Christ who is the end and accomplishment of the Law has given liberty to Men to eat of all sorts of Meats provided they don 't violate the bounds of Christian Sobriety and from thence he takes occasion to reprove the Irregularities and Disorders of some Christians who lived intemperately He observes that this is by no means fitting for those Persons who are to pray Night and Day At last out of the number of Meats that are permitted to be eaten he excepts those that have been offered to Idols from which the Primitive Christians abstained very Religiously and he concludes all with these Words that are an Abridgment of his whole Discourse Having therefore shewn what is the nature of Meats for he had before discovered the Genius of the Mofaical Law and explained the nature of the Evangelical Liberty Let us live up to the Rules of Temperance and abstain from things Offered to Idols giving thanks to our Lord Jesus Christ his Son to whom be Praise Honour and Glory forever and ever Amen Some think that Novatian writ this Letter during the Persecution of Decius before he had separated from the Church but his way of speaking at the beginning makes me rather believe that it was composed after he became Chief of the Party in the Persecution of Gallus and Volusian This Author has abundance of Wit Knowledge and Eloquence his Style is pure clean and polite his Expressions choice his Thoughts natural and his way of Reasoning just He is full of Citations of Texts of Scripture that are always to the purpose and besides there is a great deal of Order and Method in those Treatises of his we now have and he never speaks but with a world of Candor and Moderation Saint MARTIALIS SAint Martialis came into France with St. Dionysins a Under the Emperor Decius St. Gregory of Tours is the Man that fixes this Epocha of the coming of St. Denis Martialis and their Colleagues into France There is no Author extant who is either more ancient or more worthy to be believed than St. Gregory that has given us any Account of their arrival there any sooner under the Emperor Decius towards the year of our Lord 250. Two Letters attributed to him one written to the People of Burdeaux the other to those of Tholouse which were said to be found in the Vestry of b Peter of Limoges This Story is related by a Monk called Gausius in a Chronicle which is to be found in the Bibliotheca Patrum p. 288 289. first printed in the year 1521 with Abdias and afterwards in 1571 and 1614. St. Peter of Limoges in the Eleventh Century and have been since c Frequently Printed They were first printed by Badius in the Year 1521 afterwards by Bâ—rdes in the Year 1573 with the Notes of Elmenhorstius at Helmstad in 1614 at Basil in 1655 at Colen in 1560. frequently Printed and inserted into the last Bibliotheca Patrum though no man questions that these Letters are Supposititious For in the first place the Author tells us that he lived with Jesus Christ which can by no means agree with him who was Bishop of Limoges in 252. Secondly in the Eighth Chapter of the Second Letter he saith that he Baptized King Stephen and another Tyrant with his Noblemen Now in the time of Martialis there was neither King nor Tyrant in France Thirdly he tells us that in his time the Temples of the Gods were demolished and that Churches were built by the Kings Authority which does not agree with the time of St. Martialis Fourthly the Texts of Scripture quoted in these Letters follow the vulgar Translaation which was composed long after Fifthly the Author tells us that he had eaten with Jesus Christ at the last Supper though it is certain that none but the Apostles were there The Life of St. Martialis Printed at the end of Abdias which carries the Name of Aurelian Bishop of Limoges is a spurious Piece no less than the Epistles of that Bishop and full as Fabulous as the History of Abdias to which it is joyned The Author by a very gross Error supposes that Vespasian succeeded Nero immediately He tells us that St. Martialis received from Jesus Christ after his Resurrection the same Power which the Apostles had that he never suffered either Hunger Thirst or Pain and recounts several other Fables concerning him which are no less ridiculous than those that are to be found upon the same Subject in the two Councils of Limoges held in the Years 1029 and 1031. SIXTUS or XYSTUS Sixtus IT is a long time ago since under the name of Pope Sixtus who presided in the Roman Chair in the Year 257. Ruffinus published a Book of a certain Pythagorean Philosopher named Sixtus translated out of Greek into Latin a Saint Jerome often reproaches him with this Imposture Ep. ad Ctesiphont contra Pelag. in Cap. 22. Jerom. in Cap. 18. Ezechielis St. Jerome often reproaches him with this Imposture St. Austin suffered himself at first to be deceived by it and has cited it in his Book of Nature and Grace as if it had been composed by Pope Sixtus but afterwards b He retracts this Error Aug. lib. 2. retract c. 42. he retracts his Error Gelasius placed it amongst the Heretical Books supposing it to have been written by some Christian. c It is still extant In the Bibliotheca Patrum but I cannot tell whether it was ever Printed by it self It is still extant being a medley of Philosophical Sentences useful indeed in themselves and serviceable to the Truth but having little of the Spirit of Christianity in them There is no mention made in it either of Jesus Christ the Holy Ghost the Prophets or the Apostles and it is full of the Errors of the Pythagoreans and the Stoics It renders Man equal to God and affirms that he is made of a Divine Substance and would have him be without Passion according to the Principle of the Stoics and without Sin pursuant to the Doctrine of the Pelagians There are several other Pelagian Errors to be found in it Saint GREGORY THAUMATURGUS SAint Gregory whose Name at first was Theodorus and afterwards Surnamed Thaumaturgus that is to say the Worker of Miracles by reason of the great number of Miracles he is supposed to have wrought both in his Life-time and after his Death was born in the City of Neo-Caesarea in Pontus descended of a Family that was very considerable as well for its Nobility as for its great Possessions He was educated in the Idolatrous Worship having a Father who was extreamly bigotted to Paganism After he had lost him at the Age of Fourteen years his Mother would have him study Rhetoric to qualifie himself for the Bar. His Sister being married to a Lawyer who was afterwards Governour of Palaestine and being obliged to follow her Husband Gregory and Athenodorus her Brothers went along with her intending to go as far as Berytus and
he did not finish it till after the Abbot's Death in 855. And the second is Dedicated to the Emperour Lotharius before he was deprived of the Empire which happened in 855. These Commentaries are Allegorical and Mystical they are Printed in the Blibliotheca Patrum Tom. XV. and have been Printed seperately at Colen in 1530. and at Rome in 1665. Trithemius mentions another Treatise of this Author's bearing the Title Of Divine Offices Some time before these Authors of whom we have been speaking and at the beginning of this The Commentaries of Sedulius Century one Sedulius a Scotchman writ the like Commentary upon St. Paul's Epistles which are nothing else but Collections out of the Commentaries of other Authors It is thought that this Sedulius was also Author of the like Collections upon St. Matthew His Collection on St. Paul's Epistles is Printed at Basil 1528. 1534. and in Bib. Pat. Tom. 6. We must add to these Christianus Druthmarus a Monk and Priest of Corbie who lived about the end of the ninth Century He has made a Commentary upon the Gospel of St. Matthew addressed The Commentaries of Druthmarus to the Monks of Stavelo and Malmedy He tells us in his Preface that he Compos'd it for the use of the young Monks because that he observes after he had Expounded to them twice the Gospel of St. Matthew they had forgot what he had taught them He says he exprest himself in Terms easie enough to be understood that he endeavoured to clear all difficulties that he kept to the Literal and Historical Sence because that the Letter is the ground of other Sences and that without it they could not be well understood He promises a Commentary upon the Gospel of St. John for that of St. Mark he refers to one of Bede This Author performs his design well enough his Expositions are Short Historical Easie and without Allegories or Tropes There are also two Expositions of the same Author upon some places of St. Luke and St. John This Commentary has been Printed at Haguenau in the year 1550. 