sometimes too by drinking Poison But others who had no mind to submit themselves to so hard a Law refused to be received though this their Teacher was come for that purpose They had also a peculiar Way of saluting by way of embracing one another laying their Hands on each side of one another and turning their Head to both Shoulders saying each time Benedicite which kind of Salutation seems to have been usual amongst them because it is to be met with in several Accounts of their Opinions and sometimes it was perform'd with bended Knees sometimes with their Hands let down to the Ground Which Salutation was sometimes call'd Melioration Neither did they only require this Salutation from those who were received but from them also who were called Perfect amongst them and received others observed the same way of Salutation We read also in many of their Books that such a one did eat of the Blessed Bread of the Hereticks and in some it is added And saw the Manner of blessing it but what that Manner was is no where described neither is any Circumstance added from whence it might be gathered whether they bless'd the common Bread at their Dinners and Suppers or whether this was only a Ceremony used by them at the celebrating of the Lord's Supper Though it is added in one place that they call this blessed Bread the Bread of Prayer Three days in the Week they keep a Fast with Bread and Water But we do not read that any of these things were observed by the Waldenses but what was vastly different as That they had some Elders of their own That even Lay-men bless the Table before and after Meat they pray kneeling and bowing themselves to the Ground It is usual for them to bless the Table They profess to observe Apostolical Poverty And besides they are said to differ from the common Conversation of other Believers in their Life and Manners These are the chief things we meet with in this Book concerning the Albigenses and Waldenses for there is no mention made of the Opinions of any other Party This is the Extract which was sent me with some Passages wherein the Author gives his own Judgment One would think that nothing could be of greater force to convict the Albigenses of Manicheism especially if we consider that Emericus in his Directory for the Inquisitors ascribes almost the very same Opinions to the Manichees of Italy But I have three Things to say to take off this Prejudice the first is That nothing ought to be more suspected by us than these Acts of the Inquisition for he that is a Murtherer is certainly a Liar and a Knave I have shewed in my Remarks upon the History of the Valleys of Piedmont that nothing can be conceived more false than the Carriage of the Inquisitors and that they never pretended to any thing less than to Faithfulness in their Accounts of things This appears from the Trials of the Waldenses whom the Monks have indeavoured to make the most infamous Hereticks and yet in the mean time if we will believe the Bishop of Meaux they were very far from being Manichees What Authority therefore can the Testimonies of the Inquisitors have against the Albigenses since the Bishop himself acknowledges that they can be of no Authority against the Waldenses who have been no less accused of Manicheism than the Albigenses themselves Now that the Reader may be throughly convinced of the Justice of this our denying to admit these Testimonies of the Inquisitors and Emericus in particular I might alledg here what Emericus hath said of the Eternal Gospel attributed commonly to John of Crema the seventh General of the Cordeliers This Book contained the most horrid Propositions imaginable and yet now it is pretended that he was overborn by a Cabal of the Inquisition and they indeavour to justify him against all the Accusations of Emericus But I can do more than this for I have received from a Friend of Mr. G. Advocate of N. an Extract of the Acts of the Inquisition of Tholouse which may serve as a Pattern to judg of their other Trials which are found in that Register where there is scarce any thing of these Accusations The Extract runs thus Anno Domini 1283. 8º Idûs Julii Guilhelmus de Maunhaco filius quondam Guilhelmi Arloyer de Maunhaco Diocesis Aniciensis eductus de carcere Inquisitorum constitutus in praesentiâ fratris Joannis Vigorosi ordinis Praedicatorum Inquisitoris haereticae pravitatis requisitus per dictum Inquisitorem quod juraret ad sancta Dei Evangelia ut veritatem diceret de fide suâ respondit quod non juraret Inquisitus si erat ei licitum jurare super sancta Dei Evangelia respondit quod non Inquisitus si Papa Ecclesiae Romanae Dominus Martinus qui nunc est habet potestatem ligandi atque solvendi respondit quod non Inquisitus si Ecclesia Romana cui praeest Papa sit caput fidei respondit quod nec Papa nec Ecclesia cui praeest est caput fidei nec Christianitatis nec agnoscit nec credit aliquem hominem carnalem esse Papam nisi Iesum Christum Inquisitus si Archiepiscopi Episcopi alii Ecclesiarum Praelati per Romanam Ecclesiam ordinati sunt veri Praelati si habent potestatem ligandi atque solvendi respondit quod non Inquisitus si aliquis baptizatur ita quod baptizans dicat Ego te baptizo in nomine Patris Filii Spiritûs sancti Amen valeat baptizato si per talem Baptismum habet remissionem peccatorum respondit quod non credit quod aliquis carnalis homo possit baptizare nisi solus Deus Inquisitus si Sacramentum confirmationis quod confert Episcopus quando confirmat valet confirmato respondit quod nihil valet ei nec Sacramentum est nec ille qui confert Sacramentum est Episcopus nec aliquid potest Inquisitus si Sacramentum extremae Vnctionis valet infirmo quando ei ministratur à Sacerdote respondit quod non credit quod valeat ei nec quod sit Sacramentum Inquisitus si Sacramentum ordinis collatum ab Episcopo valet aliquid si est Sacramentum respondit quod nihil valet nec est Sacramentum nec Episcopus potest aliquod Sacramentum conferre Inquisitus si panis quem Sacerdos tenet in manibus suis dum celebrat postquam sacerdos protulit verba consecrationis Hoc est corpus meum remanet panis respondit quod panis erat ante panis remanet post quod magna injuria fit Deo quod panis commutetur in corpus Christi Inquisitus si verba sacerdotis absolventis aliquem ei confessum de peccatis dicendo Ego te absolvo ab omnibus peccatis tuis valent confesso respondit quod nihil valent confesso nec est Sacramentum Inquisitus si est licitum jurare super sancta Dei Evangelia in aliquo
