Power into Spain to examine those that were Hereticks and being found such to take away their Lives and Estates Neither was it to be doubted but that this Storm would have reach'd the greatest part of Believers because of the small Distinction made between them and the other for then they judged Persons only by the Eye esteeming them Hereticks from their pale Looks or Habit rather than by their Faith He afterwards shews the Horror that St. Martin had conceived against these kind of Proceedings There was nothing he was more concerned about Illa praecipua cura ne Tribuni cum jure gladiorum ad Hispanias mitterentur Than to prevent the Tribunes being sent into Spain with the Power of the Sword He renounced Communion with these sanguinary Bishops but not long after to avoid a greater Mischief he was obliged to give up that Point though he still refused to subscribe to the Condemnation of the Priscillianists Hujus diei communionem Martinus iniit satius aestimans ad horam cedere quam his non consulere quorum cervicibus gladius imminebat veruntamen summâ vi Episcopis nitentibus ut communionem illam subscriptione firmaret extorqueri non potuit Martin communicated with them at that time thinking it better for a while to give way to them than not to provide for their Safety who had the Sword hanging over them But yet though the Bishops used their utmost Endeavours to make him ratify his communicating with them by his Subscription they could never bring him to it If we consult Vincentius Lirinensis and Cassian they will afford us much Light as to the State of these Diocesses Vincentius a Priest of the Monastery of Lerins is one of those who can best inform us what was esteemed Orthodox in these Churches Indeed we find all the peculiar Doctrines of the Church of Rome are condemned in the Maxims that he solidly asserts in the 28 th Chapter of his Commonitorium where he maintains that the Church may every day make a further Progress in the Knowledg of Truth and all this without making any Innovation Crescat igitur oportet multum vehementerque proficiat tam singulorum quam omnium tam unius hominis quam totius Ecclesiae aetatum ac saeculorum gradibus intelligentia scientia sapientia sed in suo duntaxat genere in eodem se dogmate eodem sensu eademque sententia The Understanding Knowledg and Wisdom as well of every singular Person as of the whole Church ought to grow and greatly increase according to the several Degrees of Times and Ages but every one in his own way that is to say in the same Doctrine in the same Sense and the same Judgment 2. He in the same place exclaims against all new Doctrines and new Names and yet owns that the Church acquires daily more Light in matters of Religion Sed ita tamen ut vere profectus sit ille fidei non permutatio But yet so that this is really an Advancement not a Change of Faith 3. He reduces all that we ought to believe to the Rule of Faith and declares what is the true use and the true Authority of the Doctors of the Church Quae tamen antiqua sanctorum Patrum consensio non in omnibus divinae legis quaestiunculis sed solum certè praecipuè in fidei regula magno nobis studio investiganda est sequenda Quibus tamen Patribus hâc lege credendum est ut quicquid vel omnes vel plures uno eodemque sensu manifestè frequenter perseveranter velut quodam consentiente sibi magistrorum consilio accipiendo tenendo tradendo firmaverint id pro indubitato certo ratoque habeatur But yet this primitive Consent of the Holy Fathers is not to be inquired after and followed as to the lesser Questions of Divine Law alike but especially if not only in the Rule of Faith Which Fathers we may give full Credit to on this Condition that whatsoever all or the most of them do in the same sense manifestly frequently and constantly maintain as in a Council of Masters agreeing together by their receiving holding and delivering the same that ought to be esteemed unquestionable certain and firm 4. He lays down a Method how we may dispute with the Church of Rome about the Errors she has drawn from Antiquity by reducing the whole Dispute to the Scripture Atque ideo quascunque illas antiquiores vel Schismatum vel Haereseωn profanitates nullo modo nos oportet nisi aut sola si opus est Scripturarum authoritate convincere aut certe jam antiquitus universalibus Sacerdotum Catholicorum Conciliis convictas damnatasque vitare Wherefore we are no other way to convict all ancient Errors of Schism or Heresy but either if need be by the sole Authority of Scripture or else to avoid them as already condemned by the universal Councils of Catholick Priests 5. He excellently explains the Use of Tradition without derogating any thing from the Sufficiency of Scripture Diximus in superioribus hanc fuisse semper esse hodieque Catholicorum consuetudinem ut fidem veram duobus istis mediis adprobent primum Divini Canonis authoritate deinde Ecclesiae traditione non quia Canon solus non sibi ad universa sufficiat sed quia verba Divina pro suo plerique arbitratis interpretantes varias opiniones erroresque concipiant atque ideo necesse sit ut ad unam Ecclesiastici sensus regulam scripturae coelestis intelligentia dirigatur in iis duntaxat praecipuè quaestionibus quibus totius Catholici dogmatis fundamenta nituntur We have said before that this hath been and still is the Custom of Catholicks to prove the true Faith two ways 1 st by the Authority of the Divine Canon And 2 dly by the Churches Tradition not as if the Canon were not of it self sufficient but because most Men interpret Scripture according to their own private Fancy which has given occasion to various Opinions and Errors Wherefore it is needful that the Understanding of Holy Scripture be regulated by one single Determination of the Church and particularly in those Questions on which the Foundations of all Catholick Doctrine rest Lastly He desires that universal Consent may be taken only from such a Tradition as he authorizeth Item diximus in ipsa rursus Ecclesia universitatis pariter ac antiquitatis consensionem spectari oportere ne aut ab unitatis integritate in partem schismatis abrumpamur aut à vetustatis religione in Haereseωn novitates praecipitemur We have said also that in the Church we are to have an Eye to the Consent of Universality and Antiquity that wee be not rent from the entire Union into a Schism or be cast headlong from the Religion of the Ancients into the Novelties of Heresy There needs little more than these Maxims to secure a Church where they are taught from those Corruptions into which the Church of
