persists in them as I shall prove in the following Disputations of this Treatise ergo The Church of Rome is not Infallible for that Church that actually doth erre hath a power to erre because bene valet ab actu ad potentiam and it is evident that that Church which hath power or capacity to erre is not Infallible for Infallibility excludes a power of failing There yet remains to solve such Objections as may be proposed against our Assertion contained in the beginning of this Section SECT IV. An Answer to the Objections proposed against the nullity of the Church of Rome's Infallibility THe first Objection None can Question but that such Promises as our Redeemer hath truly made to his Church shall be fulfilled but we have a Moral certainty that the Promises specifyed in the Second Section were truly made by Christ for we admit a Moral certainty That the Holy Scripture is truly the Word of God Whence it ensues that we are Morally certain that the Church of Rome is Infallible First I Answer That this Objection destroys it self for it contends for an Infallibility and proves it by a Reflex act of Moral certainty whereas Infallibility excludes a power of Erring and Moral certainty includes that power so that the result of both would be a Fallible Infallibility which involves a Contradiction This is much of the nature of a Sillogisme wherein the conclusion semper sequitur debiliorem partem so that if one of the premises be scientifical the other only probable the conclusion will be only probable the reason is because in the conclusion the two extreams are therefore identifi'd between themselves because they were in the premises identifi'd with a third wherefore if one extream be certainly identifi'd with a third the other only probably they can but be probably identifi'd with each other for this identity is destroyed by separating either of the extreams from the third For application The Infallibility of the Church depends upon these two Principles First That we are Infallibly certain that Christ's Promises are performed Secondly That we are Infallibly certain of the thing of fact that Christ did Promise if either of these fail the Infallibility faileth and if either of these be only probable the Infallibility is reduced to a probability only now though Moral certainty be the highest degree of Probability yet it comes as far short of Infallibility as this Argument doth of proving it Secondly I Answer That the Church of Rome is too forward in arrogating to themselves alone such Promises as Christ made to his Church for to say nothing of the Church of Rome in Primitive times yet since their manifold Innovations and Superstructures the Protestant Church is the purer and freer from Error and consequently hath more right to lay hold of those Promises then the Church of Rome The Second Objection Though the Church taken barely by it self and without the support of that Testimony from Holy Writ should not be Infallible yet backt by the Motives of Credibility it will be rendred absolutely unerrable for these Motives do so peculiarly affect it and as it were point it out to be the True Church of Christ that it dissipates all the Clouds of Ambiguity which blind the incredulous For who can consider the lineal descent and succession of Chief Pastors the austerity and holiness of life exercised in Monasteries of both Sexes the Miracles wrought by the Members of this Church with the Blood of so many Martyrs the effusion whereof doth daily irrigate the same and renders it more fertile with other Motives of this nature which all are the Badges of this Church Who I say can seriously ponder this without framing an Infallible Judgment that the Church of Rome is the True Church of Christ There is certainly a strict and Metaphysical connexion between these Motives and the True Church for it is not consistent with the Divine Goodness and veracity of God to co-operate to such a Delusion as this would be if these Motives should indicate a False Church subject to Error which would make God himself the Author of this Error We may therefore hence conclude the Church of Rome in which such great Wonders are so frequently wrought to be the True and Infallible Church of Christ The First Answer Among all the Doctors and Divines of the Church of Rome I never knew of any that asserted this strict and metaphysical connexion of the Motives of Credibility with the True Church but only Cardinal Lugo Yet I have seen a whole Torrent of Autority of other Doctors of the same Church of the contrary opinion who all affirm that the collection of these Motives may possibly affect a false Church wherefore let these Authors solve this Objection The Second Answer All these Motives of credibility are fallacious as depending upon Humane Autority and being subject to many casualties and deceits and first for the succession of Chief Pastors whose Jurisdiction by an Illegal Usurpation extends it self de facto over the whole Body but is limited de jure to the Diocess of Rome only and how long together hath the Body been without a head as if it had been defunct and then Monster-like it appeared with two heads it being hard to decide which of them had most right And what is to be said of Liberius Pope who subscribed the Arians Heresie and joyned with them and of Vigilius who approved and condemned the same Doctrine in the three Chapters Must these also be links of continuation in the Succession Surely they were not Infallible Consider the manner of their Election when there occurs a vacancy there will not be wanting those in the Colledge of Cardinals who have ambition enough to aspire to such a dignity whereto is annexed a Temporal Principality a Triple Crown with many splendid Titles which makes the Succession sure But how few are there in the Consistory who are swayed by Piety and Religion to give their Suffrage only for such a Person as is duely qualified for so high a Prelacy But when they have entred the Conclave What a Bundle of Ambition is there shut up together How many are there that take their Measures from By and Sinister ends some from Ambition others from Humane Policy others again from Self-interest some give their Votes for such a Cardinal because he is of the Spanish Faction they having a Pension to uphold that Faction Others chuse another because he is of the French Faction whose Pensioners they are Others chuse one who is most addicted to themselves hoping that by his Promotion they shall become great and powerful another again who conceives himself fit to be elected casts away his own Vote upon one that is most unlike to be chosen lest his Suffrage by making access to the Party of his Competitor should promote him and deprive himself of so high a Dignity What stuff is this to have an influence upon the Electors of a Chief Pastor nay How remote is all
