjoys the Joys of Light To Heav'n after death he blessed is transferr'd c. How happy he Who blest with light o're Death hath Victory That of Euphrasia the Wife of Namatius Bishop of Vienna deceased the seventeenth of November about the year 560. Inclyta Sydereo radias Euphrasia regno Nec mihi flenda manes nec tibi laeta places Terrae terra dedit sed Spiritus Astra recepit Pars jacet haec Tumulo pars tenet illa Polum c. Thou now Euphrasia shin'st in Heaven bright My grief no longer nor thy own delight Earth went to Earth the Stars her spirit have This part 's in Heav'n th' other in the Grave That of Vilithura the Wife of Dagulph Quae larga dedit haec modò plena metit c. What freely given was she fully reaps That of Queen Theodechilda the Daughter of Thierry King of Mets Son to the Great Clodoveus Felix cui meritis stat sine fine dies c. Happy whose Works eternal day attends That of Gelesventha second Wife of King Chilpericus the First Non hunc flere decet quam Paradisus habet c. T were ill the Blest in heaven to lament c. That of Eoladius of Nevers deceased about the year 570. Adventum gaudens sustinet hic Domini c. He glad expects the coming of the Lord. That of Pope Gregory the First deceased the 4th of March 604. Spiritus Astra petit c. Mercedem operum jam sine fine tenes c. His spirit to Heaven flies c. Thou of thy Works hast now thy endless Meed That of Vincent Abbot of Leon deceased the eleventh of March according to the Julian Period 668. or 630 after Christ Sua sacratenet anima coeleste His sacred Soul is in an heavenly Mansion c. Raptus ad aetherias subitò pervenit ad auras c. Snatch'd hence thou soon t' th' heav'nly parts
art fled That of Pope Boniface the Fifth deceased the 25 th of October 625. Ad magni culmen honoris abit c. He 's gone of honour to th' accomplishment That of Pope Honorius deceased the twelfth of October 638. Aeternae luis Christo dignante perennes Cum Patribus sanctis posside jámque domos Thou who to ' th' holy Sires hast ta'ne thy flight Enjoy through Christ th' eternal Seats of Light That of Pope Benedict II. deceased the seventh of May 685. Percipe salvati praemia celsa gregis c. The high rewards of those are sav'd receive That of Ceadwalla King of the West-Saxons deceased the twentieth of April 689. Indict 2. Mente superna tenet Commutâsse magis sceptrorum Insignia credas Quem regnum Chrsti promeruisse vides c. His spirit in heaven soars Who to Christ's Throne is raised may be said But an exchange of Scepters to have made That of Theodore of Canterbury deceased the 19 th of September 690. Alma novae scandens felix consortia vitae Civibus Angelicis junctus in arce Poli c Advanc'd to a society of Bliss With Angel-Citizens h'in heaven is That of Wilfrid Arch-Bishop of York deceased October the 12 th 709. Gaudens coelestia regna petivit c. Rejoycing he to heav'n's gone That of Bede rsinamed Venerable deceased May 26th being Ascension-Day which argues his death to have happened in the year 735. Juni septenis viduatus carne Kalendis Angligena Angelicam commeruit Patriam c. May's twenty sixth of flesh uncloathed Bede Mongst Angels went to have a heav'nly meed That of Richard King of England deceased February the 7 th 750. Regnum tenet ipse Polorum c. Of heav'n's Kingdom he 's possess'd That of Fulrad Abbot of St. Denys deceased in the year 784. Credimus idcirco Coelo societur ut illis c. In heav'n we Believe him blest with their society That of Meginarius his Successour Post mortem meliùs vivit in arce Poli c. Death past he lives in heav'n a better life That of Arichis Duke of Beneventum deceased the six and twentieth of August 787. Te pro meritis nunc Paradisus habet c. For thy good Works heaven is thy reward That of Tilpin Arch-Bishop of Rheims deceased the second of September 789. Mortua quando fuit mors sibi vita maner c. When Death is dead Life his Portion is That of Pope Adrian the First deceased the 26th of December 795. Mors janua vitae Sed melioris erat Death was the entrance of a better Life That of Peter Bishop of Pavia deceased about the same time Admistus gaudet caetibus Angelicis c. Retinent te gaudia Coeli c. Rejoycing among Angels he Heav'n's joys thy entertainment are That of Hildegard first Wife of Charle-maign deceased in the year 783. April the thirtieth Pro dignis factis sacra regna tenes Thy worthy acts the sacred Kingdom gain'd That of Fastrada second Wife of the same Prince deceased in the year 794. Modò Coelesti nobilior Thalamo c. A heav'nly bed makes her more Noble That of Count Gerald deceased in the year 799. Sideribus animam dedit He rendred his Soul to heaven That of Hildegard Daughter by his first Wife Tu nimium felix gaudia longa petis c. Thou ever-happy to long Joys dost go That of Charle-maign himself deceased on Saturday the eighth of January 814. Meruit fervida saec'li Aetherei c. Aequora transire placidum conscendere portum c. That of Adelbard Abbot of St. Peter of Corbie deceased the second of January 822. Paradisi jure colonis c. Inhabitant of Pardise That of Ermengard Wife to the Emperour