1 Cor. 11.24 and shews that the Authors of this Liturgy did understand them of the Cross and not as the Church of Rome doth of the Eucharist The Ambrosian and Gallican Liturgies have followed the Sense of the Gothick Liturgy which deserves some Observation We meet with the same thing again Thou didst command by Moses and Aaron thy Servants that the Passover should be celebrated by the offering of a Lamb for ever until the Coming of Christ and hast commanded the same Custom to be observed for a Memorial 4. It supposeth that we receive the Body of Jesus Christ spiritually Let us dearest Brethren who have been fed with the Food of Heaven and refreshed with the Cup of the Eternal Wine render never-ceasing Praises and Thanks to our God begging of him that we who have spiritually receiv'd the Sacred Body of our Lord Jesus Christ being freed from fleshly Vices may deserve to be made Spiritual What it means by the word Spiritual is very plain where it calls the Dove that appeared at the Baptism of Jesus Christ Spiritalis Columba And the spiritual Dove descending upon his Head by the Holy Ghost that camest thy self Thus it calls the Eucharist spiritual Sacrifices He hath refreshed us with the Heavenly Bread and the Spiritual Cup. 5. It takes for granted that the Believers of old did eat the same Living Bread which Jesus Christ gives us For he himself is the living and true Bread that came down from Heaven and always dwells in Heaven who is the Substance of Eternity and the Food of Power For thy Word by which all things were made is not only the Bread of humane Souls but of the very Angels themselves By the Nourishment of this Bread thy Servant Moses was enabled to fast 40 Days and Nights when he received the Law and abstained from carnal Food that he might be the more capable of tasting thy Sweetness living on thy Word Let this living and true Bread which came down from Heaven that he might give Food to the Hungry yea that he himself might be the Food of the Living become to us such Bread as that our Hearts may be strengthned thereby that so in the Power of this Bread we may be enabled to fast these 40 Days without any impediment from Flesh and Blood 6. It calls the Sacrament Gifts laid upon the Altar Be pleased to sanctify O Lord these Gifts which we offer upon thy Altar offering immaculate Sacrifices upon the Holy Altar Let us beseech the Almighty through his only begotten Son our Lord Jesus Christ who hath vouchsafed to bless and sanctify these Gifts by the offering up of his Body and Blood that he would be pleased also to bless the Gifts offered by his Servants 7. It calls the Sacrament Salutiferam Dominicae immolationis effigiem in sacrificio spiritali Christo offerente transfusam The salutiferous Representation of our Lord 's offering up of himself transfused into the spiritual Sacrifice whereof Christ himself is the Sacrificer or Offerer 8. We find there a Prayer whose Title is A Collect for the Breaking of the Bread after Consecration Which scarce proves that they were persuaded that the Substance of the Bread was destroyed by the Consecration 9. The same which in some Places it calls the Body of Christ it elsewhere calls the Sacrament of the Body 10. It reduceth all to the virtue of the Eucharist Keep within us Lord the Gift of thy Glory and let us by the Virtue of the Eucharist which we receive be armed against all the Pollutions of the World 11. It supposeth that the Body of Jesus Christ abides within us and prays that it may continue there incorruptible Hear the Prayers of thy Family Almighty God and grant that these holy Things which we have received of thy Gift we may by thy Gift keep incorrupted within us And again let us with unanimous Prayer entreat the Divine Mercy that these saving Sacraments being received into our inward Parts may purify our Soul and sanctify our Body and confirm our Hearts and Minds in the hope of heavenly Things 12. It calls the Eucharist Holy Bread Bearing in mind the most glorious Passion of our Lord and his Resurrection from the lower Parts of the Earth We offer up unto thee O Lord this unspotted Sacrifice this holy Bread and this saving Cup beseeching thee c. 13. It calls the Sacrament Holy Mysteries in several Places These many Instances one would have thought might have obliged Mabillon to believe that the Authors of this Liturgy did speak figuratively in some other Places where they seem to speak more strongly and to give us another Notion especially considering the manner of their expressing themselves when they speak of the Feast of St. John Baptist It it worthy and just equal and saving for us always to give Thanks to thee Almighty and merciful God and in this Banquet of thy Sacrament to join the Head of thy Martyr by an Evangelical Commemoration and to offer it upon thy Propitiatory Table as in a Dish of shining Metal And we may add several others upon each of those Passages which seem the most likely to deceive us If we had the Canon of this Liturgy which these Gentlemen did not think fit to give us we should there easily find the Solution of these Difficulties for it is very probable it was like that of the Ambrosian Liturgy where it was so clearly specified that the Bread was the Figure of the Body of Jesus Christ as that it put an end to all manner of Cavillings on the Point Indeed these Words The Figure or Representation of the Sacrifice of our Lord do plainly shew that this was their meaning But we must make a shift to help our selves with what they have been pleased to give us It is easy to judg what those Passages were which Mabillon judg'd to be most favourable to his Cause for he hath caus'd them to be Printed in great Characters that no Body might pass them by Thus the word Truth seem'd to him to determine the Question of the Real Presence the Words are these We beseech thee Almighty God that like as we do now perform the Truth of the Heavenly Sacrament so we may cleave to the Truth of the Body and Blood of our Lord. But this learned Benedictine has suffer'd himself to be overtaken by his own Prejudice The Author of the Liturgy distinguisheth two times the one before the Death of Jesus Christ which was only an obscure Image of a Thing that was to come this is that which is exprest in these Words Or that the Living Bread by denying of himself should not afford Life but for the Redemption of his Possession and the Praise of his Glory what before he vouchsaf'd in a Parable he may now vouchsafe in Truth The other wherein the Death of Jesus Christ hath authoriz'd the Signification of the Eucharist upon which
