to that purpose and therein he affirms that there is no man so wicked so much accursed of God that can want the Mercy of the Virgin provided that he be truly devout towards her he quotes the words of Bonaventure who saith O Mary how wretched and miserable so ere a sinner be you have for him all the Tenderness of a Mother you imbrace him you hug him in your Virginal Bosom 'T is with the intent to perswade to and promote these impieties that Father Crasset hath heapt together innumerable Examples of such as have been saved by the Virgin tho they were the vilest of men and Monsters of Wickedness Such is that of one Theophilus of Cilicia who had given himself to the Devil by means of a Jew who was a Magician but by the help of the Virgin was delivered such again is the Example of a young Soldier of Gascony who having given himself to the Devil denied God and J. Christ but would never renounce or disown the Virgin tho the Devil very earnestly prest him to it and this saved him for the Virgin undertook his cause and carried it against the Father and the Son. And that Woman who prayed to the Virgin to confound her Neighbour who had tempted away her husband from her the Image of the Virgin replied to the Woman and told her She of whom thou speakest is wont to offer me very acceptable Praises and Worship I cannot do any thing for her Confusion The same Authors tell us the Virgin hath often delivered her Votaries from the Gallows in Storms at Sea out of the grave and out of Hell it self to give them time to confess themselves that they may be saved only because they had been careful to Worship the Virgin and to fast every Saturday to her honour So shameful are these Romances of the Virgin that the very Heathens would disdain to apply 'em to their Diana or Minerva The design of them is plainly Diabolical for they would have us to believe the Virgin to be a Fool to be ambitious and Usurping minding nothing but to make her self ador'd and Worshipping and courting those that adore her as if she meant to appropriate all divine Honour to her self exclusively of God and J. Christ as if she would advance her Throne of Mercy above the Throne of Grace of our B. Saviour CHAPTER XX. A short Account of some of the Fables which the Papacy hath invented to establish the Worship and Invocation of Saints THe Legends are a Sea wherin a man may lose himself so large are they but 't is such a Sea as the Prophet Isaiah speaks of that casts forth mire and dirt for nothing is more filthy and hideous than the stories they tell us We will take notice of some few Instances only sufficient to make us abhor ' em First You must know that the Holy places or places of Devotion among the Papists to which they go in ' Pilgrimage to Worship and invoke such and such Saints are all founded upon meer Fables For instance the famous devotion of S. James of Compostella in Galicia a Province of Spain Original of the devotion to S. James in Spain is built upon a Fabulous History which saith that S. James the Greater who suffer'd Martyrdom under Herod Agrippa as is related 12th of the Acts he came into Spain preacht the Gospel there and returned from thence to Jerusalem where he dyed and his Bones were carried into Spain and reposited at Compostella where men come from the other end of the Earth to worship'em It would not be safe to call this History in question in the Spanish Dominions a man could not escape the Inquisition for doing so Nevertheless 't is so gross and palpable a Falshood that few understanding men in the Roman Church will go about to maintain it And if it were necessary it would not be very difficult to prove that S. James could not have been in Spain and that his Bones were never carried thither The fable of S. Denis the Areopagite near Paris France hath little reason to reproach Spain for this Fable because that of their Apostle S. Denis the Areopagite is yet more silly and ridiculous if you will give credit to the Venerable Monks of the Abbey of S. Denis near Paris and believe their Annals they have the true Body of S. Denis the Athenian disciple of S. Paul. He was first Bishop of Athens and afterward came to Rome to suffer Martyrdom there with S. Paul his Master But â—t so fell out that he came too late and that S. Paul had been beheaded some time before his arrival Clement who succeeded S. Peter judg'd it more to the purpose to send this S. Denis into Gaule to plant the Christian Faith there He comes to Paris with Rusticus and Eleutherus his Companions After this they are thrown into a dark and nasty Prison and loaded with Irons Some few days after these Martyrs were rackt and after that S. Denis