is to be the Seat of Antichrist What I say now deserves to be considered because in the Year 1516 December the 19 th in the 11 th Session of the Lateran Council under Leo X in whose time Luther began to preach we find that there was a Prohibition against handling the Question of Antichrist in the Pulpit though under the Pretence of advancing some new Revelation concerning it without having obtained leave from the Holy See or from the Bishop The Words of the Canon which oblige all those who should ever undertake to preach on this Subject are these And we command all who bear this Charge or who shall bear it for the future that they preach and explain the Evangelical Truth and the Holy Scripture according to the Exposition and Interpretation of those Doctors whom the Church or long Tradition has approved and has hitherto allowed to be read or which shall be so for time to come without adding any thing that is contrary to or disagreeing from the proper sense of them but that they always insist upon such Matters as do not disagree with the Words of the Scripture nor with the Interpretations of the foresaid Doctors Neither let them presume to fix in their Sermons any certain time of the Evils to come of the coming of Antichrist or of the Day of Judgment forasmuch as Truth assures us that it is not for us to know the Times and Seasons Moreover if the Lord should be pleased to reveal to any of them in the Church of God future things by some Inspiration as he hath promised by the Prophet Amos and seeing the Apostle Paul saith Despise not Prophecying c. we will not have such as these reckoned amongst Impostors and Liars or that they shall be any ways hindred But because it is a matter of great Moment and that we are not upon light Grounds to believe every Spirit but are to try them whether they be of God we command that by a constant Law any such asserted Inspirations before they be published or preached to the People be henceforward understood to be reserved to the Examination of the Apostolical See but in Case this cannot be done without the Danger of too long a Delay or that urgent Necessity should otherwise perswade then observing the same Order it may be signified to the Ordinary of the place who taking along with him three or four learned and grave Men and diligently examining the matter with them if they see it expedient which we charge upon their Consciences they may grant them Liberty but whosoever presumes to commit any thing contrary to the Premises shall incur Excommunication from the which he shall not be absolved but by the Pope himself that so by their Example others may be deterred from presuming to do any such thing for which Reason we decree that they be for ever made incapable of the Office of Preaching any Priviledges whatsoever to the contrary notwithstanding c. 'T is not our Business to examine the Question whether the Bishop of Meaux hath exactly followed the Rules that this Canon prescribes in his Explication of the Scripture and especially about the matter of Antichrist though they be Rules by which Bishops are no less bound than the meanest Divines It may be the Church of Rome finds the Bishop's new System so much for her Interest that it inclines her to suspend the Severity of her Canons in Favour of a Person who has so dexterously pluck'd a Thorn out of her Foot which hath troubled her so long and which hath always caused new Pains to her as oft as any of her Doctors have indeavoured to pluck it out But I fear I have insisted too long upon so vain a Conjecture and which scarce deserved to be confuted There are able Men of the Church of Rome who have taken the Pains to refute the Conjecture of some Papists who would needs have Mahomet to be the Antichrist This was the Chimaera of Annius of Viterbo a Monk famous for his Impostures this likewise was the Whimsy of Fevardentius and some others whom Pererius the Jesuit hath refuted so solidly as that he has put the Bishop of Meaux to the trouble of inventing a new System to oppose the Protestants I hope his System will meet with the same Destiny amongst his own Party that so the Protestants may not be put to the trouble of giving it a formal Confutation For indeed though the Politicks of the Church of Rome do bear with several Opinions that differ from the common Hypotheses of their Society yet the Divines of that Party are not patient enough to dissemble the Dislike they have to see their old Opinions which have been maintained for several Ages trod under-foot The Bishop himself has an Example hereof which he cannot well have forgot in the Person of Cardinal Capizucchi who having given his Approbation to the Exposition of the Romish Faith made by the Bishop of Meaux in which he sweetens the Worship of Images so very much for Fear of incensing the Protestants whom he designed to bring over to his own Side was not wanting some Years after to publish a Treatise wherein he shews that he gave that Approbation only upon the Account of Reason of State and not because he sincerely approved the way which the Bishop had taken to make the Worship of Images appear more tolerable to the Protestant Party CHAP. XX. Of the Morals of the Albigenses and of their Ecclesiastical Government HAving thus justified the Albigenses as to their Doctrine and Worship it is time now to proceed to shew the Regularity of their Discipline by representing the Nature of their Church-Government and Conduct of those Churches in matters that related to their Manners This will not be a matter of any Difficulty for it is easily conceived that these Diocesses being stored with People who maintained the Doctrine of Berengarius as the Abbot of Tron tells us they had a great Party of the Clergy at the Head of them I do not say this without good Grounds for 1 st We see that in the Councils held against Berengarius there were very great Contests about this Matter and that the opposite Party carried their Point only by down-right Violence 2 dly That according to the Testimony of Sigebert if many Persons wrote against Berengarius many also wrote in favour of him and who can doubt of their being Church-men 3 dly That his own Bishop Bruno Bishop of Anger 's where he was Archdeacon declared himself for him 4 thly That in Aquitain in the Year 1075 Giraldus Legat of Pope Gregory VII was obliged to call a Council at Poictiers where Berengarius narrowly escaped being murthered as we are assured by the Chronicle of St. Maixant the Circumstances whereof there set down they that published it took care to leave out 5 thly That five Years after they were obliged to convocate another Council at Bourdeaux where Berengarius gave an Account of his Faith
Deputies of the University of Oxford who gave a publick and authentick Testimony of his Piety and his Purity in the Faith 4. The University of Oxford had espoused his Quarrel with the Church of Rome so far that after his having been attack'd by a Council at London in 1382 and after having maintain'd his Doctrine from the year 1367 with publick applause his Writings continued recommended by a Decree of the University to all the Students both in the Publick Schools and Colledges and were not forc'd from them till after his Condemnation which happened at the Council of Constance 28 years after his Death We see the Esteem Wicklef had in that University by the Testimony they gave in 1406 against those that endeavour'd to blemish the Memory of this great Man for after they had spoken of his Piety and Probity as of a Thing known to all Men after they had declared that he was a couragious Defender of the Faith they add Qui singulos mendicitate spontaneâ Christi Religionem blasphemantes sacrae Scripturae sententiis catholicè expugnavit That he had in a Catholick Way by Texts of Scripture overthrown all those who by a voluntary Poverty blasphemed the Religion of Christ And since the Romish Party had not at that time a more formidable Enemy than Wicklef they were not wanting to muster all their Forces in order to suppress his Doctrine In the Year 1396 William Woodeford a Cordelier was chosen by Thomas Arundel Archbishop of Canterbury to write against Wicklef's Trialogue which he did accordingly refuting 18 Articles of his Doctrine This Book is printed in the Fasciculus