Fruit of the Vine at the Lord's Supper and mentions not so much as one Word of Transubstantiation in a place where he particularly explains the Institution of the Eucharist Can. 30. in Matth. To speak the Truth how could he have any other Thoughts who maintains that Jesus Christ is no longer on the Earth in respect of his Body because it is impossible for a Body to be in more places than one Adest enim cum fideliter invocatur per naturam suam praesens est spiritus enim est omnia penetrans continens non enim secundum nos corporalis est ut cum alicubi adsit absit aliunde sed virtute praesenti se quâcunque est porrigenti cum replente omniae ejus spiritu in omnibus sit tamen ei qui in eum credat adsistit For he is present by his Nature when he is call'd upon with Faith he being a Spirit penetrating and containing all things for he is not like us corporeal so as that when he is in one place he should be absent from another but he is in all places by the Presence of his Power which extendeth it self where-ever he is and his Spirit that filleth all things yet he is in a more peculiar manner with him that believes in him 21. He was so far from approving the Romish Inquisition that he calls the Emperor Constantius Antichrist for persecuting those that were not of his Opinion lib. in Constant August Yea he judg'd all Force to be so contrary to the Spirit of the Christian Religion that he maintains that there can be no Religion where Force is made use of Lastly He was so far from believing that the Antichrist whereof St. John speaks was already come that he maintains that he would be revealed in the Churches that were then possessed by the Arians and that the Faith being thus attack'd the true Believers would be forced to look out for Shelter amongst the Mountains in Woods and Caves leaving the Antichrist Master of the publick Places consecrated to the Worship of God This is the Sum of what may be gathered from the Writings of St. Hilary I make no mention of some Errors of this great Man because Claudianus Mamertus having confuted them about the end of the fifth Century has made it appear that they were only some particular Opinions of this great Confessor and that we cannot look upon them as the common Faith of the Diocess where he was setled But the same cannot be said of the Articles I have noted Claudianus is so far from blaming them that he approves them by his Silence and shews that his Doctrine in this Respect was the Doctrine of the Church of Gaul We have nothing left us of the Works of Rhodanius Bishop of Tholouse who was contemporary with St. Hilary But it appears clear to us that this Holy Confessor having been sent into Banishment with St. Hilary after the Council of Beziers by the Cabal of Saturninus Bishop of Arles Favourer of the Arians we are to consider Rhodanius as a Defender of the same Faith and an illustrious Witness of the Belief of his Diocess And we ought to make the same Judgment of Phaebadius Bishop of Agen who was so much engaged in the same Quarrel and who acquired so great a Name by the vigorous Opposition he made against the Errors of Arius But Providence has preserved us none of his Works In effect this great Man who wrote in the Year 357. as appears by his Book against the Arians gives us sufficiently to understand what his Faith was in divers Articles and what was the Doctrine of the Diocess 1. He maintains that the Catholick Faith is found with those who speak according to the Holy Scripture and not amongst those who only make use of Prejudices After having quoted several places of Scripture to prove against the Arians the Eternity of the Son he concludes in this manner B. Patr. T. 4. p. 174. Volentes igitur à Patre Filium scindere infra Deum ponere de Evangelio praescribunt Those therefore who would rend the Father from the Son and place him below God give Law to the Gospel He expresseth himself yet more strongly to this purpose towards the end of his Book ib. p. 180. Hoc credimus hoc tenemus quia hoc accepimus à Prophetis hoc nobis Evangelia locuta sunt hoc Apostoli tradiderunt hoc Martyres in passione confessi sunt in hoc mentibus fidei etiam haeremus contra quod si Angelus de Coelo annuntiaverit Anathema sit Ergo ut supra diximus praejudicatae opinionis authoritas nihil valebit quia contra semetipsam ipsa consistit This we believe this we hold fast because 't is this we have received from the Prophets this the Gospels have declared to us this the Apostles have left us this the Martyrs in their Sufferings have confessed and to this we adhere with our Minds by Faith so that if an Angel from Heaven should preach contrary to this let him be accursed Wherefore as was said before the Authority of a prejudicate Opinion can be of no force because it stands against it self 2. He makes it appear that the Name of Catholick was not sufficient to be a true Christian when he represents that Arianism had so far seized the Minds of all the World that it was necessary to espouse the Arian Heresy to procure the Name of being Catholicks ib. p. 169. Sed quia aut Haeresis suscipienda est ut Catholici dicamur aut verè Catholici non futuri si Haeresin non repudiamus ad hanc tractatûs conditionem necessitate descendimus But because we are either to become Hereticks that we may be called Catholicks or cease to be Catholicks indeed by becoming Hereticks we are necessitated to write this Treatise 3. He asserts that the Revelation of Holy Scripture is so perfect with respect to the Divinity of our Saviour that Anathemas are to be pronounced against all those that advance any other Doctrine This appears from the great number of Passages which he quotes from thence p. 173 178. to which he joins the Anathema whereof I have already spoke before 4. He observes expresly that the same Honours rendred to Jesus Christ in the Liturgy as to God do demonstrate his Equality with God p. 174. Quod si ita est saith he quotidie blasphemamus in gratiarum actionibus oblationibus sacrificiorum communia haec Patri filio confitentes c. If it be so we blaspheme daily in our Thanksgivings and Offerings of Sacrifice in confessing these things common to Father and Son Thus doth he implicitly overthrow the first Principles of the Church of Rome viz. the Imperfection of the Holy Scripture in Matters of Faith the Authority and Necessity of Traditions which are the compleating of it and other such like Doctrines We should now proceed to examine what the State of these Diocesses was in the following Century
