be reputed the Ministers of Christ who enter by Simony WHAT is here proposed is a Case upon the Resolution whereof dependeth the Satisfaction and Tranquility of the Conscience both of the Priest and People of the Pastor and of his Flock in reference to their respective Concerns in the Administration of the Ministerial Duties For when he who by Simony hath procured an Entrance into the Sacred and Spiritual Office receives Ordination Collation Institution and is invested with the Charge of a Flock he Preacheth the Word he Administrateth the Sacraments he Exerciseth the Power of the Keys of the Kingdom of Heaven he bindeth he looseth and in a word dispenseth all things that belong to the Ministery The People see him clothed with Orders and Authority from the Church and set over them as their Pastor from whose Hands they are invited to expect those Spiritual Benefits which God hath promised to convey to Souls by the Ministery of the Gospel in those Divine Ordinances Now if he be the lawful Minister of Jesus Christ all is secure enough on both hands he may confidently Exercise the Acts of the Evangelical Priesthood and by a good Title Administer the Sacred Things belonging thereto and they may confidently promise to themselves the gracious Effects of his Ministration But if he be not then doth he but boldly usurp and intrude himself and hath no right to Dispense these Mysteries and may expect as little Thanks from God for his medling 1 Sam. 13.12 13. as Saul had for presuming upon a Burnt-Offering and as Vzziah 2 Chron. 26.18 19. for attempting to offer Incense in the Temple Nor can the People derive any Spiritual Benefit from his Ministery who never received what he pretends to give and whose Administrations can have no more Vertue than the Exorcisms of the Sons of Sceva Acts 19.14 15 16. For the Resolution of this Doubt it is seriously to be considered What it is that constitutes a Man in the Ministerial Office And I lay it down as a sure Hypothesis uncontroverted amongst the Orthodox That Ordination according to the Divine Rule of Ecclesiastical Oeconomy is the ordinary Way and Means appointed by God for Constituting of Men in any Degree of the Sacred Hierarchy and for Consecrating them to the Priestly Office in the Church and making them the Ministers of Christ and that thereby Authority and Power is conveyed upon the Person thus Consecrated of Dipensing the Mysteries of the Gospel and Administring the Ordinances of God Wherefore we must consider That in Ordination there is a Divine Spiritual Power and Authority and there is a Ministerial Ecclesiastical Seal And howsoever this Power and Authority be conveyed by the hands of Man as the external Agent and Instrument in conferring the Ecclesiastical Seal yet these external Rites of Ordination perform'd by Man do not give the Power but are only Declarative of that Spiritual Power and Grace which is deriv'd from God alone and flows from the influence of his Blessed Spirit as the Internal and Principal Author and Efficient upon the Person call'd by him thereto And therefore Dionysius Areopagita or whosoever else is the Author of The Ecclesiastical Hierarchy says of the Person that confers Orders That he is but 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 The Proclaimer or Declarer of the Divine Election De Eccles Hier. Cap. 9. Who says he by his own Gift doth not advance those who are Consecrated unto the Honour or Power of Ecclesiastical Order This he ascribes only to God whom he calls there 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 The Prince of Consecration or chief Ordainer and pleads the Authority of Jesus Christ for ascribing this Power to God alone and his Holy Spirit Nor can it be rationally suppos'd to be otherwise for if a Spiritual Power be necessary as is undeniable to the Ministration of Spiritual and Sacred Things then this Power can be derived from no other Fountain than the Divine Spirit And therefore did our Lord and Saviour both by his Words and Actions intimate the same to flow from him upon the Persons of his Apostles whilst at the giving of their Commission he told them That the Authority and Power which he transmitted unto them was but an emanation of that Power which he had received from above saying Matth. 