Lotharius deceased the twentieth of March being Good-Friday in the year 852. Linquens regna soli penetravit regna Polorum Cum Christo sanctis gaudia vera tenens c. Leaving Earth's Crowns to those of Heav'n she 's gone With Christ and 's Saints in exultation That of Lewis the Debonnaire who died on Sunday the twentieth of June 840. In pacis metas colligit hunc pietas c. Him Piety brings into the land of Peace That of Dreux Bishop of Mets deceased the eighth of November 857. Spiritus in requie laetus ovat Abrahae c. The joyfull spirit exults in Abra'm's Rest That of the Emperour Lewis the Second deceased the thirteenth of August 875. Gaudet Spiritus in Coelis Corporis extat honos c. The Body's honour is Apparent but the spirit 's in heave'nly bliss That of the Emperour Carolus Calvus deceased the sixth of October 877. Spiritum reddidit ille Deo c. He to God his Spirit return'd That of Ansegisus Arch-Bishop of Sens deceased the twenty fifth of November 883. Spiritus Astra tenet c. Of heav'n his Spirit 's possest That of John Scotus dead the same year Christi conscendere regnum Quo meruit sancti regnat per saecula cuncti c. He to ascend Christ's Kingdom did obtain Where all the Saints eternally do reign That of Pope John the Eighth deceased the fifteenth of December the year before Et nunc coelicolas cernit super Astra Phalanges c. Above the Skies Now he the heav'nly Batallions spyes That of Ermengard Daughter of Lewis King of Germany deceased the three and twentieth of December about the same time Bis denos octo vitae compleverat annos Migrans ad sponsum Virgo beata suum c. Twice eighteen years this Maid had liv'd compleat When happy she went hence her Spouse to meet That of Bruno Arch-Bishop of Cullen deceased the eleventh of October 969. Iam frueris Domino Thou now enjoy'st the Lord. That of Notger Abbot of St. Gal deceased the sixth of April 981. Idibus octonis hic carne solutus Aprilis Coelis invehitur c. Having laid down his fleshy burthen on The sixth of April he to heav'n is gone That of Gonzales cited by Prudentio de Sandoval Bishop of Pampeluna to the year of the Julian Period 1030. or of Christ 992. A qui reposa y en la gloria goza c. Here rests and glorious happiness enjoys That of Donna Sancia Dio fin glorioso a esta vida Par a gozar de la aeterna c. That she might gain eternal life in Bliss She gave a glorious Period unto this That of Sancia Countess of Castile Bis vinctum Comitem è carcere adduxit Coelicas sedes beata quae possidet c. She out of Prison twice her Count reliev'd To heav'nly Seats who happy now 's receiv'd That of Count Fernand of Gonzalva Belliger invictus ductus ad Astra fuit c. To heav'n th' undaunted Souldier was convey'd And Sebastian of Salamanca speaking of Ordonio the First places him in Heaven saying Felix stat in Coelo c. Laetatur cum sanctis Angelis in Coelestibus regnis c. He is happy in heaven
c. He rejoyces with the Angels in the Kingdom of heaven I acknowledg that the Opinion of Purgatory crept in among the Latines about the end of the sixth Age having by little and little gained credit many were easily induced to compose Epitaphs containing certain Wishes and Prayers for the Dead Yet did not their scrupulous manner of proceeding hinder any that would from attributing to them the possession of Celestial glory immediately upon their departure out of this life Thus the Epitaph of Pope Stephen the Sixth deceased the one and twentieth of May 891. hath these express Terms Aethera scandit spiritus almus ovans c. His milde Spirit ascends heaven triumphing That of the Kings Conrade the First Otho the First and Second and Zuentibold of Adalberon Bishop of Mets of Count Hugh and his Wife of the Countess Eve and her Sons of Arnoul and Rembal of Oudri Arch-Bishop of Rheims of Beatrix and Warin Abbot of Saint Arnoul de Mets express that their Souls In Coelis aeternâ pace fruuntur c. In heaven enjoy eternal Peace That of Reynold Abbot of S. Cyprian in Poictiers deceas'd in the year 1100. Rainaldi pars promptior Astra petivit c. Reynold's more willing part to heav'n is gone That of the Nun Benedicta Spiritus Astra tenet c. Of heav'n her Spirit 's possest That of Ranulphus the Priest her Contemporary Protinus ad Superos carne solutus abis c. Spiritus ecce tuus gaudens fuper Astra perennat c. Flesh once lay'd by to heav'n thou streight dost go c. Thy Spirit above eternal Joy attends Again Dans animam Coelo reddidit ossa solo c. To heav'n thy soul to earth thy bones return That of King Philip the First deceased in the year 1108. Augusti ternis conscendit in aeth'ra Kalendis c. He on the third of the Calends Of August unto heav'n ascends That of Reynold de Martigni Arch-Bishop of Rheims deceased in the year 1137. Hunc duodena dies Februi praeeuâ—do Kalendas Destituit mundo substituitque Polo c. On January's one and twentieth day He left the world and went to heav'n to stay That of Gerald first Abbot of Selue-Majour in Bourdelois deceased in the year 1094. the sixth of April En felix anima Coeli laetatur in Aula c. Coelorum civis