Baptism We may observe likewise that as he recommends to Believers the consideration of these Words sursum Corda at the Moment of their receiving these Mysteries so he doth not own that any receive the Body of Christ besides those that fear him and who by Faith are made the Sanctuary of God thus he argues in his Commentaries upon Psal 21 132. As for Faustus Bishop of Riez whatever Contests he had with those who defended the Doctrine of St. Augustin in the matter of Grace which made Pope Gelasius condemn his Writings yet certain it is that France has always had the highest esteem for him possible and his Name is registred in the Catalogue of her Saints in the Roman Martyrology till it was expunged by Molanes in the last Century Neither hath this hindred but that to this Day he is honoured and prayed unto as a Saint in the Diocess of Riez His Doctrine is as follows 1. He rejects the Merits of good Works and Works of Supererrogation as particularly as if he had had an Eye to the Papists Wherefore saith he though we endeavour with all Labours of Soul and Body though we exercise our selves with all the might of our Obedience yet nothing of all this is of sufficient Worth to be rendred or offer'd up by us as a deserving Recompence for Heavenly-good Things No temporal Obedience whatsoever can be equivalent to the Joys of Eternal Life Though our Limbs may be wearied with Watchings and our Faces discolour'd with Fastings yet when all is done the Sufferings of this time will never be worthy to be compared with that Glory which shall be revealed in us He discourseth much at the same rate concerning Grace and Free-will 2. We see clearly that he did not own the Existence of the Body of Jesus Christ in the Eucharist in the manner of a Spirit because he maintains all Creatures to be corporeal and that the Soul is distinctly in a certain place because if it were otherwise we must conclude it to be every where That which is very strange is that Mamertus who hath refuted him doth yet more directly thwart this Doctrine of Rome by the various Hypotheses which he proposeth when he confutes this Faustus Bishop of Riez But this Century hath detain'd me too long I proceed now therefore to consider the State of these Diocesses in the Sixth Century CHAP. VI. The State of these Diocesses in the Sixth Century WE do not find so many Authors of these Diocesses in the Sixth Century as we have had in the foregoing but however those we have of them are sufficient to inform us what their State was I begin with St. Caesarius Bishop of Arles who assisted at the Council of Agde in the year 502 and died in 542 so that he reach'd almost the middle of this Century This great Man fully represents the Notion that he had of the Eucharist when he shews that in Baptism there is the same Change and the same Presence of the Blood of Jesus Christ which he owns in the Eucharist as appears in his 4 th and 5 th Homily But in his 7 th Homily he speaks in such a manner as needs no Commentary And therefore since he was now about to withdraw his assumed Body from our Eyes and carry it up to Heaven it was needful that the same day he should consecrate for us the Sacrament of his Body and Blood that he might continually be remembred by the Mystery which was once offer'd up for our Redemption that so seeing his Intercession for the Salvation of Man was daily and continual the offering up of our Redemption might be perpetual also that this everlasting Sacrifice might live in our Memory and be always present by Grace 2. Though he speaks of the Eucharist as changed into the Body of Jesus Christ by the Power of God yet he maintains that it is by Faith and by the Acts of Understanding that we can partake thereof See how he speaks to a Christian who hath been regenerated by Baptism Wherefore as without any bodily feeling having laid aside what before thou esteemedst advantageous thou art suddenly become clothed with a new Dignity and as it is not thy Eyes but thy Understanding that persuades thee that God hath healed what was wounded in thee blotted out thy Sins and wash'd away thy Stains so when thou goest up to the venerable Altar to be satisfied with Food thou may'st see the sacred Body and Blood of thy God by Faith admire it with Reverence reach it with thy Mind receive it with thy Heart and above all take it in with thy Soul 3. He expresly asserts that the Body which the Priest distributes is as well in a little Part as in the Whole which agrees only with the Sacrament and not with the natural Body of Jesus Christ 4. He maintains that the Oblation of the Bread and Wine made by Melchizedeck did typically signify the Sacrifice of Jesus Christ which is absolutely false if it be true that the Consecration destroys the Nature of the things offered as the Church of Rome believes Hear what he saith He therefore in Melchizedeck whose Genealogy or Original was unknown to those of that time by the offering of Bread and Wine did foreshew this Sacrifice of Christ of whom the Prophet pronounceth Thou art a Priest for ever according to the order of Melchizedeck And Blessed Moses also speaking of this Mystery signifies the Wine and Blood with one Word Long before pointing at the Lord's Passion in the Blessing of the Patriarch he shall wash his Garment in Wine and his Clothes in the Blood of the Grape Mark how evidently it appears that the Creature Wine is called the Blood of Christ Consider what thou art further to enquire concerning this twofold Species seeing the Lord himself witnesseth Except saith he you shall eat the Flesh of the Son of Man and drink his Blood ye have no Life in you which Testimony is a most evident and strong Argument against the Blasphemies of Pelagius who impiously presumes to maintain that Baptism ought to be conferred upon Infants not to obtain Life but to attain the Kingdom of Heaven For by these Words of our Lord pronounced by the Evangelist You shall not have Life in you is plainly understood that every Soul that hath not been baptized is not only deprived of Glory but Life also Lastly In the same Sermon he saith in Conformity with the Notion of St. Cyprian about the Mixture of the Water with the Wine in the Chalice that by the Water is represented the Figure of the Nations and by the Wine the Blood of the Passion of our Saviour which supposeth the Subsistence of the Wine as well as of the Water and utterly overthrows the Doctrine of Transubstantiation 2. He overturns the Notion of the Romish Purgatory and follows here also the Sentiments of those of the Ancients who removed Purgatory to the last Day of Judgment