28.18 19. All Power is given unto me in Heaven and in Earth go ye therefore and teach all Nations Baptizing them in the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost And Joh. 20.21 22 23. As my Father hath sent me so send I you And when he had said this he breathed on them and saith unto them Receive ye the Holy Ghost Whosesoever's Sins ye remit they are remitted unto them and whosesoever's Sins ye retain they are retained And telling them Acts 1.8 Ye shall receive Power after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you And ye shall be Witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem and in all Judea and in Samaria and unto the uttermost Parts of the Earth Whereby he meaneth That they have both the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 both the Authority and the Power of their Ministery from the Holy Ghost And not only did our Saviour ascribe this unto him in the Persons of these extraordinary Ministers whom he immediately Ordained and sent forth but the Apostle Paul ascribes it also to him in the Persons of the ordinary Pastors of the Church who were Called and Ordained mediately by the Hands of Men saying unto them Acts 20.28 Take heed unto your selves and unto all the Flock over which the Holy Ghost hath made you Overseers Wherefore from so clear Premisses we cannot but conclude That to a right and sufficient Ordination to constitute a Man a true Minister of Jesus Christ and to endow him with a lawful Ministerial Power there must be with the external Instrument a concurrence of the internal Principal Efficient as it was in the Out-sending of Barnabas and Saul who received their Power and Authority from God and the external Seal thereof from the Church the Holy Ghost gives the Command and calls them Acts 13.2 3. and their Brethren gave them Imposition of Hands And therefore Ambrose proposeth the Question Lib. De Dignit Sacerdot Cap. 5. Who gives the Gift or Grace of Ordination And he answered Sine dubio Deus without doubt God Sed tamen says he per hominem dat Deus but notwithstanding God gives it by Man Homo imponit manus Deus largitur gratiam Sacerdos imponit supplicem dextram Deus benedicit potenti dextra Man lays on the Hands God bestows the Grace The Priest lays on the right Hand of Prayer and God blesseth with the right Hand of Power And without this the external Seal Administred by the Hands of Men signifies nothing Hence then the Collection is easie and the Conclusion evident That he who enters by by Simony upon the Sacred
whilst he says 2 Cor. 4.7 We have this Treasure in earthen Vessels that the excellency of the Power may be of God and not of us he will have us to understand That the Efficacy of the Gospel depends not upon the Instrument but upon the Author who can render a Blessing effectual as well from the Mouth of Balaam as from the Mouth of Aaron and can wash a Soul from Sin as well by the Baptism of Judas as of John For he may have gratiam gratis datam who hath not gratiam gratum facientem he may be endowed with the grace of Edification to save others who hath not the grace of Sanctification to save himself But all this while we speak of those whom we suppose to have Authority by a lawful Minister to dispense the Mysteries of the Gospel But the matter of our present Enquiry concerning the Efficacy of his Ministrations who enters by Simony proceeds upon another Hypothesis to wit That such a one is not the Minister of Jesus Christ and this being already prov'd we cannot but approve of Gregory's Position That Quicunque Sacros Ordines vendunt emunt Sacerdotes esse non possunt Whosoever sell and buy Holy Orders cannot be Priests And upon this ground we must proceed to Determine in this Matter Now upon this account it hath not only been much question'd by some Whether any Spiritual Blessing or Benefit can be deriv'd from the Ministery of such but it hath been confidently asserted not only by Gregory but by many others That the Ministrations of such are altogether ineffectual and can confer no good nor transmit any Spiritual Grace or Blessing Whereupon Gratian hath adopted it amongst the Decrees of the Canon Law Gratia si non gratis datur Caus 1. Qu. 1. Can. Gratia c. vel accipitur gratia non est Simoniaci autem c. Grace if it be not freely given or received is not Grace but Simoniacal Persons receive it not freely therefore they receive not that Grace which principally hath its Operation in Ecclesiastical Orders That is The Ministerial Grace or Power And if they do not receive it they have it not and if they have it not neither freely nor not freely can they give it unto any Man And it seems indeed to be asserted upon good grounds For First If such Persons as is shewed before be not the lawful Ministers of Jesus Christ then have they no Title nor Right to dispense the Ordinances of the Gospel which Christ hath intrusted only to his Ministers Matth. 