thereof in English to the best of my capacity And because the Pretended Infallibility of the Church of Rome is the Foundation and main Prop which supports their Confidence Inductive to several Determinations and Decrees whereby they seem to Wage War with Heaven I deem'd it expedient in the First Place to Detect the Weakness of this Foundation but this being a Negative Design the most proportionable means to accomplish my end is to refel the Arguments which they produce for the establishing this Non-erring Prerogative And yet the Chiefest Argument they Alleadge is but a Fallacious Illusive Circle for they prove the Infallibility of their Church by Scripture and prove the Canon of Scripture by the Infallible Testimony of the Church without Qualifying either Part to prove the other but Rely upon the Support that these two Administer to each other which in effect is to prove neither Notwithstanding I Insist not much upon this Argument but mention it and so proceed I should have Instituted a more Minute Indagation and Refutation of it had I not seen it safely deduc'd by a more Learned and Skilful Pen and with that Success that his Antagonists will scarce Attempt another Contest with him in this Particular for the Wit of Man though backt with all their Learning will never be able to make it out It seems strange how such Points of Doctrine as are mentioned in this Treatise and others also not here Treated of could be so Publickly Introduced into a Church of so Large an Extent without great Contention and Intestine Broyles yea without the least Opposition or Contradiction For it is certain that they have many amongst them who are very Learned and Able Divines whose Intellects are sufficiently qualified with deep Penetration and Perspicacity and yet none Reclaims nor calls those Strange Dogmatical Points in Question The reason is because the Church of Rome is so strongly Immur'd and Fenced on all sides and hath such variety of Armes and Weapons to suppress her Opponents that she seems formidable to all for if any one either by Word or Writing should testifie any dislike of her Decrees or Definitions he is first branded with the Infamous Note of an Heretick and if he do not Recant the Church hath other Remedies next follows Suspension from his Priestly Functions there are also Ecclesiastical Censures and Excommunications there is Excommunicatio Major and Excommunicatio Minor some are Latae Sententiae some Sententiae Ferendae some are à Jure others ab Homine some are Reservatae others non Reservatae whereof there is a Long Catalogue in the Bulla Coenae there are also Interdicts for whole Nations and Kingdoms And which is worst of all in Italy and Spain if the Sancta Mater Ecclesia be opposed by any there the Inquisition lies gaping for them and ready to Swallow them up Alive All which strikes the most Audacious of them into a Pannick Fear they dread the Punishment and therefore Industriously shun the Means of Incurring it Hence the Supine Neglect in their Divines of Attempting to Reforme or prevent such Errors though never so Repugnant to their Judgments for besides the forementioned Penalties they must also expect if they be Readers to be Deposed from their Theological Chairs and Expell'd the Academy and then Degraded And hence that Profound Severity of their Popes and Councils in framing their Definitions for being Conscious of their Immunity from Opposition they are hence raised to a Confidence of Attempting any thing Wherefore since none that are Subject to the Roman Jurisdiction have so much Resolution as to Struggle with the many Obstacles and Arduity as they will certainly meet withal to Obviate their Design of Opposing those Errors I have here undertaken to Refute some of them in the Prosecution whereof I have taken a Method far different from that of other Learned and Worthy Authors who have Treated of the same Subject for my main Scope and Drift is to Refel the Errors of Rome by their own Principles wherefore I lay down their Tenets before I establish my own Assertions hereby to make it appear how little constant they are to themselves for their Practise and Beliefe are wholly inconsistent with the Dogmatical Principles of their Learnedst Divines and sometimes clash with the Definitions of their Popes and other Councils which I shall make appear So that this Bulwork though against them is raised by their own Labor and Industry and furnished with Armes and Ammunition drawn from their own Magazine yea and Mann'd by their own Oracles the Divines for though they dare not apply their Doctrine to oppose the Councils so to Commence an Intestine War yet I shall here do it for them and draw from thence such Illations as Legally Issue from their Principles to subvert their Pretended Articles of Faith Hence the Reader if not Praecautioned may take occasion to deem me a Defender of their Doctrine whereas in Reality I only suppose it according to the Laws of Disputation Ad hominem to make such Deductions from thence as are destructive of each particular Point of their Faith and Practise which I Impugne and this in effect is no other then to pronounce their Destruction by their own Hands Perditio tua ex te Israel For though many of those Principles which are the Ground-Work of my Discourse are common to both Churches yet others there are which peculiarly are admitted by the Church of Rome only So we all agree in the Notion of a Sacrament but differ in the Number of Sacraments c. yet with them I Suppose not Grant Seven Sacraments thereby to make it Appear that they Transgress against Divine Right by Changing the Matter and Form of Ordination and by Invalidating Clandestine Marriage c. which they Acknowledge to be both Sacraments So that the Proofes of the several Positions of this Discourse are Reduc't to Formal or Ritual Sillogismes whose Premises are made up for the most part of their own Acknowledg'd Doctrine and Matters of Fact both which are Undeniable and this Duality is sometimes backt with Phylosophical and Theological Principles or Canon-Law all which they Admit of And hence by Legal Deductions is drawn the Verity of the Assertions which are Diametrically opposite to their Pretended Faith and Practise In the Prosecution whereof I have confin'd my self to as much Brevity as is Compatible with the Right Vnderstanding and True Meaning of the Respective Points of Doctrine here Treated for Prolix Perorations in so Serious a Discourse would be Irksome to the Author and Tedious to the Reader And now I must Implore the Favor of the Benign Reader to Indulge me now and then the use of Scholastical Terms which upon some Incident Occasions are more Pathetical and Significant in expressing my Meaning then others especially considering that in order to the stopping of all Gaps and Starting Holes I am sometimes Necessitated to Soar above the Ordinary Strain of Doctrine to Evince the Coherency of my Positions with
shun Evil. Wherefore this being the end intended by Christ it follows that apt and fit means were also appointed that had proportion with the obtaining of this end but one necessary means to accomplish what Christ designed is the Gift of Infallibility without which the Church might fall into Error and from one Error into another and hereby deviate and swerve from its original institution and at length utterly fall away and instead of conducting Souls to Heaven it would lead them to the precipice of eternal ruine and destruction and so evacuate the Fruit of Christs Passion and put an obstacle to the obtaining of that end which he efficaciously intended And yet we must all suppose that the incarnate word was endu'd with an illimited Power his Knowledge and Wisdom was infinite so that he perfectly knew what means were necessary to accomplish his design and wanted no Power to effect it which notwithstanding could never be efficaciously attained without this Infallibility whence it necessarily follows that Christ communicated to his Church this special Preservative of always teaching truth without being subject to Error This briefly is the full strength of their second Proof Thus you see the grounds of this Doctrin are seemingly convincing and plausible enough to induce such to an assent who either cannot or will not by a studious consideration penetrate into the depth of them but will rather acquiesce than stretch their understanding by a rigid scrutiny and inquisition to detect the fallacy thereof But certainly in a matter of such