In the Year 1411 Thomas Walden an English-man deputed to the Council of Constance dedicated his Doctrinal to Pope Martin V against Wicklef where he accuseth him of above 800 Errors This Monk as able as he was was really one of the most passionate Disputers that ever writ but withal it is true also that to follow his Measures we can scarcely imagine a more particular Discussion of the Errors Superstitions and false Suppositions which the Church of Rome makes use of to maintain her Errors and false Worship than that which Wicklef made use of In the Account that Walden gives of it we meet with a great Knowledg of Holy Scripture and great Skill in Antiquity whose Authority he makes use of to confound the Romish Novelties we discover there a great strength in his way of reasoning and an extraordinary Method in his Consequences so that he seems to have fully penetrated the Weakness of the Romish Cause and overthrown its whole Foundations One may plainly discover this by running over the Titles of the Doctrinal of Thomas Walden upon Matters of Faith upon the Sacraments upon those which he calls sacramental things or that belong to Sacraments for we scarcely meet with any Articles controverted between the Church of Rome and the Protestants which Wicklef hath not touched and handled and that with sufficient Exactness too This hath obliged the Papists with so much Care to reprint Walden's Works against Wicklef as containing a Body of their Controversies against the Protestants I am not ignorant that Walden objects some very harsh and impious Opinions to him and that the Council of Constance has mingled several of that Nature amongst the 45 Articles of Wicklef which are there condemned But here I must desire my Reader to call to mind four things 1 st That Woodeford hath objected no such thing to Wicklef which shews that he never taught any like Doctrine but that they are only Consequences drawn by a scholastical Divine who was used to carry things too far 2 dly That Walden wrote at a time when the Popish Party had the upper-hand in the Court of Henry V who had condemned the Wicklefites as guilty of high Treason which Walden takes notice of in his Dedication to Martin V. 3 dly That it is very probable that this Catalogue of 45 Articles was drawn up by Walden himself who was present at the Council of Constance on purpose to promote Wicklef's Condemnation 4 thly That the Council of Constance was the first where by publick Consent that Maxim That Faith is not to be kept with Hereticks was ever put in Practice Now let any one judg what Equity or Truth can be expected from Villains of such profligate Principles who think it an Honour to act in every thing according to them After all this I might well excuse my self from setting down the Opinions of Wicklef or from saying any thing for his Justification but I am willing to do both the one and the other for the Honour of this great Man and for the Readers Satisfaction The Opinions of Wicklef with relation to the Doctrine of Protestants are these CHAP. XXIV Of the Calumnies that have been unjustly charged upon Wicklef by the Papists 1. WIcklef owns but 22 Canonical Books of Scripture excluding all the rest which he calls Apocryphal 2. He teaches that the Scripture contains all things necessary to Salvation Forasmuch saith he as in Scripture all Truth is contained it is evident that all Disputes that take not their Rise thence are prophane We are not to admit any Knowledg or Conclusion which hath not its Testimony from Scripture 3. He affirms that every well-disposed Christian may understand the Holy Scripture God hath appointed the common sensible Scripture to the comprehending of the Catholick Sense whereof God can never be wanting because he always enlightneth some particular Men to which Illumination Holiness of Life conduceth very much and it is the Duty of Divines to continue it in our Mother the Church which ought to keep within her Bounds so that it is not lawful for Divines to frame strange Doctrines besides the Faith of Catholick Scripture For which End he lays down several Rules for the Understanding of the Scriptures 4. He asserts that the Scriptures ought to be translated into the vulgar Tongue The Truth of God saith he is not more confined to one Language than to another Jesus Christ delivered the Lord's Prayer in a known Language Why then may not the Gospel and other parts of Scripture be writ in English The Clergy ought to rejoice that the People know the Law of God It was for this Reason that he translated the whole Bible whereof several Copies are still to be found in the King's Library and in several other Libraries in England We may easily know what he thought of Tradition from these Words We have a perfect Knowledg of all things necessary to Salvation from the Faith of Scripture Decrees Statutes and Rites that are added according to humane Traditions are all inseparably sinful because they make the Law of God more difficult to be kept and hinder the Course of God's Word Traditions are hateful to God and the Church except only so far as they are grounded on Scripture Mens own Inventions are chiefly to get Money
Fruit of the Vine at the Lord's Supper and mentions not so much as one Word of Transubstantiation in a place where he particularly explains the Institution of the Eucharist Can. 30. in Matth. To speak the Truth how could he have any other Thoughts who maintains that Jesus Christ is no longer on the Earth in respect of his Body because it is impossible for a Body to be in more places than one Adest enim cum fideliter invocatur per naturam suam praesens est spiritus enim est omnia penetrans continens non enim secundum nos corporalis est ut cum alicubi adsit absit aliunde sed virtute praesenti se quâcunque est porrigenti cum replente omniae ejus spiritu in omnibus sit tamen ei qui in eum credat adsistit For he is present by his Nature when he is call'd upon with Faith he being a Spirit penetrating and containing all things for he is not like us corporeal so as that when he is in one place he should be absent from another but he is in all places by the Presence of his Power which extendeth it self where-ever he is and his Spirit that filleth all things yet he is in a more peculiar manner with him that believes in him 21. He was so far from approving the Romish Inquisition that he calls the Emperor Constantius Antichrist for persecuting those that were not of his Opinion lib. in Constant August Yea he judg'd all Force to be so contrary to the Spirit of the Christian Religion that he maintains that there can be no Religion where Force is made use of Lastly He was so far from believing that the Antichrist whereof St. John speaks was already come that he maintains that he would be revealed in the Churches that were then possessed by the Arians and that the Faith being thus attack'd the true Believers would be forced to look out for Shelter amongst the Mountains in Woods and Caves leaving the Antichrist Master of the publick Places consecrated to the Worship of God This is the Sum of what may be gathered from the Writings of St. Hilary I make no mention of some Errors of this great Man because Claudianus Mamertus having confuted them about the end of the fifth Century has made it appear that they were only some particular Opinions of this great Confessor and that we cannot look upon them as the common Faith of the Diocess