1530. in the Bibliotheca Patrum This Author was called The Grammarian because he was very skilful in the Languages and understood Greek and Latin admirably well and always kept to the Literal Sense Lastly Remigius a Monk of St. German's of Auxerre was called to Rheims to fix his Studies there by Fulkgrew who succeeded Hincmarus in that See and had lately Erected a School at Rheims in The Commentaries of Remigius of Auxerre the year 882. He was reputed to have been very Learned in the Prophane Sciences says Sigebert but yet he employ'd himself more profitably in Expounding the Holy Scripture We have one of his ‖ This Comment is come out by itself at Coâ—â—n 1536. Commentaries upon the Psalms Collected out of those of St. Ambrose St. Augustine Cassiodore and an Exposition of the twelve Minor Prophets Printed at Antwerp in 1545. and in the Bibliotheca Patrum Tom. XVI Sigebert makes no mention of these two Books Some deprive him of the first and bestow it upon one Monegondus but Trithemius attributes it to Remigius of Auxerre This same Author makes mention of a Commentary of Remigius's upon St. Matthew We have observed that the Commentary upon the Epistles of St. Paul which some attribute to Remigius of Auxerre does rather belong to Hâ—ymâ— of Hâ—lberstadt Both Sigebert and Trithemius place among his Works a Commentary on the Song of Songs which was never Printed But in the Bibliotheca Patrum we have the Exposition of the Canon of the Mass of which the same Author speaks They also say he wrote a Bâ—â—k of Divine Offices a Treatise of all the Feasts of the Saints an Answer to Gualo Bishop of Autun who had proposed two Questions to him one upon the Contest of St. Michael th' Arch-Angel with the Devil about the Body of Moses spoken of in the Epistle of St. Jude and the other upon these words of God to Job Lo the Behemoth that I have made with you c. and some other Treatises Trithemius adds that he Compos'd a great many Learned Books and amongst the rest a Commentary upon Donatus and other Ancients Neither of these Treatises or the fore-going have been yet Printed no more than his Sermons CHAP. XVI The History of the Popes that enjoyed the Holy See during the Ninth Century LEO the III who had been rais'd to the Holy See about the end of the foregoing Century Dying in the year 816. he was succeeded by Stephen the IV. soon after his Exaltation he Stephen IV. imposed an Oath of Fidelity upon the People of Rome to be true to Lewis the Godly and then went into France to visit this Emperour where he was very honourably receiv'd and after he had obtaind liberty for some Prisoners and a return for some Persons that were then in Banishment he returned to Rome where he dyed a little while after in the seventh Month of his Pontificate Paschal the first of that name who succeeded him was rais'd to the See of Rome in the year Paschal I. 817. He immediately gave notice of his Elevation to Lewis the Godly according to the custom of those times Having received Letters from Theodorus Studita and other Defenders of Images Persecuted in the East he writ them back a Letter to comfort them in their Sufferings There are three Letters which go under his Name but which are very faulty and much to be suspected The first is about a Privilege granted to the Church of Ravenna The second is an account of the Invention of the Reliques of St. Cecilia By the third he grants the Pall to the Arch-Bishop of Vienna The two first are not worthy of credit and the third is doubtful They are extant in Tom. VII of the Councils Eugenius the II. succeeded Pope Paschal in the year 824. There goes under his name a Bull sent to Eugenius II. the Bishops and Lords of the Army of the Huns which does not seem a very Authentick Monument There are also attributed to him some Canons but without doubt they belong to a Council of Rheims and not to this Pope There is also a Letter under his name to Bernard Arch-Bishop of Vienna which has little more to be said for it than the former This with another Letter attributed to him is extant Tom. VII of the Councils Valentinus who succeeded Eugenius in the year 827. having lived but few Months Gregory the IV. Valentinus Gregory IV. was raised to this Dignity at the beginning of the following year He came into France to favour the Undertakings of the Children of Lewis the Godly against their Father threatning to Excommunicate the Bishops that would not be of his side But the Bishops answered him boldly that if he came to Excommunicate them he should return Excommunicated by them We have spoken of an Extract of a Letter which this Pope writ upon this Subject which is to be found amongst
Generation of the Word In short He shuns as much as he can to enter upon any of those subtile Questions which have since unprofitably exercis'd the Wit of so many School Divines He speaks admirably of the Fall of the first Man of the Punishments of Sin of the Necessity and Effects of the Incarnation of the Son of God He explains this Mystery in such a manner as is equally contrary to all the Errors of the Hereticks of either side for he teaches against the Paulianists That the Word is united to the Humanity against the Valentinians That it took a Body like ours in the Womb of the Virgin against the Arians and Apollinarians That it took a Soul and Spirit against the Nestorians That the Divinity is united in the same Person with the Humanity so that the Virgin may be called the Mother of God against the Eutychians That these two Natures subsist in the same Person with their Properties without Confusion without Mixture without Change He believes That the Soul is Spiritual and Immortal and makes no scruple to affirm it as a thing certain That the Saints are happy and with Jesus Christ. He speaks of the Efficacy of Baptism and rejects that of the Hereticks He acknowledges not only in his Apology but also in his Treatise of the Faith cited by Theodoret He acknowledges I say in both places That the Eucharist is the Body and Blood of Jesus Christ * That is to say St. Athanasius calls the Bread the Body and the Wine the Blood of Christ He had no occasion to Dispute the Question nor to determine of either side concerning the Real Presence This is plain from his Second Apology to the Emperour Constantius for his Flight wherein he clears himself from the Crime that was laid to his Charge in the Synod of Tyre That he abetted one Macarius a Presbyter in Mareotis who broke the Cup in which the Wine was usually Consecrated The Council of Alexandria that was call'd to examine the Cause of St. Athanasius in their General Epistle always call the Cup 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the Mystical Cup and speaking of Presbyters p. 732. ap St. Athana Vol. 1. say 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 it belongs to you alone first to drink of the Blood of Christ that is to receive before the Congregation This determines nothing as to the Nature of the Presence and our Saviour had sufficiently warranted such Expressions by his Discourse in the sixth Chapter of St. John If St. Athanasius had said any thing to declare his Opinion upon a Question at that time not started in the World his Arguments could have been considered and his Notions might have then been known But since all his Writings bend to one scope from which he hardly ever wanders any occasional Expressions relating to other Disputes cannot be urg'd any further than as they do in all probability shew what was the Stile of that Age and it is certain That the Elements were after Consecration call'd the Body and Blood of Christ at that time as well they might since the Church then believ'd what our Church likewise professes That worthy Communicants do Spiritually eat the Body and drink the Blood of Jesus Christ when they eat the Bread and drink the Wine in the Lord's Supper Mr. Du Pin takes a great deal of Pains in his First Volume to Vindicate the Fathers who lived before the Council of Nice from the imputation of Arianism And he observes all along That before those Questions were professedly Examined and Determined by the Church Men did not speak so exactly as they did afterwards His Observation is certainly right and it has always been the receiv'd Excuse whenever the Opinions of these earliest Fathers have been urg'd on the behalf of the Arian or Socinian Doctrines If therefore this Excuse be just in one Cause it is equally so in another and an occasional Expression can no more be urg'd in Favour of Transubstantiation than in Favour of Arianism when we otherways know what was the Opinion of that Age in which the Question was never put concerning it There will be no necessity therefore to take notice in every place where our Author fansies that the Ancients favour'd his Cause of the particular Reasons why they spoke in such a manner or of the Sence in which their Words are to be understood since it has been so often prov'd by those who have examined all the contested Passages in the Writings of these more Ancient Fathers that either they favour our Opinions or that they speak nothing to the purpose of the Dispute that has so long been managed between us and the Church of Rome He praises Virginity and prefers it to Marriage tho' he thinks that 't is not forbidden He condemns the Error of the Novatians He acknowledges the Holy Scripture to be the Rule of Faith and joyns with it Tradition and the Authority of the Holy Fathers He observes that the Faith is always the same and that it does not change and that the Councils do nothing but declare what is the Doctrine of the Church He attributes much to Free-Will and yet he confesses that since the Sin of Adam Man is