is fasten'd to a Gridiron and roasted on the Fire he comes out of that torment and is thrown to the Lions but by making the sign of the Cross he presently stops their Fury and shuts their Mouths He is cast into a burning Furnace the Fire doth not in the least hurt him he comes forth out of the furnace without being singed The Tyrant inraged that no means would be effectual to take away his life tries one more makes him be extended on a cross Gibbet and his Members stretcht out upon it in order to quarter him but neither could they by this punishment put an end to his Life therupon he is again committed to Prison where he sung Mass for all the Prisoners during the service our B. Saviour comes down from Heaven with all his holy Angels fills the Prison with a glorious Light and gives S. Denis the Communion After this the Tyrant causeth him and his Companions to be fetcht out of Prison and they are all Beheaded When these Heads were separated from their Bodies their Tongues mov'd spake and sung the Praises of God and to compleat the wonder the Body of S. Denis rises up takes his Head in its Arms and marches two miles from Paris and throws it into the Bosom of a devout Woman named Catulla This is a short account of the History of S. Denis which many in our days will not believe especially since the learned de Launoy a Doctor of the Sorbon hath had the courage to prove it to be a meer Fable There is hardly any Devotion more renown'd than that of the Magdalen of Provence The Fable of S. Magdalen in Provence of the Holy Balsom and of the Blood of Jesus Christ in the Church of St. Maximin that doth visibly bubble up every year on the day of his Passion This Devotion is bottom'd on a ridiculous and impertinent Legend if ever there were any Let us see what was the occasion that brought Magdalen from the heart of Palestine
others calls her at every foot Diva i. e. Goddesse My Goddesse the Iesuite Iames du Iardin The Iesuite Rapin who is now living famous for his Writings in prose and verse saith of her Diva quam rebus trepidis benignam Lipsius calls our Lady of Hall Dea Hallensis the Goddesse of Hall. These are Poets you 'le say therefore that none may lay the blame of such language on the license of Poesy we must know that Philip Berâ—ald Ambrose Catharini Cardinal Bembo in their prose call her by the same Name of Goddess Bernardin de Bustis Antonin Archbishop of Florence would have her styl'd Dea dearum the Goddess of Goddesses Now these Goddesses over whom the Virgin presides are all the Saints of Heaven And thus we have as many female deities as there are Canonized Women in the Calender They do not only style the Virgin a Goddess but prove her to be so and take their Arguments from this That there is an infinite difference Between Her and Her Servants even as there is an infinite difference between God and his Worshippers and from this Viridarium Viepas Alanus de Rupe Alexis de Salo. That we may measure the divine Greatness by the Greatness of the Virgin and from this That she is the most noble chamber of the most H. Trinity and from this that God sayd to Her Thou shalt be changed into me and again from this that besides a being of Glory and Grace she hath esse dei the Being of God and lastly from this that God is not only in Her by his Grace but in the way of identity i. e. is become one with her Viridarium Pelbatt Binet Alexis de Salo. If the Virgin be a Goddess and all the other Shee-saints be inferior Goddesses and consequently all the Men-saints be inferior Gods it must not be doubted that all our good things come from them both At this rate these devout Gentlemen speak Bernardin Stellarium No favour comes down from God to us but thro the hands of the B. Virgin. The Virgin is the Queen-regent of Paradise the Country of Grace and Mercy The Treasures of the H. Spirit were given her as her dowry and Paradise as her Portion Therefore all the Gates of Heaven are at her devotion 'T is thro her hands that all the Happiness which Heaven lets Fall into our soules doth pass She is the Lady-Treasurer of Heaven the dispenser of all the Gifts of God She is the Neck thro which Iesus Christ sends down all spirituall sense and motion unto his Church Methodius Ozotius Albett Biblia Mariae She ruleth over Earth Heaven and Hell. She is the high and mighty Princess of the heavenly Potentates She is universal Queen A Queen seven ways for she hath seven Kingdoms The most important Affairs of the Trinity pass thro her hands Alanus de Rupe so that all the Citizens of Heaven the inhabitants of Earth the Souls in purgatory nay in Hell Antonin Biel. do acknowledge her as their Mistress and humbly