where he was setled But the same cannot be said of the Articles I have noted Claudianus is so far from blaming them that he approves them by his Silence and shews that his Doctrine in this Respect was the Doctrine of the Church of Gaul We have nothing left us of the Works of Rhodanius Bishop of Tholouse who was contemporary with St. Hilary But it appears clear to us that this Holy Confessor having been sent into Banishment with St. Hilary after the Council of Beziers by the Cabal of Saturninus Bishop of Arles Favourer of the Arians we are to consider Rhodanius as a Defender of the same Faith and an illustrious Witness of the Belief of his Diocess And we ought to make the same Judgment of Phaebadius Bishop of Agen who was so much engaged in the same Quarrel and who acquired so great a Name by the vigorous Opposition he made against the Errors of Arius But Providence has preserved us none of his Works In effect this great Man who wrote in the Year 357. as appears by his Book against the Arians gives us sufficiently to understand what his Faith was in divers Articles and what was the Doctrine of the Diocess 1. He maintains that the Catholick Faith is found with those who speak according to the Holy Scripture and not amongst those who only make use of Prejudices After having quoted several places of Scripture to prove against the Arians the Eternity of the Son he concludes in this manner B. Patr. T. 4. p. 174. Volentes igitur à Patre Filium scindere infra Deum ponere de Evangelio praescribunt Those therefore who would rend the Father from the Son and place him below God give Law to the Gospel He expresseth himself yet more strongly to this purpose towards the end of his Book ib. p. 180. Hoc credimus hoc tenemus quia hoc accepimus à Prophetis hoc nobis Evangelia locuta sunt hoc Apostoli tradiderunt hoc Martyres in passione confessi sunt in hoc mentibus fidei etiam haeremus contra quod si Angelus de Coelo annuntiaverit Anathema sit Ergo ut supra diximus praejudicatae opinionis authoritas nihil valebit quia contra semetipsam ipsa consistit This we believe this we hold fast because 't is this we have received from the Prophets this the Gospels have declared to us this the Apostles have left us this the Martyrs in their Sufferings have confessed and to this we adhere with our Minds by Faith so that if an Angel from Heaven should preach contrary to this let him be accursed Wherefore as was said before the Authority of a prejudicate Opinion can be of no force because it stands against it self 2. He makes it appear that the Name of Catholick was not sufficient to be a true Christian when he represents that Arianism had so far seized the Minds of all the World that it was necessary to espouse the Arian Heresy to procure the Name of being Catholicks ib. p. 169. Sed quia aut Haeresis suscipienda est ut Catholici dicamur aut verè Catholici non futuri si Haeresin non repudiamus ad hanc tractatûs conditionem necessitate descendimus But because we are either to become Hereticks that we may be called Catholicks or cease to be Catholicks indeed by becoming Hereticks we are necessitated to write this Treatise 3. He asserts that the Revelation of Holy Scripture is so perfect with respect to the Divinity of our Saviour that Anathemas are to be pronounced against all those that advance any other Doctrine This appears from the great number of Passages which he quotes from thence p. 173 178. to which he joins the Anathema whereof I have already spoke before 4. He observes expresly that the same Honours rendred to Jesus Christ in the Liturgy as to God do demonstrate his Equality with God p. 174. Quod si ita est saith he quotidie blasphemamus in gratiarum actionibus oblationibus sacrificiorum communia haec Patri filio confitentes c. If it be so we blaspheme daily in our Thanksgivings and Offerings of Sacrifice in confessing these things common to Father and Son Thus doth he implicitly overthrow the first Principles of the Church of Rome viz. the Imperfection of the Holy Scripture in Matters of Faith the Authority and Necessity of Traditions which are the compleating of it and other such like Doctrines We should now proceed to examine what the State of these Diocesses was in the following Century
Preaching tends to the Subversion of the Weak and Ignorant Above all they prove from Scripture that Women to whom Silence only is recommended must not undertake to teach Lastly They represent to the Waldenses that they do ill in rejecting Prayer for the Dead which hath so much Foundation in Scripture and so clear a Succession in Tradition And as these Hereticks absented themselves from the Churches to pray amongst themselves in private in their Houses they tell them that they ought not to leave the House of Prayer the Holiness whereof was so much recommended in Scripture and even by the Son of God himself Here we may see the Albigenses in case they be the Persons concern'd though the Bishop pretends they are the Waldenses sufficiently cleared from all the Accusations of Manicheism that can be formed against their Faith For according to these Articles if we believe the Bishop of Meaux they cannot be charged with any thing of Arianism much less of Manicheism I cannot perfectly agree to what the Bishop of Meaux concludes from their examining only these pretended Differences in the Conference held before the Archbishop of Narbon that there was no other Difference betwixt the Church of Rome and those against whom the Papists disputed at this Conference There are solid Reasons that hinder me from being of the Bishop's Opinion but however it be he cannot defend himself from having furnished his Adversaries with the most compendious way in the World to overthrow without much enquiry all that he had done to prove that the Albigenses were guilty of Manicheism For in truth this Dispute whereof the Abbot of Foncaud gives us an account was not maintain'd against the Vaudois but against the Albigenses For 1. the Bishop might easily have discover'd as much from the Presence of the Archbishop of Narbon the Matter in question relating to the Interest of his Diocess 2. Because the Abbot of Foncaud who is the Relator was one of the principal Actors his Abby being in the Diocess of Narbon 3. Because this Conference with some others served as a Prologue to the Cruelties exercised against the Albigenses the Church of Rome and her Ministers having already made use of these Ways of Sweetness before they came to the Extremities of a Croisade which interrupted their other Projects towards Greece and the Holy-Land It follows clearly from hence that according to the Acknowledgment of the Bishop the Albigenses cannot be more justly accused of Manicheism than the Vaudois concerning whom he pretends that the Abbot of Foncaud speaks I cannot imagine how the Bishop can answer the Force of this Argument except only by denying that he is mistaken and pretending that this Conference was held with some of the Vaudois who had fled into the Diocess of Narbon and had so considerably propagated their Doctrine there that a publick Dispute was judg'd necessary to stop the progress of it But 1 st it would be very strange that they should be able in so short a time to make themselves more considerable than the Petrobusians and the Henricians with whom we know that the Diocesses of Aquitain and Narbon were already fill'd according to the Testimony