enclin'd to Evil and fix'd upon sensible things He teaches That the Soul of Jesus Christ without dissolving the Union to his Divinity descended into Hell to fetch thence the Souls of the Just and also of those who had liv'd well under the Law of Nature who were there in Sorrow waiting for their Deliverance As to what concerns Discipline in his time one may observe in his Works That the Communion in both kinds was then given to the Laicks That the Priests only Consecrated That the Eucharist was offer'd upon an Altar of Wood That the Mysteries were hid from the Catechumens and Gentiles That the Faithful assembled in Churches where they were a long time at Prayers That there were then a Multitude of Monks that were subject to their Bishop as their Father and that some of them were made Bishops That there were also Virgins who religiously kept their Virginity That they were not shut up but assisted at the Divine Mysteries in the Church That there were Priests and Bishops married though but few That Eunuchs could not then be ordain'd That the Translation of Bishops was condemn'd That the People and Clergy chose them and other Bishops ordain'd them That they must be chosen out of those that were born in the place rather than Strangers That they had a Reverence for Churches and Sacred Vessels That Churches were dedicated with Ceremonies and that 't was not permitted to celebrate Divine Mysteries in them before their Dedication without some kind of Necessity That there were Fonts in Churches and that the Bishop had a Chair rais'd on high call'd the Episcopal Throne That Oyl and Wine and Bread for Offerings were kept in the Font That they had Coemeteries where they assembled in case of Necessity That the Churches there were govern'd by
his Pomps are Shows Plays and profane Feasts There is in this first Lecture a Passage expresly for Transubstantiation For says he as the Bread and Wine of the Eucarist which are nothing before the Invocation of the most Holy Trinity but Bread and Wine become after this Invocation the Body and Blood of Jesus Christ. So those Meats which serve for the Pomp of the Devil tho' they be pure of their own Nature become impure by the Invocation of Devils All these Passages are necessarily to be understood according to those Notions wherein the Christians of that Age had been usually Instructed In the Second he treats of the Ceremonies and Effects of Baptism He says That the Catechumens after they were unclothed were anointed from the Feet unto the Head with exorcised Oyl That after this they were conducted to the Laver That they were ask'd if they believed in the Father the Son and the Holy Spirit That after they had made Profession of this Faith they were plunged three times into the Water and that they retir'd out of it by degrees at three times likewise He teaches them That the Baptism of Jesus Christ does not only remit Sins as that of John the Baptist did but also fills the Soul with the Gifts of the Holy Spirit and makes us the Children of God by Adoption The Third is of Holy Chrism wherewith the Faithful were anointed immediately after they came out of the Waters of Baptism He declares to them That we ought not to imagine this to be common Oyl For says he as the Bread of the Eucharist after the Invocation of the Holy Spirit is no more common Bread but the Body of Jesus Christ. So the Holy Chrism after Consecration is no more common Oyl but it is a Gift of the Holy Spirit which has the Virtue to procure the presence of the Divinity So while the Forehead and other Parts of the Body are anointed with this visible Oyl the Soul is sanctified by this holy and quickning Spirit He observes afterwards That they anointed the Forehead the Ears the Nostrils and the Breast The Fourth Lecture is of the Body and Blood of Jesus Christ and the Fifth of the Celebration of the Eucharist These two Catechetical Lectures are so clear and so strong for establishing the Doctrine and Discipline of the Church about the Eucharist That we cannot excuse our selves from setting them down almost entire Take then as follows the Translation of them which has been printed in the Office of the Holy Sacrament The Doctrine of the blessed St. Paul alone is sufficient to give certain proofs of the Truth of the Divine Mysteries and the Church having judged you worthy to partake of them ye are by this means so closely united to Jesus Christ that ye are no more as one may say but one and the same Body and Blood with him For this great Apostle says in the place which we have already read That our Lord in the same Night wherein he was delivered up to his Enemies having taken Bread and given Thanks to God his Father broke it and gave it to his Disciples saying to them Take and Eat This is my Body Afterwards he took the Cup and having given Thanks he said unto them Take and Drink This is my Blood Seeing then that he speaking of the Bread declared That it was his Body Who shall ever dare to call in question this Truth And since that he speaking of the Wine has assured us so positively That it was his Blood Who can ever doubt of it And who shall dare to say 'T is not true that it was his Blood Jesus Christ being at a certain time in Cana of Galilee changed there the Water into Wine by his Will only and shall we think that it is not as worthy of Credit upon his own Word that he changed the Wine into his own Blood If he being invited to a humane and earthly Marriage wrought there this Miracle tho' no Person expected it from him there ought not we much rather to acknowledge that he has given to the Children of the heavenly Spouse his Body to Eat and his Blood to Drink that his Body and Blood may be nourishment to their Souls For under the species of Bread he has given us his Body and under the species of Wine he has given us his Blood that so being made partakers of this Body and Blood ye may become one Body and one Blood with him For by this means we become as one may say Christiferi that is to say we carry Jesus Christ in our Body when we receive into our Mouth and into our Stomach his Body and his Blood And thus according to St. Peter we are made partakers of the Divine Nature Jesus Christ speaking at another time to the Jews says to them Unless ye Eat my Flesh and drink my Blood ye shall have no Life in you But these gross and carnal Men not understanding the Words spiritually were offended with them and withdrew from him because they imagined that he would make them eat humane Flesh by morcels These Words do so fully explain St. Cyril s Sence that they need no Comment If the Jews were offended because they did not spiritually understand those Words of Jesus Christ when he talked to them in the 6th of St. John how much more according to this Father's way of Reasoning Would the Disciples have been offended if they had understood Jesus Christ literally when he Instituted the Sacrament of the Eucharist There were in the Old Dispensation Loaves of Bread which were offer'd before God and because they pertain'd to that Old Dispensation they have ceas'd with it But now in the New Dispensation there is Bread from Heaven and a Cup of Salvation which Sanctisies Soul and Body For as the Bread is the Nourishment which is proper to the Body so the Word is the Nourishment which is proper to the Soul Wherefore I conjure you my Brethren not to consider them any more as common Bread and Wine since they are the Body and Blood of Jesus Christ according to his Word For tho' your Sense inform you that 't is not so yet Faith should perswade and assure you that 't is so Judge not therefore of this Truth by your Taste but let Faith make you believe with an entire certainty that you have been made worthy to partake of the Body and Blood of Jesus Christ. Let your Soul rejoyce in the Lord being perswaded of it as a thing most certain that the Bread which appears to our Eyes is not Bread tho' our taste do judge it to be so but that it is the Body of Jesus Christ and that the Wine which appears to our Eyes is not Wine tho' our Sense of Taste takes it for Wine but that it is the Blood of Jesus Christ. Ye have seen that a Deacon gives Water to wash the Hands to the Priest that officiates and to the Priests that are about the Altar of God