dormîit in Domino c. Liber Coelos spiritus obtinuit c. Spiritus Abbatis vindicat Astra sibi c. Spiritus alta tenet c. His blissfull soul in Heav'n rejoycing is c. Heav'n's Citizen rests in the Lord c. His unconfin'd spirit in Heav'n is fix'd c. The Abbot's soul does challenge heav'n c. His spirit is on high That of Berenger Arch-Deacon of St. Maurice's of Anger 's deceased the sixth of January 1088. In Jano patuit tibi Janua vitae c. In Janus Moneth Life's Gate receiv'd thee And again Coelos animâ corpore ditat humum c. His Body Earth his Soul does Heav'n enrich That of the Empress Agnes deceased the 14th of December 1077. Die XIV Mensis Decembris animam bonis operibus foecundam Lateranis Salvatori suo atque omnium bonorum Authori reddidit hic quintâ die Mensis Januarii expectans spem Beatae Resurrectionis adventum Magni Dei membra carnis commendavit in pace Amen Vpon the fourteenth of December at Lateran she returned to her Saviour and God the Authour of all good things her soul fruitfull in good Works and on the fifth of January she recommended to this place her fleshly Members expecting the hope of a blessed Resurrection and the coming of the Great God Amen That of Bruno first General of the Carthusians deceased the sixth of October 1101. Ossa manent Tumulo Spiritus Astra petit c. Earth hath his bones to heav'n his spirit flies That of Geoffrey Bishop of Amiens deceased the eighth of November 1118. Hic jacet Astra petens c. Here going to Heav'n he lies That of Peter of Placentia Cardinal Terra suum Corpus Animámque recepit Olympus The Earth his body Heav'n his soul receiv'd That of Burohard Arch-Bishop of Vienna deceased about the year 1035. August the twenty ninth Cum quo perpetuò pace viget placidâ c. Sanctus Spiritus Astra petit c. Curribus ignicomis ad Superos gereris c. With him he lives in undisturbed peace c. His Holy Spirit to Heav'n flies c. In fiery Chariots to Heav'n thou' rt convey'd That of Alberic Arch-bishop of Bourges deceased in the year 1140. Modò major in arce Polorum c. In Heav'n he greater is That of Peter Leo in the year 1144. Junius in Mundo fulgebat Sole secundo Separat hunc nobis cùm Polus atque Lapis c. June's second day shone bright when joyless we Lost him between Earth and Felicity That of Peter Bishop of Poictiers deceased in the year 1115. unjustly reduced by Cardinal Baronius to the year 1130. Nunc dives liber stabilis sua praemia Christum Astra petit sequitur possidet iste Petrus c. Promovit privavit eum profugúmque recepit Papa Comes Christus ordine sede Polo c. This Peter rich freed firm rewards Christ Heav'n Now seeks pursues possesses freely giv'n c. A Pope Count Christ him rais'd depriv'd with love Receiv'd to Prelacy of 's See above That of Thomas Arch-bishop of Canterbury Assassinated the nine and twentieth of July 1170. Ab Orbe Pellitur fructus incipit esse Poli c. Forc'd hence in Heav'n he begins to grow That of Stephen Bishop of Meaux deceased the 12th of January 1187. Liber vivit terrâ divisus Astris Quae dederat Coelum Terráque solvit eis c. He freely lives 'tween Heav'n and Earth bestow'd And pay'd what unto Heaven and Earth he ow'd That of Robert Arch-bishop of Vienna deceased in the year 1195. June the seven and twentieth Junius aethereis mensis te reddidit oris c. Thee to thy Heav'nly Countrey June hath brought That of Mauricius Bishop of Paris deceased the eleventh of September 1196. Migrat Parisii Pater ad patriam Paradisi Mauricius c. Father of Paris Mauricius is hence To Paradise transferr'd That of Humbert Arch-bishop of Vienna deceased the twentieth of November 1125. Spiritus aeth'ra Praesulis Umberti petit c. The Prelat Umbert's Soul to Heav'n is gone That of Raoul Bishop of Arras deceased in the year 1220. Coeli Civis meritorum pondere vivis c. The weight of thy Good Works do thee sustain Thou Citizen of Heav'n That of Peter of Doway Arch-bishop of Sens deceased the twelfth of June 1222. Qui Spei certae suberat modò cernit apertè c. Who what he surely hop'd now clearly sees That of Hervey Bishop of Troyes deceased July the second 1223. Reddo Polo Spiritum ossa Solo c. My soul to heav'n my bones to
enquiry into the Motives which might have induced the Authours of those Epitaphs to insert into them Prayers for their departed Friends and to place their Tombs near those of the Martyrs who had sealed with their Blood the Truth of Christianity The most antient Epitaph we finde containing a mixture of Wishes and Prayers is that which St. Gregory Nazianzene writ in Honour of St. Basil deceased the twelfth of January in the year 378. where we read these Words concerning that Great Prelate gathered to his Fathers 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 God give him Happiness as if he had not been in the actual possession thereof and as if St. Gregory had not expresly required of him before that he would appear for the World and offer gifts to God and that in consequence of his being in Heaven as he had desired Again That he had quitted his Episcopal See as Christ would have it that he might