of their Enemies 2 dly Were it so it would be necessary to suppose that Bernard Archbishop of Narbon who died the second of October 1191 made it his Business to stop the Progress of some of Waldo's Disciples who at that time could scarcely be known John de Beauxmains Archbishop of Lions who condemned Peter Waldo not having possessed his See above 10 Years as far as we can judg which he then quitted to retire to Clairvaux whilst in the mean time he took no notice of the Petrobusians and Henricians 3 dly It is ridiculous to suppose against the Credit of all Historians that the Vaudois compos'd a distinct Body from the Albigenses who as we shall shew hereafter clearly suppose that there were no Vaudois that had Churches and that made a distinct Body 4 thly Neither do we find that the cruel Inquisition made any such like distinction about this Matter in using more or less Cruelty according to the Degrees of Schism and Heresy as 't is pretended they ought to do in case they would act justly But whatever Answer the Bishop may invent to defend his Opinion we have a sure Way to overthrow it without remedy and 't is the same which he himself hath furnish'd us with for he owns that the Conference of 1206 mentioned by the Monk of Vaux Cernay was a Conference with the Vaudois Besides that which Bernard Abbot of Foncaud hath set down we have another saith he in Peter of Vaux Cernay about the year 1206 where the Vaudois were confounded now all Men know that the Conference of 1206 was held with the Albigenses as Peter of Vaux Cernay who lived at that time assures us in his History of the Albigenses But why then will the Bishop say Did not they dispute before the Bishop of Nismes and the Archbishop of Narbon but only upon these four Points The Question is easily answered They disputed about many other Articles but either he who wrote the Conference did not give us a Relation of the whole as not supposing it convenient to publish their Objections against those other Opinions and Superstitions which the Albigenses oppos'd or else they wanted time to examine the other Articles of the Roman Faith which they rejected What I say now is not a Conjecture at random produced only to stop the Bishop's Answer but is Matter of Fact grounded upon the Relation which we have of the Conference of Montreal as I shall shew hereafter All this will lead us to pass a true Judgment on the Condemnations which the Popes King Alphonsus and the Emperor Frederick II issued out against the Albigenses in their Bulls and Edicts They endeavour'd in short to make them be look'd upon as infamous Manichees as a Company of Arians and as the most execrable Hereticks The Popes prepossessed the Kings and Emperors with these Notions by the reproachful Names which they fastned upon them after they had gotten the power to lead them by the Nose as so many wild Beasts hence proceeds that heap of Names which we find in the Bulls and Edicts of that time The Reflection we ought to make on all these Terms of Obloquy is this that excepting only the Names of Publicans and Cathari particularly given to the Manichees it appears from these Edicts that the Albigenses and the Waldenses did both believe the same thing But if what I have said is sufficient to shew the Injustice of the Bishop of Meaux in making the Albigenses pass for Manichees the matter may be still further cleared if we turn over the Books of Alanus Magnus surnamed the Vniversal Doctor for it appears clearly from his Treatise against the Hereticks of his time and above all against the Albigenses which he dedicated to William Prince of Montpellier that it was the Fashion at
pretended to confirm them by Confessions which the Cruelty of their Tortures have forced from them Neither is it only in this Work of his that St. Irenaeus informs us what in his time was the Faith of these Churches planted in Gaul for he hath left us five Books and Eusebius has preserved for us some Epistles of that ancient Bishop altogether refulgent with the Purity of the Faith delivered by the Apostles 1. St. Irenaeus gives us this for one Character of the Gnosticks that they embraced Doctrines which were not to be found in the Writings of the Prophets or the Apostles Lib. 1. cap. 1. p. 33. And 't is with the same Spirit that he attributes to Hereticks the accusing of the Scripture for being unintelligible without the Help of Tradition whereas he maintains that that which had been preached was committed to Writing by the special Will of God to the end it might be the Ground and Pillar of our Faith Lib. 3. c. 1 2. And that it is to make the Apostles Hypocrites to suppose that they taught some things in publick and others in private whence it appears clearly that when he makes use of Tradition he only does it with respect to those scriptural Doctrines which the Hereticks opposed and whereof they pretended that the Apostles had left the contrary to those that succeeded them Lib. 3. c. 2. 'T is upon this occasion that he alledgeth the Testimony of the Church of Rome founded by the Apostles St. Peter and St. Paul as of one that was most known Ad hanc enim Ecclesiam saith he propter potentiorem Principalitatem necesse est omnem convenire Ecclesiam hoc est eos qui sunt undique fideles in quo semper ab his qui sunt undique conservata est ea quae est ab Apostolis Traditio For to this Church because of its more powerful Superiority it behoves the whole Church to come that is the Believers of all Parts for as much as therein the Tradition from the Apostles has always peen preserved by the Believers of all parts It is apparent that whatsoever Design he may have had to raise the Authority of the Church of Rome he makes no other use of it than to make out that it was impossible those Doctrines which the Hereticks gave out for Apostolical should be really so seeing they were unknown to a Church which had had the Apostles and their Successors for her Guides more especially seeing that Church was placed in the very Seat of the Empire which continually drew to Rome a vast number of Believers from all the different places of the Empire from whence they brought not along with them a different Tradition from that which they found in the Bosom of the Church of Rome That St. Irenaeus had no other aim but this is owned by F. Quesnel in his Notes upon the tenth Epistle of St. Leo pag. 809. And this appears evidently because after all that Esteem which he had for the Church of Rome he was not afraid to write to her Bishop very censuring Letters upon the account of his having excommunicated the Churches of Asia that celebrated Easter the fourteenth of the Moon of March as also because he continued in the Communion of those Churches of Asia without being concerned at the Excommunication of the Pope of Rome 2. He reduces the whole Faith of Christians throughout the World to that which we call the Apostles Creed without mentioning so much as a Word of those Doctrines which the Church of Rome has superadded to it pretending to confirm them by Tradition Lib. 1. c. 2. 3. He maintains the Scriptures to be both clear and perfect Lib. 2. c. 47. 4. He rejects the Doctrines which the Hereticks grounded upon the Explication of some Parables maintaining that nothing ought to be established but upon clear and evident places of Scripture Lib. 2. c. 46. 