Sins have been the greater need there is of Relief In the remaining part of this Book he proves by many Passages and Examples taken out of the New Testament That Absolution ought not to be refus'd for any Sin whatsoever and he answers the Objections of the Novatians He observes also towards the End of this Book that the Novatians do in vain exhort Sinners to Penance since they deprive them of the Fruit of Penance For says he if any one be guilty of Secret Sins and does Penance for them very heartily in Obedience to the Command of Jesus Christ How shall he receive the Reward unless he be restor'd to the Communion of the Church I would have the Guilty hope for the Pardon of his Sins yet he should beg it with Tears yet he should beg it with Sighs yet he should beg it with the Lamentations of all the People I would have him pray for Absolution and when he is twice or thrice delay'd as to his Re-admission into the Communion of the Church let him believe That this delay proceeds from the want of Importunity in his Prayers let him redouble his Weeping let him render himself more worthy of Pity and then let him return let him throw himself at the Feet of the Faithful let him embrace them kiss them bath them with his Tears and let him not forsake them that so our Lord may say unto him Many sins are forgiven him because he loved much I have known some Persons who in their Penance have spoil'd their Face with much weeping who have hollow'd their Cheeks with continual Tears who have prostrated themselves on the Ground to be trod under Foot who by their continual Fasting have rendred their Countenance so pale and disfigur'd that they carried in a living Body the very Image of Death This is a lively Representation of publick Penance which was yet in its Vigour in the time of St. Ambrose This Passage also informs us That there were then some Persons who were guilty only of secret Mortal Sins who submitted to the trouble of Publick Penance Monsieur Daillé thinks that instead of siquis occulta habens crimina it must be read siquis multa habens crimina But his Conjecture not being Authoriz'd by any Manuscript ought not to be received In the Second Book after having answer'd Two principal Objections of the Novatians whereof one is drawn from a Passage of the Epistle of the Apostle St. Paul to the Hebrews where 't is said That 't is impossible for those who have once lost the Grace of Baptism to be renew'd again and the other is grounded upon what Jesus Christ says of the Sin against the Holy Ghost After I say he has answer'd these Two Objections and confirm'd the Doctrine and Practice of the Church he exhorts the Faithful to Penance and signifies to them with what Dispositions they should enter upon it he proposes the Resurrection of Lazarus as an Illustration of the Spiritual Resurrection of a Sinner who reflecting upon his own Condition begs of God the Pardon of his Sins Lastly He discourses of the Conditions necessary to make Penance useful and of the Faults that are to be met with in ordinary Penances There are also towards the end of this Book some things very Remarkable concerning the Discipline of the ancient Church in the Administration of Penance There are many ways says he of paying to God what is owing him and tho' a Man be Poor he is always Rich enough to pay him Prayer Tears Fasting are the Tributes due to him A Man may lessen his Sin by distributing his Patrimony to the Poor but Faith must make this Expence valuable for to what purpose serves the giving away of his Patrimony if he has no Charity There are some who give their Riches out of Vanity and satisfy themselves with the Reward which they can have in this World without troubling themselves about that of another Some having given their Riches to the Church by I know not what sudden fit of Devotion without sufficient Consideration of what they do revoke their Donation Others blame themselves for having given their Goods to the Poor But as to those who do Penance that which they are chiefly to fear is lest they repent of having done Penance For many Persons being terrified with the fear of Punishment and push'd forward by the Remorse of their own Conscience desire Penance and after they are admitted to it leave it off for the shame of the publick Humiliation What can be said of such Persons but that they did well to desire to do Penance for their Sins but at the bottom they repent of the Good they have done There are others who desire not to enter upon Penance but that they may be immediately restor'd to Communion These do not desire so much to be loos'd as to bind the Priest for they don't unburden their own Conscience but they burden the Conscience of the Priest who is commanded not to give Holy Things unto Dogs and not to throw Pearls before Swine that 's to say not easily to admit Impure Souls to the Holy Communion You see them walk with their ordinary Apparel who should be weeping and sighing for having defil'd the Garment of Baptism and of Grace You see the Women also still wearing Pendants and Diamonds at their Ears who should be mourning for having lost the Heavenly Diamond that 's to say the Grace of Baptism There are some also who think that Penance consists merely in refraining from the Sacraments Lastly There are others who seeing the hope that is given them of doing Penance do from thence take occasion to think that they have the greater Liberty to Sin not considering that Penance is appointed to be a remedy of Sin and not an in ducement to commit it But who can endure that you should be asham'd to pray unto the Lord who are not asham'd to pray so often unto men That you should be asham'd to appear before God in the Condition of a Supplicant who are not asham'd to confess your Sins unto Men Are you afraid to have any Witnesses of your Prayers Alas if Satisfaction is to be made to some Men is it not necessary that you should see many Persons and pray them to intercede for you Are you not often obliged to prostrate your self at his Feet whom you have offended Must you not kiss the places through which he has pass'd Must you not present your Children who had no hand in their Father's Fault to obtain Pardon by their means Why are you troubled to do the like in the Church to appease the wrath of God to desire the Suffrages of the People In the Church I say where there is but one thing only of which we ought to be asham'd and that is not to confess our Faults because we are all Sinners where he that is most humble is most esteem'd where the more one is abas'd the more Holy he is thought to be Let
but is esteem'd worthy to be called the Lord's Body altho' the Nature of Bread still remains in it and we do not say there be two Bodies but one Body of the Son so here the Divine Nature being joyn'd with the Humane Body they both together make up but one Son one Person But yet they must be Confessed to remain without confusion after an indivisible manner not in one Nature but in two perfect Natures Now if we suppose that S. Chrysostom designed his Comparison to be just or believed that it was so it will not be easie to find other words more expressive of the Sence of the Church of England in this matter than those here made use of and there is no Dispute but those who took so much Pains to conceal this Testimony believed that the greatest force that could be put upon this Passage could never persuade unconcerned Readers that the Person who wrote it believ'd that Doctrine of the Eucharist which is at present taught in the Church of Rome That as Bread is called Bread before the Sanctification but that after the Divine Grace hath hallowed it by means of the Priest it ought no longer to be called Bread but to bear the Name of Christ's Body tho' it remains in the same nature of Bread and that Men do not say that they are two Bodies but One onely Body of Jesus Christ so we ought to say that the Divine Nature being united with the Humane makes but one Christ and one Person And yet it must be acknowledged that each of these Natures continueth perfect and intire without mixture and without confusion for if there remained but one Nature how could it be said that there is Union These words of S. Chrysostom instead of destroying the real Presence of Jesus Christ in the Eucharist do suppose and prove it invincibly for otherwise how could he affirm that the Body of Jesus Christ is as truly in the Eucharist as the Divine Nature is in the Person of Jesus Christ He saith indeed that the Bread remains in its own Nature Which seemeth to be against Transubstantiation but we may understand by Nature the consistency and appearance of Bread In a word this passage is not harder to be understood than those of Theodoret and of Gelasius who use the same Comparison Nay it is much easier because S. Chrysostom in several places explaineth his Opinion very clearly upon the real Change of the Bread and Wine into the Body and Blood of Jesus Christ. This Letter ends with an Exposition of his Doctrine about the Mystery of the Incarnation of Jesus Christ in these words It must be Confessed that the same Jesus Christ who is Mortal hath two complete Natures the Divine and the Humane and yet he is one and the same only Son not divisible into two who comprehends in himself the Properties of both Natures without any Alteration They are not two Persons but the same God Lord and Saviour Word of God who hath put on our Flesh but animated Flesh not Flesh without Soul as the impious Apollinarius maintains To this we are to hold let us avoid those that separate the two Natures for tho' there are two Natures in Jesus Christ yet their Union is indissoluble and inseparable We ought to acknowledge that this Union is made in one and the same Person and Hypostasis of the Son Neither let us hear those who affirm That after this Union there is but one Nature in Christ since they are obliged by their own Hypothesis to ascribe Sufferings to the Divine Nature which is impassible The Version of this Letter which Bigotius could not get Printed at Paris for some particular Considerations ‖ The matter of Fact was in short this