become one among the Inhabitants of Heaven It seems then he believed him in Heaven and possessed of the Glory and Happiness of Heaven as soon as he had at his departure out of this World quitted his Episcopal See and yet he desires that God would give him Happiness meaning that he would confirm and improve the gift he had already made him which hath nothing common with the Hypotheses maintained at this day by the Church of Rome In the year 395. deceased the Prefect PROBUS and his Epitaph which loudly published that he was in the Plains of Heaven seated among the Saints possessed of perpetual Rest that he lived crowned with bliss in the Everlasting Mansions of Paradise concludes with this Prayer Hunc tu Christe Choris jungas Coelestibus oro Te canat placidum jugiter aspiciat Quique tuo semper dilectus pendet ab ore Auxilium soboli conjugióque ferat Joyn'd with Celestial Quires O Christ may he Thy praises sing thy constant favour see Whō ever-lov'd did ev'r on thee depend May he to 's Race and Widow some help lend Shall we say he was in Heaven and yet not joyned with the Celestical Quires That he was in any danger to see his Saviour incensed and that he could be possessed of Paradise without Happiness If not it must needs be that the Authour of his Epitaph prayed that he might enjoy it without any diminution and be eternally in the Favour and Peace of his Saviour in the Society of the rest of the Blessed Saints which hath nothing common with what is now desired by the Church of Rome We have such another Desire made in the Epitaph of Pope BENEDICT Hic Benedictus adest meritò sub rupe Sepulchri Quem tenet Angelicus Chorus in arce Poli Aurea saec'la cui pateant sine fine per aevum Sorte beatificâ scandat ut aetheria c. Here Benedict justly beneath this Stone Is plac'd whom Angels in the Heav'ns enthrone To whom be golden Ages without end That he the Skies may ever-bless'd ascend For who sees not that he who is enthroned by Angels in Heaven must of necessity be there and stood not in need of ascending thither nor that any golden Ages should be desired for him But in as much as he was to ascend thither in his Body after the general Resurrection the Authour of the Epitaph makes a Wish to that purpose and requires that the Happiness which he was then possessed of as to his Spirit might be ever continued to him that he might be eternally filled with Joy as well in body as soul thereby discovering that he reflected not in the least on the Purgatery held by the Church of Rome which none of her Followers ever yet placed in Heaven or any way thought on the delay of Benedict's Felicity whom he esteemed already received into the Society of the Angels The same accompt is to be given of the Epitaph of Marinian Arch-Bishop of Ravenna deceased in the year 601. where we finde these words Ipsius in locis sit tibi certa quies c. Mayst thou with God assured rest obtain As also of that of Venerable Bede deceased in the year 735. Dona Christe animam in Coelis gaudere per aevum c. Dáque illum Sophiae inebriari fonte Christ grant his soul in heav'n eternal joy c. And him inebriate with Wisdom's spring For it does not thence follow either that he was at the hour of his death deprived of the Joy of Heaven or that Wisdom had not filled him with the Effects of her Virtue or lastly that those who are once entred into the Joy of Heaven could ever forfeit it or be deprived of the communication of eternal Wisdom but that the Surviving thought they might rationally demand for their deceased Friends the perpetuity of their Happiness though they certainly knew it could never be taken from them That of Pope ADRIAN the First writ either by Charle-maign or in his Name by Alcuin notwithstanding he had presupposed that his Death was the entrance of a better Life yet forbore not to make these Wishes for him Cum Christo teneas regna beata Poli c. Quique legis Versus devoto pectore supplex Amborum mitis dic miserere Deus Haec tua nunc requies teneat charissime membra Cum sanctis Anima gaudeat alma Dei Ultima quippe tuas donec Tuba clamet in aures Principe cum Petro Surge videre Deum Auditurus eris vocem scio Judicis almam Intra nunc Domini gaudia magna tui Tum memor esto tui Nati c. Mayst thou with Christ a blessed Seat obtain c. Who humbly readst this Verse with pious heart May God his mercy say to both impart May here the precious body finde it's Rest May the fair soul rejoyce among the blest Since when the latest Trump shall summon thee God and the great Saint Peter for to see I know thou 'lt hear the Judge's gentle voyce Of thy Lord enter into the great Joys Remember then thy Son Now as the demand he made for Adrian that he might obtain a blessed seat with Christ in Heaven did not signify that he was not yet admitted into the Possession of that better Life whereof his death was the entrance so the Invitation to implore for him the Mercy of God was no argument that he had not obtained it since that even then he exhorted his Soul to rejoyce with the Saints of God and shewed that he thought it not tormented in a Fire such as were likely to deprive it of all Joy but that it was in Bliss reigning in the Company of the Saints of the Apostle St. Peter and our Saviour a felicity whereto nothing could be added by desire but the perpetuity of it which yet is so much the more certain in as much as it is grounded on the unchangeable counsel of God whose Gifts and Calling are without repentance That of Charle-maign of whom the Authour viz. Agobard Arch-Bishop of Lions said That he