19.16 Joh. 20.23 2 Cor. 5.18 20. to whom alone he hath consigned the Keys of the Kingdom of Heaven and committed the Ministery of Reconciliation as his Ambassadours as says the Apostle So that when they presume to meddle with these Holy Mysteries they do but sacrilegiously usurp without Authority from God and so do dispense them in vain and with an ineffective Hand the bare external Seal of Ordination by the hands of Man without the concurrence of the Divine Power being of no force to work these Effects which are the proper Emanations of the Holy Ghost so that their Administrations can be no more valid than a Remission to a guilty Person from his Hand who had surreptitiously affix'd the King's Seal thereto and without his Royal Consent or Authority had usurped the Office of an Herauld to proclaim it And therefore it was not a groundless Debate wherewith the Church of Rome was troubled for several Years in the time of Leo IX Whether Ordinations conferr'd by such Simoniacal Usurpers were effectual Or Whether they should be Re-Ordain'd who had been Ordain'd by them And howsoever Petrus Damiani wrote his Book call'd Gratissimus against those who pleaded for Re-Ordination And Leo in two several Councils at Rome Concil Tom. 3. p. 2. allowed those who had been Ordained by such to continue in their Office after the doing of Forty days Penance yet this seems to have been but of Indulgence and to have proceeded rather from Necessity than Choice in respect of the Tumult that was raised thereabout and in regard that a more strict Course would have occasion'd the Silencing of an infinite number of the Clergy and the laying waste such a multitude of Churches as many Territories should have been without the sound of the Gospel to the great prejudice of the Christian Religion as may appear by the same Petrus Damiani's Epistle to Henry Arch-Bishop of Ravenna And yet I think Leo did right not to Re-ordain them but rather upon their Repentance to re-invest them with better Authority in the Exercise of their Office since they had once received Orders how ineffective soever through the want of the Divine Concurrence with a Simoniacal Ordainer yet the Church having by the external Seal of Ordination once invested such a one with an Ecclesiastical Authority to transmit the same unto others it had not been convenient that the Church should have call'd the Character of her own Ordination in question Neither needed they who had receiv'd the same from the hand of such but the Church's Approbation for their Administration and devout Addresses to God for the Power of the Holy Ghost to render it effectual And therefore says the Canon Law Apud Grat. Caus 1. Qu. 1. Can. Statuimus Decret Simoniacos non Simoniace à Simoniacis Ordinatos misericorditer per Manûs Impositionem pro temporis necessitate in officio concedimus permanere Those whom we account Simoniacks because of their Ordination by Simoniacal Persons but have not practised Simony themselves we do by the Imposition of Hands graciously give them leave to continue in their Office through the necessity of Time Whereby it appears That it was not thought fit to Re-ordain such but only confirm their former Ordination by Imposition of Hands without more Rites of Consecration of new again Secondly It being undeniable that the whole Efficacy of the Ministery depends upon God and that the Spiritual Effects thereof flow wholly from that Power wherewith he doth indow and inable Men to Administer in the Mysteries of the Gospel and from the Concourse of his Holy Spirit with them therein For 2 Cor. 4.7 The excellency of the Power is of God and not of Man 1 Cor. 3.7 Neither is he that planteth any thing neither he that watereth any thing but God that giveth the Increase It will then undoubtedly follow That the external Rites of Ordination can transmit no Vertue or Efficacy into his Ministery who receives the same without the Call and concurrence of the Holy Ghost and without any promise of Divine Influence upon his Administrations Now that he who enters by Simony upon the Pastoral Office is destitute of these may be evident without much arguing For who can suppose that he is Call'd of God or that the Holy Ghost hath given Authority to his Ordination who hath procur'd the same by sinister means since our Saviour hath told us that such are but
Office is not to be reputed a true and lawful Minister of Jesus Christ because though he have the external Seal from the Hands of Man it is but insignificant in regard he hath not received the internal Grace from the Hands of God For whilst he comes not thereto by any Divine Call or Warrant but inintrudes by Money and Bribes the Holy Ghost gives not his concurrence to confer the Spiritual Power and Authority And therefore of such one says Ambrose Ibid. Per pecuniam acquisivit indebitum Ordinem Deum perdidit in interiori homine By Money he hath acquir'd Orders he had no right to and he hath lost God in the inward Man And he shews at length how no Grace nor Good is conferr'd by such an Ordination But to put the Matter quite out of doubt we have the