Bigotius having brought a Copy of this Letter from Florence annexed it to his Edition of Palladius's Life of S. Chrysostom which was Printed at Paris 1680. In his Preface he Vindicated its Authority against those Exceptions which had before been made to it and being afraid that the Licensers might suppress it he reserved some few entire Printed Copies of the Book before it came into their hands His fears proved very Reasonable for some of the Doctors of the Sorbonne whereof Mr. Grandin and Mr. Favre were charged as Principal suppressed the Letter it self and cut out so much of the Preface of Mr. Bigotius as related to it without taking care to fill up the Blank The Learned Vindicator of the Exposition of the Doctrine of the Church of England against M. de Meaux tells the Story and Prints that part of Bigotius's Preface which was erased with S. Chrysostom's Letter to Caesarius at the end of his Vindication in London 1688. And this explains Mr. Du Pin's particular Considerations leaving every Body to guess at the true Reason was Printed after the Latin Copy by Mr. le Moyne at the end of the first Volume of his Varia Sacra at Amsterdam 1685. and with the Greek Fragments in the Margin at Rotterdam by Achers 1687. This Edition was publickly sold at Paris which shews that tho' it was not suffered to be Printed in France before it was more exactly examined yet they never designâ—d to suppress it And indeed the most Skilful Criticks having well considered it do confess that it was written by an ancient Author and is not unworthy of S. Chrysostom and the Learnedest Divines of the Church of Rome agree that the Doctrine set forth in this Letter is agreeable to that of this Father and do not find it a difficult thing to expound that passage concerning the Eucharist The Liturgy attributed to S. Chrysostom now Extant in all probability is not written by him It is a Liturgy of the Church of Constantinople made or altered at least since S. Chrysostom to which his Name was given because it was for the use of the Church of Constantinople and to give it more Authority We do not find there the Prayers and Ceremonies which S. Chrysostom mentions in his Homilies as in use in his time in the Celebration of the Eucharist and there were some things which do not suit with the Customs of that Age. The Manuscripts of this Book are very different in some there are the Names of S. Chrysostom of Pope Nicholas II. and of the Emperor Alexius Comnenus who lived long after S. Chrysostom These passages indeed are not found in that which was translated by Erasmus but for all that there is enough to prove that that Liturgy is not of the time of S. Chrysostom This Father is one of the most Eloquent Christian Orators and his Eloquence is the more to be esteemed because it is without Affectation and Constraint Fruitfulness of thought and abundance of Words and Notions is natural to him tho' he did not tye up himself as S. Gregory Nazianzen and S. Basil did to an Attick purity yet there is a lofty Greatness in his Stile His Style is pure and pleasant His Discourse is beautifyed with a wonderful
he confirmed the Canons of the Council of Soissons and made several Constitutions for the better support of Ecclesiastical Discipline of which I shall speak afterwards Which were published and confirmed at the Synod held at Verbery the same year which made some other Canons also confirmed by Charles's Authority In December the same year he nominated several Ecclesiastical and Lay-Commissioners in all the Provinces of France and gave them several Heads of Instruction to act by in their Office among which the Second concerns the Honour of the Church There are also one or two about the Revenues of the Churches and Monasteries in the Constitutions made at Attigny in 854. In his Letters-Patents of the same year given at Verbery Aug. 23d King Charles confirms to the Prebendaries of the Church of Tournay the property of the Revenue she was possessed of and limits the number of them to 30. In an Assembly of Bishops and Lords held Anno 856 at Bonnevil they petition the King to put the Monasteries in Order and to execute the Constitutions made at Couleine Beauvais Thionville Verneuil and Soissons and declare all those things Null that shall be made in prejudice to those Laws They threaten him with God's Judgments if he doth not perform their desires In 857 King Charles made two Constitutions at Quiercy which he sent to the Commissioners of his Realm by which he gave them power to bring all Offenders to Civil or Ecclesiastical punishments and particularly Ravishers In 862 he put out a severe Edict at Pista against Robberies and other publick Disorders very common at that time in which the Bishops joyn with the King and condemn those Malefactors to Canonical punishment which the King condemned to Civil In 866 there was a Constitution made at Compeigne about the Liberties and Privileges of Churches and the Authority of Bishops But above all his Edict of 869 made at Pista upon the Seine is the most considerable of all that he made about Ecclesiastical Discipline In it he declares himself the Defender of the Bishops Authority and Liberty of the Churches He orders all his Ministers to respect their Power execute their Commands and preserve the Churches in the enjoyment of their Privileges He requires all Earls great Lords and Judges to give the Bishops their due subjection and on the other side that the Bishops should not encroach upon the Rights of the Earls Lords and Judges He commands the Bishops to doe no Injustice either to the Clergy or Laity under their Jurisdiction and that their Curates should give the Lords of their Parishes the respect due to them He enjoyns the Bishops not to reject those Clergy-men that are presented to them by Abbots Abbesses or Lords to serve in their Churches if they are not worthy of blame for their Conversation or Doctrine He renews the Constitution which forbids the Lords requiring any thing of the Clerks they present He forbids them Excommunicating any persons who were not full convicted of the Faults they were accused of and who after admonition to amend and repent have not obstinately refused to submit He recommends Peace Union and Friendship among his Civil Magistrates Bishops and Clergy He orders his Bishops to defend the Privileges granted to their Churches by the Church of Rome and by the Charters of his Royal Progenitors and that they be careful to have the Rents paid that are due to them The King having received Intelligence at Pista that Lotharius was dead went immediately to Lorrain to be Crown'd King of it And being arrived there in Sept. 869. after Adventius Bishop of that City had declared in the Name of all the Bishops and People that they all accepted him for their King he took an Oath to preserve the Honour and Privileges of their Churches to doe Justice impartially to every Man according to the Laws and protect that Kingdom After this Hincmarus who performed the Ceremony of the Coronation and Ordain'd some Bishops being Admonish'd by Adventius and other Bishops which belonged to the Province of Treves that this Action would prejudice the Rights of their Metropolis made a Declaration That it would be no prejudice to the Rights of the Province of Treves because that Province and that of Rheims were like Sisters so firmly united that they made but as it were one Province since the Bishops of both met at one Synod observed the same Canons and among the Arch-bishops of Treves and Rheims the most Aged always took place but yet were it not so he ought not to be accused for medling with the Jurisdiction of another Province by his own Authority or of putting his Sickle into the Harvest that did not belong to him since he had not concerned himself with that Province but at the Request of the Bishop and out of Charity Lastly That they ought to look upon it as a special Favour of God that Charles was Crowned King at Metz because heretofore his Father Lewis the Godly who was descended of Clovis the French King who was Converted by S. Remigius and Baptized in the Church of Rheims where he was Anointed and Consecrated King by a Chrism sent down from Heaven which they still have at Rheims That Lewis the Godly was Crowned Emperour in that City and after he was Deposed from his Imperial Throne by the Conspiracies of his Enemies he was restored and was Crowned again in the same City and in St. Stephen's Church whose Name was a good Omen because it signifies a Crown After this Declaration he asked the People If the Coronation should be Celebrated before the Altar and whether that Prince should be Consecrated by the Holy Unction The People having testified their Approbation by their Acclamations they Sang Te Deum and the King was Crowned by the Priestly Benediction of the Bishops This Constitution is very remarkable In the year 874 Charles Judged some Ecclesiastical Causes at Attigny at the Request of the Bishop of Barcelona The First was about a Complaint made to him That one Thyrsus a Priest of Corduba had called the People together at a Church of Barcelona and had taken away from him almost two thirds of his people That he Celebrated Mass and Administred Baptism without his permission That he caused those people to go to his Church on the Feasts of Nativity and Easter which ought to be at his Cathedral and gave them the Sacrament The King Recited the Canons which condemned the practice of that Priest The Second complaint made by the Bishop of Barcelona was That another Priest had engaged the Inhabitants of the Castle of Terracine not to submit to his Jurisdiction The King order'd that the Canons in that case should be observed The Third was against two private persons who having Intercepted the King's Letters had possessed themselves the one of St. Stephen's Church and the other of certain Lands belonging to the Church of S. Eulalia The King commanded that if this cou'd be prov'd his Commissioners should