moment we are not to take up all this upon trust nor blindly to give our assent till we have industriously waighed and ponder'd the whole matter that so we may be the better able to give an account of our belief which is the drift of the subsequent Section SECT III. The Decision of the present Controversie THe Assertion is That the Church of Rome enjoys not this Infallibility which they so much pretend to The first Proof Such a previous necessity to Truth would destroy Liberty and take away the laudability and merit of human actions Note That in the progress of this Discourse I shall argue ad Hominem that is I shall take along with me their own Principles and for the most part ground my Refutation upon them They all grant Liberty and Merit in such human actions as have conformity to the dictamen of Conscience for in this consists the morality of our Actions that they are consonant or dissonant to the synderesis of the Agent but if an action be extorted by an antecedent necessity there can be no exercise of Free-will nor Merit in it nor Liberty because that Power only hath liberty which after all prae-requisites and causes are put hath a power to work and not to work whereas if there be a prae-ordination by Gods Decree that the Members of a General-Council shall be determined to Truth then their decisions are wholly destitute of Liberty and Free-will because Gods efficatious Decree that hath a previous influence upon the action draws with it an indispensable necessity which destroys Free-will neither can it be meritorious because Merit supposeth Liberty and consists in the laudability of the action and how can that action be laudable which a fatal necessity forces from the Will Can any one deserve Praise for doing that which he cannot avoid Hence I conclude that Merit and Free-will are not compatible with that Infallibility which the Church of Rome pretends to which is inconsistent with Gods Providence in order to Mankind who was Created and Born free in full possession of the liberty of his will and therefore shall be Judged according to his own Actions which could not be were there any necessity or restraint put upon them Thus we see how this doctrine inverts the order of Divine Providence and imposes a necessity either of contrariety or contradiction upon Humane actions A confirmation of this Proof may be drawn from the practical proceeding of Councils who seldom or never determine any thing till after a long and serious Debate and sometimes with great fervor and animosity of Parties in opposition to each other as it hapned in the Council of Trent upon contradictory Points one Party Affirming what another Deny'd All which supposeth a liberty in their debates and determinations for if by an Inspiration of the Holy Ghost they were all fixt in Truth What need any Debate or Consultation for this can only have place in such Resolutions as depend upon Humane Prudence alone And if each Member of a General Council hath the immediate Assistance of the Holy Ghost How comes it to pass that when two are of different Opinions the one Denies what the other Affirms and though they may both speak as they think yet in reality they cannot both speak Truth for two contradictories cannot be both true Must then the Spirit of God be made the Author of both as though he suggested Truth to the one and Falsity to the other if not then he that contends for the Erroneous part is deserted by the Holy Ghost and agitated by some other Spirit of the Prince of Darkness which allways opposeth truth but hence it would follow that Satan acts in General Councils and that some of the Members of Councils are not inspired by the Holy Ghost and consequently not Infallible The Second Proof is a Refutation of the Grounds of the Adverse Party A Negative Tenet as this is cannot be better prov'd than by shewing the falsity of the Affirmative Contradictory First then as to their Argument drawn from Christ's Promises exprest in Scripture I demand Whence they have an Assured Infallibility that Scripture contains the True Word of God They Answer That this Infallible Church of Rome hath Defined it so to be and proposed it to the People to be so believed I demand again how they make out the Infallibility of their Church They Answer By Christ's Promises in Scripture A special Argument no better than a plain vitious Circle for they prove the Infallibility of the Scripture by the Church and the Infallibility of the Church by Scripture and prove neither Independent of each other By this way of Arguing Mahomet and his Alchoran may be prov'd Infallible For the Alchoran saith That Mahomet was inspired by God who spoke in his eare in the forme of a Dove and Mahomet saith That the Alchoran is the Word of God manifested by Divine Inspiration therefore both Mahomet and the Alchoran are Infallible This is the same Argument apply'd to another subject The Protestant Church of England hath as great a Veneration for Scripture and as strong and firm adherence to it as any can have yet are not so highly presumptuous as to arrogate to themselves a degree of Evidence or Infallibility exceeding that which the Motives Inductive to their Beliefe bring with them But I shall not need to insist upon the Invalidity of this Argument because it hath lately been so Learnedly handled by that
Worthy and Profound Dr. Edw. Stillingfleet Dean of Pauls and Chaplain in Ordinary to His Majesty against Mr. Edw. Worsley a Learned Jesuite then residing at Antwerp who had formerly for many years together been a Reader of Divinity in the Jesuits Colledge at Liege where he Taught the whole Body of Divinity yet could never extricate himself out of this Labyrinth wherein Dr. Stillingfleet had involved him by this Argument to which I refer the Reader This Circle being therefore laid aside let us examine if the Scripture Independent of the Churches Definition bring with it this Infallibility or no. The Scripture is questionless of it self Infallible but it is not so to us for we have but a Moral certainty of the Infallibility of Scripture and that it is truly and à parte rei the Word of God The reason is because though we admit that what the Prophets and Apostles have left Written was truly dictated by the Holy Ghost yet they who drew Copies from those Originals wanted that support they were meer Men and carried their Humane Infirmities about them and in after ages as the Scripture was handed down to Posterity the Amanuenses by Ignorance Malice or Neglect might commit some Error either by excess by defect or by alteration whereby their Copies might disagree with the Originals of the first Hagiographers at least we have no Demonstration nor Revelation to assure us of the contrary and when Printing came in the same difficulty occurs in relation to them that Corrected the Print But when it was Translated into several Languages the difficulty is yet greater for beside the former casualties admit the Translator to be an exquisite Linguist yet the Sense of Scripture is so very nice that in his Translation he might innocently express what the Holy Ghost by the Original never meant Besides that only part of Scripture is admitted by both Churches as the Word of God which is Canonical And what Infallible Rule have we to know what part is Canonical what Apocryphal Again in that part that is received as Canonical there are so many high Mysteries some seeming contradictions not pervious to the Natural capacity of Mans understanding to reconcile the several senses thereof are so various some passages are to be understood Literally some Morally others Allegorically some others Tropologically or Figuratively How many Volumes