bow the Knee before Her. J. Gerson The Angels are the souldiers of the Virgin. Missels She saith to one Go and to another Come Hymns She turns about the Heavens giveth light to the Sun Methode and governs the World. Her dominion is vast Admirable for she not only commands the Creatures but even God himself as being his Mother She hath a power over her Son Bonaventure founded upon a better right than that of other Mothers Lvo Carnet For our Saviour hath a greater Obligation to the Virgin Mary Salmeron than other Children have to their Mothers She hath requited God for all that she received of him Conformities She hath discharged herself by way of retribution yea she hath requited God for all that we receive from him Carolus 'T is true Scribanius we are Debtors to God but as for the Virgin God is a Debtor to her for the Virgin hath done more or as much for God as God hath done for mankind Iesus Christ by imitating the Virtues of Mary discharged his Office of Saviour The Virgin together with her Son is the cause of the Creation of the World 't is for her and for him that God created the whole universe All believers are elected and predestinated thro the Virgin. She is the Book of Life She merited to be the mother of God and to be the Mother of all Mankind Every thing that is spiritual flowes from Iesus as the Father and from Mary as the Mother of it She is more merciful to Sinners that Iesus Christ 'T is not possible that those should be saved from whom Mary turns away the eyes of her Mercy and 't is absolutely necessary that those should be justifyed toward whom she turns her Eyes 'T is against her alone that we sin If a man finds himself prosecuted by the justice of God he may appeal to the Virgin. The Mothers Mercy hath often saved thâ—se whom the Son hath a mind to damn one condemned by the Son is saved by the Mother If a man were in Hell the Virgin is able to fetch him out Every body hath heard of the Red Ladder and the White Ladder the Red is that of J. Christ the White is that of the Virgin. All those who had a mind to go up by the Ladder of J. Christ were tumbled down from the top to the bottom and all those who went up by the Ladder of the Virgin got into Paradise 'T is the Virgin that gave her Son to men and sacrificed him for them She offerd him by agreement with the Father and by conformity to the Son and thus offering him for all she hath procur'd the salvation of all The Clients of the Virgin represent themselves as in suspence between the Son and the Mother between the Milk and the Blood not knowing which way to turn 'T is easy to conclude what kind of worship ought to be given to one that is and doth so many things Therefore they say that the Invocation of the Virgin Salazar Binet Coster Alexis Vasques is of absolute necessity and that those who pray not to her are as bad as those who blaspheme her They beg of her in express terms whatever is desir'd from God Heaven Pardon of Sin Grace Repentance Victory over the Devil F. Sufften Viridarium Crasser 'T is not enough to pray to the Virgin you must adore her every knee must bow to her adoring her as soveraign Queen of Men and Angels And this Adoration is not to be a meerly external Adoration but internal The Angels themselves adore the Virgin and have adored her ever since she was born On the account of her own Holiness men owe Dulia to her on the account of her maternal relation they owe her Hyperdulia and because she toucht our Saviour the adoration of Latria is due to her Those who well perform these services tho never
new Temples and Chappels are every day built to her Honour How those have far'd who condemn'd this Excess It may yet be said that there are some in the Church of Rome who condemn this excess Mr. Arnaud in his Apology for the Catholicks cites his good Friend the Bishop of Castoria M. Pavillon the Bishop of Alet and some others and above all we have the Advice of the H. Virgin to her Indiscreet Votaries which takes away all These abuses But these sorts of writings which are but a few are so far from convincing us that this Idolatry is past that it teaches us the contrary that it is yet in vigor At that very time when that little Book came forth there were those who said That a man might be assur'd of his salvation tho he liv'd in Sin if he did but bear any devotion to the Virgin that God could not damn those who had any external Devotion to the Virgin that Devotion to the Virgin was a sign of Predestination that the virgin brought back her votaries from Hell to give 'em space to repent that a man might be saved without the Love of God if he apply'd himself to our Lady that a man might render