5. It appears by his Writings that Penance at that time was publick without dispensing with Women that were overtaken with the Sins of Uncleanness by which means being exposed to extream Confusion it made some of them abjure Christianity Lib. 1. c. 9. 6. He makes it appear that Caelibat was not yet known in Asia whence these first Christians of the Gauls derived their Original which is acknowledged by the Fevardentius Lib. 1. c. 9. 7. He assigns to the Marcosians the custom of anointing those they received into their Communion with Balm Opobalsamo which shews that at that time extream Unction was not known And we may make the same Observation from his imputing to other Hereticks the anointing of Persons at the Point of Death with Oil and Water Lib. 1. c. 18. 8. He attributes to the Gnosticks the Imitation of the Heathens because they had the Images of Jesus Christ Lib. 1. c. 24. which makes it evident that the Christians had no Images much less that they gave to them any religious Worship And indeed we find him reasoning lib. 2. c. 6. after such a manner as shews that the Christians were yet in full Possession of a Right to reproach the Heathens with all those Absurdities that arise from the Use of Images The same may also be gathered from lib. 2. c. 42. where he divides the Law into two Tables in a manner very different from that of the Doctors of the Roman Church and altogether conformable to the Judgment of Josephus and other Jewish Doctors 9. He makes it appear that he knew nothing of the Separability of Accidents from their Subjects which is the sole Support of Transubstantiation lib. 2. c. 14. 10. He in plain terms â—ejects the Invocation of Angels instead thereof recommending that of our Saviour Jesus Christ lib. 2. c. 57. 11. He asserts that the Blessed Virgin had unseasonable Motions intempestivam festinationem John 2.3 so far was he from believing her wholly free from Sin lib. 2. c. 18. This shews that when he saith cap. 33. Quod alligavit Virgo Eva per incredulitatem hoc Virgo Maria solvit per fidem What the Virgin Eve bound up by her Unbelief that the Virgin Mary set free by her Faith he doth not own the Virgin for the Person that saved Men but his meaning is like that of Hesychius who said speaking of the Women to whom Jesus Christ appeared after his Resurrection Invenêre enim saith he mulieres quod olim amisere per Evam lucrum invenit ea quae damni occasionem praebuerat For the Women found what formerly they lost by Eve she found the Gain who had been an occasion of the Loss T. 15. B. P. p. 823. col 1. And this is the sense likewise of that other Passage of St. Irenaeus which we find lib. 5. c. 19. for though he calls the Virgin Eve's Advocate it plainly appears that he meant nothing else but what is express'd by St. Chrysostom in Ps 44. T. 3. p. 221. Virgo nos Paradiso expulit per Virginem vitam aternam invenimus A Virgin drove us
two things very clearly 1 st That at that time they kept the Bread of the Eucharist in a Casket or Coffer so far were they from making it an Object of their Adoration 2 d That the mingling only of the Bread that was consecrated before with the Wine that was not consecrated made them look upon the Wine though not consecrated by the Words of Jesus Christ as the Blood of Jesus Christ which is the most extravagant and sensless Notion in the World if we suppose that these Fathers were season'd with the Doctrine of Transubstantiation which attributes to the Words of Christ only the Virtue of changing the Substance of the Wine into the Substance of the Blood of Christ Allatius takes a great deal of pains to avoid this Argument which shews that the Greek Church that believes the same cannot be of the Faith of the Church of Rome In the mean time the thing is certain and Mabillon has ingenuously acknowledged that this is the true sense of that Canon And indeed there are many Proofs that make it evident that both the Greek and Latin Fathers were of this Opinion Salonius one of the most famous Bishops of Gallia Narbonensis owns no other Doctrine but that of the Old and New-Testament Drink Waters out of thine own Cistern and running Waters out of thine own Well S. By Cistern he means the Catholick Doctrine that is that of the Old and New-Testament and by the Well he understands the Depth and Height of the same Catholick Doctrine that is the various meanings of holy Scripture For in these Words he teacheth us to beware of the Doctrine of Hereticks and to attend to the reading of Holy Scripture He will have the Author 's Meaning and not Tradition to be the Explication of Scripture Do not remove the antient Land-marks or Bounds which thy Fathers have set S. By the antient Bounds he understands the Bounds of Truth and Faith which Catholick Doctors have plac'd from the beginning He would have no Man therefore receive the Truth of Holy Faith and Gospel-Doctrine any otherwise than it hath been handed down to them by the Holy Fathers and likewise commands that no Man interpret the Words of Holy Scripture otherwise than according to the Intention of each Writer He doth not own the Apocrypha How many Books did Solomon publish S. Three only according to the number of their Titles Proverbs Ecclesiastes and Canticles V. What doth Solomon say in the Proverbs or what doth he teach in Ecclesiastes and his Songs He assigns but two Places whither the Soul goes immediately For by the Tree Man is understood because every Man is as it were a Tree in the Wood of Mankind by the South which is a warm Wind is signified the Rest of Paradise and by the North which is cold is signified the Pain of Hell and the meaning of it is Wheresoever Man prepares a Place for his future abode if to the South when he falls that is dies he shall abide to all Eternity in the Rest of Paradise and the glory of the Kingdom of Heaven He makes it the greatest Absurdity that a Man should eat his own Flesh which yet follows from the Doctrine of Transubstantiation But that Expression He eats his own Flesh is spoke by an Hyperbole V. What is an Hyperbole S. When any thing is exprest that is incredible V. How is this exprest hyperbolically he eats his own Flesh S. Because it is incredible that any Man should eat his own Flesh but to aggravate the slothfulness of this Fool he saith that he eats his own Flesh to shew that a Fool rather desires his Flesh should waste by Hunger and be consumed by the Misery of Want than to support it by the labour of his Hands These are all Maxims concerning divers important Articles very different from the present Maxims of the Church of Rome I grant that Prosper who was a Native of Aquitain was no more than a Lay-man but he was in so great a Reputation that there were but few Bishops of his time that have shewn more Knowledg or exprest more Zeal for the defence of Truth than he did This Testimony is given of him by Cassiodorus Photius and Vasquez Wherefore his Testimony concerning the Faith of his Country must be of great weight with us Would we know the Opinion of the Church of this Diocess He tells us of a small part of the Body of Jesus Christ thereby meaning the Eucharist or the Sacrament which was given in little Bits And it is in the same sense that he speaks of a small part of the Sacrifice Expressions that are utterly inconsistent with the Notion of the Church of Rome concerning the carnal Presence And indeed it is plain in all his Writings that he follows the steps of St. Augustin in his Expressions and Judgments of things which are contrary