have been Written by the Learned in both Churches to interpret the meaning and true sense of Scripture and in some places with Contradictions and Oppositions to each other yet after all we fall short of any Infallible Certainty herein for instance there have been above Fifty several Senses given by Interpreters of that short Sentence Hoc est corpus meum This is my Body And one Verse in the Psalms hath puzled the Learnedst of them all viz. Increpa feras arundinis Psal 68. v. 30. congregatio taurorum in vaccis populorum ut excludant eos qui probati sunt argento in English thus Rebuke the wilde beasts of a Reed the congregation of Bulls in the Cowes of the people that they may exclude those that are tryed with silver Instances of this nature are frequent in Scripture Humane Tradition hath brought the Scripture down to these our times yet Humane Authority is not Infallible wherefore all these particulars being duly ponder'd Where will the Romanists find that assured Infallibility which they pretend to As for the Second Proof from the strength of Reason we admit Christ's Omnipotence Omniscience his infinite Prudence and Wisdom with all other his Divine Attributes we also grant that our Redeemers Intention of being Incarnate Suffering Death c. was to save the Souls of Men but this was to be consistent with and subordinate to that state wherein the Almighty by his infinite Wisdom and Providence had placed Man in his first Creation that is with a full possession and use of his Liberty and Free-will which our Redeemer never intended to infringe for that would subvert the Order of Gods former Providence So that by the Fruit of Christ's Passion we are furnished with all necessaries to live a godly and a righteous Life which without the Grace of Christ would not be in our power to do for bare Nature hath no proportion of it self to Merit ne quidem de congruo nor to any Supernatural Reward as St. Augustine Teacheth against the Pelagians and Massilienses so that the Supernatural Graces that we receive by Christ's Merits give us a power to do good and shun evil but impose no necessity upon us to lay hold of them and improve them to our own good for this depends upon our own free election therefore when we transgress against Gods Precepts it is not for want of all necessary means to observe them but it proceeds from the Pravity of our own Wills which chuse rather to follow the suggestion of the sensual appetite than submit to the conduct of Reason and therefore are blameworthy for we had the power to do good and avoid evil and would not So that although of our selves we can do nothing in order to heaven yet every individual Member of the Church by the Grace obtained by Christ's Passion is enabled but not necessitated to save his Soul Non ego sed gratia Dei mecum It is not I but the Grace of God with me And if the Church should fall into an Error as the Church of Rome hath done the members thereof are not thereby deprived of the usual Means of Salvation neither doth that Error prejudice them as long as they remain in an invincible Ignorance of the Truth But if the Church by multiplying error upon error should fall from being a Church which could not be but that the wisest and most learned should take notice thereof and detect the errors then these are bound in conscience to desert it and detest their errors who consequently would remain constant and faithful to truth and so would continue the True Church And indeed the Second Proof proposed in the Second Section proves too much and is to be solved by the Romanists themselves for they Assert that the end of Christ's Suffering was to save all Mankind that is every single person of Humane Nature and therefore apt and proportionable means ought to be instituted without which this end could not be efficaciously obtained whence it ensues that every individual person must have this Infallibility yea and impeccability also lest Christ's design should be frustrated which is the same way of Arguing as is contained in that Proof and the illation as evidently ensues which notwithstanding we all grant false and erroneous for then none could be damned Thus you see the grounds of the Romans Infallibility how specious and convincing soever they appear yet thoroughly examined and the fallacies detected they vanish to smoak The Third Proof That Church which hath committed Errors and still perseveres in them is not Infallible But the Church of Rome hath committed errors and still
for that Matter and Forme as we suppose by the second part of the Dilemma is not capable to confer upon him such a dignity notwithstanding the Promise SECT V. The Order of Priesthood according to the present Institution cannot be validly conferr'd by touching the Vessels with this Forme Accipe potestatem c. THe Ordinations and Institutions of Christ none can attempt to abrogate or alter without a Sacrilegious temerity for they carry with them an irrefragable Autority they are Juris Divini of Divine Right they are Sacred and therefore no Human Power upon Earth can make any change or alteration in them and more especially when by Divine Institution Supernatural effects are produced by Natural causes as it falls out in the Ordination of Priests for when it is validly conferr'd there is communicated to the Receiver a Spiritual capacity to exercise all the Functions of Priesthood there is a Power granted to him over the Real Body and the Mystical Body of Christ the first by Consecration in the Eucharist the second by Relaxing and Retaining sins There is also imprinted upon the Soul of the Ordained a Character which is a Real Physical and Supernatural quality neither is it Supernatural only quoad modum in the circumstances of producing it but quoad entitatem the very Intrinsecal Nature and Essence of it is Supernatural because no exigence of Nature can ever challenge it as due in any circumstances whatsoever From the same cause also proceeds an increase of Sanctifying and inherent Grace in the Soul of the Ordained as also a plentiful supply of Actual and Transient Graces whereby his Understanding is Illuminated and his Will Fortified in all occasions conducing to the Functions of his Order all which are according to their Intrinsecal Nature Supernatural And yet the causes from which these strange effects proceed are of themselves purely Natural having no proportion to such Supernatural products They have only a Radical Obediential capacity to be assumed and elevated above their Nature by the powerful hand of the Omnipotent to produce joyntly with him any effect that involves not a contradiction Thus the Natural Element of Water is Instituted by Christ to produce Spiritual and Supernatural Grace and to destroy Original Sin And in our present case the Imposition of Hands though Natural in it self was appointed by Christ our Redeemer to produce the forementioned effects waving the question whether the Causality of Sacraments be Physical or only Moral which the Divines Dispute And as there is no power upon earth that can abrogate or alter Christs Institutions or devest those Natural Causes of that Efficacity which by an Irrevocable Decree the Author of Grace hath given them so there is no Created Power neither Human nor Angelical that can validly institute appoint ordain or determine any Natural Cause whatsoever to produce any Supernatural effect because all Created Power how great soever is limited and confin'd within the bounds of Nature and so neither formally nor virtually nor eminently contains that Supereminent Vertue or proportion with Supernatural Effects which are far above its Sphear How then can it Communicate to other