Testimony of the Holy Ghost himself witnessing That Simoniacal Persons are not to be reckoned amongst the Ministers of Christ for behold what upon this account he saith by Simon Peter to Simon Magus Thou hast neither part nor lot in this matter Acts 8.21 And so neither can his Disciples have any share in the Ministery And from out of the number of his Ministers doth our Saviour himself plainly exclude those who come in by Windows or Posterns or oblique Passages and that under a very bad Character saying Verily Joh. 10.1 verily I say unto you he that entereth not in by the door into the Sheep-fold but climbeth up some other way the same is a Thief and a Robber And I 'm sure none dare say That they who climb up by the Ladder of Simony do enter in by the Door And what are they to be reputed then Not the true Pastors or Ministers of Christ but Thieves and Robbers and that justly so since they imitate such in their way of Entrance And therefore have the Canons of the Church been very strict in debarring such from the Ministery of Holy Things because they cannot say with the Apostle 1 Tim. 1.12 I thank Christ Jesus our Lord that he hath counted me faithful putting me into the Ministery For Christ hath not put them in but they have thrust in themselves and so are no Ministers of his The Case standing thus it may give just occasion to enquire What Effect then can such a one's Ministery have upon People For seeing God who is the Fountain of Grace hath made his Ordinances the Channels and Conduits whereby the Graces of his Spirit are convey'd if these Ordinances in the hand of such an Instrustrument who is not the lawful Minister of Jesus Christ to whose Ordination the Holy Ghost hath not concurred nor given any Power Authority or Warrant to Administer the same shall produce these Spiritual Effects for which they are design'd then is there no great necessity of a distinct Order of such Persons as Priests or Ministers in the Church upon whom People are to depend or wait for the Dispensation of these Sacred Mysteries since they may reap the same Fruits and Effects thereof from his Ministration who is no Minister of Christ And so they may as well wait for these Blessings from the Performance of every rude Artificer and bold Mechanick who lists to step up into the Pulpit and dip his hand in the Sacred Font and approach to the Holy Altar and to assume the Power of Administring all the Holy Ordinances of the Gospel as well as from his Ministery who is Consecrated and set apart thereto by the Rites of Ordination and Power of the Holy Ghost And upon the other hand If the Simoniacal Entrance of such a one render his Ordination ineffectual so as his Administrations shall have no Efficacy for the production of those Graces and Blessings for which God hath design'd the Ministery of the Gospel to what pitiful Condition and hard Straits are the People over whom he is set reduc'd unto upon his account And what Scruples it may breed in them in reference to his Administrations and what Doubts it may make them wrestle under in reference to their own Spiritual State and Condition and what woful Consequences may follow thereupon what considering Man may not easily apprehend If for determining the Matter of this Enquiry we will take the Opinion of Gregory the Great he is very confident in concluding the absolute ineffectiveness and invalidity of such a one's Ministery saying Quicunque Sacros Ordines vendunt emunt Apud Gratian Caus 1. Qu. 1. Can. Quicunque Sacros Sacerdotes esse non possunt Vnde Scriptum est Anathema Danti Anathema Accipienti c. Whosoever sell and buy Holy Orders cannot be Priests hence it is that it 's written Cursed be the Giver Cursed be the Receiver This is Simoniacal Heresie How then if they be a Curse and not Saints themselves can they sanctifie others And seeing they are not in the Body of Christ how can they either deliver or receive his Body He who is Cursed how can he Bless But how far soever we may go along with him as to the ineffectiveness of such a one's Ministration yet in so far as he builds the same upon Arguments whereby it would follow That the Efficacy of the Ministery should depend upon the Grace or Sanctity of the Instrument we cannot comply with him therein the Consequence being dangerous and such as may seem to savour too much of the Leaven of the Donatists Luciferians and Apostolici c. contrary to the received Doctrine of the Catholick Church and refuted by several of the Antients as Augustine Optatus Milevitanus Jerome and many others shewing That it doth not prejudice the Increase whether he that soweth do it with polluted or with pure hands if so be the Seed be good and the Soil be fertile and the Influence of the Clouds and Heavens not restrained And the House may receive Light by the Taper which shines from an earthen as well as from a golden Candlestick And if there were no good to be reaped by the Ministery of wicked Men but that the Ministrations of unsanctified Persons were altogether ineffectual Christ would never have commanded People to hear the Scribes and Pharisees Matth. 