to those of the Church of Rome This we may see in his Extract of the Sentences of St. Augustin where he repeats what that Father had said upon Psalm 33. upon occasion of these Words of the vulgar Version which says that David ferebatur in manibus suis in the presence of Achish Where it clearly appears that he understood those Words as well as St. Augustin did of the Sacrament of his Body which may be called his Body in some sense that is to say by way of Likeness as St. Augustin expresseth himself concerning it I cite nothing here from those other Works which are attributed to him because indeed they are none of his I shall only observe two things The first is that in his Epistle to Demetrius he plainly shews that he knew nothing of the Doctrine of the Church of Rome concerning the Necessity of the Ministers Intention for the Validity of the Sacraments for there he attributes all to the Work of God and not to that of the Minister according to the Doctrine of St. Augustin upon the Question of the Validity of Baptism conferred by Hereticks The other is that as he follows St. Augustin in the Matter of Free Grace as one may see in his Poems gathered from the Opinions of St. Augustin and his Sentences so he rejects the Doctrine of Merit and Works as a pure Pelagian Doctrine in several Places of his Writings Lastly We must join with these Authors Arnobius the Rhetorician since it is very probable that he lived in Gallia Narbonensis because he has dedicated some of his Works to Leontius Bishop of Arles to the Bishop of Narbonne and Faustus Bishop of Riez who died about the year 485. Arnobius explains his Belief in the Matter of the Eucharist after this manner We have received saith he upon the 4 th Psalm Wheat in the Body Wine in the Blood and Oil in Chrisme So likewise on Psal 104. he saith of Jesus Christ that he administers not only the species of Bread but also of Wine and Oil. Thus it is he describes the Eucharist and
But if neither in our Tribulations we bless God nor redeem our Sins by good Works we shall so long abide in that Purgatory till all our lesser Sins be consumed like Wood Hay and Stubble But some body may say What matter is it how long I stay there so I may but at last pass through into eternal Life Let no Man say so most dear Brethren for as much as this Purgatory Fire is more painful than any thing that can be thought seen or felt in this World And seeing it is writ of the Day of Judgment that it shall be one Day how can any one know whether he may be Days Months or even Years in passing through it 3. In his 12 th Homily he exhorts the People not to go out of the Church on Sundays before the Celebration of the Eucharist and makes the Prayers of the Priest to appear ridiculous when there are no Communicants to receive To whom saith he shall the Priest say Sursum corda But we are especially to observe that when he presses the Greatness of the Sacrifice of the Mass and the Adoration due to the Sacrament he says never a Word of what some Popish Orator would represent to us on the like Occasion 4. In the 20 th Homily he exhorts the Country People to read the Scriptures and removes all Excuses which they might make to avoid this Duty with as much Earnestness as those of the Church of Rome express'd when they would disswade their Auditors from the reading of it 5. The 38 th Homily is a Collection of several places of Scripture treating of the means by which Remission of Sins is granted to us He reckons up there twelve several means where we are to take notice 1 st That he doth not speak one Word of confessing to a Priest nor of the Power God hath bestowed on them to pardon Sins as Judges which at present is the great and only mean to obtain the Pardon of Sin those other whereof St. Caesarius speaks being of no use without the Pardon 's pronounced by the Priest in the Tribunal of Confession That which is here peculiar is that tho he has said a very great deal about the Efficacy of Contrition for the Remission of Sins in his 29 th Homily he has not been able to avoid the cautè lege of the Romish Censors as we may see in the Bibliotheca Patrum of the Paris Edition 2 dly We are to observe that whereas the Church of Rome pretends to find the Sacrament of Extreme Unction and Auricular Confession in the 5 th Chapter of St. James's Epistle Caesarius discovers nothing there but the Christian Duty of praying one for another proceeding from the Charity we owe to our Neighbour Ruricius was Bishop of Limoges from the Year 535. in which he assisted at the first Council of Auvergne He assisted also at the 4 th Council of Orleans in 541. and at the 5 th in 549. We have nothing left us of this Prelate save his two Books of Epistles though even there we can inform our selves about several very important Matters which demonstrate what the Faith was that was then received and imbraced in Aquitain 1. He takes for granted that dying Persons are immediately taken up into Heaven so far is he from mentioning Purgatory See in what manner he comforts Namacius and Ceraunia for the Loss of their Son Indeed you have reason to take a great deal of Comfort from the Will of Christ since untimely Death was his Lot that he has been pleased to take him away in that State to which he pronounceth the Kingdom of Heaven to belong that at the same time you might have a Patron instead of a Son and leave off deploring him as lost whom you see the Lord hath taken to himself And in another place Wherefore let your Faith wipe off your Tears since we believe that those who are dear to us do not lose their Life but change it they leave this World full of Sorrows and hasten to the Region of the Blessed and take their leave of this painful Pilgrimage that they may arrive at the Land of Rest 2. He supposeth Abraham's Bosom and Heaven to be the same thing when he brings in a young Woman that enjoyed the Glory of Heaven speaking after this manner Wherefore my loving Parents rather bewail your own Sins and seriously think of redeeming your own Crimes that if you love me in Christ you may be thought worthy to be admited into the Patriarch's Bosom where the Lord acording to the Purity of my Innocence and his great Kindness has placed me c. 3. He exhorts a Lady of his Acquaintance to the reading of Holy Scripture when he sent her a Painter But saith he you ought to look for more perfect and great Instruments in those Divine Writings from whence these are taken if ever you desire to perfect what you have begun or attain what is promised you If you thus seek the Lord will give you both Knowledg and Strength to understand what you read and keep what you understand St. Ferreolus Bishop of Vzez must not be forgot by us he was chosen in the Year 553. and died in 581. We find in the Rule that he writ for Monks that he setled in his Diocess an uncommon Strain of Piety 1. We do not find him to demand the Approbation of this his Rule at Rome as has been done for some Ages since He sends to the Bishop of Die to desire his Advice and afterwards published it with the Approbation only of that Bishop without troubling himself about any other Authority 2. He orders his Monks to work with their Hands that they might not be chargeable to the Publick as all the Orders of Mendicants are at this time 3. He receives none but such as are come to Mens Estate and will have them tried before they be admitted whereas St. Bennet ordained that those whom their Parents had presented to a Monastery should from their Infancy be received and abide there 4. He will have the great Employment of the Monks to be the reading of the Psalms which he will have them go through every Week 5. He will have them on Anniversary Days of the Martyrdom of the Saints to read the Acts of their Martyrdom for a worthy Celebration of the Memory of their Passion but not a Word of incouraging the Monks to offer up Prayers to them on these solemn Days 6. Above all he requires of every Monk daily to read the Scripture and not to dispense with it upon any Pretence or because of any other Business whatsoever Fortunatus was born in Italy but coming into France in the Year 575. he stayed there in the Service of St. Radegunda and was ordained Priest at Poictiers where he lived in great Reputation till the end of that Century Some will have him to have been raised to the Episcopal Dignity in the same City but this appears to