cunctipotens animae c. Pardon thy Soul he whom all things obey he takes him for an Intercessour as he in requital Prays for him saying Oramus pro te pro nobis quaesumus ora c. We pray for thee thou us thy Pray'rs afford And elsewhere he lays it down as certain that the one and twentieth of January the day of his Decease Destituit Mundo substituitque Polo Snatch'd him from hence to place him in the Skie which cannot stand without his being received into Heaven In those of Howel Bishop of Mans deceased in the year 1129. and of the Abbot Joel having said Morte pari modicò Deus attigit ambos Ut sint translati Sidera magna Poli c. In equal death God did them both conjoyn Translated hence in Heav'n great Stars to shine A Discourse representing them already possessed of Celestial Glory and and particularly of the former Coram Sancto Vota vovent Tumulo c. Before his Tomb their Vows they pour Whence it follows that they took him for their Patron and must of necessity think him in Happiness Yet does he nevertheless pray for him saying Praesulis obtineat Spiritus Astra Poli c. May Heav'n the Prelate's Soul obtain as if contrary to his precedent Protestations he had thought him at a great distance from it In those of Audebert Abbot of Bourg-dieux and Arch-Bishop of Bourges deceased in the year 1098. he is very liberal of his Wishes as Communem Patrem communi tangite voto Ut det Pastori sedem super aethera vestro Again Audeberte vale sit pax tibi lúxque perennis Again In Domino requiem Spiritus inveniat c. Omnipotens animam Pontificis foveat c. To th' common Father your joynt Vows address That he your Pastour bring to happiness c. Audebert be well Eternal peace and light Thy Portion be May's Soul in God finde rest Kindely may God the Prelate's soul receive Who hearing him talk after this rate would not say that he were out of Heaven deprived of light peace and rest But look upon the Reverse of the Medal and you shall finde he looks on him as his Patron already possessed of Heaven saying Tu Pater à Superis saepe revise tuos c. Vadis te Christo per idonea signa vocante Et velut emerito tibi praemia digna parante Omni momento nostrî Patrone memento Et succurre gregi mortali morte redempto Again Nunc quoque cum Christo nos saepè revisat ab alto Thou Father from on high revisit thine c. By Christ hence As a discharged Champion thou art Of great rewards call'd to receive thy Part O Patron ever-mindfull of us be And those relieve whom mortal death set free With Christ from Heav'n often revisit us What could he have said more to St. Peter or St. Paul according to the Theologie of that Time In that of William Bishop of Engoulesm having invited those of his Diocess to worship his Body he advises them to pray for him Artus venerare Paternos Dic quoque Transcendat Gulielmi Spiritus Astra Thy Father's body having worship'd pray That William's soul to Heav'n may finde the way What could have been more ridiculous then to have perswaded People to the Veneration of a Body whose Spirit should at the same time have been in a place of Pain and deprived of Glory In that of Gerald of Orleans he says Datur hîc sua portio Terrae Spiritus in tenues vivens elabitur auras Cui tamen è rebus lutulentis si quid inhaesit Expediat totum clemens miseratio Christi His Precibus Lector Amen adjiciendo faveto Here Earth hath had her share The Spirit lives dissolv'd to subtile Air Which yet if stain'd with ought terrestrial May Christ in his great Mercy pardon all T advance these Prayers Reader Amen let fall Since then he conceived that at the fall of the Body when it became the portion of the Earth the Spirit lived and was escaped who sees not that he believed it to be in some other place then that of a grievous punishment and that the Prayer he afterward makes tends rather to assure the Expiation of his Offences then to implore it for him in as much as the Mercy of God is not communicated after death but to those who obtained it while they lived In that of Durand Bishop of Cler-mont deceased the nineteenth of November 1095. during the time of the Councel or Croisado for the Conquest of the Holy Sepulchre was published he exhorts the People of Auvergn to worship him and thereby declares him to be in Happiness saying Arvernus sanctos cineres reverenter habeto Atque Patrocinio tutior esto suo Worship his sacred ashes Cler-mont and Thou shalt in his protection safer stand In those of Gerald Abbot of Selue Majour in Bourdelois he is yet more excessive as hath been observed in the precedent Chapter And though the Prayers he makes