Man and Wife cannot be saved if they know one another carnally by striving to preach up the Study of Virginity saith he they seem to derogate from the State of Marriage and to condemn it which he refutes by the common Proofs In the sixth place saith he We convict and judg by the Authorities of the New Testament that they are Hereticks and separated from the Unity of the Church for we say that the Lord hath given the Power to St. Peter of binding and absolving saying Whatsoever thou shalt bind on Earth shall be bound c. and St. James says If any one among you be sick let him call for the Priests of the Church c. and again Behold I send unto you wise Men and Scribes but as our Lord saith All Men cannot comprehend this Saying Moreover We say that they ought to have stood up in Answering and Disputing concerning the Gospel because all Christians stand when the Gospels are read now if we ought to stand when they are read much more ought we to stand when they are read and expounded together Neither ought they to have sat down after that they had once chosen to stand Besides We have many Authorities by which it plainly appears that we ought to be standing when the Gospel is reading as that where it is said And Jesus stood in the Plain and again Jesus stood and cry'd saying and again There stands one in the midst of you whom ye know not Moreover Jesus was in a standing Posture when after his Resurrection he confirmed his Disciples and preached unto them as it is written Jesus stood in the midst of his Disciples and said Peace be with you And as for them saith the Bishop they have no right to judg but only to answer for the Lord ought to sit to whom all Judgment is committed by the Father But as for them they judg not but are judged and it is not permitted to them to preach in the Churches These Hereticks are such as St. Paul foretels of when he saith that there shall be wicked Men and Seducers who will go on to grow worse and worse deceiving and being deceived for the time shall come that they will not bear sound Doctrine but will turn their Ears away from the Truth to Fables And again From which some going astray have given themselves to vain things who desiring to be Teachers of the Law understand not what they say or affirm He maintains that they ought to punish the Disobedience of those Hereticks and to give them publick Correction according to St. Paul's saying That Sinners should be reproved openly in the Presence of all for their Amendment St. Paul also speaking to Bishops saith Being always ready to reprove every Disobedience and having Power to confute those that gainsay and again Exhort rebuke and reprove with all Authority and again I have delivered them to Satan c. Moreover Being absent I have already judged c. And lastly Who ever shall preach any other thing let him be accursed In the seventh place the said Bishop questioned them concerning Repentance whether it were saving when performed at the last Gasp or whether Souldiers mortally wounded may be saved if they repent at last or whether every one ought to confess their Sins to the Priest and Ministers of the Church or to some Lay-man or to those of whom St. James says Confess your Sins one to another To which they answered that it was sufficient for those that were sick to confess to whom they would As for Souldiers they would answer nothing because St. James there speaks only of the Sick It was also asked them whether one single Act of Contrition of Heart and one Confession of the Mouth were sufficient or whether Satisfaction were necessary after Penance had been enjoined in deploring their Sins by Fasting Alms and Affliction if they had opportunity To which they answered saying that St. James said Confess your Sins one to another that you may be healed so that by these Words they knew that the Apostle did not enjoin any thing else but only to confess to one another and that so they should be saved and that they would not be better than the Apostle by adding any thing thereto of their own as the Bishops do The Hereticks added besides that the Bishop who pronounced Sentence was an Heretick and not they and that he was their Enemy and a ravening Wolf a Hypocrite and an Enemy of God and that he had not judged rightly and that they would not answer any thing concerning their Faith because they mistrusted him as our Lord had commanded them in the Gospel Beware of false Prophets who come unto you in Sheeps Clothing but inwardly are ravening Wolves And that he was their malicious Persecutor and they were ready to make it appear from the Gospels and the Epistles that he was not a good Pastor neither he nor all the rest of the Bishops and Priests but rather Hirelings The Bishop answered That the Sentence had been duly pronounced against them and that he was ready to verify the same either in the Court of Ld. Alexander the Catholick Pope or in the Court of Lewis King of France or of Raimond Earl of Tholouse or of his Wife who was present or in the Court of Frenkwel who was there present that he had passed a right Judgment and that they were evidently Hereticks and branded as such He promised also that he would indict them for Heresy and that he would denounce them to be such in all Catholick Courts The Hereticks seeing themselves convicted and confounded turned themselves towards all the People saying Good People the Faith which we now confess we confess for your Sakes The Bishop answered You say That you speak for the Sake of the People and not for God's Sake And they said We believe that there is one only God in three Persons the Father the Son and the Holy Ghost and that the Son of God hath taken our Flesh upon him that he was baptized in Jordan that he fasted in the Wilderness that he hath preached our Salvation that he suffered died and was buried that he descended into Hell that he rose again the third Day that he ascended into Heaven that he sent the Holy Ghost on the Day of Pentecost that he shall come at the Day of Judgment to judg both the Quick and the Dead and that All shall rise again We know also that what we believe with our Heart we ought to confess with our Mouth We believe that he is not saved who doth not eat the Body of Jesus Christ and that the Body of Jesus Christ is not consecrated but in the Church and by the Priest be he good or bad and that it is no better consecrated by a good than by a bad one We believe also that none can be saved but those that are baptized and that little Children are saved by Baptism We believe also that Man and Wife are saved