all Honours to the Virgin tho he forgot that which was due unto God that the Virgin is more merciful than J. Christ that the Virgin is an Inferior Divinity without whom there can be no access to God that she is the Mediatrix of Mankind and hath a great deal of Merit which she never receiv'd from her Son that she is the Joynt-Redeemer and Saviour of the World with J. Christ that we may appeal from God's Tribunal to hers that she hath an Empire and Kingdom distinct from that of the Father that she may be plac't parallell with her Son that Mercy belongs to her but Justice to Christ that we may apply our selves only to her and neglect her Son that Devotion to the Virgin may be prefer'd to the Love of God and trust in him that we may put our confidence in Images and that a difference is to be made between the several Images of the virgin as to efficacy and vertue and consequently that there must be a difference in our Devotion to ' em If those wicked and abominable Extravagancies are past and forgotten this modern Author was much to blame to give so particular an account of them in order to his charge against them that could be of nouse but to revive ' em But for the fuller conviction that these Impieties are still the Religion of the Papacy we must consider how that Book The Advice of the Virgin c. Was receiv'd viz. as an Heretical Book Father Crasset a famous Jesuite wrote an answer to it he treats the Author in his Preface as one that deserv'd the Inquisition and 't is certain had he been in the hands of the Spanish Inquisitors they would have burnt him as a Lutheran In a word Father Crasset confutes him and establisheth all those Impieties which the other had condemn'd he doth I say establish and confirm 'em one after another proving the truth of 'em and the Piety of the practice of these things supporting his own Opinion by the testimony many hundred Authors which he thinks of great weight and this Book is printed with Approbation and Priviledge and sold publickly throughout all France On the contrary the Book of The Advice c. and other such pieces are disperst very secretly concealing the Authors names and with evident tokens of being dislik't and discountenanc't 'T was not long ago that the Cordeliers of Rheims caus'd this Inscription to be put upon the Frontispiece of their Convent Deo Homini Beato Francisco Utrique Crucifixo To God-man and to S. Francis who were both Crucified Some or other abhorring this Blasphemy wrote against it but was forc't to hide himself under the name of S. Saviour and to print his paper with great Secrecy Few at this day dare openly condemn these extravagances In the mean while it may be said that there are great numbers of Papists in France cur'd of these Follies I grant and believe it and 't is that which makes me hope that Popery will ere long be banisht out of France but it must be observed that those very men who in their hearts it may be condemn those foolish Devotions to the Saints do yet practice 'em to appear Good Catholicks in the eyes of the World. We gave an instance in the late Marshal de Faber who was of all men the least taken with these Fooleries and perfectly despis'd the Roman Religion And yet after his death among his Papers were found Bulis and Letters of Filiation that he had procur'd to have a part in the merits of the Monks we also mention'd the Example of the Arch-Bishop of Rheims one of those who would be thought to be free and disingag'd from the Errors of the vulgar and yet hath caus'd the Confrairies of S. Sebastian to be set up in his Metropolitan City with all kinds of Indulgence annext plenary fuller and most full Lastly we have given the Relation of a matter of Fact which all Paris is witness to and whereof the Narrative hath been printed 'T is the Translation of the Reliques which the Princesse Palatine bequeath'd to the Abbey of S. Germain des Pres. The Ceremony was perform'd by the Arch-Bishop of Paris with all the Impiety and Idolatry that could have been practis'd in an age of the grossest Ignorance Nevertheless this Arch-Bishop of Paris is in all appearance one of the moderate men of the Religion of Mr. Arnaud and the Bishop of Meaux who condemn the Devotions of the Monks To all these Examples I will add another 't is of Father Mascaron as Formerly he was call'd but now Bishop of Agen. A Benedictine Monk named Dom Gabriel Preacht at Duras on the day of our Lady in March 1686. in his sermon he vented all the Impieties and Extravagances wherof we have given some Instances in the foregoing Chapters This made a great noise the new Converts complain'd of it the Bishop was wrote to about it who sends