Sabbath nor the Jews to labour or trade on the Lord's Day not to eat in Lent with them not to eat any Flesh they have killed nor drink any Wine that they sell. Lastly not to converse familiarly with them nor trade with them because they daily Blaspheme the Name of Christ. Then he describes the insolence of the Jews because they found themselves upheld by the Authority of the Commissioners He beseeches him to hear the humble entreaty of Himself and Brethren and rectifie this disorder To this Petition he joyns a Letter written in his Name and in the name of Bernard Arch-bishop of Vienna and another Bishop called Eaof or Taof in which they produce the Authorities of the Fathers and Scripture to justifie the Severity they treated the Jews withall They relate the example of S. Hilary who would not salute them of S. Ambrose who writes that he would rather suffer Death than rebuild a Synagogue of the Jews which the Christians had burnt They add to these two Fathers S. Cyprian and S. Athanasius who wrote against the Jews Then they alledge the Canons of the Councils of Spain and Agda which forbid Christians to eat with the Jews and the Constitutions of the first Council of Masco which declares that according to the Edict of Childebert it is not permitted to the Jews to be Judges or Receivers of the publick Revenues nor to appear in publick in the H. Week and renew the prohibition given the Christians not to eat with them This is Confirmed by the Canons of the First and Third Councils of Orleans and the Council of Laodicea which forbids Christians to converse with them They forget not the Action of St. John who fled from the Bath in which he saw Cerinthus the Heretick entered who was an Heretick of the Sect of the Jews They accuse the Jews of their time to be worse than Cerinthus because they believed God Corporeal and had gross and false Notions of the Divinity allowed an infinite number of Letters and believed the Law to be written several Years before the World were perswaded that there are several Worlds and Earths introduced many Fables about the old Testament and uttered Blasphemy against Jesus Christ published the false acts of Pilate used the Christians as Idolaters because they hated the Saints and did infamous Actions in their Synagogues from whence they conclude that if they ought to separate themselves from Hereticks they ought with more Reason to have no commerce with the Jews which they maintain by several passages of H. Scripture 'T is very probable that Agobard went to Court about this Business He applyed himself to Three Persons who were in great Favour at Court viz. Adelardus Abbot of Corbey Vala the Son of Bernard Brother of Pepin and a Relation to the Emperour and Helesacharius Abbot of S. Maximus at Treves having complained before them of those that defended the Jews they brought him into the King's presence to relate it but he received no Satisfaction and was ordered to with-draw Being returned he consulted those Three Persons by a Letter what he should do with those Jewish Slaves who desired to become Christians and be Baptized He shews by several Reasons that he could not refuse to do it and that the Jews might have no ground of Complaint he says that he offer'd to pay them for those Slaves what was ordered by the ancient Laws But since the Jews would not receive that Price because they were perswaded that the Court Officers were their Friends he prays them to whom he wrote to direct him what to do upon that occasion about which he was much perplexed fearing on the one Side Damnation if he denyed Baptism to the Jews or their Slaves who desired it and on the other Side being fearful of offending the great Men if he granted it to them In Agobard's Letter to Nebridius Arch-bishop of Narbonne he shews how dangerous it is to hold a familiar converse with the Jews and tells him that he hath admonished his People of it all along his Visitation of his Diocess and boldly opposed the attempts of the Emperour's Commissioners Agobard presented another Petition to Lewis the Godly in which he prays him to abolish the Law of Gundobadus which ordered that private Contentions and Differences should be decided by a single Combat or some other proofs rather than by the Deposition of Witnesses He shews that that Law which was made by an Arrian Prince is contrary to the Spirit of the Gospel to that Charity that Christians ought to have one for another and to the peace both of Church and State He observes that it came neither from the Law nor Gospel That the Christian Religion was not established by such sort of Combats but on the Contrary by the Death of him that preached it That the most Wicked and Guilty have often overcome the more Just and Innocent He adds that Avitus Bishop of Vienna who had some Conferences about Religion with Gundobadus and converted his Son Sigismond disallowed this Custom He complains of the little Regard had to the Canons of the Church of France Lastly he says he could wish that all the Kings Subjects had but one Law but because he believed that impossible he desired he would abolish at least that Custom which was so unjust and so prejudicial to the State In the Treatise of the Privileges and Rights of the Priest-hood dedicated to Bernard Bishop of Vienna Agobard Treats of the Excellency of the Priest-hood He says that all Christians being Members of Jesus Christ who is our Chief Priest are Kings and Priests of the Lord. That in the beginning of the World the First Born were Priests and Sacrificers There he produces several Examples taken out of the Holy Scripture and many Authorities to shew that God hath often heard wicked Priests and had no regard to the Sacrifices of good ones because he looks chiefly upon the Dispositions of the Heart of those for whom they offer Sacrifices and that otherwise 't is not the Merit of the Priest nor his Person that God respects but his Ministery and Priest-hood For this Reason it is that wicked Priests may administer Sacraments which the most H. Lay-men cannot do And upon this account Men ought to hear and believe what the Priest teacheth if he do not corrupt the Doctrine of Jesus Christ for if he teach any thing that Christ hath not Commanded he that hears him saith Agobard is a Leper that follows another Leper a Blind Man lead by another Blind Man and consequently both of them ought to be driven out of the Camp and shall both fall into the Ditch This gives him occasion to cite several Texts of Scripture to exhort the Priests of the New Testament to behave themselves worthy of their Ministery and to complain of the Irregularities of his time He observes that the Great Lords of his time kept Domestick Priests in their Houses not to obey them but to employ them
Son that they were forc'd to lay down their Arms and submit to Otho whom they went to wait upon in Germany He having given them an Oath of Allegiance and fealty restorâ—d their Kingdom to them only excepting the Veronese and Friul which he gave to his Brother the Duke of Bavaria During all these Revolutions in Italy Rome was very quiet under the Government of Alberic who would not suffer Otho to enter the place though the Pope Agapetus had invited Pope John XII him thither The Death of Alberic which happen'd in the year 954 made no alteration in Rome for his Son Octavian not above 16 years old having taken his place continuâ—d the same form of Government and not satisfied with the Temporal power he was minded to annex to it the Spiritual Authority by getting himself advanc'd to St. Peter's Chair after the Death of Agapetus which happen'd in the year 955. He was not at that time above 18 years of age at most and was the first Pope that changed his Name by assuming that of John He was truly the Twelfth of that name tho several count him the Thirteenth being led into that mistake by the fabulous story of Pope Joan. This Man was so far from having any of those qualities requisite for so great a Dignity that he was a Monster in Debauchery and Irregularity He began with making War against Pendula Prince of Capua in order to turn him out of his Estates but his design did not succeed and he was forc'd to retire and to sue for Peace The Power of Berenger and Adalbert became The Wars of Berenger and Otho so great that they began to be a Terror both to the Pope and the Romans Ever since Otho had re-establishâ—d them in