had reduced them to the single Canon which they pretended was the best Piece of the Mass where he proved that the Holy Supper of the Lord was not the Mass saying that if the Mass were the Lord's Supper there would be all after Consecration that there was before in the Lord's Supper Whereas said he in your Mass there is no Bread for by Transubstantiation the Bread vanisheth wherefore the Mass being without Bread cannot be the Supper of the Lord wherein all know there is Bread Jesus Christ brake Bread Saint Paul brake Bread the Priest breaks the Body not Bread therefore the Priest neither doth what Jesus Christ nor what St. Paul did As Arnaud was about to proceed in these Antitheses between the Lord's Supper and the Mass to prove that it was neither of Christ's nor of the Apostles Institution the Monks Bishops Legats and Priests thought fit to withdraw themselves being resolved to hear no more for fear they might fix Impressions on those that were by which might extreamly shake their Belief of the Mass The Monk of Vaux Cernay indeavoured to render this Action suspected in saying that when these heretical Judges perceived the Weakness of their Cause and the Misfortune of ingaging in such a Dispute they refused to pronounce any Judgment concerning it as likewise to restore us our own Writings for fear adds he they might come to be published but restored the Hereticks theirs But how could two of the Pope's Legats and so many Bishops Abbots Monks and Priests suffer themselves to be drawn into a Place there to be thus abused and trick'd The Monk himself saith in the same place that the Heads of the Hereticks came to meet with the Catholicks at the Castle of Montreal to dispute with them the Catholicks therefore were in Possession of the Castle there could be therefore no Opportunity of foul Play nor of any such Violence neither was it necessary that the Moderators should pronounce their Judgment in a Case of Dispute seeing they hold that no other Judgment is necessary but that of the Pope who cannot err Besides how could this Monk know that the Albigenses were overcome seeing that no Sentence was given Perrin could have given us a faithful Extract of this Conference because himself observes that it had been brought to him from the Albigenses by Mr. Rafur Minister of the Church of Montreal in an old Manuscript From whence though he doth not express it in so many Words I judg that he reduced the Points in Question between the Albigenses and the Church of Rome to six Articles I. Article The Doctrines which they asserted in opposition to the Church of Rome were That the Church of Rome was not the Holy Church nor the Spouse of Christ but that it was a Church which had drunk in the Doctrine of Devils the Whore of Babylon which St. John describes in the Revelations the Mother of Fornications and Abominations covered with the Blood of the Saints II. That the Mass was neither instituted by Christ nor his Apostles but a humane Invention III. That the Prayers of the Living are unprofitable for the Dead IV. That the Purgatory maintained in the Church of Rome is no better than a human Invention to satisfy the Avarice of the Priests V. That the Saints ought not to be prayed unto VI. That Transubstantiation is a human Invention and erroneous Doctrine and that the worshipping of the Bread is manifest Idolatry That therefore it was necessary to separate from the Church of Rome in which the contrary was said and taught because one cannot assist at the Mass without partaking of the Idolatry there practised nor expect Salvation by any other means than by Jesus Christ nor transfer to Creatures the Honour which is due to the Creator nor say concerning the Bread that it is God and worship it as such without incurring the Pain of eternal Damnation because Idolaters shall not inherit the Kingdom of Heaven For all these things therefore which they asserted they have been hated and persecuted to Death This Account of the Conference of Montreal which I have copied from Perrin is enough in my Judgment fully to refute any Scruple that might remain in the Mind of a Reader who reads in Roger Hoveden the Letters of Peter Cardinal of St. Chrysogon writ in the Year 1178 which testify that the Manichees of Tholouse had been convicted by the Confession which many of them had made of the greatest part of the Articles of that Heresy It is very visible that it was upon the Authority of these Letters or upon some Informations of this Nature that Alanus who was born at Lisle in Flanders and who had spent the greatest part of his time at the University of Paris has built his Catalogue of the Heresies which he refutes in his Treatise against the Albigenses whereof I have given an Extract in the foregoing Chapter So that it is necessary to suppose one of these three things Either that the Earl Raymond of Tholouse and those whom he protected were really Manichees as they are accused to be by the Pope's Legats by the Bishops and by Peter of Vaux Cernay who sets down this Accusation and the forced Confessions of the Albigenses who own themselves to be Manichees or that the Albigenses who were the Disciples of Peter de Bruys and of Henry that were no Manichees had gone over to that Sect towards the End of the 12 th Century and afterwards again become Petrobusians and Henricians at the Beginning of the 13 th as it plainly appears they then were from the Conference of Montreal where they freely proposed their Opinions intirely opposite to Manicheism or that the Legats and Monks that persecuted them with Fire and Sword were great Impostors in taking Advantage against them from some Confessions extorted from Manichees who were here and there scattered in those Diocesses and which they made use of to animate the People of the Roman Communion and to ingage the Princes and Bishops of all places to exterminate without Mercy a sort of People who utterly subverted all the Rules of Morality which is the Band of Society and all the Principles of both natural and Christian Religion CHAP. XVIII Reflections on the Convictions of Manicheism which were said to be proved upon the Albigenses ONE of the most plausible Objections that can be made against the Purity of the Faith of the Albigenses is the Testimony of the Inquisitors who have filled their Trials with plain Confessions which several Albigenses judged and condemned by them have made of sundry Errors of the Manichees I shall produce an Extract of the Acts of the Inquisition of Tholouse which are in the Hands of Mr. Wetstein Bookseller at Amsterdam as it was sent me out of Holland and which was made by a Man of great Reputation The Albigenses saith he held some Opinions in common with the Vaudois as That to a Christian all Oaths are unlawful that the Confession of Sins made