in the Epitaphs of his other Friends as Reynold Clere Guy Raoul Clerembant William of Mont-soreau Berenger Arch-Deacon of Anger 's Froden of Anger 's Peter Dean of Dol Reinould Canon of Poictiers Geoffrey of Rheims Alexander of Tours Eriland Peter Prior Eudes Abbot of St. John d'Angely Raoul Arch-Deacon of Poictiers Chevalier Bouchard Chevalier Rahier the Countess Osanna Guy Tourangeau William Abbot of Bourgueil and Herard of Loudun though I say those Prayers might presuppose the Belief of Purgatory yet since they are consistent with the other Presuppositions and that Baldric made the like for Persons whom he believed crowned with Glory in Heaven it cannot be safely concluded that he ever intended to apply any one of them to the common Opinion current in his Time and which the Church of Rome maintains at this day The same is to be said of those who after him and to this present have declared and do declare according to the Custom of the Church of Rome and even in her Communion that the Persons whose Memory they have celebrated by their Verses and Sepulchral Inscriptions are in Happiness and possessed of celestial Glory For though they do not openly impugn the Opinion of Purgatory as the Protestants do and though they use such Expressions as might seem to maintain it yet do they not oblige themselves to maintain it in Effect and without any injury done them it may be taken for certain that they believed no more of it then the Reverend Peter Chastellain Bishop of Mascon who having on the three and twentieth of May 1547. advanced into Glory the great King Francis and scandalized the College of Sorbonne which looked on his Discourse as a Piece of Lutheranism flatly contradicting the common Opinion of Purgatory and demanded of him either the formal Retractation or Explication of it thought it satisfaction enough to give the Complainers and that in the presence of King Henry the Second and all his Court a Jest instead of an Apologie
had been admitted to the aetherial Plains and consequently that he was entred into Glory yet recommends it to the Reader 's Devotion to pray for him using these Words Astriferam CAROLI teneat dic spiritus Arcem c. Wish that Charles ' s Soul May be possessed of the Starry Pole That of Pope Sergius II. deceased April the 12th 847. Pro tanto tundamus pectora pugnis Pastore amisso vivat ut axe Poli c. So great a Pastour lost We are to grieve With beaten Breasts that he in Heav'n may live That of Ermengard Wife to the Emperour Lotharius deceased on Friday March the 20th 852. and immediately introduced as the Authour of it observes into the Kingdom of Heaven where she was abundantly filled with the Joy of Christ c. Hanc rogo te Lector commenda ritè Tonanti Assiduis precibus Christus eam ut habeat Cum quo congaudens vivat feliciter ipsa Angelicis semper mista beata Choris c. Reader employ thy daily Pray'rs I crave That Christ with him may Ermengarda have With whom in lasting Joys she may remain A Saint to live amongst the Heav'nly Train Whereupon the Authour to give us a more particular Accompt of his intention adds Has ego Rabanus confeci Versibus Odas Ex obitu maestus ex requie gratulans c. I Rabanus this into Verse have drest Griev'd at her Loss but glad she is at Rest Whence it follows that all he intreated the Reader to desire was not properly the happiness but the continuance and eternity of the happiness of that Princess already glorified with Christ in Heaven Whereto may be added that as Reason requires that the Gratulations whereby we express the good Wishes we have for our Friends be grounded not on the imagination of their future-good but on the advantage they have to be in actual possession of it so the Authour of this Epitaph had had no great reason to congratulate the Rest of the Empress Ermengard if she had not been admitted into it To the same Predicament may be reduced that of the Emperour CHARLES the Bald which after the Authour had observed that he returned his Soul to God that is to say died so piously that Pope JOHN the Eighth said he was in Paradise with the Angels concludes in these Terms Deus excelsus dignetur jungere Turmis Sanctorúmque choris consociare piis c. May the high God to the Saints holy Quires Joyn him That of Pope STEPHEN the Sixth whom the Authour had represented as Triumphantly ascending to Heaven inviting all that should read it to desire pardon for him saying Dicite Fratres Arbiter Omnipotens da veniam Stephano c. Th' Almighty Judge's grace Brethren implore For Stephen And that of Benedict the Fourth deceased in the year 907. following the same Track hath these words which denote the excessive Charity of the deceased Mercatus coelum cuncta sua tribuit c. To purchase Heaven all he had he gave And adds immediately this Advertisement Inspector Tumuli compuncto dicito corde Cum Christo regnes O Benedicte Deo c. Who seest this Tomb say with a contrite Heart May'st thou O Benedict with Christ have part Which Words proceeded not from the Authour out of any design he had to insinuate that Benedict when