Dom Gabriel the following Letter From Reole 4. Aug. 1686. YEsterday Sir I had a Letter imparted to me which I judged you would be glad to read a copy of the subject of it was this A Benedictine Father of the Convent in this City who preacht the last Lent at Duras made a sermon on the day of our Lady in March wherein he made use of several very bold and extravagant Expressions concerning the veneration due to the H. Virgin in so much that not only New Converts but many of the ancient Catholicks were scandaliz'd at it among others that were offended were the Curate and the First Consul of the City who sent their complaints to this Preacher to have had him repair that fault in his next sermon But as he resus'd to do so every one on either side took
care to give an account to Monsieur the Bishop of Agen formerly Bishop of Tulle and known under the name of Father Mascaron About 8 or 10 days after the preaching of the first sermon this Father at the close of another told the people that having understood that some had been offended without cause at his Sermon on our Ladies day he had given the Bishop an account of it who did perfectly approve all that he had said Whereupon the Curate replied with a loud voice in the presence of the whole Assembly that it was not so and that he himself could produce Letters to the contrary Here is the copy of a Lr. which that Prelate writ to this Preacher who calls himself Father Dom Gabriel The Bishop of Agen to the Reverend Father Dom Gabrië I Am troubled my Father at that which hath lately past at Duras and I could have wisht that as good and catholick soever as your sermon might be and I doubt not but it was that nevertheless you had not preacht it J. Christ told his Apostles multa habeo vobis dicenda sed non potestis portare modò I have many things to say to you but you cannot bear them yet For the present we must keep to the just bounds which the sixth Council hath set us concerning the Invocation of Saints that it is good and profitable to invoke them that they hear our Prayers and that we receive many Favors by their Intercession But we ought to stop there When the new converts shall be better setled and establisht in this Faith of the Church they will not stumble or be startled at certain Expressions which now they are afraid of Make a peaceable end of this affair my Father and without any affectation endeavor to mollifie and temper the business Return my Lr. if it please you assoon as may be to M. the Curate and make my excuses to Father de la Mercy if I do not answer him I am so opprest with business that I can scarce find a time to breath I desire to be recommended to your Prayers and am with all my heart Your most humble and most affectionate Servant Julius Bishop and Count of Agen. And by a Postscript I am just now inform'd by L rs receiv'd this day that you should have said that I gave you order to preach this Proposition that our whole Heart must be given to Mary to make a Temple for her and that the Eternal Father consulted with the Virgin about the Sacrifice of Jesus Christ that no Evil can befall us without the permission of Mary that she made the Rocks to cleave asunder by her Sorrow They add that you gave your Auditory to understand that there were four Persons in the Trinity and that the Virgin made the fourth I know very well that a good construction may be made of all this but you cannot acquit your self from the greatest indiscretion to start such kind of Questions among the New Converts who ought to be dealt with very tenderly as those that are weak in the Faith. I have undertaken to send Father Meladon a Jesuite to moderate and reconcile matters and to reduce both parties to that just medium from whence you have swerv'd by your Passions and I beseech you to yield to the Truth and to ask pardon of God for your great Imprudence for 't is inexcusable must an whole Church be put into a Combustion because you made such a Sermon This is not according to Order Remember that in strictness and rigor of Faith as to particular persons the Invocation of Saints and of the H. Virgin ought necessarily to be approv'd but the exercise and practice is not of necessity for every Individual and when they are at service they ought not to separate from those who pray to Saints or disapprove their Prayers The Character of this Bishop is well known that of all men in the Kingdom he hath the greatest contempt and scorn for the monkish Devotions and yet you see how he talks how he saith that the Impious Expressions of that Monk had and might have a very good sense He doth not require of the Monk to retract those Blasphemies he would only