the Kingdom of Italy they had continued to conspire against him and cruelly to oppress their Subjects Otho willing to bring them to Subjection had sent his Son Luitolf into Italy to give them Correction This young Prince had almost chas'd them out of their Dominions when he dy'd in the year 958 not without suspicion of being poison'd and so left his Conquest imperfect After his Death Berenger and Adalbert were re-established in their Kingdom and continued to exercise their Tyranny not only to the other Italians but also to the Romans This was the reason why John XII sent two Legats to Otho praying him ardently for the Love of God and the Apostles St. Peter and St. Paul they are Luitprand's words to come and deliver the Church of Rome from the incroachments of these Tyrants and to restore it to its primitive health and liberty Walbert Archbishop of Milan turn'd out of his Church by that Manasses we formerly mention'd and Waldon Bishop of Cumae turn'd likewise out of his Bishoprick and several other Lords 〈◊〉 of their Demeasns went at the same time to prefer their complaints to Otho who being affected with the miseries of Italy march'd thither after he had crown'd his Son Otho at Aix-la-Chapelle though a lad of but about seven years of Age. Upon his Arrival Berenger his Wife and his Son being abandon'd by his Subjects withdrew from the Towns and the open Country and betook themselves each of them to a 〈◊〉 Otho was every where râ—… with great Acclamations recovers Pavia was crown'd King of Lombardy at Milan by the Archbishop and from thence he march'd to Rome where he receiv'd the Imperial Crown in the beginning of the year 962 at the hands of John XII with the Universal Otho crown'd Emperor by Pope John XII Acclamations of both Clergy and Laity He spent some time there with the Pope and having restor'd to the Church of Rome that which of right belong'd to it according to his promise he made Pope John and the principal men of the City to swear by the Body of St. Peter that they would bear true Allegiance to him and never furnish Berenger or Adalbert with any Supplies After this he return'd to Pavia with a full design of putting an end to the War by taking those Castles which still held out for Berenger He began with taking the 〈◊〉 of St. Jula whither Berenger's Wife was retir'd and restor'd it to the Church of Novar In the mean time Adalbert seeking for assistance in every place retir'd at last to the Saracens and under hand solicited Pope John to come over to his Party This Pope whose inclinations and intentions did not suit with those of The disloyalty of Pope John XII the Emperor Otho being as much a Slave to Vice and Debauehery as that Prince was a Lover of Goodness and Virtue This Pope I say that he might have the liberty of indulging his Lusts made privately a League with Adalbert and invited him to Rome promising upon Oath to aid him against Otho The Emperor being informed of it sent several of his Attendants to Rome to know what were the reasons which induc'd the Pope to enter into an Alliance with Adalbert And when the Romans could give no other account than that it arose only from the contrariety of Pope John s Morals and Conduct to those of the Emperor that Prince return'd this prudent Reply The Pope is as yet but a Child he may be better'd by the Examples of good men I hope to reclaim him from his extravagancies by a good honest reproof and by wholsom Advice and then we will say with the Prophet Behold the Change made by the Hand of the most High So without troubling his head much with the secret practices of the Pope he laid Siege to the Castle of Leo in Umbria whither Berenger and his Wife was retir d. Thither the Pope sent Leo chief Secretary of the Church of Rome and Demetrius one of the principal Roman Lords to excuse his falling into the follies incident to youth promising that for the future he would be another kind of man He gave them likewise orders to complain of the Emperor's retaining Bishop Leo and Cardinal John a Deacon who had failed in their Duty towards him and of his not keeping the promise he had made him because he caus'd those whom he took to take the Oath to himself but not to the Pope The Emperor return d this Answer That he was glad of the promise which the Pope had made of reforming and becoming a better man for the future That for his part he had religiously observ d his promise that he had indeed promis'd to restore to the Church of Rome all the Territories which of right did belong to it but before he could do that he must first take them and render himself Master of them That he had neither seen the Bishop nor the Cardinal whom they charg d him with entertaining but that he had heard that being sent from the Pope to the Emperor of Constantinople on a Negotiation against him they had been taken at Capua together with others whom the Pope sent to the Hunns to engage them to fall upon him That these proceedings
Victor II. and threw him under the protection of the Holy See He was at first under the Government and Tuition of the Empress Agnes his Mother who had the administration of the Empire in her Hands But the Princes and Grandees of Germany being weary of the Government of this Woman took Henry away from her and committed the Charge of his Royal Person to Anno Arch-bishop of Cologne who had likewise the greatest share in the Government These Lords to retain their Authority the longer left Henry to his liberty of doing what he pleas'd and to live in the Debaucheries common to Youth and in the mean time Govern'd Absolutely under his Name and dispos'd as they saw fit of the Offices Revenues and Affairs of the Empire Henry was in this kind of dependency upon them till he came to be Eighteen or Twenty years old At which time he began to take Cognizance of the Affairs of his Estate and to Govern them himself It was then that he began to be sensible that a great many things had been done contrary to Justice and that the Grandees abusing the Confidence which he had repos'd in them were advanc'd by indirect means and regarded more their own private Interests than those of the State It was then he revok'd part of what they had caus'd to have been done prohibited the Exactions and Outrages which they had been guilty of re-estabish'd the Course of Justice and the Force of the Laws and punish'd the Offenders The measures which he took made several of his Lords to become Malecontents for they being us'd to do what they pleas'd themselves without fearing to be check'd for it could not be easie under this new Yoke Thereupon they conceiv'd an Aversion to King Henry which they continued for ever after and they took up a Resolution either to Kill him or to Out him of the Empire The Saxons were the first who openly Rebell'd against him they set upon him with such an Advantage and with so great Numbers that he was forc'd to fly for it He return'd with an Army and the Saxons were twice defeated but still kept to their Resolution They enter'd into a Confederacy with several Lords of Lombary France Bavaria and Suabia and finding themselves not strong enough to make open War against him they charg'd him with several Crimes before Pope Gregory and intreated that Pope to turn him out of his Throne and to put up another King in his place whose Conduct and Wisdom should be answerable to his Dignity Gregory VII had formerly begun under the Popedom of Alexander II. to form a Process against King Henry and had caus'd him to be cited to Rome upon the account of Simony and other Crimes lay'd to his charge But after Alexander's Death he thought it would redound to his Interest to manage him that he might be the more inclinable to confirm his Election Some Authors say That he secretly threaten'd that Prince to Prosecute him in case he would not approve of his Election but this Matter of Fact is not prov'd by any Authentick Testimony What is more certain is That before his Ordination Gregory sent word to Beatrice and Matilda That he had a design of sending some pious Persons to King Henry to give him some wholsome Advice about his Conduct and to persuade him to return to that Obedience which he ow'd to the Church of Rome At the same time he advises these Princesses not to communicate with the Bishops of Lombardy who were either guilty of Simony or favour'd those who were so This Letter of Gregory which is the Eleventh of his first Book bears date May 25 1073. The Persons guilty of Simony of whom he speaks in this Letter are the Bishops of Lombardy and particularly Godfrey Arch-bishop of Milan who was as Gregory says advanc'd to that Dignity by Simony and even whilst Guy Arch-bishop of that City was Living He and his Adherents had been Excommunicated for this by the Pope in a Council of Rome but this Excommunication had no other Effect upon him than to Incense him and entring into a League with all the Bishops of Lombardy they conspir'd together against the Holy See Gregory VII being advanc'd to the Papal Chair had nothing more in his Thoughts than to bring them to submit and to cause the Excommunication issued out against them to be put in Execution as appears by the Letter which he sent on that