Causes that High Vertue which it no way contains in it self Hence it ensues that as all the power of Nature though it summon and muster up all its strength can never deprive those Natural Entities Instituted by Christ of this Supereminent Prerogative nor hinder their effects when duly applyed to Subjects capable according to Christs Institution so likewise neither can it remove or transfer this operative quality from those causes to which Christ hath affixt it and place it upon others of its own invention and determination For no pure Creature can alter change or abrogate a Divine Law And in this case the word Incarnate is the Legislator or Law-giver and therefore none but himself can make any Change in his own Law Except Man that is but a meer Creature will wage War with his Creator and Usurp to himself a Power that never was nor ever will be granted him it being peculiar to God alone The ground of this Doctrine is not New but Admitted by All and is common to both Churches For this is the Argument that St. Augustin used against the Pelagians who held a proportion in our Natural Acts to Merit Glory and the Semipelagians or Massilienses endeavouring a Moderation attributed to our Natural Acts a power of Meriting Supernatural Grace and this obtained rendered us capable of Meriting Glory Which Opinions are both condemned as Heretical chiefly upon this Principle That whatsoever is Natural hath no proportion with things Supernatural which common Reason dictates Thus far in General now we 'll descend to Particulars The Question in agitation is whether the touching the Vessels that is the Chalice with Wine and Water in it and the Patene with an Hoast be the Essential Matter and Forme of the Order of Priesthood I Assert that it is not because it was never assum'd nor appointed by the Divine Institutor for that end This being a thing of Fact must be made out by the Testimony of those that best knew None are more competent Witnesses nor were better acquainted with the Transactions of Christ then his Apostles who were eye-Witnesses of his proceedings and to whom Christ communicated such things as chiefly concerned his Church And they have left their Testimony in Writing to be inviolably observed in future times and yet have no where left the least mention of this Matter and Forme If any such thing had been Instituted by their Divine Master it is most unlikely and wholly incredible that in a matter of such moment and high concern wherein the very being of the Church depended they should have past it over in deep silence and never have given the lest intimation of it neither in Word nor Writing to those of the Primitive Church that immediately succeeded them But so it is the Apostles never mention it All Antiquity is wholly ignorant of it search all the Minutest Passages of Scripture read all the Authors of the Infancy and Growth of the Church Examine all the Liturgies and Rituals of Ordination the Latines Greeks the Syrian Maronites the Nestorians the Eutichians the Jacobites the Cophticks the Aegyptians the Babilonians the Aethiopians c. Peruse all the Records of Councils and you shall find nothing but a profound Silence and Ignorance of any such thing till about 700 years since as you may see above Section II. in the Ritual of Constantinus Caëtanus In the Antient Rituals as well of the Latines as the Greeks and others there is frequent mention made of the Imposition of Hands in Ordination which was ever held Essential to the Order of Priesthood but of Touching the Vessels not a word Whence we may certainly conclude that those Vessels were never Instituted by Christ as the Essential Matter of Priesthood nor the Words annexed thereunto as the Essential Forme Let us now Collect what hath been proved in this Section
Divine which still makes the Church a joynt Institutor with Christ and so as that the Church hath the greatest hand in it for the Church Orders Appoints and Determines all and Christ is to be ready at the Churches beck to execute what she appoints as though the Omnipotent Power of the Divine Word were subservient to the Church for it is the powerful hand of Christ that elevates the sensible Signs to produce Sacramental effects which are out of the reach of nature But the Church determines what the Signs shall be and summons the Divine Words Omnipotency when and where to elevate them and so she hath the greatest share in the Institution of Sacraments 'T is strange how such a Thought could find admittance into any true Christians understanding to devest Christ of this Prerogative and give it the Roman Church which so much derogates from the high Power and Wisdom of the Incarnate Word My Fourth Answer is grounded on Autority And first I begin with the Council of Trent in these words Trident Sess 7. Can. 1. Si quis dixerit Sacramenta novae legis non fuisse omnia à Jesu Christo Domino nostro Instituta c. Anathema sit If any one shall say that the Sacraments of the New Law were not all Instituted by Jesus Christ our Lord let him be Accursed St. Thomas of Aquine their great Divine saith Aquinas 3 Part. q. 60. ar 5. corpore In Sacramentis novae legis quibus homines Sanctificantur oportet uti rebus ex Divina Institutione determinatis In the Sacraments of the New Law by which Men are Sanctify'd it is necessary to use things that by Divine Institution are determined Consonant to this is the testimony of Bellarmine Bellarminus L. 1. de Sacramentis in genere C. 21. Ibid. in these words Res certae determinaiae ab ipso Deo in Sacramentis esse debent Things certain and determined by God himself must be used in the Sacraments And again saith he Non solum res sed etiam verba in Sacramentis novae legis à Deo determinatae sunt ut non liceat quidquam immutare Not only the things saith he but also the words in the Sacraments of the New Law are determin'd by God so that it is not lawful to change any thing All this is confirmed and attested by Suarez that great Divine whose Autority bears such sway in the Church of Rome who first lays his Ground-work in these words Suarez 3 Part. To. 3. D. 2. S. 2. citans D. Thomam Omnia Sacramenta quae consistunt in usu constant rebus verbis seu materia forma tanquam ex partibus quibus componuntur All Sacraments which consist in use contain things and words or matter and forme as parts whereof they are composed And afterwards he adds these words Ibid. S. 3. Dico 1. materias formas Sacramentorum determinatas esse ex Christi Domini Institutione eo modo quo definitae sunt esse necessarias ad Sacramenta conficienda First I assert saith Suarez that the Matters and Forms of Sacraments are determined by the Institution of Christ our Lord and in that manner as they are defin'd they are necessary to the validity of the Sacraments But this is not all for of this very Opinion he adds these words Est communis Theologorum absolute loquendo est de fide This is the common Doctrine of the Divines and absolutely speaking it is an Article of Faith Ile adds one Text more out of Suarez because his Autority is so renowned In the Fourth Section he thus declares his Opinion Ibid. S. 4. Si mutatio materiae aut formae essentialis seu substantialis sit nullum efficitur Sacramentum If any change be made in the Matter or Forme that is Essential or Substantial it renders the Sacrament void and ineffectual Hence I conclude that the Authors and Abetters of the Doctrine contained in the Objection do not only impugne the common Opinion of Divines but they also erre in matter of Faith as Suarez observes And it is to be observed that all these Autorities agree in this That Christ not only Instituted but also Determined the Matter and