that they should be reserv'd till another more convenient Time that these things should be kept for thorough pac'd Catholicks who have been instructed in all their Mysteries What is the import and meaning of this Caution and conduct it plainly signifies thus much that these Devotions are still the Religion of the People in the Papacy that they would not have 'em scandaliz'd by disapproving them and that they durst not oppose the Monks who have the multitude as yet on their side In a word we must reckon that all Spain all Italy and all the States of Germany under the Emperor and all the Ignorant Devout People in France are still of this mind And consequently that the Papacy stands convicted of Idolatry by the testimony of all the wise and Intelligent men of her own Communion as many of the most considerable of 'em have freely owned to me before several witnesses CHAPTER XVI The Tenth Character of Antichristianism found in the Papacy that it is a reviv'd Paganism built upon Christianity whose Worship is neither Spiritual nor Rational According to the Prophecies the Kingdom of Antichrist is to be Idolatrous 'T Is certain that according to the Idea which the Prophets give us of the Antichristian Kingdom that it must not be a sort of Judaism as the Papists suppose without the least proof but a reviv'd Paganism This is manifest by the preceding Character that of Idolatry Pagan and Idolatrous are one and the same that which partakes of Paganism partakes of Idolatry but without making use of Consequences we have an express Text which tells us that Antichristianism is to be a sort of Paganism Apoc. 11. c. v. 2. Apoc. chap. 11. v. 2. But the court that is without the Temple leave out and measure it not for it is given unto the Gentiles and the holy city shall they tread under foot forty and two moneths The term of Forty Two Moneths makes it evident that he speaks of the Antichristian Kingdom for all Interpreters of the one Communion and th' other do agree that the three years and half so often mention'd in the Apocalypse under the names of forty two moneths and 1260. days are the duration of the Kingdom of Antichrist Now this Empire of 42 months is given to the Gentiles to the Pagans Antichristianism then must be a sort of Heathenism not pure Paganism but such a one as is erected upon Christianity and not separated from it For those Gentiles are to tread under foot the Holy City They must then possess it how else can they tread it under foot This is that which is also foretold expresly by the Apostle Paul that the Man of Sin shall sit in the Temple of God. Antichristianism therfore is not to be a pure and simple Paganism
ever since and take a little rest after so many violent motions in removing And 't is very probable that it will never be removed from thence for since the time of Luther and Calvin the Angels are not so forward as heretofore to work such kind of Miracles in favor of Mary That you may not imagin this to be a Fable you must know that the people of Recanati who were ignorant whence this wonderful House should come were duely informed of the truth of all these Miracles by a devout person whom the Virgin obliged with a particular Revelation of the whole matter that the B. Virgin might not fail of being devoutly worshipt in this place But because the people were incredulous and had not faith enough to credit the story of the old man they sent sixteen Ambassadors grave pious and credible persons from Recanati to Nazareth with the exact measures of the House and there they Discovered the Foundations of an House that had been built there perfectly corresponding to the measures they had brought with them and which is more considerable near the place they found an Inscription which certified that there had been such a Church formerly there but it was miraculously translated After all this who can in the least question the truth of this History especially since it is ingraven on Tables of Brass which are hung up in the House it self The Jesuite Tursellin hath related the whole History in very good Latin and adorned it with many curious Circumstances which for the sake of brevity we omit and hath inlarged it by the account of very many Miracles wrought by the Virgin in favor of her House and Image The whole confirmed by the Priviledge and Approbation of Pope Clement VIII and fortified with the Testimony of the gravest Authors of the Roman Church such as Rainaldus Bzovius and Spondanus who have not forgot to mention this memorable History in their Annals and for a larger account of it refer us to Tursellin as an Author of such exactness and fidelity that none can be supposed