23.2 3. nor would he have sent forth Judas amongst the Twelve Matth. 10.5 6. to gather in the lost Sheep of the House of Israel of whose Ministery we hear no less Effects than of the rest Nay he tells plainly that many Reprobates in the Great Day shall plead the Effects of their Ministery Matth. 7.22 23. saying Lord Lord have we not Prophesied in thy Name and in thy Name cast out Devils and in thy Name done many wonderful Works To whom he will say Depart from me ye that work Iniquity And if the pravity of the Instrument should render the Work ineffectual Philip. 1.15 18. it should have been no matter of rejoicing to Paul that Christ was Preached by such who Preached him out of Envy and Contention and not sincerely But
to design thy self for this Holy Office Whom God calls he stirs them up by the secret Instinct of his Blessed Spirit whereby he works in them such Divine Motions of fervent Charity and Zeal for his Glory and the Salvation of Souls as they are driven thereby to cast themselves upon greatest Hardships and to resolve to facrifice their own Ease Quiet and carnal Interests in a Calling wherein they may serve God to these Ends. As the Apostle Paul was when he went bound in the Spirit unto Jerusalem where he knew Bonds and Afflictions were abiding him the Motions of Charity and Zeal so drove him that he said Acts 20.24 None of these things move me neither count I my Life dear unto my self so that I might sinish my Course with Joy and the Ministery which I have received of the Lord Jesus to testifie the Gospel of the grace of God Acts 21.13 And again I am ready not to be bound only but also to die at Jerusalem for the Name of the Lord Jesus And as he was moved by the like Instinct to lay himself out for the Salvation of the Corinthians to whom being about to come he said 2 Cor. 12.15 I will very gladly spend and be spent for you though the more aboundantly I love you the less I be loved And so if thou be Called of God by such Motions of Charity and Zeal kindled by the Spirit of God in thy Heart will it be that thou art carried to a desire for the Ministery of the Gospel But when the carnal Motions of Ambition or Covetousness work a panting after this Office as these Motions are not from the Instinct of the Spirit of God but of the Spirit of the World so neither hath he a Call from God who is driven thereby And it is no wonder to see such a one seek to make a Passage for his own Entrance by the counsel of that same Spirit which was the principal Mover in his Design and hath the chief hand in Simoniacal Bargains And now Finally I would advise thee That after thou hast examined thine own Heart though thou even find in thy self a concurrence of these things in such a considerable measure as may beget in thee a confidence that God approves of thy purpose and calls thee to serve him in the Ministery of his Church yet thou wouldst not make too much haste nor run to thrust thy self thereinto before God open a fair Door of Entrance for thee I cannot but look upon it as an Errour and an act of too preposterous speed for any to intrude where the Door is but half open or to secure himself with an Anti-date of a Succession to the Charge of a Living Incumbent Of which besides that through the uncertainty of his own Life he is uncertain of his future Enjoyment he also throws himself upon the tentation of that hainous Sin which with little sense is too commonly lodged in the unnatural Breasts of young rich Heirs amongst whom we find it too often verified Filius ante diem Patrios inquirit in Annos That the Son lives with murthering Desires in a continual longing for his Old Father's Death whereby he may come to be possess'd of his Fortune And whosoever runs upon such-like Danger is too little privy to the corruption of his own Heart which should be a principal part of his Study both to understand and to watch against who desires to enter upon the Holy Ministery And which whosoever studies well will wait till God by making a clear and pure Passage for him evidence that he hath Called him thereto and that he hath not run before God sent him Yet would I not have any Man suppose that I intend that he who hath been sincerely designing himself for the Service of God in the Ministery and finds a proper Occasion should forbear to do any thing or follow the lawful Means for attaining thereto For though the deep sense of the weightiness of the Work and