for special Praier mad for Men dampned to everlastand Payne is to God gretly displesant and thow it be dowt it is likli to trewe Christes Peple that the Fownders of Almes-Howses for her venymous Dotation ben for the most part passed the brode Wey The Correlary is the Prayer of value spring and out of perfect Charite schold embrace in general al tho that God wold haf saved and leve Merchaundys now usyd for spiritual Prayers ymade to Mendicaunts Possessioners and other soul Priestes the which ben a Pepel of grete coarge to al the Reme mayntenyd in Idlenes for it was proved in a Boke that the Kyng hard that a hundreth of Almes-Hous suffised to all the Reme and there schold fal the gretest encrease possibil to Temporel Parti The eight Conclusion nedful to tell to the Pepel begiled is the Pilgrinage Prayers and Offering made to blind Rodes and to defe Ymages of Tre and of Ston that be ner of kyn to Ydolatri and fer fro Almes Dede And thow this forboden Ymageri be a Boke of Error to the lewde Pepul yit the Ymage usuel of the Trinitie is most abhominable This Conclusion God openly schews commandyng to do Almes-Dede to Men that be nedy for thai be the Ymage of God in a mor liknes than the Stok or Stone for God sais not faciamus lignum ad imaginem similitudinem nostram bot faciamus hominem etc. for the hey Worchip that Clerkes clepen Latria longes to the Godhede alone and the low Worchip that they clepen Dulia perteneth to Man and to Angels and to lower Creatures The Correlary is that the Service of the Rode tre donn twyes every yer in our Chirch is ful filled of Ydolatrie for if the Rode-tre Nail Sper and the Crowne of God schoul be so heyle worchiped than were Judas Lippes who so myght ham gete a wonder gret Relick Bot we pray the Pilgrine us to tell what thow offers to Seintes schryned in any place wheder releves you the Seint that is in Blis or the pore Almes-Hous that is so well endowed for Men canonized God wot how And to speke more in plain trew Christen Men supposen that the point of that noble Man that Men clepen Seint Thomas were no cause of Martirdome The nint Conclusion that holdes the Pepel low is that the Articles of Confession that is said necessari to Salvacion of Man with a feyned Power of Absolucion enhaunceth Priestes Pride and gyf hem oportunite of prive calling other than we will now say For Lordes and Ladys ben arrested that for fere of here Confessours they dur not seyn a Trewth And in tyme of Confession is the best tyme of Wowing and of prive Continuance of dedely Synne Thai seyn thai ben Comissaries of God to deme of every Synne to foulen and to clense whom so thai like Thei sai that thai have the Keyes of Heven and of Hell they may curse and bless bynd and unbynd at her own will insomuch that for a Busshel of Whete or twelve Pence be yer thei will sell the Bliss of Heven be Chartir of Clause of Warrantise en sele with the commun Sele This Conclusion is so seen in use that it nedyth no other Prof. Correlarium The Pope of Rome that feynet him hey Tresorer of holi Chirch havand the worthi Jewel of Christes Passion in hys kepying with the Desertes of al hollowen of Heaven by which he geveth the feyned Pardon à poenâ à culpâ he is a Tresorer most banyst out of Charite seyn he may deliver the Prisoners that ben in payn at his own will and mak himself so that he schall never com there Her may every trew Christen Man wel se that ther mich prive falshede hid in our Chirche The tent Conclusion is that Manslaut be batail or onn Law of Rigtwisenes for temporel Cause or spirituel without special Revelacion is expresse contrarious to the New Testament the which is a Law of Grece and full of Mercy This Conclusion is oponly proved be ensample of Christes Preching here in Erthe the wyche most taugte for to lowe and have mercy of his Enemys and nogt for to sle hem The reason is of this that for the more Party ther Men fiâ—t affter the first Stroke Charite is ybroke and who so deyth out of Charite goth the hey wey to Hell And over this we know wele that no Clerk can fynde be Scripture or be Reason lawful punischment of Deth for on dedely Synne and not for another Bot the Law of Mercy that is the New Testament forbede al Manslaugte in Evangelio dictum est antiquis non occides The Correlary is it is holi robbing of the pore Pepil whan Lordes purchas Indulgence à poenâ à culpâ to hem that helpeth to his oft to al the Christen Men in ferre Londes for temporel Goode as we haf seen and knygtes that renne to Heyennes to geten hem a Name in sleying of Men get mych maugre of the Kyng of Pees for be Meknes and Sufferaunce our Beleve was multiplied and Figters and Mansleyrs hem Christ hateth and manasseth Qui gladio percutit gladio peribit The elevent Conclusion ys scham for to say that the avowe of Continence made in our Chirch of Wymmen the wych ben febil and unperfite in kynd is cause of brynging of most horribel Synne possible to Mankynd for thow sleying of Childeren or thei ben Christened abortyse or stroying of Kind be Medicine ben ful synful yit knowing hem self or unreasonable Best or Creature that bereth no passyd in Worthiness to ben punisched in paynes of Hell The Correlary is that Wydewes and such as han taken the Mantel and the Ryng deliciouslych fed we wold thei were wedded for we ne can excuse hem of pryvy Synnes The twelf Conclusion is that the multitude of Crafftes nogt nedful used in our Chirche norisch mykel Synne in wast Curiosity and disgysing This schewes Experience and Reason proveth for Nature with a few Crafftes sufficed to nede of Man The Correlary is that sais Seint Poule we havand our bodily Fode and cleying we schuld hold us payed Vs think that Goldsmythes and Armorers and al manner Crafftes not nedful to Man after the Apostel schuld be destryed for the encres of Virtu For thow this twey Crafftes nemed wer mych more nedful in the Old Law the New Testament has voyded these and many other I suppose it is not necessary after the Perusal of this Piece to observe that the Romish Clergy cast those Crimes upon the Lollards whereof themselves were guilty and which the Lollards laid to their Charge in the Face of Heaven and Earth It will be said perhaps that this Petition contains several Errors I own it but we are to observe 1 st That it is part of the Frailty of Mankind to fall into the contrary Extream whilst we endeavour to avoid those things that appear to us to be mortal 2 dly That these Failings may be easily extenuated by the