he uttered them had not yet obtained his part or reigned with God for what can be imagined more absur'd then that God should refuse to crown Charity the greatest of his Gifts and suspend the Effect of his Promises towards those who have as is supposed of Pope Benedict most conscientiously exercised it But his intention was to discover that he thought it not onely lawfull but necessary that the Faithfull surviving should continually desire of God the ratification of the Gifts he had already bestowed on those he had taken to himself According to this Principle which seems to have been common to all Antiquity may be understood in a good sense the Inscription of Amatus's Tomb which runs thus Pro animâ Amati poenitentis hîc sepulti Domini misericordiam deprecari digneris c. Vouchsafe to implore the Mercy of the Lord for the Soul of penitent Amatus here buried But when the Opinion of Purgatory by the Monks management of the Business had a little more prepossessed the minds of People the use of Prayers in Epitaphs became much more frequent then it had been before And as it were easie to produce Centuries of Instances to that purpose as of John Bishop of Nepete deceased October the 31th in the year 770. of Paul Arch-Deacon of Pavia deceased in the year 774. of Alcuin deceased May the 19th 804. of Hincmar Arch-Bishop of Rheims deceased December the 21st 882. of Boson King of Provence deceased January the 11th 887. of Fulk Arch-Bishop of Rheims deceased June the 17th 899. of Pope John IX deceased September the 23d the same year of Pope Anastasius 111. deceased in the year 912. of Pope John XIII deceased September the 6th 972. of Pope Benedict VII deceased July the 10th 984. of Pope John XV. deceased May the 7th 996. of Gebhard Bishop of Constantia deceased August the 27th the same year of Pope Sylvester II. deceased May the 12th 1003. of John surnamed Capanarius deceased October the 12th 1004. of Pope John XIX deceased August the 31. 1009. of Pope Sergius IV. deceased May the 13th 1013. of Pope John XX. deceased November the 8th 1033. of Teresa Sister of Alphonsus v. King of Leow deceased June the 9th 1047. of Geffrey Count of Arles deceased about the year 1052. of Stephen Cardinal deceased in the year 1061. of Peter Damiani Bishop of Ostia deceased February the 23d 1072. of Adam a Monk of St. Victor's deceased in the year 1153 So some might conceive themselves obliged to believe that all the Prayers we read in such Epitaphs were intended onely to this end viz. to deliver the Souls of the departed out of the pretended Purgatory and I am ready to acknowledg that the intention of the Authours many times was or might be such most having especially from the year 900. either embraced or countenanced that new Tenet some upon account of the profit accrewing thereby some upon account of the profit accrewing thereby some because it seemed likely to keep mens Consciences in aw and divert Sinners from their wicked course of Life but this cannot be either said or imagined of all For with what countenance could they have numbred among the Malefactours racked upon the infernal Engines of Purgatory for their Sins either Gebhard whom the Authour of his Life observes to have been conveyed to Heaven by the Hands of Angels and at the time of his Enterment to have wrought Miracles which demonstrated his being glorified by God in Heaven Or Peter Damiani whom in like manner the Authour of his Life affirms to have died on the 23d of February being the Festival day of St. Peter at Antioch to the end that the celestical
Court might receive into the Mansions of the Blessed the Disciple of Peter the same day on which Peter had deserved to be placed in the Pastoral See And indeed we find that the former was Canonized by the Church of Rome and the latter is one of the most eminent among her Saints to whom she addresses her Prayers and thinks it were injurious to them to pray for them After the same manner is to be understood the Epitaph of Peter Leo which sayes that Heaven and Earth divided him at his death whence it follows that his Spirit reigned in Glory as his Body rested in the Grave which notwithstanding the Authour of the Epitaph forbore not to cry out for him Dei gratia parcat ei May God him Pardon grant We have abundance of such Passages in the Poems of Baldric who after he had been some time Abbot of Bourgueil was advanced to the Episcopal See of Dol in Britany and coâ—…ued in it from the 25th of December 1107. to the 21st of January 1131. about which time the Belief of Purgatory seems to have been received over all the West Yet is it hard to conceive that he made any great account of it himself since that numbring among the Patrones who were to be invocated many of those for whom he put up his Prayers according to the antient Custom which excepted neither Patriarchs nor Prophets nor Apostles nor Martyrs he shews that his meaning was to desire of God not the cessation of their Pains but the confirmation of their Glory which the Church of Rome cannot deny but she practised a long time