Forme of all Sacraments which the Authors of this Objection deny To this I le annex the Judgment of Maldonatus Maldonatus Tom. 2. de Sacramentis Tract de Ordine q. 3. part 2. a Famous Divine of the Jesuits whose words are these Impositio manuum non est habenda tanquam ceremonia non necessaria scd tanquam pars Essentialis Sacramenti idque videtur tenendum side Catholica Primum quia in Scriptura ubicunque fit montio de Ordinatione declaratur per impositionem manuum Et videtur mihi esse temerarium scripturam deserere consectari chymeras id est rationes naturales Secundò quia veterem Ecclesiam nunquam ordinasse sine impositione manuum ex omnibus autoribus antiquis perspicuum est De traditione autem calicis hostiae nulla est mentio apud illos Tertiò quia videtur durum nimis esse ceremoniam quam nobis perspicuè tradunt Apostoli excludere à natura Sacramenti inducere illam de qua nulla mentio fit in Scriptura In English thus The Imposition of hands is not to be esteemed as a Ceremony not necessary but as an Essential part of the Sacrament and this ought to be held as an Article of Faith First Because in Scripture wheresoever mention is made of Ordination it is declar'd by the Imposition of hands and it seems to me temerarious to desert the Scripture and follow Fictions that is Natural Reasons Secondly Because it is evident by all Antient Writers that the Primitive Church never Ordained without the Imposition of hands but they make no mention of delivering the Chalice and the Hoast Thirdly Because it seems too hard to exclude from the nature of a Sacrament a Ceremony which is clearly delivered to us by the Apostles and to induce that of which there is no mention made in the Scripture Thus Maldonatus 'T is well that some of our Antagonists cannot be swayed neither by hope nor fear nor any way deterr'd from uttering Truth He tells us That it is an Article of Faith that the Imposition of hands is Essential to Ordination and that it is a temerity to deny it and he proves both by solid Arguments So that they who adhere to the practise and perswasion of the Church of Rome must to defend this Doctrine desert both Scripture and Tradition SECT VII The Solution of other Objections against the same Doctrine A Third Objection endeavors a Reconciliation by joyning the delivery of the Instruments or Vessels and their Forme with the last Imposition of hands and this Forme Accipe Spiritum Sanctum c. So that of these two Matters they make one entire Matter and of these two Forms they frame one entire and adequate Forme Yet so as that by
piece of Bread and not the least access made to their inherent and sanctifying nor to their actual and transient Graces Neither is it for once or twice that they are so treated but constantly and toties quoties which certainly is an unworthy abuse and a Spiritual Cheat did not the Authors thereof proceed bonâ fide as not hgving detected the Error Their Power of Relaxing and Retaining sins participates much of the nature of Episcopacy in this respect that neither the one nor the other is a distinct Order from Priesthood but both of them necessarily and essentially presuppose Priesthood already Confer'd as the ground-work and foundation on which they depend so that the Power of Absolving is a superinduction to Priesthood or rather a consequent faculty that issues from it and if this Order be wanting that power can never be validly conferr'd wherefore the Penitents presuming upon the validity of this Power and their easie access to Absolution hence take occasion to be less circumspect and to let the reins loose to such sins as their sensual appetite prompts them to but when they come to make their Confession and receive Absolution though they have discover'd their Sore and the nature of the Spiritual Distemper of their Souls yet no Soveraign Medicine can be apply'd in order to their Cure for want of Ability in their Spiritual Physitian for where the Radical Power is wanting the Desired Effect cannot be produced so they return with the clogg of their sins as burthensome to them as before they came And not to insist upon any more particulars I shall conclude with this General Maxime that the Invalidity of all other Functions peculiar to Priesthood alone is an inseparable companion to the Invalidity of their Ordination But it may be pretended that Consocration Communion Absolution c. may be validly performed by one that hath titulum coloratum bonam fidem a colourable title a good Conscience c. though he should want the power of Order according to the rule above given in the Eighth Section First I Answer That it is not likely nor probable that the Incarnate Word would imploy his Omnipotency to grant such extraordinary favors to the Church of Rome because he can have no valuable motive to do it For Why should Christ bestow such singular Graces on his Enemies who have deserted his Doctrine changed his Ordinances and Institutions rob'd him as much as in them lyeth of his Prerogatives and usurp'd to themselves a Power which is peculiar to himself alone and these favors to be constantly conferr'd upon them and to be continued without intermission till the World's end for there is little hope of their Retractation And I dare aver that if any indifferent judgment should seriously ponder their manifold Errors whereof some are proposed and proved in this Treatise which I am ready to maintain against any legal opposition it would plainly appear that the Church of Rome is but a corrupted branch of the Universal Church of Christ and consequently sequester'd from the True Church And though I cannot deny but that our benign Lord grants to all out of the Treasure of his Merits Grace sufficient for their Salvation yet I fear they will scarce render this Grace efficacious by their cooperation with it for it must be an extraordinary a potent Grace that must incline them to a Recantation Secondly I Answer that this Case proposed in the Objection is far different from the Rule given above in the Eighth Section for there the Question was of the preservation or utter ruine of a True Church of Christ which cannot subsist without true Ordination but here the case only concerns particular persons and they likewise by the pravity of their own wills long since cut off from the True Church of Christ neither would these favors if granted revive their Church so as to render its Doctrine Orthodox or any way to reduce the Members or Heads thereof to a better sense Wherefore in this Case there is no ground nor motive to induce Christ to grant such an extraordinary concurse but in the former case it was strictly necessary for the preservation of a considerable part of the True Church of Christ Besides in the Case here proposed our Omnipotent Redeemer must have recourse to his Illimited Power daily to make so many Thousands of Miracles and this constantly to be continued without interruption but in the former case we only Assert that upon just and congruous grounds our Gratious Redeemer only for once supplyed the defect of Order when no Essential nor Necessary condition or Requisite was wanting SECT X. Of Clandestine Marriage THe Church of Rome that Sancta mater Ecclesia pretends to so much Power and Autority in ordering and disposing of all things belonging to Sacraments that it not only prescribes the Manner and Method of their Administration but also penetrates into the very Essence and Substance of them Subtracting Adding and Changing what she pleaseth and indeed in five of them there might be some seeming pretence for it they having received the honor of being called Sacraments from that Churches Institution without sufficient ground in