they all sound for the Churches Gain 1. See what he saith of the Pope's Authority In Constantine's time the Priesthood was removed and it was not decreed that the Bishop of that Church should necessarily have a Primacy over all others as is here supposed Neither do I believe that any Catholick is so foolish as to believe that when Christ's Vicar writes Let it be done and he who spake the Word and all things were made doth not approve of it he hath any Right to command because of him alone it can be said with Truth So I will and so I command let my Will stand instead of Reason And accordingly he was condemned by the Council of Constance for believing That it is ridiculous to suppose the Pope to be the Highest Priest and that Christ never approved of any such Dignity neither in Peter nor in any one else 2. Of the Power which the Popes assume to themselves over the Temporalities of Kings Wicklef wrote a particular Treatise intituled De Civili Dominio to overthrow their Claims where he speaks thus In Civil Power there cannot be two Lords of equal Authority the one must be principal and the other subordinate We will not subject our King in this matter to him when he bestowing any Mortmain reserves to himself the capital Dominion 3. He did not believe the Pope's Infallibility The Pope may sin as Head of the Church He may sin by Nature having a capital Lord above him There is no doubt but that an Error may be committed in the Election of a Pope and yet more in his following Conversation He may err in Feeding the Churches or in Articles of the Faith Many Popes have been corrupted with heretical Pravity He believed it was probable That all the Bishops of Rome for 300 Years and more before his time were fully Hereticks 4. He made no Difficulty of saying that the Pope was the chiefest Antichrist 1. Wicklef informs us what his Thoughts were of the Church of Rome when he saith It is possible that the Lord Pope may be ignorant of the Law of Scripture and the Church of England may be far truer in her Judgment of Catholick Truth than the whole Church of Rome that is made up of the Pope and Cardinals 2. He maintains that the Church of Rome may err but that this doth not hinder but that the Purity of Doctrine may be preserved in the Catholick Church It is necessary says he That the Catholick Faith be in the whole Mother-Church 3. He did not believe that wicked Men were true Members of the Church and censures those who teach that Men who shall be damned are notwithstanding Members of the Church so joining Christ and the Devil They teachen together saith he that tho Men that shall be damned be Members of Holy Church and thus they wedden Christ and the Devil together he saith that unbelieving and ungodly Men are in the Holy Church by Body not by Thought by Name not by Deed in Number not by Merit As to the Doctrine of Justification it is very plain that he was not of the Opinion of the Church of Rome as these Words shew The Merit of Christ is of it self sufficient to redeem every Man from Hell 't is to be understood of a Sufficiency of it self without any other concurring Cause All that follow Christ being justified by his Righteousness shall be saved as his Offspring He rejects the Doctrine of the Merit of Works and falls upon those which say That God did not all for them but think that their Merits help Heal us Lord for nought that is no Merit of ours but for thy Mercy Lord not to us but to thy Mercy give thy Ioy. As for what concerns the Lord's Supper we find that this great Man did not believe Transubstantiation See how he expresses himself This Bread is fairly truly and really spiritually virtually and sacramentally the Body of Christ as St. John the Baptist was figuratively Elias and not personally As Christ is both God and Man at once so the consecrated Host is the Body of Christ and true Bread at the same time because it is the Body of Christ at least in a Figure and true Bread in its Nature or which signifies the same thing it is true Bread naturally and the Body of Christ figuratively He constantly affirmed that this Doctrine lasted in the Church for a thousand Years till Sathanas was unbound and the People blinded by Friars with the Heresy of Accidents without Subjects 1. He owned but two Sacraments as appears by the 45 th 46 th 47 th and 48 th Articles condemned at Oxford and in the Council of Constance 2. He was against the Use of Chrism in Baptism 3. He maintained that extream Unction was not a Sacrament If corporal Unction were a Sacrament as now is pretended Christ and his Apostles would not have been wanting to declare it to the World 4. His Opinion concerning Confirmation as it is practised amongst the Papists he expresseth thus As for the Oil wherewith the Bishops anoint Children and the linnen Coif that covers the Head it seems to be a vain Ceremony that can have no Foundation in Scripture and that this Confirmation being introduced without any Apostolical Authority is Blasphemy against God 1. He declam'd against the Use of Images with great Earnestness We ought to preach saith he against the Costliness Beautifulness and other Arts of cheating wherewith we impose upon Strangers rather to pick their Pockets than for the Propagation of Christ's Religion The Devil by his Falshood deludes many who sometimes suppose a Miracle to have been wrought when indeed it was nothing but a Cheat. The Poison of Idolatry lies hid in continued Imagination 2. One may see how he distinguisheth Sins Some Sins are called little Sins in comparison of greater and venial because God's Son forgives them 3. He did not own the Necessity of Auricular Confession Vocal Confession made to the Priest introduc'd by Innocent is not so necessary If a Man be truly contrite all outward Confession is superfluous and unprofitable to him 4. He wrote against the Doctrine of Satisfaction The present Pope has reason to blush for the modern Penance established by him without any Ground since it is not lawful for any Mortals no not for the Apostles themselves to make the Law of God difficult beyond what he himself hath limited 5. His Judgment concerning Pardons and Indulgences he expresseth in these Words It is a foolish thing to rely upon the Indulgences of the Pope and the Bishops 6. He gives this Rule concerning Fasting In Works of Humanity we must follow Christ by doing such Works as bear some Proportion with his We must fast 40 Days from Sin and as far as is possible to