the acknowledgment made of it by Hincmare and Innocent the Third assuring us on her behalf that in the antient Missals was this Prayer for one of the greatest and most eminent Popes viz. LEO the First deceased April the 11th 461. Annue quaesumus Domine ut animae Beati Leonis haec prosit oblatio Grant O Lord we beseech thee that this Oblation may benefit the Soul of Blessed LEO. From which Prayer three things necessarily follow all which are extreamly contrary to what the said Church teaches at this day The First That she prayed and presented Oblations for him whom she acknowledged to be in Bliss and accordingly glorified for all Eternity with God The Second That the Oblation she then made and does still dayly make in the Mass neither is nor can be a Propitiatory Sacrifice properly so called but a simple Sacrifice of Praise as it is expresly qualifyed by the Words of the Canon by which she consecrates and presents it to God The Third That neither her Prayer nor her Oblation could according to her own Sentiment be of any benefit to Pope Leo in order to his delivery out of Pain since she acknowledged him exempted from it and in Happiness but to obtain for him what he was most assured of viz. the Ratification and Confirmation of his Glory to its full accomplishment at the Resurrection of the Just But moved as it should seem at the apprehension of these three Consequences which might have forced those of her Communion not onely to confess with St. Fulgentius that the Eucharist is no more then a Sacrifice of Bread and Wine consecrated to serve as a Memorial of the Body and Blood of Jesus Christ our true Sacrifice offered up according to the particular Observation of the Apostle ONCE upon the Cross but also to stop up the Mine of her most certain Revenue by renouncing the Imagination of her Purgatory the Church of Rome hath raced that antient Prayer out of her Missal and yet as if she had been ashamed wholly to take it way she hath put in another Prayer instead of it which discovers some remainder of her former Sentiment The Words of it are these Sancti Leonis Confessoris tui atque Pontificis annua solennitas nos tibi reddat acceptos ut per haec Piae placationis Officia illum beata retributio comitetur nobis gratiae tuae dona conciliet that is to say May the annual Solennity of Leo thy Confessour and Pope render us acceptable to thee that by these Offices of pious pacification a blessed reward may attend him and confer the Gifts of thy Grace upon us Where we finde First That St. Leo for whom 〈◊〉 antient Prayer was before made is in the new constituted an Intercessour for those who celebrate his Memory Secondly That the Solennity and Service of his Festival are called Offices of pious pacification not onely to shew that they are acceptable to God looking on them with a propitious Eye but also to insinuate a pretense of offering therein a Propitiatory Sacrifice to God and yet where in the same Prayer the Church of Rome desires for Leo that a blessed reward may attend him she in some sort expresses the sence of her precedent Prayer and shews to what end Antiquity was induced to Pray for the Faithfull departed in the Lord viz. to desire the perpetual continuance of their Bliss and not to obtain their entrance thereinto and much less to deliver them out of any Torments as is at this day imagined But however the Case stand Baldric praying even for those of his Friends whom he believed to be in Happiness discovers that he was of the same Opinion with the Church of Rome when she prayed for Pope LEO the Great As for instance in the Epitaph of Natalis Abbot of Saint Nicholas of Angiers deceased about the year 1097. after he had addressed this Discourse to St. Nicholas Tuum Deus accersivit alumnum Cui dedit aeternum solenni funere somnum c. Thy Disciple hence The Lord hath called to Eternal rest And in another Epitaph Defunctus sacris hanc ossibus ornat c. This Church his sacred bones adorn Signifying that he believed Natalis glorified in Heaven He concludes his Epitaphs with these Words Hic modò Natalis pro carne jacet cineratus Cui noceat nullus pro carnis sorde reatus Natalis here dissolv'd to Ashes lyes Gainst whom no guilt or stain of flesh arise In like manner in the following Epitaph recommending him to the Protection of Saint Nicholas he says to him Servi nunc memor esto tui Christo commenda quem Mundo Christus ademit Húncque Patrocinii jure tuere tui Now mindfull of thy servant be Whom Christ took hence to Christ him recommend And him with thy Protection still attend Presupposing not that he was in any danger but that he stood in need of Saint Nicholas to be made fully assured of the perpetual enjoyment of his Felicity A Conception false indeed in it self but yet was passed from hand to hand for many Ages before and might have been confirmed by millions of Examples In those of Reynold Arch-Bishop of Rheims deceased the one and twentieth of January 1137. after he had ranked him among the Souls Salvandae that were to be saved and made this Wish Dispenset veniam