of a Man 's own Insufficiency should make him fear and beware to thrust himself upon it yet it bewrays too little of charitable Zeal to God's Service and the good of Souls when he sees an open Door to lye like a Block without any Motion or stand idly gazing till Men come and hale him violently to the Work Nor see I how he can avoid the blame of a slothful Servant who useth no lawful Endeavours to put his Talent to exchange when a convenient Season calls for it Nay it gives too much occasion for suspicion of Hypocrisie and affected Nicety in any who after he hath for a considerable space been fitting himself for the Ministery should pretend an Aversion thereto till it were forced upon him against his Will The Apostle Peter hath exhorted otherwise bidding take the oversight of the Flock not by constraint 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 1 Pet. 5.2 not by being forced or compelled thereto but willingly And if it was spoken to the commendation of Amaziah the Son of Zichri a Captain in the Wars of Judah 2 Chron. 17.16 that he willingly offered himself unto the Lord It can be no Reproach for him who finds his Lips touched with a Live-coal from the Altar when he hears the Lord by opening a Door saying Who will go for us willingly to offer himself in this Spiritual War and to go to those who stand in the Lord's stead and say with the Prophet Here am I send me Isa 6.8 For whatsoever Discouragement the sense of his own Insufficiency may breed in him yet the Sincerity of his Intentions and the Evidences of a Call from God may give him confidence to rely upon his Grace as sufficient for him whose Strength is made perfect in Weakness CHAP. VII A Word of Warning to Patrons IT is much to be regretted that the Patrons of Churches should be generally so obnoxious to that odious Reproach of the Sin of Simony wherein it is the Lot of the Innocent to suffer with the Guilty But that which hath given occasion thereto is That the most of Patrons have never seriously considered the nature or end of their Power and some have never look'd upon it as a Matter wherein their Conscience is much concerned but rather as an occasion whereby they may either gratifie others or serve their own Interests Whereby it comes to pass that Presentations are oft times disposed of by them without due consideration of the Qualities of the Persons or Weight of the Charge but that he speeds better at their Hands whose importunity by Favour or Bribes commends him unto them than he who for his Worth might justly be Preferr'd Now I am such a Friend both to the Conscience and Honour of all herein concerned that I wish from my heart I could give such an effectual Warning as might make them all study to preserve their Souls free from the Guilt and their Honour from the Stain of such an odious Crime I am not to
Souls But how such Men will answer for a Talent thus imploy'd the Day of their Reckoning will tell Wherefore I say I would warn you to consider well whom you Present to the Charge of Souls and whensoever any occasion thereof falls into your hands I would advise you first to have your recourse to God and falling down before the Throne of Grace pray him who is the Lord of the Vineyard to direct you aright for choosing a faithful Labourer to put in the vacant place thereof and as the effect of such Devotion performed in Sincerity you may confidently expect Divine Counsel and Concurrence And next it is requisite you make use of such means as whereby you may have sufficient Information and best Advice for fixing upon a Person most suitable for the Charge Fame may do somewhat herein your own Acquaintance and Knowledge of the Gifts and Qualifications of Men may do much but if you scruple or dare not or cannot rely upon your own Judgment then have recourse to the Counsel and Advice of others No doubt you will not want abundance who will be ready to obtrude their Advice and Recommendations and perhaps vex you with their Importunities but in a Matter of such weight I wish you to be cautious whose Advice you make use of Those who serve you may haply be ready to take the first Advantage to be Interposers in this Affair and specially such who have a Preference in your Favour above their Fellows will be very confident in their Recommendations as presuming they have the sway of your Ears But be wary in taking the Advice of Servants herein who for the most part are mercenary and ready to make secret Simoniacal Bargains for a Presentation and then move you to give what they have sold whilst without your privity they gather up the Price Beware also to consult herein any covetous Persons For their Eyes are commonly more towards Earth than towards Heaven and are wiser for this World than for the World to come