Scripture for it whereof this of Matrimony is one of which we shall here Treate Marriage is a Contract between Man and Woman containing a Mutual Tradition to each other by proper words de presenti the last words de presenti distinguish Marriage from Sponsalia or Betrothing which is no Marriage nor Actual Tradition but a Promise of Marriage for the future The Council of Trent hath defin'd Matrimony to be a Sacrament and Anathematiz'd those that shall deny it Si quis dixerit Matrimonium Tril Sess 24. Can. 1. non esse propriè verè unum exseptem legis Evangelicae Sacramentis à Christo Domino Institutum sed ab hominibus in Ecclesiam invectum neque gratiam conferre Anathema sit By the Constitutions of the Church of Rome there are several Impediments of Marriage which are distinguisht into two Classis The First are such as render Matrimony Invalid which they call impedimenta dirimentia They of the Second Classis are only impedientia which render the persons inhabiles to Contract lawfully yet having Contracted the Marriage is valid To Contract clandestinely without such Witnesses as can give sufficient proofe and evidence of the Contract in foro externo hath been alwayes prohibited and therefore held unlawful but yet valid though now since the Council of Trent it is rendred invalid The words of the Council are these Trid Sess 24. C. 1. Reforan Matrim Qui aliter quam praesenti Parocho vel alio Sacerdote de ipsius Parochi seu Ordinarii licentia duobus vel tribus testibus Matrimonium contrahere attentabunt eos Sancta Synodus ad sic contrahendum omnino inhabiles reddit hujusmodi contractus irritos nullos esse decernit prout eos praesenti decreto irritos facit annullat By which Decree Clandestine Marriage which
natural causes if the disposition suffer not so much change as would render it uncapable to sustain the substantial forme of bread so long the Body of Christ remains there but when by contrary Agents the last disposition of the forme of bread is expel'd then the Body of Christ withdraws and relinquisheth its ubi not by a local motion but by a meer destruction of that ubication without acquiring any new one but is reduced to his former ubication without passing from Earth to Heaven And though before the destruction of the accidents of bread the Body of Christ was existent in Heaven and here on Earth the same time yet after that destruction it exists only in Heaven and yet never tended by a local and successive motion from Earth towards Heaven nor ever penetrated the Air nor the Heavens to obtain his place in the Emperial Heaven because it had that place before This is the sum of their Doctrine These Three Difficulties though much agitated by their Divines yet are not fully determined by their Church Only the Council of Trent touches upon the Second and Third but leaves the First to the litigation of the Schoolmen Of the Second Trid. Con. Sess 23. Can. 3. it saith Si quis negaverit in venerabili Sacramento Eucharistiae sub unaquaque specie sub singulis cujusque speciei partibus separatione facta totum Christum contineri Anathema sit If any one shall deny in the venerable Sacrament of the Eucharist all Christ to be contained under each Kind and under every part of each Kind after Separation let him be Accursed The same is declared Sess 23. Cap. 3. Sess 21. Cap. 3. which is conformable to the Council of Florence In Decreto Eugenti ad Armenios yet none of these places define the manner how Christ's Body exists in this Sacrament whether definitively or Circumspectively but only assert all Christ to be in each part As to the Third The Council of Trent decrees the Body of Christ to be present immediately after Consecration but resolves nothing how long it continues there for thus saith the Council Trid. Sess 33. Can. 4. Si quis dixerit peracta consecratione in admirabili Eucharistiae Sacramento non esse corpus sanguinem Domini Nostri Jesus Christi sed tantum in usu dum sumitur non autem ante vel post in hostiis seu particulis consecratis quae post Communionem reservantur vel supersunt non remanere verum corpus Domini Anathema sit If any one shall say That after Consecration in the Admirable Sacrament of the Eucharist the Body and Blood of our Lord Jesus Christ is not there but only in practice when it is received yet not before nor after and that in the Hosts or Particles that are Consecrated which after Communion are reserved or left the true Body of Christ doth not remain let him be Accursed This declares when the Body of Christ begins to be present in the Sacrament but determines nothing how long it remains there But since there is no more necessity of defining the Real Presence Transubstantiation c. then of determining those difficulties here proposed we may groundedly expect in the next general Council a full decision of these nice Questions by new Canons and Decrees and new Articles of Faith to be framed for the resolution of these and the like doubts SECT III. The Inutility of Multiplying Definitions of this nature ANd now if some impartial and unbyassed Judge were to deliver his Opinion of these and the like proceedings of the Church of Rome I would propose to his Consideration First What Grounds or Footsteps can be found in Scripture in the Practise or Doctrine of Christ or his Apostles or in all the Transactions of Antiquity or the Primitive Church for so Rigorous and Comminatorious decision of such subtile and nice Points under so great a Penalty and I am sure none can be found Secondly Cast a glance upon the effects of these new-framed Articles of Faith What Benefit or Emolument doth accrew to Christianity by them Do the Graces of Christ flow from the Sacraments more plentifully by vertue of those Definitions then they did before This cannot be alleged for the measure of Grace was taxed and determined by Christ in his Original Institution with reference to the disposition of the receiver Do they conduce to the better institution of a Christian Life Do the Faithful the more adhere to the due observance of Gods Law Do they promote Vertue and Good Life Do they check the illegal progress of the Licentious Do they cry down Vice and Wickedness Do they add any new Motives to abandon the Old Man and shun Sensuality Do they excite to the regulating our Actions by the Conduct of a just Synderesis instructed with true Reason and to reject the suggestion of sense not the least of these products do issue from them Nay on the contrary Do they not add more load to the Consciences of the Faithful who are bound to Believe what they comprehend not Do they not enthrall and enslave their Souls to be liable to the Belief of such a long Catalogue of nicities or else be damned What a dreadful thing it is to implicate Mens Minds and Consciences into such an unextricable labyrinth of sollicitude anxiety and confusion when they shall consider that of so many definitions if they disbelieve but one though they believe all the rest nothing remains for them but the eternal slames of Hell Fire And yet they are wholly ignorant what it is they ought to believe for you were as good endeavor to wash a Blackamore white as to go about to make the common vulgar of both Sexes capable of the true meaning of those points which are so remote from sense And How can they exercise themselves in Vertue while such anxious scruples and confusion clowds their understanding and casts a damp upon all their vital faculties Nay this hath an immediate tendency to despair for when they consider themselves uncapable of complying with such a Mass of Implex Articles of Faith and considering their own imbecility they will be apt to conceive that they are lost and that Eternity of Bliss is out of their reach for qui erraverit in uno factus est omnium reus he that errs in one is made guilty of all and hence they connaturally fall into desperation Besides What more hinders the Propagation of the Gospel then such a multiplicity of Tenets pretended necessary to Salvation and yet so full of arduity and so repugnant to the common course of Nature which are apt to startle the most credulous Who would imbrace Christianity if such a bundle of incredible Mysteries were candidly proposed to them as all necessary to Salvation which are so destructive of the Laws of Nature and no Proofes of any of them but only because the Church of Rome hath defined them Few or none would deny their Reason and yield a blind