Subject to all the Faithful of Lombardy bearing date July 1 1073. which is the Fifteenth of the first Book King Henry on the other hand protected the Arch-bishop of Milan and the Bishops of Lombardy and continued in Communion with them and this gave the first Rise to the Contest betwixt him and Pope Gregory The first of September in the same year the Pope advis'd Anselm Bishop of Lucca Elect not to receive the Investiture of his Bishoprick from King Henry till such time as he had given Satisfaction for his holding Communion with Excommunicated Persons and till he was reconcil'd to the Holy See which he hop'd would be effected by the Mediation of the Empress Agnes of Beatrice and Matilda Countesses of Tuscany and by Radulphus Duke of Suabia who had undertaken the Accommodation The same day Gregory wrote to that Duke telling him That he had no particular ill Will to King Henry but on the contrary wish'd him well as he was oblig'd to do because he had acknowledg'd him for King because he had receiv'd several signal Favours from his Father Henry and because that Prince upon his Death had recommended him to Pope Victor II. But for as much as this Concord between the Empire and the Church ought to be pure and sincere it was requisite in the first place that he should manage the Affair with him with the Empress Agnes with the Countess Beatrice and with Reginald Bishop of Cumae that for this purpose he desir'd a Conference with him and pray'd him to come to Rome He wrote likewise at the same time to this Bishop of Cumae telling him That he wish'd with all his Heart that the King were Master of all that Religion and Piety which he ought to be Master of and that he were in Union and Amity with the Holy See and to bring this about he pray'd him to be ready to come to Rome with the Empress Radulphus and the Countess Beatrice that so all things might be adjusted That he might hold Conferences with the Bishops of Lombardy but that he ought not to Communicate with them These three Letters are the Nineteenth Twentieth and the One and twentieth of the first Book In the Four and twentieth written to Bruno Bishop of Verona bearing date September the 24th he declares that he retains the same Love and Tenderness for King Henry as ever he did This Prince replies to the Pope's Civilities in a very submissive Letter wherein he declares That for as much as it was requisite that the Empire and the Papacy should
every Day his Deputies to promise the Legats that he would correct what he had hitherto done amiss and that he would make reparation for it by consulting the Welfare of the Church for the future That if they mistrusted his Promise he was ready to confirm it by his Oath and to give Hostages for a security thereof They return'd him this Answer That they could not tell how to rely on his Words since he had falsify'd them so often already That nothing but the very utmost extremity could have brought the Holy See to use such methods after it had try'd all other That it had waited his leisure as long as possible but that at present it could not forbear laying hold of an Opportunity which offer'd it self of placing on the Throne a Person worthy to fill it After several Conferences of this Nature both Parties were ready to Engage for the two Armies were over against each other on either side of the Rhine when the Lords of Suabia and Saxony sent their Deputies to the King with this Declaration That tho' he had behav'd himself very ill towards them and tho' the Crimes laid to his Charge were evident yet they were willing to submit the Determination thereof to the Holy See That they would prevail upon his Holiness to come to Ausbourg about the Feast of the Purification to determine this Affair in a general Assembly of the Princes of the Empire That if he could not get his Absolution in a Year's time he should be depriv'd of his Right for ever That in the mean time he should disband his Army and withdraw to Spires with the Bishop of Ferden and several other Ministers who were not excommunicated that he would lay aside all his ensigns of Royalty and forbear going to Church that he should restore the Church of Wormes to its Bishop and that he should order the Garrison which he had thrown into that City to march out The King finding his Forces to be in a bad Condition esteem'd it a happiness to extricate himself out of these Difficulties tho' upon such dishonourable Terms He thereupon promis'd to gratify them in their demands took his leave immediately of the Archbishop of Cologne and of the Bishops of Bamberg Stratzbourg Basil Spires Namburg Osnabruck and others who were excommunicated caus'd the Garrison of Wormes to march out disbanded his Forces and withdrew to Spires The Princes of Suabia and Saxony being satisfied with his Submission sent the Pope word of all that happen'd in their Convention and pray'd him to come to Augsburg to put an end to this Affair The King King Henry's Journey into Italy whose Interest it was to be beforehand with the Pope and to get his Absolution as soon as possible set forward on his Journey to the Pope about the end of the Year and understanding that his Enemies had siez'd upon the Passes which open'd into Italy to apprehend him he went through Burgundy and Savoy and with much ado enter'd Italy He was there receiv'd very honorably by a great many who promis'd him all manner of Assistance In the mean time the Pope upon the intelligence he had receiv'd from the Princes of Germany set forward on his Journey and came as far as Verceil where having understood that King Henry was come into Italy and had rais'd some Forces he withdrew to the Castle of Canossa in the Diocess of Reggio which belong'd to the Princess Matilda Whilst he was there a great many Bishops and several Lords of Germany waited upon him to receive their Absolution at his Hands He enjoyn'd them to Fast for some time in Cells and afterwards gave them Absolution according to their request upon condition that they should hold no Correspondence with Henry till such time as he was reconcil'd to the Holy See In the mean time the King carry'd on his Reconciliation by the Mediation of Matilda the Abbot of Cluny and several other Lords and very earnestly requested that he would take off the Excommunication issu'd out against him promising that he would always be ready to answer the Accusations of his Enemies and to refer all to the Pope's Determination At last Gregory consented to grant him Absolution provided he would come in Person and humbly sue for it This Prince resolv'd to submit to it rather than be entirely dispossess'd of the Empire by the Princes of Germany He thereupon came to Canossa and entred the Outworks of that place bare-footed without any ensign of Regal Dignity He waited three Days together at the Castle Gate without receiving any Answer from the Pope On the fourth Day after several Conferences the Pope granted him Absolution upon condition that he would appear at the time and place which he should appoint to answer to the Accusations brought against him by the Princes of Germany whereof the Pope shall be Judge and that he shall either leave or keep his Kingdom according to the Sentence he shall pronounce That till that time he shall not assume to himself any Character of the Royal Dignity nor perform any Act of Sovereignty unless receiving of such Revenues as were necessary for his Subsistence That all his Subjects should be absolv'd from their Alleigance both before God and Men That he should remove Robert Bishop of Bamberg and Ulrick Bishop of Costheim from his Person and that if he faild in the Observation of any one of these Articles the Absolution which he receiv'd should be Null and Void That from thenceforth he should acknowledge himself to be Guilty and should not require any longer to be heard in his own Defence Lastly He bound himself by Oath to submit to the Judgment which the Pope should make or come to the Agreement which he desir'd and if the Pope should cross the Mountains he should give him free Liberty of coming and going without offering him any Molestation These Articles were Sign'd and Sworn to by Henry January the 28th in the Year 1077. and as Gurantees of his Word he offer'd the Princess Matilda Hugh Abbot of Cluny the Bishops of Verceil Naumburg and several Lords Afterwards the Pope celebrated Mass and having taken a Consecrated Host in his Hands and directing his Discourse to King Henry he told him That for a proof of his being Innocent of the Crimes laid to his Charge he would take the Sacrament upon it and if his Majesty were as Innocent of the Crimes laid to his Charge he conjur'd him to do the like This proposal somewhat puzzled the King who perhaps was not very much dispos'd to communicate Some Historians relate that he shifted it off by saying That this proof of his Innocence would not perhaps be satisfactory to the German Princes who were not there present Others say That he did receive the Communion from the Hands of the Pope Let the Case be how it will 't is certain that after Mass he was treated very nobly and sent away with manifest tokens of Friendship and Reconciliation These Matters of