and you shall be sure to find their Counsel tend more for your Gain than for the good of your Soul And 't is much if there be not at the bottom some design for their own Advantage Beware likwise to advise with those who are of profane and dissolute Lives these will prove no good Counsellors for choice of one to the Holy Calling Such a one will be preferable in their Eyes whose Conversation differs least from their own and from whom they expect least Severity against their Vices Likewise beware herein to consult proud Persons They will never recommend to you for a Pastor but such a one whom they presume they may easily tread upon or who they expect will yield his Ministery to truckle to their supercilious Humours Nay in a word I would wish you to beware of taking herein the Advice of any in whom the World or carnal Affections or Interests or ungodly Lusts have a visible Dominion But herein call for the Counsel of such whose known Sincerity Piety and Prudence do commend them as Men fit to be consulted in Affairs that concern the Conscience whether they be Church-men or others Specially if there be any such within that Congregation whereof he to be Presented is to have the Charge For from such you may expect the soundest and most religious Advice And by following this Method both with God and Man I am sure you shall discharge your selves so as may probably most conduce for the Advantage of the People's Souls and certainly most for the Exoneration of your own Conscience CHAP. VIII An humble Advice to Bishops and Governours of the Church I May perchance incur the Censure of Presumption for obtruding my Advice upon the Fathers and Governours of the Church but it may be I have had occasion to see more of the Danger of that Malady which I am to represent unto them and to hear more of the Reproach they suffer upon that account than is obvious to their Notice and therefore if zeal excite me to offer what in my humble Opinion is convenient for their curing the one and wiping off the other I trust I shall thereby incur no imputation of Arrogancy at their Hands at least they will look upon it but as a defect of good Manners Right Reverend Fathers The very Title of your Office proclaims the Church to be under your oversight and if you should not take care to stop the Conduits of Corruption whereby she may be infected it were an oversight in the worst sence And there is no corruption whereof the Conduit hath more need to be strictly block'd up than that of Simony which if suffered to spread produceth most deplorable Effects in drawing upon the Church the reproach of her Enemies the contempt of her Children and many inward Diseases to the hazard of many Souls Ah! How hath the climbing up of some by pecuniary Passages into the Church opened the mouths of Adversaries to reproach us as Thieves and Robbers who enter not in by the Door nor have any Call from God and as Hirelings who serve for bought Benefices Ah! What a Scandal doth it breed to many Christians And how doth it render the Holy Calling contemptible generally amongst the Vulgar and even amongst those who otherwise have thoughts of Veneration for it when they see it prostitute to Merchandise and made a Matter of buying and selling I am sure amongst all the Causes of the contempt of the Clergy there is nothing that exposeth them more to contempt than this to see them turn so ignominious Pedlers as to make Merchandise of Spiritual Commodities And what evil Consequences may their Ministery produce who enter upon it by such means may be easily conjectured if it be considered that it holds no less true in the Church than in the Common-wealth that Imperium qui malis artibus acquisivit vix unquam bonis artibus exercuit He that comes to Power by evil means scarce doth he ever exercise the same Honestly but makes as small Conscience in his Administration as he made in his Acquisition So that the Souls of People are in no small danger of being obnoxious to all these Evils which may befall them by the corrupt Ministery of those whose Disposition leads them when they are in to serve the same Master by whose help they entred Now you Dear Fathers are they to whose care it belongs to remedy these Evils It is your Pastoral Rod that must drive Simon Magus to the Doors and shut them against him that so the Church may enjoy a pure Ministery the Flock may be delivered from Danger the Pastors from Reproach and Contempt and you your selves from those Scandals which the Adversaries of your Government are ready to cast upon you as Connivers at all Corruption And what to this effect is requisite to be done in confidence of your charitable Indulgence I humbly give my Opinion and Thoughts First Much deliberation and circumspection is requisite in the