and in many other cases of like nature then are Councils both profitable and necessary as a Physitian is to a sick Patient then ought they by their opportune Remedies to salve the Sores to make up the breaches to reforme the abuses and to redintegrate the whole body of the Church and purge the Wheate from the Cockle and Darnel which by the depraved will of Man and the suggestion of Sathan began to take root But if Councils should spend their endeavors in debating certain abstruse and hidden Mysteries and frame Articles of Divine Faith upon them without any warrant in Scripture or Antiquity nay against the Original Belief of the Church and by their annexed Anathema's drive Men to confusion and desperation and yet reap no benefit thereby for it neither promotes Vertue nor curbs Vice nor any way conduceth to the institution of a Moral and Christian Life but on the contrary it puts Mens Consciences upon the Rack it disturbs the peace and quiet of their Minds it hinders their due application to Vertue and Morality it perplexes their Souls with Scruples and disposeth them to despair In this case I appeal to the Judgment of the whole World Whether the multiplying of such decisions be not fruitless and pernicious To what is added in the Objection I grant that Councils have been always in use not to decide such speculative points of Divinity and reduce them to Articles of Faith but to solve practical doubts which may arise among the vulgar concerning their practise and manners c. which may be instrumental to facilitate their progress towards Heaven but as for Divine Faith it ought to be said to them as St. Paul said to the Galatians That if an Angel should come from Heaven and Teach them otherwise then they had been Taught by Christ and his Apostles they ought not to believe him but let him be Accursed saith the Apostle Gal. 1.8 9. The Second Objection We are Taught by experience that several Heresiarchs have often attempted to make a breach in the Church by their new Heterodox Doctrine and the most efficacious remedy in the Church to prevent such inconveniences is to Anathematize the Authors and condemn their Errors as Heretical which hath been alwayes practised in the Church with good success for the extirpating of Heresie and establishing Orthodox Doctrine To this Objection I Answer First That when the Definitions of Councils are grounded in Scripture in the Doctrine and Practise of Christ and his Apostles or otherwise by true Revelations made manifest to be of Divine Autority such definitions are warrantable and useful to extinguish Heresie but nothing of all this will quadrate with the forecited definitions of the Church of Rome which are no way proved by Autority nor Reason nay rather they are repugnant to both yet are obtruded to the Credulous Believers under a Curse to be by them received by a blind assent without examining the truth of them Secondly I Answer That the most apposite and efficacious way to suppress Heresie is to evince the Error of it by solid and convincing Arguments drawn from Divine Autority or evident Principles of Reason These are the Armes with which the Antient Fathers wag'd War against the respective Heresies of their times So St. Ambrose with his Preaching and solid Principles drew the great St. Augustine from his Heresie to imbrace the Orthodox Doctrine of Christianity and the same Augustine being fully convinced thereof with no less industry and zeal then learning efficaciously refelled the Errors of the Manichaeans the Pellagians the Massilienses the Donatists c. he alledged not the Autority of Councils but convinced the Broachers and Abetters of those Errors with solid Arguments whereby he detected the Fallacy of their irregular Tenets And so by Divine Autority and strength of Reason refelled their illegal Assertions The Reason of this proceeding is manifest for the first Authors of such Erroneous Doctrines and they who greedily give their assent to them make it their business to maintain them against all opposition and glory in their undertakings hugging their Errors as the happy products of their own understanding whence they so tenaciously adhere to them that no Curse nor Censure can make any impression upon them If you cite the Definitions of Councils against them they alledge their Reasons against you and Challenge you to Solve them How earnestly did Nestorius insist upon the Force of his Argument to prove two Persons in Christ And the whole stress of his Proofe he reduced to this one Sillogisme Omnis Natura Rationalis Completa est Persona sed in Christo sunt duae Rationales Naturae completae ergo duae Personae In English thus All Compleat Rational Natures are Persons but in Christ there are two compleat Rational Natures ergo in Christ there are two Persons With this Argument Nestorius perplext the Fathers whereof none durst deny either of the Premises and yet the Conclusion was Erroneous And certainly Nestorius would have slighted any definition of a Council against his Assertion without solving his Argument Wherefore the most efficacious way to Refute an Heretick is to Instruct his Reason and Convince his Judgment that his Principles are Erroneous to this end Arguments are to be drawn from Scripture and Divine Autority seconded by cleer and evident Reason and from these two Premises you may infer a conclusion contradictory to the Error And hereby you encrease the Authors Adhesion to his Error for there are none so obstinate as to deny that which is establisht by known Divine Autority and Evident Reason SECT V. When and from whom this Doctrine of the Real Presence took its first rise ALl Dogmatical Assertions which are pretended to be matters of Divine Faith if they be so it s rigorously necessary that they be backt by Divine Autority and therefore must be traced immediately from Christ himself or else attested by those Hagyographers the old Prophets Apostles c. who were immediately inspired by the Holy Ghost and so could not erre by whose Mediation it must ultimate be resolved into Divine Autority The reason hereof is because all acts of Divine Faith consist essentially of two parts the Material and the Formal Object the Material Object is the thing believed the Formal Object is dictio Dei Gods saying it which is the only motive that induceth us to believe it as Divine Faith And herein Faith differs from Science and Opinion because Science though invested with certainty yet derives it from the evidence of Human Reason which is inductive to the assent Opinion hath neither certainty nor evidence but a meer probability grounded on a weak foundation of Reason cum formidine partis oppositae it is always accompanyed with an ambiguity either formal or virtual that the contrary may be true But Faith if it be Divine relyes upon Divine Autority if Human on Human Authority For instance we believe that the Divine Word is Incarnate because God hath assured it this is an