they all sound for the Churches Gain 1. See what he saith of the Pope's Authority In Constantine's time the Priesthood was removed and it was not decreed that the Bishop of that Church should necessarily have a Primacy over all others as is here supposed Neither do I believe that any Catholick is so foolish as to believe that when Christ's Vicar writes Let it be done and he who spake the Word and all things were made doth not approve of it he hath any Right to command because of him alone it can be said with Truth So I will and so I command let my Will stand instead of Reason And accordingly he was condemned by the Council of Constance for believing That it is ridiculous to suppose the Pope to be the Highest Priest and that Christ never approved of any such Dignity neither in Peter nor in any one else 2. Of the Power which the Popes assume to themselves over the Temporalities of Kings Wicklef wrote a particular Treatise intituled De Civili Dominio to overthrow their Claims where he speaks thus In Civil Power there cannot be two Lords of equal Authority the one must be principal and the other subordinate We will not subject our King in this matter to him when he bestowing any Mortmain reserves to himself the capital Dominion 3. He did not believe the Pope's Infallibility The Pope may sin as Head of the Church He may sin by Nature having a capital Lord above him There is no doubt but that an Error may be committed in the Election of a Pope and yet more in his following Conversation He may err in Feeding the Churches or in Articles of the Faith Many Popes have been corrupted with heretical Pravity He believed it was probable That all the Bishops of Rome for 300 Years and more before his time were fully Hereticks 4. He made no Difficulty of saying that the Pope was the chiefest Antichrist 1. Wicklef informs us what his Thoughts were of the Church of Rome when he saith It is possible that the Lord Pope may be ignorant of the Law of Scripture and the Church of England may be far truer in her Judgment of Catholick Truth than the whole Church of Rome that is made up of the Pope and Cardinals 2. He maintains that the Church of Rome may err but that this doth not hinder but that the Purity of Doctrine may be preserved in the Catholick Church It is necessary says he That the Catholick Faith be in the whole Mother-Church 3. He did not believe that wicked Men were true Members of the Church and censures those who teach that Men who shall be damned are notwithstanding Members of the Church so joining Christ and the Devil They teachen together saith he that tho Men that shall be damned be Members of Holy Church and thus they wedden Christ and the Devil together he saith that unbelieving and ungodly Men are in the Holy Church by Body not by Thought by Name not by Deed in Number not by Merit As to the Doctrine of Justification it is very plain that he was not of the Opinion of the Church of Rome as these Words shew The Merit of Christ is of it self sufficient to redeem every Man from Hell 't is to be understood of a Sufficiency of it self without any other concurring Cause All that follow Christ being justified by his Righteousness shall be saved as his Offspring He rejects the Doctrine of the Merit of Works and falls upon those which say That God did not all for them but think that their Merits help Heal us Lord for nought that is no Merit of ours but for thy Mercy Lord not to us but to thy Mercy give thy Ioy. As for what concerns the Lord's Supper we find that this great Man did not believe Transubstantiation See how he expresses himself This Bread is fairly truly and really spiritually virtually and sacramentally the Body of Christ as St. John the Baptist was figuratively Elias and not personally As Christ is both God and Man at once so the consecrated Host is the Body of Christ and true Bread at the same time because it is the Body of Christ at least in a Figure and true Bread in its Nature or which signifies the same thing it is true Bread naturally and the Body of Christ figuratively He constantly affirmed that this Doctrine lasted in the Church for a thousand Years till Sathanas was unbound and the People blinded by Friars with the Heresy of Accidents without Subjects 1. He owned but two Sacraments as appears by the 45 th 46 th 47 th and 48 th Articles condemned at Oxford and in the Council of Constance 2. He was against the Use of Chrism in Baptism 3. He maintained that extream Unction was not a Sacrament If corporal Unction were a Sacrament as now is pretended Christ and his Apostles would not have been wanting to declare it to the World 4. His Opinion concerning Confirmation as it is practised amongst the Papists he expresseth thus As for the Oil wherewith the Bishops anoint Children and the linnen Coif that covers the Head it seems to be a vain Ceremony that can have no Foundation in Scripture and that this Confirmation being introduced without any Apostolical Authority is Blasphemy against God 1. He declam'd against the Use of Images with great Earnestness We ought to preach saith he against the Costliness Beautifulness and other Arts of cheating wherewith we impose upon Strangers rather to pick their Pockets than for the Propagation of Christ's Religion The Devil by his Falshood deludes many who sometimes suppose a Miracle to have been wrought when indeed it was nothing but a Cheat. The Poison of Idolatry lies hid in continued Imagination 2. One may see how he distinguisheth Sins Some Sins are called little Sins in comparison of greater and venial because God's Son forgives them 3. He did not own the Necessity of Auricular Confession Vocal Confession made to the Priest introduc'd by Innocent is not so necessary If a Man be truly contrite all outward Confession is superfluous and unprofitable to him 4. He wrote against the Doctrine of Satisfaction The present Pope has reason to blush for the modern Penance established by him without any Ground since it is not lawful for any Mortals no not for the Apostles themselves to make the Law of God difficult beyond what he himself hath limited 5. His Judgment concerning Pardons and Indulgences he expresseth in these Words It is a foolish thing to rely upon the Indulgences of the Pope and the Bishops 6. He gives this Rule concerning Fasting In Works of Humanity we must follow Christ by doing such Works as bear some Proportion with his We must fast 40 Days from Sin and as far as is possible to