to question his Authority in Italy especially in the Neighbourhood of Recanati To speak seriously was there ever any thing so ridiculous absurd and silly imposed upon the world the Metamorphoses of Ovid and the Book of Palephatus contain nothing so foolish and incredible But they got their End by it which was to promote the Worship of the Virgin to establish the Doctrine of Devils i. e. Demons these Fables are invented to this very intent exactly as S Paul fore-told Several Impâ—ous and Riâ—â—ulous Miracles wrought by the Virgin. To finish the History let us see some of the Miracles which these wretched Idolaters pretend to be wrought by the Virgin in the composition of these Fables they not only seem to have lost all Shame but to have renounc't common Sense as if they designed to render Christianity the most ridiculous of all Religious for Example can any thing be more enormous and abominable than what they make the Virgin do in favor of one Beatrix who had the charge of the Keys of a certaine Convent she was debaucht by a Priest and Privately left the Convent and for fifteen years frequented the Stews and the most infamous places during all which time the H. Virgin supplied her place in the Convent and was Door-keeper in her room that it might not be observed that she was absent Insomuch that at her return she reassum'd her former Offices and Imploy without the least blemish to her Reputation This was because she was extremely devoted to the Virgin. Because an Abbess of another Convent was one of her Votaries she suffered no damage for being with child by the Steward of the House the Bishop had notice of it and was preparing to punish her but the Virgin gave Commission to two Angels to transport the Abbess unto a private place where she was safely delivered and then restored her Virginity to her so that when the Bishop caused her to be searcht her Accusers were put to shame and confuted and the Bishop was fore't to crave her pardon Is there any thing more horrible than what the Annals of the Jacobins say of the Virgin They make her to be married to Dominick their founder she comes to him and discourses him after this manner Dominick my son my dear Husband Alanus Redivivus because by the inspiration of Jesus thou hast strenuously contested against the Enemies of the faith behold I am come to thy succor I whom thou hast so often invok't then the Virgin receives him into her Virginal Bosome kisses him with the most Amorous tenderness and having open'd to him her breasts gives him to tast of her Milk aâ—â— perfectly cures him If I had not related the very words of the Author I could not expect to find credit in the recital of so horrid a Passage The same Alanus who reports this of S. Dominick would be thought to have had the same Honour no matter tho the B. Virgin be made guilty of Polygamy by it she must it seems have several Husbands The Virgin then espoused Alain de la Roche in the presence of I Christ divers of the Saints who assisted at the wedding she gave him the ring of her Virginity made of her Virginal Hair. After this the Sweet Lady kiss'd him and let him suck her Breasts Can such things as these be read without Horror and Trembling 'T is incredible how many several Husbands this Holy Virgin is said to have espoused how pure a Virgin soever she be The Legend of Surius relates the History of one Herman surnamed Joseph because he was married to the Virgin. Mary comes with two Angels to demand Marriage of him the poor Fellow was astonisht at such a demand Incitabat amor retinebat pudor Love prompted him to accept but shame and bashfulness kept him back Caesarius tells the History of a certain Soldier who was in love with his Captains Wife The Virgin to divert him from so criminal an Amour presents her self to him as a most Charming Beauty and tells him I will be thy Wife give me a Kiss and constrain'd him to it Are there any worse impurities to be found in the Chronicle of Venus among the Fables of the Heathen We may see how the fire of lust discover'd it self in the impure Fancies of these wicked Monks who composed these Legends To what purpose is all this 't is to persuade the World that the Virgin doth passionately desire to be ador'd and worshipt for all these favors are granted to such as were her special Votaries The design of the Legendaries is to promote the Adoration of the Virgin. 'T is with the same design that those wretched Annalists of the Virgin would make us believe that there is no danger from which the Virgin doth not deliver those who devoutly worship her and give her the preference to all others Father Crasset hath lately made an whole book